Character Creation and Technical Effects BA (Hons)

About the course

This diverse course combines the design and creation of unusual characters and props, which can involve puppet animation, or technical effects for film and television. You will explore a range of materials and technology processes to create original characters, costumes and props.

First Year

You will gain a strong grounding in practical methodologies, workshop skills and the design process. A series of projects will develop your creative skills, as you explore a wide range of materials and processes.

Second Year

Eight exciting one-week turbo projects mimic the tight deadlines of real-world working. You will learn advanced new skills such as the sculpting and casting of realistic and imagined forms. By experimentation with a wide variety of materials and processes, you will gain an appreciation of surface texture and finish. Working alongside students on our Special Effects course, you have the opportunity to carry out ambitious projects combining both mechanical (animatronics) and character elements.

Also in this year you can spend up to four months on a work placement. We have excellent links with industry and previously our students have been actively involved in major movies - most recently; Martin Scorsese’s: Hugo, Captain America: The First Avenger, Tim Burton’s stop motion film: Frankenweenie, X Men: First Class, 47 Ronin, Unknown, Ridley Scott’s new Alien prequel: Prometheus, Jack the Giant Killer, Clash of the Titans 2, World War Z, Batman 3: The Dark Knight Rises and the Sky Atlantic HD TV series Game of Thrones.

Final Year

You will begin with an independent project confirming your specialist area, plus a degree essay that complements your practical design work. The final major project demonstrates your professional ability and may involve working with students on related courses to show your team-working capabilities. The year is designed to help you enter the industry as a highly employable graduate, and you will also spend time producing a professional portfolio designed to impress potential employers at your first interview and beyond.

Why choose this course?

• The Model and Special Effects Programme is the only programme of it’s kind to have been awarded the Creative Skillset Tick, the industry kitemark of quality, following a rigorous assessment process by experts working in the Creative Industries. The Creative Skillset Tick is awarded to practice-based courses which best prepare students for a career in the industry.
• The Character Creation and Technical Effects degree is the only course of its kind in the UK - possibly the world, as nowhere else has three interrelated degrees like this working alongside each other with access to such outstanding staff and facilities.
• The full time staff are all leading experts in their field with extensive industry experience & all the visiting lecturers are professionals currently working in the Film & TV industry.
• Work experience is an integral part of the degree- you can spend up to half the second year working in industry with companies such as Artem, Asylum Models & Effects, Hothouse Models & Effects, Machine Shop Special Effects, Madame Tussauds and Tussauds Studios.
• You will work as a team with students on Special Effects or Model Design & Model Effects to make ambitious projects that simulate working practices in the Film & TV industry.
• On this degree you will learn practical making skills as well as using cutting edge new technologies in computer aided design and manufacture. Understand how to use computer software for achieving post-production effects.
• Find out for yourself and watch our video!
• View student work on Flickr

Study routes

• Sandwich Placement

Locations

• University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Careers

Career prospects on the Model & Special Effects Programme are wide ranging and include opportunities in film and television, the event, theatre and entertainment industries, in exhibit and museum design, in 3D design and visualisation, in animatronics, automata and kinetic art, to name just a few. For those who choose not to remain in this field, the skills and attributes developed by the programme provide them with opportunities to move sideways into management or related areas such as advertising, art direction or set design, or to progress to postgraduate study.

Typically over 85% of our graduates had entered employment six months after graduation, and a further 10% had gone on to further study or training.

Teaching methods

You'll experience a wide variety of learning styles on this course. During your studies you'll develop your capacity for self-directed study and your interpersonal skills. We particularly emphasise the importance of 3D making leading to physical artefacts created through structured research and design; well-prepared written and verbal presentations; and computer literacy. Alongside elements of standard lectures, seminars, tutorials and practical workshops, you also learn through case studies, individual and group projects and other student centred activities. In your final year you will have the opportunity to practice your independent study skills by completing a major project and dissertation.

You will experience a wide variety of teaching styles on the programme including:

• standard lectures
• practical workshops
• case studies
• individual and group projects

Work Placement

We regularly provide fantastic work experience opportunities for students across the three degrees within the Model and Special Effects programme; students can choose to take a range of modules as a replacement for all or part of one semester in their second year of study. The staff team have excellent contacts in the creative industries and have won awards for their work supporting students in this activity. Staff are frequently able to provide students with high-profile work placements.

Typically students spend up to 3 months of optional replacement study, with leading companies across the creative industries. These often include opportunities in architecture, design, film and TV.  Our students have worked on major blockbuster movies such as Captain America: The First Avenger, X Men: First Class, Wrath of the Titans, Batman 3: The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus, Thor: The Dark World, Maleficent, World War Z, Edge of Tomorrow, Guardians of the Galaxy and Jupiter Ascending.

Professional Accreditations

Skillset Media Academy

Structure

Year 1

Core Modules

• Scale and Structure

  This module provides an introduction to the basic design, technical and practical skills required in subsequent modules of the programme. There is an introduction to the workshop machinery, materials and techniques that the student will be using throughout their time as an undergraduate and in the professional practice of Model Design. Students attend workshop/demonstrations where they are introduced to and operate workshop machinery, where the emphasis on safe working practices and health and safety is paramount. As the module progresses students are introduced to the processes of research, design, technical drawing, maquette making, evaluation and appearance modeling. Students consider issues such as the representation of scale, design details, surface finish when designing and constructing models or prototypes.

• Design and Fabrication

  This module introduces students to model design as a means of interpretation, typical of the special effects industries of film, television, museum exhibits and stills photography. It deals with the design and construction of models that interpret rather than simply replicate reality. Students will gain experience of creating special effects models, which are conceived to blur the boundaries between the real and the imaginary. They will explore the inventive process of research and design to produce models suitable for film, television and photography. As well as research, design and making, there will also be an introduction to basic sculpture techniques. Students will gain knowledge of current professional practice in the special effects industries of film, television and photography as well as historical precedents in, for example, art and stagecraft. As well as gaining experience in a range of practical techniques of model making they will be introduced to relevant photographic and digital compositing skills.

• Shape and Form

  This module provides an opportunity for students to gain experience in the design and construction of a range of models for use as communication tools. The module allows students to research an historical context and develop design ideas and produce 3 dimensional models of those concepts. It facilitates further practice of workshop equipment and making techniques relevant to professional practice.

• The Model in Mind (C&CS)

  In terms of what people do with them, Models are complicated objects. As a part of human culture models, in the form of human and animal figurines, seem to mark out our history and are among the oldest known human artefacts. Contemporary cultures use models as a means to communicate ideas - about the aesthetic experience of objects in the Product Design process, as a way of explaining the inter-relationship of space and form in architecture, as a part of the pleasures of film and television viewing, as a way of managing and organising personal memories and identities through keepsakes and mementoes. The Model in Mind examines the use of models as cultural objects and their role in communication processes. The module looks at key ideas and theories about communications and the making of meaning, at the way models are, and have been used, to impress, explain and delight.

Optional

• C&CS L4 Creative Arts

  This module will run in parallel programme specific Critical and Cultural Studies modules at Level 4 during Semester A, should there be a need for the school to provide a single semester (15 credits) option for its students. For example, to aid in transitional arrangements stemming from the development of C&CS in the school (2012/13), or to provide a 1 semester option to international students who will be studying at UH as part of an exchange from a recognised partner institution.

• CCS L4 Creative Arts

  This module will run in parallel programme specific Critical and Cultural Studies modules at Level 4 during Semester B, should there be a need for the school to provide a single semester (15 credits) option for its students. For example, to aid in transitional arrangements stemming from the development of C&CS in the school (2012/13), or to provide a 1 semester option to international students who will be studying at UH as part of an exchange from a recognised partner institution.

Year 2

Core Modules

• Turbo A

  These are highly focused one or two-week projects, comprising concentrated periods of intensive making activity and are designed to further develop the student’s explorative approach to materials and processes engendered during Level 4. These projects are intensively taught and introduce a range of more complex technical skills and materials. Emphasis is placed on time management through the structure of tight deadlines.

• Turbo B

  These are highly focused one or two-week projects, comprising concentrated periods of intensive making activity and are designed to further develop the student’s explorative approach to materials and processes engendered during Level 4. These projects are intensively taught and introduce a range of more complex technical skills and materials. Emphasis is placed on time management through the structure of tight deadlines.

• Design Process and Realisation

  Students are expected to work at a higher level of independence than in level 4, and to engage in critical evaluation throughout the design and execution of this project. By creating a body of research relevant to their field of study, including an understanding of the purpose and audience of their intended model, this offers a sustained exercise in the design, exploration and development of models suitable for use in the Model Design industries. The introduction to, and exploration of a larger sphere of materials and techniques enables the student to develop a broader knowledge base and implement a higher level of design and making skill. Effective self- management is developed and demonstrated through the ability to meet deadlines, and to present their work in a considered and professional manner.

• Talking Models (C&CS)

  Building on learning in The Model in Mind module at Level 4, Talking Models further develops knowledge and critical understanding of the contemporary uses of models in the full breadth of their application. Requiring students to identify their own areas of critical interest in relation to both the long traditions and contemporary contexts of models, the module is crucial as an introduction to the kind of ‘open’ critical enquiry that will characterise Level 6 in cultural studies. A core series of ‘catalyst’ lectures and seminars introduces new critical, theoretical and contextual ideas, while supporting students in their own exploration of the broad field of models. Undertaking a detailed survey of traditions, locations, and perspectives, students define a topic of study, formulate a research question or title, and carry out a carefully documented enquiry leading to the submission of an ‘essay’-style outcome in an appropriate form.

• Character Creation and Effects Contextualised Model

  In negotiation with tutors, students generate their own brief for a Character and Creative Effects project with a particular emphasis on the professional context of their work. Students initiate self-management through the development of work plans, incorporating research and analysis of making methods, materials and budgets, and schedules of making, referencing relevant deadlines. Appropriate professional behaviour in the workplace is emphasized and there is the possibility for group work. Design process will be used throughout and includes: investigation, evaluation and use of appropriate design sources and materials, analysis of client/audience awareness, including fitness for purpose; and presentation skills, both visual and verbal.

Optional

• Professional Work Experience 30: Screen

  Students may identify a work experience opportunity or have a work experience suggested to them. Before starting students meet with the Programme Leader or their nominated tutor, to discuss the impending placement. All aspects of the intended experience are addressed from health and safety to client confidentiality and students are given guidance on behaviour and how to manage expectations. Proposals need to identify an outline work programme, the number of days in placement and the main learning outcomes; and are subject to agreement of the Programme Leader.

• Professional Work Experience 45: Screen

  Students may identify a work experience opportunity or have a work experience suggested to them. Before starting students meet with the Programme Leader or their nominated tutor, to discuss the impending placement. All aspects of the intended experience are addressed from health and safety to client confidentiality and students are given guidance on behaviour and how to manage expectations. Proposals need to identify an outline work programme, the number of days in placement and the main learning outcomes; and are subject to agreement of the Programme Leader.

• Professional Work Experience 15: Screen

  Students may identify a work experience opportunity or have a work experience suggested to them. Before starting students meet with the Programme Leader or their nominated tutor, to agree the impending placement. All aspects of the intended experience are addressed from health and safety to client confidentiality and students are given guidance on behaviour and how to manage expectations. Proposals need to identify an outline work programme, the number of days in placement and the main learning outcomes; and are subject to agreement of the Programme Leader.

• Professional Work Experience 15 5B: Screen

  Students may identify a work experience opportunity or have a work experience suggested to them. Before starting students meet with the Programme Leader or their nominated tutor, to agree the impending placement. All aspects of the intended experience are addressed from health and safety to client confidentiality and students are given guidance on behaviour and how to manage expectations. Proposals need to identify an outline work programme, the number of days in placement and the main learning outcomes; and are subject to agreement of the Programme Leader.

Year 3

Core Modules

Optional

• Year Abroad

  The Year Abroad will provide students in Creative Arts with the opportunity to expand, develop and apply the knowledge and skills gained in the first two taught years of the degree within a different organisational and cultural environment in a partner academic institution. The host institution will appoint a Programme Co-ordinator who will oversee the student's programme during the Year Abroad and will liaise with the appointed UH Supervisor.

• Sandwich Year (Creative Arts)

  The optional 'Sandwich' placement year may be undertaken between the levels 5 and 6. Students undertake the placement within a commercial, public or not for profit setting that is able to provide an appropriate learning experience related to the creative and cultural industries. A placement could take a variety of forms, including: * working in an external organisation; * working with a University company or professional team within the University; * self-employment within defined context and externally refereed. The placement duration would typically be sustained for at least 48 weeks, though may be sustained for a full year. While the Faculty/School actively supports the placement process, ultimately it is the placement provider that will agree to manage and select students, normally through an interview process. During the placement a member of the academic staff will be assigned to the student as a tutor and will monitor the student's progress during the placement period.

Year 4

Core Modules

• Critical and Cultural Studies: L6 Enquiry / Report / Essay (Screen)

  The content of this module allows students to engage with research, enquiry or critical processes appropriate for their subject area. Students select a topic related to their area of study as the basis for an extended enquiry. Usually the topic will have a close relationship with some of the ideas, approaches and content of the student's final project. This work may explore ideas, examine artefacts or set out to solve a problem through an enquiry of some kind. The module allows students to develop their broad understanding of issues of significance, meaning and value that are implicit in their project idea or to engage in a process arising from a question or problem they have identified from their subject area aimed at providing recommendations or explanations which are supported by valid evidence. The module is delivered through a mix of lectures, seminars and individual tutorials with a strong emphasis on independent learning.

• Professional Context Model

  This module provides an opportunity to express individuality in a student led Model Design project. In a period of sustained independent study the student will demonstrate the extent of their knowledge and skills in an area of Model Design not covered by their Major Proposal and Major Project. This project enables the student to project the breadth of their abilities to their chosen professional audience. The student is required to identify a suitably challenging project, prepare a research proposal specifying their own learning requirements which is negotiated with tutors, and complete a small group presentation pitching the idea to their peers and receiving comment and feedback on it. Students are expected to conduct sustained independent study and research based on the approved proposal, leading to the realization of a significant artefact or series of artefacts made to a standard suitable for the context described in the proposal.

• Professional Practice

  The module delivers a series of lectures and seminars designed to consolidate the students understanding of professional practice. Visiting speakers provide material which heightens the student’s awareness of a range of matters relating to- CV writing skills, finding work and interview preparation, tax issues when working as a freelance model maker, finding grant awarding bodies for setting up in business, working abroad etc. This module culminates in a compilation of material such as a Curriculum Vitae, Business Cards and completed Portfolio suitable for presentation at interview. In addition to preparation for the world of work, students are exposed to the procedures necessary for continuation of their studies at postgraduate level. A range of topics are covered with particular emphasis on applications and funding for further study.

• Creative Effects Major Project Proposal

  The module provides an opportunity to specify a programme of independent research and development in the field of Creative Effects. The main outcome of this module is a completed design proposal in preparation for the Creative Effects Major Project. The project proposal must identify a 'real world', professional context and students are encouraged to collaborate with a client or simulate the conditions of a 'live' brief.

• Creative Effects Major Project

  This module is the major opportunity for students to demonstrate the extent of their knowledge and understanding in the field of Creative Effects. It provides students with the opportunity to engage in a period of sustained creative activity, which has been directed and informed by the Creative Effects Major Proposal in the previous semester. It is intended as the final and primary platform for the student to demonstrate their abilities, both as an outcome of their learning from the degree programme and as an indication of professional potential. Students will, therefore, demonstrate key skills germane to the field of Creative Effects and produce outcomes of a standard suitable for professional employment or further study.

Optional

Fees & funding

Fees 2013

UK/EU Students

Full time: £8,500 for the 2013 academic year

International Students

Full time: £10,000 for the 2013 academic year

Discounts are available for International students if payment is made in full at registration

View detailed information about tuition fees

Additional course costs

In addition to the fees there are some compulsory course attached to this course:

Year 1
Personal tool kit - £120-£180
Materials required for projects - £120-£250

Year 2
Materials required for projects - £120-£250

Year 3
Materials required for projects - £300-£500

Scholarships

• National Scholarship Programme

Find out more about scholarships for UK/EU and international students

Other financial support

Find out more about other financial support available to UK and EU students

Living costs / accommodation

The University of Hertfordshire offers a great choice of student accommodation, on campus or nearby in the local area, to suit every student budget.

View detailed information about our accommodation

How to apply