Meet The Float Folks! - our Latest Commercial Project!

The Float Folks - Coming Soon!

Our student animators have recently finished work on our newest commercial project - The Float Folks - a teaser for a new TV Series which is the brainchild of creator Ian Foyle. The Float Folks invites the viewer into a world of fishing floats; a small town by the reed beds where everyone gets along (mostly) - and the only way to travel is by dragonfly or dogfish. The project was animated by a number of our recent graduates and current animation students. We're excited to see this project come to life, and thrilled to have been a part of making it happen.

Float Folks is a fun, watery world, a miniature community of slightly oddball individuals.  To meet some of the characters, see the 90 second teaser below:




The job was designed and directed by Monika Dzikowicz, and the music was composed by Scott Benson, based on the original song by creator Ian Foyle. Kris Allen did the sound design, and Alex Williams produced.

Animation was completed by a number of students at Animation Apprentice, including Jeff Smith, Pete Nicholson, Enrique Carbajal, and Phil Loeffler, as well as students from Buckinghamshire New University.

Cartoon Forum

We're looking to take Float Folks to Cartoon Forum next year. Cartoon Forum is the place to pitch your animated TV series, find co-production partners and secure distribution and financing. Any project that gets in has a strong chance of finding the funding it needs to take it to the next level.

Nano Films - our film co-op

Float Folks was completed through our film co-operative nano-films.com, which tackles small commercial projects, bringing in live client briefs for our students - and a modest paycheque.

One of the most effective ways that we can ensure that our animation students find work when they complete the course is to get out there and find work on their behalf. Last year we launched Nano Films, a small animation business making short films for commercial clients. The budgets are not large but then neither are the films, and there is nothing like client-facing projects to give our students the vital experience they need to build a successful career.

Our latest film follows from our most first project: "What is Wrong with the Global Development Oragnisation?", which is now competing for prizes in festivals around the world.  This short film - about the problems faced by all organisations trying to help out in faraway places - has now got an IMDB entry, so our students can now link to their own IMDB profiles.

We think Float Folks is our best project so far. It's a fun, inventive world, full of imaginative characters.  We're backing creator Ian Foyle to find the commercial funding to bring it all to life.

Phil Quill - one of the Float Folks

To see more about Float Folks, follow the blog here, where you can see the latest designs and learn about the characters who inhabit this watery world.

For more information on finding work and surviving in the animation and visual effects business, read our post on how to find a job in the animation industry, and check out our post about what not to do at a job interview. Also see our post on starting your own small animation business, learn how to create an invoice, and see how we are helping our students find work through our film co-operative Nano Films.  Download the free Escape Studios Careers in VFX Handbook. Take a look at how awn.com can help you find a job, and read our piece about how to survive as a freelance animator. Also, find out what Cinesite look for in a student's demo reel, and read our post on setting up your own animation business.