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.

eDward - Result

Well I recieved another email from the eDward Young Filmmaker's Award today. Unfortunately I haven't made it through the selection process. Below is what the email had to say:

"Dear eDward-Participant,
thank you very much for your submission to eDward 2007.
We want to inform you that the pre-jury already held a meeting during which they elected the finalists of eDward 2007. Having so many works made by very creative and talented film makers made it very difficult to select only the best.
Unfortunately, we have to inform you, that your contribution has not come into the narrower choice of the finalists. Nonetheless, we thank you for your engagement and wish you all the best for your further film productions .
We thank you very much for your commitment and hope you will participate once again next year.
Kind regards "

I shall have to wait and see what the theme is next year as well as if I will have the time to enter.
I might not have got through but at least I tried.

eDward Email

Upon checking my email account today I have found an email from eDward sent on the 20th, letting me know that they have recieved my entry to the contest and that after they have recieved all entries they will then contact me again with further details.

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.

eDward

Filming on my short animation entry is now complete so all that is left to do is to create or find some music to use and then edit it all together. Hopefully that wont take too long.

edWard - Young Filmmaker's Award and Cosgrove Hall.

Earlier this month I made the decision to enter the edWard young filmmaker's award competition. The brief is to produce a piece that lasts no longer than 30 seconds on the theme of love.
I've started filming now and I'm making it using cut-out. The deadline that entries must be received by is 21st August. I don't think I have a winning entry but I thought it would be good to enter anyway just to see how these things go.

I have written an offline report on my day at Cosgrove Hall. I unfortunately didn't ask all of the questions I should have while I was there. I have emailed Chris with some questions but I haven't received a reply and that was over a week ago now. I think I shall have to email him again to give him a nudge.

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.

Annecy

The university visit to Annecy has now been and gone. It took place from Saturday the 9th until Sunday the 17th of June. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile visit dispite the hot temperatures.
The first animation I saw at the festival was a French stop-motion film entitled Max & Co. The models had been created by English company Mackinnon and Saunders. The film has stuck in my mind ever since I saw it. I would highly recommend it to anybody.
I saw 2 films everyday of the event apart from Thursday when I went down to MIFA and viewed the stalls of software vendors and the business stalls of animation companies. It felt a little bit surreal seeing all of the companies trying to sell their animations.
Ryan and myself were called over to one stall where we were told about a scheme in France where they will provide up to 45,000 Euros to produce a stop-motion or CGI animation. Both Ryan and myself exchanged details with the man. Unfortunately I don't have the details at hand to say who it was but I shall be writing a full account of the events that took place in Annecy at a later date.
This fuller account wont appear here on this electronic PDP though as I plan it to be a physical work on paper.

Hot Animation

I've phoned Hot Animation again today and managed to speak to Lianne this time round. Unfortunately it seems that although I will be able to visit, it wont be until later on in the year. Probably around September or October. I have to phone them back at the end of July to discuss it further.

Cosgrove and Hot Animation

Ok, so on Thursday (31st of May) I finally plucked up enough courage to phone both Cosgrove Hall and Hot Animation.
I successfully managed to speak to Chris Bowden from Cosgrove Hall who I emailed yesterday. I should be able to visit the studio sometime in July. He has asked me to provide him with some dates that I would like to go down on. I still need to find out which dates would be suitable for me to suggest.
I haven't been so lucky with Hot Animation though. The first time I called I got put on hold, sent to an answer machine asking me if I wanted to re-record my message and then cut off! I phoned back and explained what had happened. The gentleman at the other end explained that Lianne (who I was trying to contact) wasn't in which was why I was sent to an answer machine. He connected me to the machine again and so I left a message. I'm thinking it would be a lot wiser of me to call them and try again as I see the likelyhood of them calling back a complete stranger who sounded very nervous, very slim. I shall try again on Monday.