Playing in the Future | Teachings from a Storytelling Company

Media Cymru

A day exploring the R&D happening at Aardman Studios over the last couple of years.

sbarc|spark

Join Media Cymru alongside members and former members of Aardman Animations in a packed day of interactive events exploring the recent Research and Development that’s been taking place. The event is for people interested in storytelling, animation and innovation more generally.

<h3>Speaker Bios</h3> <h4>Dan Efergan</h4>An accomplished Executive Creative Director with over 25 years of experience guiding entertainment companies through the complexities of a rapidly evolving industry. Specialising in emerging platforms, Dan Efergan has consistently demonstrated strategic vision, innovative development, and flawless delivery across the creative spectrum.Currently working as a Freelance Executive Creative Director and serving as the Innovator in Residence for this event, Dan was previously the Executive Creative Director of Gaming, Interactive, and Innovation at Aardman Animations. While on the executive board, he led the company through transformative initiatives—from establishing early social spaces attracting millions of subscribers to founding Aardman’s interactive department and in-house game studio, achieving significant growth and innovation along the way. Most recently, he spearheaded the establishment of Aardman’s first R&D team and programme.Dan’s impressive portfolio includes BAFTA-winning interactive projects such as the Tate Movie Project and World of Invention, as well as leadership on the twice BAFTA-nominated console game, 11-11 Memories Retold. His creative journey is rooted in a deep understanding of the latest technological advancements and a passion for shaping their impact on the world through beautifully crafted, meaningful projects.Prior to his tenure at Aardman, Dan’s entrepreneurial spirit led to the creation of multiple companies, including Submerge, a festival celebrating the emerging digital creative industries, and various production companies and a specialist recruitment agency. This diverse background underpins his comprehensive perspective on creative innovation.Key Achievements:<ul><li>26 Years of Experience in Creative Leadership.</li><li>20+ Awards, including D&AD, Royal Television Society, TIGA, Broadcast, BIMA, Webby, and Design Week.</li><li>5 BAFTA Nominations, 2 BAFTA Wins.</li><li>100+ Delivered Projects.</li><li>30+ Talks at prominent venues such as TedX, CMC, MIPCOM, TIFF Kids, BAFTA Guru.</li><li>10+ Mentees.</li><li>Judged 10+ Awards, including BAFTA, Kidscreen, and Emmys.</li></ul>Driven by a relentless curiosity for technical innovation and a creative flair for building captivating experiences, Dan Efergan continues to shape the future of entertainment by turning visionary concepts into award-winning realities. <h4>David Gray </h4>David believes that real-time technology has the power to transform creativity by allowing creators to ideate more freely, fail faster, and achieve better results across the entire production pipeline. He has contributed to in-camera virtual production solutions for major clients, including Amazon, Apple, Sony, Netflix, and Warner Brothers. Currently, he is collaborating with Aardman Animation to explore how virtual production can extend beyond the set to support creatives from development through delivery.Playing a pivotal role in establishing the U.K. presence of virtual production pioneers Lux Machina, David contributed to groundbreaking productions such as Barbie, Hijack and Silo. As an independent voice in virtual production he is committed to empowering creatives, enabling them to harness the full potential of the technology.His career spans the diverse technologies that now comprise Virtual Production. Originally a camera operator, he moved into the events industry after a brief stint in VFX. He delivered content for a variety of shows before moving on to work in concert touring, corporate, Film &amp; TV. Because of his knowledge of event technologies and film, he was a natural bridge between technology and productions, explaining the nuances of the technology when viewed on camera. <h4>Eve Bolotova </h4>Eve Bolotova is at the forefront of research and development at Aardman Animations, blending traditional stop-frame techniques with innovative technologies. Her work with Aardman began with 3D scanning of physical assets on Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, laying the foundation for deeper R&D into digital twins. She is now focused on advancing this field by investigating Gaussian splatting to expand the creative potential of stop-frame animation. Eve now co-leads Aardman’s Virtual Production at Model Scale project, while also heading Digital Twins R&D, driving the adoption of emerging technologies to push the boundaries of creativity. Previously, she worked on shows for Netflix, Nickelodeon, NBC Universal Kids, and the BBC, bringing her expertise to productions across live action, stop-frame animation, live attractions, and factual entertainment. This rich and diverse experience has shaped her holistic approach to visual storytelling and technical innovation. Eve is passionate about using technology to create better stories and streamline workflows, freeing up time for creatives to focus on what they do best: being creative.

Agenda

Arrival & coffee 

A very early look at a piece of research that’s been created between Aardman, Tom Morris (director of plays such as War Horse, Touching the Void and The Grinning Man) and Andy Serkis (actor and founder of the Imaginarium).  The project was investigating whether previously captured footage from a staged performance could be adapted to a 1-to-1 experience in XR.  Daniel will talk through the hypothesis proposed, the challenges faced and conclusions drawn.  

Project Deep Dive: The Grinning Man, a MyWorld Experiment 

Comfort break 

Over the last year Aardman has been looking at how virtual production may be used at ‘model scale’, within their stop-motion pipeline.  The project consisted of a collection of investigations designed around the needs of Aardman’s stop-motion crew. Experiments included use of digital doubles (utilising Gaussian Splats, photogrammetry and photometrics), the building of intersection of real and digital interfaces, and the suitability of large scale virtual production units in the slow process of stop-motion. 

Project Deep Dive: Virtual Production at a Model Scale, a MyWorld Experiment 

Lunch with Grinning Man demo 

The group will be split up into teams, depending on numbers for ahands-on, slightly chaotic, session of game making, and teams will take a simple tale and drive it through stages of Extraction, Exploration, and Experimentation to end up with a playable(ish) paper prototype of a game idea.  Expect lots of doing involving paper, scribbling, Lego and clay.     

Workshop: Game Making, Deeper Dive.  

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Playing in the Future | Teachings from a Storytelling Company

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Playing in the Future | Teachings from a Storytelling Company

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