Orca: the little animation studio that’s having a whale of a time

Partners Nelly Michenaud and Ed Bulmer have moved their animation outfit from London to Nantes, leaving them aglow with positivity and creativity.

There are so many things to love about the animation studio Orca, but let’s start with its name. Killer whales are cool, for sure, but this wasn’t a moniker founders Ed Bulmer and Nelly Michenaud pulled out of thin air on that basis. They’ve got a black and white cat called Orca, and that’s where the studio’s name comes from. This is just a tiny example of how their imaginative, poetic, associative thinking fed the well of ideas that poured out as we chatted by email.

The big news for Orca is that the studio has relocated from London to Nantes in France, Nelly’s hometown. While there’s been a lot of talk about a creative exodus from the UK – including here on Creative Boom – the rising costs, difficulty doing business and Brexit-y attitudes in Britain weren’t key reasons behind the move.

“We wanted to deepen our connection to Nantes by living here for a few years and for me to learn le français… but mostly to eat croissants, cheese and drink excellent wine,” says Ed. “The business is still UK-based, and all our regular collaborators are based in London, so our activities are across the two cities. France also offers a lot more opportunities for the funding of narrative, non-commercial projects – we’re already in the process of applying for funds and creating co-productions with companies here.”

As an exclamation point marking Orca’s arrival in Nantes, Nelly has made a short animation – a moving, visual ode – that straight away captures the unusual vibe to be experienced there. It began as a single shot, just a few frames, but then a giant heron sidled into view… It’s still quite short, but there was a little more to it by the time Nelly reached full expression mode.

“There is literally a massive mechanical elephant taking a stroll on l’Île de Nantes, gigantic flowerpots and a moon play area, sculptures and installations all across the town, acting as little winks or jokes in your daily experience of its specific urbanism,” she explains. “I wanted to translate that into animation with my own additions to convey this dream-like, beautiful randomness, floating feeling that artists and designers have created here.”

Partners in and outside the business, Ed and Nelly have complementary professional skills. Ed is the more technically minded, an expert with applications like Adobe After Effects and Blender. Nelly is the one who draws, creating 2D animations and the storyboards that drive their projects. However, their aesthetic sensibilities are similar, and they can usually tell whether a brief leans more towards Nelly or Ed’s directorial approach, backed up by freelancers who come on board whenever they need to scale up for a project.

While the studio takes on projects for big brands such as Netflix, Disney, the BBC, and Sony, the Play section of their website is just as interesting as the Work section. A stacked buffet of different looks Ed and Nelly have played with is on show.

“Self-initiated projects are fundamental for us to stay creative and test out ideas that we can then develop or put to the side, use on other jobs and give proof of concept. We love our Halloween mini films, for example, drawing each other’s characters and mixing 2D and 3D was really fun. Nantes was one of these spontaneous projects that were very hypnotic to work on. Ed is currently working on his next comedy short about his first job as a pot washer,” says Nelly.

These experiments ultimately feed the exciting proprietary creative projects the studio is working on. Orca is currently creating, writing, pre-producing and pitching three shows – all developed in-house – and is collaborating with a Nantes production company on one of them.

First up is The East Midlands Murder Squad, about three kids who awaken an ancient curse on their village – like a British, animated Stranger Things for six- to 11-year-olds. Then there’s Witch Western, which kind of does what it says on the tin. It’s an all-action Western where the cowboys have been swapped for witches, and the tone here is a little like Avatar: The Last Airbender. Finally, there’s Why Are You Like This?, a live-action puppet sitcom more aimed at adults.

As you-know-what continues to destabilise the creative industries, the move to France and the creative energy it released has put them in a good moment. “We’re connecting the most with people, even more motivated to reach out and exchange on each other’s expertise, teaming up to complement one another, getting into the immersive industry and the creation of an app,” says Nelly. “Sometimes it’s best to focus on nourishing what makes us feel authentic, to not get lost in the noise, and create work that truly resonates with others.”