What's inside our new course at Bucks?

Our new Animation and VFX course that was launched in September 2013 wasn't just a re-branding of the Animation Games and Interactive Media course at Bucks.  It is a whole new course, aimed at training animators and VFX artists to work in Soho, in games, in advertising - in any media that involves creating and animating characters and creatures. Our course has been validated by Framestore, one of London's leading VFX houses, and we have gone to great lengths to try to make sure that we are teaching the very latest animation skills and software.


Below is a brief summary of what's inside the new Animation & VFX course. We're tweaking it all the time so we can't guarantee that this is exactly what the course will look like, but it will be pretty close.

CGI Foundation - Year One

Year One

• CGI Foundation. Core vfx skills. Modelling, cameras & lenses, UV mapping & texturing, lighting & rendering, and compositing a 3D object into a photographic plate. 
• 2D Graphics & Animation. Motion graphics, animated text effects, and animated film & TV titles. 
• CGI Animation Foundation. Animation principles, including locomotion, walk cycles, run cycles, weight and flexibility. 
• Previs & 3D Layout. Design, storyboards, concept art, 3D layout, cameras, editing, sound effects, motion capture (“MoCap”) and directing.

Year Two - Animation 2 - Character Performance

Year Two

• Animation 2 - Character Performance. Acting, dialogue, lipsync and performance. 
• Animation 3 - Animals & Creatures. Photo-realistic animals including quadrupeds, birds, insects, fish, monsters, dinosaurs and other creatures. 
• Intermediate CGI Modelling & Rigging. Modelling, rigging, texturing and lighting. 
• CG VFX. Dynamics, particles & fluids.

Year Three - Short Film project

Year Three

• Short Film Project - Pre-Production.  Solo or group project - a short film. Script, storyboards, visual development & design, and record voices into a full story reel or animatic. 
• Short Film Project - Production. Modelling, texturing, animation, lighting, music and sound effects. 
• Digital Practice. The job market. Take a close look at the industry, complete a live project for a client, work on a website or blog and polish your demo reel. 
• Dissertation. Theory and practice. Research Methods, Film Theory, Design, Media, Lifestyle & Culture.

The goal is to give all our students well-rounded animation and VFX skills, so that every student is job-ready and able to compete at an international level on graduation. We want our course to be the best you can take anywhere in the country. And more than that, we want our students to develop as artists - and have as much fun as possible along the way.

For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. And find out about how our online video tutorials work.

FAQ's - what students are asking about our course

Industry standard software

We're getting a lot of questions about our new Animation and VFX course here at Bucks, so I thought I would compile a list of Frequently Asked Questions to make life easier for everyone. Here is a (not especially complete) list:

Q: What software will you be teaching?
A: The Bucks Animation course has traditionally been taught in Autodesk 3D Studio Max. However, while Max is excellent software, the reality is that for most Soho VFX houses and Games companies, the leading software is Autodesk Maya. So we will be teaching primarily in Maya, though possibly with some Max holdovers. Which isn't a bad thing, as you can't know too much software in this business.

Q. What makes your course unique?
A: What makes us special is our focus on animation. There are lots of courses that can teach you general 3D skills, but we focus on making sure that you can use those skills to give a compelling performance, bringing CG characters and creatures to life.

Q: At what point in the course will you allow a student to specialise?
A: The first year provides a general grounding in 3D (You can see our course outline here). In year two, we get  deeper into animation and broad CG skills, giving students the opportunity to specialise and focus on certain areas. The 3rd year focuses on self-directed projects so you have the chance to focus on the area you most enjoy.

Q: Will I get a job at the end of the course?
A: We can't guarantee anyone a job but we will do our level best to give every student industry-relevant skills. Whenever we hear about new jobs, internships or freelance opportunities we let our students know right away, such as this music promo animated by Paula Gillin. Our course is designed to give all our students skills which will make them highly employable.

Student Accommodation at Bucks

Q: Does Bucks provide accomodation?
A: First year undergraduates and international students, living outside a 25-mile radius of High Wycombe, are eligible to apply for the Halls of Residence. If you have any questions about this, email us at: accommodation@bucks.ac.uk

Any other questions - ask away in the comments section, and I'll update the list!

---Alex

What's inside our new Animation Course at Bucks?

Bucks Animation Logo by Monika Dzikowicz

Our new Animation and VFX course starting in September isn't just a re-branding of our existing animation course, it's a whole new course, aimed at training animators and VFX artists to work in Soho, in games, in advertising - in any media that involves creating and animating characters and creatures.


Below is a brief summary of what we'll be teaching:

CGI Foundation - Year One

Year One

• CGI Foundation. Core vfx skills. Modelling, cameras & lenses, UV mapping & texturing, lighting & rendering, and compositing a 3D object into a photographic plate. 
• 2D Graphics & Animation. Motion graphics, animated text effects, and animated film & TV titles. 
• CGI Animation Foundation. Animation principles, including locomotion, walk cycles, run cycles, weight and flexibility. 
• Previs & 3D Layout. Design, storyboards, concept art, 3D layout, cameras, editing, sound effects, motion capture (“MoCap”) and directing.

Year Two - Animation 2 - Character Performance

Year Two

• Animation 2 - Character Performance. Acting, dialogue, lipsync and performance. 
• Animation 3 - Animals & Creatures. Photo-realistic animals including quadrupeds, birds, insects, fish, monsters, dinosaurs and other creatures. 
• Intermediate CGI Modelling & Rigging. Modelling, rigging, texturing and lighting. 
• CG VFX. Dynamics, particles & fluids.

Year Three - Short Film project

Year Three

• Short Film Project - Pre-Production.  Solo or group project - a short film. Script, storyboards, visual development & design, and record voices into a full story reel or animatic. 
• Short Film Project - Production. Modelling, texturing, animation, lighting, music and sound effects. 
• Digital Practice. The job market. Take a close look at the industry, complete a live project for a client, work on a website or blog and polish your demo reel. 
• Dissertation. Theory and practice. Research Methods, Film Theory, Design, Media, Lifestyle & Culture.

The goal is to give all our students well-rounded animation and VFX skills, so that every student is job-ready and able to compete at an international level on graduation. We want our course to be the best you can take anywhere in the country.

For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. And find out about how our online video tutorials work.