Graduate company scoops award for The Keith and Paddy Picture Show
The team at Carse and Waterman, founded and staffed by Staffordshire University graduates.
“We regard this award as an honour for Stoke-on-Trent and the burgeoning film and TV sector in the area. There’s a pool of talented production houses and we are delighted to be here and helping to blaze a trail for our adopted city with this award."
Animation specialists Carse and Waterman have scooped a prestigious international award for their VFX (visual effects) work on ITV programme The Keith and Paddy Picture show.
A Gold medal at the Telly Awards is regarded as the premier awards programme for video and television content with Carse and Waterman featuring as a winner alongside TV giants CBS, ESPN and HBO.
The Stoke-on-Trent based business provided the VFX for episode 5 of the second series of the popular show in which TV comedy favourites Keith Lemon and Paddy McGuinness recreate iconic films with the help of a celebrity cast. Over 2.6 million viewers watched the Jurassic Park parody in May 2018 where Lemon and McGuinness teamed up with an eclectic cast featuring Shaun Ryder, Sally Phillips and Bernie Clifton, to parody the blockbuster dinosaur films.
VFX involves blending live action footage with digital animation to create TV and film scenes that would be impossible to capture on a live action film.
Gary Carse and Daniel Waterman are graduates of Staffordshire University’s film and animation courses and have relied on talented film makers trained by the university to grow a team of 10, with plans for further expansion in 2019.
“We began producing VFX sequences around four years ago, having founded Carse and Waterman as an animation studio 10 years ago.”
"This is a major honour and our first for VFX,” said Daniel. “VFX is an art that the major studios spend an awful lot of money on R&D and awards are often won by the big blockbuster films, such as Avengers. This Gold award is a major leap forward for our company and demonstrates how we have evolved and grown our craft."
Winners were announced at a star-studded ceremony in New York and while company founders Gary Carse and Daniel Waterman were unable to attend, Daniel will pick up the award on a work and leisure trip to Los Angeles this summer.
Daniel added: “We regard this award as an honour for Stoke-on-Trent and the burgeoning film and TV sector in the area. There’s a pool of talented production houses and we are delighted to be here and helping to blaze a trail for our adopted city with this award.
“We need to shout about creative talent and a big message is you can do this in Stoke-on-Trent; there is no need to go to London for great creative talent.”