A Tredomen-based animation company is looking to international expansion following a number of successful trade missions to China and San Francisco.
Gritty Realism, which has its headquarters at Tredomen Park near Ystrad Mynach, has received a number of accolades for its unique graphic style within its first two years of operation and has regularly supplied animated documentaries and films to a number of broadcasters and other organisations across the UK.
Founder and managing director, Gerald Conn, explained: “After working in the animation and educational film projects spheres in Wales for the past 15 years, I was keen to explore the unique opportunities presented by animating with sand.”
“Relocating from Cardiff to Tredomen Park offered me a fantastic opportunity to specialise in this area and I was able to benefit from welcome business start-up support offered by Caerphilly County Borough Council through a Grant and attend two trade missions organised by UKTI and Welsh Government. Both China and San Francisco were incredibly interesting experiences and it was brilliant to see some of the world’s greatest digital companies and animators at work.”
In taking this to the next level, Mr Conn is hoping to travel back to the US in the summer.
He is also very keen for young people from the Caerphilly County Borough area to benefit from this approach.
He said: “The sand animation technique offers huge potential on the education side.”
“Our sister company Gritty Films has been set up as a not for profit organisation and after securing funding from the Arts Council for Wales, we will be working on a number of projects with young people in Bedwas and Senghennydd over the coming months.”
The projects include working alongside the Tommy Cooper Society where they will be using animation to bring his statue to life and the production of a film to mark the centenary of the mining disaster in Senghennydd scheduled to be shown in October.
Tony Sheehan, Chairman of the Caerphilly Business Forum, said: “Gritty Realism is a great example of an innovative business working in the digital and creative services sector that has relocated to the Caerphilly County Borough in order to grow and collaborate with local communities and other businesses in the area.
“The company’s animation technique and its various applications are truly inspiring and we expect this company that has already been recognised as the Caerphilly Business Forum’s New Business of the Year winner in 2012 to go from strength to strength.”