ANIMATION STUDIOS EMBRACE LATEST STYLES AND TECHNIQUES TO TAP CONTENT EXPLOSION By TREVOR HOGG
TOP: A scene from A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon from Aardman Animations, which was originally founded as a stopframe studio in 1972. (Image courtesy of Aardman Animations) OPPOSITE TOP TO BOTTOM: Baba Yaga won the Daytime Emmy for Interactive Media and resulted in Disney+ partnering with Baobab Studios to create a Witchverse series for the streaming service. (Image courtesy of Baobab Studios) Veteran animator and lecturer Ken Fountain finds it to be exciting that the demand for animation content is allowing for experimentation such as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. (Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel) Netflix decided to bridge the gap between Season 1 and 2 of the live-action The Witcher by releasing an anime prequel Nightmare of the Wolf. (Image courtesy of Netflix)
Being able to successfully manage an animation studio in 2022 and beyond requires foresight and the desire to be an industry leader. The landscape has been transformed by globalization, dominance of streaming services, growing demand for content, and the development of other media platforms such as virtual reality. Being flexible has enabled Oscar-winning Aardman Animations to remain relevant since being founded as a stop-motion studio in 1972, responsible for Creature Comforts and Wallace & Gromit, and creating CG features and AR projects. More recently there is Emmy-lauded Baobab Studios, which has specialized in interactive action animation since 2015 and is creating The Witchverse anthology series for Disney+ based on Baba Yaga. Veteran animator and lecturer Ken Fountain has found himself in the middle of all of this, having worked on Megamind for DreamWorks Animation, Pearl for Google Spotlight Stories and Baba Yaga for Baobab Studios, as well as doing tutorials on SplatFrog.com. There is still value in using real and tactile material for characters and world-building, believes Sarah Cox, Executive Creative Director at Aardman Animations. “It’s less about creating assets digitally and more about the way that technology can enable handcrafted processes to be more efficient, beautiful and effective.” Technology is embraced by Lorna Probert, Head of Interactive Production at Aardman Animations, who last year released the Wallace & Gromit AR adventure The Big Fix Up. “There is some exciting technology, like virtual production and the way that we can use real-time engines for previs and creating more flexible and iterative processes.” Another major trend pointed out by Cox is the push for photorealism. “The distinction between live action and animation, what is
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2/28/22 12:47 PM
