Enterprise at Bucks - animated by Anton Alfimenko

Enterprise at Bucks is the department of our University which is dedicated to helping students learn real-life skills. Stuff like how to set up a business, how to invoice a client, and how to survive in the commercial world. Many of our students will launch their own freelance careers (even if they also have a day job) when they leave uni - and a good working knowledge of the realities of the marketplace is a vital tool for survival.

To help get their message across about how they can help our students, Enterprise at Bucks has created a short film to communicate clearly what it is that they do. The animation was done over the summer vacation by our very own Anton Alfimenko - now entering his second year of studies at Bucks. Scroll down to see the finished film.





Partnerships like this between staff and students are one of the many ways that we build on relationships within our university. It also helps to get our students experience on live briefs for clients. Every time you do a freelance job, you get better at it, and you gain a better understanding of what it takes to launch a freelance career.

Enterprise at Bucks

To see more about Enterprise at Bucks, and how they can help you start up your own small business (no business too small!) visit their page here.  You can also email Lydiah Igweh at Lydiah.Igweh@bucks.ac.uk


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.

Bucks Graduate Designs Poster for Award Winning Animated Short

Charlie & Yip by Monika Dcikowicz

Bucks animation graduate Monika Dzcikowicz has designed a poster for the award-winning animated short, Charlie and Yip, which won Best Animation at the British Animated Film Festival this year. Since leaving Bucks, Monika has developed a successful freelance career working for a variety of commercial clients. She has also been directing projects at Nano Films, our small film co-operative that makes short animated films for commercial clients.

Monika Dzcikowicz

The poster was executed in Photoshop, using elements composited from the film. Part of the job of an aspiring film-maker is to be able to master as many elements of the film-making process as possible, including story, design, the ability to create an eye-catching image and, of course the ability to work to a client brief.

You can see more of Monika's work, which includes design, animation, visual development and storyboards, by following this link.  To see more about Charlie and Yip, read our post here.

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.

Can You Make an Animated Film in a Single Day?

Hold Me Clothes by Evgenia Golubeva

Everyone knows that animation is slow, expensive and time-consuming. However, with a bit of determination and good planning, it is possible to make an animated film in a single day.  Evgenia Golubeva is an animator and film-maker who put together a short film titled "Hold Me Clothes", a stop-motion film written by her and animated in just one day at a film festival in Italy.

Evgenia Golubeva

Hold Me Clothes is a completely charming film. Evgenia's work reminds us all that good animation is as much about storytelling and an eye for comic timing as it is about technique. Evgenia is well on her way to being an excellent film-maker as well as a very talented animator. Congratulations to her on a delightful piece of work.

Hold me clothes from Pera & Mela on Vimeo.

For more on 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. 

Nickelodeon Announces 2014 Student Animated Shorts Program: Deadline Monday Sept 15

Nickelodeon has announced their 2014 Student Animated Shorts Program, and the deadline for submission is Monday Sept 15th. You don't have to pitch a finished film, just an idea in concept. You will need an idea, characters, a setting, a story, and some storyboards. This is an opportunity to have your idea for a TV series picked up by a major US network - time to sharpen your pencils and start brainstorming.

http://signup.viacom.com/NickPreschool/StudentShortSubmission.aspx

What is this competition?
It is a creative shorts program sponsored by Nickelodeon Preschool Television.

What are they looking for?
Short films that will make pre-school kids laugh out loud.

What would she find funny? Photo:Wikipedia

What are the Creative Guidelines?
Nickelodeon are looking for character based shorts that are silly, whacky, loony and hilariously funny to their core audience of two to five year olds. Also:

• Shorts should include strong characters that appeal to both boys and girls.
• Shorts should avoid stereotyping of any kind. 
• Shorts should be respectful of preschooler's development, gearing humor and content to the audience. 
• Shorts should be visually stimulating and push the conventions of design while working on a level respectful of pre-schooler's development. 
• Shorts should avoid topics and issues that date and link the series to a particular time and fad.
• Shorts should have no more than 2 – 3 characters. 
• Shorts are limited to 2:00 in length and should primarily take place in 1 setting.
• Open to all animation styles.

How can you submit?
Submit your idea as a pitch. The pitch materials must include the following in a single .PDF file:

• Concept treatment (1 to 2 paragraphs about your idea)
• Character descriptions and designs 
• 2 minute script/outline OR 2 minute rough thumbnail storyboard
• Resume and credits 
• Link to online portfolio and/or work samples (if available)

If available, you can provide a link to additional pitch content.


When is the deadline?
The deadline for submissions is Monday, September 15, 2014. No submissions will be accepted after this time.

To find out more, follow this link.
http://signup.viacom.com/NickPreschool/StudentShortSubmission.aspx

As always, here at Bucks we strongly encourage our students to enter competitions. Even if you don't win, the experience will teach you a huge amount about what is needed to bring a project to completion. Every time you enter a competition you will get a little (maybe a lot) better. You will hone your skills, and improve your chances of building a successful career in the industry.

For more on 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. 

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.

Rebecca Rochon of the Bucks Learning Development Unit congratulates our students

Rebecca Rochon of the Learning Development Unit (LDU) has formally congratulated our students for their excellent work on a short animated film for use at Bucks. The film, How to write a Lit Review, was completed earlier this year, and aims to help students who are struggling with the process of researching an academic report.

Rebecca wrote: "I wanted to express my thanks on behalf of the LDU for the work you put into the animation How to do a Lit Review.  I have it banked as a teaching resource, it will be built into the LDU organisation on BlackBoard for students, and LearnHigher will be incorporating it into their website for the new academic year."

The film was not a paid project, but each of the students involved received an amazon voucher, and a certificate of appreciation recognising ‘outstanding contribution to the Learning and Teaching Directorate’, signed by the Director of Learning and Teaching at Bucks.

For more about the film (and to watch it), see our blog post here. 

---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.

Student Showcase: Jack Strood introduces "A Spring in her Step"

Jack Strood, one of our final year animation student at Bucks, presents "A Spring in her Step", a short animated film about a girl who wins a dance competition only to find that her celebration is short-lived, as she is faced with a demanding life challenge. The film combines stop-motion techniques with 2D animation, to create a unique blend of different styles. We asked Jack to tell us about the film and how he put it all together.







Bucks: What is your film about? 

Jack: "A Spring in her Step" is a stop motion short film: When a girl wins a dance competition, her celebration is short-lived - with the arrival of another demanding life challenge. 

Bucks: What inspired you to make it? 

I chose stop motion animation as a style, as I did not gel well with computer animation. In my dissertation, I described the main styles of animation - and 3-D CGI was just one of them. The one animation that inspired me through the course of the project was the classic TV series Paddington Bear. This series of short animations that came out in the 1980s echoed my own personal interests really well. 

My own academic background is more of an art, sculpture, media and film setting, so Paddington Bear’s style of drawn background with real puppet animation stood out as a supreme highlight to me. To see characters and sets created with known materials that anybody can relate with, that move and tell a story; it’s the closest thing to magic that I know. I feel that the audience may have ‘CGI fatigue’ nowadays, so watching real-life, psychical objects animate, (hopefully) will resonate more with the audience. They know, almost instinctively, how much work and time it took to sculpt each part.

Set from "A Spring in her step"

Bucks: What were the biggest challenges you faced along the way? 

Jack: The lowest point of this year-long project was when I came close to a breakdown at the end of my second Negotiated Project at Bucks. My problems began when I could not get Laura (the girl character) to form correctly, and her clothes began to unstitch in front of my eyes - all after five hours of hard work. Nothing was going right; I did not have any proper animation tests, and only a half-attempt at a set. Worse, I was severely behind schedule. I travelled home and worked on a monumental catch-up session that lasted a solid fortnight. I started a blog on blogger (http://jackstrood.blogspot.co.uk/) to post everyday for motivation, morale and time management - and I haven’t looked back since. 

I found myself saying ‘What should this look like?’, ‘How is this going to stand up?’ and my personal favourite ‘Why the HELL have I chosen stop motion?!’ The main decisions were ones were that I felt like I had to re-visit a certain area again, as the result previously didn’t quite cut the mustard. 

I had to re-visit the animatic three times to get the timing right and all of the shots correct, as this was a visual representation of the script - and the backbone of any animation. Another case in point is that I had to re-visit Laura’s whole character design from the ground up. Her face and head had to be re-worked, as it looked too plain and didn’t fit, but I soon realised that you could get more out of a wire-lined fabric dress than a heavy knitted one. Finally I had to re-build the camera slider rig as the older wooden one did not have enough stability.

Bucks: What advice would you give to any student at Bucks making a short film? 

Jack: Don’t avoid the obvious, indulge your obsessions and love what you’re doing. The tutors at Bucks are outstandingly supportive and even if they reply with harsh criticism, it means that they know you can take it - and that they believe there is great potential in you as a student and film-maker. 

There was a phrase that I used for self moral support throughout the course of this project: “When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.” I found this very supportive, as on every painful step of the project, I had to overcome my initial frustration barrier of plainly not knowing anything about the sub-topic I jumped into. 


Bucks:  What projects can we look forward to in future? 

Jack: An on-going personal project is self-betterment. When I leave university, I will be faced with the task of finding an appropriate job in animation. This will be my next project, as I will dedicate all of my time building up my portfolio, contacting studios and taking any unpaid work experience places out there just to build up contacts. Then, and only then, will there be a solid animation project on the cards, I wouldn’t like to lose momentum with my career.

 (Editor's Note: For more 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.)

 

Can our students at Bucks make you a short animated film?

Here at Bucks we often get asked this question: Can your students make me a short animated film? The answer is a loud and enthusiastic yes. We love making animated films, and we love doing "live briefs" for outside clients. We have even set up a small film co-operative at www.nano-films.com especially to create short films. In practice, there are two ways we can go about making you a film. The best road to travel depends on the answer to this basic question: Do you have a budget?



If the answer to this question is yes, then go directly to www.nano-films.com and check out what we have done for other clients. We have made films for as little as £1,000, and even if you have a very, very tight budget we can still make you something exciting and special. Our current undergraduates and recent graduates are super-talented and they like taking on small freelance jobs to develop their portfolios and become fully-fledged professionals. We will make you something you will be proud of.

If the answer is no, then it gets a little more complex. We can still make something great, but now we need a bit more assistance from you. This is because the tutors at Bucks (that's me) will have to sell your project to our students, get them excited about it, and motivate them to complete a project for which they will receive no payment. What this means in practice is this: the project must be a really good one. In particular, we will be looking for answers to the following:  

1. What is the story you want to tell? It helps a lot if you have a story in mind. We can help you flesh one out, but having a fairly detailed idea in of what your story is, is an important starting point. 
2. How long is it? Remember that animation is slow, expensive, and time-consuming. Anything over 2-3 minutes is probably too long.
3. Who is it for? If it's for charity, that's a big plus. We will gladly help out a good cause but we don't want to work on freebies for, say, Goldman Sachs. They can afford to pay.
4. What style do you want? Everyone likes Toy Story, but we can't deliver Pixar quality on a shoestring budget. If you can show us a relatively simple style of animation that you like, this helps point us in the right direction. Links to YouTube videos are ideal.
5. When do you need it done by? Everyone needs a deadline.

Timing is also important. Most of our students start casting around for ideas for short film productions in September or October, with production generally finishing in the Spring of the following year.

If you would like a short film made here at Bucks, email me at alexander.williams@bucks.ac.uk, making sure to answer as many of the questions above as you can. We'll do our level best to help you out and create something truly excellent.

To see more about Nano Films, check out our website.

---Alex

(Editor's Note: To see some of the 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. Also take a look at the work of Andy Thomas, 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.)

Graduate Showcase - Jens Kopke on animation, awards, motion graphics and careers in digital media

Jens Kopke is one of our talented animation graduates from Bucks, who has since found work in his native Hamburg as a motion design artist at DeliPictures. His short film (shown above) was completed right here in High Wycombe and combined live action with visual effects and motion graphics, winning an honourable mention at the D&AD Awards. We asked Jens to talk about his film, what he has been doing since graduating from university, and what it takes to forge a successful career in digital media.

Bucks: Your student film at Bucks won a D&AD award - how did that come about?

Jens: First of all - I'm not really sure if an "honorable mention" counts as an award.  But the project came about like this: One of the modules in Bill Schaaf's course at Bucks allowed students to get credits for non-course-related activities like building up skills or entering the D&AD awards.  So I teamed up with Yonca Yilmaz, since entering D&AD was part of her Advertising course. After first getting the approval of our tutors, our enthusiasm helped us to keep to a tight schedule of seven or eight days from first drafts to final product.

We progressed really fast, but we only managed to get very little feedback from our tutors due to our short timing. Relying much more than usual on our own intuitions and experience, we focused on a final product that we both really liked. Without worrying about things like - how to impress the D&AD judges. Which, in the end, made us even happier, when we got the honorable mention from D&AD.

Bucks: What software did you use to put it together?

Jens: We used a combination of After Effects, Cinema4D and Photoshop.

Bucks: Did you collaborate with students from the film and TV department or did you put it all together yourself?

Jens: We did not collaborate with students from the film and TV dept, but we did have help from another student from the Advertising course, Dunja Opalko. Her talent with photography (and her own privately owned equipment) helped us to get some nice footage to work with.


Bucks: Since leaving Bucks, what have you been working on?


Navigon // Garmin: "The Navigon App" from DELI PICTURES on Vimeo.

Jens: During my studies at Bucks I successfully applied for a job as a Motion Design Artist in Hamburg, Germany, at DeliPictures, where I still work today.

Since then I have mostly been working on commercial projects like Navigon (http://vimeo.com/61517832) or Weight Watchers (http://vimeo.com/56621462). Luckily, at DeliPictures we are encouraged to experiment and work on self-initiated projects during work hours, such as this St Valentine's Day card that I created with a co-worker. (http://vimeo.com/59576403).



WeightWatchers Kampagne: Oliver Kahn from DELI PICTURES on Vimeo.


Bucks: What advice would you offer to any student at Bucks to get the most out of their time at University?

Jens: My advice would be twofold. Firstly, don't study to get a job, study to do something you really like to do. Secondly, what helped me most during my studies was getting out of my comfort zone and being interested in everything around me. Things like sitting in unrelated classes, using equipment you are afraid to damage, choosing projects that were way too big for me - and even failing from time to time - really helped to prepare me to handle difficult situations at work. In the end, Bucks New University had a lot to offer me.

(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.)

Rocketseed Salesforce - our students' latest commercial project

One of the most effective ways that we can ensure that our animation and visual effects students at Bucks find work when they graduate is to get out there and find work on their behalf. Last year we launched Nano Films, a small animation business making short films for commercial clients. The budgets are not large but then neither are the films, and there is nothing like client-facing projects to give our students the vital experience they need to build a successful career.

www.nano-films.org

The video shown above was made for Rocketseed, an email company that specialises in clickable banners that supply sales data to businesses, helping get better and smarter at targeting new customers. Our students didn't shoot the live action but we did everything else: the motion graphics, the sound mix and the final edit. The job was designed and directed by Bucks graduate Monika Dzikowicz, the motion graphics was done by first year undergraduate Anton Alfimenko, and the music was by Bucks graduate Kris Allen.

Many congratulations to the three of them for doing an excellent job. We hope to bring in more jobs like this so that more and more of our students can start to polish their skills on live briefs, bringing in excellent experience and some extra income as well.

(Editor's Note: For more impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out Anton Alfimenko's recreation of Old Trafford, 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.)

Free lecture on independent Japanese animation on Wednesday 26 March at 6.30pm

Wednesday 26th March

The Japan Foundation in London has invited Nobuaki Doi, animation critic and founder of CALF, the independent Japanese DVD label to give an overview of Japanese independent animation.

Independent Japanese animators are producing innovative works which is often very different from the commercial animation or ‘anime’ style which Japan is so famous for. Showcasing the work of Japanese creators such as Koji Yamamura and Atsushi Wada, Nobuaki Doi will discuss Japanese independent animation as a source of global inspiration as well as exploring what makes Japanese animation among the best in the world.


Following his presentation, Doi will be joined in conversation with Jayne Pilling, founder of the British Animation Awards, and Mirai Mizue, an award-winning abstract animation director, for a discussion panel on the challenges facing contemporary animators in the UK and Japan.

Full event details can be found above. This event is free to attend but booking is essential. To reserve a place, please send your name and the title of the event to event@jpf.org.uk.


---Alex

Student Showcase - Pippa Stark

Pippa Stark isn't even a student yet at Bucks but she is already working on her animation portfolio. She plans on joining us in October 2014, and has already started to do short pieces of character animation. Above is a very simple film she has completed using buttons, filmed in a stop-motion format. There is nothing complex about the execution, but it is charming, has character, and tells a little story - exactly what good animation is all about.


We look forward to welcoming her at Bucks in October!

---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.)

Introducing Nano Films

Everyone needs an animated film, even if they don't know it yet. Ten years ago, no-one could have imagined that every plumber would need a website. I predict that, in ten years time, every business will want a short animated film that tells the story of what they do.

Maybe it will be an animated logo, a mini infomercial, something to play on a smart phone, or a short film on their website, something that makes their business unique and different, something that reaches audiences (especially younger ones) who don't want to read pages of dull text on a static site.

The only trouble is - the cost. Animation is time-consuming and expensive. But what if we could make animated films really cheaply, for a tiny budget? Then, surely, everyone could afford one, and businesses all over the world would queue up to commission small films.

In September 2012 I set up my online school at www.animation-apprentice.org, training students to become animators and reach a professional standard where they can find work in the industry. All the lectures are online - there is no physical classroom.

At the same time I started working here at Bucks, helping to develop and launch our new Animation and Visual Effects course, designed to compete with the very best courses in the UK. Universities are slow-moving beasts but we launched the course successfully in October 2013, and applications for 2014 are way up on last year.

One of the key selling points of Bucks is employability, but how do we actually put this into practice? One solution might be to find work directly for our graduates and undergraduates, but how do we go about this?

Poster design by Monika Dcikowicz

The next step then was obvious. Why not start to find work for all this emerging talent by bringing in small freelance jobs, starting with friends and aquaintances, and slowly building up a business that can take on many small projects. Tiny films don't require much management, and they don't need to be expensive. So our pitch is simple - at Nano Films, we make tiny films on a tiny budget.



Our first film was made last year and has the snappy title "What is Wrong with the Global Development Organization"? Designed and directed by Bucks graduate Monika Dzikowicz, it is playing at the Exeter animated film festival next month. It's all about the problem of what happens to an organisation with good intentions which get taken over by bad management - which is to say pretty much most organisations anywhere. Almost everyone can relate.

The second film we did was for Rocketseed, an email banner company that does some complex tech stuff that can be kind of hard to understand. The purpose of the film was to help the company explain what they do in a simple, clear way that their non-tech customers can easily comprehend.


Making short films is fun. Often clients don't really know what they want, so much of the job involves figuring out what is the story they want to tell, and then working out the best way to tell it. Part of the challenge involves keeping it very short. Almost everyone has a minute to spare to watch a short; but few of us have five. It's easy to write a long script - but writing a short one takes time.

Both my shiny new online course at Animation Apprentice and my old-fashioned bricks-and-mortar classroom at Bucks produce a constant stream of talent. Making short films on small budgets is a great way to keep graduates and undergraduates busy, help kickstart their careers, and provide companies with a simple way to get their message across.

But most of all, it's fun.

----Alex

(Editor's Note: You can see more about Nano Films at www.nano-films.com. To find out more about our films, check out this post on What is Wrong with the Global Development Organisation?. You can read more about the Rocketseed project here. For more practical advice on freelance careers, check out this post on your first client project, and read out our post on Portfolio Careers.  Learn the nuts and bolts of freelance life by reading our guide to invoicing clients, and our guide to freelancers and taxes.  For more on careers in general, check out our guide to animation careers here, and also take a look at this map of digital studios - a great place to start your search for work in the business.)

Sofa.com competition - last call for entries - £3,000 prize!

Last November Sofa.com launched a student animated film competition titled ‘Filmed with Happiness’. Anyone who is studying or working in film making, animation or television is invited to submit a short film (15-30 seconds long) for children, based on the theme of "happiness".

The winner gets £3,000 in cash - and the chance to boost your profile with a little help from the sofa.com PR agency. There are also three runner-up prizes of £1,000 each. The deadline for submission is 31st March, and - perhaps most interesting of all - one of the judges has recently been confirmed as Peter Jackson, he of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings.

Peter Jackson is on the judging panel

The winning animation will be shown online and in all of the company's showrooms in the children’s area.

As well as the first prize of £3,000, three runners-up will also win a £1,000 cash prize.

Here at Bucks we strongly encourage our students to enter film competitions, not just because it's awesome to win, but because the process of taking part will teach you so much. You learn project management, working together as a team, and how to make a film with a practical, client-focused outcome. All of which is to say, it will help you raise your game and become a working professional.

You can find full details of the competition here:

(Editor's note: For more on the mechanics of group projects, see this post. To see how a short film gets made, read this piece here. Having trouble getting your story figured out? Read this post on storytelling. )

Creative Talent Showcase 2014 - deadline noon on Friday 14th February

Creative Talent Showcase 2014

Calling all animators and digital artists! You have until noon on Friday February 14th to submit your best work to the 2014 Creative Talent Showcase at Bucks, organised by Enterprise at Bucks. First prize is £300, second prize is £200, and the third prize is £100. What are you waiting for? Send your work in now!

Who is eligible?
All undergraduate students at Bucks. 

What can I send in? 
Any work that you have done at Bucks that you are especially proud of; in other words - your best work.

Is there a form to fill in?
Of course! This is Bucks - there is always a form to fill in. You can find it here: http://enterprisebucks.ning.com/

Who do I send it to?
All applications should be submitted by email to enterprise@bucks.ac.uk
Make sure you cc lydiah.igweh@bucks.ac.uk

When is the deadline?
Noon on Friday 14th February

As always, we strongly encourage all our students to enter competitions whenever possible. Even if you don't win, what you learn along the way by competing will be invaluable experience. You will inevitably get better at putting your best foot forward and submitting your work in the most professional way.

For more about the Creative Talent Showcase 2014, visit their official page.

---Alex