North-East art student Kam-Li Cheng has received one of the top honours in the animation industry.
The 22-year-old, from South Shields, had her work put forward to be exhibited in the student category at the Bradford Animation Festival - one of the industry’s most high profile events.
However, after seeing her designs, festival organisers decided to show her work in the professional section – the ambition of many professional animators.
Kam-Li’s most recent work, which is the piece organisers put forward, is a film called the Highwayman. It is based on Alfred Noyes’ famous poem about a ghost story where love transcends death, inspired by 17th and 18th centuries paintings.
The whole film, which Kam-Li designed while an undergraduate at the University of Sunderland, was hand painted and consists of 25 paintings for every second of film.
Kam-Li said: “I was very surprised that I was chosen to be in the professional section and also delighted. I felt nervous about it as the poem is a very well known one and I had wondered if I had adapted the piece in a way that was fitting for everyone.”
Animation lecturer at Sunderland Melanie Hani – Kam-Li’s tutor - said: “Kam-Li is very talented and it is no surprise to see quality work like this being exhibited. Her work is very sensitive. It composes messages very clearly.”
Kam-Li is now studying for a masters degree in animation at the University of Sunderland and then hopes to join a leading animation company.
Melanie Hani will also feature during the festival. Melanie will give an interview to leading animation magazine Animatoon about a fascinating project she set up earlier this year.
Melanie used animation as a way to help families get over their loss of a loved one. She never expected the impact it would have and the stories it would reveal.
The group Melanie worked with, who were all linked through St Benedict’s Hospice in Sunderland, was aged seven to 72 and the ten people involved produced a remarkable 74 pieces of work, including paintings, drawings and short animated films.
They included paintings by seven-year-old Fiona Blakey about her dad. She had been unable to explain what was wrong with her, but counsellors saw her drawings and diagnosed that she was suffering from panic attacks. The exhibition is currently on at the University Design Centre until March 2007.
The Bradford Animation Festival begins tomorrow (Wednesday November 15) until this Saturday (November 18).