BA (Hons) Computer Animation & Visual Effects

Core units

• Art & Design in Creative Industries: This unit is intended to give you the drawing and design skills required in order to maximise your potential on your chosen undergraduate degree. You will be introduced to the concepts of critical feedback and continuous improvement within a visual arts context. 
• Algorithmic Thinking: During this unit you will develop your understanding of mathematical and logical concepts that are the foundation of computer animation, games and visual effects.
• Digital Tools: You will gain the fundamental knowledge and understanding of computers and the digital tools available in order to maximise your potential on your chosen undergraduate degree. As such, it will provide a platform between prior and future learning and enable you to gain an understanding of digital tools in the context of your career aspirations.
• Study Skills for Creative Industries: You will develop practical skills in the production, manipulation and editing of visual media and be able to demonstrate an ability to search, locate, read and understand literature and techniques relevant to the creative industries.
• Foundation Project: This unit allows you to develop a personally defined project, you can choose to focus on either a specialist area of practice, a generalist project or a complementary skill/technique that will benefit your ongoing development.You will gain essential knowledge and experience in scheduling and identification of clear milestones within your personal projects and you will benefit from communicating with an assigned supervisor throughout

Core units

• Modelling & Texturing: Asset creation is a major part of the professional practice of any animation or visual effects artist. Start your studies with an introduction to the fundamentals of 3D modelling and texturing for asset creation. You’ll develop a basic understanding of observational techniques and knowledge of a CG pipeline and the workflow relating specifically to modelling and texturing. This knowledge will be used for practical implementation in polygonal and subdivision modelling, UV and displacement mapping, procedural texturing or photogrammetry for animation, video games and film.  
• Principles of 3D Animation: The aim of this unit is to provide you with introductory knowledge, skills, and practical experience necessary to become a proficient character animator. You will develop several essential animation toolsets, production processes, and artistry that challenge your creative and technical abilities.   
• Procedural Content Creation: During this unit you will develop the skill of computational thinking and mathematical concepts and apply it to the production of animation and visual effects. Maths and programming is not only fun but useful across many fields within the discipline. The focus will be on automating the boring stuff and generating images / image sequences or simple 2D games. 
• Lighting & Look Development: Develop skills and knowledge in look development, principles, practice and rendering for computer graphics. You will develop materials and lighting utilising appropriate references, and software tools, and will be introduced to rendering, using a physically based render engine to create a quality image. 
• Image Manipulation for Animation & VFX: Discover elements of the computer animation and visual effects pipeline, such as rotoscoping, digital matte painting, tracking, and compositing. You’ll be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in various aspects of compositing, including colour theory, image manipulation, and digital image processing. You’ll also become proficient in industry-standard compositing software tools and be able to work to specific shot requirements and limitations, specifically with regards to the photoreal integration of assets. 
• Concept & Story: During this unit you will develop a good understanding of the core aspects of narrative and storytelling; written development tools, such as treatments and screenplays; and visual development tools, such as storyboards and animatics. This will also begin the development of core skills in film language, cinematography and direction for animated film. 

Core units 

• Group Project Research & Development (R&D): This is your opportunity to work on an individual Research and Development (R&D) project, focusing on a specific production practice of your choice within the CG pipeline. You’ll conduct comprehensive research and effectively develop an artifact that seamlessly integrates both theoretical concepts and practical skills. You will learn about the production pipeline and other specialised areas such as pre-visualisation and pitching to an audience. Your final outcome can be used as a skills pitch during the pitching stage of the Group Project Production. 
• Group Project: During the Group Project you’ll gain practical experience, working together as part of a team, to produce a single, completed artefact to a high standard. You’ll have a number of options including a student designed and led animation project, a student designed and led interactive project, or a client brief. This is a significant piece of work testing your technical and creative skills and introducing you to team working and professional practice. You’ll take responsibility for the conception, planning, execution and presentation of your work as a key player within a small scale, accomplished production.   
• Professional Practice: This unit introduces roles within the Creative Industries sector. You’ll develop the skills to search for information relevant to professional roles and projects and knowledge of professional ethics. You will also develop a personally defined area of practice through student-centred research, allowing you to focus on either a specialist area of practice, a generalist project or a complementary skill/technique, with an emphasis on exploring this through literature and practice to benefit your ongoing development. This is directed to showcase specialist skills to potential employers. 

Choose one of the following three pathways: 

Visual Effects Pathway

• Digital Matte Painting & Asset Integration: This unit will help you to develop your ability to create photo-realistic digital environments and assets in 3D starting from a variety of different 2D reference images and resources as well as 2D digital painting and asset integration techniques with regards to creating high quality photo-realistic digitally painted and rendered images.   
• Environment & Character Effects: You’ll be equipped with knowledge of a range of tools and their applications in the field of Environment and Creature effects. These effects include but are not limited to realistic or choreographed simulations as fluids, particles, cloth, fire, smoke, explosions (incl. rigid body dynamics) and crowds, muscles, fur and hair. By the end of the unit, you will be able to confidently navigate, customize and harness the potential of software packages such as (but not limited to) Houdini and Maya to achieve a high level of visual fidelity and realism in their environment or creature/character animations.     
• Advanced Modelling & Sculpting: This unit enables you to deepen your understanding of the modelling and texturing pipeline. You’ll be exposed to more advanced character and asset creation techniques for hard/soft surface organic modelling, UV’s using UDIMS, texturing using hand painting techniques, and texturing using projection methods. You’ll also further develop the your abilities in anatomy and to work to specific asset requirements and limitations, specifically with regards to the creation of photo-realistic props and hyper realistic characters. 

Art & Design Pathway

• Environment & Character Design: The aim of this unit is to develop your design skills to an advanced level with a specific focus on design for an audience. You will learn how to develop a complete pre-production pack and supporting material with an emphasis on all aspects of Production Design for a Game or Animation production. You will be encouraged to use this project to form the basis of your pitch for the Group Project in semester 2. On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to create all aspects of design for character (expression, gesture, costume, turn-arounds, character iterations) and environment (world-building, atmosphere, mood, thematic and narrative integration). 
• Character & Creature Animation: During this unit you will develop a comprehensive understanding of the principles and techniques involved in animating both human characters and creatures, fostering your ability to create compelling and believable animations for diverse storytelling mediums. 
• Character & Creature Rigging: You will be introduced to rigging in this unit - i.e., the process of preparing assets for animation. You will create a “production ready rig” for a character/creature in the context of animation or games production pipeline. You will also create “rigs” as procedural and as reusable as possible so they can be modified easily and be portable in order to allow for a wide a range of tasks which can span more than one production pipeline.

Technical Arts Pathway

• Procedural Modelling & Rendering: This is an introduction to a range of mathematical techniques that form the basis of modern computer graphics practice. You will gain understanding of how these techniques are used in the animation and VFX industry. and develop your programming skills by implementing mathematical concepts in your own code. These skills prepare you to take academic papers and apply them to solve problems in your own work. As such it prepares them for a future technical director (TD) role in the industry. 
• Programming Graphics: This unit ensure that you are equipped with the technical computing skills necessary to design and implement graphics tools and pipelines. You will be equipped with the knowledge to select the correct programming languages / paradigms and API’s to solve computer generated imagery problems using a Test Driven approach. 
• Real-Time Graphics: During this unit you will learn the principles of real-time graphics engines and how they can be used in the computer animation production pipeline. By using state-of-the-art game engines, you will develop an understanding of interactive application production, real-time pre-visualisation, and real-time rendering in the context of computer animation and visual effects, as well as basics of virtual production. In your projects you will be able to master the problems related to real-time applications, visualisations, simulations and other interactive applications. 

You will have the option of undertaking a minimum 30-week placement at the end of your second year. Visit the placement section below for more information. 

Core units 

• Major Project Research & Development (R&D): This unit will introduce higher-level toolsets, analysis, processes, and artistry that challenge your creative and technical abilities, helping you to successfully plan your Final Major Project. Covering pre-production and pre-visualization, you will embark on a design document that forms the basis of your Major Project and will be expected to explore, develop, and utilise appropriate design approaches, research methodologies, advanced software tools and best practices learnt during the course. 
• Industry Brief: The purpose of this unit is to introduce you to the professional world of a digital media production house. You’ll be exposed to advanced production issues of professional practice and be provided with the theoretical and practical knowledge to complete a project set (or suggested/initiated) by an NCCA industry partner. You’ll be able to apply techniques in the context of a professional computer graphics/animation/VFX/games production and develop your professional working practice and ethos. 
• Emerging Trends: You’ll have the opportunity to work on a self-directed R&D project, with additional opportunities to improve your academic communication skills. The topic is proposed by you. You’ll choose between an academic, a practice-based, or a production-oriented project, with either an artistic or a technical emphasis (or a mix of the two). 
• Final Major Project: The Major Project in the second semester will form an important part of your portfolio and showreel. Major projects aim to produce work of high quality that demonstrates the technical, creative, and professional skills of a graduate. Your Major Project production should result in computer graphics and computer animation projects of a high enough quality to be entered and/or presented in international and national festivals and conferences. You will integrate and apply your knowledge and experience gained throughout the course and extend this in an innovative and creative manner either as an individual or as part of a group. 

Option units (choose one) 

• Computer Graphics for Sustainable Development: CG has environmental and social impact that needs to be considered by professionals and students. Computer Graphics for Sustainable Development uses the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a basis to foster computer animation students that are engaged with global challenges and inspired to offer innovative solutions within their field. By equipping you with the ability to leverage CGI for sustainable development, this unit will empower you to make meaningful contributions to a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. 
• Moving Images of a Computerised Age: During this unit you’ll examine how digital media in a computerised age have redefined our understanding of the moving image and visual culture. It will focus upon the Digital Revolution as a historical period to consider the shift in conceptual models and the new forms of media practice that these technologies enable. The unit will also seek to embed and connect computing processes in sandpit workshops with the philosophical texts presented. It aims to foster critical skills through reflective writing but also through computing practice thus creating a basis for practical forms of research. 

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Our aim is to prepare you for work in the computer games and animation industry, which is why we regularly update our software to give you access to the production tools used by the professionals. On the standard build, we have the following installed: 

• Autodesk Maya, Mudbox and MotionBuilder 
• PIxologic ZBrush 
• Foundry Mari and Nuke 
• SideFX Houdini 
• Adobe Photoshop, Premiere and Substance Suite 
• Unreal Engine 
• Unity. 

There are several plugins available, including RealFlow, VRay, Shotgun and Golaem. The software development tools we use are open source and/or freely available, and include g++, clang, CUDA, Qt 5 and SDL 2. 

Bournemouth University is one of a small number of institutions from around the world who have been granted Houdini Certified School status by Side Effects Software. 

With practical learning being integral to your degree, we provide industry standard specialist facilities. 
 
We continue to invest in our campuses so all our students can maximise their talents today and into the future. 
 
Visit our virtual tour to find out more and get a feel for where you’ll be studying while you’re based on our Talbot Campus.

Placements provide a great opportunity to make your first career steps and enhance your employability while you’re completing your studies. You’ll get the opportunity to:

• Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
• Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
• Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem solving and team work (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
• Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
• Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider
• Many of our students, during their placement, are given responsibilities normally associated with graduate trainees.

If you choose to complete a placement as part of your course, it will begin after completion of your second year of study and will be for a minimum of 30 weeks.

However, your work placement doesn't have to be with the same employer and, in the animation industry, it's often more common that you'll find a placement for around three months at a time, allowing you to gain experience with several organisations during the year. This is largely due to the timeframes many production studios work to.

The faculty running your course will offer the support of a Placement Coordinator. 

Through timetabled sessions and one-to-one appointments, they’ll help support you in your placement search including advice on finding a placement, information and advice on all aspects of job searching and job applications, as well as ensuring your proposed placement meets the requirements of your course.

Our CareersBU service is also available throughout your time at BU, offering services like CV checking and careers fairs to meet employers.

Placement Development Advisors will support you once you have started your sandwich placement – so you will be able to maintain contact with the university throughout.

• Playground Games (games)
• Sumo Digital (games)
• Base FX (animatoin and visual effects)
• Encore FX (visual effects

Many BU courses have partner universities around the world, offering opportunities for you to apply to study abroad for between one month and a year of your degree. There are usually no additional tuition fees, and the Turing Scheme at BU can often provide grants to support with travel and living expenses*.

As a student studying BA (Hons) Computer Animation & Visual Effects you can apply to study abroad at these international partners:

• Norway: Volda University College, Volda

​Further information can be found here.

*Funding is subject to an annual successful bid and information will be shared with students in the Autumn

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website. 

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. We will ask you to provide a portfolio in support of your application which will be reviewed by one of the tutors on the course. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

If you are unable to meet the entry requirements, we may be able to make you an offer through AccessBU if you meet certain criteria e.g. you have been in care or live in an area where fewer people typically progress to Higher Education. If you don't meet our published tariff, we will accept you at least 8 points below if your personal circumstances match our AccessBU criteria. 

If your application meets our academic entry requirements, we will ask you to upload a portfolio so that we can find out a a bit more about you and for you to have an opportunity to demonstrate your enthusiasm for your chosen course, your creative potential, and your ability to communicate your ideas.. Please note you will have 14 days to provide your portfolio from the date of the request.

What should your portfolio include?

Portfolio Elements: Sketchbooks and works demonstrating self-motivated study and research. While not essential, a showreel of moving image work is an option that you can include. The portfolio should include observational studies: We value observational skills, these may involve still life, environments, lighting, color, and anatomy studies; and life drawing, an essential component of the portfolio.

Portfolio Specifics: State your field of interest (whether this is animation, concept art and design, visual effects or technical arts/ scripting) and then you can include the following:

• Animation art: on 2D and 3D art forms, such as character design, environment design, illustration, graphic design, product design, media design, photography, and sculpture.

• Technical arts: computer-generated graphics, visuals, or abstract compositions, potentially created using computer code, abstract 3D visuals and designs.

• Visual effects: high-quality observational digital artwork, including digital painting and 3D renders of photorealistic CG assets. Highly stylized or abstract work is discouraged.

Your submission should:

• Demonstrate creativity: We look for work that demonstrates creativity and proficiency in various aspects of art, including composition, form, structure, color, and design.

• Show interest in moving image/ animation/ visual effects:You should demonstrate a keen interest in areas related to moving image, animation, and visual effects in this course.

• Portfolio composition: Your portfolio can be submitted via a link to a webpage with a gallery of your work or a digital document or slides that include pictures of your work.

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application, along with your portfolio and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

The entire process of computer animation production is underpinned by technology. The visual and technological aspects of the field are inseparable. To produce visual work in the field does not necessarily require a deep-rooted understanding of technological issues.

However, the ethos of the course, and one of the aspects that commands respect from employers of its graduates, is that a greater understanding of the technologies underpinning the visuals contributes to the practitioner's ability to produce work more effectively.

A desire to understand and develop a command of technology is of great benefit to any candidate for the course. While the majority of graduates tend to enter the computer animation, visual effects and games industries industry as visual artists, some specialise as software producers during the course. In all cases, a strong grasp of technological issues affecting computer animation and digital media production is a hallmark of the course's graduates.

This course has compulsory elements involving practical production activities. When required, students must complete a health and safety risk assessment to take part in these activities, for their safety and that of others. As part of that assessment students provide information about any conditions or disabilities that might affect their ability to undertake these activities fully or safely. 

If you have such a condition or disability, please let us know as soon as possible. You can contact our Additional Learning Support (ALS) service about this before or after making an application. We will then work with you to identify any support or adjustments you would need. Our ALS team works with the Faculty to seek to put in place reasonable adjustments and health and safety plans.

Exceptionally, it may not be possible to arrange for a student to access these courses without either over-riding their core standards or competencies or creating unacceptable risks to health and safety. If that is the case we will help you explore alternative course choices.

Our NCCA graduates have gone on to work on some of the most successful films of the past decade, including Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Interstellar, Gravity and Alice in Wonderland to name just a few. Among the roles you can apply for once you graduate are:

• Technical director (in computer animation and digital effects)
• Technical artist (in computer games)
• Visual artist
• Software producer
• Game developer
• 3D artist
• Visual effects tech developer

Our graduates work all over the world, and many are employed by the industry's leading animation and production houses, software houses, and computer game and digital media companies.

• Film special effects
• Computer game design
• Animation production
• Scientific visualisation
• Graphics software implementation.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master’s degrees.

Research degrees 

If you are a BU graduate you are eligible for a 20% ‘loyalty’ discount on the published fees for further programmes with us!  

Depending on your qualifications and experiences, you can choose to undertake a MRes or PhD level research degree. Bournemouth University has a strong business research foundation within our National Research Centre for Computer Animation through a number of research centres, which explores theory, education and professional practice. 

Visit our postgraduate research courses for further details about research degree options with the Faculty of Media & Communication and the funding options available. 

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Our fees commitment means your tuition fees are fixed at the price quoted
• Materials for laboratory and field-based teaching activity
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study.
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• The Library - access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stock stationery supplies on both campuses
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website 
• Travel costs for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable)
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass can be purchased alonside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website
• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if required by your placement setting, including any Post Office or Digital ID verification charges.
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study
• SportBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

Once you are have enrolled as a student at BU, there is a wide range of help and support available, depending on your particular needs.

• Library & Learning support
• Additional Learning support
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL)
• Transport and travel.

Oleg Fryazinov received his BSc in Engineering and Technologies, MSc in Engineering and Technologies and PhD degree in Mathematical Modelling from Moscow State Technological University (Russia) in 1999, 2001 and 2005 respectively. He has an experience of working in a Video Games industry and industrial Shape Modelling. Since 2006 he has been with Bournemouth University, UK, where he is currently the Lecturer in Computer Animation. His educational resposibilities include teaching of various mathematical units and supervision of various projects for undergraduate students. His research interests include Shape Modelling with real functions, Hybrid Modelling and Animation, Real-Time rendering, Web-based Modelling and Animation and Procedural methods for Computer Animation. His has more than 30 publications including 10 papers in high-rated peer-reviewed journals.

Dr Valery Adzhiev was awarded an MSc degree (with honours) in Computer Engineering and a PhD in Computer Science at Moscow State Engineering Physics Institute - National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI) which is one of top Russian universities (there are six Nobel Prize winners among its famous alumni and faculty – more details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Engineering_Physics_Institute). From 1985 to 1992, he was employed by the Flight Research Institute (Moscow Region). While there, Dr Adzhiev worked for the aviation and space industries as a senior scientist and manager of mission-critical projects with a main focus on flight-test visualisation and was engaged in creating innovative software for the “Buran” spacecraft - the Russian “Shuttle” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_(spacecraft)). This work gave him a valuable industrial experience in solving practical problems in a very challenging and innovative area. Just before coming to Bournemouth Dr Adzhiev worked as an Associate Professor in his alma-mater MEPhI.