A guest post by Robert Appleton, Faculty, 3-D Animation Program, New York Film Academy

Was famous voice actor Mel Blanc the actual genius of character development in 20^th century animation? Most baby boomer fans in childhood may not have realized it, but the voice he gave to Looney Tunes’ Bugs Bunny was largely borrowed from a show their parents were listening to on the radio on The Jack Benny Program (1932-1955) and its television incarnation of the same name (1950-1965). Phrases that the Oscar-winning rabbit or his sidekick, Daffy Duck (also Blanc’s voice) used – “Now cut that out!” and “Cuc….amonga!” among them – were directly borrowed from Jack Benny. The intra-show theft worked in reverse when once, on Benny’s radio show, the protagonist had a visit from the wascally wabbit in a dream.

In each of these animated series, the genius was that the characters evolved from elsewhere. The fact that each derived from adult series is likely the reason the animations were appealing – with the help of some double entendres from time to time – to both parents and children.

Generations of children have grown up playing with the Danish LEGO toy bricks. Over the past decade, while those original toys still flourish, kids and kids-at-heart have transitioned to LEGO videogames from developer Traveller’s Tales(TT Games) and the LEGO Company. Just as the LEGO Star Wars toys remain bestsellers over a decade after they were introduced, the LEGO Star Wars video games established developer TT Games as a force to be reckoned with and opened up the floodgates for other licensed games like LEGO Batman, LEGO Indiana Jones, and LEGO Harry Potter. Now, the developer behind all of these blockbuster hits has returned with LEGO Star Wars: The Clone Wars, featuring a brand-new game engine that brings the latest technology to PC gamers.

By John Gaudiosi

New processors and advanced graphics are always a hit at the Game Developers Conference, but digital audio companies like Cakewalk, Dolby, and DTS also have a presence. With new PC games starting to take advantage of Dolby 7.1 surround sound  -- and DTS’ unveiling of 11.1 surround sound with DTS Neo:X  technology at the Consumer Electronics Show 2011 -- sound is playing a more important role in today’s video game landscape.

“We have seen the evolution of game audio go from sounds that accompany video to fully immersive musical scores that envelope the user in the action or world,” says Steve Thomas, public relations director of Cakewalk, which has Sonar X1 audio software available for game developers. “And when it comes to cut scenes, where the expectation for video and audio quality is very high, it’s like producing for TV/film. No more cheesy sound FX and simulated strings -- now you get high-quality sampling and real orchestras. Game on!”

By Tracey John

Ask any game developer about schools that offer game development programs, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t name Full Sail University.

The school -- which is based in Winter Park, Fla. -- was one of the first to offer several degree programs for would-be game-makers, including four-year degrees in game development and game art, as well as a Master of Science for game design. And you don’t have to be near the Orlando area to get a degree: The school is one of the few that have online programs for both game design and game art. Currently, over 1,900 students are enrolled in the game development classes at Full Sail University.

By Brian Taylor

Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center was founded in 1999 by drama and arts management professor Don Marinelli and the late Randy Pausch, professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design. An independent center housed in neither the School of Computer Science nor the College of Fine Arts, the Entertainment Technology Center is headquartered in a riverfront technology park along the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Penn., directly across from an old steel mill site that is now a mixed-use commercial-residential development designed to blend into the adjacent National Historic District. Its hallways are a pop-culture explosion (geek skewing sci-fi, where a life-size carbonite Han Solo statue leans next to Lara Palmer’s image hanging on a wall above a Blade Runner poster), the men’s room decorated in a Super Mario Brothers World 1-1 motif.

By Matt Ployhar

I’ve been following slates, tablets and similar PC form factors for quite a while now. They’ve actually been around for a very long time when one comes to think of it -- at least a decade from what I can tell. There’s a ton of hype around them all of a sudden, since Apple released the iPad over a year ago. So where will they go next?

 

•  SNEAK PEEK!  •

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of working with Chris Moujaes, the Director of Original Entertainment at FUNimation Entertainment, and producer April Bennett on Electronic Arts/Bioware’s CG anime feature film, Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker.

 

 

What is a writer’s #1 CREATIVE TOOL? 

 

If you’re a screenwriter you better know what it is, because without it you won’t get past FADE IN: 

 

 

It's curious to analyze the growth of FMX, both in prestige and program diversity, certainly within the context of the decline in scope and size of other festivals and conferences within the animation, visual effects and gaming space.

While I have no evidence to support my theory besides my own travels and discussions with colleagues, I would venture to say that in the last 10 years, between the rise of the Internet and a couple of economic downturns, attendance at many events has steadily declined. Many otherwise excellent events have closed up shop altogether. A decade ago (maybe more) I remember a NATPE (National Assn. of Television Production Executives) show in New Orleans that filled the entire convention center -- the line to get the Warrior Princess Xena's (Lucy Lawless) autograph stretched hundreds long, out the door and down the Riverwalk to the mighty Mississippi River. Regis and Kathy Lee broadcast their show from the floor that year, which certainly attested to the event's size and, at the time, impact on and importance to international broadcast and cable TV programming and distribution. Today, unfortunately, the NATPE event, while still an important destination, only occupies a small space at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay.

Welcome back! Last week we talked about the importance of coming to your voice over casting session with a great sense of the characters and tone of your project. This week, we’re focusing less on the creative side of things, and more on the practical – how much money do you have and how fast do you need it by?