AWN Headline News
AWN Discussion Forums - What's New? for September 19, 2005
This week in AWN's Forums, a recent thread asks questions about character animation using Flash. Another member needs help with digital coloring backgrounds. Yet another member has questions about copyrighted music. Someone wants advice on pitching a series to Cartoon Network. Theres a thread asking why animation what brought the other members to the medium. Another post deals with getting started on mouth charts. Moderator Larry L starts a thread on the rebirth of 2D.
UTV to Animate Kong The Next Generation for BKN
New York City-based BKN New Media Inc. has outsourced animation production of two 26-episode 3D series, KONG THE NEXT GENERATION and another yet to be titled series to UTV Toonz in a $10 million deal.
UTV Toonz has also obtrained distribution, licensing & merchandising rights to some of BKNs animated series, including LEGEND OF THE DRAGON, ROSWELL CONSPIRACIES, STARLA & THE JEWEL RIDERS, SKIPPER & SKEETO and ALI BABA FORTY THIEVES.
Some of these will be featured on UTVs Kids channel, Hungama TV.
BKN Hits Up Tamborine to Audio Post Animated Series
U.K.-based audio post and music composition company Tamborine provided the audio post work on LEGEND OF THE DRAGON, now airing on the BBC1 Saturday morning slot. BKNs high-action, 26x30 animation series just completed a run on CBBC, before transferring to BBC1.
McFarlane Toys to Haunt Toy Shelves With Corpse Bride Figures
McFarlane Toys will put a chill in the air this fall creating many products from TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE. The film honors the dark, romantic tradition of Burton's EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS as it follows the path of Victor, a fidgeting groom who is taken from his own wedding and married to a Corpse Bride in the underworld.
Learning Edition ZBrush 2 and ZBrush Learning Kit Available
Pixologic has announced the release of the learning edition of ZBrush 2 and the ZBrush Learning Kit. Experience ZBrush 2s innovative modeling and texturing tools. With its realtime sculpting and texturing of multi-million poly models, ZBrush will carry your digital art to that next level of realism and artistry.
Radium Hires Jon Townley and Jeff Blodgett
Radium, the growing artist-owned visual effects house based in Santa Monica and San Francisco, recently added two new talents to its roster. Jon Townley, who will serve dual roles as artist manager and creative director, has held top positions in numerous digital studios from MetroLight to Sony Pictures ImageWorks to L-Squared. Jeff Blodgett, incoming exec producer, brings with him 15 years of invaluable post-production experience.
Hollywood Center Studios Debuts New VFX Shooting Stage
Addressing the needs of commercial producers and others involved in high-end visual effects production, Hollywood Center Studios has unveiled a new 4,500-square-foot shooting stage with a three-wall, hard cove cyc. Dubbed Stage 12, the new space can accommodate the popular motorized Fisher Light rigs, making it ideal for car shoots, as well as bluescreen or greenscreen work.
1st Ave. Machine Blurs Fantasy, Reality for Music Video
Technology and nature blend together seamlessly to create a breezy and soothingly upbeat vibe in 1st Ave Machine's latest creation, SIXES LAST, a music video for the artist Alias, who is currently signed with record label Anticon. Taken off the musicians album MUTED, the video debuted at RESFEST in September 2005 in the Cinema Electronica Showcase.
MPC Completes VFX for Wallace & Gromit Feature
The Moving Picture Co. (MPC) has completed more than 750 visual effects shots for WALLACE GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT, the stop-motion animated feature directed by Nick Park and Steve Box. This first feature-length WALLACE & GROMIT outing was created by Aardman Animations with distribution through DreamWorks. The picture was color graded by Max Horton in the MPC DI lab
Corpse Bride Rises Auspiciously For Opening
While DreamWorks romantic fantasy JUST LIKE HEAVEN (with vfx by Big Red Pixel) ruled the box office for the weekend ended Sept. 18, 2005, seducing $16.4M in its debut, TIM BURTONS CORPSE BRIDE (with vfx by MPC) attracted a lively $385,078 in its five-theater bow, good enough for a whopping per-screen average of $77,015.
Latest Animation World Magazine Acrobat Is Live!
The latest Acrobat version of Animation World Magazine is now live. The theme for April was gaming. Janet Hetherington takes a look at Sonys new PlayStation Portable and the challenges of creating big games for the small screen. Karen Raugust looks at how PC and console games are making their way into films and other media while film directors, writers and actors are setting up their own gaming companies. Fred Galpern takes a look at how the progress and advances in technology are shaping the future of the quality of gaming animation.
Palisades Names Diamond as Distributor to Hobby Retail Market
Palisades Ent. Llc. has announced that, effective immediately, it has entered into a partnership with Diamond Comic Distributors, officially naming Diamond as its distributor for the hobby retail market in North America. After more than a decade of working together, both parties agree that this new, closer relationship will significantly benefit specialty retailers and their customers.
Digital Dimension Wins VFX Emmy for Lost
Digital Dimension described the crash sequence from ABCs LOST (Part 2 of the pilot), which recently earned the 2004-2005 Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series. Digital Dimensions work on LOST previously garnered a VES Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program last February.
Chomets' Studio Draws Animators to Scotland
French-born Sylvain Chomet and his producer wife Sallys studio in Edinburgh, Scotland is creating an influx of animators to the city, reports SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY. Django Films is set to hire up to 250 artists to work on the two feature projects.
The first film is THE ILLUSIONIST, a £10m animated being funded by Pathé Pictures. A second project is in the works with Universal for a computer-animated feature titled, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX.
Kids’ WB! 2005-2006 Season Starts Sept. 17 With 3 World Premieres
Kids' WB! new 2005-2006 broadcast season will be highlighted by the world premieres of three new series and four returning hits. Kids WB! kicks off its new schedule Sept. 17 (8:00 am-12 pm ET /7:00-11:00 am PT). On Monday, Sept. 19 (3-5:00 pm ET/PT), the new seasons Monday-Friday weekday lineup will debut, introducing the high-octane vehicles-turned-robots world of TRANSFORMERS: CYBERTRON, along with more exciting adventures of returning shows, five days a week.
Entity FX Gears Up For Smallville‘s Fifth Season
Entity FX has begun production for SMALLVILLE after finishing last season with an exclamation point. The season premier, Arrival, which has more than130 high def vfx shots in the episode, airs Sept. 29 at 8:00 pm on WB. This will be the fourth season for which Entity FX produces all the visual effects, all in high def, for the hit series.
Mr. Wonderful Design and VFX Studio Launches in New York
Industry veterans David Gioiella and Mark Littman have launched Mr. Wonderful, a new design and vfx company. The entity is an offshoot of their Northern Lights Post boutique and will cater to high-end broadcast design, feature film and television projects.
Calon Sets Up Safehouse Hotel at Cartoon Forum
Robin Lyons new company, Calon, recently formed from the original Cardiff-based Siriol team, is bringing its new creation, SAFEHOUSE HOTEL, to Cartoon Forum this week in Denmark.
FOX and Burger King Cook Up Primetime Animation Contest
FOX and Burger King Corp. are serving fans of FOXs animated shows an opportunity they are sure to want to sink their teeth into a chance to attend a table read of their favorite FOX toon in Los Angeles in the HAVE IT YOUR WAY contest. Viewers can vote for their favorite show by logging onto www.fox.com/yourway, where they may cast their ballots for KING OF THE HILL, THE SIMPSONS, FAMILY GUY or AMERICAN DAD. Clips of each show are accessible from the site.
Get Your Adult Swim Friday Night Fix on Internet
Frantic for an Adult Swim fix on Friday when the popular late night cartoon block for adults does not air? Well now you can access them on AdultSwim.com, the online adjunct to Cartoon Networks late night sister network of animation for adults. Adult Swims Friday Night Fix launches Sept. 16, 2005, offering select Adult Swim content via the Internet. Visitors to AdultSwim.com will be able to watch full-length episodes of selected Adult Swim original comedies, like AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE, ROBOT CHICKEN and SEALAB 2021 online, each week.
Cronenberg May Enter London Fields
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE-director David Cronenberg is trying to line up an adaptation of Martin Amis novel LONDON FIELDS as his next project, reports SCI FI WIRE. The story chronicles a psychic who senses that one of two men in a pub will kill and sets forth to make it really happen.
CG Pinky & Perky Goes Into Development
Lupus Films and Picture Production Co. (PPC) has started development on PINKY & PERKY, a new CGI series. The plot of the series will center on two Laurel & Hardy-liked brothers who are the hottest trotters in town. They have to overcome their differences once they are given their own live childrens TV show full of mad games, wild cartoons, gunge tanks and top celebrity guests.
Nintendo Reveals 'Revolution'-ary Controller
As the cornerstone of his speech at the Tokyo Game Show's annual event, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata elaborated on the theme of the company's aim and proven ability to broaden the population of videogame players. Two shining examples highlighted in his keynote include the smash-hit sales of the highly innovative NINTENDOGS game for the portable Nintendo DS and the new controller that will be central to the company's upcoming console system, code-named Revolution.
Planet Nemo Pitches Bali Series at Cartoon Forum
Indie kids media company Planet Nemo has announced details of its first production. The company has teamed up with Canada-based Subsequence Ent. to co-produce a new preschool series called BALI, which will be pitched at Cartoon Forum Kolding, Sept. 21-24, 2005.