Vocational IT students at Nelson and Colne College Sixth Form have been learning about the technology behind the media during a visit to the National Media Museum
The National Media Museum is an exciting centre in the heart of the north devoted to film, photography, television, radio and the web. As Information Technology plays such a vital part in the development of the media, the College was keen to take its vocational IT students to the museum so they could gather further inspiration about jobs in this exciting industry.
A group of twenty five students from the College’s First Diploma in ICT course joined in the visit, which had special emphasis on the use of IT in animation. The students took part in a stop animation workshop run by a professional animator and were taught how to make characters and film them using industry standard technology. This is the same technology used in the making of such films as Wallace and Gromit. After the workshop, the students were given a guided tour of the history of animation – which included a detailed explanation of the types of animation that the students will need to understand in order to complete their assignments. The day finished off with a 3D IMAX experience, watching a film about how NASA repaired the Hubble telescope.
Feedback from the group has been extremely positive, with many students citing the relevance to their course as a benefit. Zeshan Mirza said, “I really enjoyed learning about and making the animation with Jack the animator. However, the whole museum was a great day out and I was amazed by the real-life feel of the IMAX! I am definitely going to go back and watch other Films there.”
