Photo by Pliers by Renate BaumaneBased at the AA in London, this hands-on Visiting School is led by Oscar-nominated AA tutor Inigo Minns (Best Visual Effects) and Sebastian Tiew, co-founder of Cream Projects. The programme is designed to equip participants with the fundamental skills of worldbuilding and narrative design.
Throughout the course, each participant will develop and produce a short film, learning how to craft evocative environments where space, objects, and lighting work together to create immersive cinematic experiences. Through a series of exercises, you will explore the core principles of worldbuilding and narrative design, gaining the skills needed to bring digital worlds to life through film and time-based media.
Whether you aspire to be an architect, game designer, or creative director—or work in fields such as film, advertising, or theatre—this course offers a unique opportunity to explore the dynamic intersection of storytelling, technology, and design.
APPLICATIONS FOR THIS PROGRAMME WILL OPEN SOON
1. Standard Application:
2. AA Students and Melbourne University Students:
The workshop is open to current students or professionals in the fields of architecture, film studies, design, curating, art history and related subjects in the humanities, phd candidates and young professionals.
ENTERING THE UK
If you are traveling to the UK from abroad, it is your responsibility to ensure that you hold the right documents to enter the UK.
All applicants are required to review the relevant sections on ‘Entering the UK’ via the UK Government website to check which documents are required to enter the UK and check if an application to a Standard Visitor visa or an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is needed. Your type of immigration document and how to apply depends on your nationality, the AA can provide a letter confirming your enrolment to the course to support your application once the course fees are settled.
Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
Commencing 8 January 2025, the UK introduced ETAs for all visitors who do not currently need a visa for short stays of under six months, including Australian, Canadian, and US passport holders.
Starting in April 2025, all visitors to the UK who do not require a visa for short stays and do not already have a UK immigration status will need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). This includes nationals from many countries, including those in the European Union as well as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
You can Check if you can apply for an ETA on the UK Government website. An ETA costs £10 and allows multiple entries into the UK for stays of up to six months at a time, valid for two years or until the holder’s passport expires—whichever is sooner.
Standard Visitor Visa
Please note that Standard Visitor Visas may take up to 3 months to be issued, all applicants who require a visa to enter the UK are encouraged to apply for a Standard Visitor visa at least 3 months in advance and no later than 1 month before the start of the programme or the date of the flight in which is intended to enter the UK, whichever is first. Student Visas are not required for study periods shorter than six months.
How to apply for a Standard Visitor Visa depends on your country of origin. You can check check if you need to apply for a visa in advance or if you can enter with and ETA and your passport upon arrival in the UK.
Applicants who need a visa to study in the UK are encouraged to carefully review the details and eligibility criteria for the Standard Visitor Visa, which are available on the UK Government website. The Visiting School Office will provide guidance throughout the process to ensure applicants are well-informed and prepared to submit their visa applications. Please also review the costs associated with obtaining a visa.
Once an applicant has been accepted into the programme and has paid the deposit or full fees (see ‘Fees’ section), the Visiting School Office will issue an invitation letter confirming enrolment. This letter can also be used as a supporting document when entering the UK.
All participants are responsible for securing their own travel and health insurance. Please ensure that your travel insurance also covers your personal belongings i.e. laptop, equipment, tools, passport etc. The AA takes no responsibility for lost or stolen property.
BIOGRAPHIES
Inigo Minns is an architect and lecturer working with narrative, world building and film making. In addition to his traditional architecture and design practice he has worked in CGI and postproduction on large budget films for Disney and most recently Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. Inigo has extensive experience teaching design for world building and speculation in the UK and abroad.
Sebastian Tiew is an architectural designer and visual artist based in London. He co-founded Cream Projects, a hybrid practice exploring game engine tools both as means for creative production in the film, music and fashion industries, as well as subjects of contemporary critique, through moving image artworks and teaching across schools of art and architecture.