As most film and television production grind to a halt, broadcasters are turning to animation studios for fresh content.
As production for most television and movies have come to a halt, animation studios are still creating and putting out content during the pandemic. 2:32
In the days before the pandemic set in, Toronto’s Guru Studio was a bustling hub of activity with five different productions on the go. In early March, as the situation began to change, the company with 430 employees started to explore moving the workforce home.
The first show to transition was their biggest, the preschool smash hit Paw Patrol, seen in over 160 countries.
With the entire animating team now working remotely, Guru creative director Frank Falcone says Paw Patrol is “on track and on budget.”
By using virtual desktops, artists are able to connect to the studio while staying safe at home. But the biggest challenge has been keeping the sense of collaboration, that’s critical to the art of cartooning, alive.
As an animator himself, Falcone understands the type of positive encouragement artists receive in a studio environment. “I really love the idea that you could sit somewhere and look across at someone’s drawing and see something great,” he says. “That’s your first audience.”
With the studio shuttered, those kinds of happy accidents can’t happen. To keep the spirit of collaboration alive, the studio uses software where artists can share and comment on artwork in real time.
Collaboration and creativity
Animation director Andrew Strimaitis has set up a green screen in his home so he can superimpose himself in the artwork and act out characters for his team.
WATCH | Animation director Andrew Strimaitis demonstrates his home studio set up:
Guru Studio Animation Director Andrew Strimaitis explains how he collaborates and instructs his team from home 0:50
Guru’s art director Michelle Junkin Booth doesn’t miss her daily commute from Brantford, Ont., to Toronto. She says her team has actually increased their productivity. It’s been successful she says, “because everyone’s able to grab the artwork … and draw over it simultaneously.”