In the introductory part of the course, common across all DMI courses, you will develop a specialised practice of your own whilst participating in digital media team production processes such as iterative design and agile development, along with project management skills.

The second part of the course is shared with the Games Development MA / MSc students and develops a portfolio of project work including modelling skills, shading, lighting, rendering, animation and rigging and associated skills such as rotoscoping and match moving.

In the later specialist MA modules there is a strong emphasis on digital modelling and texturing with the option of character rigging, and developing innovative project work that can be produced in collaboration with other students from across the whole suite.

In the later specialist MSc modules there is an emphasis upon high level 3D graphics programming for games and character rigging. Project work will provide the opportunity to contextualise and apply these individual skills by collaborating with other students from across the full DMi suite.

For your final project you will take a professional role (e.g. shading / texture supervisor, digital painter, shading TD, texture artist / texture painter etc.) in a team with students from the other courses to produce a professional piece of work.

Digital Interdisciplinary Practice (15 credit Core across whole suite)

Responding to the changes and new demands of the digital media Industries, the focus of Digital Interdisciplinary Practice is establishing students’ team-working skills through innovative project development practices devised in consultation with external advisors from industry. These may be innovative and complex and involve high-levels of creative problem solving and user testing, developing students’ ability to interpret, interact and participate in iterative design processes and agile development practices. Students’ will be expected to present work in the context of their own practice, making their understanding of development processes for digital media clear and contextualising their own contribution. They will also be expected to develop an understanding of how iterative design processes and agile development practices relate to career opportunities in the digital media industries, cultivate their professional practice and initiate professional standard working relationships towards group projects.

Digital Content Production Processes (15 credit Core across whole suite)

This module forms one of the cornerstones of the Digital Media suite of courses and is one of two modules that all students will take. Its focus is on the various modes of production such as but not limited to: games production, mobile computing, online social spaces and interactive media. Indicative content may include idea development formalisations, responding to a brief, researching the brief, developing a pitch, pre-production paperwork, production pipelines, post production and testing etc. These practices will be contextualised by emerging and constantly changing legal frameworks of intellectual property, digital rights in the 21^st Century and the increasing concerns over accessibility are also explored.

Fundamentals of CGI (15 credit Core 3D CGi MA/MSc & GD MA/MSc)

It is anticipated that students undertaking this module will already have experience of 3D computer generated imagery (CGI) in some form. This module develops student’s skills up to a level that will enable them to continue with project components at postgraduate level. This will include the theoretical aspects of CGI. The module will ensure that students are competent in the preferred industry standard software used on this postgraduate course.

Applications of CGI (15 credit Core 3D CGi MA/MSc & GD MA/MSc)

This module will further develop students’ skills in 3D CGI modelling and rendering to an advanced level. Students will specialise in the area specific to their overall degree course. This module will enable students to specialise in creating models for buildings, environments and interior spaces, photorealistic rendering and compositing into live action.

Digital Modelling & Texturing (30 credit Core 3D CGi MA/MSc)

This module enables students to develop further their skills in 3D modelling and the creation of digital textures, and the application of textures to the models. Furthermore students will develop a creative vision in relation to digital modelling and texturing. On completion of the module students will have a portfolio of shaded models, and will be able to show their models in various forms, such as wireframe, shaded and textured, in such a way as to illustrate their skills as modellers. Students will be encouraged to explore a variety of different modelling techniques and methodologies to produce clean geometry.

Character Rigging (15 credit Core 3D CGi MA/MSc)

Experience of the relevant professional 3D computer graphics application is required. Skills in the use of this application will be further developed. This module covers the essential part of the animation production pipeline which is character rigging. In a professional environment a character rig will be created by a character technical director and is used to enable the animators to intuitively control the character. The module contains a large element of practical computer based work. Assessment is by practical coursework project.

CHOOSE 15 credits:

Live Project (15 credit Option across whole suite)

This is an optional module for both the MA & MSc students and uses their previous experience to this point. This live brief will be customised and developed with a professional industry organisation or partner. The brief will set a demanding challenge for students to address future facing problems in digital media production.

Craft Project (15 credit Option MA/MSc 3D CGi, MSc GD & MSc UXD)

In this module students will individually research a digital media craft. Research will be undertaken into the individual techniques, skills and working methodologies of that craft. Students will need to adopt contemporary practices currently used within industry. At the end of the module students will need to display their ability in the craft with an appropriate individual project. This will be an individual project and the skills learnt should compliment the skills learnt in the taught part of the programme.

Examples of such craft skills are learning a specific aspect of 3D modelling, learning a scripting language, building user interfaces, learning a software application, developing skills in dynamic simulation, developing skills in high dynamic range imaging, learning a rendering application. This could be a craft skill that will be required for the student’s final major.

Games Design (15 credit Core MA GD & Option MA 3D CGi & MA UXD)

Game development is a highly complex, intensive process requiring teams of programmers, artists, project managers, writers, musicians and many others. The Game Designer is central to this process and designers must be able to communicate their vision to artists, programmers, producers, marketing staff, and others involved in the development process, and accept feedback on their work. This involves presenting ideas both verbally and on paper and in technical demos, in a range of 2D and 3D graphics and animation packages, with some programming skills at least at scripting’ level.

Creative Research Methods (15 credit Option across all MAs)

This module provides students with the opportunity to develop their own creative research methodologies while investigating a topic of their own choosing. It will address issues surrounding practice related research in digital media. These issues will be examined by looking at digital media works developed by a variety of practitioners / researchers, their methodologies and their position in research. The seminars will provide students with the appropriate research skills to develop their projects. We will examine how theory and practice run hand in hand to study and produce a practice-led proposal, developing visual research processes and methodologies with the aim to produce a digital media project and a written research paper.

Research Methods; Humanities (15 credit Option across all MAs)

This module encourages you to develop the fundamental research and writing skills needed to successfully undertake MA work, including the final dissertation. It also provides specialist help relating to electronic tools and resources relevant to current literary scholarship and research practice. Individual writing workshops allow you to analyse your own writing methods, as well as constructively analyse the writing of your peers and established authors.

Research Methods; Sciences (15 credit Option across all MScs)

Research Methods module provides the student with the research skills and techniques necessary to complete other modules and the project. This vital module will help you to select and justify a research topic, use various resources to carry out a literature search, and look at the structure and format of the project

High Level Games Programming (15 credit Core MSc GD, Option MSc 3D CGi)

The module covers the process of creating computer games using various graphics libraries together with high level games features such as particle systems, physics and behaviours. It aims to guide students through the process of creating 3D computer games to become familiar with and code using high level games development libraries.

Low Level Games Programming (15 credit Core MSc GD, Option MSc 3D CGi)

This module covers performance optimisation in games programming. It aims to introduce the essential concepts of optimised coding strategies applied to games programming, and relate these strategies to actual games hardware and to study strategies for optimised networked games programming.

Responding to the changes and new demands of the digital media Industries, the focus of Digital Interdisciplinary Practice is establishing students’ team-working skills through innovative project development practices devised in consultation with external advisors from industry. These may be innovative and complex and involve high-levels of creative problem solving and user testing, developing students’ ability to interpret, interact and participate in iterative design processes and agile development practices. Students’ will be expected to present work in the context of their own practice, making their understanding of development processes for digital media clear and contextualising their own contribution. They will also be expected to develop an understanding of how iterative design processes and agile development practices relate to career opportunities in the digital media industries, cultivate their professional practice and initiate professional standard working relationships towards group projects.

Digital Content Production Processes (15 credit Core across whole suite)

This module forms one of the cornerstones of the Digital Media suite of courses and is one of two modules that all students will take. Its focus is on the various modes of production such as but not limited to: games production, mobile computing, online social spaces and interactive media. Indicative content may include idea development formalisations, responding to a brief, researching the brief, developing a pitch, pre-production paperwork, production pipelines, post production and testing etc. These practices will be contextualised by emerging and constantly changing legal frameworks of intellectual property, digital rights in the 21^st Century and the increasing concerns over accessibility are also explored.

Fundamentals of CGI (15 credit Core 3D CGi MA/MSc & GD MA/MSc)

It is anticipated that students undertaking this module will already have experience of 3D computer generated imagery (CGI) in some form. This module develops student’s skills up to a level that will enable them to continue with project components at postgraduate level. This will include the theoretical aspects of CGI. The module will ensure that students are competent in the preferred industry standard software used on this postgraduate course.

Applications of CGI (15 credit Core 3D CGi MA/MSc & GD MA/MSc)

This module will further develop students’ skills in 3D CGI modelling and rendering to an advanced level. Students will specialise in the area specific to their overall degree course. This module will enable students to specialise in creating models for buildings, environments and interior spaces, photorealistic rendering and compositing into live action.

CHOOSE 60 credits:

Final Project; CISM (60 credit Option across all MScs)

This module constitutes the major individual piece of work of the Masters Programme where the student carries out a project involving independent critical research, design and implementation (where applicable). You will be expected to apply established research methods for independent research; develop an ability to organise and carry out an extended and independent study of work at postgraduate level; pursue in-depth studies of professional or academic relevance to the student and an organisation or a company and extend the knowledge and skills developed in the taught component of the course.

Final Project; SCi (60 credit Option 3D CGi MA & all MScs)

This module presents students with the opportunity to choose a specialism from the field of Digital Technology. Students will be able to build on the skills acquired in previous modules, and develop them to a standard appropriate for admission to the media industry. The choice of specialism will be determined by both the overall degree programme that they are following, and also the student’s particular interests. Whilst the project will be individual in nature, it may be undertaken as a collaboration with other students so as to form a greater piece of work.

Final Project; FASS (60 credit Option across all MAs)

Students are required to complete a substantial piece of work in the form of an interactive or convergent media project (this may include web, video; animation; audio, photographic; or mixed-media installation production). The project dissertation is equivalent to two units and is submitted at the end of the course. The project dissertation will be a completion of a practical project and accompanying reflective / critical paper.

Final Project; FADA (60 credit Option across all MAs)

The final Module of the course, the Final Major Project offers students the opportunity to undertake an approved period of tutored and independent learning, combining practical and academic skills, working on a subject of specialist interest. Each student is asked to produce a Project proposal, including proposed research study programme and submission format for approval before starting the Module. The project should normally be structured to balance a period of critical, sociological and/or historical research with a demonstration of design analysis, methods and creative development, aiming to extend the boundaries of knowledge regarding User Experience Design, Games Development or 3D Computer Generated Imaging. The study can relate to the development of existing template/s in one of the above fields or may focus on producing, designing, realising and / or theorising the development of new work in one of these fields.