Moving Image
Stories and how we tell them are at the core of human narrative. We exist in a world where the screen holds powerful cultural capital. Responding to developments in an ever changing landscape, the BA Moving Image Design at NCAD offers a range of approaches at the nexus of traditional communication and the evolving world of digital media. This new and exciting programme encompasses the field of motion design in its many guises and encourages a creative and expressive approach to storytelling.
What will I study?
Students have the opportunity to explore a range of media and approaches, including various methods of animation, motion graphics, special FX, interaction, live action, dramatic and short-form documentary filmmaking. The programme is founded on strong design principles of research, content-generation and development, problem-identification and problem-solving. We value experimentation and thinking over ready-made and easily identifiable solutions, and we encourage processes that will develop our students’ individual style and voice.
Year 1
The first year experience for BA students at NCAD begins with a foundational semester of interdisciplinary Art and Design creative practice and research. In the second semester all Design students undertake 6 weeks of projects spent within your chosen design department. This is to give you a working taste of your chosen discipline and/or those that you are interested in. The second half of Semester 2 introduces students to key process-es and practices in your chosen design discipline, encouraging the creative and critical development of a personal practice and introducing fundamental disciplinary design and technical methods.
Year 2
The focus in the second year is on developing a personal visual language and the skills necessary to translate this into successful Moving Image Design practice. You will focus on researching and defining a specific audience and/or subject while developing a market understanding through professional practice and collaboration.
Year 3: Studio+ & International
Studio+ is an optional year open to all Design students allowing you to engage with the world beyond NCAD by gaining practical work experience in the form of internships and industry placements on live commercial, social or community projects. Studio+ can also include a work placement abroad or a study abroad period through the Erasmus programme with internationally recognised design faculties partnered with NCAD. Students who choose Studio+ will complete a 4 year BA in Moving Image Design or a 4 year BA Moving Image Design (International).
Final Year
In the final year students are ready to develop their own programme of study, which reflects each individual’s skills and interests within the field of Moving Image Design. All work is under-pinned by strong conceptual thinking and supported by detailed design research. Their studies will culminate in a substantial body of work for assessment and display at degree shows, exhibitions and events. Each year is supported by a series of lectures by leading creative practitioners and theorists, collaborative interdisciplinary opportunities, live industry projects, field trips, and study visits.
How will I be assessed?
Coursework, essays, practical design projects and assessments take place at key points throughout the programme. Formal assessment results are issued at the end of each academic year.
Critical Cultures
A key component of your curriculum in every year is the study of Critical Cultures. This is where you study the connections between history, theory and practice in modern and contemporary contexts in order to become a critically engaged, reflective and effective practitioner.
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Opportunities after graduation
Our graduates will find employment in the fields of digital/graphic design and multi-media, the advertising sector, public sector bodies and cultural institutions, in television, film, online-publishing and exhibition design. Our graduates will be leaders in their fields – creatives who work as lone-voice authors or collaborators within multi-disciplinary teams, capable of organising and visualising data, designing identity, imagining and translating unusual and emerging worlds and concepts. They will be storytellers in the purest form. They will be sought after as content creators and curators for the grow-ing and ever-diversifying social, cultural, business and informational sectors. Increasingly, graduates progress to further study at postgraduate level to refine their creative abilities and approach. The School of Design offers a range of innovative masters programmes, as well as a practice-based PhD programme.