Graduate Showcase 2007

Once again the Graduate Showcase has been inundated with moving entries, and so we’ve collected them all up and put them together here for your viewing pleasure.

Most of the files are in Quicktime format – except for William Aslett’s which comes in browser-friendly .swf format. Either click on the links to view them in your Quicktime player or right-click/Ctrl-click and save them to your hard disk and view at your leisure.

And if you don’t have your copy of this year’s Graduate Showcase yet, don’t miss out! It’s available now, free with the July 2007 issue of Computer Arts.

VIDEO AND BROADCAST
From road-safety campaigns to in-store promotions, these students present an impressive selection of motion graphics projects

Chamitha Welikanna
COLLEGE: Glamorgan Centre for Art and Design Technology (GCADT)
COURSE: BA (Hons) Moving Image Design
CONTACT: j.bevan@gcadt.ac.uk

THINK
“This road-safety campaign was created in response to a D&AD competition brief using Maya, After Effects, Final Cut Pro and Photoshop. A young man is lost in his music and is dancing inside his imaginary world. Signs and symbols are warning him of danger but he does not realise until it is too late...”

Michael Connolly
COLLEGE: Bradford School of Art
COURSE: BA (Hons) Graphic Media Communication
CONTACT: michael@xiiixiii.net

MOTION FOR MUJI
“The brief for this project was to create a visual that could be projected either in-store or used as part of a TV advertising campaign. I researched Muji’s previous work and Japanese minimalism in general, applying these principles to my final piece. I also created the soundtrack.”

Paul Gardner
COLLEGE: Southampton Solent University
COURSE: BA (Hons) Graphic Image Making
CONTACT: paulgardner85@fsmail.net

MTV2 PRESENTS THE FESTIVALS
“A festival utopia was created for this advert/ident, created using Photoshop, Cinema 4D and After Effects. The advert highlights the fact that MTV2 will be showing live footage from three of the biggest summer festivals. Using soundwaves as inspiration, the piece is meant to create an air of anticipation among MTV viewers.”

Eivind Vetlesen
COLLEGE: The Arts Institute at Bournemouth
COURSE: BA (Hons) Illustration
CONTACT: eivindvetlesen@yahoo.no

THE CAROUSEL
“This piece started life as an idea for an MTV ident, using the carousel as the hub of a series of animated sequences as it transforms into other objects. The animation was created using 3ds Max, After Effects, Photoshop and video footage, and the moving stencils were filmed in front of a greenscreen.”

Elliot Mowle
COLLEGE: Glamorgan Centre for Art and Design Technology (GCADT)
COURSE: BA (Hons) Moving Image Design
CONTACT: j.bevan@gcadt.ac.uk

DISCOVERY CHANNEL IDENT
“This piece is a graphical ident, created using After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop, that’s based around the idea of climate change and how we are evolving. I think the cut-out style works well here.”

Ben Marshall
COLLEGE: Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication
COURSE: BA (Hons) Moving Image Design
CONTACT: fox.handybread@gmail.com

HONG KONG: ACTION FILM LEGENDS
“This is a titles and content package for a fictional television programme, created using Illustrator, Photoshop and After Effects. I think I successfully captured the energy of the subject material, but work is still needed on the character animation. There’s plenty of oriental inspiration here!”

ANIMATION
We were impressed with the standard of this year’s animation entries; see them for yourself

Simon Roswell Carter
COLLEGE: City College Brighton and Hove
COURSE: FdA Multimedia
CONTACT: simonroswell@hotmail.com

ALBATROSS WALTZ
“This animation forms a one-minute music promo created for a brief set in conjunction with Skint Records and Tru Thoughts for the track Albatross Waltz by Ralfe Band. I took inspiration from eastern European animation, specifically the work of Yuri Norstein. I thought a modern folk-tale aesthetic would suit the track. To create the film I animated hand-drawn and vector graphics using After Effects.”

Daim Dziauddin
COLLEGE: University of Portsmouth
COURSE: BA (Hons) Animation
CONTACT: thenumber12@ yahoo.com

DEATH KITTY AND THE FAT MAN
“For this animation, created using Flash and Premiere, I wanted to create a story about companionship between two different characters and entertain the audience with twists in the narrative and a clear sense of humour. I tried to focus on the design of the characters, the animation and the story-telling.”

Lesley Barnes
COLLEGE: Glasgow School of Art
COURSE: BA (Hons) 2D/3D Motion Graphics
CONTACT: lesleytoast@aol.com

HERZOG AND THE MONSTERS
“Herzog and the Monsters is a graphic fairytale featuring digital cut-out animation, which was created using Maya, After Effects, Avid and Photoshop. It’s about the wealth of language and the world we create with it. It was inspired by Maurice Sendak’s book Where the Wild Things Are and Lotte Reiniger’s silhouette animations.”

Hannah De Spon
COLLEGE: Glamorgan Centre for Art and Design Technology (GCADT)
COURSE: BA (Hons) Animation
CONTACT: raygirlrol@hotmail.com

HEAR ME COLOUR
“Created using Animo, Photoshop Elements, pencil and chalk, this piece was my final film for the second year of my animation degree. I wanted to create a film about communication and its importance in bringing light and colour to the world. I used a track by Royksopp to accompany the animation and was really pleased with the final result.”

William Aslett
COLLEGE: University College for the Creative Arts
COURSE: MA Graphic Communication
CONTACT: willaslettdraws@hotmail.co.uk

THE GIANT THATTIS CONSUMERISM
“The inspiration for this animation, created using Photoshop and Flash, was consumerism. I wanted to create a storybook about a giant called Thattis, who controls the valley of Chioschiety. I wanted to bridge the gap between traditional hand-drawn and digital techniques and create something unique, making the opposite techniques friends. I also created a concertina book to accompany the animation.”