Moving image in Visual Communications

Image credit; Holly Rivers Aguirre – Flying Objects.

In Vis Com we have had a significant uptake of students exploring moving image within their work, and as we are more than happy to encourage students to investigate and even go on to specialise in animation within their degree, we thought it would be beneficial to talk about the possibilities of animation within the BA Visual Communications pathway at OCA. 

First, a little bit about the history of moving image. In the mid-nineteenth century it was discovered by British physician Peter Mark Roget that when a sequence of images was captured and then viewed in rapid succession, the human brain would perceive this as a continuously moving image. This discovery formed the basis of all moving image technology. Essentially, there is actually no such thing as a moving image, only the perception of movement. 

The problem of presenting moving images was initially solved through devices such as the Phenakistiscope (1830’s) and the Zoetrope (1860’s) as ways of making static sequential images ‘move’ through spinning the images. When viewed through a small viewfinder or slit, the spinning images would appear to move. These early technologies share the same principles of movement with the Flipbook, and later with photographic images on film.

This use of a sequence of images to create the illusion of movement, is known as a ‘frame by frame’ method, regardless of how the images are made. Whether they are crafted/sculpted for Stop Motion animation, photographed for film, hand drawn or painted for Cellular (Cel) animation, or even digitally made, they are all made up of individual ‘frames’.

Take for example this spinning chair animation, made in Procreate in response to an exercise in the Animation micro-course in the Skillshub, which you can access as a student at the OCA. In the left-hand image you can see the individual frames which make up the animation in the thumbnails along the bottom, and in the right-hand image you can see the finished animation.

As well as being able to access the Skillshub micro-courses, there are also numerous opportunities for exploring moving image embedded in the Vis Com curriculum, and we also encourage students to tailor the outcomes of the practical tasks throughout the course if they want to specialise. For example, if the task brief requires designs for a poster, but animation is your thing, you would be encouraged in Vis Com to investigate how moving image can be used in poster design, and then potentially go on to produce an animated poster for a digital billboard rather than something static. This adaptive approach enables the student to leave their studies with Vis Com with a portfolio of work that works for them. 

Recent Visual Communications graduate Holly Rivers Aguirre specialised in animation for documentary film making during her time studying with OCA. Her film “Voicemail”, 2025, was shortlisted for numerous awards at film festivals across the globe, and was an award winner at Folkestone Film Festival 2025.

In a discussion about her most recent film project “Flying Objects”, Holly said;

‘Flying Objects’ is an experimental animated short which documents a year in a small seaside town: climate change, ‘luxury’ housing developments, local wildlife and supernatural sightings. The film is an animated sketchbook diary featuring drawings in a variety of media, from clay relief drawing to collage and painting.

I initially chose Illustration as a pathway but switched over at Stage 2 to Visual Communications as, at the time, it shared the same optional Drawing modules. I had never heard of ‘Visual Communications’ until I studied with OCA – so it probably helped that I had no preconceived idea of what Vis Com work should look like. I got the impression that Vis Com was an area that would be flexible enough to accommodate my work changing as I found what I wanted to do – and that’s exactly what happened!

If you have any questions about the Visual Communications pathway at OCA, please get in touch with Senior Academic Manager for Vis Com Dan Robinson or Programme Tutor for Vis Com India Ritchie.