Tag Archives: BAFTA

NCCA’s BAFTA success receives widespread local coverage

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The work of graduates and staff from the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) on the BAFTA-winning visual effects for the film Gravity received coverage across a range of local media.

Around 40 graduates from the NCCA – as well as current Senior Practice Fellow in Computer Animation Adam Redford – worked with effects house Framestore on the visual effects for the blockbuster, which won six awards at the 2014 BAFTAs.

Their success was picked up in articles by local newspaper the Bournemouth Echo and Blackmore Vale magazine – which both quoted MA Visual Effects graduate Sam Salek about his involvement with the film.

The story was also featured in news bulletins on local radio station Fire FM, while Sofronis Efstathiou, Framework Leader for postgraduate visual effects and animation courses at BU, was interviewed about it live on BBC Radio Solent’s Drivetime programme.

Sofronis told presenter Tim Butcher that Framestore have an outpost based near BU’s Talbot Campus, where some students and graduates worked on the visual effects for the film, and that the reputation for BU’s animation courses and graduates continues to grow.

“We’ve been around for about 20 years now, but over the past 6 or 7 years, every Oscar or BAFTA night we’ve seen our graduates either be nominated or certainly part of those films,” he said.

“We’ve got a big team here and we work very hard and speak to industry, having them feed into our teaching, so it’s good to see it’s working.”

He added that the visual effects industry – and the popularity of BU’s animation courses – continued to grow.

“It’s one of the best courses in the country…It’s a vibrant industry, it’s a creative industry around here – not just in London, but around the borough and certainly around the world it is doing very well.”

Listen to the interview in full (Starts 1 hour 35 minutes into programme)

BU graduates’ out of this world success on VFX for Gravity

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Graduates and lecturers from BU’s National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) have reached for the stars with their work on the award-winning visual effects for the film Gravity.

The blockbuster, which stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, won in a number of high-profile categories at the 2014 BAFTAs – including Outstanding British Film and Best Visual Effects.

The majority of the film, which is set in space, was created digitally – with the only real-life aspects often just being the two main actors.

London-based effects house Framestore worked on the special effects for the film – with the help of around 40 alumni from BU’s animation and visual effects courses.

BU graduate Sam Salek, who completed the MA in Digital Effects at BU in 2010, worked as a compositor on the film.

“When we started working on it, we all felt that we were working on something very special, yet no-one really anticipated the phenomenon it became,” he said.

He added: “The structure of the Digital Effects course is designed in such a way that by the end of it, you feel you have been through multiple projects and different scenarios, giving you valuable experience that you really appreciate once you start working in the industry.”

But it wasn’t just alumni working on Gravity, current BU staff also played their part. Adam Redford, Senior Practice Fellow in Computer Animation at BU, was a senior texture artist at Framestore.

He worked for around six months on the film, helping to paint some of the interior and exterior sets and props seen floating around in the space modules, like books and personal items.

“It always feels good to see the efforts of hundreds of visual effects artists recognised and praised, whether the films win awards or not,” he said.

“The NCCA gives students a well rounded education in all areas of visual effects and animation, whilst allowing them to focus and specialise in areas they find particularly interesting and rewarding.

“It also gives the students a good grounding in industry standard practices and software, and provides them with access to excellent feedback and mentoring from industry professionals.”

It is not the first time that NCCA alumni have had their work recognised with high-profile awards.

More than 50 graduates and former BU academics worked on the Oscar-winning visual effects for Avatar, while MA Visual Effects graduate Andy Lockley won an Oscar in 2011 for his work on the special effects for Inception.

The NCCA’s contribution to world-leading excellence and pioneering development in computer animation was even recognised with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2012.

Sofronis Efstathiou, Framework Leader for postgraduate visual effects and animation courses at BU, said: “It’s fantastic to see Gravity enjoying such success at the BAFTAs, and we’re really proud of the part that Bournemouth has played in the film’s creation.

“Framestore has an outpost studio across the road from BU and enjoys long-standing links to the NCCA.

“Many of our graduates from both the undergraduate and postgraduate courses are employed at all levels of the company, from Junior Artists to Supervisors, and a great many of our alumni were involved in bringing Gravity’s extraordinary visuals to the screen.”

Gravity has also been nominated for a number of prestigious awards – including Best Picture and Best Visual Effects – for this year’s Oscars.

Sofronis added: “The NCCA would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the entire Framestore team and wish them the very best of luck for the upcoming Oscars. Bournemouth will be watching!”

BU graduates’ work on film Gravity featured in 3D Total

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The work of BU graduates on the visual effects for Oscar-nominated film Gravity was featured in an article in 3D Total.

London-based effects house Framestore worked on the visual effects for the film, which has been nominated for both the Oscar and BAFTA for visual effects, and the article highlights that a number of graduates from the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) at BU hold key positions at the company and worked on Gravity.

The article includes interviews with NCCA graduates including Ian Comley, who is now Framestore’s look development lead and worked on making sure that the texture and lighting of the effects in Gravity were as realistic as possible.

He said: “My year at Bournemouth was packed with lectures ranging from cinematography, through animation and rendering to the mathematics for inverse kinematics.”

Also interviewed was one of Framestore’s resident paint and roto artists, David J Nolan, who completed the MA in Digital Effects at BU.

David, whose work on Gravity involved converting live action sequences to 3D formats, said: “Framestore decided to open an outpost office in Bournemouth, and I was hired as a junior paint and roto artist,

“This meant that I hit the ground running immediately after finishing at the NCCA and was able to put my new-found knowledge into practice, working on some very big projects.”

Another graduate featured in the article was Framestore’s digital modelling supervisor Ben Lambert, who helped oversee all of the visual effects for the film.

He graduated from the BA in Computer Visualization and Animation at the NCCA in 1999, and said his time at Bournemouth University was invaluable.

“The course gave me a very broad overview of all areas of 3D and animation,” he said.

“I think it’s important for artists to have a wide range of skills and versatility, it means they can work at both larger and smaller studios. I think the programming aspects of the course have surprised me with how much I’ve had to now use in my day-to-day job.”

Read the 3D Total article in full

Find out more about the National Centre for Computer Animation at BU 

BU TV Production graduate receives BAFTA nomination

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An MA TV Production graduate from Bournemouth University has had his short film nominated for a BAFTA.

Ben Mallaby, who completed the Master’s course at BU in 2006, directed Island Queen, which has been shortlisted in the Short Film category for the 2014 BAFTAs.

The film, written by and starring Nat Luurtsema, follows a young woman on a small island who decides to have a baby using a sperm bank – only to find out it came from her brother.

“It’s such a huge honour to have been nominated for the BAFTA, I still can’t believe it happened,” said Ben, 30, who lives in London.

“The film was shortlisted, I’m sure, down to Nat Luurtsema’s great script and performance.”

He added: “Island Queen came about after I read an article about how some countries have to import donations for their sperm banks because, due to having such a small population, they couldn’t guarantee that you weren’t getting a relative’s donation.

“So our story is about Nat’s character Mim deciding she wants a baby and to her horror discovering it was her brother’s sperm.”

Ben, who is now a lecturer in Digital Film Production at Ravensbourne College as well as a freelance film-maker, said his time at BU helped kickstart his career.

“The MA gave me the time and resources to make films for a year – you don’t get much chance when you’re starting out as a freelancer to work on your own passion projects,” he said.

He and Nat are now working on a new project, called Annie Has Body Issues, which goes into production in May.

“The BAFTA nomination has already helped open doors for us, said Ben. “It’s helped validate the project and I’m really hoping we can take the film further now.”

Ben also plans to attend the 2014 BAFTA awards ceremony, which takes place at London’s Royal Opera House on Sunday 16th February.

He said: “It’s very exciting to have been invited to the awards ceremony next month.

“It’s going to be weird to be surrounded by so many high profile filmmakers and actually have a film in competition.”

Watch the trailer for Island Queen

Find out more about Television Production at Bournemouth University

BU student receives BAFTA scholarship

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A budding animator has been able to realise her dream of studying at Bournemouth University after receiving a £7,500 scholarship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

Mawusime Blewuada, 29, will start her MA in 3D Computer Animation at BU at the end of the month after receiving the BAFTA grant towards her course fees.

The money has come from the BAFTA Scholarship Programme, which assists talented people in need of financial support to study a postgraduate course in film, television or games.

Mawusime is one of just ten students from across the UK to receive a BAFTA scholarship this year.

She said: “I was obviously very delighted to hear I had been chosen – I knew there was a lot of competition so I wasn’t certain I would get it.

“Receiving the scholarship meant I didn’t have to defer taking the course or take out an expensive loan to cover tuition fees.

“I can focus on studying without stressing too much about finance.”

Along with the money towards her course fees, Mawusime will receive mentoring support from BAFTA members and free access to BAFTA events around the UK.

The scholarship recipients will also share their learning experiences on BAFTA Guru, BAFTA’s online learning channel, and participate in future BAFTA outreach with young people.

Mawusime, from Thornton Heath in London, hopes to work in animated films and the visual effects industry after completing her Master’s degree.

She said: “I’ve chosen to study 3D Animation at BU because it has the reputation of being a challenging and comprehensive course that provides the teaching and resources I require. I’m really looking forward to collaborating on projects with other students from the National Centre for Computer Animation [based at Bournemouth University].

“In addition, the mentor support provided by BAFTA will be a great personal and professional advantage.”

Anne Morrison, Chair of BAFTA’s Learning and Events Committee, said: “This year’s scholarship recipients have great talents which, without the right support, were at risk of being lost from our industries.

“Through the BAFTA Scholarship Programme they now have access to funding, industry events and one-to-one mentoring, to help them make a tremendous contribution to our moving image industries.”

BU graduate goes write way to win BAFTA competition

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By Dean Eastmond

A Bournemouth University Master’s graduate has won a nationwide BAFTA competition to find Britain’s most promising comedy writers.

Christiana Brockbank impressed judges including comediennes Jennifer Saunders and Jessica Hynes to be named one of the winners in the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum competition.

Christiana, who completed an MA in Writing for the Media at BU in 2010, beat more than 500 entries to be named one of the five winners of the competition, which searched for the UK’s most promising upcoming comedy writers.

She said: “It’s been a bit surreal – you go from trying to get people to read your work to suddenly having lots of people asking you if they can read your script, and that makes every single rejection letter before that absolutely worth it.”

Christiana, 26, will now see her sitcom – Binwomen – performed in front of other comedians, writers and industry bosses at this year’s Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.

The comedy follows compulsive hoarder Janet as she works on the bins, and the industry panel will include comedian John Bishop and Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy at the BBC.

Christiana will also receive one-to-one mentoring sessions with comedy commissioners and independent production companies and the chance to have a full script commission paid for by the BBC.

Christiana, who is from Bolton and now lives in Ealing, London, said her time at BU helped her develop her creativity.

“What I enjoyed most about the course was being in an environment where you were encouraged to collaborate and be creative. I made some lifelong friends there who I hope I’ll get to work with again,” said Christiana, who currently works in retail while writing in the evenings.

“After graduating from Bournemouth, I continued to keep writing short films, radio sketches and sitcoms before becoming a copywriter and living like a real adult for a while.

“In the end, I gave it up and decided to move to London with the hope of one day doing what felt most right – trying to write stuff that’s funny and maybe even getting paid for the privilege.”

The BAFTA Rocliffe Sitcom Showcase takes place at the Guardian Edinburgh International TV Festival on Thursday 22 August.

Find out more about the competition

Dean is a student at Budmouth College in Weymouth, who is working at Bournemouth University in the Press and PR Department. He joined BU on a Sir Samuel Mico Scholarship, which provides 10 students from his college with essential work experience for four weeks over the summer.