BU Graduates Harness the Power of Crowdfunding in Animation

Bournemouth 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 BU.

With BRILLIANA forming out of the desire for former BU 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 Unrecorded, 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 BU played, Crane said: BU fosters great networks and long-term relationships, as well as direct academic and technical expertise”.