Growth Hub helps Black Laboratory double turnover
From small-scale studio to global innovator
With targeted innovation funding and Growth Hub business support, Bristol-based creative technology studio Black Laboratory transformed a bold R&D concept into puppix - a revolutionary puppet motion capture technology - doubling turnover in four years and launching a new global technology company.
Overview
Black Laboratory operates at the cutting edge of film and animation. Their ambition to develop new methods for capturing physical puppet motion led to the creation of puppix, a technology that bridges the physical and digital worlds.
This breakthrough innovation was made possible through the Business Innovation Fund, a West of England Mayoral Combined Authority-funded programme that helps businesses to carry out research, development, innovation activities and exploit their intellectual property.
Situation
Like many creative studios, Black Laboratory faced the challenge of balancing paid client work with their desire to innovate. While the team had a clear vision for physical puppet capture technology, R&D was repeatedly postponed.
The Business Innovation Fund provided critical “breathing room”, allowing the studio to pause some client commitments and invest in team capability, infrastructure, tools and the creative space necessary for meaningful R&D that would otherwise have been impossible.
Solution
Supported by the Combined Authority’s Growth Hub, Black Laboratory began early-stage research into physical puppet capture, laying the foundations for puppix. This initial work put the team in an incredibly strong position to pitch for the MyWorld Challenge Call and NVIDIA Accelerator in 2023. They won a fully funded six-month R&D opportunity, which gave them the resources to focus on building and testing the new technology:
- Developing working prototypes and proof-of-concept models
- Showcasing early demos at Bristol TechFest 2023
- Refining puppix into a patent-pending motion capture system
The team used the remaining Business Innovation Fund grant to develop a detailed project plan with the University of Bristol, which helped them secure a 70% Innovate UK Collaborative R&D grant for a 18-month development project.
This progress earned global recognition when they were selected as one of only 12 companies worldwide invited to present live at ACM SIGGRAPH, the world’s leading graphics and animation conference, representing the UK.
Commercial results
Using a small initial innovation grant as a catalyst, Black Laboratory has evolved into a globally recognised player in the animation technology sector:
- puppix launched as a standalone company distributing to global markets
- Two production test models and a modular puppet capture system developed
- Collaboration with the University of Bristol and the Watershed exploring puppix as a therapeutic animation tool, expanding into healthcare
- Places secured on Innovate UK’s Scale Up and Growth Track
- Turnover doubled over four years, with the business now pitching for £1.2m investment
- Global product unveiling to over 23,000 viewers, generating investor interest and worldwide partnership opportunities
- Epic Games, creators of the globally renowned Fortnite franchise, will fund a commercial pilot of puppix
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