What's in Our Level 7 Integrated MArt?

Level 7 MArt: collaboration and creativity

What's in the final year of our integrated Masters degree?

Our undergraduate students graduate after 3 years with a BA, and many of them will go on to study for an extra, final year, at the end of which they get an Master of Arts degree in their subject.

It is called an "integrated masters" degree, because the masters' year builds on the first three years of undergraduate study.

In their fourth year of study, masters' students will collaborate to fulfill their own ideas and projects, working together in teams to create original content.

What is a BA/MArt?
A MA/MArt is an integrated Masters degree. That means that students can stay with us for three years and earn a Batchelor of Arts (BA). Plus, you can stay on for an extra year, and graduate with a Master of Arts (MArt).  We recommend that applicants apply up front for the full four years, because it's considerably easier (and cheaper) to secure funding for the final year if you apply in advance.

What's in the Masters?
At Masters' level, students will form small groups to develop their own ideas and projects, building on the experience they got in their third year projects as undergraduates. Animators will collaborate with VFX and Games artists in "incubator" spaces, working together to develop new projects and ideas.

Supervision
The tutors at Escape Studios will oversee the work, but the Masters' level year is very much about self-study and self-motivation, with students applying the skills they have learned over the last three years to complete their own projects.  Students will be expected to create schedules and meet their own deadlines, under the supervision of our tutors.

What sort projects will students create?
Individual students will have the opportunity to develop their own ideas and creativity. To see an example of original collaborative work created by our third year animation and VFX students, watch the video below:

Jericho - VFX Short Film from Matthew Wight on Vimeo.

Course Schedule
Students will tackle three projects over the course of the year. The first project will finish shortly before Christmas, the second before Easter, and the third just before the summer holidays. Students may choose an Internal Brief, set by Escape Studios (such as the VFX brief tackled in the 3rd year) or an External Brief, which could be a commercial project for a paying client or a project completed for an independent film-maker.  By the end of the year students will have completed three projects to an industry-standard level of professionalism.

Internal Project Briefs
Students can choose from a number of Internal Briefs, set by Escape Studios, including:

• VFX Briefing
• Advertising briefing
• Short film briefing
• Title sequence briefing
  

External Project Briefs
Students are also encouraged to explore external briefs for external clients. These could be commercial clients, paying for services, or it could be a charity or independent project. Escape Studios is regularly contacted by independent film-makers looking for assistance with their projects.

Module details
Year 4 - Level 7
There are four "long, skinny" Modules which run continuously through the year, building up to an end-of-year assessment in the summer. 

1. CR7001 Art & Design - 30 credits
The Art and Design Module is all about the Art and Design of student projects. Students will be assessed on design, visual development, creativity, development and pre-production.

2. CR7002 Craft - 30 credits

Bob Thompson: Animation Producer

The Craft Module is all about the craft of creating great animation. Students will be assessed on the quality of their final output, including the quality of the 3D assets, animation, lighting and final render.

3. CR7003 Process - 30 credits
The Process Module is all about the process of creating animation, games and VFX. This module deals with scheduling and production.

4. CR7004 Business - 30 credits
The Business Module is all about the business of animation. Students will have to deal with budgets, money, cash flow, and all the necessary elements of bidding for work and completing projects on time and under budget. Escape Studios tutors such as Bob Thompson will help to steer students through the shoals of business and finance.

Further Information
To see what's in the first year at Escape Studios, read this post. To find out about the second year, click here. And to find out about the third year at Escape Studios, follow this link.

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To find out more about our new BA/MArt, now recruiting for September 2019,  follow this link.   To apply, visit the offical page here.