UK-based videogame developer Ninja Theory has launched Senua Studio, a new division specializing in realtime virtual character for stage, film, broadcast, games and VR experiences.
Ninja Theory and partners Epic Games, Cubic Motion and 3lateral made major waves at GDC back in March with the live performance of a scene from Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice created with real-time motion capture and rendering. At SIGGRAPH in July, the teams introduced “Realtime Cinematography” — performing, capturing, editing and rendering a complex scene live on stage in minutes for over 2,000 audience members. This feat earned them the SIGGRAPH Award for Best Real-Time Graphics and Interactivity.
You can watch the full SIGGRAPH presentation here.
“We have demonstrated working solutions today, and want to push forward the future of realtime entertainment, be it live performances of digital characters for stage or broadcast, shooting fully-rendered CG scenes in realtime for previs, or interacting with believable characters in VR,” said Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades.
Senua Studio is equipped with a full technical pipeline capable of creating realistic digital characters and virtual sets. The new division is primed to tackle projects involving live performer-drive digital characters for stage or broadcast; realtime cinematography for games, broadcast and film; pre-visualization with realtime cinematography; and VR experiences with full interactivity.
Animation Nights New York, a monthly short film screening and networking event coming up on its first anniversary this month, and to celebrate the organizers are planning a two-day “best of” festival for September 29 & 30. Screenings of animated films and VR experiences, professional panels, art installation and industry events will be held at 180 Maiden Lane and various locations around South Street Seaport in NYC.
The First Annual Animation Nights New York Best of Fest will feature 20 films selected from the 200 that have screened at the monthly ANNY gatherings, which now attract over 500 attendees on average. Juried by Emily Hubley, Anthony Haden-Guest and Leah Shore, the selected Best of Fest filmmakers will each receive one-year subscriptions to both Craft and Stash, and the Animation for Adults award winner will receive a prize from Wacom.
Panels will include “Technology and Story in Animation” (Framestore, Michael Ferraro, Tom Snyder, Flickerlab), “Animation in Reporting” (TED-Ed, New York Times Op-Docs), “Animation as Outreach” (Metropolitan Museum of Art MET Kids, Hey Mister!, Mythic Bridge, The Animation Project), “VR Panel” (Revrie Immersive Works, Framestore), “Alternative Distribution” (John Andrucci, moderator; InDemand, batteryPOP, ViviCast, Vuier), “Crowdfunding to Build Independence Workshop” (Seed & Spark), “Voiceover Acting in Animation and Games” (IGDA), “Independent Animation” (Cartuna), and more.
Opening ahead of the event will be an exhibition of animation drawings, cels, video, painting and sculpture titled “Art in Motion,” curated by Anderson Contemporary. The show will open September 14 with a reception 6-8 p.m. and run through October 7. Featured artists and filmmakers include Nin Brudermann, Anthony Haden-Guest, Emily Hubley, Jeff Scher, Jaime Ekkens, Dustin Grella, Signe Baumane, Bill Plympton, Cagil Harmandar, Cem Kurtulus, Fluidtoons, Jake Nelson, M. Henry Jones and Marco Brambilla.
China will be pursuing an anti-trust investigation into the recent acquisitions of DreamWorks Animation by NBCUniversal parent company Comcast, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce revealed Friday. Shen Danyang stated that the Ministry had “received complaints” about the $3.8 billion takeover “claiming that the deal would hurt competition in the Chinese market,” according to Reuters.
Comcast’s bid to snap up DreamWorks Animation was announced in April, and approved by the U.S. Justice Department. The acquisition was completed last month with Comcast announcing a new management structure as DWA’s film, TV and new media content businesses were shuffled into NBCUniversal.
The Ministry of Commerce is looking into the deal based on its anti-monopoly laws. While neither Comcast nor DreamWorks Animation are Chinese companies, DWA is a joint-venture partner in Oriental DreamWorks — which co-produced Kung Fu Panda 3. DWA owns 45% of the Shanghai-based studio, alongside Li Ruigang’s China Media Capital.
Variety’s Asia Bureau Chief Patrick Frater speculates that theme park business is likely the driving factor in the complaints, the origins of which were not revealed by Shen. Comcast’s Universal park is under construction near Beijing (due to open in 2019), and DWA is a partner in the Dream Center opening in Shanghai next year, so the takeover gives Comcast significant minority stakes in two of the three biggest foreign-backed theme parks in the country.
The Chinese government’s decision to investigate was announced just as world leaders are arriving in Hangzhou for the G20 Summit.
Paris-based producer and distributor GO-N has appointed Marie Congé as Head of Sales & Business Development. In this newly created role, Congé will develop and implement international sales strategies, overseeing business development, brand building and growing new revenue streams.
Congé brings strong international distribution credentials to her new role, as well as valuable experience in licensing, publishing, new media and emerging platforms — among other areas into which GO-N hopes to expand. Congé was most recently VP of International Sales, Acquisitions & New Media at Cyber Group Studios, and has also held the post of SVP International Distribution & Consumer Products at Moonscoop.
GO-N’s international sales had been handled by co-founders and producers Anne de Galard and Eric Garnet — and successfully so, with its original series Zip Zip selling in over 100 countries. With Congé’s arrival, de Galard and Garnet are determined to accelerate the studio’s creation of content for both broadcast and new media platforms.
Earlier this year, GO-N Productions integrated 100% production on its new preschool series Simon in-house, under the supervision of line producer Emmanuel de Franceschi. Congé’s arrival is perfectly timed for the MIPJunior launch of Simon, a 52 x 5 adaptation of Stephanie Blake’s bunny books, which has already pre-sold to France Télévisions, RTS Switzerland, YLE Finland, Télé-Québec and HOP! Israel. You can read more about Simon in the October issue of Animation Magazine, available at MIPJunior.
Video: South Park – “By the Numbers”
NSFW! Season 20 of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s social convention-shattering series premiered Sept. 14 on Comedy Central, followed by the debut of Legends of Chamberlain Heights.
Subversive Animation Began with Pee Wee’s ‘Penny Cartoons’
Inverse looks back at the claymation shorts from Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold!) and Nick Park (Wallace & Gromit) that served as the first step down a winding path for TV toons.
Interview: Kyoto Animation’s Taichi Ishidate
Anime aficionado Mike Toole goes behind-the-scenes of the studio that produced hits like K-ON! and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Leading swag-to-your-door service and fan community platform Loot Crate has announced a collaboration with Marvel to create a new bi-monthly subscription crate. These deliveries will be packed wit apparel, accessories, home goods and other lifestyle products inspired by the Marvel universe.
While Marvel’s immensely popular character-driven brands have long been a part of Loot Crate’s other offerings, the Marvel Gear & Goods line will give subscribers (affectionately termed “Looters”) a much deeper, dedicated exclusives experience.
“Based on our engagement with our fans, Looters want more Marvel content, product, and experience, so this collaboration makes perfect sense,” said Chris Davis, CEO of Loot Crate. “We’re thrilled to provide new experiences for the fans, through exclusive product and content geared just for them.”
The first Marvel Gear & Goods crate theme will be “Mystics” — in celebration of the upcoming theatrical feature Doctor Strange starring Benedict Cumberbatch. The “Mystics” crates will begin shipping in November and will include goodies related to other mages, sorcerers and magic-users from Marvel. Learn more at www.lootcrate.com/marvel.
Organizers of the 17th VIEW Conference, taking place October 24-28 in Turin, Italy, have unveiled the full lineup of speakers, presentations, workshops and more. This year’s edition, being held in the Torinoincontra center, will feature an exploration of the new virtual reality frontier as well as a first-ever videogame investment pitch event.
Leading into the Conference will be the annual VIEWFest animated film showcase, taking place Oct. 21-23 in the landmark Cinema Massimo. The program of screenings and talks will include the Italian premiere of LAIKA’s Kubo and the Two Strings presented by VFX supervisor Steve Emerson; the Italian premiere of the SIGGRAPH 2016 Traveling Electronic Theater presented by Jason RM Smith; and much-buzzed-about shorts including Pixar’s Piper, Patrick Osborne’s Pearl for Google Spotlight Stories, and Baobab’s VR shot Invasion!
This year’s VIEW Conference keynote addresses will be delivered by Zootopia director Byron Howard and producer Brad Lewis, presenting Storks. Also presenting keynote addresses will be Conrad Vernon, director of Sausage Party; Victoria Alonso, VP at Marvel Studios; Roger Guyett, VFX Supervisor for Star Wars: The Force Awakens; and Cornell University CG professor Dr. Donald Greenberg, who will speak on virtual reality.
Feature animation and VFX professionals speaking at the Conference include Audrey Ferrara from MPC, presenting The Jungle Book; LAIKA VFX Supervisor Steve Emerson and screenwriter Marc Haimes for Kubo; Pixar DP Sharon Calahan will give a The Good Dinosaur talk and workshop; and Pixar’s John Halstead will introduce Finding Dory’s remarkable CG septopus Hank to attendees.
In addition to Dr. Greenberg, Baobab Studios CEO and Co-founder Maureen Fan (Invasion!), Lucasfilm CTO Rob Bredow (ILMxLAB), Google VR designer Brian Pullen (Daydream mobile VR platform), Nexus EP Luke Youngman and director Felix Massie (Google Spotlight Stories), Production Designer Tuna Bora (Pearl) and MIT Media Lab researcher Pratik Shah will discuss the virtual reality tidal wave sweeping the globe.
Covering further corners of the industry will be speakers David Freiss (director, Open Season: Scared Silly), Ryan Tudhope (VFX supe, Deadpool), Troy Saliba (animation supe, Alice Through the Looking Glass), Josh Holmes (Creative Director, 343 Industries), Chris Perry (filmmaker and assoc. Professor, Hampshire College), Adam Gazzaley and Matt Omernick (Akili), Daryl Anselmo (art director, Zynga), Adam Orth (creative director, Three One Zero), Siobhan Reddy (studio director, Media Molecule), Adam Volker (creative director, Moonbot Studios), Daniel Fountain (puzzle designer, State of Play) and others.
Keynote speakers Byron Howard, Conrad Vernon and Dr. Greenberg are among the pros offering workshops, as are Sharon Calahan (storytelling with light), David Feiss (storyboarding) and Troy Saliba (animation posing and composition). J.C. Cornwell will offer portfolio reviews, and Alex Williams, head of animation at Escape Studios, will lead a “3D Animation Taster.”
For more information, visit www.viewconference.it. You can view the full VIEW Conference schedule here.
Vintage-inspired T-shirt company Junk Food Clothing is hosting The ‘90s Nickelodeon Takeover at its flagship store in L.A.’s Abbot Kinney neighborhood for the next four weeks, featuring a themed capsule collection and special activities to celebrate some of Nick’s most iconic series and characters.
The T-shirt collection is priced from $28 to $48 and includes designs inspired by fan-favorite Nicktoons Rugrats and Rocko’s Modern Life as well as live-action classics All That, Clarissa Explains It All, Double Dare, Salute Your Shorts and Good Burger. The shirts will also be available at junkfoodclothing.com.
At the flagship store, the ‘90s Nickelodeon experience will also involve the shop being “Slimed” inside and out, and culminated on September 25 during the annual Abbot Kinney festival. A branded Nick tent will be set up outside Junk Food Clothing selling key pieces from the capsule collection, and offer fans a photo opportunity with Snick’s famous Big Orange Couch.
The best part? Professional artists from Nickelodeon Animation Studio will be on hand to create custom pieces featuring the retro ‘90s characters for guests — so, mark your calendar.
Kavaleer Productions’ animated kids series Kiva Can Do! has been snapped up by broadcasters RTE in Ireland and Lagardere TV in French-speaking EMEA. The 52 x 11 series will begin rolling out at the end of this year through the first half of 2017.
Created by Kavaleer’s CEO, Andrew Kavanagh, Kiva Can Do! follows a seven-year-old inventor named Kiva, her best friend and dog on their imaginative problem-solving adventures. Happy Audience handles the long-term audiovisual and merchandising rights for Kiva and secured the Legardere TV deal.
“Kiva Can Do! is a charming series with positive pro-social stories that are characterized by warmth and cheerful fun that reflects the highly imaginative play patterns of children around the world,” said Brian Lacey of Lacey Entertainment, which handles worldwide TV and home entertainment rights and will offer the show to buyers at MIPCOM this fall.
“Kiva is an especially aspirational character helping to encourage constructive personal development … The storytelling and dialogue among the ensemble cast of characters avoids academic moralizing that children viewers instinctively consider dull and trite. In addition, the very affectionate relationship with grandmother Nanni helps to infuse an important and genuinely authentic trans-generational appeal into the series.”
GLAS Animation — a California non-profit dedicated to cultivating and promoting independent animation — is presenting “An Evening with Henry Selick” on Saturday, October 1 at 8 p.m. at the Downtown Independent in Los Angeles. The festivities will include Selick screening and discussing his personal short films and a Q&A led by GLAS co-founder Einar Baldvin.
Henry Selick, best known to the wider world for his globally acclaimed features Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas, is an animator and director whose works have been pivotal to the resurgence of stop-motion animation. From his student days at CalArts, Selick’s work has demanded attention, and his short film and feature work continues to inspire a new generation of animators
Screening at the Oct. 1 event will be Selick’s short films Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions, Seepage, Phases — and several surprises. “An Evening with Henry Selick” is co-presented by the CalArts Office of Alumni & Parent Engagement, which will host a reception following the screening.
Tickets are $25 and available online; discounts are available for ASIFA members (15% off, code ASIFA2016) and students and CalArts alumni (20% off, STUDENT3000) — those using discounts are asked to have their student ID or ASIFA member card in hand for the event.
Multi-award-winning French animation indie Cyber Group Studios has appointed Raphaelle Mathieu as its new Vice President of Sales, Acquisitions and New Media. Bringing with her a wealth of industry experience, Mathieu steps in for Marie Congé, who has left CGS to pursue other interests.
Mathieu most recently served as General Delegate for SEDPA — the professional union of French audiovisual distributors for all genres. In this role, she negotiated distribution agreements with the French government and all industry players. Previously, Mathieu was head of acquisitions & sales at distributor and rights agency Zylo. Mathieu was also a co-founder of TV and feature animation production company Daydream, and co-founder of production financing company Timing. She was also a founder of MediaClub, an organization of more than 800 audiovisual professionals, of which she is still General Secretary.
“We are thrilled that Raphaelle Mathieu has decided to join us at a moment where her experience in various fields is going to help us pursue our company goals,” said Cyber Group Studios CEO Pierre Sissmann. “At the same time ,I want to thank Mrs. Marie Congé for her great contribution to our international growth over this last year and wish her all the best in her new endeavors.”
’Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV’ Is a Beautiful Mess
Forbes contributing critic Todd Kenreck finds the fantastical CG film accompaniment to the latest installment of the RPG franchise a massive piece of eye candy with a hollow center.
Video: Unreleased Cartoon Network Pilot ‘Dynamice’
Butch Hartman’s official YouTube channel reveals a beautiful glimpse of what might have been with his shelved superheroic rodent toon. In some alternate universe, “Whatever you say, Hector Gonzalez!” is a major catchphrase.
Nitrogen Studios, the Vancouver shop behind the break-out adult animation hit Sausage Party, is the subject of a complaint by a local media workers’ union following the online weenie roast that saw a slew of animators and production employees complaining of unpaid overtime and missing credits.
The third-party complaint, filed by Unifor Local 2000, addresses the “serious allegations” of Nitrogen’s failure to pay some animators overtime during the production, requesting the Employment Standards Branch to investigate.
“Many of these animators are too scared to come forward – that’s why we’ve filed the third party complaint,” union Vice President Jennifer Moreau said. “They are afraid they will be blacklisted and denied future employment in what’s essentially a small, tight-knit community, where they go from contract to contract.”
Moreau explained that in Unifor Local 2000’s outreach to animation, visual effects and gaming industry employees, they are being told that companies use loopholes like classifying gigs as high-tech or contract work to bypass certain standards. She also pointed out that none of Vancouver’s animation companies are unionized.
“This is part of the problem. If these animators were unionized, we could negotiate better working conditions as part of their contract,” Moreau said. “It’s hard enough to live in Vancouver given the cost of housing. To work long hours and not get paid is just unacceptable.”
FuseFX Los Angeles has moved its headquarters into a 27,000 square foot facility in the Sherman Oaks area. Comprising two free-standing buildings, the new site can accommodate the company’s 150 local staff, and is equipped with state-of-the-art workstations, four screening rooms, a 4K infrastructure, dedicated broadband connections to operations in New York and Vancouver, and room for the studio’s expected growth to 250 employees.
The company was founded in 2006 by Emmy-winning VFX Supervisor David Altenau at a time when many L.A. studios were downscaling or pulling up stakes. FuseFX rode out the upheaval by developing an efficient multi-production proprietary workflow and hiring on top talent. Executive Producer Tim Jacobsen and CTO Jason Fotter joined as partners in 2008, helping steer the studio’s steady growth. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti lauded the company’s commitment to “creating opportunity and raising the next generation of animators and designers in L.A.” during an opening ceremony for the new facility this week.
SoCal operations are now conveniently located for both studios and independent producers in Burbank, Hollywood and the Westside. The facility’s campus-like environment also offers more proximity between team members than the previous set-up spread across several Burbank buildings.
The new facility features a 10-gigabit infrastructure capable of managing 4K media and other large data files in real-time. Its 15 rack server room is designed for the easy expansion of storage and rendering resources as needs grow. Sohonet broadband connections will allow artists at FuseFX’s L.A., NYC and Vancouver sites to seamlessly share data and resources. The facility’s four screening rooms include a 20-seat theater equipped with 4K projection and monitoring systems. Space is available for more technical resources, including the possible addition of 4K color grading and finishing.
FuseFX currently produces VFX for shows including American Crime Story, Scorpion, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Empire, Criminal Minds, Bones, Turn, The Blacklist, The Magicians, Preacher and Zoo. The company won an Emmy Award in 2015 for its work on American Horror Story. It also provides visual effects for a growing number of feature films and commercials. The company recently formed a division focused on virtual reality under the banner FuseVR.
FuseFX Los Angeles Staff with Los Angeles Mayor Eric GarcettiFuse FX CTO Jason Fotter, FuseFX President David Altenau, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and FuseFX Executive Producer Tim Jacobsen
Import animation distributor GKIDS has secured North American rights for Annecy Cristal winning stop-motion feature My Life as a Zucchini (“Ma vie de Courgette”). The internationally acclaimed coming-of-age story is the first feature from director Claude Barras, based on a script by Celine Sciamma (writer-director of Girlhood and Tomboy).
The deal was negotiated by Eric Beckman for GKIDS and Nicolas Eschbach, head of sales & co-founder of Indie Sales.
My Life as a Zucchini made its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Director’s Fortnight section, going on to win both the Grand Prix Cristal and Audience Award in the feature competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, as well as taking Best Feature at the Melbourne International Film Festival. The film will have its North American premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival in the TIFF Kids section.
The film has also been selected by the Swiss film industry to represent the country in the Best Foreign Language category for the 2017 Academy Awards. GKIDS will present an Oscar qualifying release this fall, to be followed by wide theatrical release next year.
My Life as a Zucchini is produced by RITA Productions, Blue Spirit Productions, Gebeka Films and KNM, in co-production with Radio Television Suisse, SRG-SSR, France 3 Cinema, Rhone Alpes Cinema and Helium Films, with international sales handled by Indie Sales.
Synopsis:
After his mother’s sudden death, Zucchini is befriended by a police officer, Raymond, who accompanies him to his new foster home, filled with other orphans his age. At first he struggles to find his place in this at times strange and hostile environment. But with Raymond’s help and his newfound friends, Zucchini eventually learns to trust and love, as he searches for a new family of his own.
Vermont Is for Lovers — specifically animation lovers, as the Vermont Animation Festival is set to take place October 13-15 in Caledonia County. Presented by Lyndon State College, Catamount Arts and The Center for Cartoon Studios, the event (formerly NEK Animation Festival) will feature works by New England filmmakers and Vermont students.
The three-day program includes a gallery opening for LSC professor Robby Gilbert’s “Compositions in Time” exhibition — the artist and animator will also give a talk on his work. Other featured guests include Jo Dery, Meredith Holch and Jodie Mack.
Visitors to the free and open-to-the-public event can also take in a retrospective of films by local animators on Friday; the student 24-Hour Animation Jam screening, comic strip and claymation workshops on Saturday; and wrap up the festival with the premiere screening of Vermont student films and Anijam student work Saturday evening at the Alexander Twilight Theatre at LSC.
London-based VR studio Happy Finish has signed on with Nokia as an OZO VR partner to produce professional-grade virtual reality content with the aim of continually improving the capabilities of the all-in-one 3D, 360-degree audio/video camera. The studio has already completed over 20 commercial VR shoots using OZO, as well as tests, working with Nokia to improve the software and hardware.
“Working closely with the team at Nokia as a production partner has also been invaluable. Where in the past we’ve worked with multi camera arrays which have many more constituent components to contend with — and therefore more elements that could fail; OZO acts like one camera,” said Happy Finish Chief Interactive Officer, Daniel Cheetham. “We’ve found this to be a huge help in streamlining shoots, allowing us to focus more energy on the creative and the possibilities in stereo 3D 360° capture. We are looking forward to continuing to push the limits in 360° and VR content creation and OZO is one of our key tools.”
Nokia OZO launched earlier this year, providing a complete solution for 3D 360 degree video and audio capture without the need for custom rigs. The unit has eight built-in lenses, recording with real-time monitoring and live broadcast capabilities. The OZO also includes stitching software to streamline editing.
Cartoon Network will further expand the epic interactive world of Mighty Magiswords with the debut of its linear series on Thursday, September 29 at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT. Building on the super-short (15 second) series launched last year on the CN Anything app, the TV show continues the adventures of sibling “warriors for hire” Prohyas and Vambre as they tackle heroic quests using their outrageously funny and sometimes functional Magiswords.
The TV premiere episode “The Mystery of Loch Mess” follows the warriors on a mission to locate missing delivery men, only to find themselves captured as pets. Then in “Squirrelled Domination,” a rare food enthusiast sends the warriors on a mission to gather five golden acorns.
Maintaining its new media ties, a sneak peek episode of Mighty Magiswords will premiere on the Cartoon Network app on Friday, September 2.
The whole story-universe of Mighty Magiswords is woven from more than 400 pieces of original content — including interactive shorts, narrative vlogs hosted by the warriors, and a multitude of digital games. On top of the TV series, Prohyas and Vambre will spread their comedic charms around as on-air host introducing Cartoon Network’s shows, events, etc. Plus, an interactive app launching later this fall will close the loop on the broadcast and digital worlds allowing fans to watch and collect Magiswords along with their heroes.
“Mighty Magiswords is custom created for the way young audiences consume media today,” said Rob Sorcher, chief content officer for Cartoon Network. “This is about how stories can be told in new ways and how a community can play together.”
Mighty Magiswords is produced at Cartoon Network Studios and created by Kyle A. Carrozza (The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water). The series’ guest stars include Weird Al Yankovic, Jack McBrayer, Dave Coulier, Tom Kenny and more.
Award-winning visual effects and animation studio Cinesite announces that Illumination Entertainment executive Dave Rosenbaum has joined the Montreal company as Chief Creative Officer. His hire marks a next step in Cinesite’s expansion into feature animation in North America.
In addition to building and expanding Cinesite’s movie slate, Rosenbaum will help grow the Montreal studio, based at its new 54,000 sq. ft. facility with a 500 person capacity. He will be responsible for searching out and cultivating new projects, artists, writers and directors.
As a part of the Illumination team from its inception, Rosenbaum’s leadership as Vice President of Talent helped shape the globally successful animation production house’s feature film, marketing, games and theme park endeavors, including Minions — the second highest grossing animated film of all time. He also served as Production Executive and Story Supervisor on Despicable Me 1 & 2, The Lorax, The Secret Life of Pets and Sing, out this fall.
Prior to joining Illumination, Rosenbaum worked at DreamWorks and Screen Imagination Agency in Bulgaria. He holds a Master’s Degree in Producing from the American Film Institute.
Founded in 1991 as an independent VFX and animation studio, Cinesite now comprises facilities located in London, Montreal and Vancouver (Image Engine) that have contributed to major feature films including The Revenant and Deadpool. Cinesite is currently in production on live-action films Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (WB), Assassin’s Creed (Fox) and animated feature Gnome Alone (3QU Media).
Alpha Group Co. Ltd. announces that Bob Bacon will serve as Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Animation — a new division based in Los Angeles and dedicated to developing and producing high-quality animated feature content for a worldwide audience. The announcement was made by Alpha Interactive Ent. Division CEO Chen De Rong.
Alpha Animation will draw on the Group’s various properties as well as create original concepts, with the goal of releasing its first feature in 2020 and producing one film per year thereafter. In his new role as CEO, Bacon will oversee all aspects of development, production and operations as he leads Alpha’s efforts to build a global animation powerhouse.
“I am thrilled to join Alpha Animation and thank Alpha Group Founder and Chairman, Mr. Cai, and Mr. Chen for the opportunity to build an artist-friendly, world-class animation business here in Los Angeles. It’s an exciting time for the animation industry, and I’m looking forward to working with the best and brightest talent to create great stories and characters to entertain an international audience. Alpha has impressively grown into a fully-integrated entertainment company over the years with a strong leadership position in the creation, distribution, and consumer products licensing of its properties which are some of the most recognized brands in China, and I’m excited to be a part of further growing the business.”
Bacon most recently held the post of EVP of Production for Paramount Animation, where he oversaw the production and launch of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water (2015), and helped develop a full slate of films for the studio to release through 2019. Prior to this, Bacon was a production executive for Disney’s Touchstone Pictures on the 2011 animated feature, Gnomeo and Juliet.
Bacon started his career in animation at Disney in 1991 working on classics like Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Tarzan and Lilo & Stitch. In 2001 he was named SVP of Production, just as the studio made the transition from traditional 2D to a focus on computer animation. He was later promoted to Executive Vice President of Walt Disney Animation Studios, overseeing production, finance and technology and running the day-to-day operations of a crew of over 600 artists, technicians and production staff.
In addition to Alpha Animation, the Group recently set up L.A.-based live-action feature development company Alpha Pictures. The Alpha Group is the largest animation group and a leading pan-entertainment platform in China. Beginning as a toy-focused business, Alpha now comprises publishing, film, games, consumer products and and more, and owns over 10 animation studios.
