National Centre for Computer Animation

The National Centre for Computer Animation has been at the forefront of computer graphics and animation education and research in the UK since 1989.

In 2011, the Centre was presented with the Queen鈥檚 Anniversary Award for 鈥淲orld-class computer animation teaching with wide scientific and creative applications鈥� and its contribution to world-leading excellence and pioneering development in the teaching of computer animation. The Queen鈥檚 Anniversary Prizes form part of the national honours system and are the most prestigious awards in UK education.

The aim of the NCCA is to promote science in the service of the arts and to embed a theoretical underpinning within a contemporary professional setting, allowing graduates to leave 蜜桃AV with highly sought-after skills in the computer animation, visual effects and computer games industries.

Our courses

Undergraduate courses

Postgraduate courses

MA Digital Effects

This course will provide you with a strong theoretical and technical underpinning for the principal areas of study, thanks to lecture series on filmmaking techniques, green screen, MOCAP, computer graphic principles, the fusion of art and technology, personal research, and applied digital effects theory and practice.

MA 3D Computer Animation

This Master鈥檚 is the perfect launch-pad for a career in a wide range of disciplines, including concept design, character and creature animation, modelling, lighting, rigging, texturing, compositing and simulation. The course will help you acquire the skills needed to work in a number of areas where computer animation is applied, including films, animated features, computer games, television production, commercials, illustration, scientific visualisation, and flight simulation, to name just a few.

MSc Computer Animation & Visual Effects

During your year-long study, you will develop your programming and scripting skills, and become familiar with special techniques and tools associated with computer animation. These skills are assessed in a variety of projects you will undertake during the year. Emphasis is placed on the use of industry-standard hardware and software in the development of these techniques.

Image of a group of people watching many pictures

MSc Artificial Intelligence for Media

This new course focuses on using existing machine learning frameworks of Tensorflow and PyTorch to address practical problems in media production. As a student on this course, you will have access to the latest deep learning methodology such as VGG, LSTM and GAN which are commonly used in AI research on image processing.

Industry links and accreditations

We have forged links with many of the UK鈥檚, and the world鈥檚, most prominent animation organisations and award-winning professionals. 蜜桃AV is also one of a small number of institutions from around the world who have been granted Houdini Certified School status by Side Effects Software, and a number of our computer animation degrees boast the聽ScreenSkills聽Tick, indicating聽the quality of those courses. Find out more about our accreditations and industry links.

Industry-standard facilities

Our facilities on Talbot Campus can be found in Poole Gateway Building, a modern development that opened in spring 2020. This houses a range of industry-standard equipment聽and technology to support our students鈥� studies, including a green screen studio, virtual production facilities and computer labs equipped with professional production software. Take a look at our gallery or 聽to find out more.

Poole Gateway Building provides a range of high-quality technical facilities to support undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as research

The green screen studio in Poole Gateway Building, designed for shooting actors, practical special effects and miniatures

A studio space in Poole Gateway Building

You can watch your work come to life on the big screen in our immersive, cinema-style screening room

NCCA degree shows

The NCCA annual degree shows provide an opportunity for final year Undergraduate students and Master's students to showcase their work to industry professionals and potential employers. .

BFX Festival

罢丑别听补苍苍耻补濒 is one of the largest visual effects, animation and games festivals in the UK, bringing together professionals and students from across the world to share insights into how the best films, commercials, television shows and games are made.

A woman looking at a display featuring a figure or Morph, the animated character

Once Upon a Time in Animation

Celebrating 30 years of the National Centre for Computer Animation, the Once Upon a Time in Animation exhibition at Poole Museum provided聽an overview of 30 years of excellence in animation research, practice and innovation at 蜜桃AV's National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA).聽

Featuring a wealth of creative talent from students, graduates and researchers from 蜜桃AV, the exhibition explored聽different areas of animation, from film to game design, and includes household names such as Miffy, Beatrix Potter and Aardman.聽

Find out more about the exhibition

Research

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK鈥檚 system for assessing the quality of research. Universities are scored across three elements 鈥� the quality of outputs (e.g. publications, performances, and exhibitions), their impact beyond academia, and the environment that supports research.

For REF 2021, the NCCA contributed to 蜜桃AV's submission under Unit of Assessment 32 (UoA32): Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory.聽We submitted three impact case studies, which included projects using art to communicate scientific concepts, improving wellbeing through participatory art, and improving character development techniques in the animation sector.

66.3% of our research outputs (UoA32) were assessed to be internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour, or above
100% of our research environment was scored as conducive to producing research of internationally excellent quality and enabling very considerable impact, with 72.5% of that classed as conducive to world-leading research quality and outstanding impact
83.3% of our impact case studies were found to have very considerable impact in terms of their reach and significance.

Find out more about our REF submission

More about the NCCA

UOA 32: Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Find out about our REF 2021 submission to UOA 32.聽

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