Posted January 22, 2006 OK people I've recently sent off my UCAS application looking to do the art side of gaming. I have applied to: Bournemouth: 3yr BA in Computer Visualisation and Animation. De Monteford: 3yr BA in Game Art Design Teeside: 3yr BA/4yr sandwich (1yr in industry) in Computer Games Art Was wondering if anyone had any opinions about any of these courses or has heard anything? I know Bournemouth and Tees are good but I'm trying to find which one I would prefer or which one is better. Any help? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2006 Bournemouth is the best there. Their 'Media' department, of which that animation course is in, is one of the best in the country. Teeside is better than De Montford, i'm guessing you mean De Montford (Leicester), rather than Bedford (which is where I live). It has a bit of a reputation for being, well bad, to put it bluntly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2006 i go london met, i was doing computer visualisation and games, but now do multimedia bad decision for games but i still enjoy it:P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2006 Bournemouth and Tees are definitely the most industry recognised out of the three. Bournemouth has great links with alot of the major British film visual effects houses, and they often can get hold of high profile speakers from various companies..........only downside with Bournemouth is that a few hundred students apply for the Comp. Visual & Animation course and many are left dissapointed, and their entry requirements are extremely high requiring a high grade in Maths and preferably foundation studies in Art. For games related stuff though, I've found out from various people that Tees is where it's at. Don't just expect to walk onto these courses and be taught the in's & outs of 3D and games production, because you're only going to be in 12-14 hrs or so of available time with the course tutors. It's all more like you're sent away from home, and you've got 3-4 years to produce a demo reel to ship out to dev co's. If you can't stand poly pushing and art now, then it'll be near on impossible to fake the desire for it in the future. But it sounds like you've got your heart set on it and you know what you're doing. Let us know how your interviews go, and I may see you at Tees as I've also applied there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2006 Teeside genrally gets quite a bit of praise from the folks over at http://www.cgtalk.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2006 Cheers for the heads up Colin. I talked to Matthew Horton, who is the head of the animation department at Tees I think. He was very excited about me going cos I've already done a degree and my A levels are pretty good. Got a feeling that he even made a note of my name! Cheers for the words too Hem. I know about Bourns reputation, but the course seems very heavy on the programming side. That is why I think it is aimed a bit more at the movie industry. I did talk to one of the staff at my college though and she said a lot of people are there to do games so we shall see... Tees just sounds a bit more games orientated. Plus they have Animex (looks v good from the website). And for other people's reference they said that they have got through the second round of examinations for the Skillset report. See: http://www.skillset.org/games/ This teacher I talked to said she is going to talk to some of her friends to get a bit more info. I'll post it if anyone is interested? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 22, 2006 if u doing any computer related course, then make SURE u have sufficient maths skill to back it up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 23, 2006 crap maths skills. im not that great but i think im improving im doing higher in my gcse's, so do you think i shouldmaybe take it onto college?? cosi really want to do a games devolpment course. Bolton, Salford and Manchester Uni all do it and they are in a 20 minute radius of me. so im planned for uni thats if i get good grades at a level. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 23, 2006 It's really strange to hear good things about Teesside uni as that was my local university when growing up, and if you went there you were seen as a bit of a loser/thicky. With entry requirements of EE for most subjects or something similarly low. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 23, 2006 Yeah, I've heard a lot of good things about bournemouth's animation course, infact my friend is starting it next year... I do however recommend the course which has the most practical work in whatever field you want to get into.... Don't want to learn to much theory and then have no idea one what you're doing when you actually get down to it.... =P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 23, 2006 Although it's all down to opinion, I wouldn't recommend De Montford as it's in Bedford. I've been to Bedford a couple of times for various reasons and I found it to be a pretty horrible place. Of course that's just opinion, you should check out the place first. I hope no one on this board is from Bedford! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 23, 2006 I am from Bedford. You're so wrong, it's awesome. :-P. I got a letter from Bournemouth inviting me to an interview on the 1st Feb. I don't think i'm interested in the course anymore as I prefer Leeds' New Media course that consists of web design, graphic design and 2d animation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
