NFTS Animation Course Handed Skillset Accreditation

The National Film and Television School (NFTS) has been awarded a Skillset accreditation for its MA in Animation Direction following significant praise from industry assessors.
Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the Creative Media Industries, was particularly impressed with how students on the two-year, full-time course are taught core craft skills, at the same time as being encouraged to specialise and maintain individuality.
The panel of industry representatives found that the MA Animation Direction course has an active and extensive relationship with the industry. This includes regular visiting lecturers and student placements, masterclasses and industry advisory boards feeding in to the curriculum.
For their final film, students work as animation directors, leading a team from other NFTS departments that includes art directors, designers, cinematographers, producers, editors, sound designers, composers and visual effects artists.
Collaboration across the other MA specialisations reflects industry practice and provides students with a realistic experience of directing an animation production, it was found. Assessors also noted the commitment of the NFTS' own industry advisory board.
Alumni from the course include Sharon Colman, whose student film Badgered was nominated for an Oscar, and Tibor Banoczki, whose graduation film Milk Teeth won the Jury's Special award at Annecy and the Best Student Film Award at Ottawa. Other luminaries include Nick Park (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), Tony Collingwood (Yoko! Jakamoto! Toto!) and Mark Baker (Peppa Pig).
Kate O'Connor, Skillset's Executive Director of Policy and Development, said: "We are delighted that the NFTS course has been accredited. It clearly has all the ingredients to give students a very impressive base from which to enter the world of work. Skillset looks forward to seeing students past, present and future going from strength to strength and achieving great things."
NFTS Director Nik Powell said: "From the very start, our animation course has always championed storytelling and characterisation, as well as engagement with other filmmaking disciplines - as was shown by Nick Park in the early days and is still shown by the 25 awards won by our animation films last year. We're thrilled that our unique approach has been recognised with this Skillset accreditation. It's a tribute to the dedication of the teaching and technical staff - not to mention the commitment and enthusiasm of our students, past and present. "
It is the ninth UK Animation course to have been given a Skillset accreditation, a signposting scheme for reaching industry standards and preparing students for the world of work. Others are:

• BA (Hons) Animation Production at the Arts University College at Bournemouth
• BA (Hons) Computer Visualisation and Animation at Bournemouth University
• BA Computer Animation/BA Animation at the Glamorgan Centre for Art & Design Technology
• BA (Hons) at the University of Wales, Newport
• BA (Hons) Animation at University for the Creative Arts at Farnham
• BA (Hons) Computer Animation at the University of Teesside and;
• BA (Hons) Animation at the Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication

Further information is available at: www.nfts.co.uk.
(KMcA/BMcC)