News / Aardman Animations
Maker of Wallace & Gromit explains why the industry is struggling
The managing director of Bristol’s Aardman Animations has explained why his company and the animation industry in the UK is currently struggling.
Sean Clarke, head of the Oscar-winning studio behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, said the company is facing serious competition from other countries on tax relief.
It is also struggling with a skills shortage as Clarke explained training in this country “is broken”.
Clarke has warned that animation productions made for children’s television will have to be made outside of Britain, due to the challenges which are taking their toll on the industry, The Guardian reports.
The managing director of Bristol’s Aardman Animations has explained why the company is currently struggling – photo: Gareth Iwan Jones
He said: “We created Shaun the Sheep 15 years ago and made 150 episodes.
“The landscape is now very different and if Aardman were starting today, it would be incredibly hard to produce Shaun the Sheep in this country.
“It’s a constant battle of how you raise money. It’s amplified at the moment because a lot of countries are more competitive with tax credits and they’re building infrastructure, both in terms of studios and training. Training is broken in this country.
“There is no infrastructure to train and nurture the next generation of talent for film and television generally.
“We’ve had to set up our own academy over the last 10 years to train people because graduates from colleges and universities are not production-ready.”
Clarke spoke out as the government had a consultation on audio-visual tax reliefs, which is due to close on February 9.
The Guardian’s article outlines how Ireland, France, Canada and the Canary Islands are offering animation tax relief ranging between 37 per cent and 50 per cent, compared to only 25 per cent in the UK.
Clarke said Brexit has made it harder to bring over European animators and this has also impacted access to vital European media funding.
He added: “Children’s television is suffering and what’s produced in this country will go off the edge of a cliff in the next couple of years, unless something is done.
“The ideas will still be conceived here, but they’ll be made elsewhere.”
……………………………….
Read more: Meet two women breaking down barriers in the animation industry
……………………………….
Founders of Aardman Animations, Peter Lord and David Sproxton, moved to Bristol in 1976 and began creating Morph for the children’s programme Take Hart.
Their studio, which has won more than 100 awards, including four Oscars for its animations, is located on Gas Ferry Road on Spike Island.
Wallace & Gromit fans will be pleased to hear the famous duo will make a return in 2024 in a new film, which will debut on the BBC in the UK and on Netflix in the rest of the world.
Main photo: Bristol24/7
Read next:
- Aardman’s most famous characters to feature on new stamps
- Meet two women breaking down barriers in the animation industry
- Wallace & Gromit to return in new film
- Animation studio expands Bristol base
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
