Case Study: LAIKA achieves faster, scalable look development and lighting with Foundry Katana

Laika shaves weeks, if not months, off production with Foundry

The customer, Laika, an animation studio renowned for its stop-motion films, faced the challenge of creating and managing the complex computer-generated shots that would enhance its stop-motion action for the film *Kubo and the Two Strings*. To accomplish this, they turned to vendor Foundry and its products Mari and Katana.

Foundry's solution, particularly its Katana software, provided Laika with a highly flexible and scalable tool for look development and lighting. The product's ability to handle extremely large data sets and reuse complex setups allowed the studio to simplify the artist experience and maintain shot-level flexibility. This implementation was credited with saving weeks, if not months, of production time, and contributed to the film being hailed as the studio's "most visually intoxicating" movie, which premiered to critical acclaim.

Laika