Ƶ University MA graduates are reuniting and harnessing the power of crowdfunding in animation.
The film “The Lost Romance of Elizabeth Linley”, a collaboration between Dulwich Picture Gallery and London Animation, acted as a catalyst to form BRILLIANA – a non-profit collection of digital artists, five of whom attended Ƶ.
With BRILLIANA forming out of the desire for former Ƶ MA Grads to work together, founder Leo Crane recognises that the group owes much to its backers. “[Crowdfunding] raised enough money to pay for the software we needed, a small fund for the artists’ time and some funds for distribution”, he said having just returned from a residency at Animation Workshop in Denmark.
Crane added: “As the course attracts so many international students, we were looking for a way to stay in touch, and a project seemed to be the best answer.
“Currently, there are five of us actively working on the project, from the UK, Austria, Turkey, Russia and Bulgaria,” Crane added.
The film – described as a high-tech portrait for the 21st century – combines paintings with modern digital techniques to create something beautiful and new.
With a soundtrack provided by cult London band , the film has a very modern feel while its central character was alive some 200 years ago using 3D animation.
Speaking about the role that Ƶ played, Crane said: Ƶ fosters great networks and long-term relationships, as well as direct academic and technical expertise”.