ACMI X + Ludo Studio Residency
We've partnered with Ludo Studio, the Emmy-award winning production company behind Bluey, Robbie Hood and The Strange Chores, to establish a 3-month $10,000 residency giving local animators the opportunity to create the next global hit from our co-working hub, ACMI X.
Applications are now open
Submissions for the ACMI X + Ludo Studio Residency are open now until Mon 20 May 2024. The winning recipient will be selected by ACMI and Ludo Studio and announced in late June.
Before you apply, please carefully read the information and guidelines below.
About the residency
The ACMI X + Ludo Studio Residency will support an emerging animator or animation team with up to two professional credits through $10,000 of project funding, regular mentoring from Ludo Studio animators and a fully subsidised residency at ACMI X, to develop a project ready for pitching in the Australian and international marketplace.
The ACMI X + Ludo Studio Residency has been set up to facilitate insights into the creative practice and career pathways of the Ludo Studio team, which made history when Bluey became the second most streamed show in the US for all of 2023, amassing 43.9 billion minutes watched (Source: Variety).
The winning recipient will also be invited to showcase their project at an ACMI X Screen Industry Works-in-Progress night, supported by RMIT University, and participate in the one-day Animation Symposium, presented in partnership with Ludo Studio. This full-day event, to be held at ACMI in late 2024, will deliver an unmissable opportunity for screen practitioners and animation fans alike to hear from the Ludo Studio team and other key voices in Australian animation.
About Ludo Studio
Ludo is an independently owned three-time Emmy®, BAFTA, Logie, AACTA, Rose d'Or Award and Asian Academy Award winning studio and Screen Producers Australia, Business of the Year. Ludo creates and produces original drama, comedy, animation and digital stories for the world from Australia. Ludo now makes the most popular series on Australian TV and the No. 1 show on Disney+ in the US. Ludo recently created the concept for the highest grossing horror feature release in A24's history.
Learn more at the Ludo Studio website.
About ACMI X
First opened in 2016, ACMI X is a hub for creative practitioners, startups and businesses working with creative technology across film, television, videogames and screen-based art, supported by Major Research Partner RMIT University. Now housed above the museum in Fed Square, this creative incubator has fostered collaboration and partnerships between ACMI X residents and ACMI’s own employees across a range of disciplines.
Animation Symposium
A day-long event hosted in ACMI’s Cinema 2, The Animation Symposium will address a range of topics that connect the dots between artistic practice and building a sustainable animation workforce in Australia – providing an understanding of the formal and alternate pathways animators and studios can take when creating and distributing work.
More Symposium details to be announced soon.
What does the Residency provide?
The ACMI X + Ludo Residency will provide a team of early-career animators with a 3-month, part-time residency at ACMI X. The residency provides access to:
- Dedicated sit/stand desks with monitors (24/7 access with ACMI security passes)
- high-speed wifi, printing, kitchen and coffee amenities, lockers, 28 hrs of meeting room hire p/m
- access to weekly resident-only events, regular industry programming
- ACMI membership.
Additionally, ACMI will provide the recipients with:
- $5,000 in project funding to support acquisition of tools and resourcing
- access to the Animation Symposium, hosted in ACMI Cinema 2
- presentation of the project at an ACMI X Works in Progress Night.
Ludo will provide support for the residency via:
- $5,000 in awarded funds to the successful applicant
- mentoring from Ludo animators throughout the residency via regular meetings.
Eligibility – who can apply?
The ACMI X + Ludo Residency will be awarded to a team of early-career animators.
To qualify, early-career animators are identified as artists with up to two professional credits on an animated production (film or television) however you may have provided animation/design/writing services for commercial projects or commissioned work.
Teams may be made up of anywhere between 2–4 individuals with one lead artist representing the project/team when making the submission.
Submission Guidelines
Submission must include the following:
- Statement of intent (what you wish to gain from the ACMI X + Ludo Residency, why your team would benefit from access to ACMI X and project-specific mentorship from Ludo animators).
- Project description (one page detailing the project – logline, synopsis, character descriptions, and any core themes being addressed in intended proof of concept).
- Artist bios (for both the lead artist and all additional team members)
- Examples of previous work (commissions (commercial or artistic), graphic design, student/short films, artist reels, etc.)
Submissions may also include:
- Supplementary project assets (character and/or location designs, original compositions and/or examples of relevant music/score, story outlines, scripts, storyboards, etc.)
Selection Process
- Submissions will be made via a dedicated page on the ACMI site. Upon close of submissions, these will be reviewed by the ACMI X Community Coordinator and all applicants adhering to the guidelines will be delivered to Ludo and ACMI’s leadership for review.
- Ludo and ACMI will compile a shortlist of up to 4 finalists, at which point ACMI will notify unsuccessful applicants and liaise with Ludo and the finalists to arrange interviews.
- At the completion of the interview process, Ludo and ACMI will select the winning recipient and ACMI will notify the unsuccessful finalists.
- Ludo and ACMI will announce the winning recipients (coinciding with an interview with the winning team, published on the ACMI site and shared on ACMI social channels).
Key dates
- Tue 16 April 2024: ACMI X + Ludo Residency announced with launch of submissions page
- Mon 20 May 2024: Submissions close and applications provided to Ludo for review
- Mon 23 June 2024: Winning recipient announced
- Mon 7 Aug – Fri 10 Nov 2024: ACMI X + Ludo Residency period
- Nov 2024: Animation Symposium
Apply now
Submit your application for the ACMI X + Ludo Residency.
Please make sure you've read through the submission guidelines first.
Enquiries
Please direct enquiries to acmix@acmi.net.au