BFX Festival-goers this year will be treated to behind-the-scenes content from 2016’s biggest movies and games.
Tickets are now on sale for the annual visual effects and animation Festival, which will feature presentations from some of the biggest names and studios in the world, including MPC talking about their work on Jungle Book and Double Negative talking about 2016’s Visual Effects Oscar-winning film Ex Machina.
Industrial Light and Magic London (ILM London) will also feature, talking about their work on the Star Wars franchise, focussing on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Festival will take place from 8-16 October 2016 at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC).
Other confirmed talks at the week-long Festival include Framestore talking about The Legend of Tarzan, Blue Sky talking about the Ice Age film franchise and Cinesite talking about the latest incarnation of Independence Day.
Festival Director Sofronis Efstathiou said, “Every year we are astounded by the quality of speakers who are happy to come to the Festival and share their secrets for how some of the biggest movies and games are made – and this year in no exception. The BFX Festival is the only place in the UK where you can find content like this and we’d love to see you there.”
As well as film and game presentations, delegates can attend workshops and learn more about specific visual effects skills from some of the world’s leading experts, such as Scott Eaton and Michael Defeo., while Ian Livingstone, one of the founders of the UK's gaming industry and father of Lara Croft, will be speaking on Tuesday of the Festival.
Other activities taking place as a part of the Festival include film screenings, from Hollywood blockbusters to the indie film 8-Bit Generation, all about the rise of Commodore in the 1970s and the computing revolution it inspired.
The BFX Family Weekend will take place on 15-16 October, a chance for young people to come along for free and play games, take their first steps in creating their own animations and see some of their favourite movies from a different point of view.
Sofronis Efstathiou continued, “It doesn’t matter if you are a professional artist, a hobbyist, a film buff or a youngster who wants to know more about animation, there is going to be something for everyone this year, a chance to get hands on and create your own animation and learn from some of the world’s best animators, visual effects artists and experts.”
The BFX Festival is now in its fourth year, and previous films and games highlighted at the Festival include Disney’s Big Hero 6, the Lego Movie and Elite: Dangerous.
The Festival is organised by the VFX Hub, a collaboration between the National Centre of Computer Animation (NCCA) at Bournemouth University, and Arts University Bournemouth, both acclaimed for the quality of their teaching on related subjects.
In the run up to the BFX Festival, the BFX Competition, in partnership with Kingston Smith, is pitting students and recent graduates against each other to create short animations for two charities, this year Refuge and Create. The winning teams will be awarded prizes during the BFX Festival.
Taking place at the BIC in the heart of Bournemouth Town Centre, the BFX Festival will run workshops throughout the Festival, with a day for professionals on 11 October and the core Festival on 12-14 October before the Family Weekend rounds the Festival off on 15-16 October 2016.
Tickets are on sale now for the BFX Festival, the professional activity, workshops and Family weekend. For more information, visit www.bfxfestival.com.
