SHELTER FILMS signs TODD FACTOR
New York City-based commercial production company SHELTER FILMS has signeddirector TODD FACTOR. Factor has directed spots for Coca-Cola, Budweiser,and Nice Skate Shoes.
AWN Headline News
STEAM signs LAWRENCE WYATT
Santa Monica, California-based production company STEAM has signed LAWRENCEWYATT as motion designer/director. Wyatt recently directed "Innerlevel," atheatrical commercial for Los Angeles-based KCRW, a National Public Radioaffiliate.
STEVE BLEVINS joins TIS/MAGNET
STEVE BLEVINS has joined New York-based TIS/MAGNET as seniordesigner/animator. Blevins' duties include designing and creating(primarily 2D) animation for broadcast and the web, art direction, creativedevelopment, and research. Besides free-lancing for Magnet, Blevins hasdone traditional 2D and 3D CGI art and animation for companies such as SanFrancisco-based Wild Brain, New York-based Blue Sky, and Connecticut-based,Ball&Chain.
CYCLOTRON completes end tags for Heineken spots
New York City-based CYCLOTRON has completed a photo-real, CGI end tag for aseries of Heineken spots for creative company Vidal, Reynardus & Moya. Thecommercials are targeted for the US Hispanic market. The 10-second end tagfeatures a frosty cold bottle of Heineken. Cyclotron used Side EffectsHoudini software and wrote proprietary shaders for Renderman. Bruce Gionetwas the CGI supervisor.
Animation World Mag August Acrobat Edition On-line Now!
August is a full month for Animation World Magazine as we delve into thegrowing and constantly changing fields of Computer and Internet Animation.Bob Miller goes one on one with Brad Bird, director of "The Iron Giant."And Karl Cohen interviews Rob Coleman on the making of Star Wars Episode I:"The Phantom Menace." Looking to make your own computer animated short?Mike Amron discusses the cost effective software and set ups available forsuch an undertaking. On the Internet animation side of things Buzz Potamkin
The Ottawa Festival wants to know what you think!
Ottawa festival organizers are asking for your help in determining what you want out of ananimation festival...
In Headline News | Geographic Region: All
BERMUDA SHORTS completes Natwest spot
London-based BERMUDA SHORTS has completed "Rear Window," a spot for Natwestbank. The spot explores the things you can do in the privacy of your homeonce you own the property. The spot includes 2D animated people who sit bya stream, feeding fish, as well as a stop-motion animated man working onhis car. Phil Dale did the stop-motion animation. Run Wrake directed thespot for Agency TBWA.
Don't miss these animation events at MoCA!
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) will host a two monthanimation festival. These are the scheduled events.
Saturday, July 10, 5 pm. John Canemaker will show and talk about a centuryof animation. The event is free.
Saturday, July 10, 8 pm. "The Birth of Walt Disney Pictures' DINOSAUR"presents a behind the scenes look at the work-in-progress.
Thursday, July 15, 8 pm. "The Making of MONSTERS OF GRACE" with JeffKleiser and Diana Walczak will explore the challenges of their
GRAPHITI completes ThumsUp spot
Mumbai, India-based GRAPHITI MULTIMEDIA PVT. LTD. has completed a :20 spotfor ThumsUp soft drink, a Coca-Cola product. In the spot, a mosquito holdsa straw like a microphone and sings a 1970s Hindi love song until theThumsUp hero, played by a live model, squashes the insect. Graphiti usedCambridge Animation Systems' Animo software to composite the three mattelayers -- a highlight layer, a mid-tone layer, and a body shadow layer --making up the mosquito. The 3D environment was created with 3D Studio Max.Sunil Shetty directed the spot.
MIXIN PIXLS creates Warner logo
Santa Monica, California-based MIXIN PIXLS created the opening Warner Bros.logo sequence for DEEP BLUE SEA. The computer animated sequence presentsthe Warner shield flying through the sky. As the logo comes into full view,the sky undulates and the logo goes underwater, and transforms in the logoof Mirage Productions. Harri Paakkonen directed the animation usingAlias|Wavefront Composer and Sapphire Tools.
SIMON GOODCHILD completes his first commercial
SIMON GOODCHILD, recently signed by London-based SHERBERT, has completedhis first commercial, "Colour Screams," a :40 spot for Procter and Gamble'snew washing powder, Vibrant. The agency was Grey Advertising. The spot,which uses abstract shapes and pure color to create a mood of vibrant,non-bleeding color, was designed with Truespace and Adobe Photoshop.
LOCONTE GOLDMAN completes "Hearts on Fire"
Boston, Massachusetts-based LOCONTE GOLDMAN has completed "Hearts on Fire"which consists of three :30 spots, and one :60 spot, for Grant Marketing, aProvidence, Rhode Island-based diamond company. The promos are for a tapethat will be used in a direct mail campaign, as well as for walk-incustomers. Maria LoConte directed the spots, and New York City-basedKLEISER WALCZAK did the 3D animation.
RHYTHM & HUES completes cereal spot
West Los Angeles-based RHYTHM & HUES has completed "Father and Daughter," a:30 spot for General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal. The spot featuresan alien pre-teen and her alien father discussing the out-of-this worldtaste and looks of the cereal. For the spot, real actors were videotaped asreferences. This reference footage was then used as inspiration whenplotting the animation curves in Maya. The spot was made for Minneapolis,Minnesota-based Agency Campbell Mithun Esty. Micheal Patterson directed for
THE SIXTH SENSE remains on top
Buena Vista's supernatural thriller THE SIXTH SENSE, with visual effects byDreamQuest, finished first at the US weekend boxoffice for the thirdconsecutive week, grossing an estimated $24.1 million, which is onlyslightly below last week's $26.1 million, for a total of $106.7 million;The Walt Disney Company's INSPECTOR GADGET, with digital effects byDreamQuest, finished eighth, grossing an estimated $4.3 million for a totalof $83.1 million; and Warner Bros.' shark thriller, DEEP BLUE SEA, with
Prepare yourself for a new Sick and Twisted Festival
The 1999 edition of SPIKE AND MIKE'S SICK AND TWISTED FESTIVAL OF ANIMATIONincludes NO NECK JOE III by DNA Productions, DIE HARD IN UNDER TWO MINUTESby Konstantin Bronzit, TYSON: I AM NOT AN ANIMAL by David Lipson, BALLETBLUES by Thomas Kung, BOWLIN' FER SOULS by SuperGenius, HORNED GRAMMA byDave Foss, LEGEND OF RAGGOT by Sean Scottm, GRIMM'S HUMPTY DUMPTY by RyanMontrucchio, SWING SLUTS by Brett Johnson, BILLY'S BALLOON by DonHertzfeldt, BEYOND GRANDPA II by Breehn John Burns, BODY PARTS by Jonas
Meet Maurice Noble!
Noble is responsible for the great backgrounds of the Road Runner cartoons,DUCK DODGERS IN THE 24 1/2 CENTURY, DUCK AMUCK, WHAT'S OPERA, DOC?, etc.(He is also credited as co-director with Chuck Jones on several late WarnerBros. shorts, including the odd NOW HEAR THIS!) Between screenings of thecartoons (the way they were meant to be seen...on the BIG SCREEN), Mr.Noble will talk about his work and his approach to layout. The event takesplace Saturday, August 21 at The Grand Lake Theater at 3200 Grand Avenue in
Alias|Wavefront announces Maya Paint Effects and Maya Builder
Alias/Wavefront has announced Maya Paint Effects. Paint Effects is a toolfor the instantaneous creation and animation of organic and painterlyeffects. Completely integrated inside of Maya, Paint Effects comes with amyriad of editable pressure-sensitive preset brushes including: EffectsBrushes which can create complete environments with trees, grass, andflowers, characters with realistic hair, eyebrows and beards, and specialeffects such as lightning, clouds, rain, fire, fireworks, starfields and
BEANY AND CECIL come to DVD
Image Entertainment is releasing BOB CLAMPETT'S BEANY AND CECIL: THESPECIAL EDITION DVD on October 12, 1999 in the US. Created by RobertClampett, BEANY AND CECIL, about the adventures of a sea sick sea serpentand his pal, Beany, began as a live broadcast puppet show, TIME FOR BEANY,in the 1950s, before being re-done as an animated series in the early1960s. There was also a brief revival for Saturday morning television inthe 1980s. The DVD will include a dozen of the original Beany and Cecil
John Libbey publishes WALT DISNEY AND EUROPE
John Libbey & Company Ltd. has published WALT DISNEY AND EUROPE by RobinAllan. The work is a study of the way Europe and European cultureinfluenced Walt Disney and his artists in the making of the Disney animatedfeature films from SNOW WHITE to THE JUNGLE BOOK. The book is 368 pages,and lavishly illustrated in black and white and color with manyillustrations that have never been published. Paperback: ISBN1-86462-041-2; £22.50; Hardback: ISBN 1-86462-040-4; £40.00. Robin Allan
New York International Children's Film Festival calls for entries
The East Coast's largest film festival for young people seeks works forages 3-16. The festival takes place February 4-13, 2000 in New York City.It accepts shorts, features, animation, documentary, narrative andexperimental film and video. To qualify, works must be completed no earlierthan July 1, 1997. Foreign language films must be dubbed or subtitled inEnglish. The festival is looking for passionate, creative, intelligent,entertaining film and video for ages 3-16. The entry deadline is October 1,
Don't miss shadow play version of THE MAHABARATA!
Los Angeles' only resident Wayang Kulit shadow play ensemblepresents an episode of the Indian epic poem, THE MAHABARATA. The event isfree, and takes place Friday, August 20, 8 pm at Occidental College, ThorneHall Patio, 1600 Campus Road in Eagle Rock, California, USA. For moreinformation call (818) 768-7696.
(Colossal) Pictures closes its doors
(Colossal) Pictures will ceaseoperations on August 31, 1999 after 23 years in business. According to theSan Francisco-based production and design studio, the decision was made inorder to liquidate property and honor outstanding debts. (Colossal) hasfiled for Chapter 11 protection before on May 30, 1996, and emerged frombankruptcy on December 1, 1997. It enjoyed a successful year in 1998,employing a lean work force. However, the beginning of this year saw adownturn in revenue. Financially weakened by the bankruptcy, as (Colossal)
Film Roman reports losses
North Hollywood, California-based Film Roman has reported second quarter losses of $266,215, or 3 cents a share, whichis an improvement over the losses for the second quarter of 1998 of$718,439, or 8 cents a share. Revenue for the first half of 1999 increasedby 58% to $27.5 million from last year's first half's $17.4 million. FilmRoman produces Fox's THE SIMPSONS and Warner Bros.' upcoming new series,MISSION HILL (previously known as THE DOWNTOWNERS). In recent months, FilmRoman has been making significant strides to enter the original content
Stop-motion animator David Allen passes away
David Allen, one of a handful of truly great stop-motion animators, died of cancer on Monday, August 16. Hewas 55. Allen's work in commercials includes animating the Swiss Miss andearly Pillsbury Doughboy in the 1960s, and his feature work includesCAVEMAN (1981), Q-THE WINGED SERPENT (1982), WILLOW (1988) and FREAKED(1993). For ten years he had been working on an independent project, afeature called PRIMEVALS. (The film will be finished at Full Moon Studioswhere the film was being animated before Allen's death.) Allen began his
Ren and Stimpy creator gives Yogi a makeover
John Kricfalusi, creatorof Nickelodeon's THE REN AND STIMPY SHOW, returns to television with twolong-awaited half-hour specials featuring Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, and theirnemesis, Ranger Smith. In BOO BOO RUNS WILD, Yogi's pal Boo Boo transformsfrom a law-abiding cave dweller to Jellystone Park's greatest menace. Yogimust save his buddy before Ranger Smith stops Boo Boo for good. A DAY INTHE LIFE OF RANGER SMITH follows Ranger Smith on his daily routine as heattempts to enforce ridiculous rules and regulations on Mother Nature.
