BNU Short "Best No Budget" at Dreamer's Fest

"What is Wrong...?" Wins Best No Budget at Dreamer's Fest

Congratulations to the makers of the short film "What is Wrong With The Global Development Organisation?" which has won "Best No Budget" film at the Dreamer's Film Festival.

Directed by BNU animation graduate Monika Dzikowicz and animated by BNU graduates, the two minute micro-documentary tells the story of an aid organisation which has lost sight of its founding principles.  

Float Folks Best Trailer at Art Film Awards

Float Folks wins Best Trailer at Art Film Awards

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

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

"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.

"Flame" Wins Best Animation at LISFF

Best Animation LISFF

Many congratulations to BNU animation student Amedeo Beretta, whose short film "Flame", has won Best Animation at the London International Student Film Festival (LISFF).

"Flame" has won multiple awards in recent months, including Best Editor at the "We Make Films Festival" in London and a Five-Star Award at the British International Amateur Film Festival. Flame was directed by Cherelle Owusu, produced by Carolina Xavier, and overseen by Amedeo Beretta.

"Flame" in Multiple Film Festivals

Still image from "Flame"

"Flame", the short film made by Bucks New University MA student Amedeo Beretta, has been winning awards in film festivals, and continues to enjoy festival success, despite the Corona Lockdown.

Flame is a short film produced by BNU student Amedeo Beretta, currently studying for our online MA in 3D Animation.

Flame was an award winner at the British International Amateur Film Festival, and was awarded a "Special Mention" at the London Student Short Film Festival. Despite the challenges caused by the lockdown, we're delighted that our students' films continue to enjoy growing festival success.

 

VFX Festival in London Next Week

Next week in London Escape Studios are hosting their annual VFX festival, the capital's most important event for animation, games and VFX.

As ever, they have a great line-up of speakers, and there are still a few tickets left.

We recommend that all our students and Escapees attend the VFX Festival; it's a great way to find out the latest news in our industry. Best of all, it's a chance to meet in person some of the recruiters from the big London animation and VFX houses.

London International Animation Festival Now On

The London International Animation Festival (LIAF), the UK’s largest animation festival, returns for its 14th year with a series of screenings of the best shorts and features, both domestic and international, including children’s screenings and the Best of the Fest.

Bucks New Uni's Annecy Survival Guide

Annecy - an ancient medieval town in the French Alps

The International Festival of Animation at Annecy is the world’s biggest animation festival. It can be a slightly overwhelming experience; there are so many things going on at once that it can be hard to feel like you really get to make the most of being there. Alongside the film festival is MIFA – the world’s biggest animation marketplace, a brain-boiling congress of industry types furiously buying and selling. But Annecy is an event that we believe that every animator should go to at least once – if only to get a feeling for the sheer size and diversity of the modern animation industry.

The Thief and The Cobbler at Annecy

On stage at Annecy - Le Voleur et Le Cordonnier

Here at Bucks we encourage all our students to visit the international Animation Festival at Annecy at least once.  It's the world's biggest animation festival - everyone who is anyone in animation shows up, and there are more screenings, workshops and events than you could possibly attend in a whole year.  Friday 19 June was the last day of the MIFA marketplace at Annecy, and also a rare chance to see The Thief and The Cobbler (en Francais: “Le voleur et le cordonnier”) original director’s cut – presented by the director himself.  Dad got a standing ovation when he came on stage, and he dedicated the screening to the memory of Ken Harris, one of Chuck Jones’ top animators on the Looney Tunes series and the man responsible for much of the animation of The Thief himself.

BAFTA Piccadilly hosts film-making masterclasses on July 11th - for just £6

On Saturday 11 July,  the BAFTA HQ in London at 195 Piccadilly will open its doors to emerging filmmakers for a day of masterclasses and panels with some of the UK’s major film industry organisations. The classes are hosted by industry experts, aimed at helping emerging filmmakers improve their creative and business skills. Best of all, each lecture/masterclass costs just £6 - cheaper than the price of a movie ticket.

Reminder - Still Time to Sign Up For Annecy 2015!

Annecy - still time to sign up

Annecy is to animation as Cannes is to Film.  Annecy is the first, the original, the biggest and still the best international animation festival. So, should animators go all the way to the French Alps to find out about animation, and what will they find when they get there?

One Week Left to Submit Your Project to Cartoon Forum!

Do you have an animated TV series or TV special in development? And if not, why not? Our animation students at Bucks are not just technicians, they are creators, brainstorming new ideas and concepts in animation, searching for the next Peppa Pig or Charlie and Lola.  But you can't do it alone - animation is a team sport.  A successful TV series needs co-producers, financing, broadcasters and new media partners. And where do you find those? Well, Cartoon Forum is where.

Don't Forget - FMX is Coming! May 5th to May 8th 2015

This is a reminder for all our animation and VFX students that FMX in Germany is the place to be if you want to break into the visual effects industry. It takes place in Stuttgart every year - this year from May 5th to May 8th 2015. It's a big, bustling, crowded, brain-boiling congress of people who work in the global visual effects industry, getting together for their annual shindig. Everyone shows up - and there are lectures, screenings and panel talks on every imaginable aspect of the visual effects process.

World Animation Masterclass Comes to London on 10 April

Jason Schleifer of DreamWorks

This Spring from 10-12 April London will play host to the "World Animation Masterclass", featuring distinguished animation guests including Jason Schleifer, Head of Animation at DreamWorks, Ed Hooks, author of Acting for Animators,  Eamon Butler from Cinesite, and many other animation experts.  It looks like being an excellent way to gain an insight into the modern animation industry. So what can delegates to the conference expect?

Why Animators Should Go To Annecy on June 15th

 

Annecy is to animation as Cannes is to Film. Like Cannes, there is no particular reason why this small and rather attractive town on a lake in the French Alps should host the world's biggest animation festival - except for the fact that they have always done so. They got there first, and while many towns and cities now have animation festivals, Annecy is the first, the original, the biggest and still the best.

How To Enter and Win Animated Film Festivals

Laurels of victory - these can be yours! Photo: Wikipedia

There is no better way for a student to launch their career in animation than to enter and win animated film festivals around the world.  However, as the competition gets tougher all the time, how does a student have a decent chance to enter their film, get noticed, and win prizes? We asked veteran DreamWorks storyboard artist Nassos Vakalis, whose short film "Dinner for Few" has been winning festivals all over the world, to explain the secrets of success.

Why Animators Should Go To FMX in May

FMX is the place to be if you want to break into the visual effects industry. It takes place in Stuttgart every year - this year from May 5th to May 8th 2015. It's a big, bustling, crowded, brain-boiling congress of people who work in the global visual effects industry, getting together for their annual shindig. Everyone shows up - and there are lectures, screenings and panel talks on every imaginable aspect of the visual effects process.

Miracles and Inspirations by Bucks Graduate Monika Dzikowicz makes the Official Selection of the Festival de Cine de Madrid

Monika Dzikowicz graduated from Bucks last year, and recently completed her short film Miracles and Inspirations, which has been entered in to short film festivals all around the world. Most recently the film has been accepted for the Official Selection at the 23rd Festival de Cine de Madrid, taking place in Spain in October of this year.

Annecy Replay - see what you missed at the world's biggest animation festival

Annecy is the world's biggest and longest-standing animated film festival. Hosted in the idyllic Alpine village of Lake Annecy, the setting could not be more beautiful, and the hotels could not be more booked up.

For those of you who missed animation's annual international shindig, either because you couldn't get a room, or you booked too late, or you simply didn't get around to it - visit this page to see the highlights. And make a point of going next year. It's a great place to see excellent work, meet other film-makers, catch up on the latest technology breakthroughs and - who knows - maybe even win a prize.

Withoutabox - the smart way to get your animated short film noticed

What is Withoutabox? It is the best, simplest and most efficient way to enter your short animated film to the many film festivals currently welcoming submissions all around the globe. Submit your film to Withoutabox.com just once, and you can enter most of the festivals on the planet.

The site allows you to upload your film, fill in some (rather long) forms, and then - hey presto - you can enter film competitions all over the world. Withoutabox is free. As for individual competitions, the fees vary from nothing to quite a bit. It's up to you as to how many you want to enter.