Birdbox Studios.

Birdbox Studios is a relatively new, London based animation house that creates fun shorts "Where a strong concept and a smart execution is key.

I think their animations are perfectly timed for comedic value and are flawless. 

On their website, they say: "We strive to create original and exciting films that are talked about, remembered and enjoyed by everyone." which I think is a really good thing to work towards. They don't set out to make a lot of money, they just want to create works that people enjoy and put a smile on peoples faces, and I think they achieve this.

They also use a variety of techniques, instead of just sticking to one style of animation. Wildebeest (above) uses 3D computer animation with a little bit of 2D animation thrown in on top, whereas Blues (below is all 2D animation and has a much more hand drawn effect to it. Both animations, however, keep the same comedy timing.

Not only do they make funny animated shorts, they also make funny adverts for TV. They keep their comedy timing throughout these shorts. My favourite is Three Olives (below).

I strongly recommend everyone check them out.

Mackinnon and Saunders- Character creation

Mackinnon and Saunders have created puppets for many stop motion films and commercials, with over 30 years experience, and even received a lifetime achievement award at Bradford Animation Festival this year.

Their puppets are intricately designed and built by a team of expert modellers. 

Some of the big feature films that they have worked on include Tim Burton's 'Corpse Bride' and 'Frankenweenie', and Wes Andersons ' Fantastic Mr Fox. They've also created the puppets for children's TV shows like 'Bob the Builder'.

Their characters are made by creating a metal armature made intricately with many screws and bolts etc allowing the metal skeletons to move fluidly. They then cast the faces and bodies etc in latex, so that they move better than they would with plasticine. The mouths and eyes can be controlled by tiny screws in the skull that can be adjusted to create realistic movements.

The costumes are then hand made by the costume department who make sure that their outfits flow and move realistically.

Lee Hardcastle

Lee Hardcastle is a freelance animator who works in stop motion with modelling clay. His use of clay brings an interesting feel to his animations- or claymations, as he doesn't smooth the characters off like Aardman does with their Wallace and Gromit characters.

Lee Hardcastle is funded by Kickstarter, which helps him create his claymations without having to worry about where the next pay check will come from for his work. It means he can work full time at his freelance practice. 

We met him at Bradford Animation Festival in October and we were able to see his 'Ghost Burger' animation which keeps within his style of weird and wonderful stories. 

His most well known claymation is 'T is for Toilet' which he did for a project with 25 other animators, to create a dramatic death for each letter of the alphabet.