Jim who works for Aardman animations is a fan of my work, which is very lucky for me, because when I am in Bristol he often invites me to come along and have a look at the work he is doing. A couple of years ago
I got to see all kinds of exciting secrets. And this afternoon Me, Giles and his son got to drive out to a big warehouse on the edge of town (it used to be a factory where they made Barbies - dolls, not Australian meat cookers) to see what he's working on now.
We didn't have to sign any confidentiality agreements today because the studios are mainly devoted to the new series of Shaun the Sheep, which is not a secret given it's a massive worldwide hit. Nor did another Richard Herring coincidentally arrive on the same day (as far as I know). But we did see the enormously friendly team at work and they patiently explained how they made the models and filmed the shows. One of them even gave us some moulds from the Pirates film (he was going to throw them away otherwise) - so I have a copy of Darwin's head! I met the director of Shaun who is amazingly called Golly (though I was disappointed to see that he was a human being, rather than a massive racially insensitive doll) and also met the man who created "Trap Door", who was an unassuming man who seemed surprised to find out that the others called him "the King of Lick" due to his ability to make things look like they're damp (often by licking them).
I have seen much madness in the world this week, some of it horrible and terrifying, but the craziness of the world of Aardman is one of the more wonderful things about life. That human beings could make their living making tiny models that they then laboriously film to create about 2 to 6 seconds of action a day is sort of insane. That that could be any job is almost as nuts as the idea that someone could make a living traveling the country and talking about penises. But it's the good kind of nuts. That someone could spend 3 years making nothing but eyes for cartoon sheep and make a living at that would bamboozle our ancestors (to be honest even my grandad would be pretty flummoxed), but if only we could all evolve to this level, where our time is spent slowly creating something beautiful and life-enhancing. The dedication of these people is just wonderful to behold and it gives me hope that a place like this exists where pride in work and artistry (and I have to say niceness) are prized and encouraged. Yeah there are lots of easier ways to do a shot where (spoiler alert) a big fat sheep is carried away by some balloons. And maybe the businessman in his suit and tie might baulk at spending a whole day creating this 4 second scene. But this is the way it should be done and the numerous awards dotted around the building attest to the fact that it's the right way to go. Again I am sure this studio makes a lot of money, but I don't think making lots of money is their goal. It's just the result of doing their job so well.
I saw one of Nick Park's Oscars up close, maybe the first one I've ever seen in the golden flesh. It actually looked like a bit of a crappy copy, the least impressive thing on display in this building. It looked might it might be plastic.
There was one set that was secret and I am not allowed to write about it. Luckily I can't remember what it was. I'd be a rubbish spy.
Nearly 300 people in tonight for the second Bristol gig and if I sell out tomorrow that will be 900 tickets sold for these three nights, making this one of the towns that is doing better on this confusing tour. It was a good gig in the end, but a heckler shouting over the second thing I said threw me off balance a bit and I went in a little bit hard on the chap who had tried to join in. But luckily I clawed my way back into the affections of the crowd and the second half went as well as it ever has. I do love gigging in Bristol.
Tickets are now available to buy for the massive Regent's Park Open Air Theatre on 26th May, so any Londoners who missed the show (or want to see it again) this is positively your last chance. Get your tickets
here to see my cock out in the open air.
