Why Using Live Action Reference Can Lead to Floaty Animation - And How to Fix It

Leopard Animation by Daniel Amor

The use of live action reference to create great animation is one of the key techniques that students learn at BNU. But one of the dangers of using live action is that, if you follow it too closely, the animation can seem floaty and weightless.

Live action reference helps animators to create believable, realistic animation. Once you have done that, push it further. Go beyond the live action, push the poses, make the transitions snappier. Give the audience a reason to watch your work - give a performance. 

Artifact Wins Special Mention at One Reeler Fest

Artifact wins Special Mention at One Reeler Fest

Congratulations to BNU animation student Kristis Bandzevicius whose animated short "Artifact" has won a "Special Mention" at the One Reeler Film Festival. 

"Artifact" is a short film created by BNU animation student Kristis Bandzevicius.   "Artifact" was written, produced and directed by Kristis, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation at Bucks.   This is the film's third festival award. 

Meet "Journey of Life" by Robin Herrman

 

Meet "Journey of Life", a new short film created by BNU animation student Robin Herrman.  "Journey of Life" was written, produced and directed by Robin, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation at Bucks.   "Journey of Life"  was completed during the course of Robin's studies at BNU, and is currently being entered into film festivals. 

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.  

Paul Amiras Head of Layout at Framestore

Paul Amiras

Many congratulations to Bucks animation graduate Paul Amiras on his new position as Head of Layout & Tracking at London VFX Powerhouse Framestore. 

3D Layout is one of the first interesting and challenging parts of the production process, working closely with the director to establish the cinematic look and feel of the project.

Framestore is a global VFX success story, responsible for multiple blockbuster films and series.   

VFX Festival in London 9-10 March 2022

VFX Festival 2022

Escape Studios' VFX Festival is back in March 2022, this year taking place as a hybrid event, both online and also in person.

Escape Studios will host the event at their midTown Campus at 190 High Holborn, also streaming the events for a live online audience.

To book your tickets, follow this link to thevfxfestival.com.

"Artifact" Wins Best Sci-Fi at Art Film Awards

"Artifact" wins Best Sci-Fi

Congratulations to BNU animation student Kristis Bandzevicius whose animated short "Artifact" has won Best Sci-Fi film at the Art Film Awards.

"Artifact" is a new short film created by BNU animation student Kristis Bandzevicius.  

"Artifact" was written, produced and directed by Kristis, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation at Bucks.  

2022 BNU Animation Demo Reel

Above is our latest edit of the best work done by animation students at Buckinghamshire New University, specifically those enrolled in our MA in 3D Animation, delivered in partnership with the online school Animation Apprentice. Many thanks to Robin Herrmann, Kristis Bandzevicius, Alex Southcombe, Brandon Barwise, Michael Davies, Liam Devinney, Carla Narvaez, and Michael Acosta on their excellent work.

How to Simulate Weight in Animation

Weight lift from the Animator's Survival Kit

One of the hardest things to achieve in 3D animation is the creation a sense of weight. Weight is hard to simulate because our characters are just pixels - they have no intrinsic weight, so we have to create it from nothing. 

One of the more tricky exercises our students at BNU have to tackle is to animate a character lifting a heavy object, such as a box. The box is just a bunch of pixels - it has no weight. So the challenge is to make it appear heavy.

To get started, take a look at the thumbnail sketches on the left, taken from the book we recommend all our students buy - The Animator's Survival Kit. 

The thumbnails show how important it is for the character to get their feet right underneath the object they are going to lift. That way, the weight of the object falls directly over the character's heels - and the object feels heavy. 

How to Finance an Animated Film or TV Series

How to find finance?

Our animation students at BNU aren't just technicians, they are creative artists developing their own ideas. Many will be pitching original content for games, films and TV series.  

Of course, the business of content creation involves finance, and one of the most common questions we get asked at BNU is how to secure project finance for an animated film or TV series. 

Film finance is never easy, but it can be done, if you follow the right steps. 

"Artifact" Wins Best Micro Short at Vesuvius Fest

Congratulations to BNU animation student Kristis Bandzevicius whose animated short "Artifact" has won Best Micro Short at the Vesuvius Film Festival.

"Artifact" is a new short film created by BNU animation student Kristis Bandzevicius. "Artifact" was written, produced and directed by Kristis, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation at Bucks.  

Why Animators Need Good Titles

artofthetitle.com

Part of making any short film is thinking about titles, and typography.  A good title sets the tone and style for the forthcoming film.

For all our students working on titles and title sequences for their short films, we recommend visiting theartofthetitle.com, a website dedicated entirely to the art and craft of movie titles.

Why Animators Should Record Audio First

Voice actors come first - then animation

One of the rules of animation film-making is that the audio comes first, plus sound effects (and music) - then you do the animation. 

The voice recording for the actors is done first, cut into the edit, and then the animators create their performance to match the dialogue.

Sometimes film-makers will try doing it the other way around, animating the characters first and then adding the voice-over, but this is almost always a mistake. The reason for this is that it is very hard to post-sync the dialogue.

The rule of animation film-making is always this: record your dialogue first, then do the animation.

2022 New Year's Resolutions for Animators

Happy New Year to all our Students!

Happy New Year to all our students at BNU, past present and future. What should an animator's new year's resolutions be for 2022?

The animation industry is growing fast, despite the pandemic, and despite Brexit.  There are plenty of jobs out there for those with the right skills.

But the world of animation and visual effects is a competitive one, and animators need to be well-trained - and smart - to stay on top of their game.  

So, what are some simple ways to maintain your edge in 2022?

The Best Tablets for Animation

What Kind of Tablet Should our Students Buy? This is a question we often get asked at BNU, especially for those animators working remotely on their own hardware. 

Nowadays there are many different kinds of tablets available, and cheaper versions than the traditional Wacom brand. 

Why Something is Better Than Nothing

It's not always good to be a perfectionist

From time to time animation students will get stuck on a project, and will request extra time, or hand their work in late - and then apply for Mitigating Circumstances.

Sometimes this flows from perfectionism, performance anxiety, or even a sense of imposter syndrome - a student feeling that their work isn't good enough. 

In truth though, it is always better to hand in something than nothing; an imperfect submission is always better than no submission at all.

Meet "Artifact" by Kristis Bandzevicius

Meet "Artifact", a new short film created by BNU animation student Kristis Bandzevicius. "Artifact" was written, produced and directed by Kristis, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation at Bucks.  "Artifact" was completed during the course of Kristis' studies at BNU, and is currently being entered into film festivals. 

Interruption of Studies at BNU

On occasion students at BNU find that for whatever reason, personal or professional, they need to apply for an interruption of studies (also known as a suspension of studies). 

Interruption of studies means exactly that - you interrupt your studies, typically for a year, then pick up the course in a year's time.  In other words, you press the Pause Button. 

To find out the details of the Interruption of Studies procedure, take a look at this handy PDF, which sets out how it's done. 

DA702 Character Acting Starts 10 Jan 2022

Animation by Alex Southcombe

Starting in the New Year our masters' students tackle DA702, the second animation module on our online masters' degree in 3D animation. Classes start on 10 January 2022.

The module is titled DA702 - Character Performance, and builds up to an entry into the March 2022 Eleven Second Club competition.  

On March 1st 2022 the club's official line of dialogue will be released, and our students have until March 30 to submit their finished work. DA702 PR1 assignment is due on Wednesday 30th March 2022 at 2pm.

Cartoon Museum Opens "The Laughter Lab"

Last night was the opening of a new exhibition at London's Cartoon Museum, titled Laughter Lab: What’s So Funny?, which seeks to "uncover the science behind funniness".  

The exhibition invites visitors to contribute to a science experiment which hopes to find out what makes a cartoon funny. 

The experiment is being conducted in collaboration with Robin Dunbar, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford. What makes us laugh? It's a complex question, with some surprising science behind it. 

Why Students Should Submit Work Early

Deadlines matter, and at BNU the lecturers have little leeway in accepting late submissions. The "No Detriment" policy that was in place following the Covid Pandemic is now at an end, and BNU deadlines are now a lot more rigid than they have been for the past year.

Our recommendation here at BNU is this: Don't wait until the due date to submit your work.  Instead, aim to submit your work the night before.