Award Winning Manchester Animation Producer Launches Kickstarter Film Campaign

Westley Wood, of CITV and animation toolkit fame, is on a exciting mission to leverage £26,000 in just thirty days, via Kickstarter – the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects.

The film, titled Pooch Proposal, follows Stephen – the hero of the film – as he searches for the picture-perfect way to propose to his sweetheart Jane. Unfortunately for Stephen, Jane’s jealous dog has other ideas and will stop at nothing to sabotage his plans.

“It’s a romantic comedy of errors and the mishaps are all metaphors for the challenges in finding that perfect moment to propose; from choosing the ring to picking the right location and what to say”, said Wes.

Nestled in Manchester’s own MediaCityUK (home to both ITV and the BBC) sits Animation Toolkit. From its humble beginnings in founder Westley Wood’s garage seven years ago, it is now a well established business, producing a multitude of armatures and animation supplies to the animation industry and students alike. It is due to the hard work and connections built up around this company that Pooch Proposal is even a possibility.

Enthusing about the project, Westley said: “We are delighted to have a plethora of extremely talented crew working on Pooch Proposal, whom have worked for some of the biggest names in industry – including Aardman, Disney, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon, CITV and CBBC and a variety of projects including Corpse Bride, Fantastic Mr Fox, Count Duckula, Looney Tunes and The Pirates of the Caribbean”.

Neither Westley Wood or Animation Toolkit take any payment from the film, but funding is required to pay crew and to cover materials to make the sets, props and puppets.

All founders are rewarded with a range of items including Animation Toolkit limited edition armatures, specially designed and packaged for Pooch Proposal.

To find out more about the film and to pledge your support, go to: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/41328119/pooch-proposal-a-stop-motion-film-by-westley-wood

About Westley Wood.

Westley has spent 15 years working in and around the animation industry. From his beginnings as a puppet maker for Mackinnon and Saunders, he went on to become development producer for Cosgrove Hall Films to Creative Director/Producer for kids’ channel CITV. Westley has won and been nominated for a multitude of awards, including Young Entrepeneur of the Year, BAF, and Promax to name a few. Most recently, Westley developed, produced and directed the stop motion show ‘Compost Corner’ for CITV, which was subsequently nominated for a BAFTA.

Westley spends his working days writing and producing/directing content for CITV, from promotional campaigns in both live action and animated formats to animated content. Additional to this, Wes manages the product development and ever-growing crew of Animation Toolkit.