Virtual production at model scale: A case-study of virtual production R&D in Aardman Animations

This article contextualizes the UKRI funded project ‘Virtual Production at Model Scale’ that took part within Aardman Animations Studio as part of the MyWorld R&D project. Considering the particularities of both stop-frame animation, large studio production cultures, the wider animation landscape and the dominant softwares within stop-frame production as well as the emergent orthodoxies of Virtual Production, this article sets the stage for a sequence of experiments that took place within Aardman in order to explore the use of virtual production toolkits. This article outlines the development and testing of the experimental toolkits before reflecting on possible areas of further research and avenues of implementation for the virtual production paradigm within creative and material practices that are not amenable to the adoption of off-the-shelf Virtual Production software, tools and methods.