quote: Leo Enticknap

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I hope they weren't storing original film elements (i.e. camera negatives) in there as well.

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I'd say those are probably at a lab or in a film vault somewhere.
 

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Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 10-10-2005, 09:07 PM:
 
My sympathies go out to the Aardman team..."Creature Comforts," "A Grand Day Out," and "Wrong Trousers" were just plain masterworks of clay animation and a refreshing diversion from the Will Vinton "Claymation" works popular during the 1980s. (I ran those three virtually a bazillion times in my Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation days during the early 1990s and had the pleasure of meeting Nick Park himself).

Truly a sad loss for the industry...
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-10-2005, 11:04 PM:
 
Call me a pessimist, but my first thought when hearing this awful news was industrial sabotage. Aardman does really wonderful work, be it Wallace and Gromit or even Angry Kid. It just has to piss off the Disney Corporation something fierce.

Now I'm not saying Disney actually did something. But I would not be too surprised if it turned out some megalithical corporation hired some pyromaniacs to torch the place.

Hell, it'll probably just turn out to be some old, faulty electrical wiring.
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-11-2005, 01:59 AM:
 
At the moment I'm voting for the latter. I'm a bit surprised that they were storing that stuff where they were. That part of Bristol, round the back of Temple Meads station, is a run-down, high crime area of town. I can only guess that they were assuming that no-one would know what was being stored in there. Tramps squatting in a disused part of the building (or an adjacent one) and starting a fire to keep warm is another possibility, especially if security on the complex wasn't very good.

quote: Tim Reed

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I'd say those [preservation film elements from Aardman productions] are probably at a lab or in a film vault somewhere.

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That's what you'd hope, but having come across some staggering cases of master elements being lost/mislaid/not looked after, I wouldn't assume anything. When a major British lab went into liquidation last spring, you wouldn't believe the stuff which the receivers found in outhouses and pretty dodgy storage on the site. These included the cut camera negatives from at least two feature films released in the last decade.

Producers - especially if it's an independent company rather than a big studio with its own corporate archive - frequently forget about original and intermediate elements once the print run and TK transfer have been done, leaving them with the lab for a nominal storage rent until either the production company or the lab goes out of business. Even in today's enlightened times, when any archivist could tell you all about the benefits of safeguarding these elements, it still happens. A friend of mine rescued preservation material and countless post-production sound elements from several well-known features from a lab in the early '90s when it moved premises. They're now with the BFI, but very nearly ended up as landfill.

If you don't have a corporate archive to fall back on, then when production is complete your two options are to deposit original material with a public archive or to pay a commercial storage company (e.g. Hollywood Vaults in the US) to look after these elements for you. Producers are often nervous about going near public archives due to fears about restricted access and piracy, while some public archives won't accept new material without significant copyright concessions. Paying a commercial storage company is money which a producer is often reluctant to spend, especially after (s)he has the release prints and TK master tapes needed to commercially exploit the film. So quite often these elements drop through the system. It's short sighted, but it does happen. Things are better than they were - for example, films and programmes produced in-house by major studios are now much more likely to get properly preserved, because the studios realise that they have a long-term commercial value that justifies the costs of preservation. But nine times out of ten, smaller operators and independents don't factor in long-term preservation of the finish product into their budgets.
 

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Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 10-11-2005, 02:15 AM:
 
Creature Comforts is one of my all time favorite animated shorts. Classic, indeed. "I need ... space!"

This is sad news. And, yes, a part of me (the pessimist) kinda agrees with Bobby. This is just coincidence that it happens on Were-Rabbit's opening weekend?
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 10-11-2005, 02:36 AM:
 
I disagree fully. Although a few rivalries exist, for the most part people within the feature animation industry enjoy and are uplifted by the work of other studios, especially ones as creative as Aardman. Secondly, Aardman produces 100% of it's sets independently for each project, even if similar sets exist in storage. For this reason, it wouldn't be prudent for someone to intentionally sabotage Aardman by burning down a warehouse full of sets that weren't going to be used again.
 

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Posted by Dick Vaughan (Member # 540) on 10-11-2005, 02:50 AM:
 
heard on the news this morning that the Were Rabbit figures were safe as they had been stored"in a rugged suitcase"

Some of the sets from Were Rabbit were also spared as they form part of the Animated Adventures exhibition at At- Bristol. More info here

We are also lucky enough to have a number of Aardmans models on permanent display here in Bradford nmpft animation including the Museum gallery set from Wrong Trousers, Morph and Rocky from Chicken Run
 

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Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 10-11-2005, 03:45 AM:
 
No master film elements stored there either, and thier studio is also elsewhere.
 

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Posted by Andy Summers (Member # 3207) on 10-11-2005, 12:46 PM:
 
Quote-Bobby
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industrial sabotage
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Now that thought crossed my mind as well, very strange, I smell a rat, anyway as industrial sabotage and arson been ruled out in the investigation so far.

I say if faulty wiring is the issue; it was fixed to make it look like it was legitimate
faulty wiring if you see what I mean, so Bobby’ I’m a little in the dark hear why would the Disney corporation with sure power and scope do industrial sabotage, seems strange though, has the Disney corporation lost any money on big budget films, or do you believe they would like to eliminate the competition which would leave they in control of that market.

Again I smell a RAT…..a BIG ONE….
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-11-2005, 12:58 PM:
 
Quote-Andy
________________________________________________________________

I never noticed the easy QUOTE button before!
__________________________________________________________
 

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Posted by Andy Summers (Member # 3207) on 10-11-2005, 01:04 PM:
 
I don’t understand what you’re saying Brad’ but I’ll just say happy days, as it pissing down with rain in Sunny Bournemouth.

So what do you think about this mystery concerning the fire at, Nick Park’s; Warehouse, there’s someone roaming around on this side of the Atlantic, play with matches….that just pisses me off…

 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-11-2005, 01:26 PM:
 
Quote-Andy
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I don’t understand what you’re saying Brad
__________________________________________________________

quote: Andy Summers

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but I’ll just say happy days

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For someone who claims to have set up a far superior home theater capable of surpassing commercial THX installations, I'm sure you can stress your brain a little bit to figure out how to use this forum properly.
 

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Posted by Andy Summers (Member # 3207) on 10-11-2005, 02:32 PM:
 
Sorry Brad’ I have lost all control for mental logical thought at this time Brad’ no just kidding, I don’t connect very well with people that’s all and find it default at times to get the humorous side of it.

Anyway Brad’ I’m interested in your preview cinema, I mean it looks cool man, wicked and I liked the images showing a step by step of the construction of it.

So how about more images new images of the booth…

I’m also wondering if the cops are going to investigate all angles in this investigation, say Tim Burton as a new animation film coming out shot in “digital” may they should talk to him, well the way I see it guys Nick Park as won two Oscars now, and may someone in Hollywood what’s him out of the way.

This whole thing sticks like fish & chips from the dust bin…with Rats crawling all over it...

[ 10-11-2005, 08:44 PM: Message edited by: Andy Summers ]
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-11-2005, 06:10 PM:
 

quote: Mike Olpin

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Although a few rivalries exist, for the most part people within the feature animation industry enjoy and are uplifted by the work of other studios, especially ones as creative as Aardman.

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It sounds like you're comparing the attitudes of creative people toward others doing similar work at rival firms. Those aren't the people I am describing.

The people I describe are those soul-less suits who would sell their own mother into slavery just to make a buck. There is no shortage of sharks working at entertainment companies, be it Disney or anywhere else.

I'll say it again, I'm not accusing Disney or any other studio specifically of doing anything. All I'm saying is I would not be surprised if sabotage turned out to be the cause. I wouldn't put it past corporate rivals to do that kind of thing. Corporate espionage and sabotage have a long history.

Sure, it wouldn't make much sense for a company like Disney to hire an arsonist to burn down the Aardman studios warehouse. But then companies like Disney make illogial moves all the time.

For example, did it make sense for Disney to hire Mike Ovitz as an interim CEO and pay him nine figures for only a few months worth of work?

 

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Posted by Joseph L. Kleiman (Member # 3097) on 10-11-2005, 06:37 PM:
 

quote: Bobby Henderson

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The people I describe are those soul-less suits who would sell their own mother into slavery just to make a buck.

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Ah, I recall the good old days when Margaret Eisner took my order at the churro cart in Frontierland. That was a good churro. Lot's of love and care put into it - the same love and care I'm told she gave the young Michael before sending him off to boarding school. It's amazing how his mother could remain so loving after being placed in a less than minimum wage position selling churros.
 

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Posted by Andy Summers (Member # 3207) on 10-11-2005, 08:41 PM:
 
Bobby’ now if this does turn out to be, industrial sabotage heads are going to roll “BIG TIME” and someone going to what to have a rumble, well lets hope it doesn’t come to that.

Joseph’ the industry is a cutthroat business, as to what Bobby’ said about Disney in hiring a mad man called “Mike Ovitz” http://slate.msn.com/id/2408/ now this all sounds like gangsters to me, man I hope Nick Park isn’t reading these posts man they guy will fucking bananas, and would have the guy or perpetrators done in…

I seam to remember now, I saw a documentary a while ago now, around a few years and this nutter could “Mike Ovitz” is a real dodgy guy, I mean he’s bad news...

Who knows, who else is involved with this fire on the “Nick Park’s” warehouse, someone what’s him out, but let’s look at this from a different angle maybe it’s a former employee, maybe someone that “Nick Park” met this year or last year about an animation project and there was some disagreement, and the person Mr-X? Started the fire, or maybe Mr-X? Was working with “Disney” I hope “Disney” isn’t also reading this, I mean with the heat that where putting on this topic someone is going to get quite upset, but that’s nothing compared to what happened hear in the UK this week….

Maybe “Mike Ovitz” will wake up in the morning and find a horses head lying besides him on the bed….LOL with a note.

[ 10-11-2005, 10:49 PM: Message edited by: Andy Summers ]
 

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Posted by Joseph L. Kleiman (Member # 3097) on 10-12-2005, 11:02 AM:
 
Andy,

The Margaret Eisner comment was a joke. I'm very familiar with the cutthroat nature of Hollywood, and have actually dealt with it myself on occassion. By the way, are you aware that it was the hiring of Ovitz that lead to the formation of Dreamworks?

Joe
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 12-10-2005, 04:27 AM:
 
FYI,

quote:

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12/10/2005: "Source of Aardman's fire discovered"

The Big Cartoon Database indicates that following two months of investigation, a conclusion has been drawn regarding how a fire began at Aardman Animations, on October 10, 2005. Investigators say that the accident occurred due to an electrical fault with an appliance, not arson. Furthermore, they have pinpointed the fire’s creation to the ground-floor office of Aardman's Victorian warehouse in Bristol, England. Sadly, Bill Feeley, assistant chief fire officer for Avon Fire and Rescue, noted at a Friday press conference that had the building been fitted with a properly working sprinkler system, the fire, which destroyed hundreds of sets, props, models and awards from the company's animated projects, would have been greatly reduced.

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