1. Demonstrate knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles of visual effects practices withing film production.

Knowledge and understanding

2. Deconstruct key principles of visual effects and interpret fundamental concepts that inform visual effects practices within film production.

Analysis

3. Apply appropriate visual effects skills to solve technical and creative challenges within filmmaking practice.

Application

4. Identify strengths and weaknesses within your completed visual effects and critically reflect on the processes and practices used in its creation.

Reflection

Visual Effects Portfolio – Assessing Learning outcomes 1 and 3 – weighted at 70%



Reflective Evaluation – Assessing Learning Outcomes 1, 2 and 4 – weighted at 30%

The aim of this module is to enhance your understanding of visual effects processes withing film production. By deconstructing and analysing various visual effects techniques, you will gain insight into the professional practices used in industry contexts. This module will also help you develop an awareness of fundamental theories and practical skills necessary for incorporating visual effects into your own filmmaking projects.



Engaging with practical work will enable you to explore visual effects as a creative to tool to solve a range of production challenges, and overcome creative limitations commonly found within traditional approaches to filmmaking. You will also develop an appreciation of the required time, skills and resources required to effectively integrate visual effects within large film production pipelines.



Through the creation of your assignment work you will establish how to effectively apply visual effects in order to deepen audiences connection with on screen storytelling and suspend their disbelief in your narrative.



The reflective report offers an opportunity to evaluate your creative and technical processes, assessing the effectiveness of your practice in relation to your original project aims and objectives. Through critical reflection, you will establish clear goals for integrating visual effects into your future filmmaking practice.

The aim of this module is to enhance your understanding of visual effects processes withing film production. This module will also help you develop an awareness of fundamental theories and practical skills necessary for incorporating visual effects into your own filmmaking projects. Engaging with practical assignment work will enable you to explore visual effects as a creative tool to solve a range of production challenges, and overcome creative limitations commonly found within traditional approaches to filmmaking.

Learning strategies used in this module are grounded in a student-centred approach and utilises project-based learning and authentic assessment. This means you are learning about visual effects by making them. You can hyper personalise your learning by combining your own frames of reference for visual effect practice with the theories and examples introduced withing the learning resources. While there is a requirement to meet a set brief you will have the freedom to select its own genre/style and purpose for the visual effects.



Workshops introduce fundamental theories that underpin the development of your visual effects practice.

Visual Effects craft workshops provide a collaborative learning experience and enable you to link theory to practice.

Technical Instruction workshops introduce you to technical approaches and develop your competency with the specialist post-production software and hardware required to fulfil your assessment.

Studio & Location fieldwork is an integral part of your learning process. Applying your creative, technical, and theoretical skills to an authentic creative scenario on location and in the studio.

Aggarwal, V. (2024) Creative Motion Mastery with Adobe After Effects, Birmingham: Packt Publishing Ltd.

Gyncild, B. & Fridsma, L. (2024) Adobe After Effects Classroom in a Book 2024 Release, San Jose, CA: Adobe Press.

Holmes, S. & Powers Going, L. (2023) Visual Effects for Indie Filmmakers, Oxford: Routledge.

Perez, V. (2023) The Colour Management Handbook for Visual Effects Artists, Oxford: Routledge.

Wright, S. (2024) Digital Compositing for Film and Video, 5th ed, Oxford: Routledge.



See Reading Lists Online for a full listing of reading texts.

Software:

Nuke

Adobe After Effects (Adobe Suite)

Da Vinci Resolve

Reality Capture

Maya

Blender

Unreal Engine 5

Houdini



Facilities:

Green Screen Studio

GDD Specialist Teaching Space

Henrion Resource Stores

Henrion Post Production Labs

Henrion Shoot Studio

Cadman Post Production Labs

Motion Capture Studio

Library