London Trip: Studio Visit

Introduction 

After Unit X, the animation course took a trip to London to visit studios there including: ‘Framestore’, ‘Double Negative’, ‘Cartoon Network’ and ‘Industrial, Light and Magic’. This gave us the opportunity to meet the employees, see how they worked and provided an insight into how to be a part of their teams.

Framestore

First we visited Framestore, the studios responsible for effects in: ‘The Jungle Book’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, ‘Gravity’ and many more. [http://www.imdb.com/company/co0103818/] They have won an Oscar and an Emmy for their work. When we arrived we were taken downstairs to a screening room where they showed their showreel. I found their work on Gravity stood out to me as I had no idea the space suits were CG. They used references from suits provided by NASA and they were added to the actors after filming. After their showreel there was a short Q&A with a recruiter and a current employee.

Double Negative

After that we went to Double Negative, responsible for the effects in: ‘Ant-Man’, ‘Ex-Manicha’, ‘Terminator Genisys’ and many more. [http://www.imdb.com/company/co0105115/] They have won multiple awards found in their cabinet in the reception. We had to sign a contract to say that we would take photographs and share information on their latest projects that we didn’t even know about. Their building was very nice with multiple floors where employees were working on several projects at once.

After visiting both studios we stayed in a Hostel where we were given the opportunity to meet employees from these studios in a casual manner. However I was not feeling well on this night and was not able to attend.

Cartoon Network

The next day we went to the Cartoon Network studios where they were creating the Amazing World of Gumball. This studio was very different compared to the previous two because this was a studio producing a television series by the company they’re working for rather than producing effects for clients in their films. We were given a presentation and a tour of the studio which I found very enjoyable and inspiring. We were shown the different departments of the production pipeline and how the employees worked. 

Industrial Light and Magic

Industrial light and Magic are the largest and most well-known company for their special effects in: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park and many more. We were taken downstairs to a screening room where we were shown a 55 minute documentary of the studios. Detailing from when the studio was created, how Pixar was created and how they pioneered special effects. I found their documentary very informative and enjoyable. We also had a Q&A with a recruiter and two employees from 3D and 2D departments.

Photos

Conclusion

Overall I found the trip enjoyable seeing the sights of London and visiting these amazing studios. I would say Cartoon Network was the most appealing studio for their creations, how they work and the friendly, creative atmosphere within the studio. It was nice seeing how personal the spaces were on each desk to each employee, this made it feel comfortable to be yourself. From this trip I have gained insight into these studios and how they work. I have also gained information on how to prepare myself through my work and how to approach these studios in the future.