Manchester Animation Festival Announces Industry Day Speakers and Sessions
Skwigly
Manchester Animation Festival (MAF), the UK’s largest animation festival, has today revealed the events and speakers of their new ‘Industry Day’, sponsored by Brown Bag Films. With a range of live events for animation professionals to gain valuable insight into the industry, the dedicated day will place on the 19th November 2020. The festival runs from 15th-30th November as a digital format and tickets are available here.
Open to the animation professionals and public guests, the Industry Day has been curated to debate, discuss and inform the industry. Panels of experts will offer industry insights into funding, selling animation overseas, legal tips, changes to workplace and future workflows amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
Highlights include industry insider sessions; short engaging talks covering a wide range of subjects, be it IP rights, mental health, recruitment or representation. Sessions will also delve into the importance of IP and trade marking work, the practicalities of working as a service studio and black perspectives from the workplace.
‘Fund and Games’, to explain strategies for getting funding, the do’s and don’ts and the hurdles to overcome, with speakers from the Young Audiences Content Fund (BFI), Animation UK and British Animation Awards and ‘Selling Animation Overseas’ introduced by Graham Stuart Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Trade MP with representatives from Aardman, Lumine and Haikun Animation.
The Industry Day is just part of MAF’s full comprehensive offer to industry with ‘In the Frame – Green for the Screen’ debating environment and sustainability issues facing industry (Wednesday 18th 10:00) and Animated Answers covering the next five years for industry and Pitching work (Tuesday 17th 11:30, Wed 11:30). Making it in Manchester also returns (Wednesday 18th 16:00) to highlight he regions vast contribution to the sector.
Linking with the Industry Day, the MAF Marketplace will link companies and animation studios to showcase their work and meet the festival delegates. Virtual stalls will allow industry to chat, meet, share and network. Studios and companies attending and sponsoring the MAF Marketplace are Jellyfish Pictures Ltd, Marks & Clerk, Animation Toolkit, the Young Audiences Content Fund (BFI), Blue Zoo, Brown Bag Films, Toon Boom and the University of Salford.
In previous years, Manchester Animation Festival has taken place as in-person events, networking and talks. This year, MAF has adapted the format to take place digitally, in-line with Government restrictions. MAF is using this new format as an opportunity to allow a much wider audience than ever-before, with events available on catch up over a longer period of time.
The full programme of the festival comprises short films, fantastic features, UK premieres, exclusive previews, mesmerising masterclasses and eclectic events that celebrate what the world of animation can offer. Live Q&As, panels and screen talks will hear from experts and acclaimed animators who will share behind the scenes insight into their iconic work and characters. Further events for the festival are yet to be announced.
The Industry Day schedule is listed below, with more activity to be announced. Tickets are available now from manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk.
Tuesday 17 November
Animated Answers: What Will the Next Five Years Look Like? (11.30)
Bringing together people from industry to answer questions from the audience about issues anyone working in industry or interested in a career in animation can relate to. Come along armed with questions and put them to our panel of experts from the creative community.
Advances in technology, Brexit, social change, Lockdown – it’s fair to say the last 5 years have brought about changes to our working lives that lead to some very big questions about how the next 5 years will look. Join our panel of experts and ask them your animated questions to get the animated answers about the how the next 5 years will look for the animation industry.
Wednesday 18 November
In the Frame: Green for the Screen (10.00)
Animation is the world’s most expressive artform, but does it share in it’s responsibility to provide a healthy future for our planet? Join this live panel where we discuss the issues that face the industry and what animation content creators and businesses can do to ensure that their work is created in a thoughtful and ecologically conscious way.
Animated Answers: Pitch This! (11.30)
Bringing together people from industry to answer questions from the audience about issues anyone working in industry or interested in a career in animation can relate to. Come along armed with questions and put them to our panel of experts from the creative community.
Taking your idea and introducing it to the world through the pitching process can be a daunting challenge – how should you prepare, what tips and tricks can you use to get your idea seen by the right people? Join our panel of experts and ask them your animated questions to get the animated answers about the pitching process.
Making it in Manchester (16.00)
A hub of animation in the UK, we invite a selection of studios and practitioners to showcase their studios and what makes Manchester one of the nation’s premier animation hotspots. Featuring Cubic Motion, Flow Creative and Flix Facilities
‘Industry Day’ Thursday 19th November
Industry Insiders: Session 1 (10:00)
Supported by ScreenSkills
Welcoming industry experts from the world of animation to cover a wide range of subjects we can all relate to, be it IP rights, mental health, recruitment or representation these short engaging talks are must see for anyone in industry. This session will delve into mental health in the workforce as well as inspiring creatives to understand their worth.
- Isobel Stenhouse – Freelance Production Manager
- Joe Pavlo – Chair of Animation and VFX Union Committee of BECTU
Fund and Games: Film Funding Practicalities (11:30)
Having the idea is one thing, but finding funding for your work is a whole new game! Join our panel of experts that will help you map out a successful strategy for getting funding, the does and don’t and the hurdles to overcome to help in making your idea a reality
- Kate O’Connor – Executive Chair, Animation UK Council
- Jackie Edwards – Head of Fund, Young Audiences Content Fund (BFI)
- Helen Brunsdon – British Animation Awards
Selling Animation Overseas (13:00)
Animation is a global artform, and though selling your work overseas can be tricky to navigate it can be a rewarding enterprise. In this panel a series of experts will talk trade, trends, audiences, partnerships, merchandising and everything else you need to consider in order to take your animation worldwide.
- Introduced by Graham Stuart MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Trade.
- Alison Taylor -Director of Distribution and Business Development, Aardman Animations
- Andy Chambers – CEO Hoopla Animation, UK / EU Business Development Lumine
- Sean Healy – Director of International Business Development – Haikun Animation Marketing and Planning
Paperless Animation in ToonBoom Harmony (13:00)
- Marie Ève Lacelle – Solution Specialist, Toon Boom Animation
Industry Insiders: Session 2 (14:30)
Supported by ScreenSkills
Welcoming industry experts from the world of animation to cover a wide range of subjects we can all relate to, be it IP rights, mental health, recruitment or representation these short engaging talks are must see for anyone in industry. This session will delve into the importance of IP and trade marking your work, the practicalities of working as a service studio and black perspectives from the workplace.
- Vicky Butterworth – Intellectual Property Lawyer, Marks & Clerk LLP
- Graeme Murray – Chartered (UK) and European Trade Mark Attorney, Marks & Clerk LLP
- Manu Reyes – VFX supervisor, Jellyfish Pictures
- Alex Zephrin – Freelance Motion Graphics Designer
Future Animation Workflows with Blue Zoo & Friends (16:00)
A discussion with visual demos showing how the latest technology can be embraced to create animation for a range of different mediums, and what that means for both artists and audiences in the near and far future.
- Tom Box – Blue Zoo Animation
- Phil Stewart – Head of Realtime, Blue Zoo
- Rafi Nizam – XR Creative Consultant
- Rosie Summers – Virtual Reality Artist, XR Games
The Principles of Puppet Making with Animation Toolkit (Pre-Record)
Armature making and puppet fabrication can be a bit of a dark art. Wes (Animation Toolkit) discusses the 10 main principles of puppet making for stop-motion animation. From ball joints to eyeballs, Wes helps you make the right decisions to bring your ideas to reality. Subjects discussed will cover armatures, soldering, silicone Vs foam, sculpting, 3d printing, clothes and all the bits in between.
CEO Roundtable – (14:30)
An opportunity for CEOs and senior members of animation companies to gather and discuss important industry business issues in a confidential environment. This invite only roundtable will take place on Zoom and details will be sent closer to the time to those registered.
Participation is by invite only.
Companies confirmed for the MAF Marketplace are:
- Jellyfish Pictures Ltd
- Marks & Clerk
- Animation Toolkit
- BFI Young Audiences Content Fund
- Toon Boom
- Blue Zoo
- Brown Bag Films
- University of Salford
- Fourth Wall Creative