Case Study: LAIKA achieves streamlined, secure stop-motion workflows with Hightail

Adding more go to LAIKA’s stop-motion workflow

LAIKA, the Oregon-based stop-motion animation studio behind Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls, struggled with an unreliable FTP-based workflow during production: slow or dropped transfers, files accessed mid-upload, inconsistent naming and folder chaos, and security risks from shared credentials—all difficult for a tactile studio with many nontechnical users and external partners. With The Boxtrolls green-lit, LAIKA needed a simpler, more secure way to share large media files and manage collaboration.

The studio adopted Hightail for its ease of use, security, no-install recipient access, return receipts, expirations and later Hightail Spaces with inline commenting and visual versioning. The change enabled major projects (including a McDonald’s Happy Meal collaboration), more than 1,500 download links to 4,000 recipients, end-of-production portfolio delivery, broader staff adoption and a near-complete elimination of FTP from LAIKA’s workflow.

Laika