LIAF presents the UK Animation Industry Event at the University of East London (UEL), an all day event from 10am to 6:30pm – four panels giving insider access to some of the hot topics of the year plus a screening of the LIAF British showcase.
Animation doesn’t stand still; and debates and discussions with animators and creative experts are the best way to get in touch with what’s happening, whether it’s how Virtual Reality will impact on animation, or why the gender and diversity of the animation industry is rapidly changing, or why kids animation has a new lease of life. Come and find out.
We’ve gathered together some of the most passionate, honest and insightful experts from a wide range of different areas and backgrounds who are ready to cover all manner of vital topics to give you much food for thought.
For anyone currently working in the film and animation industry, thinking of working in the industry or just plain curious, these four talks are indispensable.
Add to this a very special enhanced screening of our annual British Showcase, 90 minutes of the best short animated films made in the last 12 months with several filmmakers in attendance, and you’ll get an exceptional opportunity to see what British animators are doing, how they’re doing it and how the art form is travelling.
This is the second of 5 Industry Event Sessions. The others are: Session 1: We Need to Talk about Skills – One Year On; Session 3: The Kids are All right? Meet the Movers and Shakers Behind the Resurgence of Kids Animation on TV; Session 4: The 3 Rs – Animating in the New Spaces of VR, AR & XR and Session 5: The British Showcase screening.
Please note, there will be no tickets available on the day of the event. Advance booking only. One ticket gets you into all 4 talks PLUS the British Showcase screening.
With Special Thanks to the Arts Council England
And University of East London (UEL)
LIAF 2019: UK Animation Industry Event Session 2 – Is Everybody on Board? The Animated Women Panel
It’s been shown that industries with more diverse workforces are happier and more productive, and recent surveys like the UK Screen Alliance findings into Inclusion and Diversity in Animation/VFX/Post Production have thrown up some surprising figures.
At LIAF we want to widen the conversation around inclusion. Women are well represented in senior creative production roles (55%) and creative artist roles (49%) which sounds like progress, but is that the whole story? Only 14% of technical support roles are held by women, and in comparison with VFX and Post-Production, animation is the least ethnically diverse with 14% BAME.
Are there blocks to a more diverse workforce, and what can be done? What are the barriers, and what are the opportunities? Why are some creative industries so unrepresentative – is it an issue of school streaming, workplace attitudes or more complex? Hear some of the illuminating stories and discussions from diverse voices working in animation, and see the kind of work they do.
At UEL book tickets
Chair
Beth Parker – Senior Manager Animation at Disney Channels and Co-Chair of Animated Women UK
Having kick-started her TV career in Munich, Germany, Beth returned to London in 2001 and went straight to work at Telemagination. Three years later, she also took on the role of head of production at parent company TV Loonland, while simultaneously studying for a Masters degree in Social Policy and Criminology. That led her to take a break from TV and work for a major youth charity for three years, before taking on consultancy work for both charities and animation companies including Hibbert Ralph and Red Kite Animation.
In the summer of 2014 Beth joined Disney to look after the production of animated series for the Disney Channel network in Europe and Africa. She currently manages animation productions for all Disney Channel platforms.
Just before taking over the animation chair role at Animated Women UK she completed her second Masters degree, this time in Music.
Panellists
Emma Calder -Independent Animator, Pearly Oyster Productions
Emma studied Graphic design at The Royal College of Art. She has worked as an Animation Director, Artist, Graphic Designer and Lecturer and has written, designed and illustrated books for both adults and children. She co-founded Pearly Oyster Productions making many successful and award-winning animated films, including ‘The Queens Monastery’ and ‘Roger Ballen’s Theatre of Apparitions’. She is currently working on a nine-part series and a new short film.
Lucy Cooper – Director at Union VFX and Animated Women UK
After gaining a law degree from the University of Aberdeen and an MSc in Marketing from the University of Strathclyde, Lucy began her career at Scottish Television before a move to London and the world of post production. Her 20 years of experience spans a variety of creative companies across broadcast, film and television post production and physical special effects. Lucy is passionate about encouraging inclusion, diversity, awareness and opportunity within the VFX industry, and is a Director of Animated Women UK and Access: VFX. She most recently joined Union Visual Effects as Managing Director in 2016.
Bimpe Alliu – Junior Concept Artist at Industrial Light & Magic
Bimpe is a Concept Artist and Illustrator currently working as a Junior Concept Artist at Industrial Light and Magic in London.