Undergraduate Course: Animation Elective 4A: Research & Pre-Production (DESI10102)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | This course enables students to carry out research into method and content necessary to create ambitious, complex and original animated projects. It allows them to develop the skills necessary to create a skeletal structure for their film and a prototype where design decisions can be made before committing to time consuming and labour intensive production quality animation. The course follows established industrial workflows for animation and prepares students to engage with these upon graduation. |
| Course description |
This is an advanced animation course that concentrates on allowing students to develop the preparatory processes necessary for large-scale animation production. It supports the generation of persuasive and viable project proposals, and introduces students to the rigors of pitching a film idea to industry peers.
The course will cover:
Developing a viable proposal for film development
Project planning and project management for longer productions
Technical and material research
Market research
Workshops in pitching and presentation techniques
Workshops in recruiting, supporting and managing junior animators
Project documentation and film bibles
This course will result in the production of a series of individual artefacts that collectively form the framework for the next stage of the film making process. These artefacts will consist of the following, at least:
Research sketchbooks (digital or otherwise) demonstrating evidence of the research contributing towards a proposed project
Storyboards, demonstrating evidence of shot planning and plot progression
Animatic/s demonstrating pacing and timings for subsequent film production
Sample stills demonstrating the intended final production quality
A project schedule for the rest of the academic session
A presentation for invited guests from the animation industry
A reflective journal
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Animation 3A: Animation For Clients (DESI10095) AND
Animation 3B: Experimental Animation (DESI10096) AND
Animation 3C: Disseminated Animation (DESI10097)
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Equipment and software: Most equipment and software required will be provided by the School, but the Student will be expected to provide some specialist equipment including a laptop.
Materials: Students will be expected to fund the purchase of general art and design materials, such as sketchbooks, paper and pens. Students will be expected to fund the purchase of some specialist materials required by their course e.g. peg bars, plasticine, animation paper etc.
Course Organisers will support you in meeting intended learning outcomes while keeping material costs to a minimum, but students will be expected to fund optional material costs as necessary for their own project work.
Printing: Students are expected to fund occasional printing and binding of work.
To fully participate in this programme students are recommended to budget a minimum of £50 for each year of study
BA(Hons) Animation
Year 1 - £50.00
Year 2 - £50.00
Year 3 - £50.00
Year 4 - £50.00 |
| Additional Costs | Equipment and software: Most equipment and software required will be provided by the School, but the Student will be expected to provide some specialist equipment including a laptop.
Materials: Students will be expected to fund the purchase of general art and design materials, such as sketchbooks, paper and pens. Students will be expected to fund the purchase of some specialist materials required by their course e.g. peg bars, plasticine, animation paper etc.
Course Organisers will support you in meeting intended learning outcomes while keeping material costs to a minimum, but students will be expected to fund optional material costs as necessary for their own project work.
Printing: Students are expected to fund occasional printing and binding of work.
To fully participate in this programme students are recommended to budget a minimum of £50 for each year of study
BA(Hons) Animation
Year 1 - £50.00
Year 2 - £50.00
Year 3 - £50.00
Year 4 - £50.00 |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 28,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 40,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
308 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Feedback |
1. Documentation of individual feedback and indicative grades via VLE for formative assessment at the midpoint of course;
2. Documentation of individual feedback and final grades via VLE for summative assessment at the end of course;
3. Self-evaluation is also carried out by student at formative and summative submission points and hosted on VLE |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- COLLATE: Demonstrate the ability to gather research material and apply it in a referenced and justified way to an animation proposal.
- INITIATE: Demonstrate the ability to conceive and develop an original animation project.
- PROTOTYPE: Develop an original concept into an animatic that successfully communicates intended timings.
- PROPOSE: Communicate a complex project proposal in a professional manner.
|
Reading List
Dunlop, R. Production Pipeline Fundamentals for Film and Games Focal Press (2014)
Glebas, F. Directing the Story: Professional Storytelling and Storyboarding Techniques for Live Action and Animation Focal Press (2008)
Maclean, F. Setting The Scene Chronicle Books (2011)
Rea. P. Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video Routledge (2015) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Material research, project initiation, pitching, recruitment, resource management, mentoring, scheduling |
| Keywords | Animation,Project planning,Pre visualisation,Concept art |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Alan Mason
Tel: 0131 221 6135
Email: alan.mason@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Laura Duff
Tel:
Email: lduff4@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage