– Mr. Aardman, Peter Lord, appointed professor in Volda
Peter Lord, CBE (Order of the British Empire) is a British animator, film producer and director. In 1972 he founded the Oscar-winning Aardman Animations Studio with his friend and colleague, David Sproxton.
Aardman Animations Studio is best known for using clay figures in its animations and has produced a range of highly successful films like Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep Movie as well as television series such as The Morph Files and Creature Comforts.
New Master’s Degree
– Peter Lord will also play a central role in establishing Volda’s new joint Master’s degree in Media that we plan to start up in Autumn 2017, says Mänd.
Animation director and college lecturer Dave King, head of animation studies Andrés Mänd, and Professor Gunnar Strøm with a figure of “Morph” which Peter Lord himself made during a visit to Volda.
Collaboration
Professor Gunnar Strøm has collaborated with Peter Lord since the early 90s, and the new professor knows the college and the town well, having visited Volda many times.
– Peter Lord was familiar with Volda University College even before animation studies were fully up and running and has come to Volda many times since. We have had many guest lecturers from Aardman in Volda, and many students have been on visits to their studio in Bristol. Some of our students have even worked there periodically, says Strøm.
– The animation course in Volda is one of the best in the world at this technique, states Gunnar Strøm.
Among the three largest in the world
Along with Disney and Pixar, Aardman Animations Studio is the leading animation studio in the world today.
– Peter Lord becoming a part of our animation team is huge for Volda. It’s a bit like rock star guitarist from Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, coming to teach on our music course, says animation director and lecturer Dave King with a smile.
Inaugural speech
Peter Lord will hold an inaugural lecture for students and staff on Thursday 22nd September as a part of the college’s Forskingsdagane. During this lecture, Lord will show clips from some of the films he has produced. He will also attend the tenth anniversary Animation Volda festival, from September 22nd to 25th.