8. OCEANS ELEVEN SINKS HARRY POTTER. The remake of the Rat Pack classic OCEANS ELEVEN, with visual effects by E=mc2 and Cinesite, topped the box office this weekend, raking in $38.1M and taking the prize for the biggest December opening of all time. OCEANS ELEVEN was the only new wide release this weekend, so as each film moved down a notch to make room for the new number one, the order of the top ten stayed relatively the same.
New York-based design and visual effects company Fluid has launched a sound design division and added sound designer Fred Szymanski to their team. Szymanski has created sound design and special sound effects for a variety of film and television projects and music videos. He will be creating sound design for commercials exclusively through Fluid. Szymanski and Fluid recently completed sound design and sound enhancement for a series of spots for 6 new Xbox games for McCann/NY client Microsoft.
Cinesite Hollywood completed two dozen shots for Universal Studios' new film SPY GAME, directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Cinesite's work included the enhancement of reflections in an interrogation scene, blowing out a grid of lights in a night landscape scene, and adding muzzle flashes, sparks, bullet holes, dust and debris. Cinesite visual effects supervisor Kevin Lingenfelser said there are no blue or green screen shots in the film. A few explosions occur in the film, but they were achieved using practical, in-camera methods.
Buena Vista International Television has licensed its collection of Disney and Disney/Pixar animated features to German terrestrial broadcaster RTL. The "Classic Treasures" package includes A BUG'S LIFE, MULAN, POCAHONTAS, TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2. The first movie to be broadcast will be Disney/Pixar's A BUG'S LIFE on Dec. 16, 2001. The Classic Treasures package has also been sold for broadcast in the U.K., Austria, Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland and Netherlands.
Uli Meyer Animation created a 30-second computer animated title sequence for the German television station WDR show entitled MADE IN EUROPE. To illustrate the wacky nature of the show, which features guests from six European countries who talk about and perform country-specific oddities and customs, Uli Meyer Animation chose to use stereotypical images of European countries presented in a comical way. Some of the title sequence elements include dancing Can-Can girls on top of a London bus driven by Picasso that crosses in front of the Eiffel Tower while a Scotsman does a sword dance.
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:
- The Animation Pimp'Tis the season for xmas cheer and thank goodness the Pimp is here. The Animation Pimp reviews the true meaning behind a few of our favorite Christmas animated specials.
Toonz Animation India has acquired Toonsense Studios in Mumbai, India. Focusing on the creation of traditional animation for the advertising community Toonsense Animation Studios has created animation for dozens of diverse television commercials, combining traditional animation with live-action and computer graphics. Toonsense founders Suhael Merchant and Shrirang Sathaye will remain with the company.
'Tis the season for festive holiday specials and the networks are rising to the occasion. Here is a selection of this holiday's television offerings:
The Disney Channel's new animated comedy series THE PROUD FAMILY will air "Seven Days of Kwanzaa," a special holiday episode featuring the guest voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Vivica A. Fox (THE HUGHLEYS, INDEPENDENCE DAY) and Raven Symone (THE COSBY SHOW). THE PROUD FAMILY Kwanzaa episode will air on the Disney Channel on Friday, December 7, at 7 pm ET/PT.
Since its release on November 2, 2001, SHREK has become the best-selling DVD of all time. With more than 5.5 million DVDs sold to consumers in North America, the big green Ogre surpassed the previous record-holder GLADIATOR, another DreamWorks film, which has sold over 5 million units since its November 2000 release.
R!OT and Liberty Livewire LLC's Interactive Services Group, both units of Liberty Media Group, have launched a joint venture aimed at developing interactive television applications. Under the plan, R!OT will link its broadcast post-production services with the Interactive Services Group's Web authoring, data management and e-commerce services. As part of the new venture, Liberty Livewire's Interactive Services Group has relocated its creative staff to the R!OT campus in Santa Monica.
THE ANIMATION CELECTION, in conjunction with EBAYLIVEAUCTIONS.com, presents its fifth annual - HOLIDAY ANIMATION, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS AUCTION. This live auction will be held at Popular Culture Highway Gallery in West Hollywood, CA, on December 8th, 2001 beginning at 10:00 AM PST. Pre-bids can be placed via the internet , phone, fax or in person any time up until the auction begins.
There's a little something for everyone this month, from another installment in the LAND BEFORE TIME series, to classic Disney, to dinosaurs running amok. Check out selected highlights of the new animation and DVD releases for the month of December 2001.
December 4, 2001
WALT DISNEY TREASURES
After a four-year organizing drive, the membership of the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists, Local 839 IATSE (M.P.S.C. Local 839) has unanimously ratified a collective bargaining agreement with BKN Studios, Inc. (BKN). "The BKN contract marks the successful end of one of the longest organizing drives in the union's history," business representative Steve Hulett said after the vote at the local's membership meeting on November 27, 2001. M.P.S.C.
Visual effects and design company Reality Check Studios (RCS), completed over 75 effects shots for 20th Century Fox's BEHIND ENEMY LINES, now in theaters. As the primary visual effects house for the film, RCS artists built computer-generated planes, missiles, parachutes, and pilots and enhanced shots with smoke, debris and explosions. In an 8-minute sequence during which the lead character is shot down over enemy territory, RCS had a team of 16 animators working to create extensive 3D effects where CG elements were integrated into live action footage.
After the successful launch of Maya Builder, Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited for Linux in March 2001, Alias|Wavefront has now made Maya 4 for Linux available. Senior Maya product manager Chris Ford said, "Interest in Linux continues to grow, especially among customers with large Maya installations, and this much requested new version comes in response to a huge number of inquiries.
Independent animation studio Wild Brain, Inc., has completed three new animated TV spots for the new Ford Focus ZX3, ZX5 and ZTS vehicles. Part of the "Focus on Animation" campaign, all three 15-second spots are currently airing nationwide. Conceived by J. Walter Thompson Agency in Detroit, this three-spot animated campaign features direction by Wild Brain's Mike Smith, Nicholas Weigel, Denis Morella and Gordon Clark.
The 6th Annual British Academy Children's Film & Television Awards in association with the LEGO company presented their awards on December 2, 2001. SHREK won for Best Feature Film and Collingwood O'Hare's ANIMAL STORIES took home the award for Best Pre-School Animation. Other animated winners included Right Angle's AUNT TIGER (BOOKBOX: ANIMATED TALES OF THE WORLD) for Best Animation and The Disney Channel's TEACHER'S PET, which won the International award.
Tom Hershey has been promoted to senior vice president of operations at Sony Pictures Imageworks, the visual effects and animation division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Hershey's expanded role will now include leadership of console game development at Imageworks. Hershey recently forged a deal with the Institute of Creative Technologies (ICT), a joint venture between the Army branch of the U.S. Military and the University of Southern California (USC). Together with Pandemic Studios, Imageworks is collaborating with ICT to create simulation training programs via immersive technologies.
Hoping to get people back in theaters to see MONSTERS, INC. one more time, Disney/Pixar has announced that they will be adding a specially-created group of animated ``outtakes'' to the end credits of the film. Creating the animated bloopers is now a tradition for Disney/Pixar and has proved very popular with moviegoers. The outtakes will be shown in theaters beginning this Friday, December 7, 2001. Audiences will also be able to download a sneak preview of the outtakes beginning Friday at www.monstersinc.com and www.apple.com/trailers.
Ren & Stimpy is back on TV, thanks to VH1. After kicking off the series with a special four-episode mini-marathon on Friday, November 30, the music network will air one episode every weeknight at midnight during the month of December, concluding on New Year's Eve. Billy West, the voice of both Ren and Stimpy, will host the series, giving viewers a look at the creation of each episode, and (here's the VH1 tie-in) discussing how the music played such a pivotal part of the of the groundbreaking animated series' success.
Major U.S. networks Fox and NBC may soon be announcing who will take over their Saturday morning time slots. An article in the November 29, 2001 issue of THE LOS ANGELES TIMES reports the networks are in "serious negotiations" with outside programmers including Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., Discovery Channel, DIC Entertainment, 4 Kids, Nelvana and others, to sell their Saturday morning time slots. Last year CBS leased its Saturday morning time period to sister channel Nickelodeon (both networks are owned by Viacom) and has seen its ratings nearly double.
THE SIMPSONS was back in its regular Sunday night time slot after a week off and ranked 34th with a 7.9 rating/12 share. CBS aired holiday specials FROSTY THE SNOWMAN and FROSTY RETURNS on Friday night beginning at 8 pm. The original FROSTY came in 53rd with a 6.3 rating/11 but his RETURN could only garner a 6.0 rating/10 share for 59th place. CBS also aired two RUGRATS specials on Saturday night in primetime. RUGRATS "Chanukah" and RUGRATS "Santa Experience" didn't fare so well, landing in 92nd and 93rd place respectively with around 4 million viewers each.
Visual effects company A52, by way of FM Rocks, has completed 3D design and effects work for No Doubt's "Hey Baby," the first video and single from the band's upcoming release Rock Steady. The video, directed by Dave Meyers, debuted on MTV on November 7. Crafted as a tribute to the band's female groupies, the video involves live-action scenes shot in various locations around Los Angeles, as well as green-screen footage that was composited into three CG worlds created by the artists at A52.
Building on the popularity of the Kids' WB! animated series Jackie Chan Adventures, Activision has licensed the property to create Jackie Chan Adventures: Legend of the Dark Hand for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance now available at retail. The game chronicles the adventures of Jackie Chan as he faces-off against the nefarious forces of the Dark Hand on a quest to uncover ancient mystical scrolls. The game combines anime-style animation with fast-paced comedy.
Anzovin Studio's beta of The Setup Machine, a software tool devoted exclusively to rigging a 3D character is now available for Windows and Macintosh. The Setup Machine is a 3D animation application that installs a high-quality animation rig -- the skeleton that allows control of a 3D character -- into any humanoid model created in Hash Inc.'s Animation:Master software. "A well-rigged character with efficient and accurate skeletal control systems is essential for successful 3D animation," said Steve Anzovin, co-founder of Anzovin Studio.
