NFTS Named as Top Five Animation School in the World
Skwigly
The NFTS has once again been named one of the top five animation schools in the world in this year’s Animation Career Review 2020 School Rankings list. The NFTS Directing Animation MA and our Model Making for Animation Diploma courses are both highlighted, with the School named Number 5 in the world and Number 2 in Europe – a fantastic achievement! These are the eighth annual international rankings for animation by Career Animation Review who considered nearly 200 schools with animation programs from across the globe in preparing this year’s rankings.
NFTS Animation is a unique place that combines art school philosophy with professional state-of-the-art film school facilities. Uniting these worlds has resulted in innovative and creative films that have been celebrated around the world. Our ethos of collaboration between departments, such as model making, music composition, cinematography and producing means that our students are ready for employment in the animation industry as soon as they graduate. Recent students have gone on to write and direct everything from commercials to animated TV series to feature films such as Shaun the Sheep – Farmageddon. It’s fantastic that the Animation Career Review has recognised this remarkable environment and put us so high in the world’s league tables.
– Robert Bradbrook, Head of NFTS Directing Animation MA
Not only do my students create wonderful models, props and puppets, but they also support the fabulous Directing Animation MA course on some of the School’s stop frame graduate film animations. With the Model Making students on board over the last two years, the quality of models and puppets in the grad films has significantly stepped up a level. The animation directors have very much enjoyed the collaboration and I’m sure that upward trend will continue as we increase our profile with accolades such as the well-deserved rankings from Careeer Animation Review. During my career, I’ve had the pleasure of working on three classic stop frame animations; Fantastic Mr Fox, Frankenweenie and Isle of Dogs so it’s a natural progression for me to share some of the skills I’ve picked up over the years with this new generation of artists emerging from the NFTS.
– John Lee, NFTS Head of Model Making for Animation
After a phenomenal 2019, with a host of graduate films selected for the most prestigious festivals around the world including Annecy and Cannes, 2020 graduate film, O Black Hole written and directed by recent Directing Animation graduate Renee Zhan has been shortlisted for Animafest Zagreb 2020.
NFTS graduate Renee Zhan working on her animation ‘O Black Hole’ at the School
Applications are now open for our one year Model Making for Animation Diploma: Apply by 31st May to start in September 2020: nfts.co.uk/modelmaking
Applications are now open for our two year Directing Animation MA for a January 2021 start: nfts.co.uk/directing-animation