Recently I have had a rise in interest in stop-motion animation, whether that be due to the fact that I had always had a great fondness from an early age for doing Lego stop-motion or even in school when I experimented with clay. The passion for stop-motion never really went away, and the visit to the studio Blinkink as well as the viewing of Kubo and the Two Strings with the CEO and director Travis Knight confirmed that feeling.
Back in October, I visited Blinkink in Camden as a studio visit with the university. Blinkink is an animation production studio known primarily for its stop-motion short-form video content but has also worked commercially in 2D, 3D, CGI, and puppet work. They are known for their works of the music video of Elton John and Dua Lipa’s Cold Heart and the original series “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared”.
Producer and head of animation Ben Cole gave us a presentation on the ins and outs of working at Blinkink, stating that they mainly work on a freelance basis with their connections to many directors that have known and have worked with Blinkink for a long time. With those freelance work, they have a small in-house development team (with a total of 80 employees) that is very hands down and ready to complete the project.
When asked about how they could get hired here they mentioned that even though they are a very small company, they never say no to people who want to work here. He mentioned that he prioritises quality and storytelling and makes things that people want to watch and be curious about.
Due to the size of the company, one of the main things that they are always aware of is the time limitations and financial stability, understanding that they need to have an extremely high work ethic and making sure that they are planning meticulously which is something they need to have as a freelancing company.
The idea of being freelance is interesting to me after hearing from multiple companies and people in the industry. The positives lie in being able to jump from project to project with no limitation of working at a studio, the amount of work you need to promote yourself as an artist/ animator on social media and being on the lookout for those new projects.
However, looking at Blinkink makes me realise I want to work at a studio. Whether that be a director or an assistant animator, being in an environment of same-minded people with the passion to create and animate sounds like a place to help build me and push myself as an artist.