Industrialisation of animation education

Abstract

This chapter explores the pressure on animation courses to produce highly skilled, technically proficient graduates who are 'ready for industry' and the pressure that this places on students to be technically excellent upon completion of their studies. This presents a problem for academics, as there is only a finite amount of time to enable students to understand approaches to becoming a creative practitioner, develop a specialist practice and acquire practical, technical and effective communication skills. The emphasis that industry representatives place on purely technical skills presents issues for courses who are, at the same time, enabling students to become independent thinkers and innovators who can function creatively within their chosen discipline to a high level. The purpose of this chapter is to bring this discussion to the fore and explore the impact it has on students' approaches to their education.