3D World talks with Drew Roper, founder of Birmingham-based, award-winning animation company, Yamination Studios

Yamination Studios bring the Toy Story gang to life in its own stop-motion way for a TV commercial

© Disney

Sitting in his office at Yamination Studios, an animation company specialising in stopmotion animation in Digbeth, Birmingham, Drew Roper says with quite some enthusiasm that post-lockdown, daily working life is “back to 100mph, but it’s nice to get back to some form of normality. It’s like things have started to kickstart in a stronger gear again.”

In establishing his studio, founded in 2009, Drew has stayed true to his West Midlands roots and has gradually seen Yamination develop, grow and enjoy recognition nationally and internationally. “I’ve had a lot of support and the talent that I get to work with makes us who we are,” Drew notes. “Every medium of animation and filmmaking enhances what we do. Stop motion is our forte but I love all animation and all filmmaking. That’s what filmmaking is: hybrid working.”

“EVERY MEDIUM ENHANCES WHAT WE DO… THAT’S WHAT FILMMAKING IS: HYBRID WORKING”

Drew Roper, founder, Yamination

In talking about Yamination’s journey to date, Drew looks in the rear-view mirror and recalls, “I found it difficult to get work, so I thought ‘I’ll do my own work’.” In turn, Drew started getting his work and his name recognised and he ensured from the start that, alongside the animation itself, his energies were given to nurturing support, interest and investment in the studio. In those earliest days, Drew secured work on three major stop-motion movies in production in the UK: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Frankenweenie and Shaun the Sheep. Those projects became key, forming the basis of Drew’s network. In parallel with his work for hire in the earliest days, Drew notes that to try and secure a useful showcase for his work, “I applied to different initiatives.” Among the initiatives that he applied to, and that had a favourable outcome, was a commission from Sky Arts to produce a short animated movie entitled At-Issue, which uses a combination of traditional 2D animation, CGI and stop motion. Drew remembers how the film “led to other, higher-calibre opportunities and connections.” At-Issue wasscreened at 2016’s BAFTAqualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival in York before going on to secure a nomination for the ‘Best New Talent’ award from the Royal Television Society.