Animated Insights
Only available to Aardman Studio Partners, University Partnerships &
Aardman Academy Alumni
Join Aardman Academy as we host a series of on-line guest speaker events designed to demystify & give insight into key areas of production within the Animation Industry.
Through a programme of themed events held throughout the year, gain understanding of how industry professionals tackle a range of creative, technical & aesthetic challenges to develop and create animated content across a range of practices, including:
THE ART OF ANIMATION
CHARACTER & PERFORMANCE
ANIMATION DIRECTION & PRODUCTION
STORY
Previous guest speakers have included:
NIKI LINDROTH VON BAHR – Animation Director –‘The House’
JOANNA QUINN & LES MILLS – Animation Director, writer & Producer – Beryl Productions International
JENNIFER LEE – CCO of Walt Disney Animation Studio, Writer & Director of ‘Frozen’ & ‘Frozen II’
SARAH GOMES HARRIS - Co-Creator, Creative Director, writer & series designer of BAFTA winning 'SARAH & DUCK'
SAM GAINSBOROUGH - Annie Award nominated Animation Director
IAN MACKINNON - Creative Director, Executive Producer & co-founder of Mackinnon & Saunders
SIQI SONG - Academy Award & Annie Award nominated Animation Director of short film 'SISTER'
JANE DAVIES -Aardman Series Director
SARAH PERRY - Movement Director and Character & Performance Coach
CAROLINE LEAF - Pioneering Independent Filmmaker
BRET IWAN - The Official Voice of Mickey Mouse
Event details & how to register are below.
Character & Performance
03rd JUNE 2025 - Event Times TBC*
Overview:
Join us to hear from 4 Industry Leading guest speakers who will give insight into their approaches and practices into Character & Performance – including Movement Direction, Character Development, understanding animated performance and more.
Each guest will speak for approximately 45 minutes, with a 15 minute curated Q&A.
* All times shown are UK-based. Full event details & guest speakers will be confirmed nearer the event date. Whilst minimised, sessions are subject to change due to speaker availability.
Location: Online
Animation Direction & Production
30th SEPTEMBER 2025 - Event Times TBC*
Overview:
Join us to hear from 4 Industry Leading guest speakers who will give insight into their approaches and practices into Visual Storytelling, Animation Direction & Production – including Directing Animators & Actors, Production & Department Management & more.
Each guest will speak for approximately 45 minutes, with a 15 minute curated Q&A.
Location: Online
* All times shown are UK-based. Full event details & guest speakers will be confirmed nearer the event date. Whilst minimised, sessions are subject to change due to speaker availability.
Story
02nd DECEMBER 2025 -Event Times TBC*
Overview:
Join Aardman Academy as we host a series of online guest speaker events designed to demystify and give insight into key areas of production within the Animation Industry.
Each guest will speak for approximately 45minutes, with a 15minute curated Q&A.
Location: Online
* All times shown are UK-based. Full event details & guest speakers will be confirmed nearer the event date. Whilst minimised, sessions are subject to change due to speaker availability.
The Art of Animation
10th MARCH 2026 - Event Times TBC*
Overview:
Join us to hear from 4 Industry Leading guest speakers who will give insight into their approaches and practices to The Art of Animation – including Art Direction, Character Design, visual development and more.
Each guest will speak for approximately 45minutes, with a 15minute curated Q&A.
* All times shown are UK-based. Full event details & guest speakers will be confirmed nearer the event date. Whilst minimised, sessions are subject to change due to speaker availability.
Location: Online
*All times shown are UK time and may be subject to change due to speaker availability. All events are held on-line.
Event Aim
During each of our Animated Insight events you will hear from 4 of the industry’s leading professionals as they take part in hour-long sessions discussing how they approach focused areas of production – including key skills, individual experiences of creative problem solving, guidance, tips, tricks – and many more animated insights.
Our Animated Insights events are open to Aardman Studio Partners, University Partnerships & Aardman Academy Alumni.
Each event offers an opportunity for you to pose your questions to our invited guest speakers – but due to the on-line nature of these events, questions will be curated by the Academy and will need to be submitted in writing 24hrs prior to the event, with selected questions being asked on your behalf during the event.
Who the events are for
The Aardman Academy’s Animated Insight events are for our Aardman Studio Partners, University Partnerships & Aardman Academy Alumni. Academy Alumni.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with [email protected]
