Apple has unveiled an unexpected new feature for the holiday season: an all-new stop-motion animation featuring Wallace and Gromit projected onto the iconic Battersea Power Station from London. The six-minute animation will be broadcast every day from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. from today until New Year’s Eve, all of which is of course completely free.
A festive collaboration with Aardman
As part of Apple’s popular “Shot on iPhone” campaign, the animation was created by Aardman, the studio behind Wallace & Gromit. As you might expect, Aardman filmed their short in stop-motion using the eight iPhone 16 Pro Max’s telephoto camera. Yes, apparently that many iPhones were needed!
Apple explains on his website :
Using the Dragonframe Tether app and eight iPhone 16 Pro Max devices, Aardman filmed the animation in full 4K ProRAW format. The still images were then stitched together to create stunning 6K images, transforming the 23-centimeter characters into dazzling 101-meter projections.
The animation literally transforms Battersea Power Station’s two iconic towers into Christmas trees. In the video, viewers can watch Wallace and Gromit decorate the trees before taking a selfie in front of the completed display.
Some fans already attended the premiere yesterday:
Cracking to be at the launch of the new Wallace and Gromit animation on Battersea Power Station.
🎄Thank you to our friends at Apple for creating a great new Wandsworth Christmas tradition.
Looking forward to more creative fun in our year as London’s Borough of Culture pic.twitter.com/3MDJ5t1Kwn
— Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) November 29, 2024
When art meets technology
Gavin Strange, director and head of graphic design at Aardman, was bound to rave:
This project has been a dream to make – a cinematic fusion of technology and art. Using the iPhone 16 Pro Max to film a stop-motion animation featuring the legendary Wallace and Gromit, and projecting it onto the Battersea Power Station, makes this project unique in many ways. I hope it inspires everyone to create their own stop-motion masterpieces this Christmas.
The result is truly stunning, whether you like Wallace and Gromit or not. But then why this place? THE Battersea Power Station is also known for housing Apple’s UK headquarters since last year, in addition to a store. Visitors can also discover the Wallace & Gromit decor used for the animation, which is on display in front of the Apple Store. How to sell iPhone 16s better? In any case, they are on sale with Black Friday.
For those interested in learning more, Apple is hosting a “Today at Apple” session with Aardman soon, offering an insight into the creative process behind the project.
If you like the animated series created by Nick Park, know that there is also a sticker pack on the App Store:
Download the free app Wallace and Gromit
