DFGA 2011-2014
Digital Film, Games and Animation Leeds College of Art
DFGA 2011-2014
1
Programme Leader
Students
Michael Smith
Andrew Bailey Alejandro Bernal Anaya Thomas Bone Rhys Bryant Luca Calabrese Yoni Cohen Sarah Hatton Tim Holland Phil Jones Lija Jursins Adam Khalid Ryan Lancaster Sophie Linney Chris Lloyd Hollie Lowry Jennifer Maddison Wisdom Makubile Joel McCusker Daryl Nicholson Siobhan Parkhouse Daniel Schofield Tom Stephens Jessica Watson
Senior Lecturers Annabeth Robinson Matthew Clark
DFGA
About DFGA
06
Meet the Programme Team
08
Student Views
12
2
Student Showcase
Andrew Bailey
16
Sophie Linney
40
Alejandro Anaya
18
Chris Lloyd 42
Thomas Bone
20
Hollie Lowry
44
Rhys Bryant
22
Jennifer Maddison
46
Luca Calabrese
24
Wisdom Makubile
48
Yoni Cohen 26
Joel McCusker
50
Sarah Hatton
28
Daryl Nicholson
52
Tim Holland
30
Siobhan Parkhouse
54
Phil Jones 32
Daniel Schofield
56
Lija Jursins 34
Tom Stephens
58
Adam Khalid
36
Jessica Watson
60
Ryan Lancaster
38
About DFGA Meet the Programme Team Student Views
06 08 12
About DFGA | 06
About DFGA Digital Film Games and Animation is a specialist programme of study that has allowed students to explore and develop an in depth understanding of the interrelationships between film, games and animation. As the students have progressed through their studies they have developed a professional and critical understanding of each the disciplines to ensure that they understand the contextual, ethical and commercial concerns surrounding them. The course has equipped them with strong academic, critical, practical and technical skills that has enabled them to make an informed decision about the career paths that they may want to take. One of the strengths of this years cohort has been their ability to collaborate with their peers, not only Digital Film, Games and Animation but also across the other programmes at Leeds College of Art working with Fine Art, Fashion and Creative Advertising. A number of the students have also been working on projects outside the college, producing films, music videos, concept art,character design for animation and games. This is an essential skill that will
help them to progress and achieve their career goals as the creative industries become increasingly interdisciplinary. There is a real breadth of work presented this year that includes concept art, storyboarding, short film, documentary, computer generated visual effects, 2d and 3d animation, game level, character design and game environments. It has been wonderful to see the students collaborate and support each other from both a practical and critical perspective and the students have reaped the benefits of this supporting each other on increasingly ambitious projects. The year has presented many challenges to the students but everyonehas come out of the other side richer, both academically and as individuals. All of the students on the programme should have a real sense of personal achievement, they have worked exceptionally hard this year and as challenging as it may have been the programme team hope that they have enjoyed their time on the programme. We wish them all the best and every success for the future.
“ As a multidisciplinary course that covers three industries, you learn so much over the three years of the DFGA course.�
About DFGA | 08
Meet the Programme Team Michael Smith Programme Leader
I would like to take this opportunity to say congratulations to all the students completing the programme this year. You have all matured and developed into articulate, exciting and talented individuals who are fully prepared for entering the creative industries. Some of you know exactly where you want to be, others may take a slightly more circuitous route, engaging with and drawing from the different disciplines that Digital Film. Games and Animation programme has enabled you to explore. Regardless of the route you take enjoy the ride, take it seriously but have fun, work hard but have a life too, network but make friends. As you exit Leeds College of Art be confident in your abilities and embrace the opportunities that come your way. It has been a pleasure to get to know you all I am confident that you will find a path that will lead you an interesting, exciting and stimulating career. I wish you every success for the future and I look forward to hearing your stories in years to come.
About DFGA | 10
Annabeth Robinson Senior Lecturer
The Third Year was an exciting and challenging time as the students shaped their own professional interests and self direction. Taking on their own projects, there was a diversity of skills and content across Film, Games and Animation. They pushed themselves to explore new techniques and approaches, but at their heart, all dealt with Story and Character. There was a passion to tell stories through their work and in the studio, from humorous to serious. Projects dealt with investigating social issues, conjuring a sense of adventure, or simply to entertain us. As a course group, there was a strong sense of fellowship through the year with many successful team projects and meaningful support for one another. Together they shared their knowledge and expertise, complimenting one another with their specialisms, or simply giving themselves a push when needed. Many have been on personal journeys through these last 3 years, surmounting life’s obstacles and gaining their own strengths and camaraderie.
It was a pleasure to be involved in their learning and supporting their endeavours. I hope to see them continue to utilise these friendships and networks they made through their college years, as they take their next steps into an exciting and creative world, and look forward to seeing their careers develop over the next few years.
Matthew Clark Senior Lecturer
This year the standard of work that has been produced by the students at level 6 has been fantastic. The professional attitude and technical ability of each student has clearly grown as they have progressed through their final year on the programme, and I hope that their level of professionalism will continue to develop as they embark on their life after study. A small group of students jam packed with potential. These are film makers, animators, game designers and concept artists who have demonstrated, over the course of the programme, that they are able to develop and use their skills, collaboratively or as individuals, to produce creative resolution to the briefs that they have been set.
I have had a great time teaching and supporting this class over the last three years, and I would like to wish each student all the best with their future endeavours and the careers that lie ahead for them. Good luck and stay in touch.
About DFGA | 12
Student Views
“ My time on the course has allowed me to really push past my comfort zone. Before, I classed myself as just a videographer, but because of the multi disciplinary nature of the course, now I am capable of taking on a much wider variety of video production.” Thomas Bone
“ At the start of the course I was wide eyed and ready for what I would learn but nothing would of prepared me for what I have learned and what I have taken away from the course. ” Rhys Bryant
“ The course has given me a broad set of skills in designing, making and creating in the digital industry. ” Tom Stephens
“ DFGA allowed me to develop my creative pastimes into a potential career and has introduced me to talented and inspiring friends.” Sophie Linney
“ This course has been endlessly enlightening for me. It encourages people to express their individual approaches to how they want their stories to be conveyed.” Jeff Maddison
Student Showcase | 14
Andrew Bailey Alejandro Anaya Thomas Bone Rhys Bryant Luca Calabrese Yoni Cohen Sarah Hatton Tim Holland
16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
Phil Jones Lija Jursins Adam Khalid Ryan Lancaster Sophie Linney Chris Lloyd Hollie Lowry Jennifer Maddison
32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46
Wisdom Makubile Joel McCusker Daryl Nicholson Siobhan Parkhouse Daniel Schofield Tom Stephens Jessica Watson
48 50 52 54 56 58 60
Student Showcase | 16
01 - Frostbite 02 - Weapon of Sass Destruction Turnaround 03 - Communication outpost
02
Andrew Bailey Over the past three years on the ‘DFGA’ course I have met some amazing friends and had the opportunity to learn exciting game development software. More recently I’ve turned my focus to concept art, and enjoyed the challenges of working on a group game project where I created concept art and painted the UV textures.
01
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7920 756 025 andybaileyart@gmail.com
03
Student Showcase | 18
01 - Sanctuary’s Characters 02 - A.l.b.u.s. 03 - Reban & Harold
02
Alejandro Bernal Anaya I’m a 2D/3D Videogame designer. I have a background with architecture, but my main interest lies in character’s creation.
Contact Details:
This course certainly helped me to find my career path. I’ve made great friends, met loads of interesting people and pushed me to integrate into the industry.
clover_lawn@hotmail.com
01
+44 (0) 7909 862 543 www.cloverlawn.me
03
Student Showcase | 20
01 - Scrap 02 - Curley 03 - Cinema Wonderland
02
Thomas Bone After a shaky start to the course, not knowing whether the course was right for me, it didn’t take me long to realize where my passion laid. The course has given me a solid base to move on into the world of moving image.
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7875 378 674 www.vimeo.com/thomasbonefilms thomasbonephoto@gmail.com
My time on the course has allowed me to really push past my comfort zone. Before, I classed myself as just a videographer, but because of the multi disciplinary nature of the course, now I am capable of taking on a much wider variety of video production.
01
03
Student Showcase | 22
01 - Weapon of Sass Destruction 02 - Alien Bust 03 - Spider Mech
02
Rhys Bryant I am a writer, level design and a modeler. As a writer influenced by cartoons, video games & movies I have made narrative writing my forte. My goal has changed from just simple modeling to writing due to the course and the three years of development I went though. The knowledge from the course has allowed me to stretch my wings and gain the skills to step forward and become a game designer and writer.
01
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7815 013 471 MrBryantR@gmail.com
03
Student Showcase | 24
01 - SCRAP 02 - The Age of Cinema 03 - Cinema Wonderland
02
Luca Calabrese Although I could describe myself professionally as a generalist or a jack of all trades, I feel my ethos has been bringing my will for strong narrative and personal philosophy to all my work. The course itself has been a wonderful exercise in how bend briefs and squeeze every last drop of creative freedom to include all the things which creatively fuel me. It’s been a good introduction to working creatively within limits as in the industry.
01
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7704 499 073 www.cyberpuke.com lc103857@students.leeds-art.ac.uk
03
Student Showcase | 26
01 - Pink & Fluffy 02 - Challenging Orientalism 03 - Loco Promotional Video
02
Yoni Cohen I came on this course wanting learn and further a career in animation and I’m leaving hoping to make it into the film industry. Directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Darren Aronofsky, Terry Gilliam and Martin Scorsese have inspired me and if it wasn’t for this course I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to experiment with the equipment.
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7903 083 738 www.yonicohen.co.uk yon1c@hotmail.com
Being on this course has been so much fun, it opened my eyes and allowed me to search for my future pathway.
01
03
Student Showcase | 28
01 - Autumn Whisper 02 - Samien 03 - Winter Island
02
Sarah Jane Hatton I have always considered myself to be a creative individual with a varying set of skills from drawing to modelling. My main area of interest is within the games industry but as a generalist I am flexible to mould myself into different areas of the media industry as a whole.
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7455 346 746 sarah.hatton20@hotmail.co.uk
The diverse nature of this course helped me explore various different mediums and has offered me a better insight on what the media industry has to offer.
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03
Student Showcase | 30
01 - Northern Iron 02 - Northern Iron in game 03 - Dine and Damned Machinima
02
Tim Holland I’m Tim, 3D Environment Artist, Level Designer and comics writer. I hope to start up an indie games company and write comics professionally after I graduate.
Contact Details: www.gendrick-gameart.tumblr.com timholland.gameart.gmail.com
My experience on the course has been a mostly positive one. Through this course I have been able to develop my skills as a games designer and find the direction I wish to take my career following graduation.
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03
Student Showcase | 32
01 - Livrids: Live To Ride 02 - Gloria Kendrick 03 - Mind Wonderer
02
Phil Jones I am an enthusiastic editor and filmmaker. I specialize in extreme sports filming, which include skateboarding, BMX, and other extreme sports. I am a huge fan of GoPro and I hope to become a specialist using these cameras in the future for both action and cinematography. My passion is to capture life through the lens and share it with the world!
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7508 258 483 www.philjonesvideo.com contact@philjonesvideo.com
My experience on the DFGA course has been a good one, I have learnt many new skills and have met some wonderful people and made some great life time friends.
01
03
Student Showcase | 34
01 - SCRAP 02 - VFX Project 03 - U sing Colour to Depict a Fantasy Narrative
02
Lija Jursins With my main interest lying in Television, Film and Live-production, I enjoy taking a hands on approach to my work. I like to get involved in all aspects of production as I’ve always enjoyed creating things and love seeing a project coming together. I’ve met some great people on this course and I hope we continue to support each other in the future.
01
Contact Details: www.vimeo.com/lijaj lija.jursins@gmail.com
03
Student Showcase | 36
01 - Character Sprites 02 - INVASION Mammoth Head 3D Model 03 - Northern Iron Concept Art
02
Adam Khalid I am an artist with a focus on concept art and 3D modeling within the medium of video games.
Contact Details: www.elephantwell.tumblr.com adamkhalid001@hotmail.com
DFGA has provided the opportunity to explore digital art and create within its many forms. From Bentham’s Panopticon to pixel art, this exploration has changed the way I view and ultimately practice art
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03
Student Showcase | 38
01 - The Bee and The Orange Tree 02 - Electric Knights 03 - Invasion
02
Ryan Lancaster A 2D animator who enjoys working on character animation, primarily working in Flash. Also works with film and a little acting, it’s pretty fun. Has a penchant for being pretty silly and light-hearted, your mileage may vary. I’ve had a lot of fun on this course, I’ve learnt a lot about new pieces of software and different techniques for animation. Ryan and the Ghost is totally going to be a thing, keep your eyes peeled for it!
01
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7806 460 427 lankie97@gmail.com
03
Student Showcase | 40
01 - The Day Boy and the Night Girl 02 - Iron Heart 03 - Invasion
02
Sophie Linney As a creative person I have a passion for the dark, fantastical, whimsical and imaginary – I love to explore different ways to express these through art, narrative and moving image. Joining this course has been an excellent opportunity for me to develop these interests on a deeper level, with a more focused understanding on how I can cultivate my skills and build a career from them, and find opportunities to showcase my work within the professional industry.
01
Contact Details: www.decapicat.tumblr.com sophie-c-l@hotmail.com
03
Student Showcase | 42
01 - Untitled 02 - Untitled 03 - Untitled
02
Chris Lloyd I consider myself to be a filmmaker, but I want to one-day direct feature films, and/or edit them as well. I want to be involved in broad range of skills throughout the discipline, which will make my direction better. My dream is too be remembered alongside Tarantino, Nolan and Scorcese.
01
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7523 091 062 www.facebook.com/TheFilmFiles chris--lloyd@hotmail.co.uk
03
Student Showcase | 44
01 - Tkan 02 - Tkan 03 - Invoking Horror in the Mind
02
Hollie Lowry I am a 3D Environment Modeler with a passion for all things beautiful. My hopes and goals in life is to just keep on making things and sharing inspiration with other people, as long as I’m doing that I’m happy.
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7707 121 233 lowrybear@live.co.uk
I have benefited and bettered myself from this course and from it learned to create whole worlds from my mind and make them into a 3D environment for others to see and enjoy.
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03
Student Showcase | 46
01 - The Seasons 02 - Project EDNOS 03 - Project EDNOS
02
Jeff Maddison I am a conceptual artist specialising in preproduction art work and story planning, with goals of using them for animation. During this course I have represented my class as both a student rep and an ambassador. DFGA has not not only advanced my artistic abilities, but it’s also bolstered my knowledge and perceptions of story telling.
01
Contact Details: www.jeffthebubble.tumblr.com jeffthebubble@gmail.com
03
Student Showcase | 48
01 - Context of Practice Synthesis 02 - IMAX poster competition 03 - V FX & Animation for Film Production
02
Wisdom Makubile I entered the course wanting to concentrate sorely in Digital Film but as the time progressed, I started enjoying other aspects of the course such as Modeling 3D objects in Maya and using the Unity game engine to create games.
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7412 609 281 www.shotbywiz.co.uk shotbywiz@gmail.co.uk
My experience on the course has been great, although there have been times in which I wish I never left things to a last minute. Tutors have been very helpful to me & they supplied me with more than enough resources.
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03
Student Showcase | 50
01 - Invasion 02 - Character Thumbnail Silhouettes 03 - The Second Rising
02
Joel McCusker Having grown up on cartoons, films video games, they found a place in my character early on and would eventually take root as the inspiration for my hobbies, and later my ambition as an aspiring video game character animator and concept artist. Through a need to express creatively, DFGA filled in the gaps in my knowledge and skills that separate the hobbyist from the professional, and gave me the tools to pursue a creative industry career.
01
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7792 498 788 www.vimeo.com/joelmccusker jtmccusker@outlook.com
03
Student Showcase | 52
01 - Title 02 - Title 03 - Title
02
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Contact Details: +44 (0) 7863 106 520 www.nathanboltondesign.com nathanboltondesign@gmail.com
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Student Showcase | 54
01 - What am I to you? 02 - Invasion 03 - Kirby the Dragon
02
Siobhan Parkhouse I’m a 3D animator who loves anything to do with animation, and I hope to be working on feature films one day. I’ve met some great people on this course who I wouldn’t have been able to get through this without. They have made it such a worthwhile and enjoyable experience.
Contact Details: www.vimeo.com/siobhanparkhouse sparkhouse01@gmail.com
Joining this course I knew I wanted to be an animator, and over these 3 years there is no doubt in my mind now that this is what I want to do.
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Student Showcase | 56
01 - Year 1 Final Project 02 - Year 3 Character Concepts 03 - Year 2 Group Project Concept
02
Daniel Schofield Im a Digital Artist and Illustrator, and have been working in Digital Artwork and Painting for just over three years, trying to break into the industry of Game Artwork and Design. My experience of DFGA has been colourful, the different Projects and Modules, the different tutors and each of their unique input into the projects, and all of the different fellow students, made for an interesting learning experience.
01
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7584 424 869 www.scoffsart.tumblr.com scoff360@hotmail.co.uk
03
Student Showcase | 58
01 - D&AD entry 02 - Freshers 03 - Streets of Leeds
02
Thomas Stephens I would label my self as a well-rounded filmmaker, who enjoys being knee deep in the creative process behind moving images. Camera operator, Director and Editor I am a forward thinking filmmaker with a passion for authentic culture and social realism.
Contact Details: +44 (0) 759 623 265 www.beingvisual.tv thomas.stephens.film@gmail.com tom@beingvisual.tv
The course has given me a broad set of skills in designing, making and creating in the digital industry.
01
03
Student Showcase | 60
01 - Weapon Concepts 02 - Landscapes 03 - Saurian Tribeman
02
Jessica Watson My experience on the DFGA course has been awsome and one that I’ll never forget. I’ve made a lot of valuable friends that I’ll be keeping in touch with in the future both for companionship and for future projects in my own time.
01
Contact Details: +44 (0) 7411 648 608 www.hazardousconcepts.co.uk hazard.art@hotmail.co.uk
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