COURSE OVERVIEW
Do you want to be an animator for film or games? Could you become an animation director?
Join our collaborative and creative community to become a creative technologist in animation and create award-winning work at one of the world’s best film schools. This practical 1-year MA programme explores the theory and craft of creating animations digitally for both games and film using industry standard software and technologies. You’ll bring scenes and characters to life using powerful content-creation software and real-time game engines.
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The NFTS is world renowned for being one of the most dynamic and creative places to study in animation - well known and respected across the Industry for its imaginative narratives and rich variety of visual techniques. With our unrivalled industry connections and a proven track record of success, your next big step into the animation industry could be just around the corner!
This new and cutting-edge course is a comprehensive, technical and practical 1-year MA programme, exploring the theory and craft of creating animations digitally for both film and games using industry standard tools. It introduces many technical aspects of animation, including mechanical and organic animations, rigging and weight painting, sequencing and storytelling, as well as exporting animation to real-time tools, such as game engines.
Students will learn how to be animation practitioners by bringing scenes and objects to life digitally through established animation techniques that incorporate timing, motion, and emotion.
This course is intended for both students and professionals seeking to understand the foundation of digital animation using industry-standard tools across filmmaking and games. Specifically, this course is for:
- Animation Directors seeking to upskill practically for real-time workflows
- Those seeking preparation for the Games Design and Development MFA, Visual Effects MA and Directing Animation MFA
- Technical specialists seeking to better understand animation practice
- Animation generalists seeking to specialise further in software and tools
- Undergraduates seeking to enter games or virtual production as animators
Graduates from the School have become creative leaders in their field, with their work being recognised with awards globally and at major film festivals including BAFTA, Annecy, Cannes and Sundance.
Course Facilities
As an NFTS student, you have 24/7 access to the Digital Animation Lab at the NFTS, Beaconsfield. In these dedicated studios you will have your own desk with a dual monitor setup, powered by Alienware Aurora development workstations and built around the latest AMD Ryzen and Nvidia RTX technology. All workstations are fitted with industry standard software such as Unreal Engine, GitHub, Adobe Creative Cloud, Reality Capture, Blender, Houdini, Maya and ZBrush. Additionally, you will have access to VR headsets, drawing tablets, and game controllers and more.
The NFTS creates an environment where creativity and technical expertise come together to produce original, bold work.
You’ll learn the theory and craft of creating animations digitally for both film and games, using industry standard tools, along with technical aspects of animation such as mechanical and organic animations, rigging and weight painting, sequencing, and storytelling. You’ll develop your craft as an animation practitioner by bringing scenes and objects to life digitally through animation techniques that incorporate timing, motion, and emotion, and exporting animation to real-time tools, such as game engines.
Collaboration is the key to succeeding in the world of animation and it is also central to the ethos of the NFTS. Collaborative work with many other creative disciplines across the School will enable you to develop expertise across the whole of the production process.
By the end of this course, you’ll have the industry-valued skills and knowledge required to create professional-grade digital animations for use in gaming and film, including Virtual Production.
To join this course, all applicants must demonstrate extant creative aptitude for and interest in storytelling and its related digital mediums. Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds and prior experiences, and have all demonstrated an excitement, aptitude, creativity and willingness to learn new skills. We actively seek a diverse and interesting group of people who have something new to offer the animation landscape. While many applicants will have a degree from a British or overseas university, we will consider applicants who do not have a degree if they have an impressive portfolio, a creative track record or an equivalent life experience.
Specifically, all applicants must
- Be confident in the English language
- Be 21 years or older
- Be proficient in the English language
- Be able to attend the NFTS in-person for the complete duration of the course
- Have at least a basic computer literacy
- Demonstrate a small portfolio of original work in any creative field
If you want to become an animator for film or games, then consider applying to our MA in Animation for Film and Games. To apply, you must include the following items with your application:
A digital portfolio of your creative work presented online (send us a link to your YouTube videos or a Google Shared Folder or a personal website). This may show sketches, illustrations, animations, sample scripts or game designs. The purpose is to showcase your creative skills with relevance to animation.
Funding Available
The NFTS awards more scholarships and bursaries to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK. If you’re successful at gaining a place on the course, you will be contacted by our funding team with details on how to apply for one of these scholarships.
