Computer Animation Arts

This is pretty extraordinary. The Bigger Picture from daisy jacobs on Vimeo .

REACTION from dfmn on Vimeo .

Max Cooper & Tom Hodge - Symmetry from Kevin McGloughlin on Vimeo .

Just a quick reminder, as you are packing your cases today... Remember, it is just ONE piece of hand luggage, so if you have a separate handbag, camera bag, laptop etc, that needs to be able to fit inside your cabin bag. Don't forget to pack all of your liquids into a clear ziplock bag, no bigger than 20x20cm . Individual bottles must not be bigger than 100ml, and you can have up to 1000ml altogether (but the bag must be able to be closed!)  Things like toothpaste, foundation, deodorant, other gel-based toiletries all need to go in the clear bag - keep it handy near the top of your case, as you will need to take it out at security and put it through the scanner separately... there's nothing worse than having to start rifling through your packing looking for it, when there is a queue behind you! See you all bright and early tomorrow!

Year 2: A reminder of timetable events and changes that will happen after Rome / Reading Week. 'In Person Pitch' Wednesday 8th March This is a presentation pitch (to the whole group) illustrating your project idea, your progress (work) so far, and what you intend to achieve over the remaining weeks of the project. This will also be a presentation where you will be given feedback and advice from Phil and I. *Please note that this date may change. If so a notification will appear on the group blog. 'Tuesday / Friday Tutorials' Week 9 (Starting the 6th March) - No Tutorials due to the Pitch. After week 9: The tutorials become 'Drop in' tutorials. 'Drop In Tutorials' mean come if you need project advice or practical help.

Squidgy! PHEROMONE from HELMUT BREINEDER on Vimeo .

Addison Groove - Changa from Vector Meldrew on Vimeo .

The Dutch Angle from Jacob T. Swinney on Vimeo .

This is pretty wonderful...  Black Holes from NOODLES on Vimeo .

For those of you not at yesterday's film screening... the big news is that your FSTS final crit will take place in Lecture Theatre One.  You need to be in L1 by 9.45am at the latest - ready to go!  Spread the word.

Today is launch day for the Internal Student Survey 2017 .  The short version is the ISS is the opportunity for year 1 and 2 students to feedback to the University about their experience at UCA so far.  Your feedback is valued very highly by the University. You can access the survey   here .   Make sure you select the right survey - not the NSS, but the survey dedicated to Years 1 & 2.  You'll need your student number to access the survey. This is found on your ID card.   Okay - so what does the survey entail? 30 core questions relating to the following aspects of the student learning experience: Teaching on my Course Assessment and Feedback (i.e. blogs/tutorials/crits/proformas) Academic Support  Organisation and Management  Learning Resources  Personal Development (i.e. core skills/greater confidence presenting etc). Overall Satisfaction Students' Union The survey doesn't take long, but it is important you ...

Causality - the relationship between cause and effect... Leningrad - Kolshik from FancyShot on Vimeo .

Zombies - this century's No.1 go-to metaphor for when we want to talk about what it means to be human... Less Than Human from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo .

A further reminder re. your 'Star Chamber' OGR with Kath Abiker.  You need to have your presentations uploaded to your blog by 5pm on Monday.   I'll be available in the baseroom from 2pm for anyone still experiencing difficulty nailing their enquiry down.  However, my expectation is that you are trying to nail your enquiry down and not just bringing me some deficit of effort on your part. Important: please make sure your OGRs are proof-read prior to publishing for Kath.  Can we ensure your spelling and grammar is polished and typo-free.  Kath has high expectations of year two undergraduates; you've submitted enough assignments and received enough feedback to know very well the importance of professionalism and academic literacy.  Make sure Kath is responding to your ideas and your content only - and not your schoolboy-level errors!  You are all way beyond this stage now.  The OGR requirements ask you to include your Research Proforma: you'...

What follows are instructions for your crit presentations and reminders of what you need to present and submit. Please use your social networks to ensure everyone has seen this information and understood it. Any queries, please leave a comment and I'll clarify where necessary. In response to the three story components given you at the time of briefing, you are asked to pre-produce an original two minute animation.  Your pre-production is to be submitted in 2 parts; 1) Pre-Viz, to include: a) 2d animatic with soundtrack & transitions. b) Maya pre-viz with soundtrack & transitions 2) An ‘Art Of’ publication, to include: a) concept art : environment design b) concept art : character design c) concept art : prop design d) Final environment designs e) Final prop designs f) Final character designs (character sheets) g) Final presentation storyboards h) Final script You are asked to produce a comprehensive blog archiving and annotating your creative developmen...

Tom Smith Year 2 Needs Your Help... As part of year two's Adaptation Project Tom Smith is setting up a challenge for himself to respond to random 'word picks' drawn daily from a bag. However, to make this a true adaptation Tom needs the words to be submitted by other people. Here is Tom's explanation.... "Yesterday as a test I typed up some words, printed them out, cut them up and put them in a hat. I then got someone else to choose two. From the two words I then created a quick character design (here is a link to the test.). I plan on doing this for at least a week, maybe more. I want to have a catalogue of designs that I can choose from to take forward and develop.  Therefore, I need the help of everyone on the course to generate a bunch of random words/character/things to help me develop more and more designs. I only have a small amount of words so far so it would be great to add more! A few examples of the words I have are things like, Fra...

The Computer Animation Arts' Tombola Of Dreams 2017 - Launches Monday 13th March. Prize announcements coming soon!

On Thursday 23rd February, your course is undergoing its five year Periodic Review - which in short means that a panel of interested parties are meeting with the course team to get together to ensure that Computer Animation Arts is as good a course as it can possibly be.  It's a big formal 'Final Crit' sort of a day for course staff and as part of the day's events, the panel members will be coming to take a look at the CAA baseroom and associated computer suites.  What this means for you is simply this: our rooms need to look spic-and-span, with no trace of crisp-packets or whiff of chips!  It also means, if you're working in the rooms - and we'd like the rooms to be as busy as possible - please keep it professional.  Your consideration and cooperation is much appreciated.  If you could ensure your classmates have seen this, that would be great.  Many thanks.

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005) Released back in 2005 'The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello' features a Victorian Steampunk style combined with German Expressionistic techniques dating back to the earliest days of animation and cinema. Films such as 'The Adventures of Prince Achmed' (1926) by Lotte Reiniger and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari by Robert Wiene (1920).

VFX Games - The Art of Compositing from Roy Peker on Vimeo .

You'll soon be invited to complete the Internal Student Survey (ISS).  The ISS asks students for a rating of their satisfaction via multiple choice questions for the following areas:  1) Teaching 2)  Assessment and Feedback 3)  Academic Support 4)  Organisation & management 5)  Learning Resources 6)  Personal Development 7)  Overall satisfaction with the quality of your course 8)  Students’ Union There are also free-text questions which ask you to feedback on your course and university experience. Improving the student experience is a key strategy to our development as a University. The survey is crucial to our understanding of what you think about us. It informs us of the things we're doing well and where they need improving. Your feedback is used to improve the student experience. Results become part of formal monitoring processes within the University.   Put simply, UCA takes your feedback via this surve...

Just a reminder re. your 'Star Chamber' OGR with Kath Abiker.  You need to have your presentations uploaded to your blog by 5pm on Monday 20th February.  I'll be available in the baseroom from 2pm for anyone who is still experiencing difficulty nailing their enquiry down - but if you get your 'Cones of Cogency' on your blogs before then, I'll do my best to be as clarifying as possible in advance of Monday's deadline. Please make sure your OGR is on your blog by 5pm - as I'll be sending a list of OGR links to Kath for her convenience. Kath's feedback will likely 'explode' your structures a little as she encourages you to consider new territories, additional ideas and theorists and other 'must haves' or 'must reads' or 'must includes'. Kath can only react to what you give her, so please take the appropriate time to genuinely engage with formulating your proposals.  The feedback should be bringing something ...

It's time to complete the National Student Survey 2017 Okay - so what does the survey entail? Most of you will have completed surveys very similar to the NSS during your time with us, so you'll know the format: 27 core questions relating to the following aspects of the student learning experience: Teaching on my Course Assessment and Feedback Academic Support Organisation and Management Learning Resources Learning Opportunities Personal Development Student Voice Student Union Overall Satisfaction The survey doesn't take long, but it is important you consider your responses carefully. It may feel like just another box-ticking exercise - it isn't. The NSS survey is crucial to our understanding of what you think about us, and UCA more broadly. You're telling us about the things we're doing well and where stuff needs improving. You're highlighting any weaknesses and safe-guarding the good bits. You can help your course team make thin...

Now the dust has truly settled on your dissertations, you've had your minor project feedback, and the Major project is a living, breathing reality, it's time we all re-grouped and had a chat about where we are and what we're doing.   I'm expecting to see the following students on Monday morning.  I'm in regular contact with some of you already, but there are others I haven't seen in what feels like weeks.  If you're Major project is an 'all-new' proposal, it's vital we now meet to discuss your idea and get things up and running with some urgency and confidence. 10.00 / Tsygan Productions 10.15  / Charlie 10.30 / Dan H 10.45 / Kavia 11.00 / Ridge 11.15 / Vlad 11.30 / Dan R 11.45 / Tumo 12.00 / Lewis 12.15 / Jamie 12.30 / Ashley 12.45 / Julia If you could all update your respective blogs with adjusted production schedules prior to Monday's tutorials - i.e. a week-by-week breakdown of what needs to be completed by...

Simple, funny, charming...

YEAR 2 Body rigging tutorials are now available online ( link ) along side the Skinning tutorials ( link ) which were posted last week. Facial rigging will begin to be uploaded next week. Well done everyone for uploading your video infographics.

Whale Heart from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo .

And this is exactly the reason I don't go to nightclubs anymore... ATARAXYA / The Animated Short Film from ATARAXYA on Vimeo .

Max Cooper - Order from Chaos - Official Video by Maxime Causeret from Max Cooper on Vimeo .

As you may be aware, the referencing tool 'RefMe' is no longer going to be available for you to use when creating bibliographies etc. From feedback that I have received over the years, some of you find accessing the referencing guide on myUCA tricky, and find the 33-page PDF version somewhat daunting. I am currently working on a little project to put together a concise booklet, that will contain only the basic (and hopefully) relevant referencing information. It will be printed on the light grey paper that is being trialed as a means of reducing visual strain, and which hopefully also makes it more accessible for students with dyslexia. The full guide will still be available on myUCA and in the library, for when you need advice on referencing the more obscure sources :) If you feel that you would benefit from one of these booklets, please can you let me know, either as a reply to this post, or to my email jhagan.s1@ucreative.ac.uk . Limited number available ...

Don't be put off by the rather dry title for this showcase: it is enormous fun! 2016 AICP Sponsor Reel - Dir Cut from Method Studios on Vimeo .

Week 5: Timetable Reminder A quick post to remind you all that there are no tutorials this week and no film screening and no Maya class. This is to allow you time to complete your Video Infographic ready for submission (online) on Friday (by 5.30pm).  Use the extra time wisely everyone!

I'm just announcing a tweak to your timetable to accommodate a necessary change to Soundscape Kat's availability.  You're currently timetabled to see Kat on Wednesday 15th, February; instead, you'll be seeing Kat on the following Wednesday - the 22nd.  Your character classes with Justin on the 15th are unchanged.  Could you please ensure everyone is aware of this change.  Many thanks.

There’s a world of art to discover with a Student National Art Pass. From the V&A and Tate Modern to Canterbury Heritage Museum, the pass gives you free entry to over 240 museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK, as well as 50% off major exhibitions. You can sign up for a National Art Pass (worth £65) for free. Simply sign up using the link below before 11.59pm on 15th February 2017, to qualify for your pass. SIGN UP FOR YOUR FREE NATIONAL ART PASS HERE: https://www.artfund.org/student/uca-rochester We’ll deliver your pass to your university address within 2 weeks, so you can begin your year of art experiences for less. Art Fund’s fortnightly email, “Art in your inbox”, will keep you up to date with the latest must-see exhibitions, tips for great days out and competitions. Plus, you’ll enjoy member’s access to special offers and events. Find the full list of discounts you’ll receive with your National Art Pass here:  artfund.org/discoun...

I consider myself lucky to be working in an environment as tolerant, inclusive and down-with-diversity as the creative community of Computer Animation Arts .  It makes what's happening out there in the wider world seem so terribly strange and difficult to compute.  First Brexit, then Trump, and now a Muslim Ban. It's like the braying bully boys from the dark days of my comprehensive school are running all the institutions; those white parochial alphas who joked and farted through English class, through art, foreign languages and history, and then brutalised everyone else for getting their heads down and dreaming of better things and a wider world. I take great comfort from this month's Post With The Most, featuring work from young people from a multitude of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.  CAA has a reputation for being a safe place for the neuro-diverse, for all shades of LGBTQ, and for all manner of 'diamonds in the rough' whose potential might ...