here - University of Central Lancashire

COURSE LEADER
Sarah Ann Kennedy-Parr, an RCA graduate, worked in the animation industry for fifteen
years before entering the world of academia. She created, wrote and directed her own
series for Channel 4 called Crapston Villas as well as working on longer format shows
such as EastEnders. Sarah keeps her industry knowledge and contacts fresh by writing
the occasional episode of Peppa Pig and voicing the character of Miss Rabbit in Peppa
Pig and Nanny Plum in Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom. Her own line of research looks
at the role of women in the animation industry and how this impacts on the characters
and stories created.
MA ANIMATION
Sarah Ann Kennedy-Parr with Ian Mackinnon (from Mackinnon
& Saunders) - one of the speakers in Research Two
OUR ALUMNI INCLUDE:
Charlotte Blacker
Adam Vickerstaff
As a student, Charlotte won the Royal Television Award for Best Film. Since graduating,
she has worked at Loose Moose in London and Mackinnon & Saunders in Manchester, and
has now set up her own animation company called Good Cop Bad Cop Productions, based
in Wakefield. http://www.goodcopbadcopproductions.com/
Since graduating, Adam has worked at
games company Evolution Studios and is
currently working as an Object Artist at
Secret Sorcery.
MA Animation is a flexible course which offers
you the opportunity to explore the broad
subject of animation within a professional
framework. It aims to guide and empower
you to find out what role you wish to
undertake in the industry and
how to make those first
steps towards it.
1 year full-time or
2 years part-time
Nigel Hunter
Following graduation, Nigel moved to
Vancouver and has worked on various TV
series and films including Escape From
Planet Earth (Feature, Rainmaker
Entertainment – Crowd Animator plus
some shots). Nigel has also worked on
another film, The Prophet, which was
released in 2014 and was directed by
Roger Allers (of Lion King fame). Nigel
says that he would never have been able
to break into the animation industry
without doing UCLan’s MA Animation.
Ritang Wu
Yujie Duan
Yujie is now a Lecturer at Hangzhou Dianzi
University, teaching CGI animation to
students.
Hayley Dwan
Since graduation, Hayley has been working
for advertising company Milky Tea and
animation studio Factory Transmedia.
Andrew Plaskett
Adam Vickerstaff
All images are the work of our students. To view more of their work, why not search
for the ‘UCLan Animation Channel’ on YouTube.
University of Central Lancashire
Preston PR1 2HE
01772 892400
cenquiries@uclan.ac.uk
www.uclan.ac.uk
The information contained in this literature was compiled in April 2016 and all
reasonable care has been taken to ensure its accuracy at that time. The
University cannot guarantee that all courses will be available in exactly the form
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Jordan King McCoy
OVERVIEW
Ritang Wu
The animation industry is expanding.
Animation is used in games design,
advertising, special effects or to simply
tell a story or a joke. It can be seen
online, in a TV series, in a feature film
or as part of a documentary.
UCLan’s MA Animation offers you the
opportunity to explore the broad
subject of animation within a
professional framework. It is mainly
a practical course where you may
specialise in one area of animation
such as modelling, special effects,
writing or sound design, or you may
choose to make a film in the style and
methods of your own choice. You are
able to choose to work on live briefs
throughout your MA under the
guidance and advice of your course
tutor to gain industry experience
within the nurturing framework of an
academic institution.
Regular visiting industry professionals
and trips to animation festivals will help
and encourage you to network with
the animation industry and are a key
part of this course, ensuring that you
have the optimum chance of forging
your own contacts for the future.
Research modules underpin practice
and help to guide you with insight and
understanding of the professional
world of animation – which in turn
helps you to forge the career path of
your choice.
Students working on state-of-the-art Cintiq
COURSE
CONTENT
PRACTICE ONE
Practice One, a double module, starts your
investigation into your own line of enquiry helping you to discover which area of
animation you would like to specialise in
and why. Previous areas of research have
been: facial animation; animation acting;
how to make the perfect showreel; and
even how to create a winning pre-school
series. During this module, you may decide
what you want to do and embark on the
pre-production stages. Workshops are
available if you intend to learn new software
or skills within the animation discipline.
Jordan King McCoy
Mark Mason
David Lambie winning this year’s RTS NW Student Award
Students working on CelAction
Joe Sunderland
PRACTICE TWO
PRACTICE THREE
RESEARCH ONE
RESEARCH TWO
Another double module, Practice Two is a
continuation of the work from Practice
One but in more depth. Studies include
polishing pre-production; creating the
assets for the film; animation tests; and
experimenting.
Part of this triple module is to contextualise
the research that underpins your practical
project in the form of a poster presentation.
This presentation will summarise and
demonstrate the research undertaken whilst
completing the practical work. You will have
the opportunity to work across disciplines
with sound designers and musicians on the
sound. The final work will be displayed in
an end-of-year show.
Research One is a single module that
underpins Practice One. During this module
you will be introduced to various research
methods and practices which are useful in
relation to industrial practices as well as a
foundation to PhD or doctorate levels of
study.
Research Two (single module) features a
series of talks from industry professionals to
give you a useful insight and networking
opportunity into the animation industry to
enable you to begin your own networking
journey.
David Lambie
Sam Stewart
Mark Mason
Ritang Wu
Jordan King McCoy
Mark Mason