An example of the DPS protocol. © DPS.

Keeping Track of the Big Picture
GAS affiliates work in almost any software platform, since the protocol is essentially an “agnostic” system. Phone calls, QuickTime, model and texture file exchanges help DPS keep close tabs on its satellite studios during the course of production. Massachusetts CGI shop Anzovin Studios has worked with DPS, and producer Steve Anzovin enjoys traveling in DPS’ orbit: “Working with DPS was a pleasure — they knew what they wanted and they gave us good direction and a lot of support, which is essential when you’re taking on the role of an offsite facility.

“We used their production management system to keep track of the work flow and job status. The proprietary software worked really well — it made the production process a lot simpler than what we have experienced with other client’s systems. Everything was easy to access online and you could find out where you stood at any given moment without any hassle.”

While affiliate studios track assignments via specific access levels, DPS uses it to ride herd on the Big Picture. That means not just the production assets and tracking a single job, but dependencies between jobs as well. The DPS system tracks all of those factors together with the associated resources and talent every step of the way.

DPS revs up production on Monster Monster Trucks. © DPS.

At this writing, the crew was busy tweaking the rigging and the internal “bones” on a slew of anthropomorphized vehicles for Monster Monster Trucks, a project DPS is co-producing with Jinkins and David Campbell of Cartoon Pizza. While the rigging and the bones allow an animator to move and emote a character, creating realistic motion on a children’s project is a secondary goal, and physics sort of go out the window. Interaction with its environment is what half the rig is about; the other half is interaction with itself.

DPS speeds up the production of character animation through a unique proprietary user interface. The interface offers scripted custom character controls that allow animators to achieve an integration of multiple gestures and movements through composite controls. The number of seconds of animation outputted per workstation increases dramatically through the use of these controls. What’s more, the controls smooth out any accidental cultural differences between animators trying to achieve an expression free of the culture-norms of the particular part of the world the animator is sitting in.

DPS has created some innovative mixes between keyframe animation and motion capture, with GAS affiliates receiving base motion-capture files generated on DPS’ in-house Vicon 8 Stage. Aside from the occasional kung-fu fights that sometimes occur on the stage during slow days, the DPS crew tries to blend mocap’s hard-edged, realistic motion with a more stylized keyframe approach. This approach maximizes what the tool offers: the benefits of time saving via mocap while maintaining the art of keyframe animation.

From its inception, DPS’ goal was never to be a service provider, but a creative production company in its own right, with ownership or co-ownership of a wide variety of intellectual properties. Co-ventures with people such as Jinkins, were the first steps toward turning a low profile New Jersey CGI shop into a major player in the animation business. “Everything we work on, we really believe in,” says Berger, “so why not have a stake in it? The beauty of our approach is that people who are great storytellers with creative vision need an outlet to do their 3D work. It’s a natural fit.”

DPS was recently tapped by 4Kids Entertainment to bring one of the biggest toy hits of the ‘80s — the Cabbage Patch Kids — into the CGI era with a pair of releases this year — one a music video featuring Ripe Records pop sensation Jaime Lee; the other a long form active play video, probably earmarked for direct-to-DVD.