Unity to Acquire Weta Digital's Tools and Technology
Deal calls for purchase of leading VFX studio’s proprietary software systems, pipeline, and engineering talent; Oscar-winning VFX team will become WetaFX, remaining under Peter Jackson’s majority ownership and helmed by CEO Prem Akkaraju.
Netflix Announces Expanded Anime Slate
Streamer plans to produce even more episodic and feature content, tapping Japanese talent and studios to expand its content library; announcements made at first ever Netflix Festival Japan 2021 include new anime titles ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure STONE OCEAN,’ ‘The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh,’ and ‘Kakegurui Twin.’
NVIDIA Reveals Omniverse Avatar Platform
New technology generates interactive AI avatars with ray-traced 3D graphics by connecting speech AI, computer vision, natural language understanding, recommendation engines and simulation technologies.
NVIDIA Announces Omniverse Replicator Synthetic AI Data Generation Engine
Powerful system produces physically simulated data for training neural networks; first implementations shown are NVIDIA DRIVE Sim and NVIDIA Isaac Sim apps.
Netflix Drops ‘Back to the Outback’ Trailer and Poster
All-new 3D/CG animated comedy follows a group of ‘deadly’ animals who make a break from the Australian Wildlife Park; streaming December 10, the family adventure sets out to prove just because something is different, doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful.
BOXX Systems Now Offering NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise
Leading high-performance workstation, rendering and server system provider’s platforms, along with NVIDIA’s real-time simulation and collaboration platform for 3D production, now available to unite creative teams working remotely across the animation and VFX space.
NVIDIA CEO Shares Vision for AI, Robotics, Omniverse Avatars and Digital Twins
In his virtual GTC keynote, company founder and CEO Jensen Huang introduced a host of new technologies, including his Toy Jensen miniature avatar, to demonstrate transformative uses of the tech giant’s latest offerings in accelerated computing and the Omniverse Enterprise virtual world simulation and collaboration platform.
Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Unnamed Company Buys Moonbug
Former Disney executives, backed by Blackstone Group, acquire the popular children’s media company for a reported $3 billion.
How Outstanding Localization Helped ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Reach Global Success
While dubbing in anime is famously hit-or-miss, the renowned anime’s English dub is a beloved and exemplarary work that deserves study, and recognition.
WIA and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Release VFX Industry Gender Study
‘Invisible in Visual Effects’ asks the question - how many women are responsible for the imagery on screen? The answer – very few.
Paramount+ Renews ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ For Season 2
More adventures await the motley crew of the U.S.S. Protostar with an all-new season coming from Nickelodeon Animation Studio and CBS Studios’ Eye Animation Production; Season 1 episodes drop weekly through November 18 with the last five episodes rolling out beginning January 6.
NIS America Anime Titles Launch on Tubi
Addition of the popular library builds on the streamers already robust anime offerings; signature series now available include ‘Toradora!,’ ‘Cardcaptor Sakura,’ ‘Yuruyuri,’ and ‘PandoraHearts.’
Mercury Filmworks and Mukpuddy Teaming on ‘Badjelly the Witch’
Studios to co-produce Spike Mulligan’s modern, irreverent fairy tale as a 2D animated series; adaptation promises madcaps adventures with quirky characters, matter-of-fact magic, and weird and wonderful surprises – and of course, good triumphing over evil.
Nomint Creates 'Chilling' Spot for WWF’s Arctic Programme
Taking a year to produce, the emotionally and technically challenging stop-motion commercial uses nothing but ice as a visual metaphor of global warming’s devastation; advert launch coincides with the start of the global COP26 summit.
‘Lift While We Climb’ Themed 'Black in Animation Awards Show' Coming November 14
Black Women Animate’s initiative honors Black people in animation who are blazing a trail to the future; honorees include Disney TVA’s Jay Francis, Mounia Aram Company’s Mounia Aram, ‘Craig of the Creek’ storyboard artist Tiffany Ford, and veteran animator Dan Hasket.
Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Return: ‘Animaniacs’ Season 2 Mayhem Arrives!
Executive producer Gabe Swarr talks about the new 13-episode batch of crazy antics and unshakeable ‘earworms’ on Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Animation’s rebooted cartoon comedy classic, now streaming on Hulu.
Exclusive Clip: ‘The Great North – Skidmark Holmes Adventure’
In the new episode airing November 7 on FOX, Judy’s mystery party exiles Beef from the house, where he finds himself on an unintended date with Alyson.
‘Frankelda’s Book of Spooks’: Cool New Stop-Motion from Mexico
Brothers Roy and Arturo Ambriz’s musical kids’ series, about an enthusiastic ‘ghost writer' and her book of scary stories, brings a modern twist to classic horror, now available on HBO Max Latin America.
Illumination Belts Out New ‘Sing 2’ Trailer
The singing animals from Calatonia are back, with warmed up pipes ready for a December 22 Christmas debut in the new trailer for the sequel to the hit animated musical ‘Sing.’
‘A Blue’s Clues Festival of Lights’ Kicks off Nick’s Holiday Line-Up
Nickelodeon gets into the holiday spirit with a Chanukah-themed episode premiering November 26; On November 19, network partners with Save the Children non-profit for ‘Blue Friday,’ a day of giving and learning.
Don’t Miss Epic’s ‘Animation Workflows Using Unreal Engine and Maya’ Webinar
Coming Wednesday, November 10, virtual event will show how to create stylized character-based animation using UE and Autodesk Maya, exploring open standards like Alembic and USD to quickly move work between the two platforms.
Rokoko Announces Smartsuit Pro II
Next gen mocap suite features easy use and setup, allowing real-time animation anywhere; upgrades include ready multi-level tracking, optimization for high impact, and native integration into the Rokoko Smartgloves – now available for preorder.
FOX’s ‘Alter Ego’ Series Avatars Sing and Compete in Real-Time
Silver Spoon and lulu join forces to create new real-time pipeline, from design to performance capture, with live, on-stage delivery for the network’s first-ever augmented reality singing competition.
MKMG Teams With VlogBox to Explore New OTT/CTV Placements
The Ukraine-based international producer and distributor of video content has begun collaborating with the global video distribution, monetization, and advertising platform to explore new opportunities in the rapidly-developing OTT space.
Join PNY and NVIDIA’s ‘Revolutionizing 3D Workflows with NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise’ Webinar
This free presentation on November 17 will showcase how companies can address remote and hybrid work challenges with NVIDIA’s new real-time collaboration and simulation platform, Omniverse Enterprise; PNY is also hosting a series of Omniverse Enterprise sessions at GTC 2021, NVIDIA’s free digital conference running November 8-11.
