Farewell to Poland

School expo at the beautiful Technical University Warsaw

We're leaving Poland today, it's time to go back to work in High Wycombe to get ready to welcome our new animation and visual effects students, who start with us in just ten days. It's been huge fun talking to students here about the opportunities available to study overseas. Poland has almost 100 secondary schools with a specialism in the visual arts - a benevolent legacy of the Communist era and something that is quite unknown in the UK, where the visual arts barely gets a mention at many secondary schools, and is almost never given the same classroom time as the sciences, languages and the humanities.

Jansuz spreads the word at the Zespol Panstwowych in Warsaw

We've been to visit schools in Bidgosz, Lodz and Warsaw, and I've been incredibly impressed by the high standard of work being done all over the country. One of the students at the Zespol Panstwowych art school in Warsaw complained that the students "only" got five hours of life drawing a week. Five hours a week! When I was at secondary school we had to beg the teachers to let us go to life drawing classes; and even then the prevailing view was that drawing was just a hobby, not to be taken seriously and nothing to compare with real subjects like Maths or Physics.

Hotel in Lodz

I was also surprised at how much beauty there is in a country which was ravaged by war from 1939-45 and then suffered 50 years of neglect (and worse) under Soviet rule. The old textile mill in Lodz, a rambling late 19th century industrial campus, has been transformed into a huge open air shopping centre and features a particularly stunning hotel (above).

Art school in Lodz

I met tons of students from Poland over the past week, and I would encourage everyone I met and talked to about animation and visual effects to stay in touch. You can reach me on the email address at the top of the blog, and I would be glad to answer questions and give advice on portfolios and how to apply to university - wherever you decide to study.

Art school in Bydgosz

Remember that animation and visual effects is a blend of art and technology. Develop your skills as a visual artist, but don't neglect your laptop. The future is digital - and you need both great artistic skills and good computer skills to succeed in this business.

---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.   
 

Bucks Graduate Designs Poster for Award Winning Animated Short

Charlie & Yip by Monika Dcikowicz

Bucks animation graduate Monika Dzcikowicz has designed a poster for the award-winning animated short, Charlie and Yip, which won Best Animation at the British Animated Film Festival this year. Since leaving Bucks, Monika has developed a successful freelance career working for a variety of commercial clients. She has also been directing projects at Nano Films, our small film co-operative that makes short animated films for commercial clients.

Monika Dzcikowicz

The poster was executed in Photoshop, using elements composited from the film. Part of the job of an aspiring film-maker is to be able to master as many elements of the film-making process as possible, including story, design, the ability to create an eye-catching image and, of course the ability to work to a client brief.

You can see more of Monika's work, which includes design, animation, visual development and storyboards, by following this link.  To see more about Charlie and Yip, read our post here.

To see the impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out SuperFergy in 3D by Anton Alfy, see the work of Jens Kopke,  Ben Gray's Moonbeam, and the architectural visualisations of Sabah Masood and Anton Alfimenko. 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. And don't forget to see the simulation work of our students done in RealFlow. To see our student demo reel, click here.

Bucks Animation & VFX Demo Reel 2014

We present our latest demo reel showcasing our students' best work from this past academic year. Among the students whose work is featured here include Monika Dzikowicz, Anton Alfimenko, James Hatton, Jack Strood, Georgia Nicholls, Tosin Oluyadi, David Wheeler and Stacey Houston. Music is by Bucks graduate Kris Allen. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this latest selection of work done here at Bucks. We're proud of what all our students have achieved, and we look forward to seeing even more ambitious and challenging work in the future.

Gateway - our shiny new media hub

One thing that really stands out in this compilation is the sheer variety of work being done here at Bucks. 3D animation, 2D hand-drawn animation, stop-motion, Visual Effects, Motion Graphics, RealFlow - our students are exploring their talents and developing their own personal style in the medium of their choice.

Sound designer at work at Bucks

One of the best things about studying at Bucks is the sheer range of media resources available - guaranteeing a wide variety of work and collaboration between different disciplines. This is something that we strongly encourage. After all, your time at university should be about exploring your own creative choices, making mistakes, finding your voice, and getting better and better at what you do.

In the end, we want all our students to be creative artists. Employable, yes, skilled, yes, but above all - artists.

To see our 2013 demo reel, click here.  To see more examples of our students' work, check out the first exercise done by our new students here. Also, 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 take a look at 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. Also check out the work of Andy Thomas here.

Miracles and Inspirations by Bucks Graduate Monika Dzikowicz makes the Official Selection of the Festival de Cine de Madrid

Monika Dzikowicz graduated from Bucks last year, and recently completed her short film Miracles and Inspirations, which has been entered in to short film festivals all around the world. Most recently the film has been accepted for the Official Selection at the 23rd Festival de Cine de Madrid, taking place in Spain in October of this year.

Visual Development for Miracles and Inspirations

Miracles and Inspirations is a short film completed by Bucks animation graduate Monika Dzikowicz, which shows what could happen if art could take us back to the times it was created in.

The film tells the story of the unusual friendship between a young girl and an ancient Roman sculpture of a woman. It explores themes of imagination, the creativity of children, and the inspirations we take from our memories and from everyday life.

The film was produced within the scope of the online competition - The Animation Talent Award  2013. It was designed, directed and animated by Monika Dzikowicz. Music was by Boris Nonte, and the Executive producer was Paolo Polesello.

To see the film, which runs about two minutes, see below:


 
Miracles & Inspirations - animated short film by Monika Dzikowicz from Animation Talent Award on Vimeo.

We strongly encourage all our students to enter competitions. Even if you don't win, you gain invaluable experience just by competing. There is nothing like a competition to make you raise your game and try harder; ultimately this is how digital artists improve their skills and forge successful careers in creative media.

You can read more about Monika's work here.  To see more work by our talented undergraduate students and recent graduates, see this recent post about the art of Sabah Masood. Also check out the work of Andy Thomas here, and 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 architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan.

Bucks New University's Polish Connection

Characters in Polish national dress by Monika Dzikowicz

Some of our most talented recent graduates in recent years from the Animation, Games and Interactive Media course here at Bucks have been from Poland. We are not sure why there has been a strong Polish presence here in High Wycombe but, whatever the reason, it is a connection that we are proud of and want to encourage in future.

Students from overseas help to give our course a more international and cosmopolitan flavour. In addition, many of our foreign students are highly motivated to squeeze everything they can from their experience at University, working hard out of hours and during the holidays to make the best use of their time here. Our students from Poland have been no exception, and they have done some of the best work to come out of our department in recent years.

Designs by Monika Dzikowicz

Monika Dzikowicz graduated last summer, and since then has done some excellent work on our film co-operative at www.nano-films.com, where we have been making short commercial film projects for live clients. You can read more about Nano Films here, and also here, and see the first paid project we completed below.




Monika's website at http://monikoko.tumblr.com/ is an fine example of the kind of online portfolio that all students and graduates should have. It showcases her best work and creates a public space in which to promote her skills and - ultimately - find a steady stream of paid work. You can also read this piece about her work, posted last year.

Another student who did excellent work here at Bucks was Krzysztof Michalski. You can see his website here at www.cgspider.com. Kris has developed a strong portfolio in 3D design and model creation, able to do professional-level 3D modeling and Architectural Visualisation.

Krzysztof Michalski at www.cgspider.com

Kris's work has a strong sense of design and he has also developed the kind of sparse topology that is needed in the film and games industry, where employability is measured not just by a digital artist's ability to create an accurate surface mesh but also the ability to use the minimum possible number of vertices to create an economic and light model, suitable for a commercial production pipeline.

Krzysztof Michalski at www.cgspider.com

(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.)

Rocketseed Salesforce - our students' latest commercial project

One of the most effective ways that we can ensure that our animation and visual effects students at Bucks find work when they graduate is to get out there and find work on their behalf. Last year we launched Nano Films, a small animation business making short films for commercial clients. The budgets are not large but then neither are the films, and there is nothing like client-facing projects to give our students the vital experience they need to build a successful career.

www.nano-films.org

The video shown above was made for Rocketseed, an email company that specialises in clickable banners that supply sales data to businesses, helping get better and smarter at targeting new customers. Our students didn't shoot the live action but we did everything else: the motion graphics, the sound mix and the final edit. The job was designed and directed by Bucks graduate Monika Dzikowicz, the motion graphics was done by first year undergraduate Anton Alfimenko, and the music was by Bucks graduate Kris Allen.

Many congratulations to the three of them for doing an excellent job. We hope to bring in more jobs like this so that more and more of our students can start to polish their skills on live briefs, bringing in excellent experience and some extra income as well.

(Editor's Note: For more impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out Anton Alfimenko's recreation of Old Trafford, 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 - Miracles and Inspirations by Monika Dzikowicz

Miracles & Inspirations

Monika Dzikowicz is one of our talented recent graduates from Bucks, who has made some excellent short film projects and is well on her way to becoming a highly skilled animation designer and director. Her latest project is the short film Miracles and Inspirations, which shows what could happen if art could take us back to the times it was created in.

The film tells the story of the unusual friendship between a young girl and an ancient Roman sculpture of a woman. It explores themes of imagination, the creativity of children, and the inspirations we take from our memories and everyday life.

The film was produced within the scope of the online competition - The Animation Talent Award  2013. It was designed, directed and animated by Monika Dzikowicz. Music was by Boris Nonte, and the Executive producer was Paolo Polesello.

Enjoy!

(Editor's note: to see more work by our talented undergraduate students and recent graduates, see this recent post about the art of Sabah Masood. Also check out the work of Andy Thomas here, and 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 architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan.) 

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

Bucks Graduate reaches top ten in The Animation Talent Awards

Animation Talent Awards - now voting

Bucks graduate Monika Dzikowicz has reached the top ten entries in the online Animation Talent Awards - and now she needs your help! Back in May we blogged about the call-out for entries, encouraging all our students to compete. International contests like this are a great way for animation students and recent graduates to get noticed, and to showcase their talent. Even if you don't win, what you learn from entering the competition is an invaluable experience in itself.

Go to www.animationtalentaward.com to see the competing entries. Monika's entry is the second on the list (in the middle of the image above). Of course, we're a bit biased, but we think her entry is the best. Still, check out the competition, and decide for yourself. Voting begins on Monday September 16th.

If you'd like to see more of Monika's art and animation, check out this recent showcase of her work. You can also see her excellent design work for a short film we're making at Bucks, with a number of recent animation graduates, titled What's Wrong With The Global Development Organisation?, which is now almost finished.

Directed by Monika Dzikowicz

Don't forget, all the work you do here at Bucks is just a dress rehearsal for your future career. We want all our students to be able to compete on equal terms with the very best talent from around the world - and win.

---Alex

To see the impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out SuperFergy in 3D by Anton Alfy, see the work of Jens Kopke,  Ben Gray's Moonbeam, and the architectural visualisations of Sabah Masood and Anton Alfimenko. 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. And don't forget to see the simulation work of our students done in RealFlow. To see our student demo reel, click here.

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

Student Showcase - The Art of Monika Dzikowicz

Monika Dzikowicz is a 3rd year student at Bucks who has developed a very strong portfolio in visual development and concept design. She draws well and has practiced her craft to develop her skills as a concept designer, visual development artist and storyboard artist.

Monika has also taken the hugely important step of creating her own blog to showcase her work. As a freelance artist (and which artist is not, in the end, a freelancer?) you need to make your work available to prospective clients so that the world can find your work and (hopefully) pay you for your services.

Concept Art for class project

Nowadays there is no excuse for not having a blog or a tumbler account to display your work. Blogs are simple to set up, they are free, and they can be easily customised to suit your own taste and design sense.

Any student who does not have a blog or website is effectively cutting themselves off from potential employment.

One of the best aspects of building a blog or website is that it helps you to organise and sort your work. What is good? What is bad? What works? What does not? And, most important of all, what gaps do I need to fill?

When I built my first website around 7 years ago, the best part of the experience was the pleasure in realising that (a) I did have some decent work to show and (b) there were many gaps that needed filling - but that this was the first step in filling these gaps. It became a to-do list of skills that needed upgrading.

Monika has already carved out her own space on the web and even attracted followers to her page - showing that her work is enjoyed and appreciated by other artists in the blogosphere. This helps to show an employer or client that her work is popular and capable of reaching an audience.

Congratulations to Monika on building her online portfolio and inspiring the rest of us with her excellent work.

----Alex

Our New Animation Logo!

Many thanks to Bucks student Monika Dzikowicz for our new Animation Logo. We want to showcase the very best work being done here at Bucks. Modelling, Concept Art, Texturing, Lighting, Animation - and Motion Capture. We believe that the very best job security a graduate can have is to develop a wide range of skills that will keep you employed over the course of a long and satisfying career in the digital arts.


You can check out Monika's work at her blog here, which by the way is an excellent example of the kind of blog every student should have - a showcase for your work, creating an online space where you can upload your latest artwork, animation and digital design.

----Alex