Christopher Sadler
Encyclopedia
Chris Sadler is an award-winning British
Animator director who works with Aardman Animations
. He has worked on Wallace and Gromit
, Chicken Run
, Rex the Runt
, Cracking Contraptions
, Creature Comforts
and Shaun the Sheep
.
He completed his secondary education at Codsall High School, Staffordshire
, United Kingdom
, leaving in 1989 having passed four A levels
. He then joined a one year art and design foundation course at Stafford College
before moving to Bristol
and embarking on a Graphic Design
degree at University of the West of England
. Although he originally focused on illustration, Sadler later turned his hand to stop motion animation
. He graduated in 1993.
He began his professional career as a freelance model/set builder before returning to animation. During the 1990s he worked for various film production companies including Bolex Brothers and Elm Road Studios in Bristol, Aaagh Animations in Cardiff
and Gnome Productions in Wellington
, New Zealand
.
He first worked for Aardman Animations in 1994 as a collaborator animating commercials and the pilot episode for Richard Goleszowski
’s Rex the Runt series. This led to him being given his first chance to direct when the second series went into production in 2001. In 1999 he was a member of the animation team on Robbie the Reindeer for the BBC
, his last independent production outside Aardman.
He became a full-time Aardman staff member in 2001 and has enjoyed several roles including writer, animator and director on episodes of Cracking Contraptions and key animator on their feature film productions. He joined the Shaun the Sheep team in late 2005, helping to develop the look and animation style of the series and was director of ten episodes. He was made series director for the second series of forty episodes, which completed production in March 2010.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Animator director who works with Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit...
. He has worked on Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit are the main characters in a series consisting of four British animated short films and a feature-length film by Nick Park of Aardman Animations...
, Chicken Run
Chicken Run
Chicken Run is a 2000 British stop-motion animation film made by the Aardman Animations studios, the production studio of the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit films...
, Rex the Runt
Rex the Runt
Rex the Runt is an animated claymation television show produced by Aardman Animations for BBC Bristol in association with EVA Entertainment and Egmont Imagination. Its main characters are four plasticine dogs: Rex, Wendy, Bad Bob and Vince....
, Cracking Contraptions
Cracking Contraptions
Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions are a series of ten Wallace and Gromit stop motion animations varying in length from 1 to 3 minutes. Each episode features one of Wallace's new inventions and Gromit's skeptical reaction to it...
, Creature Comforts
Creature Comforts
Creature Comforts was originally a 1989 British humorous animated short film about how animals feel about living in a zoo, featuring the voices of the British public "spoken" by the animals. It was created by Nick Park and Aardman Animations...
and Shaun the Sheep
Shaun the Sheep
Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated children's television series produced by Aardman Animations, and commissioned by the BBC and the WDR. It first aired in the UK on CBBC in March 2007...
.
He completed his secondary education at Codsall High School, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, leaving in 1989 having passed four A levels
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
. He then joined a one year art and design foundation course at Stafford College
Stafford College
Stafford College is a large provider of further and higher education based in Stafford, England.The college campus is on Earl Street in Stafford Town Centre. Qualifications taught include a wide range of A-levels, with additional choice offered through the Stafford Collegiate, which is a...
before moving to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and embarking on a Graphic Design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
degree at University of the West of England
University of the West of England
The University of the West of England is a university based in the English city of Bristol. Its main campus is at Frenchay, about five miles north of the city centre...
. Although he originally focused on illustration, Sadler later turned his hand to stop motion animation
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
. He graduated in 1993.
He began his professional career as a freelance model/set builder before returning to animation. During the 1990s he worked for various film production companies including Bolex Brothers and Elm Road Studios in Bristol, Aaagh Animations in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and Gnome Productions in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
He first worked for Aardman Animations in 1994 as a collaborator animating commercials and the pilot episode for Richard Goleszowski
Richard Goleszowski
Richard Goleszowski is an English animator.Goleszowski was born in Suffolk and grew up in Ipswich, attending Northgate Grammar School...
’s Rex the Runt series. This led to him being given his first chance to direct when the second series went into production in 2001. In 1999 he was a member of the animation team on Robbie the Reindeer for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, his last independent production outside Aardman.
He became a full-time Aardman staff member in 2001 and has enjoyed several roles including writer, animator and director on episodes of Cracking Contraptions and key animator on their feature film productions. He joined the Shaun the Sheep team in late 2005, helping to develop the look and animation style of the series and was director of ten episodes. He was made series director for the second series of forty episodes, which completed production in March 2010.
Awards and nominations
- 2010 - International Emmy AwardsInternational Academy of Television Arts and SciencesThe International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is an organization of global broadcasters, with members from nearly 70 countries and over 400 companies...
- Winner of Children and Young People category for 'Shaun The Sheep' - 2010 - The Writers' Guild of Great Britain - Winner Best Children’s Television Drama/Comedy - live action or animation - Richard Goleszowski, Rob Dudley, Glenn Dakin, Lucy Daniel Raby, Elly Brewer, Jimmy Hibbert, Will Maclean, John Camm, Lee Pressman, Julie Jones, Dan Berlinka, Andy Williams, David Ingham, Richard Vincent, Patrick Makin, Chris Sadler, Kieron Self, Giles New, James Henry, Nick Park, Kay Stonham, Sarah Ball, Ian Carney, Mark Daydy, Craig Ferguson, Patrick Gallagher
- 2010 - BAFTA Children's Awards - Winner for Animation - Director: Richard Webber, Series Director: Chris Sadler; Producer: Gareth Owen
- 2010 - British Animation Awards - Winner for Best Children's Series for "Ewe've Been Framed" Director: Richard Webber, Series Director: Chris Sadler; Producer: Gareth Owen
- 2008 - International Emmy AwardsInternational Academy of Television Arts and SciencesThe International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is an organization of global broadcasters, with members from nearly 70 countries and over 400 companies...
- Winner of Children and Young People category for 'Shaun The Sheep' (Director with Richard Goleszowski and JP Vine) - 2007 - Annecy Awards - Winner of Best TV Production - 'Still Life' from the 'Shaun the Sheep' (Director)
- 2007 - BAFTA Children's Award - Nominated for 'Shaun the Sheep' (Director, along with Julie Lockhart & Richard Goleszowski)
- 2007 - Rushes Soho Short Film Festival - Winner of The Era Animation Award - ‘Shaun the Sheep – Off the Baa’ (Director)
- 2005 - 33rd Annie Awards33rd Annie AwardsThe 33rd Annual Annie Awards were held on February 4, 2006 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California. They were hosted by Tom Kenny.-Best Animated Feature:*Chicken Little*Corpse Bride*Howl's Moving Castle*Madagascar ...
- Nomination for Best character animation 'Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-RabbitWallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-RabbitWallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 British clay-mation animated comedy horror film, the first feature-length Wallace and Gromit film. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations, and released by DreamWorksPictures...
' (with Jay Grace)