As part of Wales Arts Review’s new series ’10 in 10′, we take a look at 10 of the Welsh creative companies that are changing the world.
Bad Wolf Studios
The Bad Wolf story began when Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner made the decision with showrunner Russell T Davies to base Doctor Who in Cardiff. This was the spark that led to a drama renaissance in the Welsh television industry, that saw Torchwood, Sherlock, Merlin and Casualty all locate and shoot in the Welsh capital to build the creative community that continues to this day. In the years since, the company has built up an international reputation as one of the foremost independent production companies in the UK, producing over 50 hours of drama for broadcasters and networks including series such as His Dark Materials.
Wales Interactive
Wales Interactive is a multi-award winning video games and interactive movie developer & publisher based in Wales, UK. The company which specializes in creating original content, was founded by Dr David Banner MBE and Richard Pring in 2012 and has since won a number of awards for their work, including BAFTA Cymru Games Award Winner 2012, 2018 & 2019, TIGA Award Winner 2020, The Queen’s Award 2020 and the Wales Technology Award. Recent work includes the popular interactive rom-com Five Dates and Mia and the Dragon Princess.
NoFit State Circus
NoFit State was founded in 1986 by five friends. During a politically charged time, in a recession, and as a creative reaction to the world around them, the circus was born. Three decades later, NoFit State is the UK’s leading large-scale contemporary circus company and regularly performs at venues across the world.
Beryl Productions International Ltd
Founded and run by Cardiff-based artists and animators Joanna Quinn and Les Mills, Beryl Productions has been in existence as a company since 1987 and specialises in individually hand drawn character animation. In addition to film work, the company has also produced animations for a range of well-known commercials for companies across the globe. In 2021, the company’s film Affiars of the Art was released to critical acclaim, receiving numerous international awards including BAFTA and Academy Award nominations.
Ieie Productions
Ieie is a Cardiff-based bilingual production company founded by producer Catryn Ramasut and musician Gruff Rhys in 2005 to make their award-winning debut feature documentary Separado!. Ieie also produced the documentary Richard and Jaco: Life With Autism, which received more than 10 million views on BBC Stories and was awarded Best Documentary and Best Factual Director by Bafta Cymru in 2018.
Wild Creations
Wild Creations was founded in 2010 by Matthew Wild, with the aim of creating eye-catching scenery, sculptures and TV sets. Since then, Wild Creations has designed and constructed sculptures for TV shows in including Dr Who and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, as well as creating the enormous dragon sculpture which appeared on top of Cardiff Castle ahead of the Champions League final being held in the Principality Stadium in 2o17.
Vox Pictures
Vox Pictures is a TV and film production company that was responsible for creating the BBC and S4C hit Keeping Faith. Based in Cardiff Bay, the company has won a collection of awards for their work. More recently, Vox Pictures has worked on S4C’s crime drama Dal Y Melt and Cyswllt, the first lockdown drama to be produced in the UK.
Galactig
Galactig are a bilingual digital creative agency which specialises in creative consultancy, motion graphics and video production. Their work includes designing new branding and animations for Mentrau Iaith and augmented reality walking guide, Tro.
Bang Post Production
Bang provides post-production services. Producing soundtracks and high-quality picture, the Cardiff company has worked on a variety of projects including Sex Education, the breakaway hit Netflix series that was filmed in Wales.
Bomper Studio
Bomper is an independent creative production studio, based in Caerphilly. In recent years, the company has worked on media and advertising campagins for brands including Levi’s, Coca-Cola and Cadburys. Bomper was established by Emlyn Davies, who previously studied Product Design at the University of South Wales and founded the studio after moving back to Wales in 2013.
