Animation education in Scotland: a framework for training environments and individual growth

Abstract

The Animation sector in Scotland relies on a successful collaboration between industry and the educational bodies who provide the training and background for the workforce. Over the past twenty years, this has often been strained due to changes in both sectors each facing their own challenges. A lack of consistency in this relationship has resulted in difficulty for students when identifying development pathways and contributes to potential ability gaps when graduating, making the transition into industry challenging. The purpose of this practice-based research is to scrutinise the ways in which industry and education have collaborated within Scottish animation and propose a framework for education which can develop a resilient, future facing, cohort.

Exploring this research using a rhizomatic methodological approach, this research engaged with a number of interviews across industry and education perspectives and studied literature from sporting domains in order to work towards an appropriate solution. Through the sporting lens of a development environment, both industry and education will be established in macro and microenvironments to better understand their impact on individuals training within the medium. With an environment suitable for Scottish animation established, animation pedagogy will then be examined and a more holistic approach with emphasis on an animator’s mindset will be proposed.

This thesis outlines infrastructural proposals in response to the research and discusses ways in which shared knowledge with sporting domains can impact positive change to development pathways in Scottish animation. Alongside the research, an animated documentary will be presented to act as provocation for discussion and also as an autoethnographic research on approaching practice. The overall aim of this doctorate will be to present a tangible method that will see a more cohesive network between industry and education, contributing original research to the pedagogical approaches to animation practice and theory.