Summer Time...

31 Aug 2008

4mations 400 badge
It doesn't seem that long ago that we posted the music video and were looking forward to a few days off! August has been a quiet month, very much tying up loose ends, promoting ourselves and straightening out some 'boring' business-type things.

We have finished our 2 short animated pieces for ITV (30 seconds each) on the misrepresentation of youths who wear hoodies. This is not available on our website yet, but is due to be broadcast in October.

Best Day We Ever Had is currently being submitted to various film and animation festivals around the world. One of the schemes we have joined is a new Channel 4 inititive called 4mations which showcases animation talents. Slurpy were one of the first to join, hence the strange cat 'badge' we were given (above)!

Apart from the work, August has seen us audition for Tim Burton's new film 'Alice in Wonderland', vivst the Edinburgh Fringe and do a mini sight-seeing tour of the North East. We thought it worth mentioning a wonderful second-hand bookstore in Alnwick, Northumberland. Barter Books is housed in the old railway station and is the 2nd largest bookstore in the UK. It retains an old railway station atmosphere and there is plenty of space to sit and browse your books. If you are up that way, it is well worth a visit!
Posted by Aaron Wood and Katie Steed - at 5:33 pm
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"Best Day We Ever Had" Music Promo

26 Jul 2008



"A newsreader announces the end of the world. The human race accepts its fate and finally finds peace. But is that really a meteor heading for Earth, or could it be something else?"

We have just completed our first fully animated music video for the song "Best Day We Ever Had" by talented singer/storyteller Sam Roman. The video chiefly uses traditional 2D animation, but with an added blend of special effects and composited layers. The video draws on a 1950s comic book style and the science fiction films of the era. See how many references you can spot!

Sam Roman is a soul singer who is about to release his second EP, entitled "Singer/Storyteller". He has performed alongside Jamelia and Lemar, and also supported funk legend, Don Blackman to a sell out crowd at the Jazz Café.

You can check out Ian Lumsden's review of the video at the Animation Blog.
Posted by Aaron Wood and Katie Steed - at 6:00 pm
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June Update

30 Jun 2008


We have had both a quiet June, and a very busy June. We started the month off by going to Annecy Animation Festival, where Death by Scrabble was being shown in the graduation films competition. The film recieved a great reception and has spurred us on to produce something for next year's festival. We did the usual meeting, eating, film-watching and sight seeing that you tend to do in Annecy, although this year's festival did have its share of bad weather. Our recommendation of the festival would have to be The Three Robbers, mainly for its great German music!

On our return from Annecy, production began on our latest project - the music video for soul singer Sam Roman's new single "Best Day I Ever Had". The video will be based on a 1950's comic book style, incorporating both animation and live action elements.


Although this has kept us busy, we still found time to do a bit of publicity work. Following on from the ITV Fixers competition, we have been written up in a couple of local newspapers (Farnham Herald, and Farnham Diary), as well as appearing on the UCCA website ("Animated Couple Win ITV Prize"). Finally, Slurpy have had their first animation 'exhibition'! We have assembled a small collection of our past work, including puppets, props, drawings and storyboards, which are on permenent display at Halliford Film Studios, Middlesex.
Posted by Aaron Wood and Katie Steed - at 11:03 pm
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Slurpy's First TV Broadcast!

25 May 2008


Slurpy Studios has just completed its first animated piece to be broadcast on TV. The piece, a 10-second title sequence based around an environmental theme, will be shown as part of a new TV show called ITV Fixers - "a major campaign where young people can take action on any issue they feel strongly about - changing things for the better."

The show airs at 6.15pm every weekday evening between 23 – 27 June 2008 on ITV Meridian, Thames Valley and West.

This may have been a very small project, but it has already lead to another producer at ITV wanting to collaborate with us on a new show involving live action and animation. Watch this space...!
Posted by Aaron Wood and Katie Steed - at 12:03 am
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WINNER - Stoke your Fires best 2D Animation

17 May 2008


Yesterday a Slurpy Studios representative (Katie Steed) took the day off from drawing thousands of practically identical pictures, and spent the day at the Stoke on Trent Animation Festival, somewhat ingeniously named 'Stoke your Fires.'

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day with guest speakers including Chris Bowden from the world renowned Cosgrove Hall, master puppet-makers MacKinnon and Saunders, and Greg Lynn from Chapman Entertainment. At the Award Ceremony later, the day was made even better with the announcement that DEATH BY SCRABBLE picked up the award for Best 2D animation.

Considering the exceptionally high quality of the competition, we are delighted to have won this award which is an exquisite porcelain work by Jerry Warmsley Pitts. It will look very nice on the studio mantelpiece (...just as soon as we get it back from the taxi that we accidentally left it in).

With yet another Award behind us, Slurpy are excited about the future. We are currently working on a website, a title sequence AND a music video. If you want us, we'll be at our desks!
Posted by Aaron Wood and Katie Steed - at 10:19 am
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