Kong Studio Exhibits Class and Culture with Secrets of the Museum animated shorts for The Open University
Skwigly
The Open University’s Secrets of the Museum looks at artefacts held within the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The two animated shorts coincide with the new series of the popular OU / BBC co-production, first shown in 2020. In the TV show, experts and conservators were filmed at work in this treasure trove of the nation’s favourite objects, breathing new life into fragile marvels, and uncovering hidden stories.
The Open University’s association with the BBC has been going on for over 50 years. The foundation of this relationship is the concept of free access to learning for all. However, gone are the days of bearded professors in brown jackets discussing quantum mechanics in the wee hours of the morning. These days The Open University’s co-productions span linear and on-demand television, radio, podcast and digital. The OU uses its academic expertise and in-depth research to bring learning to life through some of the BBC’s most iconic series.
Alongside the TV series, The Open University creates additional content that supports further learning. For Secrets of the Museum each film takes the viewer through why the object was made and its significance in the history of the world. In this instance, the eclectic objects chosen are Tipu’s Tiger – a mechanical animal complete with a working musical organ – and Balenciaga’s Le Mouton Noir evening coat.
With academic resources in short supply, the Broadcast and Partnership team at The Open University needed to find a way to produce the additional content in a streamlined fashion. Using research that they already had under their belt, they called on Kong Studio. Having recently used animation in a series of explainer videos with BBC Ideas, the Broadcast and Partnership team could see that Kong Studio were the answer to their conundrum. They handed over the script and key facts to the animator and allowed him free reign to craft the video and make it both visually appealing and informative.
Both animations were designed and animated by Daniel Prothero. Daniel drew inspiration from the objects’ history to illustrate the story that led to their creation. This included visual similarities between 18th century India and 20th century Spain in the architecture of Tipu Sultan’s palaces and the Moorish arches of southern Spain. These architectural features, along with plants native to each country, served as the building blocks for the animations. Daniel juxtaposed photographic images of the two artefacts with animated scenery to create a striking final product. This mixed media approach meant that time could be spent designing the various characters that feature in each animation.
One of the biggest challenges was creating a large cast of characters- from a matador to colonial soldiers, engineers to a flamenco dancer. I took inspiration from photographs and paintings created during the two eras. Character animation can be a very time-consuming process, so we kept the movements subtle and reused elements where possible.
I most enjoyed the freedom the client allowed us. We were trusted to develop an original visual style and palette and were encouraged every step of the way – inspiring us to push harder.
Animator, Daniel Prothero