Face to Face with... Martin Allan

Last Thursday saw the launch of new independently run animation studio Amazing Spectacles. Born from the existing talent in Prime Focus' 3D Studio, the venture is a product of recent changes in the market and new client demands. shots.net visited a Soho rooftop to catch up the co-founder and director.

Martin Allan started his career in both 2D and 3D animation departments, gradually notching up years of experience and working as a freelance animator at companies such as Double Negative, Passion, Bird Studios and Loose Moose. He joined Prime Focus as head of animation in 2004 and last week co-launched animation studio Amazing Spectacles. Here, he tells us about the companies first few projects, religious illustration and how good it is to fulfil a lifelong ambition.

Tell us about how the venture came about? Increasingly our clients required access to directors on animation projects coming into the 3D studio. We targeted a need within the Prime Focus model to set up an animation company which would give us creative autonomy and allow us to deliver lots of different styles from a variety of directors.

What's your role at Amazing Spectacles? I'm one of the animation directors and helped set up the company, which I've enjoyed immensely. I've been working in the animation industry for sixteen years covering animation production through to post production. It's always been my ambition to set up an animation production company and it feels fantastic to have achieved it!

What's the thinking behind the characters involved in the branding? The inspiration for the characters came from the name Amazing Spectacles. We asked the studio to think of something they felt would be an amazing spectacle and we took the most successful ones to create our motley crew. The reason for so many characters is that we wanted a crowd to witness an amazing spectacle. It was also a perfect way to showcase our talent as we can change these characters to keep the brand fresh and keep our clients and the public interested.

How have the initial projects worked out? We've completed our first two commercials, which have been a great success. The first advert was for Zip firelighters and was directed by Martyn Pick. The focus was on the performance of fire - a challenge to convey the story with fire as our only tool. We wanted to show the beauty of fire, so we kept it simple with the flames on a black background. This meant technically there was no room for error. The second job was for Sony PlayStation, which was a lovely mix of live action (directed by Stink's Arno Salters) and hand drawn animation by Susie Wilkinson. The final look had to be very illustrative and stylized, which Susie achieved beautifully.

How would you describe the team? Each director has their own style and could draw from their individual experiences, interests and influences. We're a creative collective and our diversity is part of our appeal.

How important is it to be 'straight talking' and 'healthily rebellious' in your work? I think transparency with clients is the best policy. Being honest about cost and timescale is crucial in this current climate. I was always getting into trouble at school and things haven't changed much now. We like to put our own creative stamp on the work we do and the directors on our books all have their own style and ideas.

What have you been reading/seen recently that would be relevant to shots readers? I've just finished reading Osamu Tezuka's Buddha Volume 1. He's the godfather of Japanese graphic art. It's a great use of manga style illustration to tell one of the most important stories in religion - the man is a genius.

What's the most amazing spectacle you've seen? Holding my new born identical twin girls in my arms for the first time. It was terrifying, but awesome.

What's the best part about being involved in this venture and what are you looking forward to? Fulfilling a lifelong ambition, to be creatively challenged every day and to being part of something from the very beginning. I've been really fortunate to get the support to make it happen and I'm looking forward to winning some juicy jobs that we can all get our teeth in to.

What does the future hold for Amazing Spectacles? World domination…what else?