Bucks Animators Go to Blue GFX

Blue GFX

Last week Bucks New University students went to the Blue GFX Expo in London – a massive annual visual effects event sponsored by Autodesk, and a great opportunity to find out about the latest developments in our industry. There were presentations about Autodesk Maya, 3D Studio Max, a chance to try out the latest Cintique tablets, and best of all a talk by Framestore about the work they did on Gravity, a film that looks and feels like a live action movie, but is entirely animated. OK, George Clooney and Sandra Bullock were real – but the rest is CG magic.

Nomad Games

I went to a fascinating lecture by Don Whiteford of Nomad Games, who talked about how his company got started – an excellent introduction to the challenges of starting up a small games business and adapting to new technology and changing markets. They created Talisman – now a 30 year old game, and he talked about how business need “not just one product, but something that gets updated and can be rolled out over time, with expansions and extensions” to the existing game. He also explained that here in the UK, Creative Skillset will fund creative salaries at 50% for a year – hugely useful for a start-up company short on cash.

Autodesk Maya

Graham Bell of Autodesk introduced some of the latest features of Autodesk Maya, including how to use their hair tools to create realistic fur and grooming for CG animals and creatures.

Overall, the event was a huge success, and a great way for students and lecturers alike to catch up on new developments in our business.

Blue Zoo

To see more about Blue GFX 2013, see this post about the use of Maya's latest hair and fur tools, read about how Blue Zoo revealed the secrets of making a new animated TV series, find out about how Frame Store did the title sequence for Skyfall, and learn about how graduates can get a job with Blue Zoo, the UK's largest indie TV animation company.

---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.  

The Cheapest Way from High Wycombe to London - Revealed at Last!

Bucks SU Inter-Campus Link Bus

Getting to and from London can be expensive for our students in High Wycombe, but finally we can reveal The Cheapest Way to travel from High Wycombe to London. Instead of taking the train from the main station, all you have to do is catch the free Bucks Students' Union Inter-Campus Link Bus. It goes to (and from) our High Wycombe campus to the Uxbridge campus. From Uxbridge, catch the Tube from Uxbridge station into Central London on the Metropolitan line or the Piccadilly line using your Oyster card. If you travel off-peak, a return ticket to central London is just £6, and you won't pay more than £8.90 for a whole day's travel within the capital.

London - just £8 away. Photo: Wikipedia

To find the free shuttle bus, follow this link.  And to see a timetable of when the service runs (every half hour), follow this link which connects to a PDF timetable.

You will need one of these

Why travel to and from London? Because that's where the animation and visual effects industry is to be found. Wycombe has many pleasures, but show business is thin on the ground here. If you are looking for VFX events like Blue GFX, or seeking an internship or a job  - you've got to get yourself to London (and back). Luckily, we're not far away. 

Wycombe train station. Fast trains to London - but pricey. Photo: Wikipedia

Of course, the most direct and speedy way is to take the train from Wycombe Railway Station to Marylebone; there are two fast trains every hour, but if you're counting the pennies (and most of our students are) then the free Students' Union Inter-Campus Link Bus is a very cost-effective way to make the most of all that the capital has to offer. And you get to ride in a Mercedes Benz.

The journey time is around 25 minutes, depending on the traffic. Note that the last bus home to Wycombe from Uxbridge is at 9.15pm, so don't be late.

To check the latest prices on tube tickets, visit the official tfl page, or this handy page here.

Another option - Bus 740 and A40

If the free bus doesn't suit your timetable, don't forget there is a public bus from High Wycombe to Uxbridge. It's the 740 and A40, run by Carousel, and costs £4.30 to go to Uxbridge. These Carousel buses run much earlier than the free shuttle, from around 5.30am, so if you need to get to London early,  this is the way to go. You can find out more here.

---Alex

Sarah Smith talks about her new London animation studio "Locksmith"

Good news for animators in the UK! A new studio is coming to town, bringing with it the prospect of jobs, creative success, and - at last - a proper animation studio in London. In this interview a few days ago at awn.com, Locksmith Animation founder and director Sarah Smith talks about her new animation venture, which is backed by London VFX house Double Negative, and supported by entrepreneur Elizabeth Murdoch. 

http://www.awn.com/animationworld/london-calling-how-sarah-smith-plans-bring-animation-back-uk?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Here at Bucks we welcome this excellent news - our job is to train our students to be among the best candidates to apply for jobs at Lockmsith when their doors open.  We'll be ready when they are.

---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.

One Day Only - Story Masterclass with Frank Gladstone on 16th August - just £6!

Lupus films are running a one day masterclass with animation industry veteran Frank Gladstone on August 16th in London - for just £6. Anyone who is serious about story telling in animation should attend - I'll most likely be there myself. Frank is a world-class talent whose credits include some of the biggest hits in animation history. Full details below:

What is this class?
Animation guru Frank Gladstone’s masterclass, taught previously at ILM, the Visual Effects Society, Aardman Animations and Cartoon Network, will focus on the deconstruction of feature films, looking at elements such as story structure, use of colour, composition and camera movement, to reveal the fundamental elements of narrative structure and the building blocks of cinematic language.

Gladstone films at www.gladstonefilm.com/

Who is Frank Gladstone?
Frank Gladstone has been working as an animation professional for more than 40 years at major studios including DreamWorks, Warner Brothers and Walt Disney Animation Studios. Independently he consults on animation, film-making skills and story structure at major studios and teaches about animation, film history, production techniques and cinematic fundamentals internationally. His current feature, The Hero Of Color City will be released this October.

Brought to you by Lupus Films

When is it happening?
Cardiff, Saturday 9 August
London, Saturday 16 August 

Where is it happening? 
Precise locations to be confirmed

How can I register?
Sign up at the Official site:
http://www.lupusfilms.com/animation-production/register-your-interest-one-day-masterclass-with-frank-gladstone

---Alex

Calling all 3DS Max users - 3DS LONDON meets tomorrow, Wednesday 2nd July

3DS LONDON is monthly conference for users of 3DStudio Max conference, which takes place at the first Wednesday of every month. It is a meet-up group for digital artists working in the architectural, animation and advertising industry - and it is completely free. Many experienced Max users, leaders in their fields, attend, including artists who  have written articles for periodicals such as 3D World magazine.  In June the Autodesk team from America came, offering a sneak preview of 3DS MAX 2016.

Events like this can be incredibly helpful for both freelancers and students; they help to establish a community of artists working in digital media and they create opportunities to network, find out about job opportunities, and keep abreast of the latest industry trends and developments.

The next meeting takes place tomorrow, Wednesday 2^nd July.  The venue is Truckles, in

Bury Pl, London WC1A 2JR. Phone 020 7404 5338

To find out more, visit the 3DS London blog here.

---Alex

For more practical advice on careers in digital media, read about what our graduates had to say at the recent Graduate Panel. Check out this post on how to set up an small business. Also learn about your first client project, read out our post on Portfolio Careers, and read this piece on Survival as a Freelancer. Study 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. Finally see our article on the jobs page at awn.com )