Animex!

So, the Animex grande finale was yesterday. That was extremely amazing 5 days and I do not regret any money or time spent there.

What's animex?
Animex is the largest festival dedicated to animation and computer games in the UK. Speakers and representatives from the global animation and games community gather for a week every year to educate, inspire and entertain an audience made up of professionals, students and enthusiasts.

And short few words about each lecture from RED PASS perspective.

DAY 1

Welcome speech, really interesting as for 'boring' part of the day. Good to know the history, tradition and rules.

Next.. Alex Trowers with his 'Making Games? Great!' lecture.

Absolutely amazing presentation.. or.. not.. not even presentation. Alex made small game in Unity engine and from third person perspective we watched 'digital him' telling about making games and getting into industry. Really funny and informative lecture.

Great start for whole week.

Next was Ken Wong with 'Art Direction in Wonderland'. Breathtaking graphics and concept for amazing game called 'Alice: Madness returns' (continuation of game created like 10 years ago).

Inspiring graphics and also it was really interesting to know how did they make their game.

Then, lunch! Finally!

After really needed break we saw Alastair McIlwain talking about 'More beginnings than endings'.

That was purely games about lecture so I was paying more attention to my weariness. However, some animations from 'Hector' game were nice and really funny.

And... then that what was I waiting for whole day. Valve!

First, Jeep Barnett talking about 'Co-opting Portal 2’s cooperative testing initiative'. I haven't played cooperative game in Portal 2 so I was rather interested how it looks like than how they did it.

But still, watching something about that famous game was amazing!

Next, still staying in 'Portal 2' - 'The animated adventures of Portal 2' by Karen Prell. That was absolutely awesome! From concept, modelling, rigging, animating to in-game use of Wheatley character - my favourite one. Everything was done in Maya so it was feast to my eyes. Also, it was interesting to see unused animations which you can't see on Internet (yeah, that's a pitty, I'd love to see them again!).

Finally, the lectures has ended and I could go home.. not for so long! Fast dinner and run to 'Players lounge' to be part of chilling and endless talking about industry. In that way I listened to Karen Prell talking about getting into Valve and also about their international team. Still chance for me! I've exchanged cards (yes! I actually have Karen Prell's card!) and asked for some feedback about my portfolio.

Then, auction came. Lots of fun and.. money! Great job everyone!

Couple of minutes after eleven I went home and almost instantly fallen asleep.

DAY 2

Games again! Teagan Morrison talking about 'Overview of Environment creation for games in Uncharted 3.' As I know UDK (Unreal Development Kit - game engine) I was amazed how they solved problems with stability and rendering, which I always had. Also, when I saw they 'automatic snow' shader in Maya (automatically applies snow on the top of the mesh) my mind has blown. Very nice and interesting speech.

Then, famous Ed Hooks with 'Make them care – a primer on empathy in games'. That was the best lecture over those few days. Ed didn't need presentation to give us his precious knowledge.
Basically, the whole lecture was about acting. Acting as a thought.

Here are some interesting notes I took:
When we read facial expressions and make eye contact?
Speaker: 40%
Listener: 80%
So, when we speak, our facial expressions are really important. It helps reading the thought.

When we blink? (in a matter of acting)
 - At the end of the thought
 - As a confirmation of thought

I've got some more, but if you weren't there it won't make any sense for you.

Anyway, it was really funny and interesting lecture! I want more!

And actually I had more. Right after lunch break we went to Greg building to show off with our work in front of Ed Hooks and Siobhan.

Ed gave us really great tips and tricks, which we, young animators have. We think technically how we should approach the project. But then, we should actually think more about personality and empathy.

That was really precious lesson.

Before you animate, ask yourself:
Who the character is talking to? Get into character.
Turn sound off and check if you are missing the thought.
What's character holding? Is it important for understanding the scene? Put dialogue when it's really necessary. Where's the scene set?
Start the animation at the thought - it will make it stronger.
EXPRESS the thought, then the words/lip sync.

When you make your reference - concentrate eyes on the object (like I did - I used chair for my lip sync ref) - pretend there is something. Like actors in the theatre do.

That was show n tell session.

I shown my 'Lip sync' task. As for everybody he talked for about 15 minutes about each project, he.. well.. he couldn't say much about mine.

I played once my animation, and then.. silence. I look at him and he looks at me and says: 

'Well, I'm really sorry but I can't help you.'

I almost died.

Then he continued:

'Your animation is really great and I don't see anything bad in it'

I was standing there, in front of everybody (at least 15 people; almost fainted) and.. couldn't believe what I just heard.

I don't remember what I said but he continued talking about he feels empathy, that the character is possibly talking to someone not visible in shot, and even without sound he could fully understand what this clip is about.

I still couldn't believe that I did that but.. yes, that was amazing. After hundreds of thanks I went to my seat and took deep breath.

Thankfully, my day has ended really early (in the middle of other lectures), so I could rest at home.

DAY 3

Workshops day. Unfortunately for me, I didn't buy any ticket (I was counting for Eric Goldber this year; however after Tuesdays speech I regret I didn't go for Ed Hooks lecture), so I simply stayed at home and had some more sleep than couple of hours. Then, came back to uni and worked on 'Insomnia' animation.

DAY 4

Max Howard started this day talking about 'The road to the Oscars'. Interesting lecture about requirements and rules. Also, he talked about a minute which kind of shorts/films are more expected to win than the others.
Rules:
 - Film has to contain character or abstract.
 - Three days of screening in LA county
 - It has to be on a film tape 35mm/70mm
 - NO student films

OR

 -  Other awards qualify (you have to prove it)
 -  Students MAY qualify by winning gold medal in Annies awards

Next was lecture '3D or not 3D' presented by Hans Rijpkema. Basically 3D =/= stereoscopy. Hans talked about breakdowns of 'Yogi Bear' movie and also the theory of stereoscopy.

Good to know, even if I'm not a big fan of this.. blasphemy! 

Lunch!

'The animation ladder' by Curtis Jobling. Feast for concept artists and designers, however I enjoyed his talk.

Then, Ben White presented 'Elementary my dear Watson'. Breakdowns of great scenes from even greater movie 'Sherlock Holmes 2'. THAT WAS AMAZING! I watched this movie twice and I would never tell that some characters are CG as well as background or objects.

Inspiring talk!

Then, well, the sad truth about animation industry in UK presented by Oliver Hyatt. Well, I known there is recession, but I would never expect that this is in huge scale. Advantage of this talk was showing the existing problems and good thing is that there are people fighting with government for us, animators. Keep it going and good luck!


After short break at home I went to 'Animator's lounge'. Same as previous one, but this time with bunch of people from animation industry. This time I went almost to everybody to listen and ask some questions. Also, I've given like 10 cards and asked for feedback. That was great opportunity to do that, so I couldn't miss it.

DAY 5

Last day? Oh no!

That was Harry Potter day!

First, Rick Leary with 'Harry Potter, The Final Chapter'. Same as Ben White's lecture: Breakdowns which blown our minds. Even more characters in CG that when I'm still looking at shots now, I can't tell the difference between real actors.

Then, Shelley Page with 'Shelley's eye candy'. She presented 10 shorts from various festivals around the globe. 'Paths of hate' by Platige Image was also included! Beautiful Polish accent!

Lunch lunch lunch and then 'Meet the Recruiters' with Celine Beunier (Recruiter, Framestore), Sophie Jenkins (Double Negative), Rachelle Lewis (Owner/President Rachelle Lewis Talent), Ben Owen (Recruiter, MPC) and Shelley Page.

Bunch of useful information of getting into industry. Also, great tips about portfolio and reels.

CV, Reel - has to be short and simple. Show your skills and which software you use.
Make two reels (one for animation, one for generalist)
Put it on Vimeo (better quality than YouTube), make it downloadable
Before you go on a interview, lookup your interviewers on LinkedIn

For animators, the reel should include:
- Acting
- Reference
- Maybe few life drawings
Make it simple with CLEAR action

Next was 'From Teesside to Hogwarts' by Dan Zelcs. Story about graduating from Teesside and ending up in MPC. Also, really nice breakdowns and from Harry Potter.

Last but NOT least, 'Setting the scene' by famous Fraser MacLean. And that was really nice of seeing somebody with passion of classical animation. I could listen to him talking about Disney's and animation golden age times for ages! Great finale of Animex.

SUMMARY

It is really hard to sum up such a great event. Amazing speakers, interesting lectures, awesome lounge events and.. that atmosphere! Whoa! Definitely coming next year!

Worth any money!

Source:
Animex.net
Beautiful photos by Christine Wilson
Ugly photos by me