Jack Hubbard at Framestore

Many congratulations to Jack Hubbard,  one of our recent graduates from the Animation and VFX course at Bucks, who has landed a job at Framestore, one of London's leading animation and VFX houses.

We congratulate Jack on a great start to his digital career. To see more of Jack's work, check out his graduation demo reel at our YouTube channel.

Stuart Penn Reveals Alien Secrets

Last night I was privileged to attend a talk in London 
by VFX Supervisor Stuart Penn, talking about his extraordinary visual effects work for Framestore, one of London's leading visual effects houses, and now a global company with locations in Canada and elsewhere.

Stuart, whose VFX work includes Avatar, The Dark Knight, Iron Man 3 Guardians of the Galaxy, was talking about his recent work as VFX supervisor on Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant.
 
So, what were the secrets behind this most coveted of VFX roles - working for one of the greatest living film directors on this legendary film franchise?

Stuart Penn Talks Alien Covenant on 3rd August

Stuart Penn

Framestore VFX Supervisor Stuart Penn will be talking about his work at a free event in London in two weeks, on Thursday 3rd August at 6.30pm.

Stuart's work includes the digital oil refinery "Hell's Gate" on James Cameron's Avatar, the Hong Kong sequence of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, the development of the Extremis effect for Marvel's Iron Man 3 and the "Knowhere" environment for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

Stuart will be talking about his recent work as VFX supervisor on Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant. We encourage all our students to attend - and ask questions. This is a chance to meet a successful industry professional and ask him - how does a student artist break into this field?

Meet Frame Store's Billy Butler on Thursday 2 February

Escape Studios in West London is hosting another free event for students - an "Evening With..." coming up on Thursday 2 February at their Shepherd's Bush studio, with Billy Butler,  Lead Modeler at Framestore.

Billy has a vast amount of VFX experience, having worked on hit movies such as Gravity, Animalia and Sucker Punch.

He will be showing students his demo reel and talking about his experience in the VFX industry. This is a superb event for any of our students who would like to find out more about 3D and VFX - and 3D modelling in particular. 

Framestore Reveal Their Animation Secrets to Bucks Students

Here at Bucks we are committed to bringing in regular visiting lecturers from the animation and visual effects industry, to make sure that what we're teaching is totally current and up-to-date.  On Friday 29 May we welcomed Framestore's Marion Strunck to teach our students at Bucks.  Marion is a graduate of the excellent Animation Workshop in Denmark and an expert in character and creature animation. Every animator has their own workflow, and it was fascinating to gain some insights into how a top London VFX house approaches the art of character and creature animation.

Reminder - Creature Animation Masterclass on Friday 29 May

Framestore did the character animation for Paddington

Don't forget! This coming Friday 29 May we welcome an expert in character and creature animation from Framestore, one of London (and the world's) leading visual effects houses.  Marion Strunck, a graduate of the excellent Animation Workshop in Denmark and a rising talent at Framestore, will be coming to Bucks to give our students a masterclass in creature work. So, what can our students at Bucks expect?

Framestore Animation Masterclass Comes To Bucks on May 29

Framestore did the character animation for Paddington

We're delighted to welcome an expert in character and creature animation from Framestore, one of London (and the world's) leading visual effects houses, and the people did the animation for Golden Compass, Paddington, Gravity, and dozens of other VFX movies.  Marion Strunck, a graduate of the excellent Animation Workshop in Denmark and a rising talent at Framestore, will be coming to Bucks on May 29th to give our students a masterclass in creature work. So, what can our students at Bucks expect?

Animals and Creatures Reel from Animation Apprentice

Here at Bucks we are committed to training animators not just in character animation but also in creature work, doing the kind of animation that is in high demand at Soho visual effects houses like Framestore, MPC, Double Negative and Cinesite. Our second year animators will devote at least a quarter of their time just to the business of animating animals and creatures, preparing them for a successful career in visual effects.

I teach animation not just at Bucks but also at my online school at www.animationapprentice.org, founded in September 2012. Animation Apprentice is still a very young animation school, but we have just put together the first compilation of animal and creature work, showcasing some of the best work done by the students.

Summer internships at Framestore - time to polish your demo reel....

Framestore is looking for talented and creative undergraduate students to join their 2014 summer intern scheme. According to Framestore, "the Internship will give the successful applicants a unique opportunity to become important members of the creative team and gain valuable experience working for one of the largest and most respected special effects and computer animation studios in Europe".

Framestore say that they are looking for "individuals who share their passion for high-end visual effects and can demonstrate a genuine commitment to their chosen career path".

Oscar Winning Modeler Adam Dewhirst is giving a free webinar tonight at 6pm

Escape Studios are hosting a free webinar with Oscar winning modeler Adam Dewhirst tonight at 6pm. Sign up now and hear Adam reveal the secrets of 3D Modeling, and what it takes to find work at a top London visual effects house like Escape Studios.

To find out more, follow this link: http://www.escapestudios.com/live-webinar-the-art-of-oscar-winning-3d-modeling/

I have worked with Adam myself and can personally vouch for his credentials. He is an excellent digital artist, a serious pro. Anyone interested in making a living as a CG modeler should sign up for this webinar. And it's free!

---Alex

Who is hiring in Soho?

One of the key aspects of finding a job is knowing who is hiring. If the jobs aren't there, or your skills don't match the vacancy, then it doesn't matter how talented you are - you won't be likely to find work. So, a big part of finding a job is knowing what is out there, who is hiring, and when.

Dave Berry models and rigs his own quadruped

Paddy rig v1.0 overview from Dave Berry on Vimeo.

Dave Berry is one of our talented animation students at Bucks who has taken a highly pro-active approach to learning 3D animation, doing tutorials on his own time and pushing the boundaries of his knowledge.