Can our students at Bucks make you a short animated film?

Here at Bucks we often get asked this question: Can your students make me a short animated film? The answer is a loud and enthusiastic yes. We love making animated films, and we love doing "live briefs" for outside clients. We have even set up a small film co-operative at www.nano-films.com especially to create short films. In practice, there are two ways we can go about making you a film. The best road to travel depends on the answer to this basic question: Do you have a budget?



If the answer to this question is yes, then go directly to www.nano-films.com and check out what we have done for other clients. We have made films for as little as £1,000, and even if you have a very, very tight budget we can still make you something exciting and special. Our current undergraduates and recent graduates are super-talented and they like taking on small freelance jobs to develop their portfolios and become fully-fledged professionals. We will make you something you will be proud of.

If the answer is no, then it gets a little more complex. We can still make something great, but now we need a bit more assistance from you. This is because the tutors at Bucks (that's me) will have to sell your project to our students, get them excited about it, and motivate them to complete a project for which they will receive no payment. What this means in practice is this: the project must be a really good one. In particular, we will be looking for answers to the following:  

1. What is the story you want to tell? It helps a lot if you have a story in mind. We can help you flesh one out, but having a fairly detailed idea in of what your story is, is an important starting point. 
2. How long is it? Remember that animation is slow, expensive, and time-consuming. Anything over 2-3 minutes is probably too long.
3. Who is it for? If it's for charity, that's a big plus. We will gladly help out a good cause but we don't want to work on freebies for, say, Goldman Sachs. They can afford to pay.
4. What style do you want? Everyone likes Toy Story, but we can't deliver Pixar quality on a shoestring budget. If you can show us a relatively simple style of animation that you like, this helps point us in the right direction. Links to YouTube videos are ideal.
5. When do you need it done by? Everyone needs a deadline.

Timing is also important. Most of our students start casting around for ideas for short film productions in September or October, with production generally finishing in the Spring of the following year.

If you would like a short film made here at Bucks, email me at alexander.williams@bucks.ac.uk, making sure to answer as many of the questions above as you can. We'll do our level best to help you out and create something truly excellent.

To see more about Nano Films, check out our website.

---Alex

(Editor's Note: To see some of the impressive work done by our students and recent graduates here at Bucks, check out the work of Jens Kopke,  Ben Gray's Moonbeam, and the architectural visualisations of Sabah Masood. Also take a look at the work of Andy Thomas, 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.)