Firstly, thanks to my two guest bloggers and hope you enjoyed their ramblings. For those that don't know, I own a property in Bulgaria and have been having extensive renovations done, until November 2009, when I came back to the UK. My studio is a converted cattle shed/sheep pen and it took a lot of work to get it to the state it's in now, which is only half complete as it is.
Work has started again today and we are looking at a completion of late November for the house and the studio to be finished. The studio has a wide range of functions though, which have changed over the last few weeks. There are a total of 5 rooms, which are now being converted into an animation facility. We have a full prop/set making room, including a spray paint booth and material store room. A shooting room, capable of dealing with 7 sets at once for stop/go animation and of course a full green/blue screen room, for getting the best out of what we do.The basement to the house will be a full editing facility and is currently being soundproofed and having an audio booth fitted. Why animation? It's quite straightforward really, although I know that many wont agree, but for me it's simple. There are absolutely no boundaries to story-telling at all, only our own imagination and for that reason alone, I love it. If I want to shoot another conventional film, and set it in the future, then I need set-designers, wardrobe mistresses and some great actors to carry it off, not forgetting the huge budget too. For a stop/go animation, we simply build whatever scene we want, in whatever period of time and make the characters right there, in the same building. To start work on a animation project, is like having a huge budget blockbuster with no limits sitting in front of you and being told that you can have whatever you want, which will never happen in film. Flying camera shots, action sequences and blowing stuff up in film, all cost money, but with animation, it costs no more than the cost of materials, which from a self-confessed story teller, is simply too good to walk away from. The studio is also open to the animation community in general, as they are the most helpful bunch of people you could wish to meet and it would be great to let them come and use our facilities and make something special. We will also be in a position, hopefully, to offer some basic accommodation right next to the studio too, but that's a different post!
I'll try to remember to keep you posted on the build if anything exciting happens, but in Bulgaria, the pace of life is slow and relaxed, in fact, they don't have a word for stress, which is pretty cool too. That was one of the reasons for buying a property in Bulgaria several years ago, was that it is such a relaxed place to live. I initially went there to work on a couple of documentaries, and thouroughly enjoyed my time there, so much so, that I have owned a property there for a few years, although not the same one! A very special "Thank-You" to the guys in the animation community for their words of support, encouragement, advice and offers of help, which have come from California to Moscow! Take care and enjoy the awards season! x