The last Keyframe◆ event happened on Saturday 10 December, at MADLab, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol. A very engaging workshop was conducted by Dr. Doros Polydorou on storytelling in virtual reality, a subject that he is greatly familiar with through his research and career.

Doros presented some of the immersive projects he and his team (of students and professionals) have created over the past few years, and explained the process and concept of developing narratives and finding ways for technology and methods of enhancing the experience of the story. Through examples, he explained challenges they came across in developing their projects, and how their decisions were influenced by the demands of the narrative.

The workshop required teams of 4-5 people to pick 1 out of 4 subjects/themes and develop a concept and storyline while considering how the user would experience it. The lab started to buzz, as the 4 teams begun brainstorming and exchanging ideas. Each participant used their experience, skills and interests to contribute and by the end of it, each team presented their idea to the rest of the room and allowed for questions and suggestions.

Thank you to all who joined us on the day.

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On Friday 25 November, CAA hosted a talk and Q&A by Avgousta Zourelidi at European University Cyprus. This was the 4th event as part of the Keyframe◆ series and was in collaboration with the Department of Arts, EUC.

We were honoured to welcome Avgousta all the way from Bristol, UK and see some of her work as an Animation Director. While showing the films and series she worked on, she talked about various aspects of her job and even some of the challenges that she came across on some of these projects. Avgousta also gave a brief overview on her career path that lead her to being an Animation Director at A Productions Ltd.

There were a lot of questions from the audience that lead to interesting discussions. There was interest regarding the role, responsibilities and challenges of an Animation Director, on people management, being a female professional in the industry and in key roles, how age and experience affects the work environment and more. Special note on the few high-school students who attended with their tutor from The Art Hub Visual Arts Laboratories, who were interested on the path they would need to take for a career in animation, what the different roles, departments and specialisation jobs are in a production and the industry, and what the demands and work environment is like.

After the event, there was a casual gathering at Murphy’s Pub.

Thank you to all who joined us on the day.

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On Saturday 19 November, CAA in collaboration with CYENS hosted a Motion Capture and Clean-up Seminar by  animator Constantinos Sophocleous as part of the Keyframe◆ series.

This event happened at CYENS, Center of Excellence, as part of the Arts and Technology festival – WIP.

All seats where filled and attendees where thoroughly engaged by Constantinos’ performance of motion capture using both Rokoko and Xsense technology.
By the end of the seminar, Constantinos demonstrated how to record and clean up mocap data and how to use it on a rigged character within a scene in Unreal Engine. Participants were encouraged to jump in with questions and contribute with their thoughts.

Thank you to all who joined us on the day.

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