My name’s Robyn and I’m a producer and marketing manager at Bomper Studio, an independent creative production studio based in Caerphilly – just opposite the castle, which makes a nice view when you are in the office. I’m from nearby Blackwood originally but studied marketing at university in Bristol before heading to work for a stop-motion studio in Kent. I always wanted to move back to Wales to live and work.
My job is overseeing production, working closely with the creative teams to ensure that everyone has what they need and that all projects are the absolute best that they can be. Part of my job is exploring new opportunities and maintaining relationships with clients, partners, suppliers and freelancers. Being a small studio, you often have to wear multiple hats, so I'm also the marketing manager, developing the marketing strategy and overseeing the branding of the studio.
At Bomper, we create work filled with character and originality for broadcast, branding, advertising and music videos. We work primarily in CG animation and do a bit of VFX work in 2D. Our studio is a little bit different in that we're an ideas-driven studio, we don't have a house style. This approach has been really liberating – it enables us to explore different types of content. Our culture is based on this inherent curiosity.
There are 11 of us full time but with freelancers, we can often scale up to about 30 people. We usually have one or two major productions and then some smaller ones. We do a lot of advertising work for brands such as Mitsubishi and Levi's. And we've worked on a few series for BBC Bitesize. We've recently done music videos, including two with the Foo Fighters.
I often pinch myself that I have my dream job and it’s in Wales. In the last 10 years, people are really looking to Wales for its creative sector. I didn't really feel that I would be able to have a job in Wales as the creative industry seemed stuck in a London bubble, although experimentation and resourcefulness have always been the lifeblood of the sector outside of London. I love the fact that I can be on a call with Sony in New York, and then at five o'clock I'm walking up the mountain next to my house with my dog.
We've had a lot of support from Creative Wales. We went on a trade mission to San Francisco a while back and they are always inviting us to events, showcases and conferences. They also have so many different funding opportunities and they’re such a good support network. If you've ever got a question, whether it’s a new market, investing, or connecting with another studio, they’ve always enabled us. It’s a great sounding board and enabled us to grow. It’s been amazing to see the evolution of Bomper since I joined in 2018.
We’re working on lots of top-secret projects right now, including one with a big mobile gaming company, which is due out soon. With an enormously talented team with a diverse range of interests, we’re always embracing our natural curiosity and looking for ways to challenge our ambitions. No working day is the same at Bomper, and I’m really excited about what else we will work on and achieve in the future.
To find out more about Bomper Studio and some of the projects they've worked on, visit their website.