Rocketseed - our latest commercial project

Recently we have been tackling short commercial projects, working with some of the recent Bucks graduates, such as Monika Dzikowicz, Lydon Fleisig, Dave Berry, Paula Gillin and Allan De Leal.

Our latest film follows from our most recent project: "What is Wrong with the Global Development Oragnisation?", which is now competing for prizes in festivals around the world.  This short film - about the problems faced by all organisations trying to help out in faraway places - has now got an IMDB entry, so our students can now link to their own IMDB profiles.



What's the point of an IMDB profile?  - only that the IMDB is the first place that people look to find out what other film-makers have done. If you're serious about working in film, video or digital media - you want to be listed on the IMDB.

Our IMDB entry

At the top of this post is our latest completed film, Rocketseed Email Solutions.  Rocketseed is a tech company that offers clickable email banners, with built-in analytics so that a company's email can become an important marketing tool. The purpose of the film was to help their prospective customers understand exactly what it is that Rocketseed do, so that they can get their message across more quickly and effectively. Animation is a wonderful tool for taking complex ideas and getting them across in a simple, clear way.

Sound design was done by Kris Allen, and the sound recording work was done by Robert Brown. For the voice, we needed an older, female, actor - per the client's request - so we went with Bucks tutor Natanya Ford, who sent us a voice sample from New York City where she was organising an international sound design Expo.

The project was designed and directed by Monika Dzikowicz, who also did the finished edit, and all the storyboards. Animation was done by Lydon Fleisig, Dave Berry, Paula Gillin and Allan De Leal, and also involved one of my students from my online school www.animationapprentie.org - Pete Nicholson.

We're delighted to be able to help our recent graduates find paid work, developing their skills and improving their demo reels. It's also great training for their future professional life, much of which will be spent on client-facing projects, where there is seldom enough time to finish the job as you would like to see it done. But, somehow or how other, you just have to do it anyway.

Here's what the client had to say this morning:
"I just wanted to send a more formal thank you for the wonderful animation you have created for us. We really are delighted with it. Thank you as well for delivering such a quality production on time."

Congratulations to everyone who worked on Rocketseed for doing such a stellar job.

---Alex

What Is Wrong With The Global Development Organisation?

Back in June we blogged about a new film project here at Bucks, a collaboration among some of our recent graduates on a short film with a worthy goal - to tell the story of how organisations that set out to do good work can lose sight of their guiding principles.

The film was directed by Monika Dzikowicz, and animated by Lydon Fleisig, Dave Berry, Peter Nicholson, Paula Gillin and Allan De Leal. Sound design was done by Kris Allen - showing how different departments at Bucks can combine forces to do great work. Everyone spent a good chunk of their summer toiling over their laptops, with the result that the film is now - at last! - finished.

Our film is a two minute micro-documentary about a fictitious aid organisation with some very big problems. Bureaucratic capture is a potential hazard of all companies, but is especially dangerous when the organisation seeks to remedy urgent social needs in the developing world. 

What would such an organisation look like if development experts and management worked together co-operatively to help make the world a better place?

Our goal is to do many more films like this, short documentaries that can be made on very small budgets, and which utilise our students' exceptional talents. We want to make Bucks a hub for talented film-makers and animators, showcasing their skills to the world.

Below is what the client had to say about the project:
"I owe you a very large thanks for the great work you and your team did on the animation.  The feedback was incredible. Our No2 summed it u well…."iconoclastic….irreverent…..hilarious……us."

---Alex

Kick-starting graduate careers

Here at Bucks we like to practice what we preach, and this means helping our graduates find work in industry in the most active ways possible. We're encouraging companies to bring us their web projects, the kind of interesting, fun, but often low budget work that can sometimes slip through the cracks of commercial studios.

We don't want our talented graduates working for nothing - after all, everyone has to put bread on the table - but by charging very competitive rates we hope to attract interesting projects and help our students build a portfolio of professional work.

Our first project is What's Wrong with the Global Aid Development Organisation?, a commission for a company that does just what the title suggests. They build schools, dig wells, in short, they do everything to help diverse communities around the world clamber out of poverty. So, a good cause, and one worth fighting for.

Character line-up by Monika Dzikowicz

The theme of the film is how the organisation works (or, on occasion, doesn't), and what can be done to make it work better. It's a cool project, and perfect for us at Bucks, since we have access to pretty much all the facilities needed to make a short film. Sound recording studios, mixing facilities, animation, software - and talented students to make it all happen.

Colour script by Monika Dzikowicz

As with any project, we start with a script, getting approval from the client so they are happy to move forward. Making changes at this stage is very, very inexpensive. We also show the client examples of other animated films we like, so that the client can get a feeling for how the film will eventually appear, and we can get a feeling for their taste, their likes and dislikes.

Then we record the voices, narration if there is any, and storyboard the film, editing together the story panels along with sound effects, music and whatever else we need to make a finished animatic - a kind of animated story reel that helps give a feeling for the shape and flavour of the film.

Meanwhile we finalise our character designs, and do a colour script so we can get a feeling for how the shots will unfold. The designs shown here are by Monika Dzikowicz, one of our recent graduates who has built up an excellent portfolio of design and development work.

Props by Monika Dzikowicz

We also have to design props, so the animators (who are working in Flash) have all the assets they need to do the job. Everything goes for client approval, so there are no headaches later on.

Finally, we start animating. Animators Lydon Fleisig and Paula Gillin have been honing heir skills over the past three years at Bucks. They have both done excellent work on their student projects and are capable of doing great animation and working to tight deadlines.

Shots style guide by Monika Dzikowicz

And, as part of that process, we do animation tests - so we're all agreed on the style of the film and how it will look. Lydon has already started doing some walk cycles - getting a feel for how the characters might move.

Personally, I can't wait to see out first project come together.

---Alex

The Martial Art of Kendo by Lydon Fleisig

Lydon Fleisig is studying animation at Bucks in his final year, and has just completed an excellent short film, The Martial Art of Kendo, for one of his final year projects. 

Animation is a lot of work and Lydon pursued his goal with dedication and tenacity, finishing his film on time and getting the job done with considerable flair. He was also able to utilise some of the many other film-making disciplines here at Bucks, such as sound design and acting talent, to provide voice-over skills and audio effects.

One of the best things about studying at Bucks is the opportunity to collaborate with other disciplines. Film-making is a collaborative medium and every film-maker is only as good as the people he or she works with.

We're proud to showcase Lydon's film. Many congratulations to him on the successful completion of a very skilled piece of work.

---Alex