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Animation students have ‘Motion Poems’ screened at celebration event

The first year students created animations based on poems by local schoolchildren as part of the Ripples of Hope Festival.

Animation students at The Manchester College have had their work screened at an exhibition in Bury after an exciting work experience opportunity with the Comino Foundation.

Comino Foundation works with education partners across the UK to help young people develop the capacity and skills to make positive change for themselves and for others.  In Greater Manchester, they work with a hub of schools, The Manchester College, creative employers and other charities to nurture learning experiences which aim to develop young learners’ appetites and zest for learning by placing curriculum learning in real world situations and in response to real world problems. 

The Comino Foundation asked young creatives to create words, images and videos which shared their personal feelings about 'What it means to be human' in the context of lockdown. Around 350 young people took part in the programme, submitting over 500 images, poems and videos; many of which can be seen in the online gallery

Three poems were selected to be animated for a celebration event and exhibition at The Met in Bury in December, and the Comino Foundation tasked the College’s first year Animation students with creating the accompanying animation. 

The students, based at the College’s Nicholl’s Campus, worked in teams on the live brief to create motion typography based on the content of the poems, with their work live streamed at the celebration event.

First year Motion Design and Animation student Dylan Dargue said: “Working with motion type has allowed me to explore my creative side with animation other than what I am used to (frame by frame animation), and has shown me different possible careers in the animation industry. 

Being able to see my work being presented at the event made me feel proud and has made me more confident in my animation and software skills.

The students received soaring praise for their creations. Professor Jose Chambers MBE, from the Comino Foundation said: “To witness this work is to hear the voices of young people making sense of this world – their world.  They do not flinch from acknowledging pain, sorrow and complexity; but even so they remain brave and hopeful. It is an honour to share this work.”

Tutor Katy Rushton added: “This project came at the perfect time as I wanted to introduce my new animation first years to working with type. The subject matter of the poems gave the animation students a lot of scope to be creative and visualise how the typography could tell the stories of the poems. 

“Having an opportunity to work with a real client early on in the year was brilliant work experience and also allowed them to work together in teams. Seeing the students work presented at the live event made me really proud and was a brilliant way to showcase their talents.”

Find out more about The Manchester College’s Industry Excellence Academy for Creative & Digital Media and apply today