Behind-The-Scenes Of Wallace And Gromit - 16/12/2024

Now it would not be Christmas without Wallace and Gromit and this Christmas day there's a treat in store as the duo return for a brand new adventure in Vengeance Most Foul. Yeah I could not believe my luck when I was invited to go behind the scenes of the iconic Aardman Studios there in Bristol and I met all the filmmakers. They are so incredibly talented and so patient but the question is could I bag myself a star and roll? Outside the West Wallaby Street house of the evil inventor Mr Wallace. Evil? This Christmas sees Wallace and Gromit return to our screens in Vengeance Most Foul. The latest adventure from Aardman Studios. The undoubted masters of stop-motion animation. If you're not quite sure what stop-motion animation is it's basically a much cleverer version of that. Who could possibly be behind all this? Nick being a proud Bristolian there's a lot of things that we love and Wallace and Gromit I've got to say is right up there. Where did it all begin? Oh well I was a student at the National Film and TV School. I needed to do something for my graduation project and I had these sketches of this man and this dog and these ideas up my sleeve and so just started it. It's a college project. Over the next 35 years that college project proved to be rather successful spawning multiple award-winning films that are beloved by millions worldwide. But what does the latest offering have in store? Our new film centers around technology and the way that it can be amazing but also how it can come between us and our relationships. So Wallace has been a bit over enthusiastic about his inventing and his latest and greatest invention is a smart gnome called Norbot. And this is the last straw for Gromit and things just unravel from there. While the story might be new what remains unchanged is the incredible craftsmanship and skill for which Aardman Studios are famous. You've got the best animation team in the world have you? We have got the best. They are world-class animators. I mean I know Aardman have won four Oscars for their animated films and I scraped a D at art in school but I think I can give this a good go. So we're going to make a Gromit head using one of these moulds. Right talk me through it. We're going to start off with some rolled out plasticine. We'll basically be putting a skin on top of this so I might have to heat some of this up. How would you heat that up then? So use a hairdryer. Never. Yes, don't want to overheat it too much. Oh god, sorry, sorry. Press this into here now and then we're going to take it through to the pressing machine. Yeah perfect, yeah that's great. So then you can see here we've got a little bit of a Gromit head. We'll clean off all of this extra. I'm happy with that. A bit rough. Just need to add the finishing touches. Oh no. For my very first Gromit head. Just don't look quite right. Okay it may not be perfect but what do the bosses think? Will I be able to get a job? Oh blimey. Well let's have a look at this shall we? Yeah I mean. We could point you in the direction with a couple of sculpting notes I think. Yeah we'll get back to your agent. So I shouldn't hold my breath for a job on the model making team but maybe I can redeem myself with a quick trip to the lab. Welcome to our lab. There's lots of jokes about which director's in the lab at the moment but it stands for live action video. We use it as a quick way of plotting out and rehearsing a scene. It's basically a way of us as directors explaining to the animators what's in our heads. You're gonna be Norbert. Oh what the evil name. Just need to get into character. Right naughty name for my starring role. That's it. That's pretty much it. What you should do now is head to Claire's Luke unit and see what happens next. Can I lose the hat though? Here is the film that we just made of ourselves. So I've got the animatic for this shot here which is our storyboard and then I've got our lovely lab and I would use those to do a rough version because once you start a stop-motion shot it could take days or even weeks. So you really want to know that you're doing what the director wants out of that shot. My acting as a naughty gnome there is that going to contribute towards your work here? Well yes Josie you're an excellent naughty gnome there and I think I'll be using that as reference. So if you see the film that's me that's my special appearance gnome number one. So without further delay I present you your leading lady. You get away scot-free with the diamond. Nailed it. Well thanks to my vital contribution and I suppose some work from a few other people Wallace and Gromit continue to go from strength to strength. We have to pinch ourselves sometimes that what they've achieved you know it's like seeing your own children grow up and go off into the world and do well. You feel very proud of them. Oh they are incredible. Did you start all that from his garage? Unbelievable. Yeah and the amount of time it takes like one second. I said how long does it take you to do one scene then? She said all day. I wouldn't even probably get a second. Well ladies and gentlemen I mean I'm pretty amazed by that spectacular debut. I think we can just there it is again. I'm actually in a film. So what was your character? I'm the nasty gnome. Were you sort of a baddie? I'm a baddie yeah. Evil. Evil. You can watch Wallace and Gromit Vengeance Most Hour Christmas at 10 past six on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Yes now Christmas Day.