AWN Blogs

At the ILM dinner, animation supervisor Hal Hickel, who was nominated for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, talks with Madame Tutli-Putli director Chris Lavis about motion-capture and the importance of eyes in animation.

At the ILM Q&A, Madame Tutli-Putli director Maciek Szczerbowski and Peter and the Wolf director Suzie Templeton talk about the scale of their film’s puppets.

When the agents cringed at the time it takes, tour host Ron Diamond said, “Animation is a painful process and this brings it to a new low.” Hugh added that he would have liked more time to finish Peter, but they had already sold out the Royal Albert Hall for the premiere and they wanted to continue working in the U.K., so they had to keep the debut date.

Here are some more pics from the first stop on the L.A. leg of the Oscar Showcase tour - Sony Pictures Animation.

When it comes to development of stories, John said they have the entire story department brainstorming on the projects at the beginning then pare down the writers on each film. He added that usually the scribes will be the first on the project and can stay involved with the project as late as three months before release.

The conversation moved to the expansion of animation in the region, especially China. Ed said he was reluctant to get into China, because of the government hoops that doing business there entails.

Talking to Even Pigeons Go to Heaven producer Simon Vanesse, we learned that he began his career in IT. He mentioned that being one of the few producers who speaks English at BUF has helped him get on big American production. Most of the time he works as a visual effects producer, having worked on The Prestige.

Here is the last photo gallery from the San Francisco leg of the Oscar Showcase tour. We closed out the event at PDI/DreamWorks, where the Q&A audience asked some new questions and the nominees had a chance to chat with the studio’s artists.

Skywalker Ranch is an awesome experience and in this photo gallery you’ll understand why.

Here’s the first photo gallery from the 2008 Oscar Showcase tour. Witness the nominees posing for pics with the many wonders on display inside the doors of the premiere visual effects studio.

With the screenings so tightly packed, once My Love ended at Skywalker Ranch and the final film Peter and the Wolf began, a sedan raced off with our bags and the prints for the first four films to deliver them in time for the PDI/DreamWorks screening later in the day.

Once arriving at Skywalker Ranch’s breakfast area, after much more sleep than I had on my last visit, many of the tour members were already having a bite to eat before starting the hectic three-screening day. During the screening, the tour group split into two to tour the main house. Despite having seen the sights last year, it doesn’t diminish the wonder at all, especially when accompanied by a group who have never experienced it before. Adjectives like “awesome” and “insane” wafted through the air.