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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 5.9 - DECEMBER 2000
LEAF Roundup 2000By Joe Fordham
For three days in mid-November, London's Kensington Olympia exhibition hall played host to the seventh annual London Effects and Animation Festival, LEAF 2000. Breaking down the statistics, 99 exhibitors spread themselves across two floors at LEAF's accompanying gathering of digital imaging purveyors, Digital Media World, from Nov. 14-16. Three auditoriums on the floor above contained 18 LEAF public speaking events, seven master classes and five smaller tutorials delivered by more than 50 speakers. Add to this the LEAF Awards -- a glitzy affair showcasing 32 productions in competition for eight trophies -- plus the inevitable slew of parties, and the event amounted to a significant media showcase for Britain's VFX community.
"LEAF is really the jewel in our crown; it's a celebration of best work," event director Jane Stewart said. "We have two keynote speakers this year. One is Bill Plympton, who comes from the 2D world of animation. We traditionally cover animation, but Bill is a great storyteller. We felt that it was important to emphasize this because sometimes the idea of creating effects for effects films can carry people away and they can forget that effects are there to tell the story. We also have Peter Molyneux, whom we consider to be a guru in the U.K. for computer gaming. We realize how important 3D is to the gaming world, so this is our first step toward addressing that clique." Stewart said the choice of venue is new for the festival this year, placing the event closer to London's Soho post-production community than its previous Wembley site in north London. The expansion was preceded by nine months of teaser campaigns and advertising that built to a fever pitch that brought in representatives from Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. Day One
He screened an extract of his latest feature-length work in progress -- "Mutant Aliens" -- and explained his creative process. For Plympton, this begins with a gag book he carries in his pocket and recently resulted in the production of online 30-second Flash animations produced for the Internet, with titles such as "Why Everyone in Oklahoma Is Fat." Plympton discussed America's attitude to sex and violence, censorship, translating hand-renderings to the Flash format, his TV commercial work -- a generally fruitful relationship that enables him to fund his independent projects -- and computers: "They're too slow. I could make 1,000 features for the price of 'Dinosaur,' " he said. Industrial Light & Magic VFX supervisor Stefen Fangmeier maintained the momentum with his discussion of "The Perfect Storm." He reviewed ILM's 25-year history in a video montage, noting he was a week away from celebrating his 10-year anniversary at the studio, then illustrated the balance of miniature, live and computer-generated elements in ILM's opening shot for "The Mummy." "We had a new bag of tricks for 'The Perfect Storm,' " Fangmeier said, emphasizing ILM's ability to invest in the research and development necessary to achieve the film's 100% computer-generated VFX. Discussion of fluid dynamics, animatics and the importance of scale were followed by a "Storm" VFX blooper reel and questions from the audience.
Simon Smith followed with a sneak preview of Pacific Data Images' CG feature "Shrek." Smith took the audience through the production process behind the animated fairy tale -- which features the voice of Mike Myers as the lonely ogre Shrek, Eddie Murphy as his sidekick donkey and Cameron Diaz as a feisty princess. Using 3D animatics, work-in-progress tests and final footage, Smith discussed animation style, pose-driven dynamics and the creation of "hairy bits." The story's natural environments also called for the ingenious simulation of interactive mud and beer, while the theatrical teaser trailer offered glimpses of derring-do with a fire-breathing dragon and a crumbling castle. "Shrek" opens in the United States in May 2001.
Sony Pictures Imageworks speaker Gregg Anderson next took the stage to discuss character animation in Stuart Little, Hollow Man, Spider-Man, Stuart Little 2 and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Sony Pictures' Spider-man, scheduled for release in 2002, was the focus of the audience's questions, though Anderson also noted Imageworks' contribution of 500 VFX shots to Charlie's Angels, which was scheduled to open the following week in Europe. In the afternoon, VFX supervisor Craig Hayes regaled the audience with Tippett Studio's manifestations of invisibility effects for "Hollow Man." Dominic Parker and Jan Hogevold recounted Computer Film Co.'s 350 digital effects and CFC's Digital Lab processing of more than 80 minutes of production footage for Chicken Run. Damien Raymond Barker and John Harvey of London's boutique post-production house Clear discussed the VFX behind singer Robbie Williams' music video "Rock DJ -- The Ultimate Striptease." The video stripped the British pop icon to the bone with a combination of prosthetic makeup and 30 seconds of motion-captured 3D animation, produced at Clear over five weeks.
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