Fahrenheit Digital

Arrived in Boston late last night… jetlagged of course.

This morning I attended an all-day discussion covering the recent work of Imageworks and Rhythm & Hues. Imageworks started the morning with a discussion of their work on the upcoming movie “Open Season.” This is their first feature animated movie and it was interesting seeing how a visual effects studio approaches the rigging challenges of this medium.

The end goals are the same as most other animation studios; replicating the techniques and control of 2D animation using 3D tools. They showed some really interesting ideas and the look of the movie is great. Technically, hats off to Imageworks!

Next was a presentation by R&H showcasing their work on “Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.” Of course the work was great and stands as the greatest accomplishment of this studio. Because R&H is a completely proprietary pipeline, the solutions the employed for deformations and cloth and hair and rendering was interesting to see.

Although I set out on a walk to find what I could find in Boston I returned to the hotel once it became apparent that just about everything was closed in the downtown area, near where I am staying. makes sense… it IS Sunday.

Tomorrow I will have the morning to explore the city then a Digital Taxonomy course taught by my old boss at ILM. So stay tuned for more tomorrow!

This could be a fun one!

A new trailer for the all-CG “TMNT” movie is available on the Apple Quicktime site. This could be a fun one!

Aside from a potentially fun & entertaining animated movie, this could also be interesting because it might become the first asian production that does VERY well in the box office. Personally, I hope the movie is great and makes a gazillion dollars; the more the merrier.

My personal thoughts notwithstanding, this trailer is definitely worth a look!

TNMT Trailer

Nike co-founder Phil knight has purchased 30 acres for a new campus to be built for the growing Laika Entertainment. With Henry Selick at the helm and a handful of productions on the way, Knight promises that the campus will be as unique as the animation created at Laika.

I know of a number of old coworkers from ILM who have made the trek up north to work at this new studio. Hopefully they will produce unique and entertaining animated movies… the more the merrier!

The new campus will include facilities for both computer animation and stop-motion animation. Ground-breaking is scheduled to begin early next year.

Laika news article

Laika Entertainment

Although I have never attended this trade show I intend to do so this year. The annual International Makeup Artist Trade Show will take place one June 24th & 25th at the Pasadena Convention Center. Everything from special effects makeup to fashion makeup products & techniqes will be showcased at this trade show. There will be contests as well. Anyone interested in makeup art should attend.

IMATS/LA 2006

Through the months of June and July ASIFA is having an exhibit showcasing the incredibly important and interesting artform of the storyboard artist.

Anyone who has tried to develop a story or who has experienced the clarity of an effective set of storyboards as a part of a story pitch is fully aware of how important this tool is for any form of visual storytelling.

This exhibit will display original storyboards from a number of animated television shows, including “Stimpy’s Invention.”

ASIFA “Art of the Storyboard”

Bill Kovacs, a computer animation pioneer and Academy Award winner, has died. He was 56.

Kovacs died Tuesday at his Camarillo home from complications of a stroke brought on by a cerebral hemorrhage, said his longtime domestic partner, Kathy Salyer.

“He was a brilliant man, I mean totally creative, the absent-minded professor type, a lot of brain power,” she said. “His love of learning and exploration was contagious.”

Kovacs co-founded Wavefront Technologies in the early 1980s, which produced a groundbreaking, off-the-shelf software product that allowed all kinds of firms to create animation.

In 1997, he shared the Scientific and Engineering Academy Award with Roy Hall. They were recognized for their roles in developing Wavefront’s Advanced Visualizer computer graphics system.

In addition to Salyer, Kovacs is survived by their daughter, Savanna Salyer-Kovacs; a daughter from a previous marriage, Christine Kovacs; a son, Paul Kovacs; a sister, Nancy Kovacs; and his stepmother, Helen Benedict.

Original article in the Mercury News.

It’s official and its coming straight from DreamWorks SKG cofounder Jeffrey Katzenberg’s mouth.

“DreamWorks is very much looking at doing business in India,” he told Animation ‘xpress at the Cannes Film Festival where he was promoting Over the Hedge.

Katzenberg said he had been to India twice in the past nine months. “India is a very exciting place and has potential for great animation. We’ve been very impressed with the Indian animation community’s enthusiasm to master the constantly changing tools of CG animation. We believe this eagerness will lead to the development of a highly skilled animation community.”

He added, however, that Dreamworks foray into India would not be in the form of outsourcing. “It will be definitely more than that.

“Katzenberg pointed out that what animation is witnessing is its second renaissance. “The first wave was in the eighties and was more handdrawn,” he pointed out. “Today, animation is digital. Today’s animated movies demand superior technological achievement along with tremendous artistry and storytelling. Now is a great time for our industry.”

DreamWorks Animation produces two movies per year.

Original article posted on Animationxpress.com

I recently found a link to a fun, new short animation called “Humans.” Great look. Great message. Check it out!

Humans

Although I am far from being a fan of what is called “reality television,” “On The Lot” is a new show backed by Steven Spielberg sounds interesting and fun for aspiring filmmakers.

I so happened to catch the last season of “Project Greenlight” and found myself riveted (maybe it is lack of interesty in the subject matter that has kept me away from other “reality” shows). Not only did the series give great insight into the difficulties of logistics, financing and, yes, competing egos but the low budget nature seemed to strip away many of the ancillary aspects of the filmmaking process and distill it down to the essence of getting that particular movie done… one way or another.

Perhaps this show will expose the opposite extreme; the difficulties of getting your movie done when you have to navigate the larger studios.

Sixteen aspiring filmmakers will be chosen to compete at a chance of winning a $1-million development deal with DreamWorks. This is a Fox show produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett, who has a long list of producer credits for both film and television.

“On The Lot”

With the tools & technology enabling artists & writers to realize their creative dreams more and more, some of the more forward-looking networks are turning away from the major animation players and looking toward independent artists & smaller studios in order to find the cutting-edge animation.

Quote:
“There’s tons of good animation coming out there that’s not just product of the major studios,” says the channel’s VP of Acquisitions and Scheduling. “There’s a television market that’s held in France twice a year called MIPTV. It boggles the mind just how much animation is sold on a worldwide market. It’s all over the place; some good, some not so good. There’s just no shortage of it and you don’t have to be held to the major studios to get good work. There’s also good work around the corner from me here in New York. For instance, we’ve worked with Bill Plympton in the past and he’s just a subway ride away.”

News-A-Rama Article