Sarah Smith talks about her new London animation studio "Locksmith"

Good news for animators in the UK! A new studio is coming to town, bringing with it the prospect of jobs, creative success, and - at last - a proper animation studio in London. In this interview a few days ago at awn.com, Locksmith Animation founder and director Sarah Smith talks about her new animation venture, which is backed by London VFX house Double Negative, and supported by entrepreneur Elizabeth Murdoch. 

http://www.awn.com/animationworld/london-calling-how-sarah-smith-plans-bring-animation-back-uk?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Here at Bucks we welcome this excellent news - our job is to train our students to be among the best candidates to apply for jobs at Lockmsith when their doors open.  We'll be ready when they are.

---Alex

For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. And find out about how our online video tutorials work.

Good news for UK animation - DNeg and Elizabeth Murdoch to open a new studio

According to Variety, Elizabeth Murdoch and VFX house Double Negative are opening an animation studio in the UK, known as Locksmith Animation. The venture is being piloted by Sarah Smith, who was the writer and co-director of the Aardman animated feature film Arthur Christmas.

Variety quoted Smith as saying: “With animated films among the most beloved and successful movies in the world but still only a handful of producers out there, the U.K. offers Locksmith a unique opportunity, including a world-class CG visual FX industry, brilliant comedy writers and directors, outstanding children’s literature, the European animation talent pool, and government tax credits. We’re very excited that having attracted a visionary investor with global business skills in the shape of Lis Murdoch, and a globally acclaimed production partner in Double Negative, we have everything to make the most ambitious version of our vision achievable.”

 

Elizabeth Murdoch

Alex Smith, Double Negative’s managing director, was quoted as saying: “We’ve harbored ambitions to expand into feature animation for a long time. Working with the Locksmith team provides us with a unique opportunity to build our animation division in tandem with the development of Locksmith’s slate. We are thrilled to be partnering with Sarah and Elisabeth Murdoch in this exciting venture.”

The Variety article is a bit thin on the details, however. Where will this studio be built? Bristol? London? What precisely will they be making? Animators with long memories will recall Frame Store's attempt to do much the same thing with their feature film The Tale of Despereaux, which did not connect well with global audiences. Curiously, Murdoch is investing in her "personal capacity" rather than as chairman of Shine, her highly successful international media company.

Luckily, anyone who wants to know more about Locksmith Animation can track Sarah down at FMX in Stuttgart. She is apparently speaking on April 25 in a session titled “Directing in an Increasingly Complex Production Environment.”

---Alex