Hayley McKinny talk and Workshop

Morning - Talk

Hayley is an Alumni from Animation (BaHon). She graduated from Uclan in 2010 and has worked at 'Mackinnon and Saunders' for the past 8 years.

For the first two years, Hayley worked in the silicon department as a puppet maker during which she worked on the film 'Frankenweenie' by Tim Burton. Her role mainly consisted of fettling the silicon models.

Fettling : smoothing the seam off a silicone moulds using wet and dry sandpaper/stone.

Since then, Hayley transferred to the prop department as there is more variety in the work produced for television shows. Hayley has worked on RaRa, Bob the Builder, Post-man Pat, Twirlywoos and other works.

Learn as many skills as you can while your at university

Makes things that are first for their purpose

Hayley's order of events

Read ALL the storyboards/watch animatics when you receive them

Talk to the appropriate departments/people for information for props

Prioritise order of work - do the least enjoyable bits first

Work within your means - budget and timeframe

Tips and Tricks

Don't be precious about your work

Use Bicarbonate soda and PVA to quickly set work

Be realistic about the level of effort and commitment you put into a piece of work

Stay creative

Look at the silhouettes when looking at different materials

Before painting, always prime your work with a good base coat, do many thin coats

Halfords do a spray paint primer grey/white for £7

Body paint is good for fixing painting mistakes

Professional Awareness

Present yourself to everyone the way you would to a director

Take care of your personal hygiene, no one wants to work with someone who isn't clean

Be nice and considerate in the workplace

There is a time and a place for work

Be aware of client confidentiality

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Afternoon - Workshop

This afternoon Hayley brought in a bunch of bits and bobs and gave us the task to make a musical instrument to the scale of Post-man Pat.