Aug 2, 2023

The producers of the popular game Youtube channel Mushed have launched a new short-form animation house, Spud Gun Studios

Connected Set, a production outfit for the popular game Youtube channel Mushed, has launched a new short-form animation studio called Spud Gun Studios.

For almost 10 years, Connected Set has mainly produced live-action short content, and has been frequently diverted to animation. Many of these conversions were produced for the Mash Channel, which is funded and owned by Channel 4 in the UK.

Although much of the Connected set's work was live-action, the studio has produced more than 750 original animated short videos, amassing more than 20 billion views for partners including Channel 4, the BBC, Beano Studios, and numerous video game publishers. According to the company's boss, the decision to launch Spud Gun Studios was inspired by the growing demand for short-form animation from brands, broadcasters and social platforms.

That said, Tom Payne, executive of The Connected Set and Spud Gun Studios, explains to Cartoon Brew that the company also has ambitions for the original animation IP and is now "doubling its efforts and output in the animation field through the new label." At Spud Gun there is already a deal for branded content and we are working on some very exciting partnerships to launch our own animated IP online."

Spud Gun continues to produce content for its current partners, including Channel 4, and is inking deals for several other brands and third-party publishers that will launch later this year.

The new label, directed by Payne and executive producer Tom Jenkins, has established Mushed channel and continues to play a major role in its growth and development. The duo will work closely with producer Ben Michael and Spud Gunn's team of artists.

In addition to its animating efforts, Spud Gun also produces podcasts featuring interviews with popular online animators.

In the release, Jenkins said:

Having spent more than 10 years cultivating and developing mashups with connected sets and producing hundreds of short-form animations and IP, I believe it is an incredible opportunity to bring animators, writers, performers, musicians and other artists to the wider market. We are advertising to bring our ideas and a huge network of musicians.

Payne added:

With a truly unique understanding of what young audiences around the world want from short-form content, bringing all that knowledge and expertise to the wider market is a very exciting opportunity. The video we did for Warframe recorded 1,200 million organic views, 400,000 views and 377,000 likes on YouTube without promotion, with a 73% retention rate.