A short description of each unit and what you can expect.
Year 1
Unit 1 - Introduction to Technical Arts for Theatre and Performance
This unit is an introduction to your course, the college and the university. It will set out industry basics within the field of technical arts for theatre and performance.
You will be introduced to key fundamental principles of practice including:
- Concept and design
- Materials
- Fabrication
- Applied and interactive arts
Unit 2 - Designing and Making 1
This unit will introduce you to:
- Working processes of interpreting design and realising ideas to scale and accuracy
- Initial technical skills used within technical arts theatre practice to explore materials and construction methods
- Basic principles relating to life modelling
- An introduction to creating a blog to professional standard
You will experience this through:
- Technical workshops
- Seminars, lectures, talks and tutorials
- Project work
- Developing a personal reflective journal
- Using your reflective journal to create an online blog
Unit 3 - Designing and Making 2
This unit will introduce you to a range of specialist skills and processes such as moulding, casting and digital 3D equivalents.
- You will undertake set project work
- Begin to develop ongoing digital and technical capabilities in taught sessions
- Reflect upon and record your experiences in your online blog
- Continue to record techniques, notes and skills in your reflective journal
Unit 4 - Exploring ideas
The emphasis of this unit will be to broaden your perspective of technical arts. You will make wider connections to your practice. You will begin to develop responsive and flexible designs.
- You will encounter complex process involved in practicing technical arts
- Have an introduction to the mechanics of interactive objects and modelling
- Expand on your technical skills and experiences of relevant equipment
- Undertake practical tasks in a variety of formats
- Research and analyse contemporary and historical viewpoints, relevant to technical arts practice
- Record your ongoing learning experiences in your reflective journal and update your online blog
Unit 5 - Who are you? Establishing practice
In this unit you will develop and make a prototype using your current skills.
- You will creatively research and explore a project in your area of interest
- Produce an outcome that demonstrates your learning and understanding of technical arts to-date
- Document your experiences on your online blog
Year 2
Unit 6 - Practice as laboratory
In this unit you will undertake projects that will refine your current interests in technical arts practice.
- You will continue to develop your technical skills in the areas of life modelling, digital capabilities and software
- Work on projects that cover planning, research, technical drawing and representation to implement a technical project
- Build your awareness of major production houses to expand your knowledge of the current industry
- Continue to use your reflective journal and online blog
Unit 7 - Collaborative and collective practices
This unit aims to introduce you to different ways in which collaborative working can focus and enhance your own creative strengths. This unit has 3 core purposes:
- To engage with fellow students with different practices and interests in a collaborative project
- To engage with external audiences, participants or institutions to consider new contexts for your work
- To develop your creative attributes to enable you to take on future challenges in a variety of contexts
Unit 8 - Where in the world? 1
This unit will allow you to produce a more complex project in the areas of either creature or model design. You will undertake creative technical research to challenge current conventions of practice and understanding to develop your visual and communication skills further.
During the unit you will:
- Reflect on the previous experiences of collaborative working to design and realise a realistic project within the given time
- Develop ongoing technical practice
- Engage with and respond to broader concepts and themes encountered during the unit
- Write a 2500 word essay responding to a concept or theme you encounter in the unit
- Apply or undertake work placements or an industry-based research project
- Work on your CV and professional portfolio
Unit 9 - Where in the world? 2
In this unit you will develop and complete a self-directed project in one of the following 4 areas - concept and design, material research, fabrication or interactive and applied arts. This unit will allow you to situate your current achievements in an industry context.
- You will design and prepare a self-directed project
- Continue to use your reflective journal
- Edit your online blog to a professional level
- During this unit you can undertake a work placement
Year 3
Unit 10 - Finding your voice: portfolio design, crafting research skills, career planning
Your final year project will be self-directed and involve extended pieces of work. The unit has 3 elements:
- Research portfolio - a visual and reflective project that demonstrates your research voice within your practical work
- Creative research project (also known as a dissertation) which can be written, filmed or presented
- Personal profile - development of a personal profile for potential employment
Unit 11 - Show your work: independent practice
This final unit enables you bring together all the ideas and learning from the course. You will undertake a major self-determined, independent, complex project to evidence practice and interests in your specialist area.
You may engage with a wide field of practice within the entertainment industry. This could relate to film, live production event creation, museum exhibition, digital gaming, VR or other environment creation for screen or live performance.
- You will continue a self-directed programme of practice and related research
- Have seminars and talks on working in technical arts for theatre and performance
- Plan or mount work of an exhibition standard, to a professional level demonstrating professional standards
Optional Diploma between Year 2 and 3
Between year 2 and 3 you can opt to undertake the Diploma in Professional Studies or the UAL Diploma in Creative Computing. Whilst these Diplomas are an optional aspect of the course, they are designed as an integrated and assessed part of your journey through the course.