I get fliers...I get phamplets...I get emails about all the amazing technology available to today's animators. And while I can't use any of it, we can all appreciate how new technology is making bringing `toons to life more easy.
The big snow ball of Paramount's SNOW DAY picked up momentum and rolled in
to #2 at the U.S. box office. In its second week in theatres, the kid-pic,
with special effects by Curious Pictures, grossed US$8.34 million bringing
its gross to $43.1 million. USA Films' ALIENS-like PITCH BLACK, with
primary visual effects by Double Negative Ltd. and The Chandler Group,
finished at #5 grossing $7.14 million raising its total gross to $22.9
million. THE TIGGER MOVIE finished the weekend in sixth place, making $6.31
Iain Harvey traveled to the International Film Festival at Rotterdam and was treated to a nice surprise -- an intelligent animation program married to a live-action festival.
Last week Alias|Wavefront unveiled a new upgrade to its powerful 3D
animation system Maya, an upgrade which will add a major new feature to the
software, particularly useful to games developers. Trax is a new non-linear
animation editing solution which will allow games developers to manipulate
extensive amounts of animation and blend it together in a way that can be
reproduced in the final game play. Trax features include reusable time
independent motion clips, blending of hand animation, data filtering and
Eric Huelsman predicts that Walking With Dinosaurs will be hailed as one of the most scientifically significant technological benchmarks in broadcast television for many years to come. Here's why...
Maureen Furniss takes a critical look at the five films that were shortlisted for Oscar consideration but not nominated: The Indescribable Nth, Monsieur Pett, Village of Idiots, Silence and Fractured Fairy Tales: The Phox, the Box and the Lox. Includes QuickTime clips!
France-based company REALVIZ recently announced the release of its new
ImageModeler photo-modeling software. This release comes after the release
of several other photo-modeling systems designed to turn objects in 2D
photographs into 3D models. Unlike other solutions on the market, however,
ImageModeler is a high-end application aimed at professionals, and this is
reflected not only in the programs toolset, but in the quality of the
models it produces. The creation of a 3D model in ImageModeler is simple --
While Korea is recognized as a world animation power, she is not known to have creative control over the projects on which she works. Now could be the right time for Korean companies to change this role. Joe Jo suggests a few tactics.
Harry Shearer.Harry Shearer is one of the most multi-faceted performers at work in voice acting today. A writer, producer, director and actor on the stage and radio and in television and film, Harry still finds time to voice our Simpsons favorites and host a weekly syndicated radio show, LeShow, which is in its sixteenth year on public airwaves. Harry Shearers award-winning career began early; at age seven he had his acting debut in the film classic Abbott and Costello Go To Mars....
On Tuesday, February 29, 2000, Shockwave and sponsor CYBERWORLD launched a
Stan Lee premiere, live on shockwave.com. The star-studded event was hosted
by Dick Clark. The celebrities on the attendee list were Tom Hanks, Keanu
Reeves, Michael Jackson, Richard Dreyfus, John Travolta, Quentin Tarantino
and Leonardo Dicaprio. Excerpts from the event will also be televised
internationally on ET and other entertainment news broadcasts. On
Wednesday, March 1, Stan Lee/CYBERWORLD content will launch on their site
This year's NATPE was a decidedly different conference as television executives mingled with new and interactive media upstarts. Bruce Johansen, President of NATPE, discusses this new trend.
The Oscar shortlisted INDESCRIBABLE NTH has been picked up for distribution
on the Net at AtomFilms. The deal between NTH's creators Character Builders
and AtomFilms covers domestic and foreign television showings as well as
airline programming and Internet distribution. The film follows the story
of a boy and his understanding of the indescribable feeling called love.
Read Maureen Furniss' review of THE INDESCRIBABLE NTH and the other
shortlisted films at
Computer graphics veteran Jeff Kleiser attended Imagina 2000 in France and reports back on the thought-provoking experience.
From television and feature film to motion-capture and voice actors, Judy Lieff addresses acting and performance as it relates to the professional animator and his training.
From television and feature film to motion-capture and voice actors, Judy Lieff addresses acting and performance as it relates to the professional animator and his training.
DreamWorks SKG is seeking box-office gold with their new film, The Road to El Dorado. J. Paul Peszko goes behind the scenes to reveal a new production process, a new type of artist and why this film might just reach the promised land.
Four years strong...
Alyson Carty & Chris Robinson offer an indepth look at Alexander Petrov's IMAX spectacular, The Old Man and The Sea.
Chuck Jones and Charles Solomon remember Marc Davis, an animation legend.
Whether you just need some time between jobs, or the search for your next job is taking longer than you'd like, put your time to good use. Take classes, polish up your portfolio, go to industry events, network - go to the zoo and sketch! Enrich yourself and become better prepared to meet your next professional challenge.
To introduce the March 2000 Production Technology issue, Edwin Catmull, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Pixar Animation Studios, takes the ten question challenge.
Sharon Schatz profiles the big name talent -- Elton John, Tim Rice, Hans Zimmer and John Powell -- behind The Road to El Dorado and finds how music and art are carefully crafted into one.
Beginning in the late `50s there was an inspired flow of clever techniques that seemed like animation, but really weren't. These cartoon look-a-likes were shot in real-time and not frame-by-frame. Howard Beckerman takes a look back on a few of these fleeting methods.
Mainframe Entertainment, Inc. announced that it will produce 26 all-CGI
ACTION MAN half-hour television series episodes for Hasbro Properties
Group, a division of Hasbro, Inc. Before the series begins regularly
scheduled broadcasts on Fox Kids in September, a one-hour ACTION MAN
special will air on Fox Kids Network in May 2000. SABAN International N.V.
will handle international distribution for the series. The new TV show is
based on Hasbro's ACTION MAN brand, the number one boy's action brand in
ACCLAIM ENTERTAINMENT INC., a leading worldwide interactive entertainment
company, announced that NIGEL COOK has been promoted to vice president,
studio head of Acclaim Studio Austin. Cook will oversee the management of
the Austin facility, including product releases, personnel development and
process improvement. Previously, Cook was VP of product development and
design at Acclaim. In this position, he oversaw creative development and
design at all Acclaim Studios. Cook was responsible for developing many of
