The fascinating world of animation is brought to life by our award-winning experts Drew Roper, Yamination Studios;Jo Dunlop – Production Manager and Rachael Redfern, The Character Shop; and freelance animator Fraser Ntukula. The Midlands is home to a thriving animation industry and this session will give you access all areas to this highly creative and specialised sector.  Hosted by BBC Three’s Ava Patel.

Ava Patel: Ava is a content researcher at BBC Three, making content for the youth of today. Her role includes producing, casting for shows, assisting on shoots and good ol’ fashioned research. Previously she’s worked across factual entertainment on shows like 24 Hours in Police Custody and The Undateables. 

Rachael Redfern: Rachael heads the 2D department at CharacterShop. Rachael graduated from the Arts University Bournemouth in 2011 and started out at CharacterShop on work experience before securing a full time position as a 2D artist. Over the last 6 years Rachael has produced cutout animation, rigs and design work for areas including advertising, corporate infographics and children’s television.

Jo Dunlop: Jo started working with Mark Vale in 2000 at BBC MediaArc, the design, 3D animation and digital effects department at BBC Pebble Mill and continued to work together as The CharacterShop Ltd went independent in 2002 to specialise in character creation and animation for children’s media, family entertainment and live, corporate communications and commercials.

Jo has also worked with First Light Movies as Project Coordinator of the Film Nation: Shorts project, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Short Film Competition.

Drew Roper: Drew  is a multi-award-winning animation director / producer and owner of innovative animation studio, Yamination Studios.

Based in the heart of Birmingham, Yamination specialises in stop-motion animation, bringing all things miniature to life, working on a variety of fun-filled projects from TV commercials and promo’s to specials, installations and developments for the likes of Roald Dahl, Walt Disney and Greenpeace to name but a few.

Fraser Ntukula: Fraser is a freelance motion designer, illustrator and VFX artist. Known for his versatility and forward-thinking creative approach, he merges art and technology to tell modern stories in a familiar way. Throughout his career, Fraser has collaborated alongside in-house teams or worked directly with companies on animations in education, brand strategy, corporate communications and commercials. He's recently completed exciting but yet to be released films for HS2, Town Hall City Hall and Birmingham City Council.