Film & TV and Audio & Music at Bucks Join the Blogosphere

Gateway Building at Bucks - our modern media hub

One of the best things about studying at Bucks is the opportunity to collaborate across creative media with other departments.  Film & TV and Audio & Music are two of the most successful departments at Bucks, and both have now launched their own blogs, talking about what they are up to and the work that the students are creating. Their students have been producing short films (and even feature films) for years, winning awards, and offering animators a chance to collaborate and make even better films than they would achieve by working alone. To see more about what Film and TV are up to, visit http://www.filmtvbucks.co.uk/. To find out what Audio and Music are doing, visit this page. You can also see both blogs featured in the RSS feed at the top left hand corner of this blog - just click on their latest feed to find out their news.

Bucks rated Number One in the UK for Facilities Spend per Student

Number One for spend per student

Bucks New University is now rated Number One for facilities spending to support our students, according to The Complete University Guide. Why are we number one? Chances are, it's because of the very significant investment made in the state-of-the-art media hub that was built here just a couple of years ago.

The Gateway Building at Bucks has some of the best media facilities I have ever seen at a university, and I have taught at many schools and universities around the world, including CalArts, Gnomon, The University of the Arts at Bournemouth, The University of Kent at Canterbury, and the Animation Workshop in Denmark. All of them are excellent places to teach and study, but none have facilities that come close to being as impressive as the ones we have at Bucks. So what do we have to offer our media students?

Gateway - our new Media Hub, packed with facilities

To get the full picture, you need to come by and take a tour of our facilities. But, in brief, here's a summary of what's available.

free laptops for all our freshmen students

1. State-of-the-art computers and animation labs. We're proud of our facilities, which are open to our students most days, evenings and weekends. To see a tour of our animation rooms, click here.
2. A free laptop for all our freshmen. Seriously? A free laptop? Yes - we really mean it! For all our new students starting this September. This way you can work from home, and have the flexibility to customise your own workstation.
3. Free access to training videos at Lynda.com. Teach yourself pretty much any piece of software you need.
4. Green Screen facilities, and the latest camera equipment. So you can shoot live action as well as do animation.  To take a tour, click here.
5. Recording studios, to record music and voice-overs, mix sound, and do sound design work
6. A Media Resources centre where you can check out and borrow all kinds of sophisticated equipment at no charge. 
7. Motion capture facilities - we're still working on getting this up and running but we're almost there.
8. Actors, dancers, singers, musicians....you get the picture.

The reality is that Bucks teaches pretty much every aspect of creative media that you can think of. Which brings a huge range of opportunities to collaborate across course disciplines. Today, Bucks is one of the most creative universities in the UK. There is a reason why we were ranked by The Daily telegraph as one of the top 14 creative places to study here in Britain.

The best thing about Bucks is the sheer amount of creative work being done across all disciplines. As a lecturer and tutor, part of my job is encourage the animation students to seek out talent in other disciplines. Almost all great work done in our medium is a collaboration of one kind or another. Here at Uni you will find the people you like to work with. Who knows? You might even found a company together!

---Alex

For more about the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. And find out about how our online video tutorials work

Sound designer Scott Benson Explains How to Mix a Movie in 72 Hours, and How Sound Designers can work with Animators at Bucks

Bucks sound design student Scott Benson just recently finished mixing and editing the sound on a feature film  - all done within 72 hours. We asked him how he managed to pull of what looks like an insurmountable task, and also how our animators can get the best out of collaborating with sound designers to make great films here at Bucks.

The Confusion of Tongues

Bucks: You just recently finished mixing and editing the sound on an entire feature film - tell us about it!

Scott: yeah I have literally just finished! It's been one of the most demanding yet satisfying projects I've worked on to date, The idea behind it was that a whole feature film could be shot and edited within 72 hours. And, having personally stayed up for 60 or more of those hours, I'm proud to say that it's not impossible!

The Crew

I personally mixed the whole feature film as well as cleaning up all the audio and placing appropriate sound design where needed. The film was shown in the Imax cinema in Birmingham the same day it was finished, which was the most scariest thing ever, because i hadn't heard the sound after it had been rendered to picture. To my great relief it all went perfectly in my eyes; there were a few bits and bobs out of place here and there, but that is to be expected!

Sound Designer at work at Bucks

Bucks: What software did you use?

Scott: The software that I used was completely Pro Tools (Warren Bassett, my lecturer, would be proud of me!) Before starting at Bucks I had never used Pro Tools or even really wanted too, as I much preferred Logic, But when it comes to audio post production, in my eyes, nothing can hold a candle up against Pro Tools.

Bucks: How big a challenge is it to mix an entire feature film?
Scott: Mixing a whole feature film under normal circumstances is a huge undertaking in its own right, usually calling for a team of mixers each having their own jobs, but doing it with in 72 hours, that's crazy. But, as they say, pressure creates diamonds, and that couldn't be more true for this project. I really surprised myself at how well I worked and how fast! Even though it was constant non-stop mixing, I'd do it again in a heart beat!


Bucks: What should animators at Bucks do if they are hoping to collaborate with a sound designer?
 
Scott: When looking for a sound designer, there are a few main things to look for I think, and they are: 1. keenness and contactability. Now, it's all fine and dandy having the best sound designer in the world, but if they're not going to keep in contact with you then what's the point? Having someone who is keen will help to ensure the project's smooth running and completion on time.

The second would be, obviously - skill. Most sound designers will have worked on a sort of show reel, even if if its just muting their favourite films scenes and playing around with them. That's what I did; I didn't have much of a show reel when I started Uni, so I made one!

And finally, ask around, being on an animation course I'm sure plenty of your peers will have worked with sound designers and they'll know which sound designers collaborate well!

Scott Benson

Bucks: What is the single most important thing to know about sound design?

Scott: The single most important thing to know about sound design....this is a tough one, because I could go on for hours about technical specs of certain methods of additive synthesis. But, at the end of the day, knowing that won't get you a job, yes granted it'll help, but if you don't apply yourself you wont get anywhere, you can have all the knowledge and graduate with a 2:1 but if you haven't made contacts and built up your people politics you'll fall flat on your face. It's as simple as that, I can see it on my course, there are so many gifted students who could do so much, but they're not always applying themselves.

So, in my opinion the single most important thing to know about sound design is to know how to find work and make contacts who will last and grow alongside you, because without that, there is no sound design!

For more about the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. And find out about how our online video tutorials work 

Bucks Dance Expo on Thursday - come and support your fellow students

Thursday June 5th is the big end-of-year show for our Dance & Performance students at Bucks. The show is called Danceit@Bucks, and will take place on Thursday 5th June at the High Wycombe Town Hall at 7:30pm.



Come and see dancers and their work from across all three years of the degree courses. and will include the presentation of achievement awards.  There will be a host of different dance styles being performed, representing the huge range of talent here at Bucks New University. Tickets are £3 for students.

The opportunity to collaborate with students from different creative disciplines is one of the best things about studying at Bucks. Who knows? You might be inspired to do a piece of animation you had never thought of. Perhaps you could capture the performance using our motion capture system, or even just shoot your own video reference. Come along and get inspired.

---Alex

Student showcase - James Hatton takes Monty for a stroll

Recently our first year Animation and Visual Effects students completed their second formally assessed animation exercise. This time the project was to animate a series of walk cycles, combining different character walks into one shot. The brief included sound effects and music, collaborating with sound designers to create a miniature short film.

Many students came up with very imaginative work, understanding that as an  animator it is necessary not just to be technically good but also to be entertaining. Good animation combines creativity with technical prowess - after all, animators are actors with a pencil - or a mouse.

Monty - a green pea with legs - and a great way to learn animation

Above is one of the most successful films - a short submission by James Hatton, titled "Monty's afternoon stroll". It uses the excellent Monty rig by Raveen Rajadorai, a great little free rig, perfect  for learning the essentials of character animation. The action is well timed, funny, tells a short story and has great music and sound effects.

Here at Bucks we encourage all our students to master the technical skills involved in making great animation, but we also want our students to be story tellers as well. Good animation, even at its most simple, should tell a story that engages the viewer. James's film pulls off this trick, taking a basic animation brief and turning it into a charming miniature film.

---Alex

(Editor's Note: For more impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out Ben Gray's Moonbeam, and the architectural visualisations 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.)

How do animators work with sound designers? Six rules for success

A sound designer hard at work at Bucks

One of our students' tasks in their first year of studies is to work together with a sound design student, collaborating together on an assessed project. But why collaborate? Why should our animators not do their own sound design? The answer, of course, is that when you join forces with other students who are experts in their fields, you tend to get a better result than you would achieve alone.

One of the very best things about studying at Bucks is the first-rate facilities that we have in the Gateway building, bringing together students of different disciplines to create excellent work. The tricky bit, however, is finding a way to work together successfully. But then, this is good practice for a career in digital media - almost all of our students' projects will be collaborations of one kind or another. Finding a way to get the best work out of yourself and your colleagues forms a major part of building a long and successful career.

Gateway - our media hub, opened in 2010

So how, in practice, does an animator get the best out of such a collaboration? And what does an animator need from a sound designer? Below are six rules for a successful collaboration.

Rule No 1 - Figure out what you need
What sound work is needed for your film? Do you need sound effects? Voice narration? Music? If music, does it need to be an original composition (lots of work) or some library music (much less work). If there is voice narration, you will need to find an actor, and record their voice(s). You don't have access to the sound studios, but the sound design students do, so they can help you there. Start off by making a list of what you will need.

Rule No 2 - Figure out what you want the sound designer to do
Your sound designer's first question will be "what do you want me to do?" The best way to answer this is to show him/her your rough animatic, cut to (ideally) the correct length. The animatic will show exactly what will happen in the film, and what sound work will be needed.  It need not be finished animation, but it should show what you have in mind. Agree up front the scope of the sound work and what you are looking for.

www.freesound.org

Rule No 3 - Add in some rough sound yourself
One good way to help the sound designer is to rough some audio in yourself (you will have to do this in Premiere). Free sound effects can be found online at www.freesound.org and other websites. You might pick some music that you like (even if it is not what you intend to use in the final edit), and drop that in to your animatic. The more work you sketch in, the easier it is for a sound designer to take what you have done and improve on it. And the more specific you are, the more likely it is that the sound designer will understand the brief and give you what you need.

Home of the Bucks Media Collaborations Page

Rule No 4 - Find the Bucks Media Collaborations Page 
The Bucks Media Collaborations Page is a great place to start looking for for a sound designer. Or indeed any artist at Bucks. In fact, you can find just about anyone you need - actors, dancers, musicians, camera operators - all the disciplines at Bucks are represented here. For a full description of how it works, see this post.

What if no-one at the Bucks Media Collaborations Page responds to your request? If you're not having any luck, send me an email and I will contact one of the lecturers in sound design. There are always ways and means of finding someone to help out.

Rule No 5 - Leave plenty of time for the sound designer to do their work
Remember that the sound designer will need you to have completed your work in good time so that they can do theirs. If you are used to finishing your animation late on Sunday night for a Monday morning hand-in, think again. Find out in advance how much time the sound designer will need to complete the job, and then make sure you hand over your finished movie file in time. No-one likes a rush job.

Rule No 6 - Don't panic when things go wrong
Whenever you collaborate with other individuals, things tend to go wrong. Typical problems include misunderstandings about the scope of the work, failure to deliver work on time, confusion about deadlines, and general miscommunication.

Good advice from Douglas Adams

When these things happen (and they will) rest assured you are not the first person to experience this.  All group projects experience problems. Part of the purpose of the exercise is to get our students used to the idea of working in groups - preparing you for reality of workplace collaborations. The only way to overcome these difficulties is with patience, good humour, clear direction, and lots of cups of tea.

(Editor's note: for more on collaborations, see this post. For more on the Bucks Media Collaborations Page, see this article. And to find out more about how to work successfully on group projects, check out this piece. )