Why Your Demo Reel Needs Quadruped Gaits

Horse gallop by Mark Lawson-Hall

Most student demo reels focus on human characters, but if you are looking to get hired onto animal and creature projects, you will need to show an understanding of quadruped locomotion - one of the core skills we teach at Animation Apprentice. 

A solid walk, trot, and run cycle for a four-legged character shows range, versatility, and an understanding of animal and creature mechanics.  Layer in some acting and personality, and you have a great demo reel. 

Why Eye Lines Matter in Animation

Eye Direction Matters

One of the most common mistakes made by junior animators is getting the eye lines wrong - the characters on screen just aren't looking at each other. 

This was a problem on Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - a film I worked on back in 1987 (it was my first animated film).  One of the biggest challenges on the film was getting Roger and the other cartoon characters to look directly at Bob Hoskins and the other live action actors. 

Without clear believable eye direction, the characters didn't seem to be looking at each other, and the illusion failed. 

And if the illusion failed, the whole suspension on disbelief failed. 

Float Folks Best Trailer at Vesuvius Fest

"Float Folks" Best Trailer at Vesuvius Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "The Float Folks", the short teaser/trailer made at BNU by our animation students, which has won "Best Trailer" at the Vesuvius Film Festival. 

The Float Folks is an animated TV Series created by Ian Foyle and directed by Monika Dzikowicz, currently in development.

Charlie & Yip Wins "Best Trailer"

I'm pleased to announce that my short film "Charlie and Yip" has won another festival award - Best Trailer at the Fantastic Film Indie Film Festival of Los Angeles.

Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, which turns out to be a bad idea.

The short is really a teaser/trailer for my indie feature film project "My Haunted House", which is still in development. 

How Feedback Works at Bucks New Uni

How do students get feedback at Bucks New University? Animation students on our online MA in 3D Animation receive a weekly bespoke feedback tutorial on their work, showing how to fix mistakes and how to improve.  In addition, we have an online classroom where students post their work, receive positive feedback, and give creative criticism to others.  Being able to take criticism ("notes" in the industry) is part of the process of creating great animation. When you first show your work to a client, they will have comments, and they won't always love your first efforts. Whether you're working at a studio, or doing private client work, or just working on your own personal work, animators need to learn to incorporate criticism in order to make your work the best it can be.

"Charlie & Yip" Nominated "Best Trailer" at Bucharest Film Festival

Bucks New Uni tutor Alex Williams' short film "Charlie and Yip" has won an award nomination for Best Trailer at the Bucharest Film Festival.   Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, which turns out to be a bad idea.

The short is really a teaser/trailer for Alex's indie feature film project "My Haunted House", which is still in development.  Recently it won the "Scream Award" at the Berlin Flash Film Festival, Best Animation at the Flicks Film Festival in London,  Best Trailer at the Changing Face International's Film Festival (CFIFF) in Australia, "Best Trailer" at the Lisbon Monthly Film Festival, Best Trailer at the Halicarnassus Film Festival, and Best Film at the Film One Film Fest in July.

"Charlie & Yip" Best Trailer at CFIFF

"Charlie & Yip" - winner at CFIFF

Bucks New Uni animation tutor Alex Williams' short film "Charlie and Yip" has won an award for

Best Trailer at the Changing Face International's Film Festival (CFIFF) in Australia. 

Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, which turns out to be a bad idea.

The short is really a teaser/trailer for Alex's indie feature film project "My Haunted House", which is still in development.  Recently the short won "Best Trailer" at the Lisbon Monthly Film Festival, Best Trailer at the Halicarnassus Film Festival, and Best Film at the Film One Film Fest in July.

"Charlie and Yip" Best Trailer at Lisbon Film Fest

"Charlie & Yip" wins Best Super Short at the Lisbon Film Fest

I am pleased to announce that my short film "Charlie and Yip" has won "Best Trailer" at the Lisbon Monthly Film Festival.

Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, which turns out to be a bad idea.

The short is really a teaser/trailer for my indie feature film project "My Haunted House", which is still in development.  Recently the short won Best Trailer at the Halicarnassus Film Festival, and Best Film at the Film One Film Fest in July.

Charlie and Yip" Wins "Best Animation"

We're proud to announce that Bucks New Uni tutor Alex Williams' short film "Charlie and Yip" has won "Best Animation" at the Film One Fest.

Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, with unfortunate consequences.

It's a really a teaser for Alex's indie feature film project "My Haunted House", which is still in development.

Queen's Counsel - For a Few Guineas More

As well as teaching animation at Bucks I also do a weekly cartoon strip in The Times, a satire on law and lawyers.

I first started drawing Queen's Counsel back in 1993, when newspapers were still pretty much the only way that people got their news. And every self-respecting lawyer read the law pages of The Times on Tuesdays.

This year I published my 10th "Queen's Counsel" book - For a Few Guineas More, a collection of the best cartoons published over the last six years in law pages of The Times.


This new book is the one I'm most proud of - in part because it is the first cartoon collection which is in full colour throughout. Queen's Counsel started being printed in colour in The Times in 2011, for the first time.

Lion King - Film Review

On Monday night the Empire Leicester Square hosted a preview of The Lion King for BAFTA members. I went along fully prepared to dislike the new film - how could anyone top the original? And why bother with a re-make of such a great movie, other than to please the Disney shareholders?

Of course, I am very biased, having worked on the original film back in 1993, so I was doing my best not to enjoy it, and to persuade myself that the original film would still be the One True King.

But MPC, the London VFX house that did all the animation, have raised the bar for animal and creature animation to such a level that it's impossible not to be impressed by the sheer skill of the digital artistry.

The Lion King is a triumph not just of technology but of great storytelling, as the film-makers kept most of the original film but wove in new elements to keep the story fresh.

Who's Who on our Online MA in Animation?

Bucks New University by Jeton Lakna

Who's Who on our Online Master of Arts in Animation? There are a lot of people involved in delivering our MA - the first (and still the only) online MA in animation in the world.

Below is a brief guide to help our students figure who's who, who does what, and how to get in touch with the key people who's job it is to help our students get excellent results.

Welcome To The Bucks New Uni Online MA in Animation

The world's first online MA in animation

We're excited to welcome all our new students who will soon be starting the journey with us on our online MA in animation, launched one year ago at Bucks in partnership with Animation Apprentice.

This is a unique degree - the first of its kind - which can be undertaken by students anywhere in the world, leading to a formal qualification in the field. You will not only learn how to animate, but you will engage at Masters' level with the underpinning theory and structure behind the art form. So, what is this degree all about, and what can our new students expect?

How to Get Ready For Our Online MA in 3D Animation in September

What kind of preparation should students do before starting with us on our online MA in 3D Animation in September?  It's always good to do a little preparation and get a bit of a head start.

Below is a brief list of stuff to get you under way. You don't have to do all of it, but tick off a few of the things on this list and you will be a making a great start on your animation career.

Moving On

Like Dick Whittington, I'm off to London

Working at Bucks and launching the new course in Animation and Visual Effects has been one of the highlights of my professional career.  After all, Bucks is a university with excellent facilities in new media and a strong focus on the creative arts.

Sad to say, today is my last day at Bucks, and I am moving to a new job in London with Escape Studios. However, the excellent work done at Bucks by our talented students will continue, and I wish the very best to whoever takes on the running of Animation and VFX course.

How Can You Tell Where is the Best Place to Study Animation?

Gateway Building at Bucks - modern media hub

One of the most important decisions that anyone makes is what to study at University, and where. How do you choose? Even if you know you want to study animation and the digital arts (good choice!), there are at least 80 courses in the UK to select from.  There are a number of ways of making the right decision, but we think these are the most important questions to ask:

Our Latest Commercial Project - Meet The Float Folks!

The Float Folks - Coming Soon!

Bucks animators have recently finished work on our newest commercial project - The Float Folks - a teaser for a new TV Series which is the brainchild of creator Ian Foyle. The Float Folks invites the viewer into a world of fishing floats; a small town by the reed beds where everyone gets along (mostly) and the only way to travel is by dragonfly or dogfish. The project was designed by Bucks Animation graduate Monika Dzikowicz, and animated by a number of our recent graduates and current animation students. We're excited to see this project come to life, and thrilled to have been a part of making it happen.

Bucks Animation Tutor Alex Williams Launches Free Movie App

Yesterday Bucks animation tutor Alex Williams launched a new free app at the iTunes store. The app is for his indie animated feature film My Haunted House, and this is the first release of an official iPad game for the movie. The game is completely free - you can download it now from the iTunes store. If you beat Level 1 you can unlock and watch the award winning short animation teaser - Charlie and Yip. Here is the link to download https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/my-haunted-house/id898642249?mt=8

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 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.