Sector spotlight on animation

It is more than 40 years since Morph first bounced onto UK TV screens, catapulting his creators on the journey towards superstardom.

Aardman’s loveable clay hero, who featured in the BBC children’s programme Take Hart from 1977, not only set the animation company on its path to global success, but also placed Bristol firmly on the map as a centre of excellence for this creative sector.

Founders David Sproxton and Peter Lord moved to the city in 1976 and met Nick Park at the National Film and Television School, when he was working on his student film A Grand Day Out. He joined Aardman full time in 1985.

Peter Lord and David Sproxton continue to break the mould

With four Oscar wins under its belt, and ten nominations, the studio continues to break the mould, recently making headlines with its transfer into employee ownership – a deliberate decision to ensure its independence and creative legacy for years to come.

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Read more: Aardman to transfer ownership to employees

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Aardman’s success has also helped give roots to the wealth of talent and animation companies in Bristol today, many with their own specialist skills.

Among these are: Axis, a company based at the Bottle Yard Studios that did all the visual effects on Aardman’s 2018 film Early Man, Clifton-based Moonraker, which specialises in photo-real ‘flying theatre’ content, and Gutsy Animation in Long Ashton, which is working on the new Moomins series that will premiere in 2019.

The city also hosts the UK’s leading short film festival, Encounters, which promotes and supports emerging talent, while showcasing Bristol and its culture on the global stage.

Reflecting on animation over the last three decades, Sproxton, Aardman’s co-founder and executive chairman, says there have been many changes – most of which have been positive.

He, along with other industry insiders, have welcomed the decision by Channel 4 to make Bristol the home for one of its new creative hubs, a move that is expected to bolster the already-thriving creative sector.

“Channel 4 was the only channel commissioning animation outside the children’s TV space and that had a profound effect on building experience and, to an extent, the industry,” says Sproxton.

“Our first major commission (apart from the first Morph series) was ten five-minute films for Channel 4. One of those was Creature Comforts, which won Nick Park his first Oscar in 1990.

“That win developed into the long-running Heat Electric campaign (for electricity boards) and others, which helped build the company and develop our skills.

“We found people began moving to Bristol to work for us, or companies that we might have been employing.”

Once Aardman started producing features with Dreamworks in the late 1990s, the company collaborated with UWE to train people with the necessary stop-frame animation skills.

Sproxton says the fast advancement of computer animation has helped shape the careers of other Bristol businesses.

One such company is the Old Market-based A Productions, formed in 1985, which has forged an internationally-renowned reputation for its work in animation production for film and television.

“Personally, I think the Bristol animation scene has consolidated and matured a little more,” says managing director Mark Taylor.

“Obviously Aardman’s increased scale of operations and growing reputation over that period has brought more positive focus onto Bristol, but the animators, directors, production staff and support industries who are here have also evolved, and we definitely have more small companies on the scene nowadays.

“Having a first-class post house like Films@59 has also meant we can offer more to our international clients.”

Small and medium-sized animation companies have sprung from the early frontrunners, adding to a thriving eco-system of talent that is constantly evolving and diversifying.

Miles Bullough says the city is a talent magnet for animation professionals

“The success of Aardman has created a real centre of gravity here in Bristol,” says Miles Bullough, of Wildseed Studios, a St Paul’s-based company that invests directly in piloting ideas from creators.

“It’s made the city a talent magnet and UWE Bristol has, I believe, helped with that.”

Vicky Brophy and Michael Cash of Wonky have picked up numerous accolades

Vicky Brophy, one of the founders of Bedminster’s Wonky, confirms her company chose to launch in Bristol some 12 years ago precisely because it is such a hub for animation. BAFTA-nominated Wonky has also gone on to win international awards.

“Bristol’s whole animation ecosystem is fluid and constantly growing,” says Brophy.

“There’s a steady flow of students and freelancers through the variously sized animation companies.”

Wonky’s Ain’t No Fish, an in-house film that picked up multiple awards at film festivals around the world

Wonky plays a key role in bringing the animation community together with events such as AniJam, an annual 48-hour short animation film making competition which has been running for five years, in conjunction with Encounters.

Brophy says that increasingly creative companies and larger corporations are taking on in-house animators to feed a growing need for affordable video and online content – a trend she believes will only increase.

However, in the ever-fickle world of film and television, there are concerns around the fragility of the animation eco-system in the UK and the impact of Brexit on the incoming talent pool, funding and European collaborations.

Dylan Shipley and Louis Jones have had a busy year

Impending changes are certainly something the founders of Sun and Moon Studios are aware of, but Louis Jones and Dylan Shipley say they are optimistic about the future of the industry.

Their Paintworks-based company is coming to the end of a busy year, working on its first series for CBeebies – a cartoon called Kit and Pup – and another major project, that is being kept under wraps for now.

Sun and Moon has relied on Bristol’s pool of freelance talent to supplement its core staff and Dylan and Shipley welcome the added opportunities they hope Channel 4’s move will bring.

“It’s very exciting now with all the technology that’s around,” says Shipley, reflecting on the change from pencil and paper to digital in the industry. “But it means a lot of people don’t learn the basics first anymore.

“Animation is now accessible just with a PC. I think, on the whole, it’s a good thing of course, because its democratised the sector and it’s less elitist in that sense.”

Kit and Pup by Sun and Moon Studios

The other dramatic change is the attention span of audiences, which has shortened with the sheer volume of different media available.

The likes of Netflix and BBC iPlayer have already proved to be game-changers for the television sector and this is a trend that industry insiders anticipate will continue, with both Disney and Apple planning to launch their own platforms.

Encounters promotes and supports emerging talent. Photo by @JonCraig_Photos 07778606070

“Children’s series production has been given a welcome boost in the UK since the introduction of the Creative Industry Tax Relief Scheme in 2012,” says Sarah Cox, an Encounters Festival board member and Aardman executive.

“And the rise of streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon have also increased the demand for content, benefitting many companies in the city.

“The biggest challenge we face is an increased demand for more animation expertise in Bristol. Whilst the animation courses at UWE and the Aardman Academy both help to feed that need, we are always keen to welcome new talent to the city.

“Encounters really helps to showcase the city and its culture to the sector globally. We sincerely hope that the impact of Brexit will not impede the free movement of animation professionals from Europe that we so rely on.”

Training the next generation of animators

The city’s unique status and international reputation in the world of animation made a compelling case for establishing UWE’s Bristol School of Animation.

The centre is now housed in a new multi-million pound building on the university’s Bower Ashton, complete with industry-standard 3D GCI and 2D computer animations labs, as well as a top-notch stop-motion facility and other production studios.

2D Animation at the Bristol School of Animation

Rachel Mills, leader of the undergraduate programme, says student work is often recognised with awards, representation at international festivals and in the number of graduates who go on to work in leading animation companies in the city.

“One of the central aims of the course is to instil into students the idea that animation is a commercial profession, and that their time and skills hold a value,” she adds.

The school is key partners with Aardman and also has links with A Productions, Sun and Moon, Wildseed, Wonky and Rumpus, among others.

Laura Beth Cowley, a recent graduate, says: “I chose to study at UWE as I knew the course had a lot of brilliant opportunities and flexibility that would help to support my ambitions.

“An added benefit is being in Bristol, which is well known for being an animation industry hot spot.”

Read more: Aardman founders spill the beans in new autobiography