An animated future awaits

Three talented animation students have won £250 each after being chosen as winners at the University of Teesside’s Animation Awards 2002.

BA (Hons) Computer Animation student Glen Thorpe created an exploration of homelessness entitled But No One Cares. Based around a character called Ilad Rodavlas (Salvador Dali spelt backwards), the short piece combines poetry and computer generated imagery to express the solitude and isolation of life on the streets.

Glen, 29, from Bridlington, said: “I was really pleased to be named as one of the winners as a lot of work went into creating But No One Cares. The University has excellent equipment which was essential in developing the concept into a finished film. Winning the prize has really boosted my confidence and it’s a great thing to be able to say to prospective employers.”

Dominic Clubb, 22, from Dover, chose to explore anti-social behaviour with his short piece entitled Failure 2 Communicate. Set on board a train, Failure 2 Communicate shows the experiences of an elderly gentleman who, after being consistently subjected to rude and abusive behaviour, finally snaps and chastises his fellow passengers.

Dominic, a recent BA (Honours) Creative Visualisation graduate, said: “One of the best things about the course was the dissertation, an open brief which really allowed us to create any piece of animation we liked. I was able to use Failure 2 Communicate for both my final assessment and competition entry which was great and after three years of training, I’m confident that a good career in animation is ahead of me.”

Alien Magic, featuring the comedy antics of an alien magician struggling to entertain his audience, also impressed the competition judges. The piece was created by BA (Hons) Computer Animation student Chris Rubery, 21, from Andover, who said: “I really enjoyed the course, and it covered every aspect of computer animation I will need to know in order to develop a career in the industry. One of the first things I want to do is basically re-make Alien Magic, spending more time on creating ‘photo-realistic’ imagery and refining some of the visual jokes.”

The competition was held by the University’s School or Computing & Mathematics to find the three best short animated films created by students, and was open to all Teesside animation students.

The University of Teesside offers a range of animation courses, for more information about the courses phone 01642 342639 or visit the website: www.tees.ac.uk.

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