ShadowMachine
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 1999
- Employees
- 51-200
- Offices
- 2
About ShadowMachine
ShadowMachine is an independent American animation studio and production company founded in 1999 by Alexander Bulkley and Corey Campodonico. Its work spans feature films, episodic television, specials and commercial campaigns, combining stop-motion, traditional and digital 2D animation, 3D/CGI, mixed media, live action and puppet production. The company operates in Los Angeles and Portland.
The studio established its reputation through stop-motion television comedy, producing the first five seasons of Robot Chicken alongside series such as Moral Orel, Mary Shelley's Frankenhole and Titan Maximum. Its subsequent expansion into streaming and 2D production included all six seasons of BoJack Horseman, made with creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg and The Tornante Company. Other television work includes Tuca & Bertie, Final Space, Ten Year Old Tom, Little Demon, Strange Planet and the revival of Clone High.
Production capabilities
ShadowMachine provides development and production services from early concepts through final delivery. Pre-production work includes script development, concept art, character and background design, storyboards, animatics and timing. Physical production capabilities include puppet fabrication, armature work, set construction and stop-motion stage shooting, alongside 2D animation and 3D modeling. Editorial, visual effects, compositing and sound coordination support the finishing process. The studio also produces bespoke animated advertising campaigns and promotional shorts.
Features and continuing work
The Portland operation was the primary animation production house for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, developed through a four-year co-production with Netflix Animation, Double Dare You! and The Jim Henson Company. Feature credits also include Hell and Back, The Zodiac and a stop-motion sequence for Booksmart.
More recent work includes the adult puppet comedy In the Know, stop-motion production for seasons two and three of The Tiny Chef Show, and the animated series Long Story Short and Lil Kev. Projects identified in the supplied research as upcoming include an animated Bob the Builder feature and Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant.
More about ShadowMachine
Leadership
- Alexander Bulkley is identified as co-owner, managing member and CEO; Corey Campodonico is identified as co-owner and manager.
- Rosemary Colliver serves as Head of Legal and Business Affairs.
Workplace and production history
- Production workers voluntarily unionized under The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839, in May 2022.
- The company began in a converted garage off Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.
- Its Portland expansion established a 15,000-square-foot production facility in 2015, drawing on the Pacific Northwest's community of stop-motion artisans and puppet fabricators.
Film recognition
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and five Annie Awards during the 2023 awards season. These honors recognize the film rather than constituting separate corporate awards to ShadowMachine.
Notable credits
27 creditsOffices
Where ShadowMachine is based
- 360 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, United StatesLos Angeles, California, United States
Los Angeles office
HeadquartersOverall corporate headquarters and main production studio, housing business affairs and 2D animation production.
- 2233 NW 22nd Ave., Portland, OR 97210, United StatesPortland, Oregon, United States
Portland office
Opened 2015
About this office
Dedicated stop-motion production facility in Northwest Portland's Slabtown neighborhood. Production work includes Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, In the Know, The Shivering Truth and The Tiny Chef Show.
Open roles
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