Welcome to Certificate in Creative Media (Level 4).
Programme Outline
In this programme, we introduce you to creative and digital media while providing activities for you to develop your fundamental skills in the contexts of animation, film, design, and web development. We'll help you learn how to use a range of industry software, including the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of tools, video creation and editing, web development, character development and even the basics of how to code websites and apps.
This programme is about finding your place in the creative world through experimentation and practical learning.
By completing the learning and activities in these five courses (also called modules), you’ll have the skills you need to work out which creative path is right for you and a mini-portfolio with all the design assets you’ve created along the way. If you love what you do here, keep going! Your portfolio will become the perfect tool for applying for one of our Level 5 diplomas.
You’ll graduate with the New Zealand Certificate in Digital Media and Design (Level 4).
The purpose of each course:
- Module/Course 0: Design Principles and Tools - Introduce foundational design principles and elements that cross all sectors of design, along with tutorials and guidance to learn the tools that creative industry professionals use to produce a range of creative projects. (Non-assessed course)
- Module/Course 1: Animation - Introduce foundational animation design principles and develop skills and professional practices to produce a range of creative work through animation.
- Module/Course 2: Film - Introduce foundational filmmaking principles and further develop design skills and professional practices to produce a range of creative work through film.
- Module/Course 3: Design/Web - Introduce foundational design and web principles and strengthen design skills and professional practices to produce a range of creative work for graphic and web design media.
- Module/Course 4: Pathways - Create a portfolio by selecting, presenting, refining, and evaluating your own work.
Graduates of this programme will be able to:
- Apply a range of technical skills and technologies to extend capabilities to design, produce and present digital media creative work. (GPO1)
- Apply professional practices and creative processes of discovery, conceptualisation, review, iteration, prototyping and presentation to design digital solutions in response to a project brief. (GPO2)
- Apply knowledge of the elements and principles of digital media design practice to evaluate the quality of design solutions. (GPO3)
Assessments
Once you have consumed the content of each module/course, you must complete and submit an assessment confirming you have gained mastery of the learning objectives.
Your assessor will review your submissions and provide a grade for all of the performance criteria. All assessments are competency-based, using the 3-point system below.
| NYC Not Yet Competent |
C Competent |
CM Competent Merit |
|---|---|---|
| Demonstrates little understanding of, and engagement with, the task/activity and the ability to perform the task/activity to the required standard. A number of errors. Superficial and limited application of the skills and technical and creative processes required. | Demonstrates sound understanding of, and engagement with, the task/activity and the ability to perform the task/activity to the required standard. A small number of errors. Some ideas raised and applied/explored. Competent application of the range of skills and technical and creative processes required. | Demonstrates full engagement and accurate understanding of the task/activity. Few or no errors and a number of ideas raised and explored. Good reflection on the task/activity and consistent, effective, and high-quality application of the range of skills and technical and creative processes required. |
Gaining qualification
You are expected to achieve competency for each assessment in order to be awarded the qualification. If you gain a Competent Merit pass in 50% or more of the performance criteria, you will be awarded an overall Competent Merit Pass for the assessment.
| Course No. | Course Title | Topics | Credits (60) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Design Principles and Tools | 1.1 - 1.5 | 0 | This course consolidates design fundamentals, principles, and elements common to all design avenues. You'll also find software tutorials in this course that teach you how to use the tools before applying your new skills to design and develop various creative works. [No assessment; the knowledge gained here is assessed in the following courses.] |
| 1 | Animation | 1.1 - 1.13 | 16 | Introduce foundational animation design principles and develop skills and professional practices to produce a range of creative work through animation. [One Assessment.] |
| 2 | Film | 2.1 - 2.12 | 16 | Introduce foundational filmmaking principles and further develop design skills and professional practices to produce a range of creative work through film. [One Assessment.] |
| 3 | Design/Web | 3.1 - 3.11 | 25 | Introduce foundational design and web principles and strengthen design skills and professional practices to produce a range of creative work for graphic and web design media. [Two Assessments.] |
| 4 | Pathways | 4.1 - 4.5 | 03 | Create a portfolio by selecting, presenting, refining, and evaluating your own work. [One Assessment.] |
We’d love to hear from you
During your study, you may need to reach out to us with comments on your learning content or technical issues.
Content Issues
If you experience issues with your learning content, you will be able to log these through the platform. Using the meatball menu within the content, you will find an option to 'Report Content Issue'. You can inform us of any issues relating specifically to the learning content through here, and our team will action this as soon as possible.
Technical Issues
If you are experiencing any technical issues with your learning platform, please send an email to onlinesupport@up.education.
In order to help resolve your issue as quickly as possible, please give us as much information about your issue as possible, including which browser you are using and screenshots that may help us identify the problem. We will get back to you as soon as possible so that you can get back to your studies.
Introducing Dan
Dan has come on board to provide guidance along your creative and what we hope will be a fun learning journey.
| Dan |  |
Dan lives in Christchurch and works out of our downtown campus there. He's been a Yoobee College tutor for more than ten years — bringing his experience and knowledge to our students in the classroom and now to you at home. Having lived and worked as an instructor in Japan for four years, he's always up for a sushi feed! |
Learning through practice
Throughout this programme, you will be guided towards developing your skills and understanding of the creative world of animation, film, and design through active participation. Dan has curated interesting and fun activities that provide you with the hands-on experience you'll need to grasp and use various design concepts and creative techniques.
When learning new software, you will use tutorials created by the software developer, not Yoobee. Each tutorial is unique, and the effort required to learn is based on your previous experience and comfort level with computers and software. When you see an IMPORTANT box, you will be instructed to do the tutorials that will give you the skills to complete practical activities that showcase your new skills.
When you get to those IMPORTANT boxes, make a time plan to complete all of the tutorials necessary to master the tool. Click each one, and learn how long it may take you to complete. It may be an hour, or it could even be several days... you need to prepare so you can pace your work in this class.
How long should you spend on an activity?
We will provide an expected amount of time for most practical activities. Follow these guides to avoid burning out and also so you have a reference for when it's time to seek help. If you are struggling with any tools or techniques, reach out to your tutor or peers before spending too long.
These activities are broken into five categories and approximate times are given for each:
| Activity type | Description | 🕔Time expectation |
|---|---|---|
| Tutorials | These are activities and videos for you to learn how to use the software tools that enable designers to create digital design work. | Various |
| Newbie | Introduction of a new concept. | Less than an hour |
| Novice | First experience trying out a new concept. We provide assets for design projects. (I.e., three video clips that you need to stitch together.) | 1 - 2 hours |
| Practising | The concept or tool is no longer new, but you need experience to gain confidence. | 2 - 4 hours |
| Showing off | You understand the concept or tool and can use it to produce a high-level work demonstrating your understanding. You find or produce your own assets and usually must use more than one software tool and design principle or element. | 2-4 days, in 4-hour sessions per day. |
You can always spend longer on any activity you are enjoying working on! Remember that these timeframes are simply suggestions. We hope you have fun with all of them!
Forum Posts
After you complete many of the activities, you are asked to post your work in an activity forum. This is a space where you can upload your work so your tutor can see how you are progressing and share your creative output with other students taking the class at the same time. These are your peers and are an excellent resource. Look at their work for inspiration and a sanity check on your interpretation of the assignment.
Finding forums
Right now, look left and click "1 Animation". You will notice the menu expands to show you the contents of the course. The forums show up first in the course content list, followed by the learning content starting with a course introduction (1.1 Animation Introduction.)
Each activity is provided a forum where you are able to:
- create a post
- upload your work
- share your reflections
- receive feedback from your tutor and peers
- post a revision of your work.
Forums can be accessed by the left content menu and links are provided directly to specific forums from activities for your convenience.
Maximum file size
There is a maximum file size of 950MB for film submissions and less for other activities. If you have reached it on a revision, please edit your original post, and delete the original submission. If your original submission exceeds the limit, please reach out to your tutor to determine your options for posting. Try not to go over the posted limit.
Review and Revise
Use your understanding of the materials to provide helpful feedback, which will, in turn, help you by consolidating your understanding of the topics and techniques. We all have things to learn from and teach each other. This is the place to make that magic happen. When someone provides feedback on your work, you can mull it over and decide to take it on board. Several activities ask you to revise your work, but you are welcome to provide revisions any time you feel compelled to do so. Be sure to include your reflections about what changed and why.
Check in with yourself
Remember that the point of this course is for you to identify your own creative pathway. While working on the activities, reflect on whether you are enjoying what you are doing, so you can actively discover what type of work makes you happy and then follow that pathway! Remember that there are tonnes of roles within the creative industry, some more creative than others. We're here to help you find and follow your dreams.