Overview
The boundaries between film, animation, games and interactive media have dissolved. Working artists in these fields move between them. This programme is built around that reality.
Over three years, you develop cross-disciplinary fluency in 3D production, visual effects, game design, character animation and real-time digital art. The structure is deliberate: in Year 1 you rotate through four production studios, producing a finished project in each before you commit to a creative direction. By the time you specialise, you have a thorough understanding of the full field.
The programme is built on three principles:
- Breadth before specialisation. Year 1 puts you through four production studios: animation, VFX, game design and interactive digital art, each ending in a finished deliverable. You choose your direction from experience and personal interest.
- 3D as a common language. 3D asset creation runs as a continuous thread from foundation through to advanced production, giving you a technical foundation that transfers across every discipline.
- Real work from the start. Every studio, every year, ends in a finished project. By graduation, your portfolio reflects three years of completed work across multiple disciplines and production contexts.
Year 3 brings everything together in a single major project developed over both semesters, with a dedicated mentor and a defined production role. The year culminates in a public showcase.
You can study this programme as a full three-year BA (Hons) or complete the first year as a standalone HE Certificate.
What you will build
By graduation, you will have produced finished work across animation, VFX, games and interactive art, and developed the technical range to move between them. Alongside production skills, you will build the critical thinking to evaluate new tools as the field evolves, not just fluency in the ones that exist today.
By graduation you'll have fluency across:
- 3D modelling, UV mapping, texturing and asset preparation for game, animation and VFX pipelines
- Keyframe animation, dynamics and performance-driven character animation
- The full visual effects pipeline: pre-production, green screen, compositing, keying and colour correction in After Effects
- Game world design, interactive systems and environment storytelling in Unreal Engine 5
- Real-time and generative systems in TouchDesigner, including projection mapping and audiovisual integration
- AI-assisted tools including Cascadeur for 3D animation
- Advanced techniques in Year 2: high-resolution sculpting, procedural asset creation, simulation and matte painting
- Tools across production: Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro and After Effects, Cinema 4D, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Unreal Engine, Cascadeur, TouchDesigner, Arduino and Python
You'll also develop the critical thinking to evaluate new tools as the field evolves, not just fluency in the ones that exist today.
Studios and equipment
At KALLE, Visual Effects, Video Game & Digital Arts students are based in the Lightroom: a dedicated facility with high-end PC/Mac workstations fitted with dual-monitor 10-bit displays and Wacom drawing tablets, a 4K screening room and a high-speed data server. All workstations run the full software stack.
Course structure
Year 1 (HE Certificate)
Year 1 runs across four production studios: Animation, VFX Film, Game Design and Digital Art. You spend six weeks in each, completing a project with a real deliverable in every studio. Alongside the rotations, two courses run throughout the year: 3D Assets, which builds your technical foundation across all disciplines, and Project Development, which develops your research, iteration and presentation practice.
Animation Studio (six weeks): You work from composition and colour theory through to 3D production in Cinema 4D, learning scene construction, lighting, keyframe animation and physics-driven dynamics. The studio culminates in a 20 to 30 second animated trailer.
VFX Film Studio (six weeks): You cover the full visual effects pipeline from concept through to compositing. You learn camera technique, lighting, green screen workflow and After Effects compositing, finishing with a short VFX piece that integrates live-action footage with digital elements.
Game Studio (six weeks): You build a small but complete playable game. The studio covers interactive systems design, environment construction, game mechanics, and structured playtesting. You learn to evaluate player experience and iterate based on feedback.
Digital Art Studio (six weeks): You work in TouchDesigner, building generative visual environments and real-time interactive systems that respond to audio, camera input and user interaction. The studio ends with a small-scale interactive audiovisual installation.
By the end of Year 1, you will have a portfolio of finished work across all four disciplines, a solid foundation in 3D asset creation, and a clear understanding of where your interests lie.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of Year 1, you will:
Year 2 (BA)
Year 2 shifts from breadth to depth. You work across four hybrid production tracks that merge disciplines rather than separate them: Game World Building, Character Animation, Multimedia Installation and Real-Time Visual Effects. Each track runs for twelve weeks.
3D Assets continues in parallel, advancing into high-resolution sculpting, procedural asset creation and modular environment design. Project Development becomes team-based, with greater emphasis on collaborative process and professional pipeline delivery.
Game World Building: Advanced environment design in Unreal Engine. You build complex, immersive worlds with dynamic lighting, atmospheric effects and reactive gameplay mechanics, working at a level of visual and technical detail suited to professional production.
Character Animation: Performance-driven character animation for games and cinematic contexts. You work with advanced body mechanics, acting for animation, facial performance, cloth and hair simulation, and motion capture integration, producing characters that function within interactive real-time environments.
Multimedia Installation: Real-time interactive media systems for digital art and immersive experiences. You work with projection mapping, AI-assisted visual production and immersive environment design, culminating in an exhibition-ready team installation.
Real-Time Visual Effects: Advanced simulation, procedural FX, destruction systems and high-end compositing within real-time environments. You build matte paintings, environment extensions and interactive visual systems, producing exhibition-ready work that integrates technical precision with live performance or user interaction.
By the end of Year 2, you are operating at the level of a junior production artist: capable of working within pipelines, collaborating in teams and delivering to professional deadlines.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of Year 2, you will be able to:
Year 3 (BA)
In your final year you take creative lead on a single major project, developed across both semesters under dedicated mentorship. You choose either a large-scale hybrid project integrating multiple disciplines, or a focused specialisation developed in depth within a mentor's studio.
Students are assigned a defined production role throughout: Director, Art Director, Technical Director, Lead Artist or Production Manager. The year follows studio production rhythms, with weekly reviews, milestone evaluations and peer critique.
Final deliverables depend on your major: a three to five minute cinematic VFX sequence, a fully produced animated short film, a complete playable game ready for distribution, or a publicly exhibited interactive installation. All work is presented at a public showcase.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of Year 3, you will be able to:
- Define, develop and deliver a major project from concept to public presentation
- Work in a defined production role within a team with shared standards and deadlines
- Pitch and contextualise your practice for industry audiences
- Present completed work at a public showcase
Download the course guide for the full syllabus and tuition plans.
Get comfortable sharing your work
Showcasing your work is a defining moment of the programme and a celebration of your growth, your creative voice and the professional portfolio you're building.
Is Visual Effects, Video Game & Digital Arts for me?
This programme suits you if you are drawn to more than one area within digital production and want to understand how they connect and build a versatile portfolio. It is built for people who want to make work, not just learn tools, and who want honest feedback from tutors still active in the field.
It is the right fit for you if:
- You are interested in animation, VFX, games or interactive digital art, and want to develop across all of them before specialising
- You want to graduate with a portfolio of finished projects and an artistic direction, beyond demonstrated software skills
- You work well in teams and are comfortable with critique and iteration
- You want to engage with Berlin's digital arts and VFX ecosystem
If you arrive with a clear area of interest, the programme will deepen it. If you are still finding your direction, the studio rotation structure in Year 1 gives you the space to do that through making, not deliberating.
Progression & careers
Graduates of this programme enter the field as versatile 3D artists and hybrid creative practitioners, with a portfolio that demonstrates both technical range and a defined creative direction. Berlin has a strong VFX and digital arts industry and the city's experimental media scene offers context for independent and installation-based practice.
Potential roles include:
- VFX artist or supervisor
- Technical director
- Animator or motion graphics designer
- 3D modeller or environment artist
- Compositor or post-production specialist
- Generative and interactive media artist
- Creative technologist or multimedia artist
How you will develop as a practitioner
The field changes faster than any fixed curriculum can track. What stays constant is the thinking underneath: the ability to evaluate a new tool on its creative merits, work within a team under production conditions, and adapt when the technology shifts.
Alongside technical training, the programme develops:
- Critical thinking about technology, including AI, real-time rendering and procedural generation as creative tools rather than replacements for artistic judgment
- Collaborative practice within team structures that reflect how the industry actually operates
- Self-direction, iteration and the confidence to make decisions under uncertainty
- Leadership and project management, from running your own independent practice to contributing to large-scale productions
You will leave with a portfolio that reflects three years of finished work, and the judgment to keep developing it.
Student experience
At Catalyst, your work happens in the open. VFX students share the campus with musicians, actors, writers and filmmakers, and that proximity shapes what you make. You might end a green screen session and find yourself building interactive visuals for an acting showcase, or working alongside music students on a live performance installation. The people you're around will always influence what and how you make. At Catalyst, those people take the work as seriously as you do.
Guest Sessions bring visiting artists and industry professionals into the building throughout the year. Collaborative showcases take student work into public settings including annual showcases and festivals. You'll have opportunities to pitch and screen your work throughout your studies.
Wellbeing support and one-to-one coaching are available throughout, because sustaining a creative practice is as much about how you work as what you make.
“As a VFX student, I was expecting to spend most of my time behind computers but the diversity of the programme is beyond what I expected.”
– Savina Janssen, special effects prop maker and Catalyst alumna
Admissions
Entry requirements
All applicants will be asked to provide: personal and educational information, documentation of their education experience, a portfolio and a personal introduction (which can be submitted as a written statement of motivation or a video/audio clip). Visit our How To Apply page for more detail.
MINIMUM ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
- Standard entry: graduation from high school at a level which would normally permit entry to university in the country where it was gained. This would be A-Levels in the UK and the Abitur in Germany, for example.
- Non-standard entry: We recognise that not all education happens in the classroom and it may be possible to admit you through a non-standard access route. If you do not possess the required formal qualification, but have acquired relevant professional or life experience, please contact our Admissions team.
If neither of the two categories above describe your situation, you'll most likely need to complete a short course to gain access to our 1 and 3-year HE degree courses.
LANGUAGE
- Language: The language of instruction in all our courses is English and applicants must demonstrate a level equal to IELTS 6 (equivalent to B2 in Germany and other EU countries). You can either submit a language certificate or can take our free 90 min online test.
For more information please contact our Admissions team and we’d be happy to discuss your opportunities to come study with us.
Course dates and application deadlines
Course start: Mid-September 2026
Applications open: Mid-October 2025
Application deadlines
Visa-required applicants
Applicants from countries requiring a visa before entering Germany:
- General deadline: 30 April 2026 (subject to visa processing time)
EU/visa-exempt or post-arrival applicants:
Applicants from EU/EEA, Switzerland, or countries allowing visa-free entry (e.g. USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea):
- General deadline: 5 June 2026
- Late applications: Until 28 August 2026 (subject to availability)
What does “visa” or “visa-exempt” mean?
- Visa-required: If you require a visa before entering Germany (e.g. citizens of India, Brazil, Mexico, China, Turkey), you must apply at a German embassy before arrival. Our Visa Support Service (included in the enrolment fee) supports you with paperwork, appointments and timelines. Visa processing can take 3–6 months, so early application is essential.
- Post-arrival visa: If you're from a country that allows visa-free entry (e.g. USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea), you can enter Germany without a visa and apply for your student residence permit after arrival.
- Visa-exempt (EU/EEA/Switzerland): If you're a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you don't need a visa or residence permit to study in Germany.
You can check your visa requirements here.
Tuition fees - from €6,028 per semester
Payment options*
- Per semester: €6,028
- Annual payment: €11,693 per year (3% discount)
- Flexible plans: Monthly and extended payment options available
- Upfront discount: Save 8% on total tuition when paying in full
- For detailed payment plans please download the Course Guide
*Enrolment fee: €895 per study year (non-refundable, due before each academic year begins). Visa support is included as part of the enrolment fee.
Financial support
- Eligible for BAföG and other national funding schemes you can check here.
Multiple-course bonus:
If you decide to enrol in both a 4-week Summer Short Course and a degree course with us in within two years, you will receive a discount of 500€ on the total tuition.
Funding opportunities
As an officially accredited higher education institute based in Berlin, Catalyst offers access to a range of national funding opportunities for eligible students, such as BAföG.
Visit our funding guide to explore the most common options available to our students, both in Germany and across Europe.
Open days, Q&As and taster workshops
Get a feel for Catalyst and our courses at a range of both online and in-person events. Join us at a Virtual Open Day or an Open House session at our campus in Berlin, chat to our programme leads at Meet The Tutor, or try a taster workshop.
Funding opportunities
As an officially accredited higher education institute based in Berlin, Catalyst offers access to a range of national funding opportunities for eligible students, including BAföG and other public financial aid schemes available across Germany and the EU.
In addition to public funding, Catalyst offers a variety of scholarships designed to support diversity, equity, and access in the creative arts. These include:
- General and school-specific scholarships across all Bachelor's and Master's programmes
- Up to €6,000 in tuition support for Bachelor’s students (spread over three years)
To learn more about these opportunities and how to apply, visit our full Funding Your Studies guide.
Ways to connect
Whether in person or online, we can't wait to meet you!
Learn from the experts
Throughout the programme you’ll learn from industry-acclaimed experts in their field, with a passion for passing on their knowledge to others.
Your Programme Lead
Awu (Yuhua Li) is an artist, video game developer, film director and theatre producer. She expands the boundary between video games and theatre, combining them into a new and interesting form. She created the interactive video game theatre piece Virtual Collision and performed the piece with a 4D Sound System in Muffathalle in Munich. The 4D Sound System was developed by Ableton, and provided an immersive audio playback environment.
“Our tutors have really pushed us to advance our skills and techniques, as well as encouraged us to forge the pathway we think best suits our desires as artists.”
– Marlee Weinberg, Visual Effects alumna
Student work & latest stories
In the end, it’s our students’ work that counts. Take a look at a selection of recent projects and stories below.
