Aardman Animations has created iconic, globally beloved characters for over 50 years. Despite this success, Aardman are facing the same problem as many creative organisations: the costs of production are going up, while the pay from commissioners stays the same. These rising costs per minute are particularly detrimental in stop-motion animation, which is inherently time-consuming.
Challenge
To create financial sustainability, new technologies must be utilised within the business. This poses an obvious challenge. How can you embed innovative new technologies in an organisation that is world-renowned for its hand-made ethos? Can Aardman combine the physical and the digital, while keeping material practice at the core of what they do?
Approach
Aardman received funding, a research fellow, and access to facilities and networks over the course of 13 months. The dedicated R&D team interviewed over 40 stakeholders to identify what digital tools could be most helpful in the pre-production process, before conducting experiments into how virtual production technologies can be implemented on a ‘model scale’.
Result
Importantly, this project has successfully shown how R&D can be a powerful tool to respond to changing market conditions, helping Aardman stay agile and future-focused. As a result, Aardman has continued conducting R&D beyond their project with MyWorld, embedding a lasting culture of innovation across the organisation.
“Without MyWorld, we wouldn't have approached a traditional and structured form of R&D. MyWorld being a catalyst and the desire for change happening internally, allowed us to set up a new R&D unit.”
Creating a culture of research, development and innovation
Crucially, these stakeholders were kept engaged throughout the process. The R&D unit was located on the studio floor, amongst ongoing productions, so crew members could look behind the curtain and engage with the practicality of what was being created. Regular demonstrations and feedback sessions were held to allow continued iteration of tools that were intuitive and fit into the stop-motion crew’s traditional practices.
This transparent structure of R&D was key to showing the creatives at Aardman how technologies can be used to enhance creativity rather than overshadow it. The approach of demystifying technology has reassured stakeholders, built confidence, and enabled teams to increase production density while maintaining the artistry of their craft.