Mark Baker

Mark Baker was nominated for an Oscar and won a BAFTA award for his first animated film The Hill Farm (1988), made while at the National Film & Television School. His next two films The Village (1993) and Jolly Roger (1998) were also nominated for both awards. This is an impressive career start for any young animator.



The Hill Farm (Complete Part 1)



The Hill Farm (Complete Part 2)

Más información acerca de " The Hill Farm"

His London-based company, Astley Baker Davies, makes commercials, title sequences and short films. During his relatively short career, Baker has moved from cel-based animation to embrace the new techniques of computer animation. His first two films were made using relatively traditional methods even if the final look and the subjects turned out differently. The Hill Farm follows what happens at a farm over three days, involving the farmers, campers and some hunters who disturb a large bear. The Village is darker in tone and focuses on life in a claustrophobic village where the jealous inhabitants try to preserve their own secrets while spying on one another.



Jolly Roger was Baker’s first film made with the aid of computer animation software. All the animation drawings were scanned into the computer and coloured digitally. It was also Baker’s first film with dialogue. The film follows the adventures of two pirate ships – one commanded by the evil Captain Jolly with his band of cut-throats and the other by the more cowardly Captain Roger, with his daughter Nell and one crew member, Hugo.



"Jolly Roger" fragmento (1998)


The BBC children’s series The Big Knights (1999) was hand-drawn and then animated using computer software. This thirteen-part series is set in the rather backward mediaeval-modern country of Borovia and features two knights, Sir Boris and Sir Morris, who ride out from their home, Castle Big, in search of adventure. This inevitably proves a hindrance to the local populace, struggling to get on with their modern-day lives.

The studio’s latest series, Peppa Pig, is aimed at pre-school children and will be televised in the UK by Nickelodeon's channel Nick Junior and Channel Five. (via)