Mark Hatchard is a director of the Hotbox Studios animation and design company and is involved with the contemporary arts and music festival group, Festival Republic, through Hotbox Studios' sister company Hotbox Events

Hotbox Events

Hotbox Events is a company that recruits and manages staff and volunteers for UK festivals such as the Leeds Festival, Reading Festival, Latitude Festival and The Big Chill...

. Hotbox Studios has produced film and animation in a number of award-winning collaborations and showcased their work all over the world, including at the Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Theatro al la Scala

La Scala

La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...

 in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 and the Lehmann Maupin Gallery in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. Hotbox Studios has also contributed to shows and exhibitions at the Lisson Gallery

Lisson Gallery

The Lisson Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Bell Street, Lisson Grove, London, founded by Nicholas Logsdail in 1967. The gallery represents such artists as Ai Weiwei, John Latham, Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Jonathan Monk, Julian Opie, Richard Wentworth and Turner Prize winners Anish Kapoor...

 and Sadler's Wells Theatre.

Early life

Hatchard was born in Ascot, Berkshire

Ascot, Berkshire

Ascot is a village within the civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting...

, 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...

, and grew up just a stone's throw away from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, with his mother, and younger sister Stephanie. He was drawn to art and design, both the technical and aesthetic, from a young age and indulged in the wholesome disciplines of painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

, illustration

Illustration

An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...

 and digital technologies as a teenager. He worked in Ascot’s residential care home on weekends and spent his summers touring Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

’s art and music festivals with DC Site Services. Hatchard would sometimes work at up to 20 different festivals every year, including Reading and Leeds festivals

Reading and Leeds Festivals

The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...

, World of Music, Arts and Dance

World of Music, Arts and Dance

WOMAD is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.-History:...

 Festival (Womad), Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury Festival

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...

 and Latitude Festival

Latitude Festival

The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006....

. Eventually, Hatchard went on to organise thousands of festival volunteers every year through his company, Hotbox Events

Hotbox Events

Hotbox Events is a company that recruits and manages staff and volunteers for UK festivals such as the Leeds Festival, Reading Festival, Latitude Festival and The Big Chill...

.
Hatchard attended public school and sixth form in Sandhurst, Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, and after went on to Farnborough College of Technology

Farnborough College of Technology

Farnborough College of Technology, often abbreviated to FCOT or FCT, is a college located in the town of Farnborough, Hampshire in the South East of England...

 (FCOT) in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

. Following two years of study, Hatchard graduated from FCOT with an AGNVQ in Media Production and Communication. He then enrolled in a further course at Farnborough and completed an Higher National Diploma

Higher National Diploma

A Higher National Diploma is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. This qualification can be used to gain entry into universities, and is considered equivalent to the first or second year of a university degree course....

 (HND) in Multimedia

Multimedia

Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...

, Broadcast Graphics and Animation

Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

. It was during this course that Hatchard was chosen by the college to produce a short film called Street Knowledge for the Hampshire Constabulary

Hampshire Constabulary

Hampshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in southern England.The force area includes the cities of Winchester, Southampton and Portsmouth...

. The course inspired Hatchard and sparked the young animator’s growing interest in the medium of 3D visualization (computer graphics). In 2000 he applied and was accepted to the renowned National Centre for Computer Animation

National Centre for Computer Animation

The National Centre for Computer Animation is part of the Media School at Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1989, it is often regarded as one of the best UK institutions available for study in the field of computer graphics, offering both undergraduate and postgraduate degree...

 (NCCA) at Bournemouth University

Bournemouth University

Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...

. He graduated with a BA (Hons) in Computer Animation and Visualisation.

Early career

During his time at college and university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

, Hatchard worked on a freelance basis and began to produce videos, photography

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

, web design

Web design

Web design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...

, graphics

Graphics

Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...

 and animation under the working title of Hotbox Productions.
In early 2001, Hatchard set up a mobile, live-vision mixing suite which allowed him to take his work on the road. Later this year he teamed up with a group of three other students from the NCCA and enjoyed his first of many collaborations with Wayne McGregor Random Dance. Together, the group of students spent six months developing four animated sequences for the company’s 10th anniversary production Nemesis, which toured through more than 40 countries internationally. By the time he graduated in 2003, Hatchard had directed animation production on four collaborative projects with Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, and Hotbox Studios Ltd was officially born.

Hotbox Studios

Through his work with Hotbox Studios, Hatchard and his business partner Robert Smith have produced film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 and animation for various shows and events across the world, including Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...

’s Dido and Aeneas

Dido and Aeneas

Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...

, at the Royal Opera House in London and Teatro al la Scala in Milan.
Animations have also been produced by Hotbox Studios for art exhibitions and installations, including for 1994 Turner Prize

Turner Prize

The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...

 nominee Shirazeh Houshiary

Shirazeh Houshiary

Shirazeh Houshiary is an Iranian installation artist and sculptor. She is a former Turner Prize nominee, and lives and works in London.-Life and work:Shirazeh Houshiary left her native country of Iran in 1973...

’s Veil at the Lehmann Maupin Gallery in New York and Shroud at the Lisson Gallery in London. Shows have premiered at Sadler's Wells, The Laban Dance Centre

Laban Dance Centre

Laban in Deptford, south-east London, is a conservatoire and centre for contemporary dance, and includes 13 dance studios, a 300-seat theatre, dance health suite, Pilates studio, library and café...

 and The Lillian Baylis Theatre, with some pieces being broadcast on the BBC.
The company’s head offices are on the Elvetham Estate in Hartley Wintney

Hartley Wintney

Hartley Wintney is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire.-Location and character:Hartley Wintney is in the Hart district of North-East Hampshire...

, around 40 miles from central London

Central London

Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...

, in South East England

South East England

South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...

. Hotbox Studios also produces websites, visual effects

Visual effects

Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...

, graphics and application software

Application software

Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...

 for their clients and supply web hosting service

Web hosting service

A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet...

, domain name registry

Domain name registry

A domain name registry is a database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain. A registry operator, also called a network information center , is the part of the Domain Name System of the Internet that keeps the database of domain names, and generates the zone files which convert...

, E-mail

E-mail

Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

 and document backup

Backup

In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....

 services.

Notable projects

Nemesis (Wayne McGregor | Random Dance September 2001). Created with the help of a Southern Arts Year of the Artist Award, and support from the Arts Council England

Arts Council England

Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...

, Nemesis is co-commissioned by South Hill Park

South Hill Park

South Hill Park is a site that lies in the Birch Hill estate to the south of Bracknell town centre, in Berkshire, England.-History:The original South Hill Park mansion was built in 1760 for William Watts for his retirement from service as a senior official of the Bengal Government...

, Sadlers Wells, Swindon Dance and DanceEast. This was Hotbox Studios’ first production in collaboration with Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, with animation and visual effects by Hatchard, Ellie Koorlander, Duncan Price and Edmund Kolloen. This 10-year anniversary piece premiered at Sadler's Wells theatre in London in 2002.

Bodyscript (Wayne McGregor | Random Dance 2002). Co-commissioned by Sadler's Wells, Wayne McGragor | Random Dance, and Arts Council England. The result of a creative project involving teenagers, with a score by Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...

 and animation and visual effects created by Hatchard and Seth Dubieniec. BodyScript was presented at the Lilian Baylis Theatre, London.

Ice Floe (Wayne McGregor | Random Dance 2002). Co-commissioned by the Arts Council England and Wayne McGregor | Random Dance. An annual partnership between Laban and Greenwich Dance Agency with animation and visual effects created by Hatchard and Edmund Kollen. Ice Floe was presented at the Bonnie Bird Theatre, Laban Centre in London.

Alpha (Wayne McGregor | Random Dance 2003). Produced in partnership with WWFLearning and supported by National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA), Arts Council England, The Foyle Foundation, The Ashden Trust, Sadler's Wells and the Lilian Baylis Theatre. With animation and visual effects by Hatchard, Seth Dubieniec, Anders Langlands, Mo Sobhy and Matt Middleton. Alpha premiered at Chancellor Hall in Chelmsford

Chelmsford

Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...

 in 2003 and has since toured internationally.

Light Atlas (Wayne McGregor | Random Dance 2003). Co-commissioned by Wayne McGregor | Random Dance and Arts Council England. Light Atlas was a collaboration between Laban and Greenwich Dance Agency, with animation and visual effects created by Hatchard and Seth Dubieniec.

Pills Thrills and Automobiles (APE Theatre Company 2003). In collaboration with the Department of Safety

Department of Safety

The Department of Safety was an artist-run community space founded in 2002, located in Anacortes, Washington's old police and fire station. It housed an all-ages music venue, art gallery, artist residency program, zine library, darkroom, artists' studios and living amenities for a handful of...

, this drugs-safety video was produced by the APE Theatre Company, with animation and visual effects created by Hatchard and Seth Dubieniec. The play has been debated in the Palace of Westminster

Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...

 (Houses of Parliament).

Amu (Wayne McGragor | Random Dance 2005). Co-commissioned by the Arts Council England and Wayne McGregor | Random Dance. With an original score by Sir John Tavener

John Tavener

Sir John Tavener is a British composer, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos"...

, animation and visual effects by Hatchard in collaboration with visual artist Shirazeh Houshiary. Amu premiered at Sadler's Wells Theatre in September 2005. The show went on to tour internationally and won the ‘Best Choreography

Choreography

Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...

’ award in the modern category of the 2006 Critics' Circle National Dance Awards.

Veil (Shirazeh Houshiary 2005). In collaboration with visual artist Shirazeh Houshiary, Hatchard of Hotbox Studios produced animation for gallery and museum presentation. Veil was first presented at the Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York

Breakthrough Weekender (2005). Hotbox Studios produced a visual performance for Breakthrough Weekender's opening night at the Marquee Club

Marquee Club

The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....

 in London’s Leicester Square

Leicester Square

Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...

.

A master class with Chris Charles (Wayne McGregor | Random Dance 2006). Hatchard worked with The Place

The Place

The Place is a dance and performance centre in Duke's Road near Euston in the London Borough of Camden. Originally the home base of the London Contemporary Dance Theatre from the 1970s, it is now the location of the London Contemporary Dance School, the Richard Alston Dance Company and the Robin...

 theatre and the National Film and Television School

National Film and Television School

The National Film and Television School was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located close to Pinewood Studios.-History:...

, working with students developing animation and visual effects for live performance.

Un[t]old (Wayne McGregor | Random Dance 2007). Co-commissioned by Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, Arts Council England, York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 Festivals, and West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

 Grants. Animation and visual effects created by Hatchard and Seth Dubieniec. Un[t]old opened at the York Theatre Royal

York Theatre Royal

The York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St. Leonard's Place, York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 847 people. This reduced capacity takes into account removal of the mixing position seats and the stage side boxes which are normally not sold...

.

Digit01 restaging (Wayne McGregor | Random Dance 2007). Co-commissioned by Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, Arts Council England, DanceEast, and The Place Theatre. With original film and re-mastered animation and visual effects by Hatchard. Digit 01 toured throughout the UK.

Shroud (Shirazeh Houshiary 2008). In collaboration with visual artist Shirazeh Houshiary, Hatchard produced animation for gallery and museum presentation. Shroud was first presented at the Lisson Gallery, London.

Dido and Aeneas (Wayne McGregor 2009). Animation and visual effects by Hatchard, produced for Henry Purcell's famous opera. The opera premiered at The Royal Opera House (London, UK), part of a double bill with George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...

's Acis and Galatea

Acis and Galatea

Acis and Galatea is a musical work by George Frideric Handel with an English text by John Gay. The work has been variously described as a serenata, a masque, a pastoral or pastoral opera, a "little opera" , an entertainment and in the New Grove Dictionary of Music an oratorio...

. The show was broadcast on BBC Television

BBC Television

BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

 and BBC Radio

BBC Radio

BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...

.

Dust (Shirazeh Houshiary 2011). In collaboration with visual artist Shirazeh Houshiary, Hatchard produced animation for gallery and museum presentation. Dust was first presented at the Lisson Gallery, London.

Hotbox Events

Hotbox Events essentially started in 2003 when Hatchard was asked by senior members of Festival Republic to manage a small team of volunteers at Leeds Festival. From here on in, Mark was asked to continue supplying volunteers on behalf of Festival Republic and in March 2009, Hotbox Studios officially launched Hotbox Events.
Thousands of volunteers give their time every summer as either CATs (Campsite Assistant Teams) or HATs (Helpful Arena Teams) at the Latitude Festival, The Big Chill (music festival)

The Big Chill (music festival)

The Big Chill is an annual festival of alternative, dance and chill-out music and comedy, held in the grounds of Eastnor Castle during early August...

, the Leeds Festival and Reading Festival.
In 2009, Hotbox Studios and Hotbox Events also became sponsors of Amy O’Loughlin, who came third in the Gore Bile Wear TransWales Mountain Bike Event.

External links

• Bournemouth University Official website
• Farnborough College of Technology Official website
• Mark Hatchard photography Personal photography website
• Hotbox Studios Company website
• Hotbox Events Company website
• DC Site Services Company website
• Festival Republic Official website
• Royal Opera House London Official website
• Theatro al la Scala Official website
• Lehman Maupin Theatre Official website
• Lisson Gallery Official website
• Salder's Wells Theatre Official website
• BBC UK Official website
• Reading Festival Official website
• Leeds Festival Official website
• Womad Festival (World of Music and Dance) Official website
• Glastonbury Festival Official website
• Latitude Festival Official website
• Hampshire Police Official website
• National Centre of Computer Animation - Bournemouth University Official website
• Random Dance Company website
• Shirazeh Houshiary Artist's website
• The Laban Centre Official website
• The Big Chill Festival Official website