The Genuine Aardicle
(continued from page 2)
Aardman will continue to produce shorts,
and currently has several in development. In addition to developing
and financing these "studio shorts," Aardman encourages
staff to use the facilities to create independent projects and animation
tests during off-hours.
Commercials
Commercials have been a bread and butter industry throughout the
years for Aardman which has produced over 100 spots for clients
such as American Express, Burger King, Cadbury's, Guinness, Lipton
and the London Zoo. With the success of campaigns like the Chevron
cars series, Aardman continues to grow in the commercial arena,
producing 15-20 spots per year, with directors often crossing over
from television and short film projects.
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Sales of Wallace and
Gromit merchandise have been driven by the shorts' cult
following in the U.K. and States. © Twentieth Century Fox
Home Entertainment.
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Licensing
A quick visit to the Aardmarket, Aardman's on-line store, will reveal
a wealth of licensed Aardman product, mostly bearing the Wallace
and Gromit brand, including apparel, plush, timepieces, toys,
stationary and pens, magnets, CD-Roms, books, linens, mousepads,
figurines and videos and DVDs. In preparation for the release of
Chicken Run, DreamWorks Consumer Products is literally counting
its chickens before they hatch, with its full-scale L&M campaign
tied to the release of the film.
What's Next?
Aardman continues to evolve and explore new areas. Training continues
to be of key importance as the studio grows. Rose says their training
scheme is expanding to include editorial, camera and storyboarding
as well as animation and modelmaking. In fact, Aardman has found
such a shortage of storyboard artists in Bristol, the studio has
been using storyboard artists at DreamWorks, many of whom are originally
from the UK, to fill in the gaps. The company is also investigating
original Internet animation as a new media. Asked where the studio
will be doing in ten years, Rose stresses the studio's goal of adaptability,
"We want to remain flexible, we don't want to become fossilized.
The world is changing fast, but one thing we can be certain of is
that there will be new opportunities."
Wendy Jackson Hall is an independent animator, educator, writer
and consultant specializing in animation. Her articles have been
published in Animation Journal, Animation Magazine,
ASIFA News, the Hollywood Reporter and Variety,
as well as Animation World, where she was associate editor
until 1998.
