SEEDs of Success: Steven Goodison
Historic Dunkeld has launched an amazing new project with the help of SEED client Steven Goodison, who creates animations under the business name Studio Puddock.
The project involved Steven creating animated maps for Dunkeld and Birnam’s Heritage Walks, designed to engage people with the history of Dunkeld by sharing hidden facts from around the villages. The maps are now available from Dunkeld Community Archive for £2 each.
During the course of this project, it was a pleasure to support Steven in formalising his business, and to see the confidence in himself and Studio Puddock develop.
Steven works with three other animators, Victor, Amelia and Annabelle, whom he uses on an on-hire basis. He’s passionate about short animation, saying: “A shorter animation means that what information and story is told in it is important and crucial. There can be no fat on it.”
“A shorter piece also has a higher chance of being accepted into festivals or shown on television. As they can more easily squeeze it into the showcase or TV schedule. In the best case scenario a short animation might even be chosen to be shown before a feature film.”
He has been regularly making short films since 2021, starting from when his boos at the archive he was working in at the time asked him to create one about local historical figure, Dunndonachie, after finding out he’d been to university for animation.
Steven said of the support he’s received: “I feel like GrowBiz has been incredibly helpful to me, especially having such a rare and specific business idea. They have helped me navigate the means of getting properly set up and educating me on how to draft professional documents. GrowBiz has given me legitimacy.”
Others who’ve helped him along the way include his mum, former boss, and Ruth from Dunkeld Community Archive.
Look ahead, Steven has big plans for the future of Studio Puddock: “The goal is to have a strong, stable animation studio employing a couple hundred people.
“I would like to have at least one feature film under my belt, and in the end have Studio Puddock survive long past the time I'm gone.”
