The Third Year

For the third year of my education I would like to start a new degree from year one starting September 2018. I want to do this to get the full experience and knowledge of the university course as well as to help make better social connections in the University. For this I have chosen three courses which I am going to apply to thought UCAS.

The first course is Design for Film and TV BA (Hons) at Nottingham Trent University ( https://www.ntu.ac.uk/study-and-courses/courses/find-your-course/art-design/ug/2018-19/ba-hons-design-for-film-and-television ), the degree focuses on the design of sets and props and scenery for film and TV. The course looks into illustration, story boarding, concept art, maquette making, prop making, and working of script with multiple chances to work in placement in the industry and help form connections. The pros of this degree are that it covers the whole design process meaning there are plenty of career options and places to specialise with in it, the degree also have good industry links and high employment rates (nut.ac.uk 2017). It also has high student satisfaction rates and real world experience which is vital for a career in design. However as it stands I want to go down the concept art route looking more into creator creation then scenery which is a con to the degree but it might just have to be something I could work into the degree or work on outside of it as no other local degree has such a film design specific degree.

The second course I have chosen is Illustration BA (Hons) at Birmingham City University ( http://www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/illustration-ba-hons-2018-19 ), the degree focuses on illustration and its practical application. The courses looks into all possible disciplines in illustration and gives the student the freedom to learn what they want and take it into any direction they like which would be great for me who would take it in a more concept art direction (bcu.ac.uk 2017). The course also has industry links and focuses of real world application of illustrational as well as the artistic side of it, prepping you for the industry. However it does have one big issue, its illustration based and not Film and TV design based, meaning I won’t get the same sort of connections or understanding with the industry though this course which could make it harder to get a job in it after graduation; that might be worth it for the understanding in illustration I would get.

The last course I have chosen is Illustration BA (Hons) at Wolverhampton University ( http://courses.wlv.ac.uk/course.asp?code=VC030H31UVD ), the course focuses on helping the individual student and preparing them for free-lance work. The course looks into mainly traditional techniques and methods while also preparing the student for freelance work in the industry (wlv.ac.uk 2017). The best part of this is that it focuses heavily on the individual student and where they want to go similarly to the last one which could be great for me giving me that individualism, the course also has a high satisfaction rate and has lower grade entries then the other which could make for a good backup plan. However due to its traditional focuses that could be an issue but it did state it could go in other areas it just would be as developed as say the previous course in understanding more modern techniques. It also has the problem of accommodation, both of the previous universities are next to or near train stations making commuting pretty easy, however due to the placement of Wolverhampton University commuting would be very hard and so it would mean staying in accommodation which is something I wanted to avoid due to financial reasons but it might have to be some to do I choose this degree.

Conclusively looking though these degrees is obvious that the Nottingham Trent degree is my first choice and certainly the most suitable for the path I want my career to take but I do think that Birmingham City could be a good alternative and Wolverhampton a good backup plan just in case the others do not work out so well, overall I will apply for all three in my UCAS entry.