Visual Effects with Professional Placement Year BA (Hons)

Visual Effects is an ever expanding multi-billion-pound industry in the UK and globally, with job opportunities in high demand. As demand grows for visual effects in Film, TV and Games, the demand also grows for skilled professionals who can bring these to life.On this course, you will develop technical, creative and production skills to prepare you for a range of careers. You will learn a variety of disciplines from modelling, rigging, animation, dynamics to lighting, rendering and compositing, there is so much for you to explore. You will learn using state-of-the-art facilities and software including a Vicon Motion Capture studio, high-specification computers, industry standard software such as Maya, Nuke and Houdini and one of the largest fixed green screen studios in the UK.You will have a plenty of opportunities to work interdisciplinary and collaboratively throughout the course, this will allow you to understand the collaborative nature of these industries you hope to work within. Modules such as ‘Industry Project’, ‘Collaborative Practice’ or ‘Virtual Production’ as some examples all allow you to develop those professional and collaborative skills that are required to become a Visual Effects Practitioner.You will be taught by a range of experienced staff, with a breadth of knowledge across both visual effects and the larger area of computer graphics. This includes staff with industry experience, and staff who work and innovate alongside industry in a variety of ways.This course has been developed alongside the visual effects industry to meet the needs of employers, so that you leave with the skills needed to secure a great career.You will learn all aspects of visual effects production including shooting video, computer modelling, animation, matchmoving, motion capture and compositing. You will use these skills to produce digital elements such as creatures and environments, then combine them with live action video to produce convincing visual effects shots. Along with the visual elements you produce, you will develop problem solving and critical thinking skills while building your unique fusion of creative and technical abilities that are desired by industry.On the BA (Hons) Visual Effects course you will learn technical and creative skills underpinned by knowledge of fundamental concepts while using industry tools and best practice.During the course, you will do a mixture of ‘hands on’ productions and technical investigations, which will teach you the practice, process, craft and technology of visual effects. These activities will help you become a proactive learner able to explore knowledge, implement best practice and critically evaluate the results of your work.Aligning with the industry practice of collaboration, you will get the opportunity to work with students from related disciplines such as animation, games and film. This will allow you to broaden your horizons and help you understand how your visual effects and computer graphics skills can fit into other existing and emerging industries.This course offers an optional professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, following successful completion of your second year, and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies.If you choose to pursue a placement year, you will need to find a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will be able to draw on the University’s extensive network of local, regional, and national employers, and the support of our Careers teams. If you are able to secure a placement, you can request to be transferred to the placement version of the course.