The
Project
The NCCA Archive Collection project aims to make work created at the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA), Bournemouth University, accessible to researchers, educators and the wider public.
Created over the course of more than three decades, much of the NCCA’s archive was inaccessible as projects were stored on computers that have since been taken off-line and animations that had been created by students and staff were recorded on video tapes, using systems and formats that have since become obsolete.
The work stored on video tapes is in danger of being lost, as over time, video tapes decay. The NCCA Archive Collection project rectifies this by digitising the work on video tapes so it can be preserved in a digital cloud-based archive. Charting the evolution of computer animation and visual effects, the digital archive is made accessible to the public as a resource for research and education.
The NCCA Archive Collection is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to create this archive of more than 30 years of Computer Animation created at the National Centre for Computer Animation.
Made possible with______
Once Upon a Time in Animation
As part of this project, in 2021, research and artwork by talented NCCA academics, students and graduates was presented to the public.
According to the project initiator, Claudia Moore, “It is clear that the NCCA archive has tremendous potential to provide a context in which borne digital moving images could talk to one another to see what forms of innovation might emerge from these conversations.
Looking beyond heritage to other areas concerned with 3D printing, holograms and coding broader the themes of 3D animation in contemporary ways”.
The Project team collaborated with Poole Museum to develop the exhibition ‘Once Upon a Time in Animation’ with a focus on the creative and technical processes behind the making of computer animation and visual effects for films, animated movies and games, building an understanding of the creative animation industries in the UK (including contributions from Aardman and Blue Zoo).