Bournemouth University (BU) graduates have worked on 11 films that have been nominated for this year’s Oscars, including The Favourite, Bohemian Rhapsody, Black Panther, and Isle of Dogs.
This year, 30 BU graduates have worked on films spanning more than 17 of the shortlisted categories, with BU MSc Computer Animation graduate, Theo Jones, nominated alongside Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, and Chris Corbould for his work on Christopher Robin.
The movie, nominated in the Best Visual Effects category, tells the tale of a now grown-up Christopher Robin as he gets a visit from old friend Winnie the Pooh. If successful, the movie will have seen away competition from Avengers: Infinity War, First Man, Ready Player One, and Solo: A Star Wars Story – all of which have been made, in part, by BU graduates.
Theo graduated from BU in 2003 with an MSc in Computer Animation and began his career in research and development at Framestore, a Bafta and Oscar-awarding winning creative studio. Originally from Budleigh Salterton in East Devon, Theo has worked on a range of films including Tron and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as well as commercials and theme park rides through both of Framestore’s London and New York offices.
After spending 11 years working in New York, Theo moved back to the UK in 2017 to supervise VFX on Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 and Paddington 2 before taking the lead role on Christopher Robin, which saw Theo work on more than 900 shots, animating characters Winnie the Pooh, Piglet and Tigger.
Theo said: “I learned an enormous amount in my year at Bournemouth and will always be grateful to BU for giving me my gateway into the Visual Effects industry. I also met people there that have become lifelong friends and who now work at all the major studios in London. You are never far from a BU graduate in the London VFX industry!
“Being nominated was an enormous thrill! I was watching the announcement live stream in the office with my fellow nominee Chris Lawrence and some of the crew who worked so hard on the film. It is fantastic to have their enormous efforts on such a beautiful movie recognised by the academy - there were a lot of hugs and high-fives!”
BU graduates have gone on to work at large film production companies such as ILM, Framestore and MPC, where they have the opportunity to work on Hollywood blockbusters, and in some cases, win Oscars.
In 2017, BA (Hons) Computer Visualisation & Animation graduate Mark Ardington collected an Academy Award for his work on Ex Machina, emulating the success of fellow BU graduate, Andrew Lockley, who won Oscars in 2011 and 2015 for his work on Inception and Interstellar respectively.The 91st Academy Awards will take place at The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on 24 February.
To read more about Bournemouth University's BFX Festival, a week long event designed to celebrate VFX, Animation and Games, inspire the next generation of talent and share the latest knowledge, click here. You can also register an interest in the 2019 event here.
