2. Teesside University
• This was the first open day that I attended, throughout the course of the open day I learnt about the course entry
requirements and even spoke to a tutor for animation, that broke down what he looks for in portfolios. This was really
helpful as it helped me to understand that creative concept and proof is a lot more important than what I had given it
credit for. The tutor explained to me that drawings of your ideas are just as important as the final piece, as it helps them to
understand what you set out to achieve and then allows them to compare the concept to the final piece, which also shows
the creative decisions you may have taken during production to change/develop your original idea.
• Later into the open day, I also went to visit a few of the on campus accommodation sites that the university offered, these
were ok, the majority of them felt very dated and only 1 or 2 were a new build/recently renovated. This was a pretty big
let down for me, before attending the open day, their website explains how much funding they have put into the site in
recent years but I just didn’t get that impression whilst I was there.
• Finally, my parents were also able to get some information about student finance which they found helpful and were glad
that that was incorporated into the open day.
3. Escape Studios
• This was a really impressive open day. Upon arrival, I could tell that the facilities were extremely up-to-date and high-end,
there was security measures in the building which prevented people without a pass from entering the building. Once we
got into the Visual Effects facilities I was extremely impressed, they had high-end powerful desktops, cinema cameras,
motion tracking equipment and green screen facility. We then listened to the welcome talk provided by all of the tutors at
the open day, which was then followed by a Q/A type session which allowed people to get answers to any questions they
had from the tutors of the specific course. They then went on to explain the contents of the course which was also
impressive, they worked hard on incorporating real world experience and work experience into the contents of the course
which I feel would be really important in making my chances of finding work after university much greater. This was then
followed by a live demonstration of motion capture work using the facilities that they had on site which was great to see.
Finally they discussed accommodation options as there is no accommodation made specific for Escape due to it being in
the centre of London, but they answered this issue as they have partnerships with accommodation facilities close to the
site for a range of different budgets.
• Something that really stood out to me in this open day was that all the tutors working at Escape studios is still active in the
industry, this was great in my opinion as it shows they know what employers are looking for.
4. Aesthetica Film Festival
• At the Aesthetica Film Festival I watched a few different genres and mediums of short films, however animation was my
favourite there as there were some really unique and innovative styles displays at the festival. There were a range of
different styles in the animation category, some were made in 3D software, some were drawing animations and some
were stop motion animations. I also watched some short films from the comedy genre and the drama genre, the majority
of these short films in these 2 genres didn’t really grab my attention but there were a couple that I enjoyed. Overall, I think
that the Aesthetica film festival was a great trip related to the content we have been working on and studying at college
but also helped to provide insight into what made a successful short films as well as provide some inspiration for future
projects.
