BU NCCA featured in 3D world magazine

A feature article about Bournemouth University was published in 3D world magazine highlighting the success of its National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) courses.

BU “has garnered a reputation as one of the best schools in the UK for anybody with an interest in VFX, animation and creating games. There is nothing more telling than the accolades that graduates and lecturers receive, and Bournemouth is proud to boast more than a few awards for projects it is connected with”.

“Most recently many members of the staff and student body have worked on the Oscar-winning blockbuster Gravity”. Over 60 BU alumni worked on the visual effects for the film at London-based Framestore.

Framestore’s Anna Swift says “we are so thrilled to be celebrating Gravity’s success, which is testament to the commitment and skill of our talented staff, including Bournemouth University graduates”

Adam Redford, Senior practice fellow of the NCCA at Bournemouth University said “A lot of the tools and techniques used in the creation of the VFX for Gravity are being taught in NCCA classrooms every day. The NCCA at BU has a great reputation for producing graduates that go on to achieve amazing success in the feature film VFX industry all over the world”.

BU offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes specialising in computer visualisation and animation. For more information please visit the NCCA website.

BU graduates have animation selected for prestigious film festival

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A short film created by recent graduates from Bournemouth University will be shown at a prestigious international animation festival after being chosen from thousands of entries.

Espero? (Hope?) was created by Simone Giampaolo, Yifan Hu and Henrik Linnes as their final year project while studying at the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) at BU in 2013.

It has been chosen for inclusion at the Annecy International Film Festival this June – one of just 201 selected films from 2,290 entries.

Simone, who studied BA (Hons) Computer Animation Arts at BU, said being part of the prestigious French event was an unbelievable opportunity.

“We’re thrilled about Annecy. It is one of the most prestigious animation festivals worldwide and we still cannot believe our work will be part of it,” he said.

“I remember attending the Annecy festival as a student a couple of years ago, when the idea of having a film in the official competition was still only a dream.

“Now that it actually happened, it really feels unreal. “

Espero? is the first 3D animated film fully dubbed in the universal language Esperanto. It follows the story of Mother Earth and shows what happens after she creates humanity.

Simone, who acted as director for the film, said: “The general aim of this project was to create a high-quality, funny, entertaining and educational animated short that presents in a sarcastic way how humanity has been affecting planet Earth over the centuries.

“I see animation as one of the most powerful mediums to reach a wide range of audiences, which goes from kids to adults. It allows you to talk about inconvenient and sensitive topics in a funny and relaxed way, which is much more difficult to achieve through life-action.”

Annecy is not the first prestigious accolade the film has gained. It has already been shown at more than 20 international film festivals and won several awards – including the Children’s Prize at the Dieciminuti Film Festival 2014 in Italy.

Henrik, who also did the Computer Animation Arts degree at BU, said: “It feels great! We put so much work and effort into this short so it’s really satisfying to know that people like it.

“It’s been going really well so far, so let’s just hope that good things keep happening.”

All three of the team – who received the prize for Best Major Project at their BU graduation ceremony – are now working at animation and production houses in London, and hope they will have chance to work together again on an equally successful project.

It was amazing journey working with those two guys and I feel really lucky that our film has gotten this far,” said Yifan, who did the BA (Hons) Computer Visualisation and Animation degree.

“I’m very proud of our achievement and, as we are all working in London now, hopefully we will get a chance to work together as a team again soon.”

Watch Espero? (Hope?)

Prime Minister highlights success of Bournemouth University graduates

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Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood took the opportunity to promote the work of Bournemouth University graduates during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Over 50 Bournemouth University graduates worked on the visual effects for the film Gravity, which picked up the Achievement in Visual Effects Oscar at the 86th Academy Awards on Sunday night.

During the session at the House of Commons, Mr Ellwood said, “In recognising British success at the Oscars, would the Prime Minister join me in congratulating Bournemouth University and the Arts University Bournemouth, as over 50 of their graduates helped with the design effects for that amazing British film, “Gravity”?”

The Conservative MP continued, “Does that not prove that Bournemouth leads the way in digital media, is a great tourism destination, and does amazing party conferences as well?”

Prime Minister David Cameron responded by saying, “As ever, my honourable friend is right about all those things. Bournemouth University has excellent courses that have helped to build up the British post-production and facilities industries, which are busy helping to create blockbuster films. It is very good news not only that are we winning Oscars for British films but that British studios are full to bursting point making movies.”

The conversation concluded with the Prime Minister saying, “The facilities and post-production industries are leading the world. We need to go on backing that industry, which is why my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has taken steps with things like helping the computer games industry, helping high-end television, and continuing to back the very important film tax credits that have worked so well.”

Gravity was not the only Oscar-winning film to have involvement from a Bournemouth University graduate as Vanessa Salas Castillo was part of the Disney team that worked on the film Frozen, which picked up the Best Animation award.

At least one BU graduate is also currently working on visual effects for The Hobbit trilogy – which was nominated alongside Gravity in the visual effects category at this year’s Oscars.

You can listen to the Prime Minister’s Questions session for 5 March 2014 again on the BBC website or watch the clip as it happened.

Coverage roundup for BU’s Gravity success

Following a successful Oscar night for Gravity, in which they picked up seven Oscars, local and national press centred on the 60 Bournemouth University graduates who worked on the visual effects for the film – which subsequently took the Achievement in Visual Effects nod.

Current Bournemouth University lecturer Adam Redford also worked on the visual effects for the film and was quoted in a number of media outlets about the success.

The Guardian led with a feature about how films like Gravity can kick-start the careers of many university graduates. The article focusses on Bournemouth University with comments from both Adam Redford and BU graduate Sam Salek. Similarly, The Independent reported on how Bournemouth graduates were celebrating Oscar glory for their work on Gravity.

ITV Meridian led with footage about Gravity’s win before talking about the involvement of Bournemouth University graduates, while the story was also highlighted in the hourly bulletins of BBC Radio Solent, Heart South Coast, Wave 105 and FIRE FM.

Adam Redford was interviewed at length on BBC Radio Solent and BBC Dorset about the film’s success and his involvement and the Bournemouth Echo also interviewed Adam, along with current Bournemouth University students, about BU’s successful graduates.

Gravity’s success extends further than the Oscars, with the movie also picking up several high-profile awards at this year’s BAFTA ceremony. BU graduates involved in the BAFTA win also received widespread local coverage. MA TV Production graduate Ben Mallaby was also nominated for a BAFTA this year in the Short Film category for his work directing the film Island Queen.

Gravity was not the only Oscar-winning film to have involvement from a Bournemouth University graduate as Vanessa Salas Castillo was part of the Disney team that worked on the film Frozen, which picked up the Best Animation award.

At least one BU graduate is also currently working on visual effects for The Hobbit trilogy – which was nominated alongside Gravity in the visual effects category at this year’s Oscars.

During Prime Minister’s Questions on 5 March 2014, Prime Minister David Cameron was quoted as saying, “Bournemouth University has excellent courses that have helped to build up the British post-production and facilities industries, which are busy helping to create blockbuster films. It is very good news not only that are we winning Oscars for British films but that British studios are full to bursting point making movies.”

Bournemouth University graduates celebrating Oscar success

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Bournemouth University graduates were celebrating last night as their work on the film Gravity was highlighted with an Oscar win.

Graduates and lecturers from BU’s National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) were part of the team that worked on the visual effects for the blockbuster.

Gravity picked up the Oscar for Achievement in Visual Effects at an eventful awards ceremony in Hollywood, Los Angeles hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.

The film picked up a total of seven Oscars on the night, including nods for Best Director (Alfonso Cuarón), Achievement in Cinematography and Achievement in Film Editing.

The movie, which also picked up high-profile awards at this year’s BAFTAs, stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, but the majority of the space-themed film was created digitally.

London-based effects house Framestore worked on the special effects for the film – with the help of around 60 alumni from BU’s animation and visual effects courses.

Adam Redford, a 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 in the film.

Adam said, “”The NCCA at Bournemouth University has a great reputation for producing graduates that go on to achieve amazing success in the feature film visual effect industry all over the world.  A lot of the tools, techniques and processes used in the creation of the visual effects for Gravity are being taught in NCCA classrooms every day, this will give our students the necessary education and understanding of visual effects to enable them to achieve great success in the feature film visual effects industry of the future.”

Anna Swift, Recruitment & Talent Development Manager at Framestore, said, “We are so thrilled to be celebrating Gravity’s success, which is a testament to the commitment and skill of our talented staff, including Bournemouth University graduates”.

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.

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!”

MA Animation graduate award win at Horror Film Festival in Malta

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A short film by a recent Bournemouth University graduate has won the Best Animated Film prize at a Horror Film Festival in Malta.

Dark Places was created by Matt Stroud, who has just graduated from the MA 3D Computer Animation course.

It won in the Best Animated Film category at the inaugural Malta Horror Filmfest, which took place over Halloween weekend.

Matt, 24, who is from Malta, said: “Having just finished the course I was really looking to promote myself as much as I could and I found film festivals to be one of the best methods.

“I never expected to actually win anything but when I found out it felt fantastic. It’s always great to get that acknowledgment of your work.”

Dark Places took Matt around three and a half months to complete as his final Master’s project, and focuses on a young boy making his way through the dark.

“Dark Places is horror themed animation about a little boy named Lucas who gets lost in this seemingly infinite dark void with only a lantern to guide his way, but he soon realizes that he isn’t alone,” Matt said.

“The idea partly came from my childhood experiences of being afraid of the dark and was also inspired by my love of horror films.”

Matt added that he hoped to use the skills he learnt on his BU course and the recognition of his work to help build the animation industry in Malta.

“The course made a huge difference to my potential career path,” he said.

“I went from knowing next to nothing about technology, techniques and theory of animation to having a whole new skillset and feeling confident with my ability to work within the animation industry.”

He added: “Thanks to the award more people got to hear about me so you never know what that might lead to, although on principle I put more weight on my work rather than what awards they might win.

“With the skills I have gained I hope to be in a position to help strengthen the animation industry in my country, which is currently still in its infancy.”

Watch Matt’s winning film Dark Places

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.”

Bournemouth University graduate wins worldwide student animation competition

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An animation graduate from Bournemouth University has been named Computer Graphics Student of the Year.

Pramod Lj, who completed an MA in Digital Effects at BU in September, beat more than 320 entries from around the world to win the accolade, as part of the CG Student Awards.

Pramod, who is from India, was awarded the title after submitting a showreel of work completed while studying at BU – including buildings in Bournemouth town centre being pulled back to release hundreds of balloons and a car being made out of cubes.

He said: “It was totally unexpected, and it feels awesome to have won a competition with such high standards. Honestly, I feel that there were many entries that deserved to win.

“When I first entered the competition, I just wanted my work to be seen by many people. The competition is a great platform to showcase you work.”

The CG student awards are an annual event which showcases and rewards excellence in computer graphics from students and recent graduates worldwide, and are sponsored by a number of industry names.

Pramod, 25, has won more than £20,000 of visual effects software, access to online workshops and subscriptions to specialist magazines as prizes for winning the award.

“I am really excited about the prizes,” said Pramod, who is now working as an intern at Side Effects Software in Santa Monica, USA.

“Now that I have all these packages with me, it gives me a great opportunity to broaden my skills.”

The National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) at Bournemouth University was also highly commended in the School of the Year category in the CG Student Awards.

Pramod said that his time at BU helped him develop as a 3D artist.

“I chose the NCCA for its reputation. Before joining I didn’t know much in detail about VFX, and it was at the NCCA where I developed all my skills.

“The course structure was great – you start from the basics and slowly get into the advance stuff.

“One great thing about the course is that they push students to create great looking and convincing visuals. They encourage using simple techniques and creating great visuals with it, which I feel worked well for me as it is more artist-friendly. It was a great experience.”

Watch Pramod’s winning showreel

Work by final year animation undergraduates at BU will be showcased in London as part of the NCCA Undergraduate 2013 Degree Show. The free show takes place on 18 and 19 July and tickets can be ordered here

BU graduates celebrate Oscar and BAFTA success

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A number of Bournemouth University (BU) graduates celebrated nominations and wins at high-profile award ceremonies this year.

Graduates of the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) in BU’s Media School worked on the visual effects for blockbusters nominated at both the 2013 Oscars and BAFTAs.

Steve Twist, who completed a BA in Computer Visualisation and Animation and an MSc in Computer Animation and Visual Effects at BU, worked on the visual effects for Life of Pi – which won both the Oscar and BAFTA in the Visual Effects category.

Steve worked for California-based Rhythm & Hues Studios as a Character Rigger – and helped create the skeletal structure, muscles and body, and face controls for the computer-generated animals on the lifeboat during the film.

“It was an amazing experience to work on Life of Pi,” said Steve, who graduated in 2010.

“The artists at Rhythm & Hues are an incredible group of people, and it was quite a journey to see the film develop.

“When I saw the movie in the movie theatre, I was very proud to have played my small part to bringing the characters of the movie to life.”

Unfortunately, the company recently filed for bankruptcy protection, so Steve said winning the awards was a “bittersweet moment”.

“It’s amazing that our work was so well received, both by audiences and by critics,” he said. “But, needless to say, I probably felt every emotion possible during those few days.”

Meanwhile, visual effects supervisor Paul Franklin, who co-founded VFX company Double Negative and received an Honorary Doctorate from BU in 2012, and graduate Andy Lockley, who completed an MA in Digital Effects in 2000, were BAFTA-nominated for their visual effects work in Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.

Emma Clifton, who completed a BA (Hons) Computer Visualisation and Animation degree in 2005 was among BU graduates and ex-lecturers who worked on the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated visual effects for The Hobbit.

And two 2010 graduates of the BA (Hons) Computer Visualisation and Animation degree course at BU worked on the Oscar-nominated visual effects for Snow White and the Huntsman.

Dante Harbridge-Robinson was part of a team at BlueBolt Ltd. who helped design and create the castle in the film, while Daniel Georgiou worked on it as a matchmove artist for Double Negative.

Daniel, who now works as a lighting technical director, also worked on visual effects for Les Miserables and Skyfall, which were both nominated for numerous high-profile awards.

It wasn’t just visual effects that BU graduates received recognition for. BA (Hons) Television Production graduate Teddy Leifer was part of the team nominated for Best Documentary for a feature he produced called The Invisible War.

Teddy, who graduated in 2005, was executive producer on the film, which explores the topic of sexual assault in the US military.

Stephen Jukes, Dean of the Media School, said: “We live and breathe the industry in the Media School and we are extremely proud of our graduates who go on – which increasing success – to carry off some of the most prestigious awards.

“I believe we offer a unique combination of academic learning and professional practice which sets students up extremely well to flourish in the rapidly changing and highly competitive media world.”