Online Resources at BNU

Working from home

In these uncertain times it's important to remember that we have many online resources at Bucks New Uni, lots of ways of supporting our students who are currently working from home.

As long as you have a laptop and a decent broadband connection, our students can continue to work remotely, following tutorials, working on projects and also working in teams on platforms such as Facebook and Slack.

Our Online MA in 3D Animation already offers feedback and support to all our students via email, online classrooms, bespoke video feedback, and through our online learning resources with our partner school Animation Apprentice.

Facebook Classroom
We have Facebook Classrooms for all the animation classes. As an online classroom, these closed groups are already well-used forums where students post their work to get feedback,  and where we run animation dailies.

For team projects, students are encouraged to set up their own classrooms either at Facebook or using other virtual collaboration platforms such as Slack.

Online learning
We also have a range of tutorials hosted at the Animation Apprentice official site, which teach the art and craft of animation. All of our students can learn a huge amount online. If there is a video you need, but can't find, let us know, and we'll get a new tutorial video uploaded to the channel. 

Video Feedback
Our students will need detailed video feedback on their work. If you're a student at Bucks New University and need video feedback on your shot, send the Maya file to me (don't forget to include the audio file if there is one) at alex@animationapprentice.org and I'll send you frame-by-frame video feedback. My videos are recorded using Camtasia, but there are many other platforms available for recording video feedback.

Toonboom Harmony - Free 30 Day License
One software company, Toonboom, are offering free 30 day licenses for students working from home at this time. To find out more, follow this link.

Autodesk Maya - free student and teacher license
You can download your free copy of Maya for educational use here.

These are uncertain times. But let's focus on the positive, and find ways to keep all our projects moving forwards.

For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK.