The People's Republic of Animation (PRA) is an

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animation, animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales ...

based in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It began as a creator of

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

s for Australian bands in 2003, and has since created award-winning short films and TV commercials, and developed feature films.

Foundation

As 14-year-olds, in 1996, PRA founders Eddie White, James Calvert & Hugh Nguyen began experimenting with a

Super 8 film Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format. The formal name for Super 8 is 8-mm Type S, distinguishing it from the ...

camera under the name of ‘Dabble Animation’. Their first short film ''Natural Born Animators'' (1998) was made two years later and achieved some national and international festival success on the student film circuit, including a selection at the Student Animation Festival in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada. In 2000 White renamed the team 'The People's Republic of Animation', a name coined after he flipped through an old

Funk & Wagnall's Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' (1st ed. 1893–5), and the ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' (25 volumes, 1st ed. 1912).Funk & Wagnalls N ...

encyclopedia looking for titles and saw the heading 'The People's Republic of China' and liked the empire-like and grand connotations it had. Animator and sculptor Brodie McCrossin joined in 2000, and producer Sam White in 2002, and the company was officially formed in 2003. The company received their first government grant for a

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

TV pilot and

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

for a music video in the same year.

Works

The PRA has produced two

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

(AFI) winning short films: ''Fritz gets Rich'' (2005) and ''Carnivore Reflux'' (2006). Carnivore Reflux was also voted best animated film by Australian audiences at the

Inside Film Awards The IF Awards, formerly known as the Inside Film Awards, Lexus Inside Film Awards, Kodak IF Awards, and Jameson IF Awards, was an annual awards ceremony and broadcast platform for the Australian film industry. Its name derives from its origins at ...

in 2006. Other notable productions include the international short film co-production with the

Shanghai Animation Film Studio Shanghai Animation Film Studio (), also known as SAFS (), is a Chinese animation studio based in Shanghai, China, as part of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation. Shanghai Animation Film Studio was officially established in April 1957, led by pi ...

of China, ''Sweet & Sour''. White and Calvert directed the first of the

Mitsubishi Lancer The Mitsubishi Lancer is an automobile that was produced by the Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1973 until 2024. The Lancer has been marketed as the Colt Lancer, Dodge Colt, Plymouth Colt, Chrysler Valiant Lancer, Chrysler Lancer, ...

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

Tropfest Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. It has also become known as the world's first global film festival. Founded by actor/director John Polson, Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people at the 'Tropicana Caffe' in ...

'supershort' films titled ''Safer in a wild world'', a one-minute short that blends

2D animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century, until there was a shif ...

and

3D animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Modern ...

in a pop-up storybook style. White and Ari Gibson of the PRA directed the short film ''The Cat Piano'', with narration by Australian artist

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

. The PRA subsequently made two short films, ''I Was A Teenage Butterfly'' and ''The Ghastly Gourmet Cooking Show''.

Collaborators

Benjamin Speed Benjamin Peter Speed is an Australian musician, producer, and composer. He previously performed and recorded as Mister Speed, Mr Speed, and more recently as Mister Benjamin Speed. He was vocalist and songwriter in the Australian alternative, el ...

- Composer / Musical Direction * Deane Taylor - Art Director * Greg Holfeld - 2D Animation Director * Barry Plews and Hu He - Reckless Moments - Co-production partner *

- Co-production partner * Jessica Brentnall - Magic Films - Producer

Filmography

Short films

* 2009 - The Cat Piano - 8:00 - Directed by Eddie White & Ari Gibson, Narrated by Nick Cave, Poem written by Eddie White * 2007 - Sweet & Sour - Co-production with

and Reckless Moments – 17:00 - Written & Directed by Eddie White * 2006 - Carnivore Reflux – 7:00 - Directed by Eddie White & James Calvert, written by Eddie White * 2005 - Fritz Gets Rich – 12:05 - Directed by Eddie White & James Calvert, written by Eddie White

TV specials and interstitials

* 2008 - I Was a Teenage Butterfly 'Battle of the Bug Bands' - Directed by Eddie White & Ari Gibson, written by Eddie White * 2008 - The Ghastly Gourmet Cooking Show 'Meat, Meat, Meat' - Directed by James Calvert & Eddie White, written by Eddie White * 2006 - Dust Echoes "Whirlpool" - Directed by James Calvert * 2006 - Dust Echoes "Mermaid Story" - Directed by James Calvert * 2006 - Errorism: A Comedy of Terrors - Directed by Eddie White

Music videos

* 2006 -

Hilltop Hoods Hilltop Hoods are an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1994 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the " larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert) ...

- Clown Prince * 2003 - The Fuzz - The Bomb (a.k.a. "Sixxx Legs") * 2003 - Trentwood - Operation Never Fall Apart * 2015 - Jetpack Joyride Rock Opera - Shirt Sleeves Jetpack Joyride Rock Opera - Shirt Sleeves - Halfbrick Studios on YouTube
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Awards and honors

*''The Cat Piano'' ** Winner IF (Inside Film) Award for Best Animation 2009 **

Yoram Gross Yoram Jerzy Gross (18 October 192621 September 2015) was a Polish-born, Australian film and television producer, animation director, and writer of children's and family entertainment. He founded the animation studio Flying Bark Productions. ...

Award for best short animation - Dendy Awards -

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. , the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

2009 ** Winner Best Animation Short -

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venic ...

2009 ** Winner Best Animation - IF (Inside Film Awards) 2009 ** Audience choice award for Best Short Film -

2009 Adelaide Film Festival The 4th Adelaide Film Festival took place in Adelaide, Australia, from 19 February to 1 March 2009. Katrina Sedgwick was again Festival Director.

** Official Selection - Short Film Competition - Annecy International Festival of Animated films 2009 ** AFI (Australian Film Institute) Awards - Nominated for Best Short Animation ** Jury Prize for animation & Audience Award for Best Short Film - 15 Short Film Festival 2009 *''Sweet & Sour'' ** Golden Monkey award for Best International Co-production - China Cartoon & Animation Festival - 2008 **

Award for best short animation - Dendy Awards -

2007 ** SBS Television Award - St. Kilda Film Festival 2007 ** Winner - Best Animation - ATOM - Australian Teachers of Media Awards - 2007 ** Bronze Shorts Award (3rd prize) - Shorts Film Festival, South Australia, 2008 *''Carnivore Reflux'' ** Istanbul Animation Festival 2006 - Jury Prize ** Holland Animation Festival 2006 - Movie Squad Award **

Best Short Animation (winner) 2006 **

St Kilda Film Festival St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. St Kilda recorded a population of 19,490 at the 2021 ...

2006 - Best Original Score (winner) ** Shorts Film Festival 2006 - Best Under 25 years ** Honourable mention - Zebra Poetry Film Awards, Germany 2006 ** Top 16 Finalist - Sony Tropfest, Sydney, 2006 *''Mermaid Story'' **Kalamazoo Animation Festival 2007 (USA) - Jury Award for excellence in visual storytelling *''Fritz Gets Rich'' ** Best Film For Children - Bradford Animation Festival, UK 2005 *''The Bomb (Sixxx Legs)'' ** Best Visual Effects Award - Belowground Music Video Festival 2004

References

External links

PRA on VimeoTropfest - Carnivore RefluxThe People's Republic of Animation on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:People's Republic Of Animation Australian animation studios 2003 establishments in Australia Companies based in Adelaide