Studio Research (Part 2)
Carrying on from the last post, I wanted to discuss more studios I’m interested in applying for and how I’ll go about adapting my showreel for them.
First off in this part, I’m looking at Studio AKA, the guys behind the award winning series Hey Duggee whose art style inspired part of my graduation film. Just looking at their showreel, its clear that they’re a multi-media animation production company. They create both 2D and 3D animation, stop motion and used mixed media alongside 2D cut-out and hand-drawn animation. Much of it is stylised and there seems to be more of a focus on character animation rather than flashy anime-like sequences. There’s no distinct “house style” like many of the other companies I’ve looked at, so I think sending over a more generalised showreel showcasing how I jump between styles could work here. Their fonts are modern and slick, very rounded with a colour palette of blue, so changing type faces at the end card of my showreel would be a nice touch. The music in their showreel is quite upbeat and hip-hop so choosing a similar sounding track would help show them that I’ve taken the time to research.
The next studio to look at is Sun and Moon studios, one that’s popped up a few times over my blog. Based in Brighton, this studio primarily animated in Toon Boom Harmony, working on projects such as The Macra Terror, Life is Strange and BBC Idents. They’ve got a vibrant aesthetic with a jazzy showreel soundtrack. Their style varies – from kids shows to more anime-inspired looks to stylized realism. To wow them, I think prioritising the work on my graduation film would be important to show I can used cut-out and show them art styles similar to some seen in their showreel. I’ve since tweaked my 2D rigged showreel to include UPA-inspired work and altered my ending card to feel more in line with the studio as a personalised touch to the studio.