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BU is best in the UK for Computer Animation

29 November 2007

The Journey, by BU Computer Animation student Christopher Clough

It’s official - we've been rated the best place to study computer animation in the UK.

For the second year running, 3D World magazine has ranked our National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) as the number one in the UK and number eight in the world.

The world ranking comes as part of 3D World's first ever ‘CGI Ivy League’, based on the number of student films screened at the world’s leading festivals.

Earlier this year, the work of BU graduates Ben Jones and Joel Green featured at SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics), one of the world’s leading computer animation festivals included in the 3D World survey. SIGGRAPH also features work from some of the world’s top professional producers such as Pixar, Industrial Light & Magic and DreamWorks.

3D World commends the NCCA’s excellent industry links. The magazine recognises the Centre's “long-standing reputation as a leader in the field of CG training by the UK’s effects and animation houses”. It also commended its role in introducing undergraduate and postgraduate computer animation degrees to the UK.

Since its establishment in 1989, the NCCA has become the UK’s leading centre for computer animation research and study. The Centre enjoys our highest research rating and has pioneered both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in computer visualisation and animation.

Our graduates now dominate the industry and have had their skills featured on most, if not all of the biggest films in recent years, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter series, King Kong and Happy Feet, Shrek, Madacasgar and many others.

BU graduate Kevan Shorey now works for PDI/Dreamworks. His talent has already featured in major films such as Shrek 2, Shrek The Third and Madacasgar, and he credits his time at the NCCA with helping him to get such an excellent head start in the industry.

“The specialist teaching and expertise on my courses were delivered through the NCCA,” says Kevan, a double graduate from BU with a BA (Hons) in Computer Visualisation and Animation (2001) and a Masters in Computer Animation (2002).

He continues: “In my opinion, the NCCA is one of the best places to study computer graphics in Europe. The course taught me the principles of animation and traditional film-making, as well as the technology involved with digital content creation.

“I received multiple offers of employment on graduation due to this wide skill set and thanks to the great reputation that the University enjoys within the industry."