Ten Things You Missed At BFX Festival 2015

Bournemouth's Festival of VFX, animation and computer games is over for another year. This year saw the likes of Microsoft, Pixar, Double Negative, Walt Disney Animation Studios and many more. Here's just some of what you missed...

1. Walt Disney Animation Studio's Head of Effect

Bournemouth University

That's right, the Head of Effects from Walt Disney Animation Studios flew all the way to Bournemouth to speak at BFX Festival. He revealed how some of the biggest scenes were created in Big Hero 6.

2. Followed by a screening of the blockbuster itself!

Walt Disney Animation Studios

The crowds watched Big Hero 6 which was followed by a Q&A with Michael Kaschalk, he explained how the creative processes work within Disney.

3. Stuart Sumida

Bournemouth University

No explanation needed...

The palaeontologist and animal anatomy consultant for animated films such as The Lion King and Stuart Little hosted two workshops on animal movement and how this is depicted on the big screen.

4. Michael Defeo...

Michael Defeo

3D Sculptor, Michael Defeo, ran a workshop on various techniques for character development.

Michael Defeo is a sculptor whose speciality lies in translating 2-D character designs into fully-fledged 3-D models. He hand-built the modelling and sculpting studios at Blue Sky Studios and served as the head of each for 15 years. While with his friends at Blue Sky, Michael brought countless characters to life for Ice Age, Ice Age 2, Ice Age 3, Ice Age 4, Robots, Horton Hears A Who, Rio, and the upcoming Leafmen.

5. Mad Max: Fury Road

Iloura

BU Alumni, Dan Bethell from Iloura, all the way in Australia, flew to BFX to present the behind the scenes of Mad Max: Fury Road. He worked in Namibia with his team for months to create the VFX. Later was a screening of the movie followed by a Q&A with Dan himself.

6. SpongeBob SquarePants writer; Eric Shaw

Bournemouth University

Former scriptwriter for SpongeBob SquarePants, Eric Scot Shaws hosted two master-classes on scriptwriting for animation at BFX 2015.

He advised everyone how to break into the industry, how to write for the audience and how to structure the storyline; a thoroughly engaging workshop.

7. BFX Competition Awards

Bournemouth University

The BFX Competition came to a close after months of hard work from the teams competing for their animations to be used by charities, Anthony Nolan and Dyslexia Action.

To view the final animated films visit www.bfxfestival.com/competition/bfx-final-films-2015/

8. Aardman Animations

Bournemouth University

The company is based in Bristol and was co-founded and run by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, Aardman is a world leader in animation.

It produces feature films, television series, advertising and digital entertainment for both the domestic and international market. Their multi-award winning productions are novel, entertaining, brilliantly characterised and full of charm that reflects the unique talent, energy and personal commitment of the very special people who make up the Aardman team.

Some of the work produced by Aardman includes Shaun the Sheep The Movie, Wallace & Gromit and Morph alongside high profile advertising campaigns for clients such as Chevron, BBC, Serta, Department of Health, Nike, McVities and Kelloggs.

9. BFX CORE Careers & Recruitment Day

Bournemouth University

A whole day dedicated to careers, with presentations by HR recruiters from a host of top studios including Method Studios, Animal Logic, ILM, Aardman, MPC, Framestore, Illumination Mac Guff, Double Negative, No Label, The Mill, Frontier Developments, The Third Floor, Taylor James, Playground Games, Creative Assembly, Side Effects and many more...

10. Big Hero 6 concept art exhibition

Walt Disney Animation Studios

Walt Disney Animation Studios generously lent BFX a selection of concept art from the incredible animated feature film Big Hero 6. The exhibition will run until Sunday 11th October and will be displayed in the Bourne Lounge at the BIC.