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I have just heard the amazing news that AnimNation have won a gold award at the New York International Film and Video Festival!
I produced a 10 minute 2D animation with Hove-based production company Supernova Learning on the issue of age discrimination in the workplace, “As Old As You Feel”.
Here’s the press release -
Age Diversity Video strikes gold in New York
Hove-based video producer Supernova has won a Gold Award at this
year’s New York International Film and Video Festival. The Awards
Ceremony took place last Thursday 30th January at Manhattan’s Tribeca
Rooftop. The Annual Festival attracted entries from 31 countries.
Supernova won the award in the human relations category with As Old
as You Feel. The 10 min cartoon, with a commentary by Woman’s Hour’s
Jenni Murray, promotes a positive approach to age in the workplace.
Supernova teamed up with Brighton-based AnimNation to make the video.
It was written and produced by Supernova’s Vincent Thompson, with
animation by AnimNation’s Sarah Bird.
Supernova director Vincent Thompson commented “I’m delighted that our
DVD has received this recognition. Age discrimination at work is a problem
for both young and old. We’ve set out to raise awareness and promote
good practice in a witty way without being patronising”.
More information and video clip at:
http://www.supernovalearning.com/catalogue_08_age.htm
Happy New Year!
Since the last post was about the BANG/Flash Brighton Carnival O Fun back in December - I thought it was about time I updated this blog!
Things have been going great at AnimNation over the last couple of months. Business is booming - I’ve got some very exciting projects happening at the moment & some more on the cards for this year. I was very happy to create the VisitBrighton Christmas animated e-card back in December. I have also been working on a number of 3D projects for Brighton based Flash game gurus Plug-in Media. I am currently working on some informative animations for an international company.
I received some great news this morning that I may have won an award for my animation work - but more news about that later.
Development on my kids TV series idea with the very talented script writer Jayne Kirkham is going incredibly well. We’ve had some amazing feedback from a selection of very reputable children’s broadcasters! The plan at the start of this year is to get some development funds together to make the project possible.
On 10th January I was asked by Wired Sussex to be a panel member at one of the Creative Catapult evenings. I had to give a talk about my career and running AnimNation to a selection of students and graduates. I’ve had some lovely feedback since - so I’m delighted that the evening was useful.
This year’s Brighton Digital Festival went off with a bang this year - quite literally!
Starting off with an amazing interactive Flash generated fireworks display by Seb Lee-Delisle from Plug-in Media on the front of the Unitarian church in Brighton.
Pictures from the night are here
It then continued the next week to include the Portfolio Clinic - where I was priviledged to share a table with local animator RichMitch and look over work produced by local students and freelancers and offer advice on how to improve their portfolios and where to take their career next.
Photos from the night are here
The following night I was asked to be part of the Animation Night. Together with the Hastings Animation Networking Group’s founder, Angus Giorgi - we compiled a 30 minute showreel of animation work produced by BANG and HANG members - which included a very varied selection of films - from commerical work produced by AnimNation and John Davison, to personal projects created by the incedibly talented Cyriak, Tim Frost, to name but a few.
On the night this was shown to the audience along with a selection of animations from some of Ireland’s most talented film makers and animators. A panel discussion was then put together - consisting of the Dark Light Festival organiser Nicky Gogan; Matthew Talbot-Kelly who created the haunting Blind Man’s Eye; Eoghan Kidney who created Stars; English animator/film maker and director at Slinky Pictures, Chris Shepherd; Angus Giorgi founder of HANG and myself.We all discussed how we all have sought funding for short films and how the process varies from country to country - with an English, Irish and Canadian perspective on things. We also chatted about how politics can influence animation.
I have been helping Flash guru Seb Lee-Delisle run the Flash Brighton group for a while now - but this is the first time I have actually held a workshop for the group!
There seems to be a bit of a growing interest in 3D within the group - so I thought I’d give them all an insight into the world of Maya and what the software is capable of doing. Plus a lot of the research and technology used for many years in the 3D industry is now making it’s way across to the Flash platform. News has it that the next version on Flash will have IK integrated into it (for those who aren’t “in-the-know” about IK - it basically is an amazing tool to assist character animators. It links a series of skeleton joints together in a chain - enabling you to simply pick up a handle in 3D space and move, for example, a limb around without having to manipulate a series of individual joints). So I thought it would be nice to show where that technology came from.
Seeing as Maya is such an immense piece of software & has quite a steep learning curve - I’m limiting my talk to demonstrating character modeling and animation, lighting, particles and dynamics, and also how to integrate 3D animation into Flash (a technique I have done a few times to bring in 3D character animation into online Flash games).
It’s beginning to remind me of the days when I was assisting Techex - demonstrating earlier versions of Maya to potential buyers!
When & where is it?
The Greene Room (upstairs in The Cricketers)
Tuesday 20th November, 6:30pm
Register to attend here - http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/319259
This month has been incredibly productive and quite a manic time!
Work is already on it’s way producing the Production Bibles for the two children’s TV series ideas developed by myself and talented script writer, Jayne Kirkham. A pitch meeting with Cartoon Network has been arranged for the start of November - which we are very excited about.
Time was spent this month on developing characters and a script for an animated short film called “Rose”. An application has been sent in to the Screen South Digital Shorts scheme in the hope of some funding money to put the animated short film into production.
I was also invited along to the Brighthelm Centre in Brighton by Sussex Downs College to give a talk on the importance of setting industry briefs to students. Last year I set an industry brief to the BA Multimedia students at Sussex Downs College to re-brand one of three fictitious satellite TV channels - which went down incredibly well & I have been invited back this year to set the same brief to the next batch of final year students.
I was given the opportunity to put on my teacher’s hat this month & do a bit of Maya tutoring to a local company, Hudoq. Which was something I had not done since I was a software demonstrator for Maya (back then owned by Alias/Wavefront!) - but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
AnimNation are just about to start work on some more concept artwork for Sony and 3D models and animated assets for an online Flash gambling website.
September has proved to be a very exciting month for AnimNation! What with a large amount of concept illustration work and 3D animation work for Sony’s up coming projects for the PS3 and the PS3 relaunch - I have been kept busy with some very fun projects.
It has also opened a few more doors to getting me closer to my biggest ambitions - winning awards for animation (I’ve always dreamed of winning a BAFTA!) and creating children’s television series! This month, I have been working together with the fabulous children’s comedy script writer, Jayne Kirkham, to develop two ideas for children’s series. With a speculative meeting with Nickelodeon and a pitch meeting with Cartoon Network lined up - things are definately looking very exciting!
I also aim to produce my own animated projects in between working for clients. At the moment, myself and a very talented illustrator, Andy Marshall, are working on an idea for a short animated film with a dark theme.
Well I’m back in the office after from my travels around Europe - which started out as a tour around Switzerland & ended up being a trek around west Europe! (Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain & UK!).
One day back - and things are already busy! With lots of exciting work lined up and the start of my plan to develop an animated children’s TV series!
I am also working on a few tutorial ideas to put in this blog to help students - so watch this space!
The next Brighton Animators Networking Group meeting has been confirmed - information about it has been put on this blog & also on the BANG Facebook group - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3466045493
AnimNation were featured on the Wired Sussex website last week. The new animation showreel has just gone online http://www.animnation.co.uk/videos.showreel.html & Wired Sussex very kindly put up an article about it. You can read it here - http://www.wiredsussex.com/press/pressrelease.asp?id=1910
Hi!
Welcome to the AnimNation Quicklinks blog site! My name is Sarah Bird - I am the Director at AnimNation. I have started up this blog to document any AnimNation news, talk about all aspects of computer and traditional animation and talk about animation networking events in Brighton. From time to time, I will post up the odd animation tutorial - which will be a valuable resource for freelance and student animators and anyone who would like to learn a little more about the subject.
Enjoy!
