Another Down Terrace Win!

Big congratulations are in order for friends of LSM, Ben Wheatley and Rob Hill. They have secured another substantial win to add the growing list of accolades for their excellent debut feature, Down Terrace. Having already won Best UK Feature at the Raindance film festival and Best Picture at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, last Sunday saw them pick up the much coveted Raindance award at the British Independent Film Awards.

Well done everyone involved, it only looks set to get bigger.

Chaos Laboratories on BBC Comedy

Chaos Laboratories, BBC Comedy's new online saga, sees the release of its official site today.

LSM worked closely with Modern Toss Productions to create Chaos Laboratories fusion of live action and animation that follows the story of crazed scientists Axel Peters (Paul Kaye of Dennis Pennis fame) and Tomas Dorfmann (The Fast Show's Simon Day) as they attempt to contain the nationwide outbreak of their bird-like bio-pets before they wreak havoc across the UK.

Production took place over the past couple of months with LSM undertaking all animation duties. The release will take place gradually over a number of online outlets such as mysterious Youtube 'sightings', a BBC microsite in which the fourth wall is not only broken but literally torn down and will conclude with full episodes on the BBC Comedy homepage.

To see the new microsite click here.

Chaos Laboratories

This is a teaser trailer for the new Modern Toss production for the BBC, Chaos Laboratories. We created the animation for the online series and we're really excited about it's full release in the coming weeks.

More Chaos Laboratories trailers can be found here.

Chaos Laboratories coming soon to http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy.

LSM@Forum Blanc

LSM founder David Curry will be speaking at the Forum Blanc Animation and Cross Media Conferences.

He will be presenting a case study on creating programmes explicitly for multi-platform screening.

David's presentation take place on Thursday 15th January, the second day of the three days of conferences taking place in Grand Bornand, France. The coming years conferences focus on Cross-media development: a strategic challenge for the animation industry.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Ben Wheatley and Rob Hill for their excellent debut feature film Down Terrace.

Empire online say...

"Ben Wheatley's Down Terrace, a darkly hilarious reclamation of the British crime genre from those opprobrious peddlers of mockney muppetry..... Surreal and sinister, this is a splendid exercise in anti-social realism that deserves to reach a wider audience."

(Full Review Here)

We all went to see it last week and thought it was great, so we encourage you to track down a screening. They've already won best screenplay and Next Wave best feature at Fantastic Fest and are nominated as Best British Feature at the Raindance Festival.

We've recently worked with Ben and Rob on a new BBC online comedy which we'll hopefully be able to tell you more about soon...

LSM Development Contract With Microsoft

Following reaching the final of the recent MIPTV 360 Content Competition 2009 in Cannes , LSM have been awarded a development contract with Microsoft for their comedy property Blinklife © . The concept will be tested in core English speaking territories with a view to possible distribution across all Microsoft properties globally if successful.

We are delighted to be collaborating on this project with stand up comedian and compere of the Brighton Komedia Stephen Grant. It is an exciting project and we have high hopes for it doing well.

Cartoon Forum Selection

We've had a project selected for the CARTOON Forum, which will be held this year in the Rogaland region of Norway. 

CARTOON is an international non-profit association based in Brussels, whose remit over the last 20 years has been to support the European animation industry.  The forum allows producers to present their latest projects in front of top broadcasters and financiers from across Europe, in order to find partners for co-production.

More information to follow soon.

The Bigfoot Project

We are now represented by The Bigfoot Project,  a digital media production company based in west London.  They bring together production and post production professionals to create original exciting long & short form rich media content.

Clink here to visit their site for more information. 

Bamboozled? Outdoor Animation Screening

As part of the Brighton Fringe Festival, two LSM animations are being shown a Bamboozled? an outdoor screening of animated shorts.  Watch both Work Experience 

and Winter Song for free, along with a host of other great animation.

The event runs from 9-10pm on Saturday 9th May at Jubilee Square, Brighton.  Directions can be found here.

Fang Force at MIP and Cartoon Forum

We recently animated a pilot for Fang Force, an exciting new children's

animated adventure for Strict Machine. Presented at MIP, we have high hopes for this action packed tale of a family of good vampires trying to protect others from the

villainous Marius Meno.

Watch the clip below for a shortened version of the episode.

For more information on Fang Force visit www.fangforce.com

Cannes Robot Film on Shots Magazine DVD

Our Straight 8 short Robot, that featured at the Cannes
Film Festival last year, is on the Shots magazine DVD
this month. So if you'd like to get your hands on Robot,
pick up the latest issue.

LSM Finalists for Microsoft Project

LSM has reached the final for the MSN: Original Comedy for
Multiple Platforms Competition, part of MIPTV's Cross Media
Festival for 360 content. We will be making a live pitch in
conjunction with Brighton comedian Stephen Grant at MIP in 

Cannes to win a contract for a major production for Microsoft.

For more on MIPTV's Cross Media Festival for 360 Content click here.

Who Killed Nancy?

The documentary feature film Who Killed Nancy?featuring
our 3D animated representation of the crime scene, premiered
in Leicester Square.

For more on the film, click here.

Pentagon Plants at LSFF

Our short film Pentagon Plants was shown
at the London Short Film Festival on the
opening night. The film details the way
genetically modified plants could be used
by secret agents to spy on their rivals.

Flirt Finder

Aired on MTV, VH1 and the Paramount Comedy
Channel, our 30" TV commercial for Flirt Finder
mobile dating service, finds our heroine discovering
a way to find her dream man.

Modern Toss ICA Virals and Banners

We've created some web banners and virals for Modern Toss
and the Institute of Contemporary Arts to highlight the
benefits of giving ICA membership as a gift.

Below is one of the virals (I recommend the high quality version)



Watch the other virals here.

We've won a DIMAS!

We've won the award for Best Use of Animation at the
Digital Media Awards South with Modern Toss for
Work Experience. Judges included Martin Trickey (BBC),
Matt Locke (Channel 4) and Nick Underhill (PACT).

Thanks to everyone who voted for us!

For more on Work Experience click here.

Scotland's Got Spunk Screened at Encounters

Scotland's Got Spunk has been screen at
Encounters Film Festival in assocaition with
Aardman.

See it again here.

Winter Song

We animated this 4 minute music video for Song BMG
New York. Written and performed by double Grammy
award nominee Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson,
Winter Song features on the album The Hotel Cafe
Presents Winter Songs.


Winter Song (with Ingrid Michaelson) - Watch the best video clips here

Scotland's Got Spunk

Scotland's Got Spunk was a 2 minute seeding animation
commission for Channel 4's new online animation site produced
by Aardman and Lupus Films, 4mations. The animation features
Herbert and Norton entering a Pop Idol style talent show, with
messy consequences...

Work Experience

Work Experience was screened in July on E4 as part of Channel 4's 

Digital Comedy Festival. The latest project of Modern Toss, it 

intertwines the surreal comedy sketches of the Modern Toss TV series 

with the story of Luke, a young man causing trouble while doing work 

experience with his Uncle Keith.

It received a five star review from The Times.

Check out a sample of the 14 minute short below -

The Three Fellas

A three minute introduction animation for the live comedy event The

Three Fellas, which was part of the Liverpool European Capital of

Culture celebrations. The event featured the comedians Dylan Moran

(Black Books), Ardal O'Hanlon (Father Ted) and Tommy Tiernan

(Perrier Award Winner). The night was compered by Liverpudlian

comedian John Bishop.



The animation features the three stand-ups traveling through time as we

see the links between Ireland's role in Liverpool's development.

Robot Shown at Cannes

Robot was our 2008 entry into the Straight 8 film competition. 

Straight 8 entrants must use a Super 8camera, with no 

opportunity to edit or re shoot and as such it offers an exciting film 

making challenge. We we're thrilled to be chosen as one of the 

winning entries.

The film about a rejected Robot finding his way in the world has now 

been shown at The Cannes Film Festival, Soho Rushes and 

Cannes Lions.

You can watch the film by following the link below, along with 

interviews with Matthew Keen, LSM lead animator and director of 

Robot and LSM head honcho David Curry.

http://www.getcloser.com/event/audioandvideo/straight+8/125/7410/

Modern Toss Series 2

In January we worked on cult animation Modern Toss, producing a
third of the animation for the series. An eclectic mix of animation
and video,the surreal and humdrum combine to create a fun and
unique view of modern life. Screened in February last year on
Channel 4, it was nominated for the prestigious Rose D'or.



More Modern Toss can be found online and in their weekly comic
features in The Guardian.
http://www.moderntoss.com/
http://moderntossnews.blogspot.com/