Before working as a Southern Institute of Technology tutor, filmmaker Patrick Gillies was the primary caregiver of his children.
Like many parents he had the help of cartoons to entertain his little ones while he was busy with household chores.
During lockdown, the family’s cartoon time was even longer, he said.
"We ended up watching a lot of TV. I suddenly realised — well, you know, my kids are watching a lot of cartoons. And I thought, ‘wow, well, I can do this too’."
With this in mind he started the animation start-up with the intention to create high-quality children’s screen content for local and international audiences.
It would also harness the talent in the region, he said.
"There are very few work opportunities for animators in this country ... we’ve got these amazing, amazingly talented students that come out of this place [SIT] — 2D and 3D animation graduates — but they really struggle to find work."
The studio would focus on 2D animation as there was a gap in the country’s animation market. "Many production houses make 3D animated content, because it is easier and quicker and faster, and that means it is cheaper.
"But 2D animation is timeless, has a long shelf life."
He said this was one of the main goals as they wanted to create content which would bring international money into the region.
"That is really important to us, we want it to be self sustainable."
The start-up would see the creation of 10 to 12 jobs — but he believed it had potential to have about 40 to 50 positions in the future.
As a first project, Gillies had been working on his project "The Ratbaggs", about a family of anthropomorphic rats which explore themes such as tolerance, diversity and acceptance of others and self.
The inspiration came from their family and, consequently, Peppa Pig.
"I was inspired to make something that was family friendly and something that would appeal to both kids, but also their parents and hopefully, their grandparents.
"That’s what I observed from Peppa Pig and that is similar to what I want to do in our studios."
Gillies applied for funding from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage with the aim to locate his animation start-up in the region.
He was asking for feedback on the proposal on the Ministry’s website so it could make a decision about the funding, he said.
"I’m hoping that people in the community who have an interest in artistic endeavours, but also those who are interested in seeing the creation of jobs in the area, to submit their feedback."
Feedback can be submitted online by November 13 at surveymonkey.com/r/Z5TY528.
