Work integrated learning
Your Massey studies will see you involved in industry partnerships.
Choose your career
Study in this area leads to many career options including director, producer, cinematographer, screenwriter, animator and more…
Fab first
Our Fab Lab is Australasia's first digital fabrication laboratory – affiliated to MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Global top 200
Get creative at Massey. The only New Zealand university to be ranked by QS in the top 200 for art and design.
Overview
Lights. Camera. VR goggles. Action! Where better to study than in Wellywood, New Zealand's capital of animation, CGI, and making movies and TV shows.
Learn from award-winning staff and industry experts. Discover new ideas in areas such as cinematography and 3D modelling. Master new skills using our state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, including a gear library stocked with cameras, lighting and VR/AR kits.
Film, animation and VFX is a good fit if you:
- do well in design, visual arts (ngā toi) or technology (hangarau)
- want to tell stories and harness new ways to
- like creative thinking and making things.
Animation and VFX courses
Gain skills to create fantastic characters and scenes, using advanced technology and traditional techniques for cartoons and model-making.
Animation and VFX courses may cover:
- 3D modelling
- animation techniques such as texturing, rigging and compositing
- CGI including motion capture and green screens
- character design
- storyboarding
- VR, AR and MR (mixed or hybrid reality), also called immersive design.
Film and TV courses
Gain skills to tell compelling stories on screen – factual, fictional, or creative non-fiction.
Film and TV courses may cover:
- camera operation
- cinematography
- editing
- lighting, sound and post-production skills
- screenwriting
- story and concept development.
How to study film, animation and VFX
Discover what we offer if you’re interested in film, animation and VFX – whether you’re coming to university for the first time, changing direction or returning to advance your study or career.
Undergraduate study
Undergraduate study An undergraduate qualification is generally the first thing you’ll study at university. In some qualifications you can choose what subject you’d like to specialise in.
Bachelor's degrees and bachelor's degrees with Honours
Media Studies – Bachelor of Arts
Interested in television and popular culture? Social media and fake news? Filmmaking and cultural theory? Media studies can help you unlock your creative potential and develop practical skills to excel in your career.
Media Studies – Bachelor of Communication
Discover how the media shape our identities and our world. Massey will help you create, critique, and connect with the media world, building skills to understand and make media for a wide range of professional communication roles.
Visual Communication Design – Bachelor of Design
Visual communication is one of the most universal forms of design. It is at the heart of how our world works; guiding, informing, persuading, and inspiring us every day.
Visual Communication Design – Bachelor of Design with Honours
Visual communication is one of the most universal forms of design. It is at the heart of how our world works; guiding, informing, persuading, and inspiring us every day.
Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours – BFA(Hons)
The four year BFA with Honours, gives you the opportunity to really extend your skills and push the boundaries of contemporary art production.
Bachelor of Screen Arts – BSA
Whether you dream in film frames, animation loops, epic scripts or game levels, the Bachelor of Screen Arts (BSA) is your backstage pass to a career in the world of screen storytelling.
Animation – Bachelor of Screen Arts
Animation powers the stories we watch, play and share. Learn to shape the moving images that shape our world.
Documentary and Factual – Bachelor of Screen Arts
Story-telling centred on real people and events is a vital record of our fast-changing times. Documentaries, docu-series and factual entertainment has the power to shape and reflect our identity – and world - back to us.
Emerging Creative Technologies – Bachelor of Screen Arts
Virtual and Augmented Realities (VR and AR) allow new ways for us to blend the physical and digital worlds, creating uncharted possibilities for the future.
Film Production – Bachelor of Screen Arts
The Film Production major offers comprehensive, practical filmmaking, covering all aspects of film production including creative development, pre-production, production and post-production.
Visual Effects – Bachelor of Screen Arts
Bringing the unreal to life. Love action-packed scenes, mind-blowing explosions, or epic fantasy creatures? With the Visual Effects major, you’ll learn how to create the impossible – and make it look real.
Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours – BSA(Hons)
The four-year BSA with Honours is an opportunity to extend your skills and push the boundaries of your creative work, creating a larger project alone or in a group.
Animation – Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours
Animation powers the stories we watch, play and share. Take your craft further with advanced practice, research and professional development.
Documentary and Factual – Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours
Storytelling is the basis for all human connection, and stories that tell us about real people, situations and issues are compelling touchstones in relating to our fast-changing times. True stories shape our identity and reflect our world back to us.
Emerging Creative Technologies – Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours
Virtual and Augmented Realities (VR and AR) allow new ways for us to blend the physical and digital worlds, creating uncharted possibilities for the future.
Film Production – Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours
The Film Production major offers comprehensive, practical filmmaking, covering all aspects of film production including creative development, pre-production, production and post-production.
Media Technology – Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours
The evolution of media technologies and screen production, driven by digital innovation, is offering new ways of working and is creating new tools and techniques for content production and consumption.
Visual Effects – Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours
The Visual Effects major provides expertise in creating fantastic characters and scenes for all forms of screen media.
Graduate diploma
Graduate Diploma in Screen Arts – GradDipSCA
Develop your technical skills and learn to think like a professional in the screen arts sector.
Postgraduate study
Postgraduate study Once you’ve graduated with a bachelor’s degree – or have equivalent experience – you’ll be ready to take on postgraduate study.
Master's degrees
Master of Design – MDes
Go in depth with an advanced design research qualification. You’ll develop a creative outcome, often of direct application to design industry or community. We will help you make strong connections with the business, public or non-profit sector.
Master of Fine Arts – MFA
Embed yourself in a rich dialogue about your creative practice in Massey’s Master of Fine Arts. Our MFA embraces intersections between knowledge systems, a spectrum of making processes, and modes of audience engagement.
Master of Screen Arts – MSA
Pursue screen arts research pathways, supported through connections and partnerships with industry and the sector. Our Master of Screen Arts (MSA) spans many fields; animation, documentary and factual, emerging creative technologies, film production, game development, media technology and visual effects.
Postgraduate diplomas
Postgraduate Diploma in Screen Arts – PGDipScreenArts
PhD and other doctoral degrees
Doctor of Philosophy – PhD
A prestigious research qualification that demonstrates your ability to carry out independent and original research in your chosen field.
Our facilities
You'll have access to a wide range of first-class facilities when you study with us.
Virtual and augmented reality
A specialised room where students can explore and prototype virtual spaces and experiences, or create virtual artworks or designs using virtual reality and augmented reality equipment.
Film production facilities
Our facilities are among the best in Australasia and include:
- colour grading suites
- editing tools
- lighting gear
- green screen
- motion capture suite, including 24 camera Vicon motion capture array.
Students can borrow high-end equipment for projects.
Location: Wellington campus
Toystore
The Toystore offers a wide range of audiovisual equipment for design students to borrow, as well as access to large format printing and technical support.
Fab Lab
Fab Lab Wellington is Australasia’s first digital fabrication laboratory affiliated to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Fab Lab's capabilities include:
- A computer-controlled laser cutter
- numerically-controlled milling machine
- a sign cutter
- a precision milling machine to make 3-dimensional moulds
- surface-mount circuit boards
- and small 3D printers.
Jobs in film, animation and VFX
Storytellers wanted. In this booming industry, demand is high for those with vision, with an appetite for experimentation and embracing new technologies and forms of expression.
Careers in film, animation and VFX include:
- animators, including 2D, 3D and motion capture
- concept and storyboard artists
- camera operators
- cinematographers
- film and TV directors
- lighting designers and lighting technicians
- prop makers and modellers
- sound designers and sound engineers
- visual effects specialists.
Salary ranges for jobs
- Advertising manager – $68,000 to $140,000
- Director – $71,000 to $179,000
- Film and video editor – $60,000 to $105,000
- Visual effects artist and animator – $63,000 to $151,000
Salary ranges disclaimer
Indicative pay rates are:
- in New Zealand dollars
- based on Tahatū Career Navigator website data.
Which film, animation and VFX qualification?
Examples of where our qualifications may take you.
| Qualification | Jobs |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Design with Honours (Concept Design) Master of Design |
Concept designer or costume designer |
|
Bachelor of Design with Honours (Visual Communication Design) Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours |
Animator or digital artist |
|
Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours Master of Design |
Director or cinematographer |
| Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours | Producer |
Accreditations and rankings
QS Ranking - Art & Design
College of Creative Arts – Toi Rauwhārangi ranks in the global top 200 for art and design by QS World University Rankings.
Ranked 2nd in Asia Pacific for the Red Dot Design ranking
Massey is ranked 2nd in Asia Pacific in 2025 in the international Red Dot Design Ranking for the third consecutive year, the only design school to be ranked in New Zealand and Australia. This year’s results places Massey in the top 3 universities in Asia Pacific for the 11th year in a row.
Get an information guide
Download our guides to find out more about studying film, animation and VFX at Massey.
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