Skillset and the South West Regional Development Agency are supporting an exclusive professional masterclass offering unique insight from stop frame to CGI, designed and taught by animators for animators. Participants will have an opportunity to discover how Aardman Animations and DreamWorks are translating the skills of highly experienced stop-frame character animators into CGI.
Sony Pictures Consumer Products (SPCP) announces a sea of licensing opportunities for SURFS UP, the second animated feature film from Sony Pictures Animation, scheduled for release in summer 2007.
The third PETTSONS PROMISE (THE TOMTE MACHINE), featuring internationally popular TV-Loonland heroes Pettson and Findus (the grouchy old man Pettson and his curious little tomcat Findus), got off to a successful start in Scandinavian cinemas. In Sweden, the homeland of the popular cartoon characters, some 61,080 viewers have seen the new TV-Loonland feature film since its Nov.
Walt Disney TV, EMEA and Asia Pacific are reorganising in an expansion drive, both into new technology and into new business areas, which take effect on Jan. 1, 2006. Leading off the new structure is Robert Gilby who joins Disney Channel UK and Disney Channel Scandinavia and the Middle East as vp/md.
Gilby most recently was vp, network development and strategic marketing for Turner Ent. Networks Asia in Hong Kong.
Kuma Reality Games, the company that utilizes revolutionary videogame technology to re-create military events, launched a compelling online documentary gaming series on Saddam Hussein. The latest installment takes gamers through the frenzied search through the town of Adwar, and the capture of Hussein by U.S. troops in the infamous "spider hole."
Kuma's previous episode was a recreation of the events that led to Saddam's war crimes trial, now in progress in Iraq. Both episodes are available for free download at KumaWar (www.kumawar.com).
Realscan 3D, an industry leader in the creation of digital doubles using 3D scanning technology, announced innovations in its proprietary hardware and 3D scanning pipeline that will improve the way that digital assets are created for all CGI entertainment assets.
Exceeding all expectations, Disney's THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE bowed with a strong $65.5M at the box office for the weekend ended Dec. 11, 2005. Disney confirmed that it would now greenlight the next movie in the epic C.S. Lewis NARNIA saga: PRINCE CASPIAN. VFX provided by Rhythm & Hues, Sony Pictures Imageworks, ILM and others.
Electronic Arts has launched a studio in Singapore to localize and customize popular EA games into at least five different languages for distribution throughout the Asia region. Based in the heart of the city at No 1, Fifth Ave #04-07 Guthrie House, the studio is poised to evolve into an online game development facility. A development team is already in place and the first localized projects have already started to be shipped.
Park Village, one of Londons leading production companies, has signed directors James Rogan and Aasaf Ainapore. They join Park Village alongside Johan Brisinger, Jim Hayton, Omid Nooshin, Charlie Stebbings, Peter Webb and Roger Woodburn.
Rogan started his film career at the tender age of 14 when he worked as a cameraman on the Channel 4/Childrens Film Units production, WILLIES WAR. He went on to shoot another two further features for the CFU as cameraman and advanced to director of photography.
Each month, ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE focuses its attention on a particular theme.
Cablevision Systems Corp. and Sesame Workshop announced the launch of SESAME STREET Games, a new subscription interactive games service featuring the Muppets from SESAME STREET available to iO: Interactive Optimum digital cable customers throughout the New York metropolitan area. The SESAME STREET Games package offers unlimited access to easy-to-play games designed to educate and entertain young children 2-5 with Elmo, Grover, Zoe and the rest of their favorite SESAME STREET characters by pressing a single button on the television remote control.
In the week that beloved British actor David Jason married long time partner Gill and received his knighthood from the Queen he also quietly returned to a leafy suburb of Manchester where he helped bring to life the classic characters of DangerMouse and Count Duckula.
Paramount Pictures has signed a definitive agreement to acquire DreamWorks SKG for $1.6 billion in cash and assumption of debt. The deal brings Paramount key assets, including:
* All of DreamWorks' current projects in development* An ongoing production partnership with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen* An exclusive, worldwide distribution agreement with DreamWorks Animation beginning in 2006* DreamWorks' live-action library* DreamWorks' television division and its properties
Its the end of the year and film critic organizations in cities across the U.S. have begun naming their favorites of the year.
The Los Angeles Film Critics went with the best-reviewed animated film of the year, WALLACE & GROMIT: CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT as their choice for top toon feature. Moreover, they honored Hayao Miyazakis HOWLS MOVING CASTLE with an award to Joe Hisaishi for his musical score.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz. Check out the latest installment from quizmaster Karl Staven, an accomplished independent animator and head of the Animation Department at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Peter Jackson's remake of the classic film KING KONG is set to open on screens shortly. This quiz looks back to the original film for its questions.
This week in AWN's Forums, the holidays are gearing up and members are posting their holiday-themed work.
DreamWorks Animation announced two new hires and a promotion, to support the company's strategy of producing two CG films a year plus direct-to-video movies.
John Batter rejoins DreamWorks Animation as a senior production executive; Jane Hartwell, a nine-year veteran with the company, has been promoted to head of global production and Nancy Bernstein joins as head of production for the studio's Glendale, California campus.
Rhythm & Hues took advantage of Massive Software's autonomous agent 3D animation and digital stunts system on The CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, filling the screen with fantastical CG armies that interact via artificial life. The film breaks ground for the variety of characters and animals bought to life using Massive crowds. It also for the first time demonstrates that Massive-generated performances are realistic enough to appear in close proximity to the camera and to hero characters in the scene.
Rhythm & Hues chose BlueArc's Titan Storage System as the storage foundation for the company's visual effects work on THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE.
For the film, Rhythm & Hues provided 400 shots, using a production pipeline that included motion capture, modeling, rigging, animating, technical animation/fur, lighting, rendering and compositing.
Disney is marking Winnie the Pooh's 80th anniversary in 2005/2006 with an 18-month celebration to be commemorated with new Winnie the Pooh entertainment from Disney Live!, Buena Vista Home Ent. and Walt Disney Records; special edition product from Disney Consumer Products; and international support in all major regions leading to the 2007 premiere of Disney Channel's learning-focused 3D-animated series for preschoolers, MY FRIENDS TIGGER AND POOH. Winnie the Pooh's 80th Anniversary kicked off this week with the New York premiere of DISNEY LIVE!
The government of the U.K. announced a new tax credit system this week designed to support the British film industry, which was applauded by the UK Film Council. In the Pre-Budget report, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed the new rate of tax relief for low budget films (films budgeted up to £20 million) would be a net 20%. For big budget films (£20 million and above), the rate will be a net 16%. Both rates apply to the U.K. spend of a films budget, capped at 80%.
NaturalMotion Ltd. announced the immediate availability of the endorphin 2.5 Student Edition. The endorphin Student Edition contains all the same powerful features found in the endorphin 2.5 commercial version, including fully enabled export functionality; however, it is only available to students and teachers and is not to be used for commercial production. A single license retails at $995 and is available for immediate purchase from NaturalMotions online store at www.naturalmotion.com.
3D software developer MAXON has launched the first completely integrated professional CINEMA 4D module for the creation of hair, fur and feathers. Known simply as HAIR," this new module lets users quickly and easily add realistic-looking hair to objects. The hair can be styled using HAIR's extensive tool palette, and a custom 3D shader gives artists complete control over the appearance of the hair. HAIR is not only easy to use, it's very fast, offers excellent rendering quality, and requires very little memory. An average configuration can easily render millions of hairs.
Disney Feature Animation has set its sights on a 3D-animated adaptation of PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS, the bestselling Peter Pan prequel penned by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, published by Disney Editions/Hyperion Books, THE GUARDIAN reports.
The movie will be scripted by Jay Wolpert (THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL) and will focus on the origins of Pan, an orphan who flees a life of servitude by stowing aboard a merchant ship and discovering a magic substance that enables him to fly.
Toy Play has announced the retail debut of its Spring 2006 XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN toy line; the premiere collection of toys inspired by Warner Bros. Animations Emmy Award-winning television series.
