Our Next Open Day at Bucks - Tomorrow!

Tomorrow Saturday 11th October is our next Open Day at Bucks. Open Days are a great way to meet the Course Leaders (for Animation & VFX - that's me and Dave Creighton) here at Bucks, find out about our courses, and also explore our campus.

We're sure you'll be impressed by the state-of-the-art technical equipment we have in the brand new Gateway Building; the result of a £40m investment program completed just a couple of years ago, aimed at turning Bucks into a creative hub for media production of all kinds.

Gateway Building - modern media hub

Got questions about Animation? Or about visual effects work? Curious about careers, the kind of jobs available for animators and digital artists? - We have the answers.

Higher education is a big step and it's even bigger now that course fees have gone up. We want to make sure that all our students get excellent value for money, and receive an inspiring top-quality training that will ensure a successful career in industry.

High Wycombe

So, come along today and find out if Bucks is for you. And when you book a tour, make sure you ask to see the media facilities, not just the general tour. Why? Because at Bucks we strongly encourage collaborations between film-makers. What makes Bucks unique is the state-of-the-art kit we have, the latest in sound design, music recording, motion capture, dance and performance, film and TV. Need a cameraman? We have those. Need a voice-over? We've got that. Come and take the tour and be as impressed as I was when I came for interview at Bucks two years ago.

The official page, which has more details, including signups, maps and directions, can be found here.

 ---Alex

STILL not too late to apply for September!

A Level results are in, August is waning, and September is fast approaching.  Too late then, to apply to study Animation and Visual Effects at Bucks? In fact, it is still not too late to apply. We have picked up one or two talented students recently, but we still have a couple of spots available on our new course. At this stage of the academic year, the application process is called Clearing. So what is Clearing and how does it all work? Our guide below will help you figure it out. Remember: it's not too late!

High Wycombe Wants You

Here's what the official UCAS site has to say about Clearing:

Clearing is how universities and colleges fill any places they still have on their courses. It's an ideal way for you to find another course.  It's available from July through to September each year. If you already have your exam results, but you have no offers, you can use Clearing from July. If you had conditional offers but your exam results didn't go to plan, you can use Clearing from results day, when Clearing vacancies will be listed in our search tool.  If your exam results are reasonable and you're flexible on subject/location, there's still a good chance you'll find another course.

For a guide to clearing at Bucks, click on this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tNmHATaVzo #clearing #bucksnewuni #UCASclearing #ILoveBucks

Or just watch the video below:




If you'd like to know more about the course and what we do, don't hesitate to get in touch. You can contact us at alexander.williams@bucks.ac.uk, and we'll be glad to answer all your questions.

To contact us by phone, call us on 0800 0565 660 and we'll take you through a Clearing Data form.

You on your yacht. We can Skype!

As always, we recommend that anyone who wants to study with us should have a good look around campus to make sure it's where you want to spend the next three years of your undergraduate life. Or, at the very least, take our online tour. But we aren't Luddites - we do Skype interviews for plenty of candidates who can't be available for an on-campus interview. We can interview you wherever you are - even on holiday!

---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. 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.

How Can You Tell if Our Course is For You?

free 3D software

A career in animation and visual effects is not for everyone. A lot of what we do day to day involves solving software problems, trying to make stuff work on a PC or a Mac, and cursing our computer when it doesn't. Being a digital artist isn't for everyone. One way of finding out if this is something you would like to do for a career is to do a couple of tutorials online. A great place to start is with the 3D software Blender - it's completely free, and there are many free tutorials out there to get you started.

Free Blender Tutorial at YouTube

To begin, go to the Blender homepage at www.blender.org and download their free software. It's easy to do, and quick to install on your laptop, or your friend's laptop. Any reasonably modern machine should be able to run Blender.

Next, go to YouTube and search for Basic Blender Tutorials.  What you want are the most basic tutorials available, that teach you the really simple stuff, assuming absolutely no prior knowledge of the programme. Below is one we like, which teaches you how to model a coffee cup. To do this tutorial you will need a PC (it's not so good on a Mac) and a three button mouse (or Wacom tablet).




If you're running a Mac, you might try this Mac-friendly tutorial below instead. The author gives instructions for both platforms (Blender is slightly different on a Mac vs a PC), so if you are on a Mac you are more likely to be able to follow the tutorial without running into problems.



If you can follow one or both of these tutorials without giving up in despair and wanting to chuck the computer out of the window - a career in animation and visual effects might be for you.

A willingness to learn, an openness to embrace new software, the desire to combine technical and artistic skills - these are the hallmarks of a good digital artist. If this sounds like you - you will most likely enjoy our course at Bucks.

---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. 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.

Still time left to apply to start our course in September!

Not too late to apply!

It's high summer, and September is fast approaching. UCAS applications have long closed, and most folks have decided by now where they want to go to Uni and what they want to study, and have probably accepted a place. Too late then, to apply to study Animation and Visual Effects at Bucks. Or is it? In fact, it’s not too late to apply. We still have a couple of spots available on our new course, so don't despair. At this stage of the academic year, the application process is called Clearing. So what is Clearing and how does it all work? Our guide below will help you figure it out. Remember: it's not too late!

High Wycombe Wants You

Here's what the official UCAS site has to say about Clearing:

Clearing is how universities and colleges fill any places they still have on their courses. It's an ideal way for you to find another course.  It's available from July through to September each year. If you already have your exam results, but you have no offers, you can use Clearing from July. If you had conditional offers but your exam results didn't go to plan, you can use Clearing from results day, when Clearing vacancies will be listed in our search tool.  If your exam results are reasonable and you're flexible on subject/location, there's still a good chance you'll find another course.

For a guide to clearing at Bucks, click on this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tNmHATaVzo #clearing #bucksnewuni #UCASclearing #ILoveBucks

Or just watch the video below:




If you'd like to know more about the course and what we do, don't hesitate to get in touch. You can contact us at alexander.williams@bucks.ac.uk, and we'll be glad to answer all your questions.

To contact us by phone, call us on 0800 0565 660 and we'll take you through a Clearing Data form.

You on your yacht. We can Skype!

As always, we recommend that anyone who wants to study with us should have a good look around campus to make sure it's where you want to spend the next three years of your undergraduate life. But we aren't Luddites - we do Skype interviews for plenty of candidates who can't be available for an on-campus interview. We can interview you wherever you are - even on holiday!

---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. 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.

Applications for our Animation & Visual Effects course are up 37%

Universities across the UK are suffering a sector-wide fall in applications. But here at Bucks we are celebrating a big increase in applicants for our new Animation & Visual Effects Course, launched in September 2013. Why are our numbers up? We think it's because of our big ambition - to be the best Animation and Visual Effects course in the country.


That's a big ambition, and we don't pretend to be there yet. We have along way to go. But take a look at the work done by our talented undergraduates, and recent graduates and we think we're heading in the right direction. The business of animation and visual effects is highly competitive, but students with the right skills, proper motivation and good contacts can forge themselves a successful career and join one of the UK's most successful and thriving industries.

(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 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.)

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.)

What does Bucks look for in an online portfolio?

Life drawing - excellent training for animators

One of the most common questions we get asked by students applying for the Animation and Visual Effects course here at Bucks is: What should go into my portfolio? The answer is - a bit of everything. Drawings, Painting, Life drawing, sketches, scribbles - and especially 3D digital artwork.

Our course at Bucks is increasingly digital, reflecting long-term changes in the industry, and we find that applicants with solid computer skills tend to flourish best. For a full description of what might go into a good application portfolio, check out this post.

Nowadays, we are doing a growing number of online interviews with Skype, generally for applicants from overseas. As a result, a new and slightly different question arises - what should go into an online portfolio?

The answer of course, is pretty much the same as if you were being interviewed in person. We are looking for candidates with good all-round art skills, including drawing, design and animation. You should also be familiar with computers and computer software, and be curious enough to want to know more.

It also helps if you don't get too frustrated when computers go wrong - which they do all the time - and see this as a challenge to be overcome rather than as a reason to stop work. of course, we also want to see signs of creativity and visual invention. Animation is not just about mastering the software, it's about having ideas, and giving a performance.

The best kind of digital portfolio is a website or blog showcasing your work. Check out our post here on how to create a free blog and/or website, and start uploading your work today. It's never too early.

However, if you're not ready to put your work online, or you simply don't have the time, email us your stuff. This could take the form or a JPEG or a PDF document; something that is easily opened with standard software. Movie files in simple formats like .avi or .mov are also welcome.

Quick sketches help to capture movement, and can be used for animation poses

What we don't want to see are specialist program files like Maya files or 3D Studio Max files, or Flash, or AfterEffects files. Specialist files like this take too long to load up and the person doing the interview may not have the software on their laptop.

So, just like if you were applying for a job, make sure you present your work in a format which is easily opened. Do a quick tech check before you send it out - do the files actually work? And can they be opened in standard software like QuickTime or Adobe Acrobat?

----Alex

What do our students think of our course?

We want to offer the very best Animation and Visual Effects in the country. That's a big ambition, and since our course has just launched, it will be a couple of years before anyone can really judge us on whether we have achieved that goal.

In the meantime, judge us on our students' work, and the work of our tutors. How else can you tell how we're getting on? Well, check out the interview above with our new students, where they talk about their experience of the new course over the past few months. They've only just got underway with their new careers as digital artists, but we're proud of the excellent work they have done so far.

----Alex   

(Editor's Note: To see the excellent work done by our students, see this post. Also check out the first exercise done by our new 2012 students here. Take a look at the animation of Jack Strood, as well as our latest commercial project for Rocketseed, our short film done for a global aid agency, and check out the excellent work of some of our recent graduates, such as designer Monika Dzikowicz, architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan. )

Happy New Year - the UCAS applications deadline is looming!

High Wycombe wants you

The deadline to apply for a place on our new Animation and Visual Effects course at Bucks New University is January 15th 2014. Despite all the recent changes in higher education, UCAS is still the main portal to access a place at university in the UK. To find out more, don't delay, check out the UCAS website.

What sort of students are we looking for" We want applicants with a real passion to do animation and visual effects work, a drive to become a digital artist and take advantage of the myriad opportunities for animation, games and online work in the new digital economy. Animation is now big business, but it is competitive, and we want to give all our graduates the best possible head start.

The most important thing you need to succeed is a passion for the medium and the desire to learn. Animation is hard work, and takes a while to learn. You will also need a creative spirit - someone who loves to doodle or sketch ideas is perfect for our course. Computer literacy is also vital; not that you need to know the software before you begin, but a willingness to learn and a desire to embrace digital challenges is all part of the job. Getting stuck on a technical problem? - Google it. You will not be the first person to face this hurdle.

Formally, we require 200 UCAS points to get started. But, apart from basic literacy and maths, we're not really that hung up about academic qualifications. Creativity and computer literacy are the building blocks of your career, plus a lot of determination.

Done any digital artwork lately? Bring it in!

Do we interview? Of course! We want to meet you, and we want you to meet us. To see more about what should go into your portfolio for interview, read this post, and check out this post on interview etiquette.

You can also take two minutes to watch this short video which sets out our big ambitions for our new course.

Plus, if you're serious about coming to Bucks, come in and meet us in person, and check out awesome facilities. Our next Open Day is February 19th 2014. You can see details here.

----Alex

(Editor's Note: To see the excellent work done by our students, see this post. Also check out the first exercise done by our new 2012 students here. Take a look at the animation of Jack Strood, as well as our latest commercial project for Rocketseed, our short film done for a global aid agency, and check out the excellent work of some of our recent graduates, such as designer Monika Dzikowicz, architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan. )