1. UAL Progression Proforma
2022-23
Matthew Evans

2. Grades

3. GCSEs
School Name Here
Year Subject Grade Awarding Body
2020 English Language 5 AQA
2020 English Literature 5 AQA
2020 Maths 7 AQA
2020 Combined Science 8-8 AQA
2020 Geography 6 AQA
2020 Business Studies 5 AQA
2020 Art & Design (3D Design) 5 AQA
2020 Computer Science 5 AQA

4. Final Grade Y1
Grade UCAS Points
PASS 36
MERIT 60
DISTINCTION 84
Grade UCAS Points
PASS 72
MERIT 120
DISTINCTION 168
Final Grade Y2

5. Courses

6. University Course
Course Title VISUAL EFFECTS
UCAS Code 1018
Link Course Link
Location Birmingham
Entry
Requirements/
Qualification
GCSE
Grades
• 4 in English and Maths.
UAL Grade
UCAS points • 120
General
Comments/
Course Content
• High amount of practical work. Rigging, animation, lighting,
compositing, modelling, simulations and physics, 2D game
programming, texturing, matchmoving and team projects.
Rating/Suitability
(0-10> 10 Being
Most Suitable)
• 8
• 134.5 miles

7. University Course
Course Title VISUAL EFFECTS
UCAS Code VEF1
Link Course Link
Location Buckinghamshire
Entry
Requirements/
Qualification
GCSE
Grades
UAL Grade
UCAS points • 88-112
General
Comments/
Course Content
• 3D modelling pipeline, texturing, lighting, rendering,
animation, visual narrative, rigging, compositing, digital
sculpting and organic modelling, destruction simulation.
Rating/Suitability
(0-10> 10 Being
Most Suitable)
• 7
• 183.9 miles

8. University Course
Course Title VISUAL EFFECTS
UCAS Code W614
Link Course Link
Location Bournemouth
Entry
Requirements/
Qualification
GCSE
Grades
• 4 in English and Maths
UAL Grade
UCAS points • 112-128
General
Comments/
Course Content
• UK’s top animation school. 90% employment within 15
months. Visual storytelling & pre-visualisation, asset-
integration, post visualisation & shot development, Visual
effects photography, modelling, texturing, lighting, rendering,
simulations, particle systems.
Rating/Suitability
(0-10> 10 Being
Most Suitable)
• 7
• 277.5 miles

9. University Course
Course Title VISUAL EFFECTS
UCAS Code W614
Link Course Link
Location Middlesex
Entry
Requirements/
Qualification
GCSE
Grades
UAL Grade
UCAS points • 112-128
General
Comments/
Course Content
• Inside VFX pipeline, Visual effects workshop, digital image
making, rendering, compositing, procedural effects, creature
effects.
Rating/Suitability
(0-10> 10 Being
Most Suitable)
• 6
• 202.8 miles

10. University Course
Course Title VISUAL EFFECTS
UCAS Code I706
Link Course Link
Location Middlesbrough, Teesside
Entry
Requirements/
Qualification
GCSE
Grades
• 4 in English and Maths
UAL Grade
UCAS points • 96-112
General
Comments/
Course Content
• Work placement year, 3D animation, asset design and
modelling, imaging techniques, pre-visualisation and
cinematography, rigging and scripting, compositing, digital
compositing, sculpting, lighting.
Rating/Suitability
(0-10> 10 Being
Most Suitable)
• 8 (portfolio)
• 49.3 miles

11. University Course
Course Title THE ART OF VISUAL EFFECTS
UCAS Code I702
Link Course Link
Location London
Entry
Requirements/
Qualification
GCSE
Grades
• 4 in English and Maths
UAL Grade
UCAS points • 32-120
General
Comments/
Course Content
• 3D for VFX, computer animation, compositing for VFX, Video
game art, creative foundations, 3D for VFX – Pro, Compositing
for VFX – Advanced, Specialism. Best Production. Expense
Rating/Suitability
(0-10> 10 Being
Most Suitable)
• 7
• 211 miles

12. Personal
Statement
Support in the notes section at the bottom of each slide

13. Academic History
• I've found that studying physics at school has helped me to understand a lot of the principles of VFX and
has helped me to understand the things that you need to think about to make a piece feel as if it were
real. I studied physics throughout secondary school and did a year's A level on physics which I believe has
helped me a great deal. Studying maths for a year in A level and throughout secondary school also helped
me with the physics of VFX as it allowed me to understand measurements and 4-dimensional values that
can be used in VFX. I also studied a 3D design course in secondary school and now have a GSCE in that
course, this course revolved around making small structure with real life elements, I believe that this is
similar to what 3D modelling is all about. I believe that this course is what really helped to spark my
creative initiative as it was very much like 3D modelling but just on a much smaller scale.
• I studied at 6th form for a year but whilst I was there, I started to do small scale visual effects using Adobe
After Effects as a hobby. This was just very basic visual effects such as video game edits, but this helped me
to realise that I made a mistake by joining 6th form to study physics, maths and geography. This then led
me to join York College's Creative Media course where I found a course that suited my creative side and
provided me with projects to better my skills in Visual Effects and other creative aspects.

14. Current Study
• During my time at college, I have learnt many new skills through many different projects. For example, at
the start of the year I worked on a couple of group projects, this helped me to develop my teamwork skills
which will be very helpful moving forward into VFX as I will often be required to work in a team to
optimise workflow and results in a professional environment. Throughout these projects, I also got familiar
with some camera rigs and some basic cinematography principles, as well as learning basics of some
software I was not familiar with such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, Blender and Photoshop.
• Moving further into the year, I did an audio project which was almost completely new to me so was very
insightful into how sound in film is made and the history. I had very limited knowledge of SFX before this
project. During the project I worked with Adobe Audition which was a brand-new program to me, this is
something that can be used later in my life. For example, I may take on freelance VFX projects, in these
projects I may not have someone to work with that can produce the sound design for the project, but,
with this knowledge of SFX, I could create a sound design for the project by myself for the client.
• Finally, the last project I did on first year of this college course, was my final major project which allowed
me to create anything I wanted related to media. This gave me the chance to start work on a 3D project
using Blender. Prior to this, I had very limited knowledge of 3D as I had briefly used Maya, and this was my
first real project inside of any 3D software, I was extremely excited for this project. During the project I
learnt many skills such as texturing, modelling, rendering, sculpting and volumetrics. These are all skills I
want to study more in University.

15. The Future
• In the future, I hope to be a visual effects artist for a hight tier visual effects house such as Industrial Light
and Magic or Weta Digital. Currently I enjoy working on environments but compositing really interests me,
it's something that I'm eager to learn at university. I hope that whilst I'm at University I will be able to
develop my skills around all aspects of visual effects to become a well-rounded Visual Effects artist so that
I am more employable due to the wider range of skills I would have acquired.
• I also hope that while I'm at University, I will be able to make connections with people inside of the Visual
Effects industry through the university itself and through work placement. I believe that this will be
essential to getting the position I want inside of the industry as it’s a very competitive industry meaning
connections will go a long way.
• I hope that University helps me to develop my skills in several aspects of visual effects as well as introduce
me to areas of visual effects I have not yet explored such as compositing. I believe through the assistance
and lecturing of VFX professionals that Universities offer I will be able to develop me skills in VFX allowing
me to get closer to the job and future I want.

16. Outside College
• Outside of college I have been doing Visual Effects for around 2 years now on and off as a hobby. I started
very small scale with basic visual effects on video game edits. This helped me to get familiar with Adobe
After Effects and really sparked my interest in Visual Effects. I did this for around a year and half and got
very familiar with the ins and outs of After Effects as well as basic principles of cinematography. This
allowed me to take on client work for people inside of the community of the game that I was editing
and got me familiar with working towards client's requests. I then started to look at films and TV shows in
more depth through breakdowns on YouTube. This allowed me to get a basic understanding of how high-
end Visual Effects are produced. This got me extremely hooked on the industry and lead me to start
learning 3D modelling. After a short break from editing on After Effects, I started to learn 3D using Blender
through a college project. This allowed me to get the basics of 3D modelling practiced and allowed me to
produce my first 3D environment. Due to my interest in Visual Effects, I am eager to learn more about the
areas that I have already explored within visual effects but also, I am eager to learn about the areas of
visual effects that I have not yet explored.

17. Conclusion
• I want to go to university to develop my skills within Visual Effects in areas that I have already explored as
well as to develop and uncover skills in areas I am yet to explore. I hope by exploring a variety of areas
within Visual Effects, I will develop employable skills to help me get to where I want to be within the
industry. I think that through the help of university I will be able to make connections with people that
have similar interests to me, and with people who are already in the industry and due to my eagerness to
learn visual effects, I believe I will be an excellent candidate for university.

18. Introduction
• I want to study a variety of areas within visual effects at University. I hope to expand my knowledge on
areas within visual effects I have already explored as well as gain new knowledge on areas of the industry I
am yet to touch. I think that University will be the best place for me to do this as I will have the
opportunity to learn from professional visual effects artists who have lots of experience in the industry.
Whilst I'm there, I also hope that I can make connections with people who are also interested in the visual
effects industry as well as people who are already apart of the visual effects industry, to help me in
entering thee visual effects industry.

19. Year 1 Review

20. Which projects have you enjoyed most
this year & why?
• I thoroughly enjoyed the FMP at the end of this year. I found the freedom that this project gave me
allowed me to focus on a type of project that I wanted to create which meant that I was much more
inclined to put as much effort in as I could. I do believe that projects that you enjoy and want to create will
always reflect that in the quality of the final product, and I think this applies to my FMP in comparison
with some of the other projects I took part in over the last year. Because I had the freedom to create
anything I wanted using anything I wanted, I was finally able to use 3D software for a project, I think this
made me even more motivated to enjoy and make a high-quality final piece.
• Another project I enjoyed this year was the audio project. Although I wasn’t particularly happy with the
final outcome of this project, I still enjoyed the process as I learned many new skills and got chance to use
a piece of software, I had never used prior to starting the project. I got to use Adobe Audition to edit audio
that I recorded myself, I was completely new to this program and enjoyed learning a new piece of
software.
• Finally, I think the adventure project was one of my favourites also. I enjoyed the pixel art aspect of the
project and learning new skills inside of photoshop as I had very beginner skills in that software before
starting this project. I also enjoyed animating a small video inside of photoshop for this project and taking
a stylised approach to a video game based around a film.

21. Which projects have you least enjoyed
[& why]?
• I haven’t really disliked any projects in particular but I think projects that contained print based work were
not as enjoyable for me as the video based projects. For example, the first part of the Adventure project
was heavily print based and due to my lack of skills in photoshop and other software that we used for print
based projects, I did not enjoy this project as much as part 2 of the adventure project for example.
• I also didn’t really enjoy the personal music video project. This isn’t because off the project itself, more
because of what I hoped to achieve. This project had a relatively small production period and I initially
wanted to create an animation for the music video. In hindsight this was not very realistic of me and I
wasn’t able to get the animation software installed on the college Mac’s intime for production. This then
lead me to try the software on my own PC at home but didn’t have any luck. I then didn’t have very long
left in the production stage after this as I used a lot of the initial time of production for collecting footage
for the animation. This meant I had a very small amount of time to produce something to submit for this
project after finding the animation software didn't work. I decided to use After Effects as it was the
software I was most familiar with and have had a good amount of practice within the software, I used the
software to apply a series of effects to the footage that I had previously collected as well as adding colour
correction to fit the genre of the music I had picked out. I then added the lyrics to the music video by
tracking the lyrics to the footage. Because of the issues I had with software during this project, it wasn’t
particularly enjoyable for me.

22. What is you biggest success
• I think that my Final Major Project was by far my biggest success this year. I took a unique take to the
project by creating a piece that is completely different to what anyone else was making by using 3D
software to create a horror themed environment. Prior to starting the project, I knew that I wanted to do
something with 3D software for the FMP so, I had been learning the basics of Maya in my free time at
home leading up to the start of the project. When planning came around for this project, I decided to note
that I would be using Maya for the FMP as my 3D modelling software as I would be able to get it for free
on the college Mac’s using Autodesk’s free program for students. However, when production came around,
the IT department were not able to get the software downloaded onto the Mac. This meant that I had to
adapt to the situation quickly and alter my plan. I decided to use Blender instead of Maya as it was already
installed on the Mac’s meaning I would have any issues with IT. I had never used Blender before starting
this project and had only briefly used any 3D software. This meant that I basically had to start from scratch
and learn everything again as render methods, texturing methods, sculpting methods and more are all
different from what I would use with Maya. I used all the available time I had, inside of college and outside
of college, to learn as much as I could about Blender. I followed a collection of tutorial to get myself
familiar with the software and to find a efficient workflow to ensure I could finish the project to a high
standard during the time frame that I had. Despite all this, I was able to produce an environment with an
animated camera in the time frame. I was extremely happy with what I had done for this FMP as it seemed
I wouldn’t be able to produce a 3D environment at some points during this project.

23. What has been your biggest mistake in
coursework
• I think that my ambitions have been an ongoing issue for me this year. I often find myself setting
unrealistic goals for projects which often leads to either rushing to finish a project or to change my plan
during production, then leading to a rushed final product. I hope that I can prevent myself from doing this
in the future by developing my time management skills so that I can set myself realistic aims for future
projects.
• Towards the start of the year, time management was a big issue for me, I often had projects coming down
to the very last hour, especially during production stages of the projects. I noticed this was an issue and
worked on it throughout the rest of the year and I do feel that my time management skills have gotten
much better, and I think that its evident in my more recent projects.

24. Which skills do you think you have
developed most?
• I think by far my 3D skills have developed the most during this first year. The practical time that I got to
spend using 3D software was extremely useful for me, I went from knowing nothing about blender and
almost nothing about 3D modelling as a whole, to being confident enough to start modelling my own
landscapes. I also learnt how to confidently apply me own textures to models as well as a brief
understanding of procedural textures. I also learnt about sculpting and many different plugins such as the
A.N.T Landscape plugin which allowed me to create different natural landscapes such as mountains and
canyons.
• I also think that my time management skills throughout the year have improved, although they're still not
the best, they're definitely a lot better than at the start of the year and I think this is evident in my
projects. At the start of the year a lot of my projects, especially during production, came down to the very
last minute, I noticed that this was an issue as it often caused my projects to be rushed, towards the end
of the year, especially in the FMP, I was able to manage my time well enough to leave multiple days left for
rendering to ensure there were no errors in the renders, and giving myself enough time to alter any issues
there may have been in the render.

25. What area are aiming to specialise in
during Year 2?
• In year 2 I want to specialise in video production and I hope to spend as much time as possible working on
3D projects. This is so that if I decide that a university that requires a portfolio will be the best option for
my I will have a sufficient amount of work to send to be assessed. At the moment, due to my limited
experience in 3D software, I haven’t done too much work inside of 3D and as of writing this, I only have
one rendered project that could go onto a portfolio. I hope that in 2nd Year I get chance to spend more
time working on 3D projects, each one better than the last, so that I have a number of rendered projects
that I can create a portfolio from. This is extremely important and I will be working on projects in my own
time to try add to this portfolio because if I decide that one university is better than another and will be
better for getting me into the visual effects industry and developing my skills, but it requires a portfolio,
and I don’t have one, that would be a huge disappointment and would cause me to have to reconsider my
next course of action.