Stephen Price, Executive Editor, Stash Magazine

In terms of logistics, Stash launched as a monthly DVD magazine because in 2004 online video streaming was simply not an option. Vimeo and YouTube did begin ramping up in 2005 but it was almost five years before the resolution and audio quality we needed was reliable. Then in 2010 we built out the online platform and started streaming the full catalogue of Stash issues – which of course was far better for subscribers as they could now access the entire collection in one place.

In terms of the work we cover, the single most important development has been the democratization of digital production tools in terms of cost, power, and ease of use. In other words, a larger number of artists and designers can now create more and better work in less time. The result has been an explosion of studios and independent artists creating world-class work. 

The knock-on effect of that growth has been the steady decentralization of creative and post production studios. When we started, 90% of motion design, animation, and VFX came out of London, New York, Los Angeles, and Paris. Now, in most cases, geography is literally irrelevant with high volumes of outstanding work coming from every continent except Antarctica (so far).

Over the years we’ve developed a proprietary system that allows us to track over 1,500 studios and independent artists on a daily basis via their online and social presence. It is a serious time investment but essential to maintaining a daily publication schedule that is both timely and inspiring.