| Glitch Productions Pty. Ltd. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trade Name: | Glitch Productions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former Name: | Glitchy Boy (2017–2018) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Private | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Industry: | Animation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hq Location City: | Sydney, New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hq Location Country: | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Area Served: | Worldwide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key People: |
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| Services: | Computer animation Web series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subsid: | FinalFinal_Project | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Module: |
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Glitch Productions Pty. Ltd. (also known as Glitch, and formerly Glitchy Boy or Glitchy Boy Productions) is an Australian animation studio based in Sydney, New South Wales. The studio was founded in 2017 by producer Kevin Lerdwichagul and animator Luke Lerdwichagul, who is known for being the creator of the machinima sketch comedy web series SMG4.
Glitch is known for independently producing and funding animated web series such as Meta Runner, Sunset Paradise, Murder Drones, and The Amazing Digital Circus. The company was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Media, Marketing, and Advertising in 2023.[1]
Co-founder Luke Lerdwichagul started making videos in 2009. On 7 May 2011, at the age of 11, Luke created his first web series; a Super Mario 64-based machinima later to be known as SMG4 (an acronym of his YouTube channel name, "SuperMarioGlitchy4").[2] Produced using footage from an emulated version of Super Mario 64, the series originally focused Mario and other characters from the greater Mario franchise going on adventures that often involve parodies of internet memes and pop culture. Overtime, the series would begin using Garry's Mod as a base, and featured a more prominent cast of original characters.
Around 2016, Luke's older brother, Kevin Lerdwichagul, had observed the channel and its wide audience. He saw the potential to form a business around the channel, later joining SMG4 as a full-time writer and producer. Luke took on a directing role, as well as voicing his titular author surrogate character.[3] In interviews, the brothers have acknowledged their use of copyrighted characters from Nintendo and other third-parties in their videos. However, they were always careful to never place such characters in hateful or defamatory context.[4] [5]
On 24 May 2017, Luke uploaded a fan mail video to the SMG4 channel, where he briefly mentioned that he founded a company, dubbed Glitchy Boy, to represent the SMG4, Hobo Bros., and "TheAwesomeMario" YouTube channels.[6] On 5 September 2018, a more formal announcement video was uploaded called "SMG4 Direct (HUGE CHANNEL UPDATE)", where Luke and Kevin fully explained the concept of their company, now rebranded as Glitch Productions. During the video, they also unveiled Hitbox, a live-action series starring Kevin and Luke acting as various Nintendo characters.[7]
On 5 December 2018, following multiple teasers on the SMG4 channel, Glitch released the trailer for Meta Runner, and the first series premiered on 25 July 2019.[8] The series was funded by Screen Australia, and became the top-performing online investment from the company, racking up 10 million+ viewers across its first season. Meta Runner was later posted on Glitch Productions. [9] The first season was also financed with support from Crunchyroll and AMD,[10] and financed in association with Epic Games.[10] [11] On 20 April 2020, Screen Australia announced that they would be funding a second season of Meta Runner.[12]
On 27 August 2020, Glitch officially separated the SMG4 channel from Glitch, and created the GLITCH channel to focus on its Non-SMG4 projects. Its first videos released that day would be an announcement video and the first season of Meta Runner remade in Movie format.[13] They would soon after release the pilot to Ultra Jump Mania (a spin-off of Meta Runner that would later be cancelled) and season 2 of Meta Runner.
On 12 March 2021, Glitch unveiled an SMG4 spin-off centered on the character Meggy Spletzer called Sunset Paradise. The pilot would be released on 26 March 2021.[14] On 12 May 2021, Sunset Paradise received online production funding from Screen Australia.[15]
On 9 October 2021, it was announced that Glitch would be releasing a pilot titled Murder Drones on 29 October, created, written, and directed by Liam Vickers. While earlier Glitch projects were essentially created on a monetary loss, Murder Drones greatly outperformed expectations and received millions of views per episode.[16] [17]
On 1 September 2023, Glitch announced that they would be hosting an livestreaming event called "Glitch X" on 9 November 2023; where they would announce their upcoming show, The Gaslight District, in collaboration with animator Nick Szopko.[18]
On 13 October 2023, the pilot for The Amazing Digital Circus was released, a series created in collaboration with Gooseworx. The pilot would garner 100 million views in its first month, becoming the most popular indie animation video. The Amazing Digital Circus would also increase Glitch's notoriety, garnering news coverage, as well as their YouTube channel eventually reaching 10 million subscribers and 1 billion total views.[19] [20]
On 3 November 2023, Glitch uploaded a new version of its YouTube channel trailer titled WELCOME TO GLITCH, wherein the Lerdwichagul brothers state the goals of the company in a slight comedic manner, with Luke stating that the main goal is "to make unique animated shows and tell stories that could never have existed in the Western world without independently-funded animation".[21]
On 7 June 2024, the company would also launch a subscription service to help fund their programming called "Glitch Inn".
On 5 July 2024, Glitch launched 'FinalFinal_Project', a merchandise company that helps funding with other shows, with Iron Circus Animation, the producers of the Lackadaisy animated adaptation, being their first partners.[22]
On 4 October 2024, following prior rumours, Glitch officially announced the debut of The Amazing Digital Circus to Netflix. It is the first Glitch production to be available on the platform. Glitch has stated that Netflix will have no creative control over the series, and new episodes would continue to premiere on YouTube first.[23]
In March 2024, Glitch was accused of firing the voice actress for Tari from Meta Runner and SMG4, Celeste Notley-Smith, in a callous manner, and recasting her with Lottie Bourne, which led to allegations against the studio and confusion among fans. Notley-Smith wrote on Twitter that she was not notified of her role being recast. Several days later, she released a statement in which she explained that after discovering she had been recast, she reached out to the Lerdwichaguls, asking why she was removed from her role without contact from the team. It was later stated by general manager Jasmine Yang that it was down to a communication error on her (Yang's) part. Despite this, Robyn Barry-Cotter, the voice actress for Theo from Meta Runner, left Glitch Productions due to the controversy, which also left the SMG4 character SMG2 without a voice.[24]
The studio was additionally alleged of longer work hours, blacklisting of ex-employees, and harassment, largely from Kevin Lerdwichagul; however, these allegations have since been labelled as dubious. On 4 March 2024, Kevin released a statement via Glitch's social media outlets addressing the controversies, doubling as an apology to workers who had negative experience with the company. Kevin additionally claimed the studio had faced prior issues due to being short-staffed, but had largely resolved worker conditions by 2023. The response was accepted by the majority of Glitch's employees and fans, though some were still concerned that Notley-Smith's firing was never addressed.[25]
| Title | Creator(s) | Premiere date | Current season | Note(s) | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMG4 | Luke Lerdwichagul | Produced as an independent project from 2011-2017 | ||||
| The Amazing Digital Circus | Gooseworx | 1 | Second series not made by Kevin Lerdwichagul and/or Luke Lerdwichagul | [26] |
| TheAwesomeMario[28] | Kevin Lerdwichagul Luke Lerdwichagul | YouTube channel featuring SMG4-related shorts and other content. The channel was created on 12 July 2013, two days prior to the release of the super mario 64 bloopers: youtube mario? episode, and was originally run by Mario in-universe.[29] | |||
| Hobo Bros. | (On indefinite hiatus) | YouTube channel involving Let's Play and reactions | |||
| Hitbox | Kevin Lerdwichagul | Live action series | |||
| Meta Runner | Kevin Lerdwichagul Luke Lerdwichagul | The first season was uploaded on the SMG4 channel, with two subsequent seasons uploaded on the GLITCH channel | |||
| Sunset Paradise | Spin-off of SMG4 | ||||
| Murder Drones | Liam Vickers | First series not made by Kevin Lerdwichagul and/or Luke Lerdwichagul |