Charley Longden

Market Trends and Industry Trends

Explain all their products and services

Based in Bristol, UK, four times Academy Award winning Aardman Animations is renowned for its
work in model animation, spanning films, such as Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
and Chicken Run, TV series and commercials. The Production Technology team required a solution to
allow them to remotely support computers used in the editing and animation studios

Aardman animations are most popular for producing feature films like Wallace and Gromit and
Shaun the Sheep, however they also produce other elements also. They also produce, shorts,
sketches, series, adverts, apps, games and brand development.

Aardman works with advertising agencies and brands in all territories, to create advertising
campaigns across all media platforms. There branded content work draws both from knowledge of
creating stories for broadcast and features as well as from their experience of working with brands
recent work includes; Change 4 life, Hersheys, Chevron, Serta mattresses, Npower and Mcvities.

Aardman combines the renowned talents of directors, developers, designers and animators to
produce engaging interactive content for their characters and external clients alike. As well as
building games, they also distribute, seed and encourage competition, promoting brands and
campaigns to a massive global audience.

Research their product diversity

The company's first success came with the 1970s children's television character Morph. Morph was
produced for the BBC by Aardman Animations, later famous for the "Sledgehammer" music video
and Wallace and Gromit. Morph appeared mainly in one-minute "shorts" interspersed throughout
the show. These were connected to the main show by having Hart deliver a line or two to Morph
who would reply in gobbledygook but with meaningful gestures. Later Morph was joined by cream-
coloured Chas, who was much more badly behaved. Morph can change shape, he would become
spheres to move around, or extrude into cylinders to pass to different levels. He can also mimic
other objects, or creatures. Morph lived in a wooden microscope box on an artist's desk, and he and
Stuart both loved to eat cake, as seen in many of the shorts. Some of the early plasticine models of
Morph were destroyed in a fire at the warehouse where they were being stored, on 10 October
2005.
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Explain profitability of product range

Aardman, the Oscar-nominated animation studio behind Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and
Morph, has reported growth in revenue in its latest accounts, covering its 40th anniversary year.

However, uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the US election has affected the company's advertising
division.

The latest results for Aardman Holdings Ltd show turnover of £26.3m in the year ending 31
December 2016, up from £23.6m in 2015. Of this, £7.1m was generated through the group's feature
film activities, up from £5.1m. However, pre-tax profit dipped to £2.7m from £2.9m the year before.

During the year, Aardman began work on Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park's latest film Early
Man. The picture is due to complete this year ahead of its planned release in early 2018.

Kerry Lock, Aardman finance director, said: "We are pleased with the steady results for 2016, despite
a year of uncertainty particularly affecting the advertising market. We are currently busy completing
Nick Park's latest film Early Man and are very much looking forward to its release in early 2018."

A sequel to the Oscar-nominated Shaun the Sheep: The Movie was also got the green light, with a
provisional release scheduled for the first half of 2019.

Research their main customers

I’m now going to be looking at the target audience for Chicken Run, as it is one of Aardman
animations first films. The film doesn’t seem to be aimed at a specific gender as there is something
in the film for both genders to enjoy. There is a primarily female cast of characters led by a strong,
female leader and a romance between her and Rocky for the girls and lots of action scenes that are
full of tension and excitement for the boys. According to the website Pearl and Dean, 53% of Chicken
Run’s general audience is female whereas 47% are male. This is a near even split but the film still
seems to have a slightly larger appeal with the female demographic. The age group for Chicken Run
appears to be quite varied by according to the Pearl and Dean website, the highest percentage of
viewers in a certain age group is 45+ at 25%, followed by 25-34 and 35-44, both at 18%. A lot of
parents take their children to go and see family films like Chicken Run, which explains why there is
such a high adult percentage of viewership. And according to a review of Chicken Run on Common
Sense Media, this may also be because the film, despite its initial child-friendly appearance, may be
too scary for very young children. There are some offscreen deaths and subtle sex and alcohol jokes.
This makes it slightly more appealing to the parents of the children rather than the children
themselves. However, some kids like to be scared, like those who enjoy the works of Roald Dahl, and
most are too young to understand the hidden adult messages, so the film still maintains its family
appeal.

Research to see if there are any sequels in the making

Shaun the Sheep Movie 2 is the next sequel being created by Aardman animations and is the sequel
to the film Shaun the sheep. It will be directed by Richard Starzak and produced by Paul Kewley, the
team who brought you Shaun's original Oscar-nominated movie. Pre-production will commence
January 2017. It is believed that this film will be released in 2019, which gives Aardman plenty of
time to create this film.

Shaun the Sheep Movie is a 2015 British stop-motion animated adventure comedy film inspired by
the television series Shaun the Sheep, created by Nick Park. The film follows Shaun and his flock into
the big city to rescue their farmer, who found himself amnesiac there because of their mischief. was
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produced by Aardman Animations, and financed by Studio Canal in association with Anton Capital
Entertainment, with the former also distributing the film in the United Kingdom and several other
European countries. Richard Starzak and Mark Burton wrote and directed the film, Ilan Eshkeri
composed the music, and Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, and Omid Djalili provided the voices. The
film premiered on 24 January 2015, at the Sundance Film Festival, and was theatrically released in
the United Kingdom on 6 February 2015. The film made $106.2 million dollars at the box office and
has a 99% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Aardman property rights

Hopster, the preschool learning and entertainment platform, has reached an agreement with
Aardman for global distribution of its originally produced content. The collaboration with Aardman
includes free and pay television broadcasters, VOD channels and home entertainment. The new deal
marks a significant evolution in the development and distribution of Hopster’s original IP as it takes
content created specifically for Hopster’s digital subscribers and delivers it to broad-based audiences
through mainstream distribution channels.

Following the show’s success amongst Nicksters, the brand is all set to launch a whole new attractive
range of merchandise for its ardent fans. Acquiring the rights from the show creators Aardman,
Nickelodeon has partnered with Toy Triangle for distributing the much-awaited range which is
expected to hit the Indian market by June 2013.

Explain what is the meaning of outsourcing and how do Aardman do this?

Outsourcing is the business practice of hiring a party outside a company to perform services and
create goods that traditionally were performed in-house by the company's own employees and staff.
Usually done as a cost-cutting measure, it can affect jobs ranging from customer support to
manufacturing to the back office. Outsourcing was first recognized as a business strategy in 1989
and became an integral part of international business economics throughout the 1990s. The practice
of outsourcing is subject to considerable controversy in many countries. Those opposed argue it has
caused the loss of domestic jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Supporters say it creates
an incentive for businesses and companies to allocate resources where they are most effective, and
that outsourcing helps maintain the nature of free market economies on a global scale.

To create an Aardman animation they will need plasticine to create the models. This is where
Aardman will outsource because they will need to bring large amounts of this plasticine in from a
different company. The company that Aardman get there plasticine from is a company called
Newplast. Newplast Plasticine is a non-drying, re-usable modelling material. It is still available in the
traditional layered bar form familiar to many generations of children and adults. Newplast is
sufficiently pliable to make a wide variety of models, but is firm enough to retain its shape
indefinitely. Newplast is the material specified by most animators as being the only fit-for-purpose
product of its type available.

Another Aardman outsourcing example is there new partnership with sunrise productions. Aardman
today announced a new global TV distribution partnership between their Rights and Brand
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Development division and Cape Town based studio Sunrise Productions. Aardman will represent
Sunrise’s brand new non-dialogue animated series Munki and Trunk (52 x 7’), which will premiere at
MIPCOM Junior. Commenting on the partnership, Alison Taylor, newly appointed Head of Sales and
Acquisitions said: “We are really excited to be teaming up with Sunrise Productions, a pioneering
studio who has a similar approach to producing high quality animation as we do here at Aardman.
Munki and Trunk is a beautifully crafted CGI series, with wonderful character design and brilliantly
funny storylines. It’s sure to make kids laugh out loud and we are excited to be showing it to our
partners for the very first time at MIPCOM Junior”.

Explain who are their major competitors

Aardman’s major competitor is the company Pixar. Pixar, also referred to as Pixar Animation Studios,
is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California that is a subsidiary of
The Walt Disney Company. Pixar has produced nineteen feature films, beginning with Toy Story
(1995), which was the first-ever computer-animated feature film, and its most recent being Coco
(2017). All 19 of its films have debuted with CinemaScore ratings of at least an "A−," indicating
positive receptions with audiences. The studio has also produced several short films. As of July 2017,
its feature films have earned approximately $11 billion at the worldwide box office, with an average
worldwide gross of $634 million per film. Finding Nemo (2003), along with its sequel Finding Dory
(2016), as well as Toy Story 3 (2010) are among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time, with the
lattermost film being the third all-time highest-grossing animated film with a gross of $1.063 billion.
Fourteen of Pixar's films are also among the 50 highest-grossing animated films of all time.

This effects Aardman in many ways. Firstly, Aardman must try and compete with Pixar’s popularity,
by doing this they need to make better quality and more memorable films. In a way, having
competition could help Aardman be more motivated in the films they make.

Another one of Aardmans major competitors is Blue Sky. Blue Sky Studios is an American computer
animation film studio based in Greenwich, Connecticut that has been owned by 20th Century Fox
since 1997. The studio was founded in 1987 by Chris Wedge, Michael Ferraro, Carl Ludwig, Alison
Brown, David Brown, and Eugene Troubetzkoy after the company they worked in, MAGI, one of the
visual effects studios behind Tron (1982), shut down. Using its in-house rendering software, the
studio had worked on visual effects for commercials and films before completely dedicating itself to
animated film production in 2002 starting with the release of Ice Age.
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Find out about how they research and develop their next product

Aardman researches and develops innovative digital products using new technology. Partners
include the Intellectual Property Office to develop the World of Cracking Ideas website. Before the
design stage, they research how digital ‘platforms’ like video games, websites, online communities,
virtual worlds and viral marketing create new ways for people to work and play. It’s also important
for Aardman to know how people learn across different platforms, take in information and
understand stories.

Innovative ideas surround us in everyday life. Every idea has its origin in the creativity of one person.
Their creativity – a product for the home, a piece of machinery, a software programme, a song, an
animated character, a brand name – is protected by their Intellectual Property (IP) rights. These
rights identify the creator as the owner of the idea and enable them to earn money from it so they
can continue to innovate.

Research rights and brand development

Aardman are always trying to develop their brand, one example of this is creating morph emoji
stickers. Morph is one of Aardmans first characters, and to keep up with modern day popularity they
are creating Morph emoji stickers. Aardman have today released a bumper iMessage sticker pack
which includes 16 Morph emojis to celebrate the beloved character’s 40th Anniversary. The pack is
perfect for fans of all ages and can be downloaded free from the App Store. Inspired by the
internationally popular Emoji’s currently taking the world by storm, Aardman co-founder and co-
creator of Morph, Peter Lord sculpted the emoji by hand using modelling clay, before graphics and
animation were added to bring them to life. The range of emoji’s cover a wide variety of hilarious
expressions from angry to embarrassed, a Morph thumbs up, a Morph ‘in love’ and even Morph’s
take on the popular poo emoji.

Another way Aardman are expanding their brand is the new interactive family attraction is being
unveiled in Cornwall this half-term, starring much-loved characters from Aardman. The ‘Aardman
Presents: A Grand Experience’, attraction is based at Land’s End and replaces the landmark
destination’s successful Shaun the Sheep Experience. Iconic Aardman characters Wallace & Gromit
and Morph join Shaun’s farmyard friends within the attraction, which offers an entertaining
experience for all ages, themed around some of the studio’s biggest TV and film successes.
Improving and expanding upon the Shaun the Sheep Experience, the new site gives visitors the
chance to step into Wallace & Gromit’s living room, explore Wallace’s workshop and help build one
of his Cracking Contraptions, before climbing on board a rocket to the moon.

Research ‘Nathan Love’ subsidiary of Aardman in NYC.

Aardman is thrilled to announce they will acquire a majority share in renowned New York based
Animation company Nathan Love, bringing together two of the world’s most exciting animation
studios. The new company to be re-branded Aardman Nathan Love is a ground-breaking venture for
the studio, signalling its first permanent production facility outside the UK and further establishes
the company’s commitment to its advertising business.

Speaking of the decision to create a New York based company David Sproxton, Co-founder and
Executive Chairman of Aardman said “We’re so excited to welcome Nathan Love to the Aardman
family. Teaming up with an existing company gives us the opportunity to hit the ground running and
a solid base from which to grow. This venture is not about sending work back to the UK. It’s about
building a new business in New York for American agencies and we feel we can do this more
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effectively by being there. Aardman’s vision is to be the most inspirational animation company in the
World, in the eyes of its talent, partners and audiences, for generations to come. Aardman Nathan
Love will allow us to expand this vision in the US”

Nathan Love founded by Joe Burrascano in 2007 is one of the most respected animation production
houses in New York. Nathan Love produce advertising for several high-profile clients and brands
including Kellogg’s, Kraft, Pepsi, NBC Universal and Nickelodeon.

Explain the diversity of techniques used at Aardman

When Aardman create a product, there is a variety of techniques that they can use. They can use, 2D
products, 3D products, animated products, AR, CGI, Live Action, Paper Craft, Puppeteering and stop
motion animation.

An example of an Aardman CGI product is a 30 second commercial for Vimto soft drinks to launch
the brands new remix range. The new product strategy is designed to engage and entertain a
younger audience and the new ad features the ‘Vimtoad’ character, originally created by Aardman
back in 2014, taking on a rival toad in an epic fruit fight! Directed by Will Studd, the beautiful CG ad
takes influence from action movie scenes as the toads battle in a frantic exchange of two mixes of
fruit representing the flavours in original Vimto and Vimto Remix and is set to the recently released
grime track “Do you really want to do this” by Box Bottom featuring Dubble A Stars and Nat Jay.

An example of Aardman using the live action technique is the advert that they made starring Bryan
Cranston. Created by Aardman and starring Bryan, the campaign confronts misunderstanding
around dementia – using nothing more than an orange. Bryan, who lost his mother Audrey ‘Peggy’
Sell to Alzheimer’s disease in 2004, is supporting the latest chapter in the charity’s award-winning
#ShareTheOrange campaign.

They have also created products using the stop motion technique. Braun – the manufacturer of
some of the world’s most-loved shaving and styling products – has partnered with Aardman to
create a stop motion animation film using real men’s beards! Created to mark the launch of the
brand-new Braun Styling Range, the Braun Beardimation video uses advanced stop frame animation
to take the viewer on a journey of eye-catching shapes, patterns and designs as they are etched into
facial and body hair using the Braun styling tools. The video features face, heads and chests of over
50 men to convey a scintillating story of precision that inspires creativity when it comes to shaving.