SA animation company partners with UK creatives

The film was project managed and storyboarded in the UK and produced in South Africa.

Love Creative's Alastair Sim says this is the first work the agency has done in South Africa, but certainly not the last. "This is very much the first step in our relationship and we've been through a learning process as expected. There are obvious constraints working long distance, but the short time difference and use of technology meant that Wicked Pixels may just as well have been in London, apart from the fact they are better and more cost-effective than most of their London counterparts!"

"South Africa is an ideal outsource destination for creative agencies in the UK," notes Richard Holt of the Qualia Group, who introduced the two companies during a Qualia Business Quest trip to the country. "There is great creative talent with a real ambition to play in the global market."

"We also have a visually unique and innovative approach less influenced by European trends," says Kamila Pisula of Wicked Pixels.

Sim says Qualia's role in facilitating the deal was crucial. "It was Richard Holt who suggested we meet Wicked Pixels, and he had obviously done his homework as they are great animators. There are a number of synergies between us as we're both compact teams producing very creative, high quality work for discerning clients. What's more there was obviously a good chemistry between us.

"The personal connection we established by making the trip to Cape Town meant that Wicked Pixels had an understanding of how we work and what we are looking for," adds Sim. "This allowed us to handle the first job by phone and email."

Pisula agrees that the job went smoothly and says Wicked Pixels would love to work with Love Creative again: "They're an inspiring agency... they placed complete trust and faith in our abilities although we'd never worked together before."