Computer Generated Imagery (3D) MSc

Facts about Computer Generated Imagery (3D)

Qualification	MSc
Duration	Full time: 1 year Part time: 2 years
Attendance	To be confirmed
Assessment	Essays, presentations, research projects, dissertation, software implementation
Course structure
This course is part of Digital Media Kingston. For more information please visit www.digitalmediakingston.com.

Choose Kingston's 3D Computer Generated Imagery MSc

This programme runs as part of a suite of six courses available from Digital Media Kingston: User Experience Design MA/MSc, Games Development MA/MSc and 3D Computer Generated Imagery MA/MSc.

This new suite of courses are twinned across the arts and sciences to prepare you for employment in the digital media industry where teams of specialists work together to develop and author innovative digital media projects.

The courses have been specifically designed to utilise the best digital media expertise and resources from across the three faculties of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA); Art and Social Sciences (FASS); and Science, Engineering and Computing (SEC). They have been developed in consultation with our industry panel which includes representatives from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, DreamWorks and Samsung Design Europe.

The emphasis on project and team work provides an industry-focused learning experience where you can hone your own specialist skills in a professional context. Work placements, real projects, internships and an industry mentoring scheme mean these courses will arm you for entry into the fast-growing and highly competitive digital media arena.

What will you study?

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 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.

Course structure

Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list. Those listed here may also be a mixture of core and optional modules.

Core modules

Digital Interdisciplinary Practice
Digital Interdisciplinary Practice

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
Digital Content Production Processes

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
Fundamentals of CGI

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
Applications of CGI

This module will further develop your skills in 3D CGI modelling and rendering to an advanced level. You will specialise in the area specific to your overall degree course. This module will enable you to specialise in creating models for buildings, environments and interior spaces, photorealistic rendering and compositing into live action.
Digital Modelling and Texturing
Digital Modelling and Texturing

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

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.

Option modules

Craft Project
Craft Project

In this module you will individually research a digital media craft. Research will be undertaken into the individual techniques, skills and working methodologies of that craft. You will need to adopt contemporary practices currently used within industry. At the end of the module you will need to display your 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 your final major project.
Live Project
Live Project

This optional module for both MA and MSc students uses your previous experience to this point. A live brief will be customised and developed with a professional industry organisation or partner. This will set a demanding challenge for you to address future facing problems in digital media production.
Research Methods
High Level Games Programming
High Level Games Programming

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 you through the process of creating 3D computer games to become familiar with code using high level games development libraries.
Programming Low Level Architecture
Programming Low Level Architecture

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.