Work

 

Rich Spence - CG Artist & Supervisor

FILMS Chicken Run 2 Wallace & Gromit Farmageddon Early Man SHORT FORM UN Project Everyone Staves Winter Trees Rays Big Idea INTERACTIVE Virtual Production Unreal Fellowship Game Production CRAFT School Model Burrow House The Castle

I am based in Cornwall where I grew up. Attending local schools and wanting to make film and TV work did not always seem achievable. When I told my secondary school careers adviser I liked to take things apart to figure out how they worked and wanted to work in TV he suggested I become a TV repair man. This was not an option for me and so I studied computers and programming at Cornwall College and went to Bournemouth University where I got a 1st Class Degree in Film and Media Studies. After graduating I worked in a computer games company which was a fantastic learning opportunity. I totally immersed myself in CG and game production and was soon asked to help set up the first BAFTA Game Awards. Although dedicated to computer games I had always wanted to work at Aardman. When at college I'd be assigned a programming assignment but find a way to try to bend the brief so that I could animate an orange space ship taking off in Pascal. All my free time outside work would be reading and practicing animation techniques and so when offered a promotion at the games company which would have put me in a role overseeing all the art output I had to decide if I would take that or throw the dice and try to work at Aardman. I threw the dice, so at 24 years old sold my house, quit my job and moved to Bristol without having anything planned for when I got there. I soon found work initially in a defence company and then a TV production outlet called Jelly Television. I was back making CG graphics but now for TV and based in Bristol. The people I met while working in TV became a fantastic network which allowed me to freelance at many of the Bristol effect houses and everyone knew that I had always dreamed to working at Aardman, so after working on some brilliant creative projects I got the call. I was on my way to a hospital appointment on my trusty Vespa to meet my wife who was having an early prenatal scan on our first daughter when my mobile rang and I was offered a role as a freelancer at Aardman Animations. Best day ever?! After freelancing at Aardman for a year they offered me a staff position where I have worked as a modeller, CG Generalist and then promoted to CG Supervisor and overseen productions for the last 15 years. P.S. Aardman has lived up to everything I dreamed of and is full of the most kind creative group of amazing people. I'm very proud to have been part of the family and hope to work on more productions with them in the future. Please look at some of the work I've completed using the menu of the left.