| Invitation to Tender |
We are looking for experienced digital animators to join a wonderfully ambitious project celebrating the world-famous Blackpool Illuminations and to launch at Lightpool Festival 2023.
| The Opportunity: |
We are looking for a digital animator to create a 3 to 4 minute chapter that shows off the best of 3D animation. Under the steer of the Lightpool Artistic Director, you will bring the Blackpool Tower to life with a new story that is accessible to all communities, with content of your choosing.
The content might include graphic animations, video footage or a combination of the two – but must utilise the building to create an immersive experiences, to bring the building to life.
We are specifically looking for artists with bold, fresh ideas to work with the Lightworks production and development team, to create a piece of work that utilises your digital expertise and is accessible to families.
The specifications for Tower projection are:
1. Quicktime
2. presets custom
3. codec apple prores 422 {lt}
4. quality 100%
5. 24 bit
6. progressive
7. square pixels
8. 4096 wide 992 high
This commission is being made possible with funding from Arts Council England and The Towns Fund (part of the Government’s plan for Levelling Up) and we wish to share our learning with our funder and our peers at Light Up The North. Therefore, you will be required to talk to an independent evaluator about the process.
| The selected artist / company will receive: |
• Up to £10k fee (to include artist time, artwork creation and delivery, attendance at event)
• Producing and technical support from Lightpool Festival and Lightworks
• Marketing and documentation support from Visit Blackpool
• Dedicated time with technical experts from Lightworks
• Inclusion of the work within Lightpool/Blackpool Illuminations season
| Who can apply: |
• Independent artists or companies
• We encourage applications from people with lived experience of disability and those that are underrepresented in the arts sector
• Applicants must be available for to be in Blackpool for opening night (provisional date Friday 20 October 2023)
• We encourage applications from artists and companies who are at any stage in their career.
• We welcome applications from International artists/organisations
| How we assess your application: |
A panel including
- Phil Holmes – Artistic Director Lightpool
- Richard Williams – Head of Blackpool Illuminations
- Carolyn Primmet – Head of Arts Blackpool Council
- Paulette O’Brien – Curator, Grundy Art Gallery Blackpool
- Partners from Light Up The North
will assess all applications.
We aim to ensure the selected commission(s) will be high-quality work and afford the best experience for artists, audience members and location. They will assess the applications based on 4 areas:
- Artistic quality – the strength & quality of the idea
- Public experience – who it is aimed at and how will the public experience it
- Financial viability – can all elements of the activity be delivered effectively within budget
- Project management – can the piece be created within the time available?
| Skills development: |
Skills development is available for this project, and Lightpool and Blackpool Illuminations can provide production, marketing, documentation and technical support to make the most of this opportunity.
| Timeline: |
The completed work needs to be delivered by August 2023
The work will premiere at Lightpool Festival 2023, 20 – 28 October, and be presented during Blackpool Illuminations 29 October 2023 until 3 January 2024
| Application Process: |
Step 1 – Expression of Interest – 24 February 2023
About your idea and CV, maximum 3 pages
Please send files no bigger than 10MB. Links to vimeo/youtube etc. accepted
Step 2 – Proposal and Interview – w/c 6 March 2023
Shortlisted applicants will be asked to create a brief proposal for the interview. This will also be an opportunity to ask any further questions relating to the project
Step 3 – Announcing the successful applicant.
The selected artists or company will be announced on Monday 13 March 2023
For more information or an informal chat please call Philip Holmes, Artistic Director, Lightpool on 0771 355 4905. Please direct applications to illuminations.admin@blackpool.gov.uk with the subject line LIGHTPOOL 2023 DIGITAL COMMISSION
No late applications will be considered.