Aardman Teams up With NFTS to Teach Character Animation

With the success of last year's Aardman/NFTS (The National Film and Television School) Character Animation class, NFTS has confirmed that it's to run a 2014 class that will run from the 15th of September to December 5th.

"The intensive 12- week course offering training for 12 CG and stop frame animators was launched last June to meet the growing demand for animation talent in the UK. The 2014 course will run from 15th Sept to 5th Dec 2014.

Taught at Aardman’s Bristol studios by industry professionals, tutors included Loyd Price, Head of Animation at Aardman (Nightmare before Christmas, Chicken Run, The Curse of the WereRabbit, Flushed Away and Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists) with one-to one feedback sessions with Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park (an NFTS graduate), Peter Lord and Shelley Page (Dreamworks talent outreach)."

The course will feature speakers such as Richard Williams (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Sarah Fell, Darren Walsh, Oli Hyatt, Sarah Cox (Director at Arthur Cox, and Andy McEvoy (Supervising Animator, DNEG). The deadline to apply is June 5th. For more information and contacting info, visit: http://nfts.co.uk/our-courses/certificate/character-animation

"David Sproxton, Aardman co-founder and producer said: “This first Aardman/ NFTS animation course proved beyond doubt the effectiveness of linking a strong training institution with a first class industry player when it comes to high-level skills training. From the selection of the students to the finer points of the curriculum this was a very strong partnership. Having the students training alongside working professionals at our studio in Bristol was a great experience for everyone. The results speak for themselves, with excellent work being screened in the final showcase event, demonstrating imagination, verve and strength in character animation. We look forward greatly to running another course.”

The training gives 12 selected students the core practical skills needed to become professional animators. The majority of the course is practical with participants working on animation exercises to improve their skills, knowledge and experience. This is also supported by animation theory. It culminates in a short character animation sequence – pre-planned and boarded – to showcase the skills learnt during the course. You can view the 2013 student showreels here http://vimeo.com/81089765

Loyd Price, Aardman Head of Animation, added: “Without exception all of the students’ animation, acting and understanding of performance greatly improved over the 12 weeks and they produced a final sequence far in advance of what many of them believed they would ever have been capable of.”"

Aardman, hired three of the graduates from last years course to come and work on The Shaun the Sheep Movie and many other Aardman projects. It looks like to me that with this and the Stoopid Buddy's course of similar intentions, we could have some brilliant and fresh talent in the Stop Motion world. And in the words of the great Chuck Jones "Animation, is a young man's game."

The Shaun the Sheep Movie

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