The art and design from Will Vintons Animation Art Collection is now on view at The Art Institute of California Los Angeles from July 11 Aug. 31, 2005. The groundbreaking animation producer/director Will Vinton and his teams have memorable animated characters, such as the California Raisins, the PJs, and the lovable dinosaurs, Herb & Rex. The Artists reception is July 21 and will open to the public at 6:00 pm.
NaturalMotion Ltd. announced the immediate availability of the companys free endorphin Learning Edition (eLE). Based on the award-winning 3D character animation software endorphin 2.0, the eLE has no time restrictions, includes all relevant product documentation and offers a comprehensive support network via the companys endorphin forum. The software is fully functional; however, it is motion file export disabled and is not to be used for commercial production.
Charlex recently completed an animated :30 spot for those ever-popular M&Ms, helping coordinate them into kaleidoscopic patterns set to Iron and Wine's "Such Great Heights."
Vicon, developer of Academy Award-winning motion capture technology, has released MX Bridge, a hardware product that allows previous-generation Vicon cameras to be seamlessly connected to the new Vicon MX architecture. MX Bridge represents a flexible upgrade path and gives users benefits such as grayscale imaging and the ability to mix and match cameras of different types. The MX Bridge is aimed at and priced for current Vicon users who want to move to Vicon MX but need an alternative to a full MX system replacement, or users who are seeking to add MX cameras to an existing pre-MX setup.
Iridas, which first introduced non-destructive color grading technology in 2003, announced the release of SpeedGrade OnSet, a look creation tool for cinematographers, which provides a means for communicating looks to all parts of the post-production and film finishing pipeline. The new application uses the same .look file format as SpeedGrade DI allowing for direct collaboration between cinematographer and colorist. SpeedGrade OnSet runs on both the Mac and Windows platforms.
Realscan 3D, the next generation in mobile, high resolution, high color, structured light 3D scanning, announced the delivery of eleven scanned animation-ready models for the Disney feature SKY HIGH (opening July 29), which include models for Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston.
"Our digital doubles don't lurk in the shadows like doubles seen in other films," said Frank De Marco, president of Realscan 3D. "Our models are ready for any shot ranging from close-up to long-shot. With Realscan 3D models, directors don't have to compromise..."
Konami Digital Entertainment America will publish the official videogame based on Aardman Animations and DreamWorks upcoming movie, WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT. The game offers huge free-roaming gaming environments, inventive action, plentiful gadgets, numerous mini games and humorous visuals that are true to the distinctive look of the film, plus other actions and characters the filmmakers had hoped to include in the feature.
The Weinstein Co. and Warner Bros. Pictures will join forces to distribute the first all-CG-animated movie of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The as-yet-untitled picture will be released early in 2007.
Travel to hell and back when CONSTANTINE blasts onto DVD July 19, 2005, in single and two-disc deluxe editions (Warner Home Video, $29.98 and $30.99). This vivid, cinematic comic book adaptation is an action-packed thriller from DC Comics/Vertigos HELLBLAZER and stars Keanu Reeves (THE MATRIX trilogy) and Rachel Weisz (THE MUMMY). As John Constantine, Reeves fights a new otherworldly foe in a City of the Angels where spirit-world bounds have brokenand all hell is breaking loose.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE opened to record business this past weekend, reports IMAX Corp. and Warner Bros. Pictures. The film debuted in a record 65 North American IMAX theaters the widest domestic IMAX opening to date grossing an estimated record of $2.21M over the three-day period ended July 17, for a per screen average of more than $34,000. In addition, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE also set single day box office records with the biggest opening day, Saturday and Sunday for an IMAX digitally re-mastered release.
Moto Sakakibara, co-director of FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN, will direct Sprite Animations Studios first CG-animated feature film, GON. The film, slated for a 2007 release, will be based on Masashi Tanakas widely popular manga series. GON is a comical adventure about a foot-tall dinosaur living in a modern-day savanna. He shares his wit and humor in a subtle but sometimes outrageous way as he takes on beasts 10 times his size, revealing a sense of justice never before seen in the wild.
Pipelinefx, a leading provider of render farm management software for 3D animation and interactive entertainment companies, will demonstrate version 4.0 of its flagship product, qube!, at SIGGRAPH 2005, being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 31 to Aug. 4.
Global Mechanic recently completed the final commercial in a four-spot campaign for Kelloggs Eggos. Agency Leo Burnett hired Global Mechanic to design the characters, concept the ideas, shoot the product and then animate the spots. The agency creative team really wanted to focus on building a collection of characters each with a different funny personality, said Global Mechanic exec producer Matthew Charde.
Daniel Jeannette has been hired by Animal Logic as the animation director on George Millers 3D-animated feature, HAPPY FEET, a musical comedy/adventure about a tap dancing penguin that cant sing.
For HAPPY FEET, Jeannette will be ensuring that the performance arc of the characters from motion capture and animation through to their on-screen presence fulfills Millers creative vision.
Polhemus, the industry leader in 6 Degree-of-Freedom (6DOF) motion capture, tracking and digitizing technologies, announced the LIBERTY LATUS (Large Area Tracking Untethered System). This system represents a whole new dimension in tracking technology, one that offers a totally wireless, full 6DOF solution. The system has speed, ease-of-use via an intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI), and is capable of tracking up to 12 independent markers over large areas at a rate of 94 or 188 updates per second.
The 17th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were bestowed on Friday, July 15, 2005, in a gala ceremony in the ballroom at the San Diego Convention Center. The awards event was dedicated to Eisner, who died in January. His presence was felt throughout the evening, as presenter after presenter shared thoughts about the late comics giant. The ceremony was preceded by a slide show of Eisners career and a video with taped tributes from many creators who couldnt attend, including Frank Miller, Mike Mignola and Dave Sim.
Steve Buscemi, John Cleese and Jay Leno have joined the cast of Exodus Film Groups CG-animated short film IGOR: UNHOLY FRIJOLES. Buscemi will voice the part of "Scamper," a super intelligent, yet sarcastic lab rabbit, while Cleese will lend his voice to the character of "Dr. Glickenstein," Igors evil master. Buscemi and Cleese join Christian Slater, who stars in the title role of "Igor" as well as Jay Leno. The film, which is in production, precedes the feature-length theatrical version IGOR, due out in 2007.
Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures have confirmed that they will be developing a 3D CGI feature version of THE SMURFS. Jordan Kerner will produce. The project is envisioned as a trilogy with the first film hopefully coinciding with the 50th anniversary of THE SMURFS in 2008. The unwraps story will be written by Herb Ratner.
Kerner Ent. production head Paul Neesan, who helped acquire the rights, will exec produce along with Nick svp Julia Pistor. Paramount vp Matt Jackson will shepherd the project.
Electronic Arts has announced deals with Verizon Wireless and Sprint that will bring EAs blockbuster games to Verizon Wireless Get It Now customers and Sprint PCS Vision handsets.
Businessman/entrepreneur Phil Knight announced today (July 19, 2005) that he has absorbed animation company Vinton Studios, which Knight acquired in September 2003, into a new entertainment and media venture called LAIKA.
LAIKAs first film offering is CG animated short film, MOONGIRL, director Henry Selicks (NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH) a charming fable which re-imagines lunar mythology. Footage of MOONGIRL is available now for viewing at www.laika.com.
Warner Home Video is releasing, for the first ime on DVD, A PUP NAMED SCOOBY-DOO, VOLUME 1 and VOLUME 2. Geared toward preschoolers, both DVD titles follow the adventures of Scooby-Doo as puppy, along with pint-sized versions of Shaggy, Velma, Daphne and Fred as they solve mysteries. The volumes street on July 19, 2005, and retail for $14.98 SRP each.
The series, produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally aired on ABC and is currently airing on Cartoon Network/Boomerang.
The BRATZ CGI animated television series, featuring the incredibly popular BRATZ characters from MGA Entertainment, will air this fall on 4Kids TV(TM), 4Kids Entertainment's Saturday morning children's programming block, beginning Sept. 10, 2005, on FOX.
BRATZ joins the 4Kids TV girls block, which includes the popular WINX CLUB and MEW MEW POWER. Japanese animated hit MAGICAL DOREMI also will join the girls block for girls 6-12 when the fourth season of 4Kids TV launches on September 10.
Marisa Fiechter has rejoined bicoastal creative studio Trollbäck + Company as a producer and is producing projects for HBO as well as the comprehensive redesign of a TV network.
The combination of Marisas nine years of agency experience and her sense of taste and style make her a perfect match for Trollbäck + Co., said exec producer Elizabeth Kiehner.
Walt Disney Pictures confirmed at San Diegos Comic-Con on Sunday that Liam Neeson will be voicing Aslan the Lion in THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, opening Dec. 9. Aslan, the noble ruler of the magical world of Narnia, is mostly a CG character, except for a crucial scene involving animatronics from K.N.B. EFX under the supervision of Howard Berger.
Director Darren Aronofsky (PI, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM), Regency Enterprises and Warner Bros. Pictures have invited 15 artists, including top graphic artists from the comic book world, to create original works of art interpreting Aronofskys forthcoming sci-fi fantasy film, THE FOUNTAIN, which will be released this fall (tentatively in December).
Beginning in mid-August, these images will be released on the films official website at www.thefountainmovie.com. A new interpretation will appear approximately once per week leading up to the films release.
