Our Leicester based animation studio creates fun, engaging and bespoke content for education and business. If you're interested in working together please don't hesitate to get in touch.
BRIEF
The V&A Museum of Childhood put out an open brief to create a short animation bringing to life ‘Barnacle Bill’, a script written in the 1950’s by 12 year old David Munrow. The animation would be targeted at audiences aged 2-8 years old and would become part of the ‘A Pirate’s Life for Me’ exhibition opening in autumn 2018.
WHAT WE CREATED
It happened to be the summer holidays when we saw the open brief, so what better way to entertain the kids than to get their help drawing characters and props from David’s play? We took the kids’ pencil drawings and transformed them digitally in to a hand drawn crayon style.
The team at the V&A Museum of Childhood gravitated towards our concept, as their intention was to put children at the heart of the exhibition and the childlike look and feel we created was a perfect tribute to David Munrow’s play. We collaborated closely with the exhibition organisers, who recruited school children to voice the characters in the animation. The end result was a short film, written, designed and performed by children, which is now entertaining children and grownups in the flagship new exhibition at one of London’s best loved museums.
Read more about the ideas behind the project at the V&A Blog
https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-life/the-tale-of-barnacle-bill
Read more about the exhibition: https://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/exhibitions/a-pirates-life-for-me/
BRIEF
Create an animation which will form part of an exhibition telling the story of Abington Estate in Northamptonshire through the ages. The film should be eye-catching and appealing to all ages, however, due to constraints, the film can not use any sound.
WHAT WE CREATED
Working closely with Leicester based Vertigo Creative, and with input from the Abington estate, we created designs for a host of characters who feature in the long history of the estate. Taking inspiration from a variety of sources, from medieval tapestries to Elizabethan portraits and including the architecture and landscape from the estate itself, we developed a visual style that would resonate with the whole family, while retaining a sense of the long history of Abington.
The exhibition contained various artefacts, each with the own story about how Abington has changed over the years. The animation we created helped to give an historical context and provided additional insight in to the political forces at play, and the influence the estate had on the changing landscape of Northamptonshire.
BRIEF
Produce two animations, which will form part of a series of baby care videos by BabyCenter. The animations focus on baby constipation and baby’s growth. Specifically, the meaning of baby growth charts and what a parent should do if their baby is constipating.
WHAT WE CREATED
For the constipation animation, we created a mother and child and placed them in a simple scene. Designed to be complementary to the BabyCenter brand, the video presented a clear explanation of this often worrying topic and offered tips on how best to deal with it, or when to seek help.
For baby growth, we created a host of different baby characters in all shapes and sizes. The aim was to present the subject in a fun, easy to digest format, that would break down some of the jargon and reassure parents that their baby is just unique!
Bespoke music by Gav Cantrell
BRIEF
Create an animated lesson for Ted-Ed telling the story of the infamous female pirate, Madame Zheng.
Madame Zheng, also known as Ching-Shih, had great influence and control over the China Sea in the early 19th century.
WHAT WE CREATED
We designed a range of characters to represent the many people who were involved with or influenced by this Most Successful Pirate. Placing these characters on a hand painted background enabled us to combine clean imagery, illustrating Madam Zheng’s many innovations, with richer, more detailed character designs and environments. Asian seascapes, Chinese junks and, of course, terrifying pirates come together to tell the incredible story of this strong, successful woman.
Bespoke soundtrack by Gav Cantrell
BRIEF
BabyCenter were looking for a new approach to tackle the topic of baby poop. Rather than using imagery of the real thing (yuk!) they were looking for something a little less disgusting, a lot more fun, engaging and something that people would want to share.
WHAT WE CREATED
We went for something cute, fun and informative, using a soft, textured, watercolour style to give this piece its own identity. This animation features a Mum and her baby with a whole parade of different poops, each with their own unique character.
BRIEF
Eternal Being required some fun and friendly animation to inform people about their well-being treatments and holistic approach to colonic hydrotherapy. The films would feature on their new website, social media and in the clinic to give an introduction to the unique services they offer.
The videos needed to inform, teach and entertain potential clientele. Helping them feel more comfortable with the colonic hydrotherapy treatments and give them an understanding of how the clinic works. The aim of these introductory videos was to give a basic overview to encourage further exploration of the clinic website.
WHAT WE CREATED
Based in Leicester, we were able to work closely with the client, meeting staff members and visiting the clinic.
Eternal Being is run by a small team and we created bright and colourful characters for each of them to feature in the films. Working together with the client we wrote a fun script that didn’t take itself too seriously but still provided all the information required.
The client wanted to avoid the usual clinical approach that is generally seen with colonic hydrotherapy. We themed the animations around the company's new branding which features natural shapes and colours. With bright colour schemes and the use of character animation we were able to create films with a different and refreshing approach to the subject matter.
We created two animations for use online as well as an animated menu of services to be displayed in the clinic window and waiting room. This film featured two editable slides at the end that the staff can update with monthly special offers.
Bespoke music by Gav Cantrell
Additional Animation by Mair Perkins
BRIEF
BabyCentre UK wanted us to create a short educational animation in a similar style to those we had created for US.
These films were sponsored by Aquafresh and teach new parents about their babies teeth growth and care.
WHAT WE CREATED
We used the BabyCenter brand colours as our starting point to design a fun baby character who would appeal to cultures around the world.
The combination of simple character animation, clear voice over and text on screen ensured the videos provided clear information to the viewers.
Bespoke music by Gav Cantrell
BRIEF
An animated lesson for Ted-Ed telling the history of how tea came to be one of the most popular drinks in the world.
WHAT WE CREATED
Inspired by the simplicity and soft muted tones of traditional Chinese art we brought to life the fascinating story of the History of Tea and the significant impact it has had on the world. Using simple animation and strong designs we created an engaging educational piece for all ages.
Bespoke soundtrack by Gav Cantrell
BRIEF
Following the success of our last project BabyCenter required another two short educational animations. They were looking for a new style of video combined with text elements that would work on mobile devices with no audio.
WHAT WE CREATED
To add some variety we designed two different pregnant characters for these films using the BabyCenter brand colours as our starting point. The combination of simple character animation and text on screen ensured the videos were in keeping with the other animations in the series as well as providing clear information on screen for the viewers.
Bespoke music by Gav Cantrell
A collection of animations released in the run up to Christmas 2016. The dancing Christmas dinner features all the traditional roast dinner favourites. #DancingDinner
BRIEF
A strong yet feminine design to tell the story of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut.
WHAT WE CREATED
We took a different aesthetic approach to this commission from Ted-Ed. Exploring ancient Egyptian art as our basis for the design and creating a strong distinctive character for the focus of the lesson, Hatshepsut.
BRIEF
To create two short educational animations for Baby Center. The client wanted something fun and quirky that would appeal to mothers-to-be looking for advice on their pregnancy.
WHAT WE CREATED
A custom character to be featured in both animations. Sticking closely to the companies’ branding and colours, we created a strongly branded informative film.
Bespoke music by Gav Cantrell
'Frequent Urination' was a Gold Winner at the Digital Health Awards, 2016.
BRIEF
1. To create a series of educational animations for Mandarin teaching company Dragons in Europe. These first five episodes were based on the content of Primary School Chinese Book 1.
2. To refresh the existing character designs used in the print publication, and to bring Mike & Candy’s learning adventure to a new medium.
This series of animations were created for the ‘Kung Fu Kingdom’ online portal and YouTube channel.
WHAT WE CREATED
Working closely with a producer at ‘Dragons in Europe’, we gave input on the script writing process and assisted with designing the storyboards. This was to ensure that the content covered all the learning objectives, and was still a fun and engaging animation.
The animation series was completed with a fresh new look and feel, while maintaining the comic style of the original illustrations.
BRIEF
Create an animated lesson for Ted-Ed telling the history of the Great Wall of China.
The client needed an engaging piece of animation telling the story of the Great Wall’s construction, and the rulers of China who wanted it built.
WHAT WE CREATED
We recreated a traditional Chinese painting style with a mix of 2D and 3D animation. Using the character style from our previous Ted-Ed history lessons, we placed them in this new environment.
Bespoke soundtrack by Gav Cantrell
GIFs have become such a major trend on social media, so we decided to join in the fun and create some of our own.
Taking inspiration from occasions and special events, we created some fun graphics and brought them to life as little animated loops.
BRIEF
To create an animated short film celebrating the life of Northamptonshire author & illustrator Denys Watkins-Pitchford ‘BB’. The main objective was to tell the story of BB in a modern medium and introduce his life story and work to a new generation of audience.
WHAT WE CREATED
A large team of artists, animators, editors, and sound engineers and musicians worked together to bring this interesting story to life. This film was created entirely from scratch – right from research, concept, and script to production and post-production.
Commissioned by Rosalind Stoddart as part of the ‘BB and his World’ project. The film premiered in Spring 2012 and was released online in 2014.
To learn more about how we put the film together you can visit our production blog.
BRIEF
To create an animated history lesson for Ted-Ed about how the Silk Road connected the ancient world through trade. The end goal of the animation was to tell the story of how the Silk Road grew over centuries to become a huge trade network across Europe & Asia.
WHAT WE CREATED
Over 20 custom characters were designed for the piece from across history and the world. This gave us a lot of fun elements to work with and places in history to design. This resulted in us creating a varied and engaging piece.
BRIEF
To create an animated lesson for Ted-Ed about the mysterious ghostly neutrinos that inhabits our universe. The objective was to have clear and engaging visual representation of neutrinos and the science behind the work at the IceCube telescope.
WHAT WE CREATED
To create this science animation we used a clean flat graphic approach with a distinct fun character to explain the science behind the neutrinos.
BRIEF
To create an animated lesson for Ted-Ed looking at the past, present and future of the bubonic plague.
WHAT WE CREATED
We focused on the explanation about the history and science behind the spread of the bubonic plague.
We then created custom graphics in-house; followed by using the photo reference from Sharon N. DeWitte’s lab to recreate 2D illustrations of the bones found in the graves. We also included a custom character design so Sharon could feature as the scientist in her own lesson.
BRIEF
To create an explainer video for New York based recruitment company Yeeldr. Refresh their existing company explainer by incorporating a new game theme.
WHAT WE CREATED
Working closely with the Yeeldr team, we brought to life their script, for a fun, game-themed explainer video.
Using photo reference and personal requests of the team members, we also created individual character graphics for use in the film and on the company website and social media.
Organised by Leicester based group Watch This Space the event at Lyveden New Bield was a mixture of fireworks, dramatic lighting, projection, performance art, and original soundtrack that explored the buildings direct links to the gunpowder plot of 1605.
BRIEF
To create a large scale animation exploring the history and construction behind the National Trust Property, Lyveden New Bield. This animation was to be projected as part of a performance-based bonfire night event at Lyveden New Bield, in Northamptonshire.
WHAT WE CREATED
Working in collaboration with a selection of artists and animators, we designed and animated the blueprint animation. We also created additional sequences to be back projected in the windows of the building.
BRIEF
To create an animated projection for the Horse & Bamboo Theatre production ‘Little Leap Forward’.
WHAT WE CREATED
A Chinese paper cutout style of animation for our client to use in the show ‘Little Leap Forward’, by Horse & Bamboo Theatre.
Centred around the traditional Chinese paper cuts style, we designed birds, dragonflies and fish to be projected as part of the performance.
