And today,Shaun The Sheep: The Movielands in UK cinemas.
And heres how it went…
Im a long-time fan of Aardman stuff.
Here, youve given yourself a sizeable challenge by telling a story without dialogue.
Richard: A blank page!
[Laughs] I think we just wanted to stay with the integrity of the series.
we went dialogue free with the series for practical reasons.
Obviously lip sync takes more time and money.
But in doing so it became more cinematic, because we had to tell the story in pictures.
Where we saved at one end, it became quite expensive at the other, shooting it cinematically!
To say were making a film with no dialogue, how can we make this work?
We did have our doubts at some points!
Mark:Also, there was aTom & Jerrymovie back in the 80s, where they gave them voices.
Oh heck, yeah.
Do you remember it?
But I remember the sheer horror of the idea that [they talked].
the moment youre sat in your seat and you realise theyre doing that, the films finished!
There was a sense in which it felt like that was the big idea for aShaun The Sheepmovie.
It had to be like that.
We had to make it work.
They call it reading down the middle.
But thats the important stuff in the cinema.
The script itself, to be honest, was probably quite a hard document to read.
Were describing jokes physically which you’re gonna wanna see to enjoy.
But for us, its technical document.
We knew what we were trying to do with it.
The real blueprint of the movie though was the story reel.
And having sound effects.
That was a key part of the writing process as well.
Richard:Everyone thinks that!
It turned into a less interesting film once they started talking.
Mark:We had quite a lot of conversations about that.
It must have been really hard!
Mark:Itisreally hard!
On occasions, wed say its too verbal, take the words out.
Richard:It could be the most subtle of noises as well.
The slightest vocal squeak or grunt.
Just an exhale at the right place tells you so much.
To tell a story that you’re able to tell with pictures.
If its too simple, people get bored.
If its too complicated, they wont understand.
In a way, it was a very exacting discipline.
I do have to ask the big question, though.
When the publicity stills came out, one of the shops in the background read Costly Coffee.
But in the final cut, its changed to Gulpa Coffee.
So lets get to the nub of it: what happened?
Was it lawyers, and you consulted them, and they advised going the other way?
Richard:It was deemed too close to Costa.
Mark:So we made it a more generic coffee gag.
It was a judgement call in the end, it wasnt like Costa asked us to.
But we got away with a few others!
People look atShaun The Sheepand ostensibly theres an assumption that it has to aim very young.
But go right through the Aardman catalogue, and the tips of the hat span generations.
In this one, you seem to go fromSilence Of The LambstoAndy Cappthrough to Buster Keaton.
So what was the working mechanic there?
What did you pull back on?
Presumably, if it works its in?
Mark:Yeah, if it works its in, but we make that judgement per joke really.
Richard:Its not as if were specifically thinking of jokes for adults and jokes for children.
People will say I dont understand that, whats going on.
So if that happened, we probably wouldnt use it.
Mark:Whats theAndy Cappreference?
Well Ive got to tell you a trivia fact aboutAndy Capp.
I was a Whizz-Kid rather than a Chip-Ite.
Mark:Ah, were you?
Well, one of the first things the editor said to me…
I said whys that?
And he said because his dad is Andy Capp.
Mark:Yeah.Busterwas a spin-off fromAndy Capp.
Okay, you win.
If youre working onWhizzer & Chipsthough, which side was more popular?
Mark:Its a good question.
But I just wrote the storylines, so Id write the scripts!
So I was never part of the editorial team there, so I cant really tell you!
But I do have old comic annuals on my shelf that I like to caress!
This has taken a brilliant turn.
Mark:Whats interesting about it is that we often get asked what the Aardman thing is.
I grew up reading a lot of comics.
Not the Marvel comics…
I could never afford the Marvel ones.
Whereas I loved, you know,Bash Street Kids, that sort of stuff.
Then there was TV,Morecambe And Wise, that sort of thing.
Richard:Its a great British thing, isnt it?
[Laughs]Whizzer And Chipswas much more working class!
Mark:Now look what youve done!
Ive looked at lots of processes for different animation companies.
But how do you judge whether a joke has worked in stop motion?
How effectively, and quickly, can you make that call?
Richard:We rehearse everything in live action.
Me and Mark get in front of a camera.
We time it out there.
We record it several times to try and get the joke working, and then it goes to animation.
And because its a linear process, we keep an eye on it.
We might ask the animator to go back a few frames and extend something, or take something out.
Just to get the timing as good as possible.
Constantly trying to make each shot timed well.
How have the processes changed?
How do you keep edges to it?
Richard:Actually, we havent used any 3D printing on this one at all!
The mouths tend to be all plasticine.
Mark:It was used onPiratesa lot though.
Was that a conscious choice then?
Or is that the heritage ofShaun The Sheepat work?
Richard:I think itsShaunheritage, plus it wasnt really needed.
So it was almost like it had to be that way.
I do like the subtlety of plasticine, and how you might make tiny incremental changes to mouths.
I prefer that myself.
BothArthur ChristmasandThe Pirates!did very well in the UK, but not so well overseas.
How oblivious are you to that when youre making a film such as this one?
It wasnt necessarily a conscious thing.
But there was a sense of lets make a smaller film.
There was a bit of a retrenchment there though.
And then we didnt have an American studio.
Studio Canal stepped up and were great, and said that we want to make this with you.
I think that gave us a little bit of freedom.
There were a lot of positive things that came out of the relationship with DreamWorks and Sony.
But having a bit more freedom, to not worry about Middle America, was quite liberating I think.
They have to be big in all senses, to fill that American space.
I thinkPirateshad to do that, and I thinkArthur Christmashad to do that.
And I think it was a struggle.
But for us, I think we didnt have to worry about that.
We had a little bit more creative freedom to do our own thing.
One of the main plot points in the film involves a bash on the head, of course.
Were you consulting Headway?
But I actually do volunteer for Headway.
But the old days when you had people getting banged on the head every five minutes?
Well, we live in a modern world.
So I guess we came up with the storyline, and we ran with it.
But we wanted to treat it emotionally not just as a gag.
And I thought this would be an advantage for Headway to get involved.
At the end, just to say to people theres another side to this.
It wasnt meant to be a big deal, it was just an opportunity.
Headway were delighted to be involved, and we had a screening for them the other day.
Thanks for letting us know!
Mark:There was nothing didactic about it.
We thought you know what?
Thats just a bit obvious.
Final question then: whats your favourite Jason Statham film?
Richard:You first.
Mark:No, after you.
[Pause]
Mark:Mine hasnt been made yet.
Its an odd thing to say, but my daughter is obsessed with Jason Statham films.
Shes not actually making films, but she keeps coming up with great storylines for Jason Statham.
And theres one involving an allotment.
I cant tell you the whole story, itd give it away!
All I can say is its a lot better thanNativity 3!
Richard:Ill sayAllotment 2!
Richard and Mark, thank you very much!
Shaun The Sheep: The Movieis out in UK cinemas on February 6th.
