ENGINE HOUSE - ANIMATION GLOBAL DOMINATION

Do you love watching animation? Sure you do, because if you didn't you'd be some sort of animation hating Nazi that spits on small children, frail elderly people, plus anyone else who falls in between these two specially selected demographics. So, with that said, I presume you do love watching animation, which means you will definitely love reading the following interview I did with Mike, Jas, and Tash, otherwise known as the creative Cornish team behind 'Engine House'. 





1) In roll call style, can you each tell us a little bit about yourselves, as well as what your roles are within 'Engine House'?   Mike: I moved to Cornwall just over 10 years ago after finishing university where I studied Music Technology. I’ve always had an interest in all things creative, including 3D animation, which led to starting the company as a sole trader soon after my move. Within the company I’m a bit of a Jack of all trades (master of none!), sometimes doing more on the creative side, and sometimes more on the business side of things.

Jas: I'm basically a computer game nerd who enjoys art, and for a couple of years I followed that path through university, into a job in games, and then onto advertising (which involved a stint in London and then Chicago). Once I got that out of my system I decided to scurry back to my Cornish homelands as a freelancer and filmmaker. I tried to keep that approach and spirit when I teamed up with Mike and we began our mission of animation global domination.

Tash: I studied film for three years in London, before moving back home to Cornwall. I now take care of the business development and marketing, as well as frequently getting involved in the creative side of projects!

2) Mike, what inspired you and Jason to form EH, plus how did you two meet?   I’d been operating as Engine House as a sole trader for a few years and was struggling to figure out a way to grow the company from a one man band. I always knew there was so much more potential for Engine House but I couldn’t figure out how to get there. By pure serendipity Jason sent me an email introducing himself and explained that he wanted to move back to Cornwall and suggested we should meet. We did, and the rest is now history.

3) Jason, why call your company, Engine House?   Mike was already trading under that name and I liked it, plus it meant not having to spend ages coming up with another one! Cornwall has a big mining history and derelict Engine Houses punctuate the landscape across the county, so it has a strong link to our location as well as the many metaphors it offers.

4) Can you briefly tell us about some of the projects you’ve been involved with, Tash?   2017 was a very exciting year for us. We worked on some great projects for clients including Coca Cola, Penguin, and Ogilvy. We also worked on a really exciting 360 VFX project about exoplanets with The University of Exeter and We The Curious. The video has now racked up over 500k views, and is the second most viewed video on 'We The Curious’ channel!! It also led to us providing imagery for a NASA press release.

5) Tash, what song would you say best represents this firm and why?   Some time ago we did a visual pitch for a DJ show based in Hong Kong, and even though we can’t remember the artist’s name, we do know that the track was called, ‘Eye Travels’. It made no sense but eventually wriggled it’s way into the hearts and minds of anyone who worked in the office.

6) Jas, if you could get a celebrity – either living or dead – to promote your wares, who would you choose, and why would you want to choose this particular person?   That would have to be the late, great, David Bowie, because I would give him complete free reign to do whatever he wanted to do. Admittedly, we'd have to wait at least 10 years to understand exactly what that is, but hey, it would still be well worth the wait.

7) During your time in this field, Mike, what is the one thing that has kept you in good stead?   Coffee of course! But also just a genuine passion for what we do.

8) If Engine House had a motto, Tash, what would it be?   We like to call ourselves: 'The Animation Studio On The Beach', so maybe something more appropriate would be like, 'Love what you do, love where you do it'.

Now for any more information please feel free to follow Engine House via their website and twitter pages. Go on, give them a click, because I'm sure the best is yet to come.