The Current is the first narrative, 3D animation from Lambda Films – and what a ride it has been! Through the lands of Saudi Arabia and fantastical worlds, The Current tells the fun, educational story of a young, curious girl and her journey to learn about the future of energy.
Mishkat Interactive Center for Atomic and Renewable Energy is a cutting-edge institution based in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was developed in partnership with The Science Museum, London and is a leading light in educating visitors about Saudi Arabia’s move towards clean, renewable energy.
As part of the experience, Mishkat houses a huge auditorium and cinema screen where it plays a variety of films and video content. In 2023, Mishkat set out to find an animation production company that could contribute to the programme with quality, animated films that would serve as educational content for their young visitors.
Mishkat partnered with KSA agency, National Talents Company to help find their perfect production partner.
THE PITCH
For years, the pitch process had been fairly consistent but in 2023, we had access to some new opportunities. To help sell our vision of the animated film, we turned to Generative AI tools such as Midjourney to help us bring life to the characters, the worlds and important narrative devices. This approach proved instrumental in building a story and a tangible vision for what The Current would become. On the strength of our creative vision, we were awarded the project.
The new AI tools continued to prove useful in helping us research the content, and create a script and visuals relatable to a younger demographic. You can read about these further in our post on AI Video Production.
ANIMATION PRODUCTION
The production begins with the script. We knew the story had to be both entertaining, but also educational. Therefore, the narrative had to weave moments of explanation within the fantastical story. This was facilitated through exchanges between the curious Neera, and the personification of energy itself, the excitable Electric.
With the story and script approved, the entire animation was meticulously storyboarded. We then partnered with Lucid Studios who supported us with a huge network of global animation talent who bought the boards to life.
Animation Studio Lambda Films oversaw the creative vision, quality control, and led the post-production assembly of the constituent parts. We commissioned Composer Madison Willing & Sound Designer Drew Simmons of Tigerbear Audio to add the final aural flourishes.
THE FILM
Unfortunately, The Current is not yet for general release. It is watchable at the Mishkat Centre itself, and will appear at a number of animation festivals across the world. For now, we can release the animated trailer which gives a snapshot of this mammoth project. For a peek behind the scenes of The Current production, read our post, The Making of an Animated Epic.
