Aardman was founded in 1976 as a low-budget project byPeter Lord and David Sproxton, who wanted to realise their dream of producing an animated motion picture. The partnership provided animated sequences for the BBC series for deaf children Vision On creating Morph, a simple clay character. Around the same time Lord and Sproxton made their first foray into adult animation with the shorts Down and Out and Confessions of a Foyer Girl, entries in the BBC'sAnimated Conversations series using real-life conversations as soundtracks. However, these two shorts were not actual Aardman productions. Aardman also created the title sequence for The Great Egg Race.
Later Aardman produced a number of shorts for Channel 4 including the Conversation Pieces series. These five shorts worked in the same area as the Animated Conversationspieces, but were more sophisticated. Lord and Sproxton began hiring more animators at this point; three of the newcomers made their directorial debut at Aardman with the Lip Synchseries. Of the five Lip Synch shorts two were directed by Peter Lord, one by Barry Purves, one by Richard Goleszowski and one by Nick Park.
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is an Academy Award-winning British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit. However, it successfully entered the computer animation market with Flushed Away
Job Roles
AnimatorsWith two feature films in various stages of production and development, we may need strong clay animators with proven high level experience. To help us push the boundaries of the art form, you’ll need an exceptional sense of various acting and performance styles. You would be asked for to submit a VHS showreel showing scenes you have animated and include a basic portfolio showing character designs and storyboards.Assistant AnimatorsOur productions demand artists who demonstrate animation, model making and sculpting skills to serve as assistants on our feature film projects. You would be asked to submit a VHS showreel showing scenes you have animated, and a basic portfolio showing character designs and storyboards. A knowledge of photography is also useful.Storyboard ArtistsAn Aardman storyboard artist should be able to effectively communicate emotions and feeling through staging, character design, posing and enthusiastic storytelling. You would be asked to submit a portfolio with samples of previous storyboards, character design and model sheets as well as personal sketches, which show your ability to convey a story. Strong traditional skills such as life drawing, sculpture, painting and photography are also desirable.
Layout Artists Successful layout artists are those who can see the forest and the trees. A cinematographer’s eye and a basic understanding of film-making are extremely helpful for this position. You would be asked to submit a portfolio including drawings, which demonstrate an ability for perspective, composition, lighting and staging. You may also include comic book or comic strip samples. Strong traditional skills in such areas as life drawing, sculpture, painting and photography are preferred.
CGI Animators CGI Animators utilise 2D and 3D digital tools to bring characters and scenes to life. Artistic sensibility in the areas of modelling, lighting and animation is preferred along with experience on high-end 3D animation tools. Traditional animation experience including overlap and follow through, squash and stretch staging and composition and primary and secondary action is a definite plus.
It is also appropriate for innovative and talented individuals who are interested in developing new techniques for modelling organic shapes from conceptual artwork. Appropriate experience would include high-end 3D computer graphic packages as well as such programs as Maya, Softimage, 3D Studio Max. A knowledge of PhotoShop is desirable.
CGI Animators CGI Animators utilise 2D and 3D digital tools to bring characters and scenes to life. Artistic sensibility in the areas of modelling, lighting and animation is preferred along with experience on high-end 3D animation tools. Traditional animation experience including overlap and follow through, squash and stretch staging and composition and primary and secondary action is a definite plus.
It is also appropriate for innovative and talented individuals who are interested in developing new techniques for modelling organic shapes from conceptual artwork. Appropriate experience would include high-end 3D computer graphic packages as well as such programs as Maya, Softimage, 3D Studio Max. A knowledge of PhotoShop is desirable.
Characters/Props/Sets
with the characters used in the Aardman movies you can see that it takes them a lot of time and that they take great care making the videos. The characters are made out of clay and it takes them a lot of time to make them, they often make different heads for the characters with different facial expressions so that they don't have to make the whole character so many times. The sets often are made life size and or just below, depending on the shots they are shooting. When people make props they have to dedicate a certain prop to one person so a lady made vegetables for a whole year and one lady made carrots.
Filming- Camera/Techniques
Shoot everything on film at the moment. The 35mm film cameras they mainly use "Mitchells" and have, in most cases, been considerably adapted to our purposes. For example, they have video assist cameras which look through the lenses on our film cameras so the animators can see the picture that will be recorded on each frame of film.
The other camera that they still sometimes use which is more affordable is the 16mm Bolex. Failing that, you’d have to be thinking about super 8mm. Peter Lord’s book ‘Cracking Animation’ goes into these issues more thoroughly.
Aardman Animation Techniques
Bibliography
http://www.telepathy.co.uk/aardman/culture/faqs.html
http://www.edenproject.com/blog/index.php/2013/02/how-to-animate-stop-motion-tips-from-aardman/
with the characters used in the Aardman movies you can see that it takes them a lot of time and that they take great care making the videos. The characters are made out of clay and it takes them a lot of time to make them, they often make different heads for the characters with different facial expressions so that they don't have to make the whole character so many times. The sets often are made life size and or just below, depending on the shots they are shooting. When people make props they have to dedicate a certain prop to one person so a lady made vegetables for a whole year and one lady made carrots.
Filming- Camera/Techniques
Shoot everything on film at the moment. The 35mm film cameras they mainly use "Mitchells" and have, in most cases, been considerably adapted to our purposes. For example, they have video assist cameras which look through the lenses on our film cameras so the animators can see the picture that will be recorded on each frame of film.
The other camera that they still sometimes use which is more affordable is the 16mm Bolex. Failing that, you’d have to be thinking about super 8mm. Peter Lord’s book ‘Cracking Animation’ goes into these issues more thoroughly.
Aardman Animation Techniques
Bibliography
http://www.telepathy.co.uk/aardman/culture/faqs.html
http://www.edenproject.com/blog/index.php/2013/02/how-to-animate-stop-motion-tips-from-aardman/
Merit For D - Reference Elucidated examples
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