Since the early 1980s, graduates from Middlesex University have gone on to become some of the biggest names in the UK animation scene. Famous alumni include Oscar nominated animator Joanna Quinn, Aardman director Luis Cook, Peppa Pig creator Neville Astley, triple BAFTA nominated stop motion director Osbert Parker and award-winning experimental animator Ruth Lingford. In 2009, the animation department became a fully-fledged Animation degree and thanks to massive investment by the university is now one of the best equipped courses in the country.
The BAFTA winning academic team includes Robert Bradbrook, Osbert Parker, Jonathan Hodgson and Suzanne Buchan all of whom are internationally renowned authorities in their chosen fields of animation, combining teaching with world class professional practice and academic research.
Central to our course philosophy is teaching our students to understand the importance of formal and conceptual experimentation. In addition they receive a comprehensive grounding in drawing, animation techniques, software skills, storytelling, film language, research and theory. This intensive curriculum enables students to develop creatively, finding their own vision as artists whilst equipping themselves with the essential skills and knowledge to establish themselves as professionals in today’s diverse and highly competitive animation industry.
Mdx Animation is still a young course, but already our students’ films are winning accolades at animation festivals all around the world. We are very proud of what Middlesex animation students have achieved and this program of films showcases some of the best work produced so far.
- Jonathan Hodgson
The Day I Killed My Imaginary Best Friend
Regla is a nine-years-old girl, her only friend is imaginary, and besides she hates having a shower, so she always has to be told to do it. However, Regla nearly always avoids her bath without her mother realizing. But the time will come when Regla, with her indulgent imaginary friend, will have to face up to the shock which means the arrival of her first menstruation and the related problems.Heads and Tails
A young hungry fox has something new to discover about people when he meets an unusual girl in a nearby village. She saves him from hunger in the harsh winter but a full belly is not the only thing the fox ends up with.For Katy
Katy wakes up after an awesome Friday night out with a friend. She does not know where she is and cannot remember what exactly happened last night. However she slowly realises that she has been murdered.On the way through the forest one can discover a magical circus...
KilljoyA clown tries to cheer up his depressed friend. However, things do not go according to plan.
WaitingA little boy named Huey attends a funeral. While there he gets distracted by an odd old lady and an owl and ends up locked inside the cemetery. He decides to stay and wait for his parents to come back but the old lady and the owl have other plans in mind.
Don’t F**k with the DuckA story of one duck’s revenge on a chef of Chinatown who murdered his wife and children, and later turned them into crispy duck. There is no limit to what he will do to avenge his family's death.
Out of TuneA creature who dwells inside a radio learns of a world outside his own.
This Actually Happened
An abstract, experimental animation consisting of geometrical shapes and contrasting colours, changing rhythmically and according to the character and intensity of the music.Clock City
Brutal guards force the inhabitants of Clock City to work like cogs in a machine, but two young workers are driven by the power of love to rebel against this repressive regime.Block
Subconscious within subconscious.A family who bicker and argue about the small things, realise the ritual of tea brings them together and is a rare moment to enjoy.
Night ShiftA seemingly ordinary businessman wakes up in the middle of the night to go to work.
MonochromeA surreal film about acceptance, using a blend of motion graphics, pixelation, time lapse and photography to show the process of falling in love. The feeling of uncertainty, denial, the complete and utter surrender, the feeling of belonging and hope. The film tries to combine organic materials like oil and water, which do no naturally dissolve into each other to illustrate the struggle.
BrothersBrothers Tim and Ben are cycling to Paris and their relationship is tested. Ultimately they care about each other a lot but brothers will be brothers.
BondWeightless Now
From atom to organism, Weightless Now takes the audience on a poetic journey through the human body.Forbidden Fruit
Two buffoon delivery men, one a sausage and the other a marshmallow, need to deliver and install a TV to the top of a 100 storey tall flat to an angry and impatient customer. Will the two mindless idiots deliver the TV in one piece and get to keep their jobs?