Tag Archives: VFX

BFX Festival draws to a close

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The BFX Festival came to an end following five days of movie screenings, animation workshops and industry insights into some of the best movies of 2014.

The Festival, in its second year, celebrated the best in animation, computer games and visual effects from the last 12 months, with talks and workshops from industry professionals offering a ‘behind the scenes’ look at how films and games are made.

Graduates and students from Bournemouth’s universities joined industry professionals and members of the public for the Festival, designed, in part, to inspire future generations to enter the booming creative industries.

This year, industry experts took to the stage at the Bournemouth International Centre to talk about their work on movies such as The Lego Movie, Maleficent, Godzilla and Guardians of the Galaxy. Legendary computer games such as the new installment of Elite (Elite: Dangerous) were also featured – with delegates learning about what it takes to create the visual effects for games and movies and just how much of our films are digitally created.

Framestore’s Ben Lambert, a Bournemouth University graduate, spoke about his modelling work for the Oscar-winning movie Gravity, which won the visual effects Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards. Another BU graduate, Miles Green, who works for Australia-based visual effects house Animal Logic spoke about his work on The Lego Movie and how they tried to stick to the limitations of the Lego world while creating the movie.

The Festival is the idea of the International VFX Hub; a collaboration between the award-winning National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) at Bournemouth University and the Faculty of Media and Performance at the Arts University Bournemouth (AUB).

Weekend activities had a more family-friendly flavour, as children and parents descended on the Festival to create their own animations, during a free workshop. Children were invited to make a model out of clay before using a stop motion camera to bring their creations to life. The talks and workshops were complimented with evening screenings of popular movies, including Maleficent and Frozen.

A special art exhibition, featuring concept artwork from 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent were also on display during the Festival, loaned from Walt Disney Animation Studios in California.

Sofronis Efstathiou, Senior Lecturer at Bournemouth University and the BFX Festival Director said, “It was great to see so many people learning more about visual effects and animation and their importance in cinema, TV and game making.”

Sofronis continued, “BFX Festival 2014 was a great opportunity to review some of the best visual effects and animations from the past year – I was in astonished by the quality of speakers and their presentations this year, and delegates seemed to enjoy the range of activities on offer – from screenings and workshops to talks from industry professionals on movies such as The Lego Movie and Gravity.”

Bournemouth University has a long history with the visual effects industry, with many graduates going on to work on award-winning movies and games. Over 80 BU graduates worked on the film Avatar, while around 60 BU graduates were involved in the visual effects for Gravity.

Plans are already underway for the BFX Festival in 2015, and alumni are encouraged to join in, as Efstathiou comments, “We’ll be back again next year and would love our alumni to join us so watch out for communications about BFX in 2015.”

For more information about the BFX Festival, or to keep up-to-date with the latest information about next year’s Festival, visit www.bfxfestival.com.

Oscar-Winners and Disney are Hitting Bournemouth

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Top experts specialising in visual effects and animation will be hitting Bournemouth this month to spread their knowledge at the BFX Festival organised by Bournemouth University (BU). Guests to the festival can look forward to a series of workshops, expert talks and screenings of films such as Maleficent. The event aims to celebrate the British talent in visual effects, animation and games whilst educating its guests.

The director of the event, Sofronis Efstathiou, is ‘delighted’ to be hosting the second BFX Festival after the success of last year. He endeavours to encourage the local community to visit the festival saying: “There is truly something for everyone from industry experts to hobbyists, animators to technical directors.” The event will be held in the Bournemouth International Centre from the 24th to 28th September.

Other masterminds present at the festival will include graduates from BU who were part of the team behind the visual effects in the Oscar award winning film ‘Gravity’. The brilliance behind Disney’s animation will also be revealed in exhibitions held over the course of the festival with artwork from Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent.

Naturally, the event has sparked up interest amongst many media outlets such as BBC Radio Solent and ‘The Daily Echo’. Gaming blogs such as ‘The Bearded Trio’ also ran stories on the event. The event was also mentioned in the online gamer’s website ‘Gamasutra’ where Bournemouth Council Councillor Lawrence Williams says: “We are delighted to support the BFX Festival. It is a fantastic opportunity for people starting their career to speak to the experts and gain insight and inspiration to enter the industry.”

By Charlotte Cranny-Evans

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

Visual Effects and Animation Festival returns to BU

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The BFX Festival returns to Bournemouth this summer to celebrate British talent and creativity in animation, computer games and visual effects and inspire the next generation of people to enter the booming industries.

Last year’s BFX Festival was a fantastic celebration of visual effects, animation and games and this year’s event is aiming to build that success, with experts and enthusiasts from across the UK and beyond presenting an amazing selection of material and leading a range of Festival activities that will appeal to all.

Tickets are now on sale for the Festival, which will take place across four days from 24-28 September 2014, hosted at the Bournemouth International Centre.

Talks featuring movie titles such as The Lego Movie, Gravity, Maleficent, Godzilla, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Edge of Tomorrow will be on offer, giving delegates an insight into the range and quality of visual effects needed to create such blockbusters. Legendary computer games, such as the new instalment of Elite from Frontier Developments, called Elite: Dangerous will also be presented.

As well as talks from industry experts on some of this year’s best VFX and animation there will also be a large concept art exhibition direct from the vaults of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures; featuring concept artwork from the movies Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent.

A series of workshops will be available for those wishing to explore animation and VFX techniques further and a number of family activities are also on offer, including children’s animation workshops and public cinema screenings. Talks and workshops have been created with all levels of expertise and knowledge in mind, and the Festival is open for all members of the public to attend.

The Festival is being organised by the International VFX Hub; a collaboration between the award-winning National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) at Bournemouth University and the Faculty of Media and Performance at the Arts University Bournemouth (AUB).

Sofronis Efstathiou, Senior Lecturer at Bournemouth University and the BFX Festival Director said, “We are delighted to be hosting the second BFX Festival this year and to celebrate the best VFX and animation in the world. There is truly something for everyone; from industry experts to hobbyists, animators to technical directors. Come and learn more about this amazing industry and the hard work that goes into creating some of your favourite movies and computer games.”

Companies such as Animal Logic, Framestore, Double Negative, The Mill and MPC will be speaking at the Festival, along with Festival partners The Foundry, Chaos Group, Next Limit and AMD.

At the heart of the Festival is the BFX competition – where students from around the country will be competing to create the best animation and visual effect from a selection of briefs and screenplays given to them. The competition, which is held on Bournemouth University’s and Arts University Bournemouth campus, replicates a film studio with participants working in groups of up to six to create a short visual effects or animation sequence. Teams are mentored throughout by industry practitioners, with a panel of industry judges picking the winning team and awarding prizes.

The competition is currently underway, with teams from 10 higher education institutions taking part, competing for a variety of award and prizes across a number of categories, with winners due to be announced during the Festival itself.

Tickets for the BFX Festival can be purchased on Eventbrite with Early Bird discounts available.

More information about the BFX Festival (including ticketing), and the BFX Competition, can be found at www.bfxfestival.com.

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

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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.

BFX Festival highlighted twice in the Bournemouth Echo

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Bournemouth’s visual effects and animation festival, the BFX Festival, was held at Bournemouth University recently, giving students a behind the scenes look into the digital effects used in some of Hollywood’s biggest movies. The Festival’s success was highlighted during two articles in the Bournemouth Echo.

Peter Truckel, director of the VFX hub at Bournemouth University, told a gathering of industry experts and students how 50 per cent of graduates entering special effects and animation jobs in London’s Soho come from BU.

The Dean of the Media School, Stephen Jukes was hoping to “inspire and foster talent” by trying to bring higher education and the industry together. He said in the Echo, “We want to celebrate and promote Bournemouth and the conurbation and it’s growing role in the industry. A lot of the industry is beginning to setup here”.

The team Poseiden, made up of Bournemouth University students, won the best film prize at the event sponsored by Total Film magazine. In addition The Blonde Rangers team, a collaboration between Bournemouth University, Arts University Bournemouth, and Edinburgh University students, took four awards.

Willi Geiger, the digital supervisor for some of George Lucus’ most iconic movies, said to the Bournemouth Echo, “I’m blown away with what they have achieved”.

By Peter Blackhall
2nd year student at Bournemouth University, BA Public Relations

BFX Festival opens in Bournemouth

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The BFX Festival, a festival that celebrates the visual effects industry in the UK, has opened in Bournemouth.

The four day Festival includes talks and workshops by industry professionals as well as demonstrations of visual effects tools and a showing of the film Rush at Empire Cinema in Poole. It is being hosted by Bournemouth University, the Arts University Bournemouth and a number of other partners.

Opening the Festival, Alex Hope, Managing Director and Co-Founder of British visual effects company Double Negative, was quick to praise Bournemouth University for providing an exceptional quality of education in visual effects to prepare graduates to contribute and work in the industry.

Alex Hope said, “15 per cent of staff currently working at Double Negative are Bournemouth University graduates, this works out at 140 or 150 members of staff.” Alex also pointed out that current Double Negative staff member Alex Lockley, who was awarded an Oscar in 2011 for visual effects work on the film Inception, was also a Bournemouth University graduate.

The Festival runs from 25th – 29th September 2013 and more information is available on the BFX Festival website.