Animation Showreel

Today I finished creating the first copy of my stop motion showreel on DVD! In order to hopefully impress the companies that I send it to I have created and printed off a custom DVD label and case sleeve as well as customising the DVD menu with a program called 'Roxio easy DVD copy 4' which I purchased online for £19.99.
I plan on taking this first copy with me to Mackinnon and Saunders to leave with them when I visit on Tuesday.

Animation Developments

Yesterday I got back from a week long visit to Wrexham where I made use of the animation equipment to create some test pieces for my showreel. These included things such as run and walk cycles as well as some squash and stretch. I found the week very beneficial as it gave me a chance to experiment which I didn't have the time to do on the course and haven't had the equipment to do since being home.

A week previous to this I managed to organise a day down to Mackinnon and Saunders on the 2nd of September where I will be able to show off my animations and models. It has been arranged for me to be seen at 2:30pm. I am now in the preocess of finding whether it would be better to travel by bus or by train.

Becky's Reply

"Hi Alistair,

Please accept my apologies for not replying sooner to your email. It has been frantic here with all the various projects and deadlines.

Thanks for letting me know the dates when you would have been able to see us. Unfortunately we are going to be too busy now for the rest of June/possibly July also, to devote the proper amount of time to your visit.

In an ideal world it would have been lovely to be bringing new talent into the building to start training up as the puppet makers of the future, but I don’t think its going to work like that just at the moment!

Sorry to have to disappoint you as it was me who approached you. At least we have made contact and Nick highly recommends you.

Please contact us again later in the summer, if you would like to, the situation may be calmer.

I wish you well with the external examiner, and hopefully we may see you later in the year.

All best wishes,

Becky"

So it seems that I wont be able to visit after all and any hopes of a job are off. For now at least. I'll have to make contact again later in the year.

M&S day visit dates

I've just finished sending an e-mail to Becky Hunt at Mackinnon and Saunders to arrange a day for me to visit. Here's what I sent:

"Hello Becky,

This is Alistair. Now that things are more or less over with at my end I have had a chance to look at which days I would be able to make it down to visit you at M&S.

If its not too soon then I would be able to visit on either Tuesday 3rd, Wednesday 4th or Friday 6th of this week.

Each day I would be able to catch a train to Altrincham station and arrive there at roughly 11 o'clock. I then plan on catching a taxi to get to you.

To make sure I've got the correct address the one I have is;
148 Seamons Rd,
Altrincham,
Cheshire
WA14 4LJ

If its not right then please let me know.

To get back I would need to catch a train from Altrincham station at either 15:51 or 16:51. I have chosen these times based on how long I spent during my visit to Cosgrove Hall last year. There are earlier or later trains if needed.

If these dates are too soon for you then please let me know and I'll see about sorting something a little later on in the month. I need to be in Wrexham on the 10th and 11th because the external examiner will be coming in and we've been told he will want to see us all.

I hope to hear from you soon,

Alistair Stuart"

Hopefully one of these days will be suitable and I will be able to show them my work.

Storyboards With Jean Flynn

Today Jean Flynn from Cosgrove Hall paid us another visit to NEWI to give us a talk this morning in the Nick Whitehead theatre and totake a look at the second year storyboards. As I am also using her brief as a base for my current project I showed her my storyboard as well.
I got some useful feedback from her with respect to reframing some of my shots and alerting me to extra shots that I need to add in.
It was interesting listening to the feedback for the other students and actually getting to see what they are working on at the same time.
After I make the alterations to my storyboard I will then have to make a new animatic. I've already got one made from my current storyboard but its a bit too static because of the lack of shots.

From the morning talk I picked out three important things:
-Understand basic animation.
-Take any job available to get into the industry.
-Don't rule out work on computer games or web design.

Chris Bowden's Reply! (At Last)

Finally today I recieved a reply from Chris Bowden (after further contact) answering the questions I emailed him just over a month ago. Here is what it said:

Dear Alastair,

Sorry your note has been neglected but things here have been rather busy with evening and weekends both taken up with our shows. I’ve answered as best I can below.

Chris


1. Have you got any advice for any future work I do?

Focus on what you want a piece of work to do for you. if you want to show that you’re an animator, make sure the character animation is great. If you want to be a director, show that the pace style, composition and ideas are solid. Usually simple well told stories are best.

2. What do you look for in showreels?

In animation reels we look for thought. Thought about the character and the what’s going on its head. Often we don’t look for smooth slick animation (though that’s bonus) because in most cases that comes with day in day out practice.

3.What job opertunities are there at Cosgrove Hall?

It depends how busy the studios are. We have periodically run training courses to get animators new to a standard where they can begin work in the studio but at present there are quite a few animators around and we have no need to train new ones at present. Of course that could all change very quickly if a new project comes in.

4. Do you have any briefs/mock briefs that I could work on as part of my final year?

Not really. I have been asked this before and we don’t really have anything that could constitute a meaningful brief for a project.

I feel the answers to questions 1 and 2 will be quite useful to know.

HOT Animation and eDward

Yesterday I contacted HOT Animation again to see about visiting the studios for a day to look around and show my second year animation. I was told, unfortunately, that it wouldn't be possible as the company is currently undergoing changes and that if I am still interested then I should try again at the end of the year when they should know more about their situation.

As for the eDward competition, I completed the registration forms and posted off my entry yesterday as well so that should hopefully arrive at the destination in plenty of time.

Cosgrove Hall Visit

It would seem that my visit to Cosgrove Hall is now all planned!
I shall be heading down to the studios to meet with Chris Bowden shortly after 12:00pm on 17th July.
I shall need to catch the 10:07am train from Wrexham, change over at Chester at 10:58 and I shall arrive in Manchester at approximately 12:00pm. I will then catch a taxi to the Cosgrove Hall studios which, according to Chris, will take about 15 minutes.
Whilst I am there the plan is to be shown around the studios and for me to show Chris my second year animation. I'll be taking my laptop down which has my animation stored on it. If I can find a safe way to do so then I will also attempt to take my models with me so that I can show them off in the 'flesh', so to speak.