Bucks Animation Student Kalim Momen is Rusty - For a Day

As everyone at Bucks knows, Rusty is our official university mascot, the big furry character with antlers who welcomes you to our University Open Days and to Freshers’ Week. This week we did some filming for a short video about life at the university, and we needed someone to play Rusty. Fortunately, Kalim Momen, one of our 2nd year animation students, was game to try out the Rusty suit, and see what life is like as a loveable cartoon deer.

Kalim gets suited up

Animators sometimes forget that we are actors too. Unlike most actors, we act out our performances (for the most part) with a mouse, or a pencil, and most of our work is done in our imaginations. If we act something out, it is generally for reference only. The final product will be the animation itself.

On this occasion, Kalim had to try something different – using his body to become the character, like regular actors do. To get into the part, he had to get dressed up in the Rusty costume - which took a lot longer than you might think.

As it turned out, Kalim was a great Rusty; he quickly got into the swing of things, doing silly walks, hugging visitors, and generally putting a smile on everyone’s face. Rusty is the official mascot of the Bucks Students' Union, and the SU could not have been more helpful getting us up and running.

Kalim also discovered some other things about spending the day as a cartoon buck. Big antlers make it hard to fit through doorways, and even on a cold day in November, the inside of a thick fuzzy deer suit gets very, very hot indeed.

Suited at last!

I know this from personal experience because years ago I got to play Goofy at DisneyWorld. Out in the Florida heat and humidity I thought I was going to boil alive. Twenty minutes was enough for me. Kalim on the other hand managed well over an hour – a fine achievement of endurance.

Rusty gets a big hug. Go Rusty!

In the end, we got the footage we needed, and Kalim got some great experience being an actor and performer. Now all he has to do is apply those skills to his animation....

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.

Wednesday 19th November - Come to Our Next Open Day at Bucks!

Wednesday 19th November 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. Arrive by car or by train

You can find out why we give all our students free laptops, and why everyone gets a free subscription to Lynda.com - one of the leading providers of tech tutorials for learning new software.  If you miss a session in class - just catch up online.

Free 1TB of storage for our freshers

This goes for our animation classes too; we have literally hundreds of online videos available exclusively to our students, hosted at Vimeo. Just log in, and start learning.  We also hand out free 1TB external hard drives, so you have enough storage for all the impressive work you produce here at Bucks.

We want all our students to have access to the latest tools, and we recognise that finance is tight for most students, so we won't burden you with extra costs and hidden charges.

So, come along on Wednesday 19 November  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, working with other departments like sound design and performing arts.

Sound design at Bucks

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

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.

Activities Week Comes to Bucks! - Monday November 17th

Activities Week at Bucks

Monday November 17th is the start of Activities Week at Bucks - a chance to explore the many and diverse aspects of life at the university, and tackle something new, exciting and different. It's all organised through the Bucks Student Union and forms part of the Bucks Big Deal - which aims to offer our students great value for money, making sure you're not confronted with unexpected costs or extra expenses. Best of all Activities Week is a chance to try your hand at stuff you've never done before.

Some of the activities this year include:

• Dance lessons
• Metal casting
• Learn sign language
• Spanish lessons
• Rock climbing
• Bubble football
• Ceramics
• CV writing
•  First Aid

The activities are many and varied and all are free. Be warned though - the popular sessions will fill up fast, so book early. But most of all - have fun! It's a break from your regular classes and a chance to try something completely different.

To find out more, visit the official site at http://www.bucksstudentsunion.org/news/article/6013/Activities-Week/

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. 

Do you need to study at university to learn animation?

The TAAFI Education Panel

On Monday 16 June TAAFI - the Toronto Animation Art Festival International - hosted a panel talk on the subject of  “An Animation Education”. The sub-title of the talk was “Do you need to go to university to learn animation?”. In other words, given all the opportunities now available to study online, should  students still commit to the expense and time of a full undergraduate education?

On the panel to discuss the question were Richard Arroyo – head of Games at iAnimate.net,  Mark Jones, chair, School of Creative Arts, Aubrey Mintz, Head of Animation, California State University Long Beach, Brooke Keesling, Manager, Animation Talent, and Tony Tarantini, Sheridan College Professor of Animation. The first question was this:

1. Are we living in a Golden Age of animation training? What are the challenges and opportunities for both schools and students?

Aubrey Mintz recalled that back in the 1990s there were hardly any animation schools where students could learn - and now there are hundreds. He was concerned that "we may be saturating the market". As Aubrey put it: "There are so many people studying, and very few students will make it to work in feature films". He recommended that anyone interested in discussing the subject further should join the Animation Educator’s Forum at ASIFA Hollywood. Richard Arroyo agreed, saying there are "too many students."

Brooke Keesling, who works as a recruiter at Cartoon Network as well as teaching at CalArts, said "we accept one out of ten students". As a recruiter at a studio, she targets "certain schools where the quality is high". But "some things", she said "cannot be taught". And she often recruits students who have not been to any university, just by surfing the web. Sometimes she "just looks at Tumbler to look for great artists".

Sheridan College, regarded as one of the best animation schools in the world

Tony Taranti of Sheridan College in Toronto said that for universities there are "Lots of restrictions, imposed by the Government; there is tons of stuff for educators to deal with". He said that often they spend their effort "trying to circumvent the bureaucracy". Tony felt strongly that his students ARE ready for industry. As he put it, "Animation is a team sport – if you want to play in a team, you have to be in a team". You have to "get students together in a physical space to collaborate - it's all very old school". There is pressure from the top - ie: "how much of this can we do online?".

Richard Arroyo of iAnimate said that "kids need access. iAnimate gives access to more kids" in a way that traditional universities do not because of class size restrictions. As Richard put it: "our students hang out, (just like university students do), but they do it online".

Brooke Keesling said that getting internships can be harder for online students. Many companies only accept students from organisations which are "formally accredited". Therefore, online students can’t intern at Cartoon Network. Richard said that this is sometimes true, but it depends on the company. Many companies just want talent. If online students have skills and talent, they will get hired, and they will find internships.

Aubrey Mintz said that to find work, "you must be top of your game". As he put it, "4 or 5 years [of undergraduate study] may not be enough" to get there. He sends many of his students to online schools after they graduate to polish their skills.


The second question was this: 
2: Are schools teaching Soft skills like teamwork?

Aubrey Mintz said that their university do make short films with the students, so they get a "real-life experience". And in fact increasingly the industry is working remotely - even Sony pictures "works with many remote animators". He said it was important for students to get real-life production experience at university, just like working on a real production.

Tony Tarantini asked if it is even possible to treat your students like employees. "Can you treat your students like they are working in industry?" The answer is "No...they can complain. You can’t fire them (like an employee can be fired), but they can fire you. Or, rather, they can get you fired". As Tony put it: "It’s a different environment [from industry]. Some teachers pass people just so they don’t deal with the outcome of failing students. The students paid their tuition fee; they expect to pass.  Production managers have to deal with this when they have hired people under contract who don’t produce, but at university it is a very different environment to industry".

CalArts

Brooke Keesling said that Gnomon in Los Angeles is very good at what they do, as is Lynda.com as an online learning environment. As she put it, learning online, "you get to be a specialist". A full degree is a very different beast. At, say, CalArts "you get a well-rounded education, with an emphasis on drawing. CalArts students have to make a film every single year. They get a chance to fail or succeed four times". As she put it: "making four films at CalArts gives the students vision, and offers them chances to fail. Even if three films fail, one will succeed". In other words, CalArts "trains directors".

Aubry Mintz emphasised that "we are educators, not employers. Our students will get beaten up in the industry anyway" - so they don't need to get beaten up at university as well. However, students do "need to learn how to fail". Passing students who don't make the grade does them no favours.


The third question posed to the panel was: "What do Universities need to do, to raise their game?"

Tony Tarantino made a plea for "less bureaucracy" from government, in order to set schools and universities free.

Aubry Mintz agreed. "The biggest challenge is the academic unit count. Universities want to get students out faster", ie to "teach a lot in a little time". He described how hard it is to get things done in spite of the bureaucrats, and said that educators have to learn to be people who take decisive action, and “ask for forgiveness - not for permission”. He also had some good advice for university lecturers. "Don't give your course specific names. Instead, name them simply 'Animation 1', 'Animation 2' etc. That way you can change the content later on."

Brooke Keesling talked about the importance of networking. She said this was "very important", and that students who study in places like San Francisco and Los Angeles have an advantage because of geography. As she put it: "for schools in distant towns, its is harder for them". She advised students to “go to a school in a town where there is work”.

Richard Arroyo agreed, saying that "your network will help you get work."


The fourth question to the panel was : What makes a studio hire a student?

Brooke Keesling said "It’s not about a school. It’s about the work. We look for students online, we invite them [to work] on the show [Cartoon Network]. For TV work – it’s all about story, because the actual animation is done overseas. Working for Cartoon Network is all about drawing and story telling ability. Our story artists must be writers as well as artists."

Aubry Mintz said that "animation is a big term"; it covers many disciplines. Educators need to "get students away from Google; go to the library. We have to train well-rounded artists". There needs to be "time for students to explore at university".

Tony Tarantini said that students "have to be well-informed. You have to know the industry". Students also "need to know art history. You must be a full artist". Students must not just learn to press buttons but must become "a creative force" in order to succeed.

Brooke Keesling agreed. Some of the best artists at Cartoon Network really know their art history.  JJ Ballard's excellent short film “Son of Satan” has "lots of art history references".

Worth studying?

Tony Tarantini teaches a course in Florence every year, called “Italian Art and Culture”. It is a way of helping students to get a "better background" in general art history. It's all about the "expansion of them as an artist."

Aubry Mintz agreed, saying that he "does not want to teach software in class". Instead, he "wants to teach theory and interesting stuff".

Finally, one student in the audience asked the panel "What advice would you give to a student who wants to make an independent film?"

The answer, given almost in unison was: “Make them”.

Gateway Building at Bucks

Needless to say, here at Bucks we think that a full BA at University still has a lot to offer, especially if you really want to get a proper well-rounded education in the digital arts. But in way, comparing study online with a full three or four degree course is rather unfair. My online school Animation Apprentice is a course designed for students who don't have three years of their life to commit to school.  At Bucks we expect our students to emerge with a wide variety of skills: animation, design, storyboarding, modeling, lighting, texturing, rigging. And, of course, all the soft skills, like teamwork, co-operation, and working on group projects. In the end though, it's up to our students to decide what they want to specialise in, and then it becomes our job to help them realise their goals.

---Alex

For more about what we do at Bucks, take a virtual tour of our animation studio, and also a virtual tour of our other, state-of-the-art media facilities. Best of all, if you are in the neighbourhood, drop in at an Open Day and see us. Also check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK.  Click here to find out more about the Bucks Big Deal.

Come to our next Open Day - Saturday 11 October 2014

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

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

 ---Alex

(Editor's Note: If you can't come in and see us, take a virtual tour of our animation studio, and also a virtual tour of our other, state-of-the-art media facilities. We'll also be glad to answer any questions you have in the meantime. Email us at alexander.williams@bucks.ac.uk)

Periodic Review at Bucks - how can we do better?

On Friday March 14th we had Periodic Review at Bucks. Periodic Review is - as the name suggests - a review of the courses we run at Bucks, bringing in the views of our students, our academics, and external experts to give us all a reality check, and ask searching questions about what we are doing right - and what we are doing wrong. The process takes place every six years and, as it turned out,  friday was a surprisingly useful day, helping to shine a light on the way we do things at Bucks, asking questions about why things are the way they are - and how we might do things better in the future.

Periodic Review took place all day on Friday 14th March in g5.05 in the Gateway Building (above), which incidentally has the best views of Wycombe I have seen so far - highly recommended if you ever need to book a conference room. So who was there? In the chair was Sue West, Academic Dean of Nursing.

Jon Thornton was the visiting external academic; he is head of Sound Technology at the School of the Arts at Liverpool University.  We also had Ruth Gunstone, Director of Student Services at Bucks.

From industry we had Adam Lucas, a digital artist who has worked extensively in Soho at many studios including Cinesite and Frame Store.

We also welcomed David Rolfe, an alumni of Bucks from the 1960s. David is a film-maker, documentary maker and BAFTA winner. From Bucks we had Ruth Gunstone, ‎Director of Student Services, as well as the usual gang of tutors from Media Production.

Academic -v- Practical outcomes

One of the issues that came up early on was the thorny question of striking the right balance between academic and practical content. Jon Thornton asked us if we thought we had the balance right between practical and academic outcomes? After all, given that our courses are focused on acquiring industry-relevant skills, how much purely academic content should there really be?

Jon Thornton - Head of Sound Technology at Liverpool School of Performing Arts

I didn't personally hear the feedback from the students who were present at the meeting (they were interviewed first, without their tutors, so as to encourage them speak freely), but their concerns were relayed to us by the chair. And one of the leading questions asked by the students was this: why do we have to write essays?

This is a debate we often have within the Animation and Visual Effects course. How much academic content should there be? John Thornton pointed out that our focus at the university is on employability, "but the assessments at Level 6 seem to focus 70% on written work...which seems an odd balance to strike". Jon added that at his university, the Dean has banned the word “academic”. Why can't we “be braver” he asked – "why not shift the emphasis from academic to practical skills?"

Frazer Mackenzie

Frazer Mackenzie, our Head of School, echoed this. "Two thirds of our campus is devoted to the creative industries", he said. There is a "tension between this and with academic content". We have to ask the question "are we meeting industry requirements?" Jon suggested that one option might be simply that "some modules don’t need academic content".

David Rolfe

David Rolfe added that although "academic content is measurable...there are other ways of measuring things". He said that "what is also valuable is success at student film festivals". To have students creating "award-winning films... is a measure of success".

Tutor - student contact at Level 6

The next major issue that came up was the amount of contact between tutors and students at level 6, that is the say in students' 3rd (final) year of studies. According to the panel, the students "say they miss us” in their final year". In other words, "they want more contact with their tutors".

Collaboration between departments

David Rolfe asked "why don't the students collaborate more?" After all, he added, "they say they don’t even know each other!". This is clearly a concern for us - different students from different departments should meet and collaborate more. Alan Green talked about the possibility of animators and sound designers collaborating more (and better) in the future.

Ruth Gunstone

Engagement with students

Ruth asked if our students were regularly checking blackboard? And are they checking their emails? Student attendance is often an issue and many of the tutors expressed concern about this.

David Rolfe wondered if too much documentation was being given out in general? He asked why he was a sent series of huge PDF documents in advance of today's event? He gave up trying to print it out – when all he really wanted was 2-3 pages of relevant material.

Employability

Jobs and employability is always at the forefront of the university's agenda. But how are we actually tracking this? The availability of data on employability is poor, and as an institution we don't necessarily have the best track record of keeping in touch with our former alumni. Ruth Gunstone explained that Helen Walters is “leading on alumni”, and invited lecturers and tutors to make contact with her.

Helen Walters

David Rolfe wondered whether our focus on employability is perhaps too extreme. In his view, the focus of our courses should be "about dreams, about students finding themselves". He suggested we "don’t talk about jobs for the first year". Instead, we should ask ourselves and the students "what makes them excited?"

Adam Lucas asked about bringing in visiting lecturers from industry. Were we doing this? And what is the focus of the new animation course? He was concerned that we should have as many visiting lecturers as possible, to make sure that the students were getting lectures from working professionals with up-to-date skills.

Sue West

Sue West summarized the conclusion of the panel by saying that she was “confident that learning outcomes are being met”, and that the programmes at Bucks “do meet industry requirements”.She did however make some recommendations. These included:

1. Our department should do more research.

2. There should be more cross-course collaboration

3. We should "package our virtual learning resources together", so that they can be more easily accessed by the students 

4. We should "consider the shape of contact hours over level 6", and "add more structured contact" between tutors and students

5. We should "consider the balance of academic and practical assessments"

---Alex 

(Editor's note: 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.)
 

Introducing the Bucks New University Film Society - launching on Thursday 20 March

Film Club. Just like Fight Club - but without the fighting

Calling all film enthusiasts at Bucks: The BNU Film society is re-launching itself this coming Thursday 20th March. The film society is the best place to go at Bucks to watch, share and discuss films with people who love films just as much as you do.

Needless to say, anyone can stay at home and watch a film alone, but nothing beats sharing the excitement of watching an action, fantasy, science fiction, romance, thriller, horror or comedy with friends and others who share the same enthusiasm.

BNU Film Society meets up fortnightly in N4.06. It is organised and run by a group of 3rd year students currently studying Animation, Games and Interactive Media - David Wheeler, Alex Castleton and Tosin Oluyadi. The next screening will be held on 20 March in N4.06 - that's the North Building marked No.4 on the map below:

Each week there is a short introduction to the film before everything gets started, and then a discussion afterwards.

To find out more about screenings, check out the Facebook Group, and sign up. The Facebook group also allows society members to vote for their favourite film to be shown at the next meeting - all very democratic.

The club is also looking for new members who can take on administrative roles when the existing committee leave Uni. Think of the glamour of having "Film Club - President" on your CV when you graduate.

So get involved, start thinking of what you might like to see screened, and go ahead and find them at Facebook.

---Alex

What is Student Number Control?

How it used to be

Student Number Control is the system by which the Government regulates how many students each university in the UK can welcome through its doors. In effect, every university has a quota, which it cannot exceed, and that quota is dictated by the Government. The purpose of the system is to control student numbers, and distribute students geographically throughout the country, ensuring that a handful of super universities don't soak up all the talent.

The system has been in place for many years, but - and this is the important bit - it is about to end. From 2015, Student Number Control will be gone. The announcement that Student Number Control will end was made in the 2013 Autumn statement by Chancellor George Osborne. So what does it all mean? The answer is - big changes are ahead for universities across the country.

It's all George's fault

How the system works now
Right now, the government funds a fixed number of places at each university by lending students the money to cover their fees. The system is run by The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and there is not much flexibility in these quotas.

The only exception to the quota system is this: universities are currently free to accept as many top-performing applicants as they wish - ie applicants who get better than ABB at A Level. If universities exceed the number of students they recruit with grades lower than ABB, they get fined.

HEFCE - running the show

How the system will change
From 2015, each university can take as many students as it likes. The quota system will be scrapped entirely. No limits, no quotas - and no fines.

First, the good news
The good news is that, in effect, there will be many more places at University, potentially throwing higher education open to tens of thousands of extra students. According to the Chancellor - up to 30,000 extra students. So what this means is, potentially, a further large expansion of higher education in the UK.

It also means that universities which are very good at what they do, and are heavily over-subscribed, will be free to expand their numbers. And new universities that you haven't even heard of yet will be tempted to start up new courses.

The bad news
The bad news is that universities which have traditionally struggled to fill their quotas will be struggling even more. Expansion at the top means contraction at the bottom, so any university course which isn't already popular and performing at a high level will be under pressure.

Adam Smith would approve

Does this amount to privatisation of higher education?
In a way, yes. It certainly is an extension of free market principles to higher education, which has traditionally been heavily protected from the chilly winds of the market. If you are a follower of Adam Smith, you will probably rejoice. If you're in Karl Marx's team - it looks like bad news.

What does this mean for animation at Bucks?
For universities all across the country, all this means big changes. Under subscribed courses will likely have to close down or re-invent themselves. Popular, successful courses will likely expand and thrive. Some universities will likely face the threat of shrinkage, being taken over, or possibly even closure.

Gateway - our shiny new media hub

Take a look at The Times and The Guardian university league tables, and Bucks doesn't do well. But, focus on the creative arts, especially media production, and we do much, much better. The £40m investment in 2007 in the Gateway building (above) has paid off, with huge growth in media courses like Performance, Film and TV, Sound Design, Music Management and (of course!) Animation and Visual Effects.

The Gateway building is one of the best things about Bucks. The opportunity for our students to collaborate with other departments, exploring film-making across other disciplines, is huge, and it is unique. Any university can offer an animation course. Not many can offer the range of collaborations that Bucks can.

Sound design at Bucks

Our goal is to be the best animation and visual effects course in the country. For us, the ending of Student Number Control is an opportunity to grow our course and become the UK leader that we want to be.

That's a big ambition. Ask me in three years if we have pulled it off or not.

---Alex

(Editor's note: For more on collaborations between departments at Bucks, read this piece on Sound Design.  For more on the Bucks Media Collaborations Page, see this article. To find out more about how to work successfully on group projects, check out this piece. )

Virtual Tour of our Animation Studio!

Animation - a fisheye view

The best way to figure out if Bucks is the right place for you to study animation and visual effects is to come in and visit us in person. We have regular Open Days; our next one is on Wednesday 19 February - you can sign up here.  But in case you can't make it in to see us in person, you can take our virtual tours instead from the comfort of your keyboard at home.

Most of our animation teaching at Bucks is done in the computer rooms in the Gateway Building, the modern media hub which brings together all sorts of film-makers including sound designers, animators, film and TV specialists, dancers, performers; in short - pretty much every conceivable kind of person involved in creative media production.  For a virtual tour of our animation studio at Bucks, follow this link.

To see virtual tours of some of other our state-of-the-art facilities, such as the green screen room and the sound recording studios,  check out the links on this page.

---Alex

(Editor's Note: for a broad overview of the facilities that Bucks has to offer, check out this welcome-to-Bucks post for our new students) 

The Daily Telegraph ranks Bucks in top 14 Creative Universities

Art and Industry - what Bucks is all about

Recently the online magazine Huffington Post ranked Bucks in the top 12 Creative Universities in the UK. Now the Telegraph has weighed in, including us in a list of the 14 most creative universities in the UK.  So why are we in this list? The answer lies in the massive £40million investment made a few years ago in our shiny new Gateway media building - an investment that is now beginning to pay off handsomely.

According to The Telegraph, the list was compiled by the consumer group Which?, who asked more than 16,000 students in the UK tell them if music, theatre, dance, choirs and the visual arts played a large part in university life.

The results came from two separate surveys. One was conducted this past summer and one was done in 2012. There is no order to the rankings. We're not number 14 - we are among the 14.

Gateway Building - opened in 2010

 

I have never taught at a University that had better facilities for making media than we have here at Bucks. Our animation students collaborate with sound designers, dancers, actors, musicians, live action film-makers and - ready to go live in early 2014 - a new motion capture facility. We're even trying to figure out ways of collaborating the fashion students. I don't know quite how yet - but we'll figure it out.

All great film-makers are collaborators, and almost every successful media project that any of us work on will be a collaboration of one kind or another. Look at any great director or film-maker and you will find a hugely talented team standing behind them.

There are many ways that or students collaborate. One of them is the Bucks Media Collaborations page at Facebook, which brings different departments together to collaborate on their projects.

To take a look for yourself at what we offer at Bucks, drop in to one of our open days. In fact, we have one tomorrow, from 5.30pm to 9pm. More details here.

----Alex

(Editor's note: for more on collaborations between departments, check out this piece on the super-useful Bucks Media Collaborations page. To take a virtual tour of some of our excellent facilities, read this article.  And to see how serious we are about making sure our students are technically proficient, find out about why we're giving away free laptops to our new students.)

Open Day today at Bucks!

Open Day at Bucks New University - come and see us!

Today, Wednesday 20th November 2013, is Open Day at Bucks. Open Days are a great way to meet the Tutors and 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.

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 are going 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.

So, come along today and find out if Bucks is for you. The official page, which has more details, can be found here.

Bucks ranked in top 12 among "Creative Universities" in the UK by Huffington Post

Gateway media hub - opened in 2010

One of the best things about teaching at Bucks New University is the huge range of media disciplines that are gathered around our High Wycombe campus. In recent years Bucks has been re-inventing itself as a major creative hub, following the huge £40million investment in the Gateway media building that houses a wide variety of creative arts. That investment is now beginning to pay off, and recently the Huffington Post recognised this by ranking us number 12 among creative universities in the UK.

This is very welcome news for everyone at Bucks. In traditional university terms, Bucks does not score high on the lists. We don't do much research, and we lack the prestige of the ancient universities. However, despite our name, our institution goes back in one form or another to the late 19th century. Founded in 1893 as the School of Science and Art, the original motto was "arte et industria", which doesn't need much translating, even if you skipped Latin at school.

Over a century on, that's still what we do. Animation and Visual Effects is a perfect example - a blend of art and industry, or, rather, art and computer science - which is much the same thing.

How it used to be at Bucks. And, in a way, still is.

I have taught animation at many schools and universities around the world. But I have never taught at a University that had better facilities for making media than we have here at Bucks. Film, TV, acting and performance, Green Screen, Live Events, Sound Design - we have talented students in every department. Check out the Bucks Media Collaborations page at Facebook, which brings these departments together to collaborate on great projects.

For anyone doing creative media at Bucks, things are getting better all the time. So it is great news that the world is starting to notice.

----Alex

(Editor's note: for more on collaborations between departments, check out this piece on the Bucks Media Collaborations page. To take a virtual tour of some of our excellent facilities, read this article.  And to see how serious we are about making sure our students are technically proficient, find out about why we're giving away free laptops to our new students.)

Meet our Tutors - Rob Kelly

Rob Kelly teaches Camera, TV production, Design and Motion Graphics at Bucks

Rob Kelly is a vastly experienced commercials director with a long and varied career in advertising and branding, and has numerous awards to his name. He has also worked as a creative director and graphic designer for some of the top branding, advertising and design agencies in London. We asked him to tell us about his remarkable career - and what brought him to teach here at Bucks New University.

Bucks: How did you come to be teaching here at Bucks New University?

Rob: A few years ago one of my kids’ teachers ‘volunteered’ me go into their school to teach Photoshop (I am a TV graphic designer/creative director as well as a TV commercials director). I realised instantly the buzz I get from teaching: watching the pennies drop as my students realise what they are capable of achieving.

BBC 2 Ident directed by Rob Kelly

I later went to Middlesex University to study for a PGCE teaching qualification but realised straight away that secondary schools were not the environment that I could best flourish in. It was obvious to me that higher education was the most appropriate environment for me to teach in given my professional background.

I got my teaching qualification and started looking for a university that teaches the subjects I specialise in: film, TV, design, animation, motion graphics and visual effects. It took a whole year to find the right job that I felt completely comfortable with but I am very happy that I waited for this position at Bucks.

Some career highlights

Bucks: What is your area of expertise and what are the projects you have worked on that you are most proud of?

Rob: I started off as a TV graphic designer at the BBC Open University before progressing to a company called Lambie-Nairn, one of the top branding and design agencies in the UK where I won many national and international design awards. Lambie-Nairn was the design group that created the original Channel 4 and BBC2 TV idents. My areas of expertise include TV graphic design, animation, motion graphics, green screen compositing, computer generated imagery, visual effects, special effects, live action direction, commercials direction and creative problem-solving.

Bucks: Which projects stand out the most?

Rob: Of the many projects I’ve worked on three really stand out. The first one was the very first TV title sequence I was ever asked to design at the BBC. The sequence went on to win a prestigious Design and Art Direction (D&AD) silver award for ‘outstanding educational graphic design.’ As I remember it only cost £100 to make but it kick-started my whole career!

BBC 2 Ident by Rob Kelly

The second project I am most proud of was a title sequence I designed for the Beatles Anthology, a TV history of the Beatles. You need to understand that I am the world’s biggest Beatles fan (I once never listened to any other band for three years! Seriously.) I got to meet a lot of the key people at Apple records, who I’d read about, and eventually got to work with Paul McCartney himself, who’s actually a really decent cove. We got on very well and we worked together on several more of his projects, but I was never allowed to ask for an autograph or have my photograph taken with him!

My favourite quote from my time working on the anthology was Apple’s MD telling me he was going to fax my initial storyboard to Paul and Yoko for their approval. I nearly fainted. He also once asked me to pitch on the design of the Beatles Anthology record covers, casually dropping in the fact that the other people I was pitching against were David Hockney, Klaus Voorman (designed the cover of Revolver) and Sir Peter Blake (designed the cover of Sgt. Pepper). Needless to say I didn’t win the pitch!

The third was a project I worked on last year for Watford Football Club. Bucks decided to embark on a very ambitious TV test project called The Hornets Show. This was to be a huge collaboration between animation students, film/TV students and audio students together with external clients from Watford FC, a professional TV presenter and Adam Leventhal, a specialist sports presenter/consultant from Sky Sports.

Each month the students create a 30 minute football magazine programme in a green screen studio composited into a beautiful CGI set that the 3D animation students designed. It was a very ambitious project but it was well worth all the effort because the students learned a huge amount, they really enjoyed working on it and the results looked fantastic, even if I say so myself. It’s probably true to say that no other university animation/film/TV course can offer such an ambitious and complex project which the students can use on their showreels to try to find work when they graduate. But it very nearly killed me though!

The Hornet Show

Bucks: What do you like most about teaching?

Rob: The best thing about teaching is the students. University students are here studying their specialised subjects, because they want to be here. What they learn here is what they will mostly be doing for the rest of their professional working lives. This makes it fundamentally different from teaching in a secondary school, where students are required to study subjects that they may well not be interested in. I love the way students grow more confident and self-assured and mature over the three years to become masters of their craft.

I still enjoy watching the pennies drop inside students’ heads when they realise how to achieve fantastic results after being taught some new technical skill. It sounds like a cliché but it’s endlessly rewarding.

I also love the many ‘Mr Chips’ moments that I have had the good fortune to experience since I have been here. For example, last year a second year student showed me a film he had made for a client which was so beautiful that it made me cry, right there in front of the whole class! Not something I would ordinarily do lightly. The students clearly understood why though!


Bucks: What are the biggest challenges for the students at Bucks?

Rob: Clearly the financial impact of the recent government changes to student fees have made a big difference to the student experience. However, interest in our courses seems to be higher now than before the increase in student fees. Students still clearly value a high quality university education as preparation for a profitable career. Many students have to balance part-time paid work with their university work in order to make money to live on. This doesn’t usually interfere with their studies but tutors are usually aware if there are any problems on the horizon and can offer pastoral care and advice to help their students.


Bucks: What advice would you give to any students considering applying to Bucks?

Rob: You should consider the results of the teaching at Bucks: look at recent graduates’ showreels (their animation/ film/TV projects). Is this the level of quality that you aspire to? At Open Days, talk to the lecturers who will be teaching you: decide if you’d like to be taught by them. Fully understand the course you’ll be studying and compare it to what you imagine you want to do. Consider the environment you’ll be working in, such as the Gateway, which is an incredible environment to teach and learn in.

The Gateway Building - our main media hub

On open days talk to the student ambassadors to see how they themselves feel about studying at Bucks. Walk around High Wycombe and see if it’s a place you’d like to spend three years. Go and see the halls of residence: decide if this is an environment you’d enjoy living in for your first year. Go and see other universities teaching the same subjects so that you can compare and contrast universities: make an informed decision where you’d like to study for three years. Consider whether you’d feel happy in all of these contexts as this is a big decision to make.

High Street in High Wycombe

Bucks: How can our existing students get the most out of their course?

Rob: When you arrive at any university in your first year it is essential to use your freshers’ (first) week to make as many friends as you possibly can. Stay in the halls of residence if you can, visit the students’ union, socialise, join as many clubs as you can, even join clubs that you’re not really interested in! Just make as many friends as you can. This first week at uni could shape your student experience and happiness for the next three years. The friends you make in your first week at uni could possibly be some of the friends you have for the rest of your life. I made the mistake of staying in my room feeling homesick the first two weeks when I first went to uni and had the most miserable and unhappy year.

On a more serious note when you work in any creative industry, whether it be animation, design, TV, photography, whatever, it is important to realise that in order to really excel in your field the real drive must come from within you. A university can teach you amazing things but if you don’t have the drive to push yourself to your limits you can’t achieve real excellence. Anyone can be taught to use animation software or a camera but you need to find it from within yourself to reach the heights of a John Lasseter, a Brad Bird, a Jon Favreau, a Paul Greengrass or a Ridley Scott.

The philosophy of Bucks university is quite simple: employability. Our animation and TV courses are designed to instil a sense of real professionalism in order that our students can find employment and forge a high quality career for themselves. Even though I’ve been working in the creative industries in many capacities for 30 years I still have to give 110% on every project I work on. If I don’t then I know my competitors certainly will. I must be doing something right - as I’m still working!

Title Sequence: Arabian Gulf Cup

Rob Kelly runs lectures and workshops on advanced camera skills, TV production, After Effects, Final Cut Pro and Photoshop to undergraduate students at all levels at Bucks New University. To see more of Rob's work, check out his excellent demo reel at pbshowfolio.com.