Aid Film "Best Micro Short" at Golden Eagle Festival

"Best Micro Short" at Golden Eagle Indie Film Fest

Congratulations to the makers of the short film "What is Wrong With The Global Development Organisation?" which has won "Best Micro Short" film at the Golden Eagle Indie Film Festival.

Directed by Monika Dzikowicz, the two minute micro-documentary tells the story of an aid organisation which has lost sight of its founding principles.  It was made under the aegis of Nano Films, our film co-operative. 

Aid Film Wins Best No Budget at Dreamer's Fest

"What is Wrong...?" Wins Best No Budget at Dreamer's Fest

Congratulations to the makers of the short film "What is Wrong With The Global Development Organisation?" which has won "Best No Budget" film at the Dreamer's Film Festival.

Directed by Monika Dzikowicz, the two minute micro-documentary tells the story of an aid organisation which has lost sight of its founding principles.  It was made under the aegis of Nano Films, our film co-operative. 

Charge sync is Looking for Investors!

Chargesync, the tech company which commissioned a short film from Nano Films for their new product launch, has now gone live - actively looking for investors at investor.com.  Our students at Animation Apprentice made the short film (see above) for Chargesync as part of our Nano Films project, where we bring in small animation commissions to get our students live industry briefs for real clients.

ChargeSync - Our Latest Nano Film!

Our students at Animation Apprentice have just completed their latest freelance commercial project: Chargesync.  Chargesync is a tech company that makes electricity storage devices that people can put in their homes, saving money on their electricity bills and helping to reduce their carbon footprint as well. The purpose of the film is to help electricity consumers understand exactly what it is that Chargesync do. Animation is a wonderful tool for taking complex ideas and getting them across in a simple, clear way. And this film was a great way for our students to get paid experience of working on a live freelance job - for a great company with a great message.

Rocketsig - Our Students' Latest Commercial Project

Our students at Animation Apprentice have just completed their latest freelance commercial project: Rocketsig.  Rocketsig is an email signature product created by Rocketseed, a tech company that offers clickable email banners, with built-in analytics so that a company's email can become an important marketing tool. The purpose of the film is to help their prospective customers understand exactly what it is that Rocketsig will do, so that they can get their message across more quickly and effectively. Animation is a wonderful tool for taking complex ideas and getting them across in a simple, clear way. And this film was a great way for our students to get paid experience of working a live freelance job.

A New Project For Nano Films!

Here at animation Apprentice we believe not just in training our students for a career in the animation industry, but we think we can do better - and actually find them jobs. Partly, this involves placing students in internships, recommending them for work whenever opportunities arise. But we can be more proactive than this, by taking on small freelance jobs at Nano Films, making short films for commercial clients and utisiling our pool of talented students to do the animation. Just recently we brought in a new job for a repeat customer, on our tight deadline. So, what can our apprentice animators expect if they get involved?

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.

Should Freelance Animators Operate as Sole Traders or Set Up a Limited Company?

A freelancer

Part of our job at Animation Apprentice is to teach our students to be working professionals, which includes not only the ability to do excellent work at a high level of professional skill,  but also the ability to run a small business and tackle freelance work.

Almost all digital artists take on freelance work of one kind or another, and we help our students out by bringing in small commercial projects at our virtual online studio at nano-films.com, giving our students paid experience on live briefs.

Being a freelancer involves learning a lot of new business skills, and one of the most common questions asked by students is: "Do I Need to Set Up a Company before I become a freelancer?" The short answer is "no", but it's not quite as simple as that - it all depends on your personal circumstances.

Rocketseed - a short film animated by students at Animation Apprentice

Earlier this year students at Animation Apprentice worked on their first freelance commercial project: Rocketseed Email Solutions. Rocketseed is a tech company that offers clickable email banners, with built-in analytics so that a company's email can become an important marketing tool.

Animation Apprentice Student Becomes Freelance Animator at Nano Films

Pete Nicholson is a student at Animation Apprentice who has been working on live briefs for commercial clients, doing short films under the banner of our mini film co-operative Nano Films. Last year he worked on Rocketseed, a short film for a global email marketing company, and is now working on The Float Folks, an intro/teaser for a brand new TV series for children. We asked Pete to talk about what it was like starting off as a freelance animator.

Can Our Students at Animation Apprentice Make You a Short Animated Film?

Here at Animation Apprentice we often get asked this question: Can your students make me a short animated film? The answer is a loud and enthusiastic yes. We love making animated films, and we love doing "live briefs" for outside clients. We have even set up a small film co-operative at www.nano-films.com especially to create short films.