Bucks student wins prize for animated short

One of our first-year animation students recently won a prize at the Bristol Festival of Football Ideas, for a short film created here at Bucks.

Bucks animation student Anton "Alfy" Alfimenko was awarded a prize at the Bristol Festival of Football Ideas for "Super Fergie in 3D", his animated tribute to retired Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who appears as a video game character winning endless footballing triumphs. Anton's film, hosted at YouTube, scored over 300,000 hits, and won him international attention from fans of Manchester United. Now he has seen his work recognised by the judges of FOFI, the Festival of Football Ideas.

To see Anton's prize-winning film, click on the link below. And to find out more about Super Fergie, read our interview with Anton here.





Here at Bucks we encourage all our students to enter animation and film competitions whenever possible. Even if you don't win, you learn a huge amount by entering, and the mere fact of competing helps every artist to raise their game and strive to be the best.

To Anton, we offer our warmest congratulations, and we look forward to seeing what he does next. We have many talented students here at Bucks, competing at the highest levels in international competitions and in many disciplines around the world.

---Alex

(Editor's Note: For more impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out the work of Jens Kopke,  Ben Gray's Moonbeam, and the architectural visualisations of Sabah Masood and Anton Alfimenko. Also take a look at the work of Andy Thomas here, see our latest commercial project for Rocketseed, our short film done for a global aid agency, and take a look at the excellent work of designer Monika Dzikowicz, architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan. And don't forget to see the simulation work of our students done in RealFlow. To see our student demo reel, click here.)
 

Miracles and Inspirations by Bucks Graduate Monika Dzikowicz makes the Official Selection of the Festival de Cine de Madrid

Monika Dzikowicz graduated from Bucks last year, and recently completed her short film Miracles and Inspirations, which has been entered in to short film festivals all around the world. Most recently the film has been accepted for the Official Selection at the 23rd Festival de Cine de Madrid, taking place in Spain in October of this year.

Visual Development for Miracles and Inspirations

Miracles and Inspirations is a short film completed by Bucks animation graduate Monika Dzikowicz, which shows what could happen if art could take us back to the times it was created in.

The film tells the story of the unusual friendship between a young girl and an ancient Roman sculpture of a woman. It explores themes of imagination, the creativity of children, and the inspirations we take from our memories and from everyday life.

The film was produced within the scope of the online competition - The Animation Talent Award  2013. It was designed, directed and animated by Monika Dzikowicz. Music was by Boris Nonte, and the Executive producer was Paolo Polesello.

To see the film, which runs about two minutes, see below:


 
Miracles & Inspirations - animated short film by Monika Dzikowicz from Animation Talent Award on Vimeo.

We strongly encourage all our students to enter competitions. Even if you don't win, you gain invaluable experience just by competing. There is nothing like a competition to make you raise your game and try harder; ultimately this is how digital artists improve their skills and forge successful careers in creative media.

You can read more about Monika's work here.  To see more work by our talented undergraduate students and recent graduates, see this recent post about the art of Sabah Masood. Also check out the work of Andy Thomas here, and see our latest commercial project for Rocketseed, our short film done for a global aid agency, and take a look at the excellent work of architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan.

"Charlie & Yip" wins Best Animation at the British Animation Film Festival

Charlie and Yip

"Charlie & Yip", a short film directed by Bucks animation tutor Alex Williams, and animated by Tumblehead Animation in Denmark, has just won Best Animation at the 2014 British Animation Film Festival. The short was screened on June 8 in London at the Empire Leicester Square, competing with dozens of other shorts in three successive screenings over the course of the day.

The British Animation Film Festival (BAFF) 2014 was held at the suitably opulent Empire Leicester Square in London, a glorious Victorian baroque theatre turned picture palace, originally built in 1884.

Empire Leicester Square. Photo: Wikipedia

Like any short film, Charlie and Yip was a group effort, and a ton of work. A lot of artists put a great deal of hard work into it. Here's a message of thanks from Producer Nathan Erasmus, who worked with Alex to make the film happen:

"Thank you to the very special people who voted for this. You know who you are. Also congrats to Gravy Media director Alex Williams and his ex-students the very special Tumblehead from Denmark for doing such a fantastic job and earning your votes for best short at the 2014 British Animation Film Festival."

Charlie and Yip was made by Tumblehead Studios in Denmark, founded by the very talented Magnus Moller and Peter Smith, both graduates of the Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark, which has been a growing source of animation talent for some years.

Tumblehead did the final design work, the modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, lighting and rendering (which was done in Arnold). To see more of their excellent work, check out their website at www.tumblehead.com.

Voice talent was provided by Lizzie Waterworth Santo, an actor with a very wide range of vocal skills. The kids in class were voiced by students at the American School in Surrey.

Lizzie Waterworth Santo

The film's success also owes a huge debt of thanks to the West Danish Film Fund, who gave very significant support for the film.

Sound design was provided by the very talented Vanesa and Dominique at Tate Post in Soho.

Charlie and Yip is really a teaser for Alex's feature film project, My Haunted House, which is being developed at Gravy Media. The film is currently in re-writes with writer Tim Lebbon, aiming to take the project to Cartoon Movie early next year, looking for finance, co-production partners and distribution.

My Haunted House

Meanwhile, where will be a free My Haunted House game at the iTunes store soon, where you can view the short, alongside some free mini games.

You can also see more at the website www.myhauntedhousethemovie.com.

And to see the short, just see the video below:



My Haunted House - Teaser from Tumblehead on Vimeo.


To see the impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out SuperFergy in 3D by Anton Alfy, see the work of Jens Kopke,  Ben Gray's Moonbeam, and the architectural visualisations of Sabah Masood and Anton Alfimenko. Also take a look at the work of Andy Thomas here, see our latest commercial project for Rocketseed, our short film done for a global aid agency, and take a look at the excellent work of designer Monika Dzikowicz, architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan. And don't forget to see the simulation work of our students done in RealFlow. To see our student demo reel, click here.

Student Showcase - Ben Gray Introduces Moonbeam

Ben Gray is in his second year of Animation Games and Interactive Media here at Bucks, and his new game Moonbeam has just been been placed in the Official Selection for the Bucks Enterprise Creative Talent Showcase. He was up against stiff competition from undergraduates all across the University, competing with students from other creative disciplines such as product design, dance performance, stand up comedy, fashion, art fixtures and film-making. We asked Ben to talk about the creation and development of Moonbeam, and how he put together a winning package.


Bucks: Your project "Moonbeam" got shortlisted for the Creative Talent Showcase at Bucks. Tell us about how you developed it.

Ben: Moonbeam started out as a graded University assignment - an introduction to JavaScript programming and environment design in the Unity game engine. So, because of this, it's a pretty simple game as far as the basic objectives go; you collect all the glowing orbs to unlock the end point, and make your way over to it. Looking back, I could easily have done a game with no artistic theme and this same objective on a basic terrain, I might have even saved myself a few headaches, but it never even came to mind at the time.

A still image from Moonbeam

Moonbeam was inspired by an idea I first had a few years ago, while I was on a cruise ship holiday in southern Europe. One clear night, I found a quiet space on the open top deck. We were at sea, so there was no land in sight, and a big, beautiful full moon was out, casting this clean beam of light across the sea. The way I was looking at it, my brain seemed to ignore the physics and the illusion of perspective, and I saw this view sort of like a flat image. I wondered to myself, what if that beam of light on the water was a path that we could walk on?

I guess all of us are here at University because, to some extent, we all have a dream to do great things in our lifetime, and some people dream so big that we want to put our hand to the sky and move the moon and the stars, figuratively speaking. So, give or take, that's what you can do in Moonbeam. The game is set in a world of perpetual night-time, on an archipelago of tiny islands, not much bigger than over-sized stepping stones. By moving the moon across the sky, it circles all the way around you, and naturally, the moonbeam moves with it. You have to set the position of the moon so that the moonbeam acts as a bridge from one island to the next. By doing this, you're able to collect the glowing orbs. When you collect the last one, a tower of golden light materialises on the opposite end of the play area from where you started. You then walk on the path of light towards it, and it carries you up and away into the heavens.

Ben Gray...and a moonbeam

Bucks: How did you create Moonbeam?

Ben: Well, when I came up with the idea, I was not very experienced in the Unity game engine and I knew nothing about JavaScript coding, so I didn't really know what was technically possible. I discussed my idea with my tutor, and tried to put across an idea of having a three-tier play environment consisting of water, the seabed, and in the middle, an invisible walking surface, divided by 3D Studio Max into hundreds of segments. Imagine cutting 300 slices out of one pizza and then running the knife in circles around the inner parts until you're only left with bite-size niblets! I had hoped that it was somehow possible to create a beam of light, linked to the moon of course, and within that beam is an invisible pole known in JavaScript as a "raycast." A raycast can be thought of as a blind person's walking stick, it hits something before the person holding it does, and you can tell your game to perform certain actions when the raycast makes contact. What I hoped to be able to do, was tell the game to make those segments of the walking surface solid, but only the segments that the raycast was in contact with. This way, it could sort of turn and sweep across the sea like the hands on a clock while the moon circles around the perimeter above, and the segments within reach of the raycast would always line up and become solid, to create a pathway.

For technical reasons too complicated to go into, this turned out to be simply impossible. I thought it was funny and typical of me to try and come up with a simple game and end up literally defying the logic and capabilities of the game engine and of JavaScript code itself. So, I was stuck for a while, until a very talented classmate suggested creating the moonbeam as a long, semi-transparent cuboid for the player to walk on, that could then be linked to the moon. It was one of those forehead-smacking "why didn't I think of that?!" moments, and turned out to be the perfect solution, so I really do owe my thanks to him for getting me out of that mess. I've probably just destroyed the illusion of the game, now haven't I? Haha!

I tried to make it look as convincing as possible by experimenting with different textures for this underwater cuboid, and adding a pretty-looking particle system to help show exactly where the Moonbeam was. I also added some carefully positioned lights to create the impression that it is a path of light you're walking on. These lights are positioned over the islands too, so that when the moonbeam passes by, the grass lights up as if this light is actually coming from the moon in the sky. The islands that you walk on come from the Unity game engine's terrain sculpting tools, although they were originally modeled using a crude method in 3D Studio Max, but this not only made the grass texture look like something out of an amateur Nintendo 64 game, it also massively increased loading times. I guess that's why they always say - keep your 3D video game models to a low-polygon count!

I must also give some special mention to two fantastic people who made some invaluable contributions toward the final version of Moonbeam. Lee Brotherton, whose work I've been a fan of for many years and who I'm on friendly terms with was very kind to compose a bespoke original piece of music for me, and he captured the mood and feel of the game so well with just a simple briefing. He's an amazing producer and singer/songwriter who has done remixes and compositions for A-list music stars and multinational corporations, but I'm not the type to start name-dropping, especially on his behalf! You can find out more about his work at remix-factory.co.uk . Then there's Nikola Jovic, a friend of mine based in Serbia who is a talented graphic designer, philosopher and possibly the biggest Janet Jackson fan on the Balkan peninsula!! He was kind enough to design a professional logo for my game. You can check out his work at facebook.com/Jovic.N . There's more people I could thank for their help and support but we'd be here all day, they're all in the credits of the game anyway so I'm sure they all know how grateful I am. 

Bucks: What are your career goals? Would you like to break into the games industry?

Ben: In a word - yes. I have felt rather disillusioned with the video game market for many years, since I have never liked the "Call of Duty"s, the "Grand Theft Auto"s and the countless other Medieval-themed/Zombie/WW2 etc. games. They've dominated the Western market for over a decade while at the same time, relegating anything with imagination, or indeed colour(!!) to the little kids demographic, and even the kids seem more interested in the titles with a big red 18 slapped on the box! I just don't think it's right, and it's become the cause of so much controversy and the demonising of video games on both sides of the Atlantic, to the point where a certain generation of people are just completely ignorant and dismissive of video games as a whole. It's really sad. This was demonstrated so plainly when Charlie Brooker sat down with Jon Snow trying to show him the Xbox One, you can look this up on YouTube! There was also that odd Miami-based lawyer Jack Thompson, who lost his license to practice law about 10 years ago for his aggressive behaviour while fighting for his cause to ban violent video games in the States. I don't condone his methods and conduct, and his knowledge of the subject was laughably poor, but nevertheless I do believe he had a valid point.

Because of this over-saturation of the market, I don't actually play that many games these days unless I'm already familiar with the franchise. I grew up with Sonic the Hedgehog among many other character-led franchises and even though I was their target market back then, I don't feel like those franchises are having the same cultural impact these days as they used to. I feel like the games market of today has absolutely nothing for people like me. I used to feel the same way with music, until I started discovering alternative genres and foreign artists, but I have yet to find a gateway like that for games. The rise of the indie game scene in recent years is of course very promising, but it's also kind of made it harder for any one developer to get the attention and financial investment for their games to reach a wider audience. From my point of view, I feel like there's no sense of direction for anyone to start enjoying indie games with. Where on Earth would I even start to look, finding something that I enjoy?!

So anyway, I just think there's a huge gap in the market waiting to be exploited. James Cameron did it to the film industry in 2009 with AVATAR. He transported his audience and immersed them into another world, and persuaded us to see and feel things from the perspective of aliens instead of siding with people 3000 miles across the pond from us! The visuals of Pandora were so amazingly beautiful and surreal, and yet so realistic! I've had a vision to do something similar since I was about 14 years old, but AVATAR helped to validate it - and its position now as the biggest selling motion picture of all time says quite plainly to me that people around the world love and want more of these kinds of experiences in their entertainment, or to speak in "suit" language, they make a hell of a lot of money!

My goal is to bring raw imagination back to the video games industry in a way that reaches a mainstream audience. I'd like to start a movement that will take us back to the old days of gaming where the most popular games were appropriate for, and being enjoyed by people of all ages! I work under the moniker "blaclite STUDIOS", which is a brand identity and creative, stylistic ethos that I created in 2006 to represent my vision and my work. At the moment, I run a Tumblr blog where I post updates about my University work, share things that interest or inspire me, and make occasional additions to what I call the "Blaclite Soundtrack" - songs which fit in with this stylistic ethos and help communicate the themes and messages of what I do. You can come check it out and say hi at blaclitestudios.tumblr.com . blaclite STUDIOS is also on Twitter, Facebook and Vimeo!

My big idea is to develop a fictional planet of my own, and a roster of characters to go with it. I'm working on developing their landscape, culture and how a fully established video game franchise set in this world might play out. I want to transport my audience to my perfect world. Hopefully Moonbeam is the start of many more great things to come!


Bucks: What are the key skills needed to make it in the games world?

Ben: Don't go on record to criticise the industry at large like I just did!!

Gateway Media Building at Bucks - our creative hub

Bucks: What advice would you give to new students at Bucks to make the most of their time here?

Bucks is still a baby Uni. The clue is in the name! So, while I have definitely enjoyed my time here, there is a feeling that it's still finding its feet. The Gateway building is a very pleasant place to be. It doesn't feel like school at all! If there's something you're not happy about, get in touch with the Students Union or with your tutor, they are really friendly and receptive of any comments. I really feel like me, my views and my needs matter as a student here and that I'm not just a number. I know that sounds like a generic thing to say but I really mean it! The student support here is absolutely top notch, which is essential for me since I have a mild case of Aspergers Syndrome and without the support from the Disability Center and my mentor, I absolutely wouldn't be here giving this interview.

The library and its computers being open 24 hours a day during the working week is also very useful if you prefer to work in a quiet environment, and with such a wonderful view over the hills! I also like how secure the place is. God help you if you ever forget your student card, you won't be able to open a single door!! But that's good, because I feel very safe staying here in the evening to catch up on work.

So, to new students, I would advise you to get involved as much as you can. There's a lot of really cool extras you can take up like all the different societies, learn a language or learn to sing, you can grab yourself free trips to the West End as part of the Student Union's Big Deal, and definitely flash that NUS card around town as much as you can. Student discounts aren't advertised much in High Wycombe, but ask and you will usually receive! But of course, don't let all of this distract you from your work. Don't see your assignments as "uggh, work.." (unless they're essays, nobody likes essays,) but instead try to see them as opportunities to further your skills, broaden your horizons and pursue your interests. Especially if you're on a creative course like me, treat every project as a piece for your portfolio and show reel. Be proud and passionate of everything that you produce, because just being a good person won't pay the bills after all! But, also because this is our one and only life, and it's only ever going to be what we make of it!


(Editor's Note: For more impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out the work of Sabah Masood. Also take a look at the work of Andy Thomas here, see our latest commercial project for Rocketseed, our short film done for a global aid agency, and take a look at the excellent work of designer Monika Dzikowicz, architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan.)

Bucks Graduate reaches top ten in The Animation Talent Awards

Animation Talent Awards - now voting

Bucks graduate Monika Dzikowicz has reached the top ten entries in the online Animation Talent Awards - and now she needs your help! Back in May we blogged about the call-out for entries, encouraging all our students to compete. International contests like this are a great way for animation students and recent graduates to get noticed, and to showcase their talent. Even if you don't win, what you learn from entering the competition is an invaluable experience in itself.

Go to www.animationtalentaward.com to see the competing entries. Monika's entry is the second on the list (in the middle of the image above). Of course, we're a bit biased, but we think her entry is the best. Still, check out the competition, and decide for yourself. Voting begins on Monday September 16th.

If you'd like to see more of Monika's art and animation, check out this recent showcase of her work. You can also see her excellent design work for a short film we're making at Bucks, with a number of recent animation graduates, titled What's Wrong With The Global Development Organisation?, which is now almost finished.

Directed by Monika Dzikowicz

Don't forget, all the work you do here at Bucks is just a dress rehearsal for your future career. We want all our students to be able to compete on equal terms with the very best talent from around the world - and win.

---Alex

To see the impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out SuperFergy in 3D by Anton Alfy, see the work of Jens Kopke,  Ben Gray's Moonbeam, and the architectural visualisations of Sabah Masood and Anton Alfimenko. Also take a look at the work of Andy Thomas here, see our latest commercial project for Rocketseed, our short film done for a global aid agency, and take a look at the excellent work of designer Monika Dzikowicz, architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan. And don't forget to see the simulation work of our students done in RealFlow. To see our student demo reel, click here.

41st Annual Annie Awards Online Submission

Announcing the 41st Annual Annie Awards

Honoring excellence in the field of animation, Annie Awards will be presented in 35 categories including best animated feature, television production(s), television commercial, short subject, video game and student film, as well as the achievement and honorary awards.

The 41st Annual Annie Awards will take place on February 1, 2014 at UCLA’s Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, California. Entries submitted for consideration must be from productions that were released in the United States between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013. An exception will be made for animated short subjects, student films and television commercials that were not released in the United States. These may be considered for an Annie Award providing they were originally released during the award eligibility period.

The deadline to receive Annie Award entries is Midnight, Monday, November 4th, 2013.

Please send the submissions to the following address: 

41st Annual Annie Awards, 5042 Wilshire Blvd #22470, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Annie Award sponsors may have all or partial entry fees waived, depending on sponsorship level.

Important Note for Student Film Submittors

Welcome, and thanks for your interesting in submitting your project for Annies consideration.

Here's what you need to know:

Students who do not have an existing membership must create a (free) ASIFA-Hollywood account with which to submit their projects.

To do so, visit this page, enter your contact details, and click 'Next'.

Find the "membership type" drop down menu. Select "Non-member (Student Film Submissions)" and click 'Next'.

Click 'Submit' to complete the creation of your free, non-member ASIFA-Hollywood account.

Once you've created an account, you can log in to submissionss.annieawards.org with your new login information.

Once logged into the submissions portal, create a studio account identified by your own name (not a "production company.")

Submit your student film for consideration!

Note that you will not be able to enter work in any other category.

Also note that if you are nominated, you will be required to upgrade to an Associate Membership. (You may do so by logging in to members.asifa-hollywood.org and clicking 'Upgrade'.)

The CG Awards

The CG Awards is an annual event which showcases and rewards excellence in the field of computer graphics. Find out who won this year’s gongs.

For more click here...

Highlights:

CREATIVE AWARDS

CG Animated Feature Film Award winner: Brave, Pixar

Student Showcase - Jens Kopke's "highly commended" work for AD&D

This very stylish short video is by Bucks graduate Jens Kopke, who entered it for the Design and Art Direction (D&AD) awards and was "highly commended" for his work.

D&AD is an educational charity which exists to promote excellence in design and advertising. They aim to "reward great ideas that are well executed and appropriate".

Entering competitions like D&AD is a great way for students to test their skills and compete internationally. Winning prizes is an excellent way to build a profile and also get noticed by employers.

Getting that first job is always the hardest step in launching a career. But having an award on your CV is the best start you can have.

And, even if you don't win, the process of entering competitions imposes its own discipline, forcing you to raise your game and do the very best possible job you are capable of. Which is something that few people ever regret.

---Alex

(Editor's Note: For more impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out the work of Sabah Masood. Also take a look at the work of Andy Thomas here, see our latest commercial project for Rocketseed, our short film done for a global aid agency, and take a look at the excellent work of designer Monika Dzikowicz, architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan.)

VFX Community Planning Protest During Oscars

From Hollywood Reporter:  A small plane with a banner that reads “Box Office + Bankrupt = Visual Effects vfxunion.com” is scheduled to fly over the red carpet on Sunday.

The visual-effects community is planning a demonstration during Sunday's Academy Awards to force the film industry to focus on the economic problems threatening Hollywood's visual-effects houses.

Many in that VFX world argue that effects houses are struggling because of a business model that doesn't work, and they point to Rhythm & Hues Studios -- the VFX house behind the CG tiger in Oscar-nominated Life of Pi -- and the fact that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 13 as the latest evidence.

A small plane with a banner that reads "Box Office + Bankrupt = Visual Effects vfxunion.com" will fly over the red carpet on Sunday, according to the demonstration's organizers.
PHOTOS: Oscars 2013: 16 Icons Come Together for THR's Oscar Issue


The plane will take off from Compton/Woodley Airport, where VFX pros will be gathered. A second group plans to assemble in the Hollywood & Vine area, near where celebrities and filmmakers will be arriving to walk the red carpet, in order to attract media attention.

Dave Rand, an artist at Rhythm & Hues, said the aim of the effort is “awareness. We are not disrespecting Life of Pi or Rhythm & Hues. We are trying to enlighten the studios that they are taking their racehorse and beating it to death.”

Some of the factors that are currently affecting the industry include intense competitive bidding that leads to companies taking on projects at low, fixed bids; globalization as government incentives and cheap labor abroad have created an uneven playing field; and tight profit margins (often 5 percent or less) that can be endangered if a project is canceled or delayed.

Organizers do not know how many artists will participate on Sunday, but according to Rand, the group will not be limited to those affected by the R&H bankruptcy.

Rhythm & Hues filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week and is aiming to quickly complete a sale of its assets. It has identified several parties who are interested in acquiring the company.


more here...