MAF (Manchester Animation Festival) Report

I went to Manchester Animation Festival this year, for my first time as a full festival pass holder. In my second year I had bought a Thursday pass but managed to get a volunteering position at the Children’s Media Conference for Manimation, which happened on the same day (pictured below from last year).

I had applied for a volunteering position this year but unfortunately I was rejected by MAF. I bought a full pass through the university, which fortunately was cheaper than a regular pass price. I may not have been volunteering but I was still able to at least attend all of the events that I wanted to with relative ease.

I mainly focussed on going to the ‘Animated Answers’ Q&A’s that were being held. I attended pretty much all of these events including, “Studios, Large or Small?”, “Making it in Manchester” and “What makes the Perfect Animator?”. I found these talks to be very beneficial to attend.

Also had the pleasure of catching a screening of Animonster's "Chuck Steel: Night of the Living Trampires". It was so refreshing to see quality animation made for an adult audience that was made in the UK. In the Q&A the writer/director/animator: ... explained that this film was in the makings since the late eighties. To see just how well the film had come on through what has clearly been a passion project for ... was astounding and inspiring. I had the pleasure of speaking to at the MAFfter Dark event that was held after the first day of the festival had finished.

There was a lot of ground covered during these talks that is too much to completely summarise here. I will say, however, that I used these talks to my strategic advantage. I took notes on various things that the animation directors Tom Box and Jon Turner of their respective studios BlueZoo and Kilogramme said. I took these notes so that I could more confidently talk to them at the networking events being held at the festival.

Networking events can be daunting but what I have found that what makes them easier to navigate is to research on a few animators that you know will be there and aim to talk to them first. Ask them questions about their work first and the conversation will flow naturally. I think it rings true in most social situations that people find it easier to talk about themselves first, it falls on the person trying to establish the relationship to ask the right questions and listen.

Another tactic I used in the networking event was a group effort with my team for my negotiated project module. We had decided on printing out mini-pitch bibles to hand out at the Northwestivus event. This proved to be a good idea.

We had been advised by our tutors to provide physical things to hand out at events such as this one, as it is much more effective in making people remember you, and more importantly seeing the level of passion and talent you have. We left our contact details on the back page of the art books and handed them out at Northwestivus and the MAF market, which a number of us Salford students volunteered at.

It was through talking to Tom Box and having a physical copy of my artwork on me, that I was able to speak to Max Taylor, one of the directors at “THE LINE” animation. As I stated in my previous blog, this was a person I was wanting to chat to, because I was a fan of their work. It was through a combination of preparation and luck that I managed to chat with him and his friends at THE LINE. It was a very honest conversation about what studios look for in undergraduates. He assured me that the grade on my degree doesn’t really matter and that really it was all about how passionate I am, how technically literate I am and what experience I had.

I was very happy to have such an open conversation with an industry expert and that was only made possible through the festival. I now know that even though I do care about my grades, if I want a job at the end of my university experience, I need to have some good work to show, and that will be my final student film.

The final event that was noteworthy from this festival was definitely getting to watch was definitely getting to watch the screening of the Anijam18 competition submissions. Myself, Adam Frith, Paul Reynolds, Leah Peirson and Munty Chowdhury entered the 48 hour competition back in August. I am happy to say that we won the public choice award of the competition for our short, “Flock Together”

This was the perfect way to end the festival, as we received this trophy, made by Animation toolkit, from Barry Purves, in front of a large crowd of industry experts at the MAF closing ceremony.

This whole MAF experience has mainly been a great way to show my face to as many industry people as possible. It’s only a first step into the industry but that step has been a massive stride forward for me. I’m managed to collect a decent sized stack business cards, which I’m sure will come in handy in the future. I will certainly be returning to this festival for many years to come.