Bucks graduate Sonia Gill is a Bollywood star

Sonia Gill

Former student Sonia Gill has become a Bollywood star after being spotted while studying at Bucks. Sonia "juggles films and TV ads in India with her job in the parking department of Oxfordshire County Council". The odd thing is, Sonia did not study performing arts at Bucks. She did a law degree.

One of the best things about studying at Bucks is the huge range of talent here at the university. We have actors, sound designers, musicians, dancers, cinematographers - even talented actors hiding in the law department. 

In fact, we have all sorts of talented students at Bucks. We encourage all our students to seek out talent in unusual places. Collaborate, pool resources, work on short films and enter competitions to win prizes and get your work noticed.

Here at Bucks we offer our congratulations to Sonia on her career success.

To find out more, you can see Sonia's story featured in The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and Metro: http://metro.co.uk/2014/07/03/bollywood-star-spends-part-of-her-year-working-for-oxfordshire-council-4786310/

---Alex 

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.  Also check out the Bucks Big Deal.

Meet Tom So - James Bond actor - and our life model on Monday morning

Tom So - more than just a model

Tom So is an actor, model, Qi Gong practitioner and Tai Chi expert. You may recognise him from the poker scene in Casino Royale, in which he played Fukutu, one of the world's top poker players. Tom is an expert in martial arts and has made a lifetime study of how energy moves through the body and what energies a person can feel, both internally and externally. He applies his practice of Qi Gong to his modeling work, especially life modeling. We are indeed exceptionally fortunate to have Tom as our life model for our next two life drawing sessions at Bucks.

Tom So in Casino Royale

But why get an actor and martial arts expert for life drawing classes? Because the study of life drawing for animators is all about finding strong, dynamic poses, poses which help our animators tell a story. We are not looking for long static poses and careful drawing - what we want to do is to breathe life into our characters. On Monday we will be doing a series of fast poses, quick sketches that sequentially tell a story in words, the kind of poses that can be used to create great animation.

Fukutu

You don't need to be a brilliant draftsman to do life drawing, just a willingness to learn and a desire to do bad drawings. Why bad drawings? Because you have to get the bad ones out of you before you can get to the good ones. Our goal is to get as many of the bad ones out of the way as fast as possible so you can get to the good ones quicker.

Fast sketches with a strong line of action

To see more on gesture drawing, quick sketches, and to learn more about the all-important line of action, watch this short video below.



For more details on our monday morning life drawing class in the Graphics Dept at Bucks, what to bring with you, and how to get there, see this blog post.

---Alex

(Editor's Note: For more on life drawing at Bucks, see our post on why animators should learn to draw. Also check out the free life drawing classes hosted by the Bucks Students' Union.)

Recording voice talent - a dummy's guide

Frank Gladstone directs actors in the sound booth

Every animator will eventually, at some point, find him or herself directing voice talent for a film project. Whether it’s a short film, a personal project, or a piece of animation for a client, you will eventually need your characters to speak. And for this, unless someone else does it for you, you will need actors.

So how does an animator or director go about recording voices? And how do you get a decent performance from an actor? Especially if you’ve never ever done it before? Follow the steps below - and you won’t go wrong.

Step 1. Find a proper sound booth

Yes, you can record something rough on your Mac or PC with a Microphone, but if you want some audio that actually sounds good, something suitable for broadcast, you need a booth. There is a reason why film-makers pay good money for a Soho recording facility – the sound quality is way better. But you’re a student – you’re broke. So what to do?

Luckily for our students at Bucks, we have state-of-the-art sound booths in abundance. Book them through the room booking system, get your self a technician (or better yet, a student) who knows how the press the right buttons, and you’re on your way. You can even take a tour here.

Sound booth at Bucks

Step 2. Find the right voice talent

This is the trickiest bit, but also the most important. Most people freeze up in front of a microphone. Even your friends who are funny, who do great voices in the pub after a few drinks, even they freeze up, and sound like a wooden cardboard character, reading their lines like a robot.

Luckily, Bucks again comes to the rescue. Put out a call on the Bucks New University Facebook Media Collaboration page – and find yourself an acting student who does voice-over work. Mostly, they’ll be pleased to get the experience. After all, we all need stuff for our demo reels.

Sound booths are located in the Gateway building, marked number 10 on the map

Step 3. Get Samples

Pro actors will have samples of their work online, doing different voices, in different styles. By way of example, check out the vocal work of Lizzie Waterworth-Santo here - she does the voice for Horrid Henry. Student actors most likely will not have this kind of online resource yet (though they should), but you can always ask them to email you some sample wav files.

Or, you can meet prospective voice talent in a quiet room (there are almost always some classrooms free at Bucks) and get them to do a few lines into your PC or laptop, just to check that they are right for the part. 90% of getting a good result on the day is casting the right person. Does the voice suit the role? Actors won’t be offended (or shouldn't be) if they aren’t right for the part; they understand the nature of the business.

What you don't want to do is waste a lot of time recording the wrong person in the booth. So get some good samples up front, and then pick the person who sounds right for the part.

Voice actors need this

Step 4: Recording day

Once you’re in the booth, make sure you get your voice talent a glass of water. Voice over work can be tough on the vocal cords. Be appreciative that they are helping you out.

Next, ask the talent to read all the lines all the way through, just once, to warm up. Give them some direction first. Typically, you want the voice-over to sound perky and conversational, like someone in a pub telling their friend about some great new idea. What you don't want is the sound of someone reading lines in a flat, listless way. Again, check out Lizzie's website for guidance. What style do you want? When the actor does their first read-through, tell them you're not recording them (but secretly do anyway - you might get some great takes). Then give them some notes.

After that, have the talent do each line read in groups of three, leaving a short gap in-between. Experienced actors will give you 3 different reads to choose from. Less experienced ones will give you the same line read 3 times. It shouldn’t matter though – if you have cast the right person, you should get a good result.

What if you don’t like the way they read the line? Should you do it for them? Well, yes…and no. When you record professional actors, don’t ever do the line for them. They’ll be offended. And if it’s a big star – they might be so offended they'll never work with you again. But with newbies, or your pals, it’s fine. We amateurs need more guidance. Whatever it takes to get a good result.


5. Recognition and credit

One last word. Whoever helps you out, whether it’s a sound technician or an actor, take down their full name. Good film-makers give credit where it’s due. Nothing burns your bridges faster than forgetting to give credit on your final cut.

---Alex