~Call for 13-18-year olds to create their own animation film to win a top spec gaming laptop - supported by professional masterclasses to create skills and opportunities for future university and job applications~
ACCESS:VFX, an industry-led coalition of world leading VFX, animation and games studios, and in association with ScreenSkills, has today announced a call to action for aspiring animators to join the Summer of Animation – a UK-wide series of YouTube masterclasses, professional tutoring, animation camp and competition.
Co-funded by ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund and the BFI, the Summer of Animation has been created to make the animation industry more accessible to young people of varying backgrounds and location. Calling upon 13-18 year-olds to create a 30-second to one-minute animation video, creators will be supported by animation, VFX, and film professionals and graduate mentors from competing studios - including BlueZoo, DNEG, Framestore and Escape Studios.
Competition – deadline 13 August!
Starting 5 August, Summer of Animation will be running a competition to pick the best short animated film made over the summer. Judged by the UK’s leading animators and VFX pros that have brought created Paddington, Star Wars and Captain Marvel, young creatives are invited to submit films into different age categories for best character design, story, sound, and animation, for a chance to win studio tours and high spec laptops from InterPro Workstations and Z by HP – Enter now to win!
Professional feedback
Using free online software, young animators are challenged to make their very own short animation using free online animation software, Blender. A range of weekly online YouTube masterclasses teaching skills such as ‘storytelling’, ‘3D modelling’ and ‘concept art’, amongst others, have been produced to hone filmmakers’ skills, with professional animators on hand to view and share feedback on developing films uploaded to the online platform.
“With the state of the world at the moment, this initiative is more needed than ever. By giving teenagers from all backgrounds, both geographically and demographically, the inspiration and opportunity to kick-start a rewarding creative career, we can hopefully seed the change our industry, and world, desperately needs,” said Tom Box, co-organiser, board member of ACCESS:VFX and Managing Director of Blue Zoo Animation Studio.
Animation camp
The Summer of Animation also includes the 3Dami-run Summer Camp. Commencing 27 July, the 3Dami Summer Camp is a free online animation camp where students will work in teams of ten across ten days to produce and create an animated short film – here’s the previous result. Established in 2012, 3Dami is designed to help with university and apprenticeship applications and is the only event of its type in the world, resulting in alumni now placed in roles across the industry.
Click here for the full details of the Summer of Animation
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About ACCESS:VFX
ACCESS:VFX is a global, industry-led and non-profit coalition comprised of 50+ leading companies, industry bodies and educational establishments in the VFX, animation and games industries - including Aardman Academy, ILM, Milk, MPC, Epic Games. It focuses on actively pursuing and encouraging inclusion, diversity, awareness and opportunity under its four pillars of Inspiration, Education, Mentoring and Recruitment.
ACCESS:VFX has united over 350 passionate people (many from competing companies) around the common goal of addressing the lack of diversity in the VFX industry. Together they have run more than 50 events and reached 4000 potential future employees of primary school age and above in more than 19 UK cities - working with organisations including We Are Stripes, Into Film and This Ability.
ACCESS:VFX’s innovative Slack mentoring programme is the glue that establishes meaningful, ongoing connections between interested young people and supportive industry mentors. Over 450 young people, 70% of whom are BAME and/or female– expanding across the Atlantic to its regional hubs in The West Coast, New York, Chicago and Montreal.
To find out more about ACCESS:VFX please visit www.accessvfx.org.
About ScreenSkills
ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for the screen industries. We work across the UK to ensure that film, television including children's, unscripted and high-end, VFX, animation and games have the skills and talent they need.
We provide insight, career development and other opportunities to help grow and sustain the skilled and inclusive workforce which is the foundation stone of the UK's global screen success.
About BFI
The BFI is the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image. It is a cultural charity that:
Curates and presents the greatest international public programme of world cinema for audiences; in cinemas, at festivals and online
Cares for the BFI National Archive – the most significant film and television archive in the world
Actively seeks out and supports the next generation of filmmakers
Works with Government and industry to make the UK the most creatively exciting and prosperous place to make film internationally
Regularly publishes statistics on the UK film and high-end television screen sector as the official statistics provider for the industry.
