Latest news from Loughborough University
| 30 January 2007 | PR 07/12 |
Leaders in British computer animation gather for conference
A one-day conference to celebrate the best of British computer animation is to be hosted by Loughborough University’s Animation Academy and The Broadway, Nottingham.
Speakers at the event – which will take place on 15 February at The Broadway – will include Mike Uden from Gerry Anderson Productions, creators of Captain Scarlet; Andy Macnamara, who developed the BBC’s animated idents; and Phil Mitchell, co-creator of Reboot – the first fully computer generated television series for children.
As well as lectures, the conference – titled The Art of British CGI – will feature computer animation demonstrations and graphics exhibitions.
The event is being held in honour of John Grace, the influential animator who died in 2004. As well as co-creating Reboot, John was involved in numerous other children’s animated programmes, including The Adventures of Portland Bill, Boris the Bat, Big Hug, Ethelbert the Tiger, Kipper, and 64 Zoo Lane. One programme, Pablo – The Little Red Fox, for which John wrote 26 episodes, won a BAFTA in 2000 for Best International Programme.
John was also a research fellow in Animation Studies at Loughborough University School of Art and Design (LUSAD).
“I’m delighted that so many influential people from the world of computer animation will be gathered together for this first conference. It will be a fitting tribute to John Grace, our much missed colleague, who was so instrumental in computer animation for children’s TV,” says Paul Wells, director of the Loughborough University Animation Academy.
Tickets for the conference are priced £25 for delegates and £15 for concessions. Tickets for the Phil Mitchell and Mike Uden events are £8 and £5.
They are available from The Broadway box office on 0115 952 6611 or via the booking form at http://www.animationacademy.co.uk
– Ends –
For media enquiries contact:
- Hannah Baldwin, Head of PR,
T: 01509 222239, E: H.E.Baldwin@lboro.ac.uk
Notes to editors
Loughborough has an established reputation for excellence in teaching
and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting achievement.
Assessments of teaching quality by the Quality Assurance Agency place
it in the top flight of UK universities; the National Student Survey ranked
Loughborough in the top five among full-time students; and industry highlights
the University in its top five for graduate recruitment. Around 40% of
Loughborough’s income is for research, and 60% for teaching. The
University has been awarded five Queen's Anniversary Prizes: for its collaboration
with aerospace and automotive companies such as BAE Systems, Ford and
Rolls Royce; for its work in developing countries; for pioneering research
in optical engineering; for its world-leading role in sports research,
education and development; and for its outstanding work in evaluating
and helping to develop social policy-related programmes.