Flying Bark to open Madrid studio, begins recruiting for new positions

Flying Bark Productions is expanding into Europe, announcing a new studio in Madrid, Spain to work alongside existing offices in Los Angeles and Sydney.

The company, which produces a mix of premium CGI and traditional 2D animated series and feature films, will look to fill about 45 roles for the new facility over the next six months ahead of its official opening towards the end of the year.

CG supervisor Ramón Giráldez, known for his work Love, Death & Robots, is onboard as a partner and Laila Sleiman Sanz will lead talent sourcing efforts as senior recruiter.

The announcement comes ahead of the release of 200% Wolf, for which Flying Bark collaborated with Madrid/Bizkaia-based production company Atlantika.

CEO Barbara Stephen said her company had been planning the European studio for the past 12 months to work with the region’s talent and make use of competitive incentives.

“We’re committed to doing independent stories and working with creatives across the globe,” she said.

“In the difficult climate that we have [in Australia] for children’s and family content, we realised the value of the European market and identified Spain as having some incredible storytellers and amazing talent.

“We want to partner with storytellers there and develop and create stories that will travel globally. In the EU, there are incentives around commissioning in the feature space and the distribution of local stories, so there’s more of an independent market there that is still working well.” 

Flying Bark Productions is an independent producer who also completes work for international studios and platforms including Disney, Marvel, Netflix, and Paramount. 

The company’s catalogue includes Emmy-award-winning Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (Disney TVA), What If…? (Marvel), and Monkie Kid (LEGO), Maya the Bee Movie, FriendZspace, 100% Wolf (series and feature films), and the upcoming limited animated series based on Shaun Tan’s beloved illustrated novel Tales from Outer Suburbia (ABC).

Also in the works are Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation’s untitled 2D Avatar feature film and an animated version of Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things.

Speaking about the workflow of the new studio, Stephen said there would initially be a focus on hiring CG talent, with a plan to grow a traditional 2D talent pool soon.

“We’ve been able to double down on producing premium-end animated content,” she said.

“I’d say the majority of our business now is working with our clients on higher-end, bigger-budget productions but we certainly have a unique skill set, which relies on that traditional hand-drawn 2D animation. Whether we are doing something primarily or entirely in 2D space, or we are using some of that skillset to incorporate into CG, such as What If…?, we can create these hybrid styles and stylisation, which is the studio’s strength.”

Anyone interested in working at Flying Bark’s Madrid studio can apply at www.flyingbark.com.au or reach out to the team during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (9-15 June).