MI4014 - Introduction to 3D Animation

You will be set a creative brief for which you will need to design an animated film and this will be achieved through the following: weekly demonstrations of salient aspects of 3D computer software to develop your formal and tacit skills, contextual studies and research into culture to develop your sense of creativity, originality and criticality. In addition to this, you will build on your experience from semester one by using hand-drawn traditional animation techniques as an iterative design method to develop more sophisticated ideas that can be built into a 3D animated film.

To complement the weekly planned sessions, there will be a san opportunity to work collaboratively in small groups to develop your technical and interpersonal skills. This ‘flipped teaching’ approach allows the weekly contact time with academic staff to be dedicated to creative idea generation, animation development, problem solving and realisation supported by tutors, so that the you can learn at your own speed and receive constant feedback to aid development, module understanding and quality of film work.

Interim formative presentations during the semester provide the opportunity for you to receive individual feedback in a peer and group setting and present work-in-progress. Summative feedback will be given in the final critique on your 3D animation. This will support your confidence in presenting your work, allow you to receive constructive advice from academic tutors and to develop and realise your 3D animation into a polished final film.

You will be taught by academic staff with experience in 3D animation. Workshop sessions and discussions will develop your understanding of 3D animation. You will have access to industry standard software and training resources to support your learning and the Animation Technician will be available to provide software demonstrations and technical support.

You will have bespoke formative tutorials aligned to your strengths and weaknesses and this will provide the opportunity to develop your understanding of 3D animation practice, historical and contemporary animation and give support through formative feedback to aid you in refining your summative work. Group crits. will enable you to see the work of other animators and to debate the strengths and weaknesses of research, technical approaches and iterative 3D animation practice.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:

1. Demonstrate an awareness of key historical critical and contemporary issues within the 3D animation industry.

2. Acquire a knowledge of 3D animation production processes that underpin 3D animation practice.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

3. Effectively develop digital animation skills.

4. Effectively conduct research

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

5. Engage with the studio community in a professional manner.

You will have formative discussions on your work in progress, through group crits. and tutorials throughout the module. You will receive verbal feedback and you will have an opportunity to reflect on and respond to the feedback before submitting the final project assignment. This addresses MLO 5.

You will present your initial, individual research work to the group, early in the semester and receive formative feedback addressing MLO 4.

During a mid-point presentation, which will focus on the conceptual and practical design strengths as well as areas for improvement, you will receive more formative feedback from staff and peers by addressing MLOs 1 & 2.

Following the final project submission, you will receive written summative feedback on your achievement against all of the MLOs, using the Faculty Feedback sheet and a final grade will be given. Feedback will be provided within 20 working days of submission.

Your work should be submitted via the eLearning Portal on the module page in the eLearning Portal, there is a folder called ‘Assignment Submission’ you will find all the necessary links in this folder.

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Please find details of this module in the other sections provided.