Want to turn movie stars into monsters? Our Special Make-up Effects for Film and TV degree course focuses on helping you develop specialist skills and creative know-how. We offer fantastic facilities and industry-experienced staff dedicated to preparing you for a career in this ground-breaking creative industry.

Key information

Award:

BDes (Hons)

Mode of Study:

Full-time

Duration:

3 years

Location:

University of Bolton

UCAS points:

104

UCAS code:

W610

Start date:

To be confirmed

Course Details

From superheroes to sci-fi, and horror to history, many TV shows and movies need special effects make-up to enhance their on-screen storytelling. Actors can be utterly transformed into aliens, zombies, pirates and vampires, while more subtle make-up effects convince us of injuries, scars, tattoos or wrinkles. All these special effects are created by dedicated and highly-skilled make-up artists and our BDes (Hons) Special Make-up Effects for Film and TV course focuses on preparing you for a career creating these illusions.

We offer an intensely practical education in special effects make-up. We’ll lead you in an exploration of prosthetics and changing physical appearances, including aspects such as life-casting, clay sculpting, creating silicone masks, applying prosthetics, adding hair and colouring techniques. We’ll encourage you to experiment with materials, tools and techniques, and discover how prosthetics and make-up can combine with 3D computer graphics to create even more spectacular on-screen transformations.

This highly creative industry demands transferable skills too – communication, project and time management, team-working and entrepreneurship are all needed for success in this largely freelance profession. We aim to support you to develop these attributes, alongside the imagination, flair and curiosity that will enable you to push the boundaries of special effects make-up.

Highlights

You don’t have to worry about the cost of the make-up and materials needed to complete your studies – we provide these for you. This means you can concentrate on learning how to use expensive industry-standard materials, like silicones and resins, rather than worrying about how you are going to pay for them!
Neill Gorton, multi-award winning artist/designer and founder of the world-renowned Millennium FX company, is our Visiting Professor of Special Effects. His astonishing range of professional experience, knowledge of cutting-edge techniques and industry contacts brings enormous benefits.
You’ll have your own personal bench space and locker in our dedicated special effects studio, providing a secure base for your studies. You’ll also have access to our fantastic range of SFX facilities, including our make-up studio, casting and moulding room, boutique film studio, and 3D workshop.
We’re committed to helping develop your employability and career network. You’ll be encouraged to attend guest lectures that enhance your learning and help you make contacts in the industry. For instance, the award-winning make-up artists Richard Martin and Nick Dudman have recently shared their expertise with students on our SVFX courses.
Alongside your special effects make-up skills and knowledge, we’ll support you to develop a broader understanding of production design, including concepting, cinematography and composition. This will help you appreciate the roles, skills and expectations of other professionals working in the industry.
We’ll encourage you to research, analyse, design and develop make-up techniques so that you can take an idea from a brief or script scene and find the most time-efficient, cost-effective and visually impressive way to turn that vision into reality.

Key Features

The course is designed in collaboration with professional special effects make-up artists and studio directors. This ensures that the content is industry-relevant and includes the latest techniques, materials and innovations.
We’ll help and support you to develop a portfolio of work/show reel that demonstrates your skills in readiness to impress potential employers.
Course assignments and projects mimic industry pipelines and standards so your experience is a realistic preparation for a career in special effects make-up.
Our dedicated staff team have a wide range of professional experience, industry knowledge, technical expertise and academic credentials, offering you a variety of perspectives and broadening your horizons.
We offer a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
We prefer to keep lecture and practical classes relatively small, so that you have plenty of opportunities to us ask questions and get individual help, as well as benefit from the ideas and support offered by your classmates.

104 UCAS points. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points.
Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3. You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent) including English and Mathematics.
You'll be required to attend for interview and to provide a portfolio of appropriate work.
The quality of the portfolio/interview is the primary basis on which applicants are selected; therefore special consideration will be given to applicants without the above qualifications who have a strong portfolio.
If English isn’t your first language you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

A special effects make-up artist applies make-up on actors and performers to aid in the characters' theatrical transformations. As a graduate you will develop a range of key transferable skills which include the ability to communicate well, present ideas and concepts, work independently and as part of a team, work under pressure and to deadlines and plan and organise your work. You will also develop a range of creative skills and abilities such as good make-up application, an understanding of industry standard materials, an understanding of anatomy, development of sculpture techniques and an understanding of how to translate abstract design ideas into practical applications.

What can I do with this qualification?

This degree equips graduates for careers in film, commercials, theatre and television special make-up effects production. Graduates may work directly for a production company or theatre, or they may be self-employed. You could be engaged in a workshop-type environment or working on a large scale film or TV set as part of a creative team. Graduates may also be employed in special effects production for stage and could also find employment in the many creative industries and entertainment industries rapidly developing in the UK such as prosthetics and model making.

Alternative career options

A graduate could find additional work opportunities creating displays or multimedia presentations for a museum, or you might work for a company that creates and sells effects-based products, such as prosthetics, costumes or props. Graduates may also use the qualification to enter a range of other careers including:

Advertising and marketing communications
Animation
Fashion and textiles
Games
Photo imaging
Publishing
Teaching
Arts management

Course fees

Home Fees	Year of study				Total
Entry year	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25
2021	£9,250	£9,250	£9,250	-	£27,750

International	Year of study				Total
Entry year	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25
2021	£12,450	£12,450	£12,450	-	£37,350

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2021-2022 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for ‘Home’ fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for ‘Home’ fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance eligibility 2021-2022 policy on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student’s course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

For 2021-2022 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2021-2022 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton undergraduate students.

For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

September start

Please apply through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) for September entry.

The online application form and guidance notes are available on the UCAS website.

You can apply for up to 5 courses through UCAS (at the same or different institutions) for a fee of £24. Alternatively, if you only wish to apply for a single course at a single institution then a reduced applicant's fee of £13 is applicable.

You will need the following information to complete your UCAS application form:

Institution Code Name: BOLTN
Institution Code Number: B44

UCAS - Universities and Colleges Admissions Service

Tel: 0870 1122211
Web: www.ucas.com

The University welcomes applications from international students from all over the world. We try to make the application process as simple and as fast as possible for our international applicants.

This course is not currently accepting online applications

Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom

Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom

Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

We use a wide variety of teaching and learning methods to help you achieve your potential, and you can expect our blended style to include lectures, seminars, tutorials and critiques, self-directed learning, e-learning and laboratory/workshop sessions, as well as online learning.

Lectures are used to introduce the core course content, while seminars allow you to explore subjects in greater detail. Practical skills and techniques are gained through technical introduction and support, workshop sessions, demonstrations and activity-based assignments. Tutorials allow you to ask any questions you have, ensuring you understand the topics covered in lectures and workshop sessions.

Guest lectures and visits give you opportunities to engage with and learn from respected professionals working in the special effects arena. Our highly practical and project-based approach promotes active learning, and our specialist facilities create realistic industry-like learning environments. Our project modules encourage you to interact and collaborate with students specialising in both your own and other areas of special and visual effects, helping to give you a taste of working on group and multidisciplinary projects.

Personal and independent study is essential and you should expect to devote a significant amount of time to activities such as project work, background reading, preparation for seminars and tutorials, research, design and creative thought.

In terms of assessment, you can expect assignments, projects, case study, quizzes, interviews and presentations. As far as possible, we set project-based coursework that simulates professional situations. These pieces contribute to your final mark and allow you to demonstrate that you’ve met the learning outcomes. The course doesn’t include formal examinations.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

Introduction to Special Make-up Effects
Introduction to Prosthetic Design, Development and Application
Digital Concepts and Sculpting
Introduction to Hair and Postiche
History and Replication
Advanced Digital Concepting
Advanced Prosthetic Development and Application
Professional Portfolio
Technical Research
Industry Project
Major Project

Assessment methods

Level	Assesment method
Level one	Coursework 25%, Practical exams 75%
Level two	Coursework 23%, Practical exams 77%
Level three	Coursework 58%, Practical exams 42%

Learning activities

Level	Learning activity
Level one	Guided independent study 65%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 35%
Level two	Guided independent study 65%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 35%
Level three	Guided independent study 65%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 35%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.