Backgrounds and landscapes made by students and lecturers at Bournemouth and Poole College will feature in a new sci-fi movie due to be released next year.

They used scenery sculpted out of clay and combined with a process called ‘photogrammetry’ where hundreds of photos are scanned with a particular software into a 3D model to create visuals.

Their involvement came after the college was approached by Treehouse Digital.

The film production company is based at The Fulcrum Centre in Poole, part of the college’s buildings.

Student Emilio Nunez, who acted as a studio assistant on the film, said: “I’ve been involved in the studio helping with the organisation of the equipment and helping to build anything they might need such as setups for our new artists, or systems such as VCAM – a virtual camera you see inside of Unreal Engine 5.

“I’ve learned a lot of technical skills whilst helping the artists.

“It has been lots of fun, with lots of opportunities for me to learn.”

The college’s 3D Animation course is tailored to industry trends.

Modules include Animation, Graphics Communications, Lighting and Rendering, Mods and Maps and Post-Production.

The course has Unreal Engine 5 software at its heart, also used in filmmaking, and aims to equip learners for a unique and exciting career.

Kieran Hall, a former student and now lecturer in CGI at the college, said: “To be a part of this amazing filmmaking experience is an absolute delight.

“Our former students working on the project – Chelsea Bradford (Senior Environment Artist); Kieran Andrews (Junior Environment Artist), William Andrews (Mid Environment Artist) and current student Emilio Nunez (Studio Assistant) have all put in some tremendous effort to get the images and backdrops looking fantastic for the big screen.

“The Unreal Engine 5 software is also used in the course itself.”

Phil Sayles, Principal of Bournemouth and Poole College, pictured left, said: “This is the kind of project our students were made for.

“The mettle, determination and participation of all those involved in this prestigious project put Bournemouth and Poole College students on the world stage.

“I simply cannot wait to be in the audience feeling proud of what our students have achieved and watch some amazing backgrounds to the film.

“The level of technical skill involved in work of this calibre is thorough and involves a great level of diligent and industrious processing.”