In the animation world it seems that anywhere you go you're bound to bump into 3D - from stylized characters to photo-real 'is-that-CG-or-not?' effects.

For the most part, high-end, big-budget animation and effects have been the domain of large post and production companies with rendering farms, first-class facilities and armies of animation and effects artists. But, as with any new technology or technique, 3D is an evolving art form and many smaller players are getting into the game, tailoring it to their style, clientele or studio philosophy.

In London, three smaller to mid-size shops have recently entered the 3D kitchen, ready to slice out a niche for themselves in the ever-increasing CG pie.

SOHO 601

Will Byles is a man who knows what he wants. Appointed head of Soho 601's newly christened 3D department, Byles wants to turn the post house's group of eight animators into a "CG animation studio rather than a post-production company that does CG."

But he doesn't want to take on the world... yet.

"We could try to build a really big department to rival everybody else, but that just thins out the work," says Byles of the modest growth plan for the department. "My strength is in character animation, and I think it's rare to get good character animation in a post-production company. That's a niche I know I can fill."

Byles joined 601 in January, 2002, from Aardman Animations where he was an animation director of three years. He shifted from Bristol to London with the knowledge that at 601 he had a blank slate to create the department he wanted. Upon arrival, Byles re-outfitted the existing but small CG setup with new technology - the studio runs Maya on Windows NT - and hired a group of "really good character animators."

Byles firmly believes in the desktop studio: "My criteria is quality. I have no affinity to any product or software, as long as it's the best thing for the job. It used to be that you used to have big SGI boxes and really expensive software, but now you can get Dell machines that are the fastest on planet for £3-4K and Maya for £2K, and you've got as good as anybody else could have," he says. "It's much nicer to have everything on your own machine. I can sit and do an entire short film at my desk... and when the occasion calls, inferno and infinti are available a staircase away."

Despite his move, Byles maintains a relationship with Aardman through Soho 601, doing work for them as required. Recently, 601 collaborated on a Polo mint spot that involves a menacing head mint terrorizing and smashing minion mints in a surreal 2001: A Space Odyssey environment.

The studio has also been keeping busy with two spots for food chain Co-op. Fully animated, the campaign involves a 'queen' bee who belts out a campy rendition of "Copacabana." Soho 601 designed, modeled, storyboarded and animated the spots.

"3D animation is becoming obligatory because it can potentially be anything you want," Byles explains. "It's a matter of getting to a level of believability - I don't mean believability in the sense that you can't tell if it's CG - [more so] that you don't care because the characters are alive."

GOLDEN SQUARE POST

Golden Square Post always knew they needed a 3D department, but when London-based film effects company Double Negative (DN) agreed to pony up five animators, one CG producer and five Maya stations in exchange for shared profits on 3D commercial work, it seemed the perfect fit.

"The kind of work we want to attract at Golden Square entailed a 3D element," says principal Ewan MacLeod. "Up to this point, we have been keeping very busy with our infernos and fires, but we're not getting in the kind of effects work that we had hoped. To enter into that arena meant we had to have a 3D department, which complements the other work we do. So, now we're still a small facility, but we're far more geared up do deal with the heavy effects jobs." They can also draw on DN's talent and rendering services if a job so dictates.

MacLeod sees a surge in the demand for CG, attributing it to an increased awareness on the part of agency producers to the possibilities the craft affords. "They're becoming more familiar with CG and with what it can and can't do. Our client base is maturing because of what we can offer now. And, cost effectively, 3D is proving a cheaper route than it was five years ago."

Golden Square's five 3D animators have extensive experience in film effects adding depth to the shop's commercial work, which consists of projects for HSBC, British Gas, Neurophen and Head and Shoulders.

Thus far, the four-month-old department is pulling in about 20% of the 36-person shop's work. However, MacLeod sees 3D working to complement the existing design, compositing and editing work being done. "What we're trying to offer is design service that entails a 3D element to that. Everything is a complement to each other."

STUDIO AKA

Nestled behind an inconspicuous blue door in Soho lies Studio AKA, a client-oriented animation facility. Adhering to the philosophy that animation in advertising is fundamentally about making people take notice, the studio ensures clients' needs transcend a particular style.

"The mentality of the studio is whatever works, works," says creative director Philip Hunt. "We tend to have strong, dynamic characters with an unusual slant, but there isn't a house style other than the desire to constantly reinvent."

Nearly two years old, AKA's 3D division grew gradually. "We took a view initially to invest a sizable amount in a Softimage Indigo set up with single license and two personnel about five years ago. It was the best set up available at the time, and the team and hardware has expanded at a rapid rate ever since. Lead by head of CG Andy Stavely, is eight animators strong and currently pulls in about half of the studio's work, though nearly all projects have some 3D.

Small by big-gun standards, the stated goal of the CG venture is to carve out its own place within the market. "We don't want to be a competitor to the big shops," says Hunt. "There's no point, so we don't put ourselves in the running for big projects. We'll leave those to the companies who do it really well."

AKA's strengths are in problem solving. Hunt says that most of their current clients come to them with a broad idea, curious to see how the studio might tackle it. Often, discussions of 2D versus 3D are merely a component of figuring out the best execution for a script. "Sometimes the way an idea is conceived may not be the most surprising way of doing it," says Hunt.

Because Studio AKA's philosophy is so deeply entrenched in character animation, Hunt was very careful who he chose as 3D animators. Consequently, most of the talent came from within. "Our 3D department came from inside the studio and are all traditionally trained animators. We found that we could find plenty of good animators but not good character animators, which we already had in-house." Most 3D work is done on Softimage XSI, though animators generally work on whatever platform they feel comfortable on, including After Effects and Maya.

Recent work from the company reflects the diverse approach to character animation. Styles range from classic CG characters for Vodaphone's "Night out" (Mic Graves); to stylized stick characters for Ballantine's Whisky (Marc Craste); characters and scenes based on a corporate logos and branding for Esure (Philip Hunt) and The Evening Standard; to a graphic world for BTCellnet (both Marc Craste).

"People are often surprised by the combinations of projects directors have done," says Hunt. "I think, in some studios, you have one style and you stick to it. We work with less people and more variety. It works for us."

Webfiles:
Soho 601> http://www.soho601.com
Golden Square Post> http://www.golden-square.co.uk
Studio AKA> http://www.studioaka.co.uk