A solitary robot discovers new friends are hard to make.

Two office workers race for the last doughnut.

Some memories you can't keep.

The short film 'Apart' is a collaborative group project from the Master of Animation and Visualisation students at the University of Technology Sydney. The large scale project based learning is unusual for a university setting, and has been co-designed with the industry partner, one of Australia's leading 3D animation studios Animal Logic. Each year the students face creative and technical changes. With 'Apart' one of the more innovative approaches came when the students had to create a stop-frame style animation sequence using ever changing and intertwined sculptures. This is where the FX team under the supervision of the Visual Effects Lead Dylan Neill used Houdini to create a progressive FX sequence, rather than use expected animation techniques in Maya. The challenges such studio-style projects present to students develops their ability to become innovative problem-solvers when they enter industry.