BA(Hons) Animation Showcase

'In Course' work samples (years 1 and 2):

Success Stories - BA (Hons) Animation

Graduates in Aardman Showcase

Ricard Butler and Laurie Priest

Selected from 100's of applicants for the Aardman Showcase of new talent festival.

"Focus on the fundamentals, work hard and have fun!"

Learning how to manage his time and focus on the fundamentals of animation was really important in helping BA (Hons) Animation graduate Darren Rodriguez, to achieve his goals. The desire to always look for ways to make his work better and to be as objective as possible about it was crucial to progressing his study.

“Being able to work well with others in this industry is absolutely fundamental, and it's important to not get too precious about your work as you will eventually have to deal with directors and other creative folks who want to try out different ideas and explore other avenues – it's a creative industry after all. The group projects were excellent for fostering this kind of approach to your work, as was being open in discussions with tutors regarding project ideas and feedback.”

After graduating Darren managed to secure a junior animator position at London's leading visual effects house Framestore-CFC working on the Hippogriff for the third Harry Potter movie “The Prisoner of Azkaban”. Darren has been with Framestore since then, working his way up to up to animator on both TV and film projects like Dragons (Channel 4), Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, and Prehistoric Park (ITV).

“This was an incredible opportunity for me as I didn't really expect to get such a position straight out of university, and particularly on such a high-profile movie! I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.” ”

Recently Darren engaged in some location work in the States on the Disney movie “Underdog” and he worked on the tv series Primeval2 (ITV). Through Framestore, Darren is currently working on the next Batman movie The Dark Knight, due for release in summer 2008.

“That's the amazing thing about this industry is that you can work all over the world and do something different all the time. You get to work on and be a part of the entertainment world and your work can be seen by millions – it's a bit mind blowing when you really think about it!

If I was going to give advice to anyone just starting out or trying to break into this industry, I would say: focus on the fundamentals, work hard and have fun!”

A Fruitful and Fulfilling Career

Industry knowledge and the ability to work as hard as you can is sound advice from Animation Director and Illustrator, Benji Davies.

“Studying animation at the university taught me to be independent and seek new ideas. The most inspiring element of the course were the workshops in which we would re-structure a fairytale into a new narrative, or explore character design by stepping away from using the tools that we favoured and creating something less conventional. This allowed me to find new ways of expressing myself creatively. I was interested in all aspects of animation but filmmaking and directing were my main pursuits during and after the degree.

On finishing the course I thought I would step into an animation job straight away but I had to diversify into other relative areas of design, such as illustration, to support myself whilst I worked my way into the industry. I won a place with Channel 4’s Animator In Residence Scheme, which took me to London and enabled me to direct my short film, “The Grotlyn”, which was televised the following year.

Six years after graduating, and I am now represented as a director by a Soho-based production company called Partizan. I have worked on several animated commercials as a director, including campaigns for Waterstones and Sainsburys. I hope to continue this work alongside other projects in children’s book illustration and personal film work; I am currently developing another short film script.

My advice to students would be work as hard as you can and learn as much about the industry as you can before you graduate. When it comes to finding your first job all the knowledge and hard work will pay off.”

View Benji Davis' new production at the Grub website www.fraterfilms.com/grub

Animation Student Lands Job with Ubisoft

Kayum Roy, BA (Hons) Animation graduate has just secured a job as a character animator at Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers.

After spending three years studying at the University, Kayum appreciated the support he received from the tutors, as well as the time given to students to develop their own style and techniques:

“I think the most important thing I learned while at Lincoln was how to manage my time and expectations. It's very easy in Animation to get caught up on grand ideas and big plans, when in fact a lot of the satisfaction comes from simply sitting down and moving things around!

I appreciated the support I received from the tutors, as well as the time given to students to develop their own style and techniques. The freedom granted throughout the course put an emphasis on individual motivation, an important skill to learn when aspiring to work in such a competitive industry.

The projects were varied, and particularly useful were the group briefs. Most of us underestimated the importance of learning to work in a team environment. It was quickly evident upon leaving university that the first thing companies look for is someone who can work well with others.

If I could give some advice to students studying Animation at Lincoln, it would be to focus on a particular discipline. Take the time to decide on what you enjoy most and then focus your work around that. Larger companies will often look for someone who can fulfil a single role excellently, instead of multiple roles adequately. Most of all just enjoy the work, sometimes it's hard to believe we can actually get paid for this!”

John Lee Goes to BAFTA Winners Lionhead Studios

John Lee - a final-year Animation student specialising in Computer Generated Imagery has been offered a job as an animator at Lionhead Studios.

"When you first start out, you usually have to settle with being a runner and making the tea," said John. "I've been really lucky and skipped that and gone straight into animation.

"Although I got this job straight away, it wasn't easy. The first thing I needed was a website to get recognition and then I went on Internet forums where people gave me feedback on my work.

"I've already been in contact with Pixar and Weta Digital - makers of Gollum in Lord of the Rings - and they have all given me constructive criticism on my work.

"I'm really pleased with getting straight into the industry because it's usually really competitive. There are so many people out there wanting to do it and they always say you need experience so getting this job is a dream come true."

The winner of two BAFTA awards - Lionhead Studios is regarded as the leading videogames developer in the UK. It was founded by Peter Molyneux and is the developer of the well-known game series Black and White. John (22), originally from Colne in Lancashire, starts his new job next month and hopes his time at Lionhead will be the start of a successful career.

"I would like to get into post-production on commercials, but in the long term it would be great to do feature length animated movies."

Study Visits - BA (Hons) Animation

2009 Student visit to San Francisco

In 2009 we went to San Francisco visiting; galleries, festival events, the new Eco centre in Golden Gate Park, filmic locations like the famous crooked street. We also took a tram ride down the 'Bullet' route made famous by Steve McQueen, and went on a ferry around Alcatraz. 'O' yes, and we also had a tour of Berkeley University - I guess it was a study visit after all ;-)

Next year we are hoping to go to LA to do the animation studio tours, which include DreamWorks, Disney, Framestore LA and then up to San Fran to see PIXAR.

Photo-montage of places visited