Film Production Online Course | Foundation Film & Animation

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This exciting course gives students the confidence and skills to create fluent, individual and highly creative artwork/films for their portfolio. Upon completion, students will have a careful curated personal portfolio which can be used to progress to top University and employment as professional qualified Filmmakers and Animators.

Our stimulating Film and Animation course has a strong practical focus, embracing a broad range of approaches and media, across contexts such as editorial, illustration, storyboarding / sequential narrative and production techniques. All this is further underpinned by contextual studies and the development of students’ professional persona and identity. Students will learn everything from film production to animation and illustration in our online course.

Successful graduates, along with their Film and Animation portfolio, will earn a Foundation Diploma qualification. The professional certification is equivalent to 2 or 3 A Levels in terms of UCAS points, depending on final grade attained and is nationally accredited by the UK’s largest vocational awarding body, SEG ABC Awards.

Entry requirements

In order to complete our online Film and Animation course, students must meet the following requirements:

Be aged 16 years or over
Hold 5 GCSEs / IGCSEs including Maths, English and Art or Photography (or have a strong portfolio), or equivalent international qualifications
Mature students do not need to have an exam qualification. You will need some ability to draw and paint, and have a desire to succeed. Please send an example of your work if unsure of the level.

Our Foundation Film and Animation course is an online course. You must have access to a good internet connection as well as basic art supplies in order to complete the course.

Study Options

Create storyboards, illustrations, show reels and much more in a way that suits you. We offer full and part-time programmes so that study fits your lifestyle:

Part-time programmes (2 years): available all year around – enrolling now
Full-time programmes (1 year): start December to January and September to October. Exceptions may apply.

Accreditations and UCAS Points

Our online Film and Animation foundation diploma is fully accredited by the UK’s largest exam awarding body. Graduates will leave with a fully recognised qualification.

Accreditation: SEG ABC Awards
OFQUAL Regulated: Yes (Ofqual number 500/8476/8)
UCAS Tariff: up to 112 points – equivalent to two A Levels at A* grade in terms of points – university entry requires 80 -100 UCAS points
UCAS application supported: Yes

Additional Course Information

Portfolio support: Yes
Tuition: Face to face, one to one – unlimited
Progression: to any University / BA Honours Degree

Level 3 or Level 4?

The qualification that students will receive is a Level 3 Diploma. Level 3 qualifications are FE (further education) and prepare for University. LEAs fund students up to this level and the qualification carries UCAS points for entry into HE (higher education).

There is a final graded unit which is actually a Level 4 unit, which helps students prepare for HE, as it gives experience at this slightly higher level. This unit shows on your transcript for the qualification (the sheet that breaks down all units, credits and grade) as a Level 4 unit. However, the qualification is awarded as a Level 3 qualification overall.

The exam board do offer a Level 4 foundation diploma, but it does not carry any UCAS points whatsoever, so it is unlikely to be useful to any of our students. (This is because Level 4 is seen as HE and not FE.) If students want to go for a Level 4 version of the course, they can, but this is to be discussed once enrolled, as it will mean no UCAS points! The degree that students go on to study will be level 4+, so there is no need to gain a Level 4 qualification at this stage.

Students receive access to their own online studio where they can work through the units for their animation and film production courses. Units and assignments are listed along with supporting resources, video tutorials for skills development, step-by-step guides and more useful materials to help students obtain their foundation diploma. Photographs of students’ completed work are uploaded to their college e-studio for assessment and constructive, friendly written feedback on how to progress. Additionally, students are invited to discuss, with an industry experienced and qualified personal tutor, their progress and receive face to face verbal feedback, encouragement, and support. Students may also benefit from relationships with their fellow online students as they can view profiles and comment on each other's film and animation work if they wish.

The course comprises three distinct stages; Exploratory stage, Pathway stage and finally Confirmatory stage. Each stage is 12 to 24 weeks in duration depending on whether you study full-time or part-time. These can be extended if required.

1. The Exploratory stage is the first stage of the course, where you will explore different areas of art and develop valuable skills. Within each discipline, you will use a range of materials and processes, building solid experience and expertise.

You are offered 5 projects from which you study 3:

Photography (mandatory)
Fine Art
Graphic Design and Illustration
3D (Architecture, 3d Design, Sculpture)
Fashion and Textiles

2. The Pathway stage is where you choose which discipline you wish to explore further and at a greater depth. Your tutors will work with you, offering advice based on your work from the exploratory phase, to help inform your decision. The final decision is of course yours.

3. The Confirmatory stage is the final stage of the foundation diploma and accounts for 100% of your final grade. With the support of your tutor, you will write a statement of intent outlining your chosen final major project. Your final major project is a practical assessment and can be in any form you choose; a show reel, a dress, a series of photographs, a painting, an animation, a design for an interior, architectural design, a video game etc.