Unit 12 Assignment 1

Report

Founding
The company was founded in 1972 by Peter Lord and David Sproxton who wanted to pursue
their dream of making an animated motion picture through this company as a small time
project, the company first started by producing a few features for the show “Vision on”
which was a TV show for blind children, after a few other famous projects/TV shows such as
“Morph” and “Wallace and Gromit” they eventually made their first motion picture when
they Collaborated with DreamWorks animation to make the film “Chicken Run” in 1997, this
film was released in 2000 and made over $225 million in box office alone.

After that collaboration, the two companies went on to produce a few other feature length
films including the return of Wallace and Gromit in “Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were
Rabbit” and “Flushed away” (Aardmans first none Claymation animation), after flushed
away was released, the partnership ended due to their business models no longer being
compatible.

Since then the company has gone on independently producing films and series a few
Wallace and Gromit films and TV shows; they also have created a few games on
Newgrounds and created a YouTube channel where they post promotional and BTS content.
From 2007 to 2010 they made a three-year contract with Sony Pictures Entertainment and
created a few feature length films like The Pirates! On an adventure with scientists! And
Arthur Christmas. Since that contract, they’ve continued making films and TV shows
including the “Shaun the sheep” series and even a “Shaun the sheep movie” that they
released in 2015 and they have just finished working on a film called “Early man” with the
British Film Institute, this film was released on the 26 th of January 2018.

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 Unit 12 Assignment 1
Timeline of activity
1975
The company made an animation
called “greeblies” on the BBC TV
show called “Vision On”.
1982
Channel 4 hired the company
to make a series of shorts
called “Conversation pieces”
which were aimed at a more
adult audience.
1989
Channel 4 got Aardman to
make another animated
series for them called “Lip
Synch”.
1995
They made a second Wallace
and Gromit film called “A
close shave” which was also
successful and made the
company and its films much
more widely known.
2000
Aardman teamed up with
Dreamworks to make their
first full-length theatrical
feature called “Chicken Run”
making $220 million in box
office alone.
1972
After leaving school Peter Lord and
David Sproxton continued their
animation partnership and made a
company based around it registering
it under the name “Aardman
animations”.
1976
The company made their first
professional production
“Morph” on a TV show called
“Take Heart”.
1986
Aardman worked with Peter
Gabriel and The Brothers
Quay to make the animation
in the music video
“Sledgehammer”.
1993
Aardman made the award
winning “Wallace and
Gromit: The wrong trousers”
animated movie which was
30 minutes long and is one of
the most successful animated
movies to date.
1998
The company won an award
for an 11-minute animation
they made for channel 4
called “Stage fright”
2002
A series called Cracking
interpretations was released
on multiple platforms.
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Unit 12 Assignment 1

2005
Another Wallace and Gromit
film “Curse of the Were-
Rabbit” won the company
multiple awards.
2007
Aardman started their
popular series “Shaun the
Sheep”, it made its debut in
March 2007 on BBC1 and
CBBC.
2009
Wallace and Gromit were
featured in the “A world of
cracking ideas” exhibition in
the science museum of
London.
2011-2012
The company teamed up
with Sony pictures animation
to make “Arthur Christmas”
and other feature length
films.
2006
The companies first CG
animated film “Flushed
away” was made and was
nominated for a BAFTA.
2008
A Wallace and Gromit
animation called “A matter of
loaf and death” got a record
breaking viewership of 16.15
million, got the company
another BAFTA and got
nominated for an Oscar.
2010
The company made a series for Wallace
and Gromit called “Wallace and Gromit’s
world of invention” which was released on
BBC1 and gained the company their first
BAFTA in new media, the series also got a
website and a game based on it.
2013
The company raised over £2
million in their “Gromit
unleashed” charity event.

Present
The company has released a
film called early man which
has earned $22 million so far
in its ongoing box office.

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Unit 12 Assignment 1

Jobs/Roles
The company currently has around 200-500 staff members who either work on producing
content within the company, help manage the company business wise or keep the
company’s studio and its facilities in check, the list bellow displays jobs involved in
producing the content for the company.

Animator
Description

An animator is someone who is able to create multiple still images called frames with such
precision that when played in rapid succession it looks like a realistic moving image, in
Aardman they use the stop motion technique for a stop motion/Claymation film to create
the main products that Aardman releases, films and TV shows. Animators need artistic
talent and good technical skills along with a good eye for detail and good storytelling skills.

Working patterns
Animators work on projects as opposed to continuously supplying a demand as animations
are not in as high a demand as other products so animators search for projects they could
work on through either, networking, word of mouth or the internet and find a project that
they can work on and some even make work of their own independently and sell it/post it
on social media to both make money without a client and to attract people looking
animators.

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Unit 12 Assignment 1

Level of responsibility
Animators have to take a decent amount of responsibility as they have to either work on
projects individually and base their schedule around projects that they are working on or
they will have to make animations without a client and sell these animations on their own as
a project for entertainment/education etc.

Skill set

Most animators require good artistic talent and technical skills along with a good eye for
detail, communication/ storytelling skills, the ability to work with others and taking
directions, they also tend to have networking skills and commitment to projects through
previous work experience all in addition to being good at time management so that they are
able to cope with multiple projects at a time.

Graphic designer
Description
A graphic designer is someone who specialises in creating graphics by combining images and
typo graphics normally inside a graphic design software. In Aardman a graphic designer will
have to create designs for images and logos which will be used on signs within the
Claymation itself on the props or digitally added during editing for a title sequence or
something of that nature. A graphic designer needs to be passionate with an enthusiasm for
design and have a creative flair along with accuracy and attention to detail in terms of
creating designs.

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Unit 12 Assignment 1

Working patterns
Graphic designers work on projects with clients as opposed to continuously supplying a
demand as animations are not in as high a demand as other products so animators search
for projects they could work on through either, networking, word of mouth or the internet
and find a project that they can work on.

Level of responsibility
Being a graphic designer requires a decent amount of responsibility in terms of being able to
set up a schedule for yourself since the vast majority of graphic designers work on individual
projects as a freelancer which means they have to apply for jobs continuously and keep
themselves in check.

Skill set

Graphic designers are passionate with an enthusiasm for design and have a creative flair, in
order to suit the role, they are also required to be good at working on a team of people with
exceptional communication skill so that they can interpret and negotiate briefs with clients
effectively and should also be good at time management so that they are able to cope with
multiple projects at a time while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail in terms of
creating designs.

Creative director
Description
The creative director is someone who guides the people making anything for the final
product such as the aforementioned animator or graphic designer and makes sure that they
follow the intended design. A creative director in Aardman will keep tabs on the animators,
editors, artists and other people to make sure that what they’re doing fits in with what
everyone else is doing so that once it’s put together they fit together to make a good and
cohesive film. A creative director needs to have good interpretational and leadership skills

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Unit 12 Assignment 1

along with creativity and good knowledge of the software that is involved in the creation of
the films.

Working patterns
A creative director would tend to a work full time and permanent contract at a company
since having the same creative director can help keep the same style and allow the company
to maintain their vision/goals on how to go through with business if they have someone
who works with them constantly.

Level of responsibility
The creative director has a high amount of responsibility when it comes to creating the
product as they have to make sure everybody understands the task at hand and are moving
forward appropriately to accomplish the task at hand since the creative director is
directing/guiding the people designing the product itself.

Skill set

In order to suit the role of a creative director, the person has to be passionate and need to
be creative, it is almost a necessity to be good at working with and leading a team and
having good communication skill so that they can understand negotiate ideas with the
different people on the team effectively and should also be good at time management to
the point where they can keep track of time for themselves and other people on the team.

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Unit 12 Assignment 1

CG supervisor
Description
The CG supervisors are a group of people involved in the production and management of
the computer-generated imagery that may be involved in the creation of an animation,
often there are multiple CG supervisors who specialise and work on different areas of the
production. A CG supervisor needs to keep themselves up to date with the latest technology
involved in the field, able to provide clear direction to everyone involved in their CG
departments and are able to train staff and review what they are doing.

Working patterns
Since the supervisor will be likely working on a team of supervisors to make sure that the
CGI is being produced in a reasonable manner a CG supervisor will likely not be employed on
permanent contracts since they’re only there to make sure that the CG is progressing and is
being prepared correctly as opposed to a more individually unique job such as designing and
creating the CG in the software themselves.

Level of responsibility
A CG supervisor has a reasonable amount of responsibility since they have to make sure
they keep up to date with CG production and make sure that everything is going well,
however even though they have to take responsibility for other people to make sure that
the staff are doing everything correctly, they normally share the role with a few people
which really lightens their role.

Skill set

In order to assume the mantle of a CG supervisor, one has to be driven and passionate
about the technology involved in creating CGI, they also need to be good at working with
people on a team and leading some of the people they’re working with along with proficient
skill in communication so that they can give people instructions on set and explain to people
how and why they do things in a certain way when working with the technology in an easy
to understand manner.

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