Wistaston student wins regional film award (From Crewe Guardian)

Wistaston student wins regional film award

9:31am Monday 11th March 2013 in News

A Wistaston graduate is celebrating after winning a prize at the Royal Television Society Student Television (RTS) North West Awards 2013 for his animation work.

22-year-old Robert Beard and fellow graduate Matthew French were awarded the regional RTS prize for animation for their short film Mime Square, which the duo produced during their final year at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) for their BA(Hons) Animation degree.

They will now represent the North West region at the national RTS Student Television Awards in May.

Robert, a former South Cheshire College and Shavington High School pupil, said: “It’s exciting to win an RTS award and be given the opportunity to showcase our work in the final where it will be seen by key figures in the animation industry. “The prize will provide a solid base for our future careers and will hopefully help us to stand out from the crowd.”

Mime Square is a three minute twenty second film about two mime artists; a rookie and an experienced performer who compete to attract an audience before realising they can wow the crowds by working together instead of against each other.

Robert created, modelled and animated the characters and CGI assets whilst Matthew produced the 2D animation and textures.

RTS Events Student Chair Ed Pugh said: “This film felt fresh and modern, like watching the old and new come together seamlessly; some thought this was a Pixar concept. It has beautifully observed characters and backgrounds and is unique, ambitious and brilliantly executed.”

The 2013 Royal Television Society Student Television (RTS) Awards will be held in May where Robert and Matthew will compete against other regional animation finalists for the national prize.