academics : departments

Anim/Fx : Animation & Special Effects

This versatile and generalist curriculum allows to discover professionally traditional and digital animation. A good integration in the business world…

The Anim/Fx training allows you to gain technical skills developing creative talents required for animation and special effects occupations. You will really discover the audiovisual world and learn various animation techniques.

A versatile technical education in animation

IMC Normandie trains students to the three principal animation techniques: the 3D digital animation, the traditional animation in 2D (cartoon) and the stopmotion animation (item’s animation, modeling clay, puppets, pixilation…). The students can develop their projects using the technique they want to use.

A complete education

From screenplay to montage, the student discovers all creation and production stages of an animation film during theoretical and practical courses, with exercices and real filming.

An in-depth education in special effects

Anim/Fx students are also educated in shooting (camera courses, light, film making in front of a green screen…) and in special effects either by individual or collective projects, or in collaboration with directors.

The objectives

This training course permits to gain the following skills:

Screenplay writing.
Conception of a story-board and of a layout.
Control of a production budget

In 3D (Computer Generated Imagery)

Master a CGI software (3DS MAX)
Modeling
Skinning
Animation
Texture mapping
Camera, lighting…

In 2D (cartoon)

Master the creation of a model sheet.
Master the techniques of cartoons.

In stopmotion animation (puppets)

Master the development of a marionette (modeling, casting, frame)
Master the organization of a shooting set.
- Camera
- Lighting
- Set
- Animation image by image (stop motion)

In Fx

Master compositing technique (crossover between real life shooting and animation)
Master digital optical effects.

Special Effects
Visual effects, compositing...

Cartoons

3D Animation/CGI

Stop Motion Animation

The Anim/Fx training allows to apply for the following positions:
- 3D modeler
- 3D animator
- Director of photography and cameraperson
- Character designer
- Project manager
- Animation film director
- Special effects achiever
- Credits director
- Story boarder
- Graphic designer- special effects specialist 2D-3D
- Montage specialist
- Volume sculptor and modeler
- Stopmotion animator
- Cartoon animator…

Curriculum

First year: Core curriculum

The first year curriculum focuses on two main fields:

Learning the basic skills required in the fields of animation and special effects, theoretically, practically, technically and artistically.
Putting into practice this knowledge through the collective and complete process of making a fiction movie. (from writing to post-production). This film production will allow you to practice and to understand the different positions involved in the making of a film: pre-production with screenplay, story-board and production courses; filming techniques with camera, lighting, sound pick-up, actors direction, acting special effects with modeling and casting, 2D and 3D, makeup, set building, accessories creation…

Common courses

Screenplay
Economy of cinema
Cinema and animation history
Film analysis
English
Story-board
Improvisation

Specific Anim/Fx courses

Technical learning (Image, Sound and Montage)
2D Animation
3D Animation
Stopmotion Animation
Modeling and casting
Drawing/ storyboard

Second year: specialization

The second year is a specialization year with more specifics courses supervised by professionals.

Continuing your theoretical training, you will realize short exercises in 2D, stopmotion and 3D. Conversely, you will prepare your graduation project (technique choice, synopsis, draft of the screenplay).

Third year: professionalization

The third year is dedicated to research and autonomy concerning your personal projects.
You will work on your graduation project. The aim of the year is to work on each stage of film making: writing, shooting script, preparation, filming, montage and sound mixing.
The training staff will assure permanent support.
The graduation film will be a real “business card” in the audiovisual world. You will also carry on your training with softwares: 3DS MAX, After Effect, Photoshop with a specific course on Maya.