Deadline to submit a feature film project to Cartoon Movie: 26 Nov 2014

Cartoon Movie 2014

The Deadline to submit a feature film project to Cartoon Movie is 26 November 2014. Are you looking for co-producers, financing and distributors for your animated feature film project? If so, you should submit it to Cartoon Movie! If your film gets selected, you will be able to pitch it to almost 1,000 animation and industry professionals from forty countries. Present at Cartoon Movie are 200 buyers, including 120 distributors & sales agents.

How do you submit a project?
First, you must prepare all the required elements as listed on the website or in the vade-mecum.

When can you submit?
From next week you will be able to access the Online Form to submit it: Go to My Cartoon (tab on top right of the page) and login or create an account. Click to My Projects > Cartoon Movie > Submit a new project (if you need help, please send an email to info@cartoon-media.eu)

When does Cartoon Movie Take Place?
Cartoon Movie 2015 takes place from 4-6 March in Lyon, France

What is Cartoon Movie?
It is a pitching & co-production forum for animated feature films. There are two days of pitching sessions, 60 projects to be presented in 4 categories (in concept, in development, in production or a completed film)

Does it work?
yes. Since its creation in 1999, 229 films found financing, representing a total budget of €1.5 billion.


For more on Cartoon Movie, follow this link. To see their official site go to http://www.cartoon-media.eu/cartoon-movie-event/cartoon-movie-2015.htm

Film & TV and Audio & Music at Bucks Join the Blogosphere

Gateway Building at Bucks - our modern media hub

One of the best things about studying at Bucks is the opportunity to collaborate across creative media with other departments.  Film & TV and Audio & Music are two of the most successful departments at Bucks, and both have now launched their own blogs, talking about what they are up to and the work that the students are creating. Their students have been producing short films (and even feature films) for years, winning awards, and offering animators a chance to collaborate and make even better films than they would achieve by working alone. To see more about what Film and TV are up to, visit http://www.filmtvbucks.co.uk/. To find out what Audio and Music are doing, visit this page. You can also see both blogs featured in the RSS feed at the top left hand corner of this blog - just click on their latest feed to find out their news.

Bucks Tutor Alex Williams Introduces his Animated Feature Film: My Haunted House

Alex Williams is Co-Course Leader of Animation & Visual Effects at Bucks New University. He is also working on an independent film project, My Haunted House, which is currently in development, aiming for a 2016 release. We asked him to tell us about the project, and what still needs to be done to bring it to the big screen.

Bucks: What is My Haunted House?

Alex: My Haunted House is a feature film for theatrical release at Halloween in 2016. It’s a story about a boy, a perfectly normal 12 year old kid who just happens to live in a haunted house. His family are ghouls and ghosts – he’s the only one who’s normal. It’s a story about wanting to fit – and wishing your family were different, more normal like the other children. So, hopefully, a pretty universal story, really.

We’re co-producing with Denmark and we are in the process of putting the final budget together and locking down the finance structure. It’s hard work but it’s thrilling to be working on our own feature film.

Film work by Alex Williams

Bucks: Can you explain the process of getting a feature film made?

Alex: The key problem of course is raising finance. You can’t just go to the bank and get a loan, you will need investors and partners, few of whom will likely take more than say 20% of the risk. So you have to pitch; to do that you need a great idea, ideally a high-concept “What if?” idea that will get your project noticed.

BFI - funds for film-makers

In the UK there is limited finance for new feature films, though BFI does offer some support via the National Lottery. But it is also possible to involve other European partners, and through them find foreign co-production financing. I highly recommend the Cartoon Movie forum in Lyon; it’s a kind of “Dragon’s Den” for animated films and it takes place in March every year.

Cartoon Movie

The deadline for submission of ideas to Cartoon Movie is in November. I brought “My Haunted House” to the market at Cartoon Movie "in concept" and we had a wonderful response; lots of interest in the pitch - which we are currently building on. Our goal is now to go back to Cartoon Movie "in development" and see if we can raise the money to get it made. The budget is around £5 million, which is not a small amount of money to raise.

Design by Monika Dzikowicz

Bucks: Will students from Bucks be able to work on the film?

Alex: Absolutely! In fact, one of our recent graduates, Monika Dzikowicz, did some character design work on the film which is being featured in our presentation pitch. She did the design work as part of her in-course assessed work in her final year.


Bucks: When can we buy tickets?

Alex: Hopefully, if all goes to plan, the film will be out in theatres in time for Hallowe'en in October 2016.


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 lecturer Alex Williams talks about his work on the Harry Potter films

Bucks lecturer Alex Williams worked on the last three Harry Potter films, while employed at the London VFX house Cinesite, in London's Soho. We asked him to talk about what he did on this very popular films series which help to transform the scale and quality of visual effects work being done here in the UK.






Bucks: What did you do on Harry Potter?

Alex: I worked on the last three installments of the Harry Potter series. On Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I helped to animate some magical birds which Hermione creates when she is angry with Ron Weasely. The work was done at Cinesite in London, and I was one of two animators who did the animation.

The birds were modelled and rigged extremely carefully, with a full range of motion such as folding wings, and individual feathers, to withstand very careful scrutiny. This is often the case on a visual effects job, where you have to create assets that are suitable for an extreme close-up - even though you might only end up using them in wide shot. When you go and see the final version in the movie theatre you think: "why did we do all that work? It goes by in an instant and it's all motion blurred!" But that's the VFX business - you never know when the client will ask for something new and complex - and you have to be prepared for every eventuality.

Bucks: What else did you work on?

Alex: I also did some design work for the Patronus Doe in the last two installments of the series: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2.  The modeling department at Cinesite had created the 3D models, but the client was not happy because they weren't appealing enough. Needless to say, the models were in fact very accurate, based closely on the topology of real deer which they had used for reference. But often what is needed when you model something realistic is a kind of heightened reality, not actual reality. Movies are an illusion, after all, and visual effects are just that - an effect. So my job was to make the doe seem cuter, more appealing, more like Bambi than a BBC nature documentary.

My background in animation was as a 2D animator, and I have always loved to draw. So the job was a pleasure for me, as it utilised all the skills I had learned on traditionally animated movies like The Lion King and Spirit - Stallion of the Cimmarron.  The client was very happy with the revised designs (which were still realistic, just more appealing) so we went ahead and made the changes to the 3D model. Below is a clip of what the Patronus looked like once it was animated.



Bucks: What was it like working on Harry Potter?

Alex: It was a real privilege to work on a film series that was seen by so many people and did so much for the London visual effects scene. Also, on a personal level, it's nice to work on something that people have actually heard of!

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.







 

Sound designer Scott Benson Explains How to Mix a Movie in 72 Hours, and How Sound Designers can work with Animators at Bucks

Bucks sound design student Scott Benson just recently finished mixing and editing the sound on a feature film  - all done within 72 hours. We asked him how he managed to pull of what looks like an insurmountable task, and also how our animators can get the best out of collaborating with sound designers to make great films here at Bucks.

The Confusion of Tongues

Bucks: You just recently finished mixing and editing the sound on an entire feature film - tell us about it!

Scott: yeah I have literally just finished! It's been one of the most demanding yet satisfying projects I've worked on to date, The idea behind it was that a whole feature film could be shot and edited within 72 hours. And, having personally stayed up for 60 or more of those hours, I'm proud to say that it's not impossible!

The Crew

I personally mixed the whole feature film as well as cleaning up all the audio and placing appropriate sound design where needed. The film was shown in the Imax cinema in Birmingham the same day it was finished, which was the most scariest thing ever, because i hadn't heard the sound after it had been rendered to picture. To my great relief it all went perfectly in my eyes; there were a few bits and bobs out of place here and there, but that is to be expected!

Sound Designer at work at Bucks

Bucks: What software did you use?

Scott: The software that I used was completely Pro Tools (Warren Bassett, my lecturer, would be proud of me!) Before starting at Bucks I had never used Pro Tools or even really wanted too, as I much preferred Logic, But when it comes to audio post production, in my eyes, nothing can hold a candle up against Pro Tools.

Bucks: How big a challenge is it to mix an entire feature film?
Scott: Mixing a whole feature film under normal circumstances is a huge undertaking in its own right, usually calling for a team of mixers each having their own jobs, but doing it with in 72 hours, that's crazy. But, as they say, pressure creates diamonds, and that couldn't be more true for this project. I really surprised myself at how well I worked and how fast! Even though it was constant non-stop mixing, I'd do it again in a heart beat!


Bucks: What should animators at Bucks do if they are hoping to collaborate with a sound designer?
 
Scott: When looking for a sound designer, there are a few main things to look for I think, and they are: 1. keenness and contactability. Now, it's all fine and dandy having the best sound designer in the world, but if they're not going to keep in contact with you then what's the point? Having someone who is keen will help to ensure the project's smooth running and completion on time.

The second would be, obviously - skill. Most sound designers will have worked on a sort of show reel, even if if its just muting their favourite films scenes and playing around with them. That's what I did; I didn't have much of a show reel when I started Uni, so I made one!

And finally, ask around, being on an animation course I'm sure plenty of your peers will have worked with sound designers and they'll know which sound designers collaborate well!

Scott Benson

Bucks: What is the single most important thing to know about sound design?

Scott: The single most important thing to know about sound design....this is a tough one, because I could go on for hours about technical specs of certain methods of additive synthesis. But, at the end of the day, knowing that won't get you a job, yes granted it'll help, but if you don't apply yourself you wont get anywhere, you can have all the knowledge and graduate with a 2:1 but if you haven't made contacts and built up your people politics you'll fall flat on your face. It's as simple as that, I can see it on my course, there are so many gifted students who could do so much, but they're not always applying themselves.

So, in my opinion the single most important thing to know about sound design is to know how to find work and make contacts who will last and grow alongside you, because without that, there is no sound design!

For more about 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 Sonia Gill is a Bollywood star

Sonia Gill

Former student Sonia Gill has become a Bollywood star after being spotted while studying at Bucks. Sonia "juggles films and TV ads in India with her job in the parking department of Oxfordshire County Council". The odd thing is, Sonia did not study performing arts at Bucks. She did a law degree.

One of the best things about studying at Bucks is the huge range of talent here at the university. We have actors, sound designers, musicians, dancers, cinematographers - even talented actors hiding in the law department. 

In fact, we have all sorts of talented students at Bucks. We encourage all our students to seek out talent in unusual places. Collaborate, pool resources, work on short films and enter competitions to win prizes and get your work noticed.

Here at Bucks we offer our congratulations to Sonia on her career success.

To find out more, you can see Sonia's story featured in The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and Metro: http://metro.co.uk/2014/07/03/bollywood-star-spends-part-of-her-year-working-for-oxfordshire-council-4786310/

---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.  Also check out the Bucks Big Deal.