A showcase of CGI work by Bournemouth & Poole College students was held for industry experts to view the next generation of talent.
The annual Bournemouth & Poole College CGI Graduate Expo featured modelling, animation and architectural work created by more than 40 students from the foundation and bachelor of science 3D computed generated imagery (CGI) degrees. The themes of final projects on show included the Royal Signals Museum, early aviation (pre-1939 – winged aircraft), the film What Lies Beneath, and poetry by Edward Lear such as The Owl and The Pussy Cat.
Representatives from a range of companies including Nautilus International, Pixelflakes, Uniform and Focus Studio headed along to the well-attended event, as well as the families and friends of the students. Phil Easton, director of Western Design Architects, opened the show having worked with the College for the past 10 years to host workshops and give advice to students on their final projects.
Cathy Cheyne, foundation degree programme leader for 3D computer generated imagery at Bournemouth & Poole College, said: “We are extremely proud of the fact that all of our bachelor of science degree students who exhibited their work at the show were offered interviews for full-time work, and over half of our foundation degree students were offered interviews for placement opportunities.
“More than 25 companies from the CGI industry attended the event, having travelled from all over Dorset and as far away as Liverpool just to see our students’ final projects. We also had a fantastic talk from Emma May of the table top games development company, Emmerse Studios, who is one of our past students.
“Meanwhile, our first year foundation degree students attended the event with the aim of looking for companies to support our new mentoring programme and have so far received interest from 10 different businesses. Mentors will be carefully selected by the staff in the CGI team to ensure that they have a good understanding of the processes and methods needed for students to complete a Higher Education Degree.”
Cathy went on to say that Michal Skowron, who works as a VFX artist at Double Neg, visited the students ahead of the show to talk about the CGI industry and his previous freelance work with The Moving Picture Company on the 2016 release of Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book.
The Mayor of Bournemouth, Councillor Derek Borthwick, and the Mayor of Poole, Councillor Sean Gabriel, were on hand to give out prizes for the ‘Most Improved Student’ and ‘Most Helpful Student’. Awards were presented to Jen Stacey, George Raybould, Lewis Baker and Finley Stephens for their hard work on their college courses.
Speaking after the show, Joe Rose, a final year student on the foundation degree 3D computer generated imagery - architecture and visualisation course, said: “I took an interest in CGI in my spare time while studying music and taught myself the basics at home. I had a real interest in the design of aircraft and buildings, so decided to enrol on a course at the College, which I have loved, especially with the small class sizes which helps with our learning.
“I spoke to many different companies at our CGI Graduate Expo and some have offered me a placement for next year, which will give me some great experience when I approach potential employers in the future.”
For more information on the foundation and bachelor of science 3D computed generated imagery (CGI) degrees, go to thecollege.co.uk/CGI or call 01202 205205.
