BA (Hons) VFX
The year in review
Words by Professor Richard Sawdon Smith, Dean of Arts and Media
BA (Hons) VFX at NUA has always had a very close connection with industry, having been successfully established in 2015 with the support of key industry partners and advisors including the UK Screen Alliance and ScreenSkills, as well as major UK visual effects companies.
Some of the best visual effects companies in the world, from ILM to DNEG, have provided masterclasses, and this year was no exception with talks from the likes of Haz Dulull (Disney), Julian Foddy and James Mohan (ILM), Magale Barbe (independent), and Valentina Baruffo (Pixel Fudge) a 3D Artist working in Architectural Visualisation.
Five students have themselves gained paid work experience at VFX company Lexhag East, working on a recently aired BBC production. Student projects this year have included a Live brief for a short Sci-fi film written by award winning writer Stephen Laughton.
Another element of the course is working closely with industry body Access:VFX, which saw NUA students assisting on workshops delivered by industry practitioners at five key events across East Anglia. The culmination of this month-long initiative was an industry hub day at NUA. In addition many VFX students are being supported by industry professionals through the Access:VFX mentorship scheme.
It only leaves me to say what an amazing cohort of graduating students we have, although only a few examples to share with you at this point, who have worked tirelessly to develop their passion into achievable future career plans. Students have mastered and demonstrated a range of both technical and creative skills, which really signal the distinctiveness of this course in both attracting high calibre students and producing such highly employable graduates.
Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation
Pheya Tribelsky
Deans’ Award for Studentship
Catrin Hâf Feron
Dhru Tailor
