Flickerpix

Flickerpix is a multimedia animation company based in Holywood, Northern Ireland. Established in 2003, the studio began by creating short animated television idents and stings for UTV in East Belfast before expanding into broadcast animation, short films, digital applications, games, commercials and experimental real-time media. Its work has combined stop motion, 2D animation, 3D environments, computer-generated imagery, motion graphics and, more recently, 3D printing, motion capture and virtual-reality techniques. The studio gained early international attention with Horn OK Please, a short film depicting a day in the life of a Bombay taxi driver. The production combined stop-motion characters with 3D backgrounds and subsequently received more than 16 international awards. Flickerpix then moved into television production with On The Air, an animated series developed for BBC Northern Ireland from the Gerry Anderson Show on BBC Radio Ulster. The programme ultimately ran for four seasons and received the Royal Television Society Northern Ireland Comedy and Entertainment Award in 2015. In 2008, Flickerpix became part of Waddell Media and relocated to Holywood. Its subsequent television work included Days Like This and Wee Wise Words, as well as collaborations with BBC Northern Ireland and CBBC. The studio supplied more than seven minutes of animation for Living with Alcohol, a children's factual documentary broadcast by CBBC during the World Cup period. The programme won the 2010 BAFTA for Best Children's Factual Programme. Flickerpix also made a 2009 Comic Relief short written by Richard Curtis and voiced by Martin Freeman, using animation to address malaria in developing countries. Flickerpix's film work has often used animation to address social themes. Macropolis, released in 2012, follows two toy characters with impairments who are rejected from a factory production line. The stop-motion film won more than 14 international awards, including Best Animated Short at the Irish Film and Television Awards. The project also extended into digital media through the Macrophonics app. The studio later adapted five medieval Scottish fables associated with Robert Henryson and translated by Seamus Heaney into the television series Five Fables for BBC Two Northern Ireland. Narrated by Billy Connolly and scored by pianist Barry Douglas, the series was accompanied by the interactive Seamus Heaney: Five Fables app, developed with Touchpress and recognised as Best App at the 2014 Celtic Media Festival. The company has also worked across children's entertainment and interactive formats. In 2014 it designed Boogie Woogie, a rhythm, dance and memory game for iOS and Android, with programming by Billy Goat Entertainment. In 2015, Flickerpix collaborated with JAM Media and Double Z Enterprises on the animated series Zig and Zag for RTÉjr and CBBC. Its later work includes the stop-motion Christmas film Da Humbug, the short Milo's Meltdown, the needle-felted project One Track Mind and the CGI children's slapstick series Hop n' Zip, funded by USP Studios. Hop n' Zip subsequently accumulated millions of views on USP Studios' YouTube channel. Flickerpix has continued to experiment beyond conventional animation. In collaboration with Retinize, it explored motion capture and virtual-reality production. The 2023 satirical short Charles and Camilla allowed members of the public to interact with real-time voiced 3D avatars of the King and Queen Consort and won Best Innovation in Animation at the 2023 Irish Animation Awards. The studio is led creatively by Johnny Schumann and remains associated with television, film, advertising, educational and interactive production across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Flickerpix was established in 2003 in Northern Ireland and initially produced animated stings for UTV in East Belfast. Within its first two years, it completed Horn OK Please, a short film about a Bombay taxi driver. The film combined stop-motion animation with digitally produced 3D backgrounds and became an early international success for the studio, collecting more than 16 awards. In 2006, Flickerpix entered television series production with On The Air for BBC Northern Ireland. The programme was based on the BBC Radio Ulster Gerry Anderson Show and used animation to extend the identity and humour of the radio programme into a visual format. Its success led to four seasons, and the series later won the Royal Television Society Northern Ireland Comedy and Entertainment Award in 2015. A major organisational change came in 2008, when Flickerpix became part of Waddell Media, an independent production company operating in Ireland. The studio moved to Holywood, a seaside town in County Down, where it continued developing broadcast and short-form animation. Its work after the move included the television projects Days Like This and Wee Wise Words, alongside animation commissioned for factual and public-interest programming. Flickerpix's contribution to Living with Alcohol demonstrated its ability to combine animation with documentary storytelling. The CBBC programme included more than seven minutes of animation and addressed alcohol-related issues for a young audience. Broadcast during the World Cup season, the documentary won the 2010 BAFTA for Best Children's Factual Programme. In 2009, the company also produced an animated Comic Relief short written by Richard Curtis and voiced by Martin Freeman. The piece used 2D and 3D techniques to explain the impact of malaria in developing countries. In 2012, Flickerpix released Macropolis, a stop-motion film about two toys with impairments that are rejected from a factory production line. The film became one of the studio's most recognised works, winning more than 14 international awards, including Best Animated Short at the Irish Film and Television Awards. Its concept was extended into Macrophonics, an app designed around the film. This marked a broader move by Flickerpix toward connected digital products rather than treating film and television as separate forms. The studio subsequently developed Five Fables for BBC Two Northern Ireland. The five-part series reinterpreted medieval Scottish stories by Robert Henryson using translations by Seamus Heaney. The episodes included The Two Mice, The Mouse and the Lion, The Fox, the Wolf and the Carter, The Preaching of the Swallow, and The Fox, the Wolf and the Farmer. Billy Connolly provided narration and Barry Douglas supplied the score. Flickerpix also worked with Touchpress on the Seamus Heaney: Five Fables app, which combined the animated episodes with literary material, academic commentary and an interface linking Heaney's translation with Henryson's original text. The app won Best App at the 2014 Celtic Media Festival. Flickerpix continued diversifying in 2014 with Boogie Woogie, a rhythm, dance and memory game designed for iOS and Android and programmed by Billy Goat Entertainment. In 2015, it joined JAM Media and Double Z Enterprises to produce the animated series Zig and Zag for RTÉjr and CBBC, with the original puppet creators and voice performers associated with the characters returning to the project. The studio's later output has emphasised tactile modelmaking and technological experimentation. Da Humbug, a stop-motion Christmas film created in 2021, used 3D printing in Flickerpix's modelmaking process for the first time. The production received nominations at more than 50 film festivals, won four awards and received an Irish Film and Television Academy nomination. The same general production approach was used for Milo's Meltdown, a 2023 stop-motion short. One Track Mind, a needle-felted stop-motion short, was reported as in production with an anticipated 2024 release. Flickerpix also explored motion capture and virtual-reality production with Retinize. Their 2023 short Charles and Camilla was a satirical interactive film in which members of the public could engage with 3D avatars of the King and Queen Consort. Comedians Duncan Whisby and Debra Stephenson provided the voices in real time. The film won Best Innovation in Animation at the 2023 Irish Animation Awards. In the same year, Flickerpix created and produced Hop n' Zip, a CGI slapstick series for children funded by USP Studios. The series later accumulated millions of views on USP Studios' YouTube channel. The studio is currently described as being led by Creative Director Johnny Schumann and provides stop-motion, 2D, 3D and motion-graphics services to broadcasters, agencies and other media clients.

• 2023

  Technology-led projects receive recognition

  [1]Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org

  Charles and Camilla wins an Irish Animation Award for innovation, while Hop n' Zip expands the studio's CGI children's output.

• 2021

  Da Humbug uses 3D printing

  [1]Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org

  The Christmas short becomes the studio's first production to use 3D printing in its stop-motion modelmaking pipeline.

• 2015

  Zig and Zag collaboration

  [1]Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org

  Flickerpix collaborates with JAM Media and Double Z Enterprises on a television series for RTÉjr and CBBC.

• 2014

  Five Fables and related digital projects launch

  [1]Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org

  The Five Fables series premieres, the associated app wins a Celtic Media Festival award, and Boogie Woogie expands the studio's games activity.

• 2012

  Macropolis is released

  [1]Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org

  The studio releases its second stop-motion short and develops the related Macrophonics app.

• 2010

  Living with Alcohol wins a BAFTA

  [1]Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org

  The CBBC documentary featuring substantial Flickerpix animation wins Best Children's Factual Programme.

• 2008

  Flickerpix joins Waddell Media

  [1]Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org

  The studio becomes part of Waddell Media and relocates to Holywood.

• 2006

  On The Air begins

  [1]Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org

  Flickerpix creates the BBC Northern Ireland animated series based on The Gerry Anderson Show.

• 2005

  Horn OK Please gains international recognition

  [1]Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org

  The stop-motion short about a Bombay taxi driver receives more than 16 international awards.

• 2003

  Flickerpix is established

  [1]Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org

  The animation company is founded in Northern Ireland and begins by producing animated stings for UTV.

An independent Northern Irish animation studio positioned around technically varied, award-recognised storytelling for broadcasters, children's media, short-film audiences, advertisers and interactive platforms.

• Animated television series · 2006

  On The Air

  A BBC Northern Ireland animated series derived from BBC Radio Ulster's The Gerry Anderson Show. The programme translated the radio show's personality and comedy into an animated television format and ultimately ran for four seasons.

• Stop-motion short film

  Horn OK Please

  An early Flickerpix short depicting a day in the life of a taxi driver in Bombay. It combines stop-motion animation with 3D backgrounds and became an internationally awarded production, receiving more than 16 awards.

• Stop-motion short film · 2012

  Macropolis

  A socially themed short about two toys with impairments that are discarded from a factory production line. Its tactile stop-motion style supported a story about exclusion and difference, and the film won more than 14 international awards.

• Animated television series · 2014

  Five Fables

  A five-part BBC Two Northern Ireland adaptation of medieval Scottish fables associated with Robert Henryson and translated by Seamus Heaney. The series was narrated by Billy Connolly and scored by Barry Douglas.

• Animated television series · 2015

  Zig and Zag

  A children's animated series produced in collaboration with JAM Media and Double Z Enterprises. It was broadcast on RTÉjr and CBBC and retained the original characters' established creative and vocal associations.

• Stop-motion short film · 2021

  Da Humbug

  A Christmas-themed stop-motion film that introduced 3D printing to Flickerpix's modelmaking workflow. It received nominations at more than 50 festivals, won four awards and received an IFTA nomination.

• Interactive animated short film · 2023

  Charles and Camilla

  A satirical short using 3D avatars, real-time voice performance and technology associated with motion capture and virtual reality. Public participants could interact with avatars of the King and Queen Consort.

• CGI children's television series · 2023

  Hop n' Zip

  A CGI slapstick series for children created and produced by Flickerpix with funding from USP Studios. Its online distribution generated millions of views on USP Studios' YouTube channel.

• Interactive app · 2014

  Seamus Heaney: Five Fables

  An educational and literary app developed with Touchpress around the Five Fables project. It combines the animated series with Heaney and Henryson texts, academic insights and an interface for comparing the literary source material.

• Mobile game · 2014

  Boogie Woogie

  A rhythm, dance and memory game designed for iOS and Android. Flickerpix created the project and Billy Goat Entertainment handled programming.

• 2009Comic Relief malaria short

  United Kingdom · International

  Flickerpix produced an animated short for BBC Comic Relief, written by Richard Curtis and voiced by Martin Freeman. It used 2D and 3D animation to communicate the impact of malaria in developing countries.

  Outcome. The film supported Comic Relief's public-interest awareness work; a separate award outcome is not specified in the available material.

  Source

• 2023

  Experiment with real-time and immersive productionStrategy

  Background

  Flickerpix worked with Retinize to investigate motion capture, virtual reality and real-time character interaction.

  Action taken

  The studio created Charles and Camilla, an interactive satirical short featuring real-time voiced 3D avatars.

  Aftermath

  The film won Best Innovation in Animation at the 2023 Irish Animation Awards.

  Source

• 2021

  Adopt 3D printing for stop-motion modelmakingStrategy

  Background

  The production of Da Humbug created an opportunity to introduce additive manufacturing into the studio's tactile animation workflow.

  Action taken

  Flickerpix used 3D printing for the first time in creating the film.

  Aftermath

  3D printing became a recurring part of the company's modelmaking pipeline for stop-motion projects.

  Source

• 2012

  Extend Macropolis into interactive mediaProduct launch

  Background

  Following the release of Macropolis, Flickerpix explored ways to develop the film's concept through digital products.

  Action taken

  The studio designed the Macrophonics app.

  Aftermath

  The project reinforced Flickerpix's activity across animation and interactive media.

  Source

• 2008

  Join Waddell MediaM&A

  Background

  Flickerpix became part of Waddell Media as the studio expanded beyond its early UTV work.

  Action taken

  The company joined Waddell Media and moved its base to Holywood.

  Aftermath

  The studio continued producing television, film, interactive and advertising work within the wider independent production group.

  Source

1. 1Flickerpixen.wikipedia.org