Cinematographer Ben Davis at BAFTA

One of the best things about BAFTA is its focus on regular lectures and seminars on filmmaking. 

A recent event at the Picture house Central on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue featured an interview with Cinematographer Ben Davis, whose screen credits include Kick-Ass, Before I Go to Sleep and Guardians of the Galaxy. But why should an animator need to know about cinematography? Because animators are film- makers, and anything that helps you to understand the art of visual story telling will make you better at your craft. And who better to learn from than one of the UK’s best cinematographers?

Brenda the Brave

Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman at the British Academy Awards

Last week, BRAVE won the British Academy Award, or BAFTA, for best animated feature, just weeks after winning a Golden Globe in the same category.   But unlike the Golden Globes, the film's author, Brenda Chapman, not only attended but was given a chance to speak.  Much was made about her absence at the Globes, but this time around the tension and bad blood were kept out of view of the press for the sake of show biz.  After all, reading about John Lasseter jerking around a great director (and nice person) is like hearing Santa Claus fired Rudolph over a flight path dispute.  

Brenda's still "a little gun shy" about talking about the surrounding turmoil of making BRAVE, but she was very kind to answer some questions for FLIP.  

BAFTAs Tonight - But Who is Voting?

  

Tonight is the BAFTA awards, the biggest movie night of the year here in the UK, though elsewhere probably just a foretaste of the bigger, glitzier and more star-studded Academy Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles. 

What was the best animated Feature of 2012?

First the BAFTAs, then the Oscars

Award season is almost upon us. Every year in December a swelling tide of BAFTA DVDs and screeners arrives by post, a satisfyingly large heap of swag that makes me very popular at my in-laws, and makes Santa himself look like Uncle Scrooge.