Marking The Animation Masters Degree at Bucks

How does the Marking Work on our MA in Animation at Bucks? Marking can be appear to be a rather opaque process, so it's helpful to clarify some of the basics for our students.

The Master's Degree at Bucks is worth 180 credits overall, and has two components, academic and practical, with a roughly even balance between the two.

There are five Modules in the MA, each worth 30 credits, apart from the 18 month long dissertation module which is worth 60 credits.

Second Marking with Niki Brodie

Nicola Brodie

Last week we did some second marking of the MA work done by our Master's Degree students at Bucks. Second marking at Bucks is part of the process by which we ensure that our academic standards are being rigorously applied. Was the marking fair? Is it reasonable? Were the correct criterial applied?

Looking at your students' work through the eyes of another is a valuable exercise; it is a reminder of how personal marking can be, and how important it is to apply rigidly objective criteria. We don't always get it right, which is why second marking - also known as marking moderation - is so important.

How do we judge a great piece of animation?

Guilty....of not knowing The Twelve Principles of Animation

What are the criteria to apply to judge a good piece of animation? How do we critique an animator's work? Below are some of the things that we look for at Bucks when giving feedback to our students on their work. We don't pretend that this is an exhaustive list, but we think it's a pretty good start. Well-read animators will notice that these criteria have a lot to do with the Twelve Principles of Animation set out by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnstone in their classic book - The Illusion of Life. Every student should own a copy, or at least check one out from the library.