Carse & Waterman Productions

With support from CreaTech Frontiers R&D funding, we’ve been developing an AI-powered lip-sync tool for animation.

The tool automatically creates a character’s mouth movements from a voice recording, giving animators more time to focus on performance, expression and the details that make a high-end final product.

The aim is not to replace animators, but to remove repetitive work and help make high-quality animation more cost-effective for clients.

Once development is complete, we plan to make the tool open source so other studios, animators and developers can build on what we’ve created.

A new round of CreaTech Frontiers funding will also be launching soon in Stoke-on-Trent, and we’re helping to support the launch event this September.

Reach out if you’d like to attend and learn more about the funding.

We were honoured to get the chance to see the new film from Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton. 🎬

Sticks & Shelter is a Stoke story with a huge amount of heart, taking on some of the hardest challenges facing our area while still finding warmth, humour and humanity in the middle of it all.

Massive congratulations to everyone involved.

Keep an eye out for a screening. This is a film that deserves to be seen.

Slick Films

Well, that was heartbreaking.

The defeat got us thinking about the World Cup experience and its mascots.

Mostly because Daniel came into the studio wearing a shirt featuring Footix, the Gallic rooster from the 1998 World Cup.

Most of the team remembered him instantly.

Some had the giant cuddly toy. Others had the keyring hanging from their school bag.

Most people, meanwhile, have never heard of Maple, Zayu or Clutch, the official mascots of the 2026 World Cup. At the moment, they feel like little more than image files sitting on a server.

Footix was not a design masterpiece, and he was certainly not the star of France ’98. Those were players like Beckham, Owen, Bergkamp and Zidane.

But players are volatile.

They get sent off, miss penalties and create all sorts of unpredictable chaos. FIFA itself comes with politics, controversy and the occasional accusation of corruption..or so we hear.

You cannot control a player, and nobody feels emotionally connected to a boardroom full of suits.

Footix was the bridge.

He remained safely outside the chaos: a stable, friendly character that transformed a cold corporate machine into something warm enough for a child to hang from their school bag.

A mascot only works when you use it to create stories and memories.

Creating those anchors is one of our favourite things to do as a studio.

Whether it is Staffy for Staffordshire County Council, our resident guide i-Me, or the characters we create for clients, the strategic thinking is the same.

People do not connect with dry information, walls of text or international sporting bodies with unexpected interests in global diplomacy..

They connect with characters and stories.

You just have to give them one.

And then actually use it.

Most of us can remember learning algebra at school. Far fewer of us can remember anyone teaching us how money actually works.

That's one of the reasons we've loved bringing **Pocket Money Adventures** to life. It's a simple idea with a big ambition: helping children build confidence with money before they need it.

**Book 1 – Ava Saves Up**

Coming soon.

https://pocketmoneyadventures.co.uk/

Pocket Money Adventures

As parents, our directors Daniel and Gary had grown tired of the digital hypnosis taking over children’s screens.

They wanted to create a good old-fashioned kids’ TV programme. One episode a week. Something fun, educational, and made with real human care.

So we built Farm Blocks.

Episode One is streaming now.

Watch Chip & Willow’s Day at the Farm exclusively on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/6Z7dZZenCRM?si=JI5nkpyT2qe4YAQx

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

More importantly, if your health and safety is too boring to remember, do you actually have health and safety?

Predictably we use visuals and animation in our studio to keep everyone safe, and it genuinely makes our team smile. Even guests stop and comment on it.

Most people don’t ignore safety rules because they want to. They ignore them because walls of text put their brains to sleep. A safety policy that nobody remembers isn’t keeping anyone safe, it is just an accident waiting to happen.

Now, obviously adults have a better attention span than a two-year-old. (You rarely see a CEO cry because their crayon snapped).

But when it comes to a giant wall of corporate jargon, the end result is exactly the same: people tune out.

Toddlers walk away because they get distracted. Tired business buyers scroll away because they get mentally exhausted.

Your audience isn't a robot.

Be More Human.

Look at him. Sitting at his desk, struggling to focus.

He doesn't want to read another dry, 50-page PDF from Head Office.

He wants Simplicity, he wants bright colors, and he wants clarity.