A+Scream: a night at The Old Laundry

Last Friday we opened our gates for A+Scream, our Halloween event in Margate, and for one night only A+C became something a little more sinister. Our home at The Old Laundry was handed over, quite willingly, to the spiders, and the families of Margate came to see what had moved in.

What was A+Scream?

Every so often we get to make something purely for the fun of it, and A+Scream was exactly that. We picked spiders as our theme and, being a studio full of model makers and set builders, we took it very literally. The building disappeared under webbing, the alley filled with smoke and coloured light, and a giant spider kept a close eye on a bucket of sweets for anyone brave enough to reach in.

There was also the Egg Sack Throw, a spider-themed twist on a classic garden game, which turned out to be a big hit with children and grown-ups alike. It’s a simple game, which is exactly why it works, nobody needs the rules explained twice.

Watch the A+Scream video

A Halloween event in Margate for local families

We wanted A+Scream to feel like a proper night out for local families, somewhere to stop on the trick-or-treat route that felt a bit different from the usual doorstep. It was a real success, and we were so pleased with how many families came down the alley and lived to tell the tale. Plenty of grown-ups were just as keen as the children to brave the webs, which we’ll take as a compliment.

What struck us most was how little it took for children to believe in it. Nothing was high-tech, it was handmade, carefully placed and lit with a lot of love, and that was more than enough. We think that’s the same reason children fall for stop motion in the first place: when something is clearly made by hand, it somehow feels more real rather than less.

Why a stop-motion studio threw a Halloween party

For anyone who doesn’t know us, A+C Studios is a stop-motion and animation studio based in Margate. We do everything under one roof, from creative development and model making to animation and post-production, and we make films, series and social content for brands, agencies and broadcasters.

Building little worlds is our day job, so turning our own building into one for a night felt like a natural thing to do. Most of the year, what we make ends up on screens around the world, so it’s lovely, once in a while, to make something for the street we actually work on and the town we’re proud to call home.

In a way, A+Scream was a set like any other. We thought about where people would walk, what they would see first and how the light would fall, which is exactly how we approach a scene on a shoot. The big difference was the audience. Instead of a camera moving a frame at a time, we had real families wandering through in real time, and their reactions were far better than any playback.

Margate has always been a creative town, and we love being part of it. Hosting a Halloween event in Margate was our way of saying thank you to our neighbours, and of showing a few of them what goes on behind the gates of The Old Laundry.

We also love the idea that a few of the children who came down the alley might go home wondering how it was all made. Model making, lighting, set design and animation are all real jobs, and a lot of them happen right here in Margate. If A+Scream plants that seed in even one young mind, we’ll be very happy, and we’ll gladly give them a tour of the workshop in a few years’ time.

Bigger plans for next year

The spiders are packed away for now, but they won’t be gone for long. A+Scream went so well that we’re already planning something bigger for next year, with more to see, more to play and, of course, more spiders.

If you’d like to hear about next year’s Halloween event in Margate as soon as it’s announced, follow us on Instagram and keep an eye on our news page.

Thank you

A huge thank you to everyone at A+C who built, painted, lit and dressed up to make A+Scream happen, and to every family who came along and joined in. Nights like this only happen because people are happy to give up their evening to stand outside in a costume, and we’re very grateful to everyone who did. We had the best time, and we hope you did too. See you next October.