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Hot Animation threatened with closure |
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Friday, 20 July 2007 |
Hot Animation, a subsidiary of Hit Entertainment Group, has said closing Hot’s Altrincham base is a possibility as the company faces increasing pressure on costs.
Award winning Hot is Europe’s largest stopframe model animation studio and ironically celebrates its tenth birthday this year. Approximately 70 people are employed at the company. A number of well known series are produced at the studio including Bob The Builder and Pingu.
Hot has six animation studios, an art department, four prop workshops, a set workshop, costumes department, four offline edit suites, Foley suite and sound suite.
The company also created the animation scenes for the recent hit TV series Life on Mars and is developing its expertise in software such as Toon Boon and has made moves into high definition production.
Nicole Price, a spokesperson for parent Hit told How-Do that “We are working to restructure the company to allow it to continue and compete in what is an extremely competitive market. We are in a period of consultation with our staff rather than issuing ultimatums.”
Hit Entertainment, which was bought by venture capitalist Apax Partners in 2005, has a portfolio which includes Thomas and Friends, Barney, and Angelina Ballerina.
 Andi Copley
When interviewed by How-Do in April, Copley said: “I will be trying to bring down permanent costs and make sure Hot stays in the UK. There’s lots of cheap competition emerging from Canada and India.
“We are going to tighten our belts – a little bit here and a little bit there – and make sure all the money goes on screen.”
Copley, whose career in animation has include spells at Warner Bros, Film Roman – the studio behind the Simpsons – Klasky Csupo and the Disney Channel, reports to Hit’s executive vice president of production and programming, Leonara Hume.
“We need to be flexible and not just rely on stop motion,” said Copley. “I wanted to work for the best and Hot is the best.”
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