Qurios Entertainment was commissioned to produce an animated commercial and a number of animations for use on the clients website to help launch and promote the new on-line shopping portal. The commercial was commissioned by Prolem Limited who tasked agency Jam Creative to realise their brief.
Working directly for Jam Creative Qurios helped develop the look of a talking letterbox character that would be used as the websites logo and mascot. Qurios’ Managing Director and concept artist Niel Bushnell worked up several variations for the letterbox character until a final design was approved.
Qurios’ 3D artist Ciarán Wright then translated the character from 2D concept artwork into a 3D model.
The model was then animated and rendered in 3DS Max. The completed render was then given back to Jam’s creative director Jon Harvey who completed editing and post-production work at Marmalade Sound Studios.
The completed commercial is now airing in the UK on Living TV.
An additional five animated GIF files were also completed for use on the clients website.
A Hartlepool businessman who has reaped the benefits of the local business support network in setting up his successful animation company has teamed up with Business Link to support an initiative to raise the profile of businesses in the Hartlepool area.
Niel Bushnell, Managing Director of Qurios Entertainment Ltd is part of the steering group behind Enterprising Hartlepool, an initiative set up by Business Link and Hartlepool Local Authority to offer support to start-up businesses and to encourage inter-trading within the town.
The initiative, which launched earlier this month will take the form of regular meetings and a newsletter aimed at bringing together start-up’s with more established businesses to share ideas, expertise and business.
Niel and his wife Diane set up Qurios Entertainment in May 2002 after two years of careful planning and with the support of Business Link’s Start-Up Programme delivered by City Centre Training. The company specialises in 3D computer animation and 2D illustration for the television and computer games industry.
Andrea Miles, Account Manager at Business Link was able to assist Niel in a number of areas to support the business through its early days including help with the business plan, assistance in targeting customers in the local area and beyond as well as general business advice. Through the Start-Up Programme Niel was also able to secure a Capital Grant towards computers and software.
It was Andrea who first approached Niel regarding Enterprising Hartlepool and Niel decided it would be a good opportunity to give something back for the support he has received, he said: “Hartlepool needs something like this for people who are just starting out. It’s a good way to meet other businesses who might be a year or two ahead of you and have probably already solved some of the problems you are facing.
“It’s also important for start-ups to be aware of the help available from the local business support agencies. The support from Business Link’s Start-Up Programme was invaluable to Qurios Entertainment, providing access to a whole network of support that has helped me to finance my businesses growth and generate orders. I’ve gone from having a business idea to managing a successful and competitive business.”
Over the past 18 months Qurios Entertainment has worked hard to establish itself as a leading studio for animation and artwork, combining the best traditions and skills of classic animation with the latest technical innovations of 3D computer generated effects.
As well as the games and television markets, the company has also attracted business in areas such as architectural and business related animation, such as company logos and graphic aids for training and safety. As well as several customers within the North East, Qurios Entertainment has also managed to attract business from other parts of Britain and Europe.
Since setting up the business has expanded to take on another animator and now employs four-full time staff and makes use of a number of freelancers for larger jobs. “We hope this trend continues. Today’s technology means that animation doesn’t have to be produced in London or Hollywood, it can come from anywhere. We hope to continue to expand in a controlled way so that we can offer our services to a wider range of businesses,” said Niel.
Niel and the team have just finished and introduction for a computer game and have recently started work on a short animation film, which will be completed sometime next year. In the future Qurios Entertainment hopes to carry out more of its own projects, such as animated TV series and short films, as well as expanding its current base within games and television.
Andrea Miles, Account Manager at Business Link said: “I first met with Niel around 12 years ago when he was first thinking about setting up in business. Unfortunately the idea was put on hold as the timing wasn’t right. I’m delighted to see that with patience and careful planning it has really paid off for him, he deserves every success. I’m pleased that Niel has become involved in Enterprising Hartlepool he is certainly a good role model for other businesses in the area.”
Business Link is the independent broker for business support, providing access to expertise to enable businesses to achieve their objectives in a range of areas including developing people, innovation, generating orders, financing growth and developing new markets.
For further information regarding Business Link contact Tel: (01642) 806666, Fax: (01642) 341425, Text Phone: (01642) 245688, Email: info@tees.businesslink.co.uk or visit the website: www.teesbusinesslink.co.uk
Animation studio Qurios Entertainment today announced the expansion of its ‘virtual studio’ project with the addition of Curtis Jobling, the pencil behind Bob the Builder.
Curtis Jobling was born in Blackpool, England. He describes himself in his childhood as being small and freckly (“ginger”, according to his cousins, but the adult Jobling to this day refutes these claims). He is the production designer of the worldwide hit children's television show 'Bob the Builder', the character designer of BBC’s new preschool show “Rubbadubbers”, and has a number of his own shows in development.
Other picture books Curtis has worked on include “Frankenstein’s Cat” (also an animation project), “Dinosaurs After Dark”, “Skeleton in the Closet” and “My Daddy”. He has also worked on Aardman’s Oscar winning 'A Close Shave' and Tim Burton’s 'Mars Attacks!' as well as recently writing, designing and directing a series of interstitial animations for Nickelodeon, 'Curious Cow', with long time collaborators and production company Mackinnon & Saunders.
He lives in North Yorkshire, England, surrounded by a ridiculous collection of film and animation memorabilia. He is currently working on his first novel, “Tales From The Wyrdwood”. His favourite distraction is his adorable son, Andrew, who for now appears to have skipped the “ginger curse”. He has recently acquired a pet dog with suicidal tendencies…
Curtis will be working on a short film, currently in pre-production at Qurios Entertainment as well as co-developing several original properties for television and adding his own unique twist to several next-generation game projects.
Animation studio Qurios Entertainment today announced the addition to its animation team of Ciarán Wright.
Ciarán was born and raised near Dublin in Ireland. His passion for animation took him to Ballyfermot Senior Art College, a college with a well-deserved reputation for nurturing animation talent. He graduated in 1999 having gained an ADS Certificate in animation studies and a DAP Diploma in Classical animation.
Ciarán joins Qurios Entertainment from Acclaim where he worked on a number of game titles including Paris Dakar 2, Summer Heat Beach Volleyball, XGRA and ShadowMan 2. As well as animating numerous characters Ciarán also assisted with motion-capture shoots.
Ciarán will be working on a number of projects for Qurios Entertainment, based at their studio in Hartlepool in the Tees Valley. As well as several next-generation game titles Ciarán will also help in the development of a short film project current in early pre-production.
Animation studio Qurios Entertainment celebrates its first years in business this month Qurios Entertainment was established in May 2002 by the husband and wife team of Niel & Diane Bushnell to specialise in 3D animation, illustration, storyboarding and concept design.
Based in Hartlepool in the Tees Valley Qurios Entertainment has worked hard to establish itself as a leading studio for animation & artwork. Managing Director Niel Bushnell explains, “We specialise in visual content for television, games and businesses. It’s been a very busy first year, we’ve worked hard to make a name for ourselves and the message is slowly getting through. “
“When we first opened our doors we concentrated on the games and TV market, but we’ve also managed to make in-roads into architectural and business related animation, such as company logos and graphic aids for training or safety”
“One of the high-points of our first year was collaborating on a 1 minute film for Universal that will be shown on their satellite channels across Europe this summer.” As well as several customers within the North-East Qurios Entertainment has also managed to attract business from other parts of Britain and Europe.
The end of the first year in business coincides with an expansion to the business, which has seen a new Animator joining the company. “We hope this is a trend that continues,” said Niel Bushnell, “today’s technology means that animation doesn’t have to be produced in London or Hollywood; it can come from anywhere. We hope to continue to expand in a controlled way so that we can offer our services to a wider range of businesses. “
Qurios Entertainment, an animation studio based in Hartlepool, UK, has recently completed work on a 1-minute film for Universal Studios Networks Worldwide.
‘Spiders’ is one of five short films that explores the world of Phobias. Production company Jam Creative were commissioned by Worldwide Creative Manager, Glynn Ryland at Universal Studios Networks Worldwide to produce the five one minute films. The films were conceived, directed and creatively overseen by Jam’s Creative Director, Jon Harvey.
Jam and Qurios storyboarded the film together before Jam went to South Africa to shoot all the live action on 16mm. Jam and Qurios then agreed on a rough edit of the film before the material was handed over to Qurios Entertainment to add an increasing number of CGI spiders advancing on a woman trapped in a small room.
Qurios Entertainments Animation director Niel Bushnell explains, “The project held several challenges, including matching our animation to the hand-held look of the live action footage. The second part of the film takes us into a stylised world created entirely in the computer. The live action footage was replaced with a cocooned body covered in swarming spiders. As the film progress we continually added more and more spiders, trying to increase the fear factor.”
Before & After: Live action footage directed by Jon Harvey from Jam Creative has a few spiders added!
As well as featuring a swarm of tiny spiders the film also has a large ‘nightmare spider’, affectionately known as Boris. “Boris is the sum of all fears, as far as spiders are concerned,” explains Niel Bushnell, “we ended up making him out of human bone parts, just to give him a bit of a disturbing twist.
All modeling, animation and match-moving was completed in 3DS Max 5. Tele-cine and finishing work was done at Red Post-Production.
The Phobias films will play on all of Universal Studios Networks’ channels in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK later in the year.
Qurios Entertainment is to sponsor the popular Animex animation festival, hosted by the University of Teesside in January 2004. The growing festival, renowned for its coverage of animation, has for the first time included a day dedicated to computer game development.
Managing Director of Qurios Entertainment, Niel Bushnell said, " We are delighted to be associated with the Animex Festival. We make our living creating animation for games & television so Animex is a great opportunity for us to meet people from all over the globe and see some of the diverse material that is out there. We are producing an animated piece for the festival that will show Middlesbrough's landmark Transporter Bridge coming to life. We've been inspired by a lot of B-movie style material from the 50's and we hope to get some of that humour into the final piece. "
Chris Williams is a University of Teesside lecturer in Animation and organiser of the Animex Festival. Chris said, “It's the first time we’ve included a day devoted to games but it is hoped that this part of the event will be expanded on, much in the same way as the whole festival has. It will examine creative issues around game development rather than technical stuff; design, art and animation.
There will be a whole day of talks from developers and publishers. Blitz Games will be one of the companies involved, it's hoped that both of the Oliver twins will be coming to talk about their history and what they are currently doing. The workshops will also be accessible and useful to games professionals and wannabes. Ed Hooks, who has worked with companies like Valve, will be talking about acting and animation. Pete Draper, author, 3DS Max veteran and instructor will be looking at creating effects with Max.”
The Animex Festival takes place in Middlesbrough on 26-30 January. For more information on the festival visit the Animex website at www.animex.net.
