Coming Out Of The Ice Age
John C. Donkin, Blue Sky's associate producer, reminisces on how the studio transformed itself from a small boutique into a major feature film contender.
John C. Donkin, Blue Sky's associate producer, reminisces on how the studio transformed itself from a small boutique into a major feature film contender.
London-based stop-motion animation production company Loose Moose was responsible for one of the coolest ads that debuted during the Super Bowl - the BRISK iced tea spot featuring a puppet uprising. The companys latest commercial in the six year Pepsi-Lipton BRISK campaign for J. Walter Thompson, New York is a 60-second spot called "DeVito," starring a puppet Danny DeVito and featuring the actor as his own voice talent. Co-stars were the regular cast of BRISK characters including Burgess Meredith, Phil Morris (the "Jackie Chiles" character from SEINFELD) and James Brown.
THE TIME MACHINE, the latest adaptation of H.G. Wells classic sci-fi novel about the futuristic land of the Morlochs, was number one this weekend, earning $22.6M in its debut. The film, with visual effects by Digital Domain and ILM, was directed by Simon Wells (PRINCE OF EGYPT), H.G. Wells great grandson. The Vietnam war drama WHEN WE WERE SOLDIERS, with visual effects by Digital Domain, dropped to second, bringing in $14.2M for $40.5M. Disneys RETURN TO NEVER LAND is still staying well within the top ten in its fourth week earning $4.5M for a total of $41.5M to date and sixth place.
Will Ryan interviews Eric Goldberg regarding his non-influences and just who he considers animation's first, true pioneer.
Marvel's popular comic book character DAREDEVIL will soon come to life on next generation console systems. Interactive entertainment publisher Encore, Inc. has signed an exclusive, five-year, worldwide agreement with Marvel Enterprises, Inc. to publish action-adventure games based on the blind superhero. The game's release will coincide with the December 2002 premiere of the feature film DAREDEVIL starring Ben Affleck.
Microsoft Corp. will provide a one-day tutorial on March 19, 2002 called "Xbox Unplugged," at the 16th annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), March 19 - 23, in San Jose, California. This sponsored tutorial is designed for professionals in the business of creating games, but new to the Xbox. The tutorial teaches developers, artists, sound designers and producers the nuts and bolts of Xbox, and explains how to best harness the capabilities of the video game system.
Becoming an animation producer is no easy task but Gerard Raiti offers a few pointers from the folks at Duck Soup Studios, Renegade Animation and Wild Brain, Inc., on how you can get in the door and start to succeed.
First Alias|Wavefront offers their Maya graphics software for free and now, not to be outdone, Softimage has announced the availability of the SOFTIMAGE|XSI Experience. This free two-CD pack includes the full feature set of the SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.2.0 Advanced system, the complete searchable SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.2.0 Online Documentation Library and a comprehensive video-based training module. The SOFTIMAGE|XSI Experience CD gives unlimited, free access to the company's nonlinear animation system and tools and is available to order from www.softimage.com/experience.
Toon Boom Technologies Inc. has released the Toon Boom Studio Importer (TBSi) for Macromedia Flash MX. TBSi provides integration between Toon Boom Studio and Macromedia Flash MX, resulting in a streamlined workflow for adding interactivity to professional quality 2D animations. And what is this Flash MX you ask? Read on.
Eric Oldrin reviews a new way to create animation for the Web. Toon Boom Studio brings USAnimation's expertise to vector-based animation.
San Diego Asian Film Festival 2002, San Diego, California USA.
Thursday, October 03 - Sunday, October 06, 2002.
Entry Deadline: Friday, June 07, 2002.
Join us at the beautiful campus of DreamWorks Studio and celebrate the women featured in the new book "Great Women Of Film" by Helena Lumme and Mika Manninen with a panel of animation directors:Brenda Chapman ("The Prince of Egypt")
Vicky Jenson ("Shrek")
Lorna Cook ("Spirit: Stallion of The Cimmaron")
The Creativity Workshop's goal is to help individuals believe in and develop their creative process through a series of writing and drawing exercises. Whether you are a writer, a business person, a teacher or an artist we can help you discover and nurture your particular way of expression and break through the fears and blocks that inhibit creativity. This internationally renowned intensive workshop brings together people of all backgrounds, cultures, and interests to discover new and exciting tools for generating their creativity and thinking and working in new and exciting ways.
Unique in concept, renowned for execution and treasured by participants, SXSW is an essential event for understanding tomorrow's entertainment industry today.
SXSW Film Festival and Conference,
now nine years old, will present a festival schedule over nine nights largely devoted to independent productions as well as
Each week, Animation World Magazine offers new articles, special features and theme-based coverage of the art, craft and industry of animation. New this week:
- TV Review: "Welcome To Eltingville"
Jerry Beck finds his rightful place in "Welcome to Eltingville," one of Cartoon Network's latest additions to their Adult Swim block.
3Dquest is looking for an ART DIRECTOR . . . China's Amazing Animation Productions is looking for an AGENT/REPRESENTATIVE . . . Ottawa, Ontario's Amberwood Productions is looking for an OVERSEAS ANIMATION SUPERVISOR . . . Mumbai, India's Comptech Computer is looking for a CARTOON ANIMATOR . . . London, UK's Delfin Studio is looking for a SALES REPRESENTATIVE . . . Santa Monica, California's DH Institute of Media Arts (DHIMA) is looking for a LECTURER . . . Glendale, California's DreamWorks is looking for a SOFTWARE DEVELOPER (PERCS). . .
Buzzco Associates latest Flash-animated political cartoon is now featured on their Website. "Sing a Song of Six Pence" is a reaction to the on-going Enron scandal. This latest short is...
AWNs Discussion Forums give you direct access to an unparalleled group of animation industry experts. Don't be shy! Visit the Forums!
Women In Animation International's 2002 Annual Meeting: Saturday, March 09, 2002, Glendale, California USA . . . Women In Animation Writers' Seminar Group: Thursday, March 14, 2002, West Los Angeles, California USA . . . NAB 2002: The Convergence Marketplace: Saturday, April 06 - Thursday, April 11, 2002, Las Vegas, Nevada USA . . . DreamWorks and Storyopolis -- Kid's Animation Workshop: Saturday, May 18, 2002, Los Angeles, California USA . . . Warner Bros. and Storyopolis Present a Scooby Doo Celebration: Saturday, June 15, 2002, Los Angeles, California USA . . .
Gullane Entertainment has joined forces with independent animation company Collingwood O'Hare Entertainment to create a new animated preschool series called YOKO! JAKAMOKO! TOTO! UK broadcaster CiTV commissioned 52 five-minute episodes of the series. YOKO! JAKAMOKO! TOTO! is inspired by traditional Spanish, Latin American and African art and music and tells the tale of the friendship between Yoko (a bird), Jakamoko (an armadillo) and Toto (a monkey) solely through music and action.
R!OT Design has appointed Jeremy Hollister to the post of creative director of broadcast design. Hollister will provide creative supervision for all design-related projects undertaken by the studio. An influential member of R!OT's design team since 1996, Hollister has won numerous Promax and BDA awards, as well as other design industry honors for his work for the Sci Fi Channel, ESPN, MTV and other accounts. Most recently he has been signed by London-based production company SKUNK for worldwide representation in commercial and music video direction.
Game developer The Collective, Inc. is working with LucasArts to develop and create the next INDIANA JONES game. The game is expected to release in fall 2002 and will be available on a variety of next generation console platforms and PC. The Collective's work on the recently released BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER game for Xbox sealed the deal for LucasArts said president Simon Jeffrey. "The Collective brings considerable technological and development expertise that will greatly benefit Indiana Jones, one of our most important brands," Jeffrey stated.
Jon Hofferman reviews five short films fresh from the festival circuit: Aria by Pjotr Sapegin, Hubert's Brain directed by Wild Brain's Phil Robinson, Oscar Grillo's Shadow Cycle, The Snowman, directed by Lane Nakamura of Duck Soup Studios, and Dave Unwin's War Game, produced by The Illuminated Film Company. Includes QuickTime movie clips!
Want to get started creating animation on your own computer? John Edgar Park tells you how to start from scratch. Let's find out how to select and assemble the correct components and then get them working!
Visual effects, broadcast design and animation studio Click 3x has brought on Jim Collins to head the studios animation department. Formerly with the design boutique TZ, Collins has experience in animation, illustration and compositing, and has credits across a variety of media. His experience is particularly strong in broadcast graphics, having recently completed projects for NBC, CBS News, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox, ESPN, Sci Fi Channel and CNNSI. He also has numerous credits in commercials.