Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Shrek Kicks Off Kalamazoo Fest

    The 2007 Kalamazoo Animation Festival Int’l (KAFI) will commence in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan on Thursday, May 17, with a red-carpet preview screening of DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek the Third. Flashing spotlights and limo arrivals will be seen outside of the Rave Motion Pictures Cityplace 14 prior to the 7:15 p.m showing, which will be free to holders of full festival passes and is open to the public at $6 a person,

    The screening will be introduced by Kate Skarritt-Swanborg, who was raised in Bangor and gradeuated from Western Michigan University before becoming a technology exec for DreamWorks Animation in Glendale, Calif. A member of the KAFI Advisory Board, Skarritt-Swanborg played an instrumental role in arranging for the special preview in conjunction with the Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s fourth annual animation festival.

    KAFI will welcome Simpsons scribe and Queer Duck creator Mike Reiss on Friday, May 18. Reiss, who won four Emmy awards for co-producing more than 200 episodes and penning a dozen scripts for The Simpsons will speak about his experiences on the series at 7 p.m. in the State Theater. A screening of Reiss’ Queer Duck: The Movie will follow later that night at 11 p.m.

    A pass to attend the more than 80 2007 KAFI events costs $135 ($68 student discount) and can be ordered online at https://s1.kvcc.edu/kafi/tickets/. Shrek the Third tickets for the general public can be purchased at the Rave theater box office on May 17, the day of the screening. All proceeds will be channeled back to the 2007 KAFI as a non-profit event. Shrek the Third opens in theaters across North America on Friday, May 18.

  • Anthem Goes to O.Z. for Tin Man

    Having recently completed more than 130 vfx shots for the third installment in Dario Argento’s horror trilogy The Third Mother, Anthem Visual Effects is moving on to a new version of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz. Titled Tin Man, the six-hour miniseries produced by RHI Ent. will air on SCI FI Channel in December.

    Anthem is doing more than 1,000 shots for Tin Man, a sci-fi twist on the classic literary tale that has been brought to the screen several times in both live-action and animated form. Zooey Deschanel will star as DG, a young girl who is plucked from her boring existence and thrust into the frightening and wondrous realm of The Outer Zone (a.k.a. the O.Z.) There, she meets Glitch (Alan Cumming), an odd man missing half his brain; Raw (Raoul Trujillo), a quietly powerful wolverine-like creature longing for inner courage; and Cain (Neal McDonough), a heroic former policeman seeking vengeance for his scarred heart. Together they must fight the evil sorceress Azkadellia (Kathleen Robertson) and seek the one thing each of them needs. The cast also includes Richard Dreyfuss.

    Written by Steven Long Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle (TV’s The Pretender) Tin Man is currently being shot in Vancouver, B.C. by director Nick Willing, whose credits include Hallmark’s TV treatments of Jason and the Argonauts and Alice in Wonderland. Fellow Hallmark veterans Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi Jr. (Dinotopia) are exec producing.

    Anthem has also done a good deal of work for the Hallmark, starting with the 2004 Hallmark/SCI FI Channel miniseries Legend of Earthsea, for which it earned an Emmy nomination in 2005. More recently, the studio completed effects for RHI’s miniseries Marco Polo, which will air on the Hallmark Channel in June, and Son of the Dragon, set to air in 2008. Anthem previously produced hundreds of visual effects shots for the first two seasons of Starz Media’s Masters of Horror series for Showtime, and contributed to New Line Cinema’s The Butterfly Effect 2.

  • Animation Lab Goes Wild with First Feature

    The Animation Lab in Israel has begun work on its first animated feature, which is being produced under the working title The Wild Bunch. The CG film is now in pre-production with Annie Award winner Jim Ballantine (Bambi II, The Ren & Stimpy Show) producing.

    The Wild Bunch is described as an animated comedy-adventure about a ragtag team of common wildflowers and plants who are attacked by an evil army of genetically modified cornstalks determined to take over their idyllic meadow. Making his directorial debut with the film is Alex Williams, an animator and storyboard artist whose credits include Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Lion King and Open Season. Most recently, Williams supervised the animation on Disney’s upcoming live-action/CG feature Underdog.

    ‘We are honored to partner with Alex, who is recognized by his peers as one of the industry’s true talents,’ says Animation Lab president Ayelet Weinerman. ‘As we move forward with this project, we are pleased to have assembled a team of the top animators and storytellers in our profession. Our goal is to reward passion and vision in a creatively friendly environment.’

    Overseeing production for Animation Lab is exec VP of creative affairs Douglas Wood, who served as creative exec on The Iron Giant, Cats Don’t Dance and Tiny Toon Adventures. He says he reviewed more than 200 pitches, stories and scripts before latching onto the Wild Bunch treatment by Philip LaZebnik, who has written for Disney’s Pocahontas and Mulan, DreamWorks’ Prince of Egypt and two Star Trek television series. LaZebnik was hired to write the screenplay for the film, which is the first of six features Animation Lab plans to produce in the next eight years.

    ‘It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find properties for which CG is the perfect medium,’ Wood tells us. ‘So I was thrilled to discover Phil’s treatment for The Wild Bunch, which will fully utilize computer animation to tell a story that, ironically, extols the virtues of a natural world in which technology is trumped by humanity.’

    Based in Jerusalem and Los Angeles, Animation Lab is dedicated to producing mid-range budgeted features that will be financed by a group of international venture funds led by company chairman and founder Erel Margalit, managing partner of Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP).

  • Venture Bros., Orel, the Eds on Disc

    A bunch of mischievous, animated young men wreak havoc on DVD shelves with today’s batch of home video releases. Fans of [adult swim] can now pick up the second season of The Venture Brothers and the first volume of Moral Orel, while younger Cartoon Network viewers get the complete second season of Ed, Edd ‘n’ Eddy. In addition, Sony has released an extended cut of Spider-Man 2 just in time to capitalize on the buzz surrounding the May 4 debut of Spider-Man 3.

    A spoof of Jonny Quest and other animated action shows from the ’60s, The Venture Bros. revolves around the dim-witted sons of a famous scientist who travel the world getting into silly adventures with the family bodyguard, a former secret agent. The two-disc season two DVD offers 13 episodes, as well as deleted scenes and commentaries by cast and creators. The set from Warner Home Video carries a suggested retail price of $29.98.

    Also from Warner Home Video comes Morel Orel: Volume One, which is being hyped as the first uncensored [adult swim] DVD release. The two-disc set contains 15 episodes of the irreverent, 15-minute stop-motion spoof of the classic Art Clokey series Davey and Goliath. The show follows the misadventures of an 11-year-old boy who loves church and wants to do the Lord’s work but ends up creating trouble with his pious enthusiasm and misinterpretations of religious morals. Bonus features include uncensored commentaries, the ‘awkward’ Comic-Con panel, a behind-the-scenes featurette, on-air promos, end animations and deleted scenes. The set lists for $29.98.

    Ed, Edd ‘n’ Eddy: The Complete Second Season is another two-disc set from Warner that offers 13 episodes of the Cartoon Network comedy series created by Danny Antonucci at aka Cartoons in Vancouver. The boys are up to more scheming and mischief making in this batch of adventures, which come packaged with a behind-the-scenes documentary, lessons on how to draw Ed, a music video and other bonus materials. Devotees of the popular show can pick it up for the suggested retail price of $19.98.

    You knew it was coming. Spider-Man 2.1: Extended Cut is a two-disc set that retials for $19.94 and offers eight minutes of never-before-seen footage as well as new bonus materials. Extras include an introduction by producers Grant Curtis and Avi Arad, a featurette titled Inside 2.1, commentary by producer Laura Ziskin and screenwriter Alvin Sargent, a trivia track, a look at the art of storyboarding, an exclusive trailer for Activision’s Spider-Man 3 video game and a sneak peak at the Spider-Man 3 movie.

  • The Simpsons: The Ride

    The exact location of the town of Springfield has been kept a secret by producers of FOX’s hit animated series The Simpsons, but soon fans will find it at Universal theme parks. A new ‘mega-attraction’ based on the long-running comedy is set to open at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood in spring of 2008.

    Universal’s creative team is collaborating with Simpsons creator/exec producer Matt Groening and exec producer James L. Brooks to create a new fantasy amusement park as dreamed up by the show’s cantankerous Krusty the Clown. The show’s original cast will lend their voices to popular Springfield inhabitants as visitors enjoy a special interpretation of thrill rides, dark rides and “live” shows.

    “The ride is designed to duplicate the Simpsons home-viewing experience, only at high speed and with lots of screaming,” Groening comments.

    “I am particularly thrilled since, like most people, I’m forever looking for a way to cut the line at Universal Theme Parks,” adds Brooks.

    With 18 seasons under its belt, The Simpsons is the longest-running sitcom on television and FOX will air its historic 400th episode air this May. A 19th season of the multiple Emmy Award-winning series is currently in production.

  • FMX in Stuttgart, Should You Be Going?

    By Peter Plantec

    One of Europe’s most important digital animation and vfx conferences, FMX is held each year in Stuttgart in early May and attracts visitors from every part of the globe. It’s organized in association with the Filmakademie Baden-W’rttemberg, headed by Professor Thomas Haegele.

    FMX presentations are virtually all presented in English, but it’s the intimate feeling of the event that brings me back. Everybody seems so accessible and willing to chat, even if you have yet to make a name for yourself. It’s the best networking environment I’ve experienced. I spoke with a few of this year’s presenters to get their take on the event.

    Debbie Denise

    Debbie holds the remarkable title of executive VP of production infrastructure and exec producer for Sony Pictures Imageworks. I just had to ask what her responsibilities are. ‘Sure! My job at Imageworks is two-fold,’ she says. ‘The first, as exec producer, I work with the studio, the production and our team to make sure that all ends are being met: creative, scheduling and budgetary. My colleague, Jenny Fulle, and I each oversee roughly half the on-going projects. As exec VP of Pproduction Infrastructure, my goal is to make sure the facility works well as a whole. Someone has to make sure we’re all going in the same direction!’

    I asked, ‘Why FMX?,’ to which she replied, ‘I heard great things from the Imageworks people who went to FMX last year, so I was happy to be invited. We live in a global village, where people telecommute, interact and work with others across the globe. I always look forward to being able to discuss new technology with people in Europe and/or wherever the artists are!’

    Her talk: ‘I’ll be approaching Performance Capture with the director in mind; discussing the challenges the technology creates for creative implementation.’

    I’ll be hosting the Virtual Humans Forum on Thrusday, which Debbie will be presenting at.

    Kevin Geiger and Moon Hwa Seun

    Geiger will deliver the opening keynote address: “Your Grassroots Are Showing: Current Trends in Independent Content Generation”. Later, with his wife Moon Hwa Seun, he’ll introduce the independent filmmaker’s Animation Co-Op that they co-founded.

    Again, I asked Why FMX? ‘What motivates us to travel to FMX is the opportunity to meet with fellow artists from around the world, and to share our love of filmmaking in this medium,’ they replied. ‘FMX is a great conference, and on a scale that you can immerse yourself without drowning.

    Volker Helzle

    Volker Helzle has an exceptional grasp of animation technology. His specialty is face animation. Directing research projects at the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Volker and his team have developed an outstanding face animation system. In his talk he’ll be showing a clip of a long dead actor brought to life with such realism it’s difficult to believe it’s not live action. I’ve seen a preview of it. You won’t want to miss it.

    The face animation system Volker and his team developed is available free of charge. He explained, ‘Research and Development at the Filmakademie is funded by the state of Baden-W’rttemberg. This requires us to work non-profit, thus we do not charge. Since the release of our Facial Toolset at the FMX Virtual Humans Forum, there have been more than 3300 registered downloads from all over the world. If your readers are interested, they can request a copy of the toolset at: http://research.animationsinstitut.de/.’

    Chris Watts

    Chris Watts, vfx supervisor on 300, will be co-presenting with Stephan Trojansky, developer of Flowline which was used to create the stand-out water battle sequences in the film.

    I asked Chris about working with Scanline, based in Munich. ‘Scanline was amazing,’ he remarks. ‘The film absolutely had to have that ocean battle, but there was no budget for it and there were no massive tanks or ancient ship builders in Canada that could have handled the job even if we did have the budget. The studio wanted to cut the scene, but I heard about Scanline and Stephan through friends and the great fluids work they did on Poseidon with MPC, so I contacted Stephan. Stephan said they could do it within our budget, and the result was stunning. If you look closely you can see amazing detail in the ships with people falling from the rigging. Stephan really got it he knew exactly what I was looking for and delivered it.’

    The Aardman Gang

    Aardman has a signature animation style, wonderful characters, clever humor and outrageous detail, sometimes of scatological proportions. They’ll have a solid presence at FMX. David Sproxton, Seamus Malone, Alan Short and Andrew Proctor will all be presenting, while Imke Fehrmann and Helen Brunsdon will be there as talent scouts. Aardman will be inviting the most promising talent they’ve scouted at FMX to a private, invitation only get-together in Annecy, France on Friday. Good luck.

    Aardman founding director Sproxton runs the house with style, efficiency and a sense of humor. He says of his presentation, ‘I’ll be looking at how you plan, capture, hold and exploit the assets you need for secondary/ancillary rights. If my material gets sorted out in time I’ll be looking at a stop-frame project and a CG project as examples.’

    Sproxton went on to discuss the new activity at Aardman. ‘Very broadly, we’re looking towards building a CG feature capability here in Bristol, so we’re starting to recruit for that team. Of course, we’re always on the look-out for exceptional talent in general, as we have plenty of opportunity to keep them exercised on our TV and commercials work. They’ve just got to be world class, of course.’

    Seamus Malone wears so many hats. Let’s just think of him as an important animation guy at Aardman. He says, ‘I’ll be talking about what it’s like to go from being a stop-motion animator to a CG animator and still retain the Aardman style of animation performance. I’ll probably talk a little about Aardman’s existing style’ Wallace and Gromit, etc., and then go into how Flushed Away was conceived as a stop-motion film first. I’ll talk about the early designs and then the decision to make it in CG instead to cover the larger scope of the rat world and all the water involved. I’ll also talk about going over to DreamWorks in Glendale Calif., to work on the film and I’ll show some examples of how it turned out.’

    Recruitment

    FMX is a haven for animation recruiters. If you’re ready to put yourself out there, you’ll find studio representatives from Europe, Asia and the U.S. ready to check you out. As in the U.S., you need world-class ability to be hired by the top studios, so come with a great demo, a well-worded CV and the motivation. The doors are here, you just have to knock and present your talent.

    The Parties

    FMX has some of the best parties I’ve been to. They’re sponsored and FMX ticket holders get invited. The three big ones this year start with the the Opening Reception sponsored by Nvidia. Next is the Echtzeit Party on Thursday, May 3. Expect gem’tlichkeit flowing freely. The closing party, sponsored by Electronic Arts, is Friday evening and you can expect lounge music and a Swabian buffet with great German beer. I’ll see you there.

    I’ve only looked at the very tip of the iceberg here. Only you can answer the opening question. But with more than 300 workshops, panels, screenings and presentations of all sorts, you’re bound to find much of interest. I advise you log on to www.FMX.de and plan before you get there. Good luck and I hope to meet you there.

    Peter Plantec is a writer, artist and digital designer. He is co-founder of Virtual Personalities, Inc. with Dr. Michael Mauldin (Lycos) and co-author of Virtual Humans: A Build-It-Yourself Kit, Complete With Software and Step-By-Step Instructions.

  • Annecy Picks Revealed

    Organizers of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival have released the list of feature films to be included in year’s event in Annecy, France. Taking place June 11-16, the fest will include screenings of the features Flushed Away from Aardman Animations and DreamWorks Animation, Satoshi Kon’s Paprika from Madhouse and Sony Pictures, Michel Ocelot’s Azur et Asmar from Nord-Ouest Prods., K’ichi Chigira’s Brave Story from Gonzo and Warner Bros., as well as several lesser-known gems.

    The competition program will also include 51 animated short films, including Luis Cook’s Aardman short The Pearce Sisters (U.K.), Serge Elissalde’s L’homme de la lune (France), Suzie Templeton’s Peter and the Wolf (U.K.), PES’ Game Over (U.S.), Yun Ting Ruan’s White Snake (China), The Blackheart Gang’s The Tale of How (South Africa) and Francisco Ruiz’s BLUR short A Gentlemen’s Duel. An additional 47 shorts were selected for the panorama screenings, including Bill Plympton’s Shut-Eye Hotel (U.S.), Youngwoong Jang’s Mirage (U.S.) and Diane Obomswain’s Ici par ici (Here and There) (Canada).

    In the televsion category, high-profile selections include recent Cartoons on the Bay winners Charlie and Lola (Tiger Aspect Prods.), Miniscule (Futurikon) and Ruby Gloom (Nelvana). Aardman gets in again with the Shaun the Sheep, while Cartoon Network favorites Camp Lazlo and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends also make the cut.

    Other categories include Educational, Scientific or Industrial, Advertising, Music Video and Graduation Films. A full list of films chosen by the selection committee can be viewed at www.annecy.org.

  • Batman Finale Glimpses Series’ Future

    Warner Bros. informs us that the upcoming two-part season finale of The Batman will offer fans a taste of what’s to come in the 2007-2008 season of the hit, Emmy-winning animated series. Tilted ‘The Joining,’ final installment of the current season will air on consecutive Saturdays, April 28 and May 5, at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT) on Kids’ WB! on The CW.

    ‘The Joining’ finds Batman dealing with the threat of an alien invasion while also coping with the arrival of a new detective, John Jones, who seems to know a lot about the Dark Knight. Jones turns out to be fellow superhero Martian Manhunter and the two join forces to thwart the alien plot. Dorian Harewood (Full Metal Jacket) lends his voice to the role of Jones/Martian Manhunter and Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr. (An Officer and a Gentleman) guest stars as Lucius Fox.

    Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, The Batman is exec produced by Sander Schwartz and produced by Kim Smith. Alan Burnett and Michael Goguen serve as supervising producers.

  • Starz Airs Cars Toon Fest

    In conjunction with its April 28 debut of the Disney/Pixar family feature Cars, Starz On Demand is gearing up to present ‘Cars Toon Fest,’ a month-long tribute to the Oscar-nominated pic. The movie will be available on demand in either full-frame or widescreen formats through May 24, and will be accompanied by exclusive bonus material not available anywhere else on television.

    The Cars Toon Fest will include On the Set: Cars, is a 14-minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of the hit movie, as well as The Making of the Music, a seven-minute look at the production of the soundtrack featuring John Mayer, Rascal Flatts, Sheryl Crow and Brad Paisley. Other DVD-like bonus materials will include deleted scenes, an epilogue, a song performed by the Cars characters and the Diney/Pixar short films Mater & The Ghostlight, One Man Band and Boundin’.

    ‘We saw the Cars Toon Fest as a great way to showcase one of the biggest movies we’ll have in our library this year,’ says Jonathan Shair, VP of programming and scheduling for Starz Ent. ‘By highlighting the movie and exclusive materials on Starz On Demand, viewers can enjoy it at their leisure with the opportunity to watch it all again and again.’

    Starz Ent., an operating unit of Liberty Media Corp.’s Starz LLC, airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Starz On Demand and VongoSM. Cars will debut as the Starz Saturday Premiere feature presentation on April 28 at 9 p.m.

  • Csupo Hitched to Moon Princess

    Having made his live-action debut with the Disney/Walden Media hit Bridge to Terabithia, Klasky-Csupo co-founder Gabor Csupo has signed on to direct The Moon Princess, a big-screen adaptation of Elizabeth Goudge’s children’s fantasy novel The Little White Horse. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the U.K.-Hungarian co-production is budgeted at around $25 million and is likely to begin principal photography this summer.

    The Moon Princess is sure to offer its share of visual effects work as it tells the story of a 13-year-old girl who ventures into a magical world and finds that she must combat an ancient curse. The only casting news has British actor Colin Firth signed to play the girl’s eccentric uncle.

    Working from a script by Lucy Shuttleworth and Graham Alborough, Csupo is spearheading the project through his Grand Allure Ent., collaborating with co-production partners Spice Factory in the U.K and U.S./Australian company Forgan-Smith Ent. Financing is being brokered by London-based Velvet Octopus.

    Emmy winner Csupo produced big-screen expansions of the hit Klasky Csupo TV series Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys before taking the helm of Terabithia, which took in $75 million domestically.

  • Lola, Miniscule Big at Cartoon on the Bay

    Tiger Aspect Prods.’ Charlie and Lola and Futurikon’s Miniscule each won two Pulcinella awards over the weekend at Cartoons on the Bay in Solerno, Italy. In addition to winning Best Series for Infants, Charlie and Lola took the prize for Best Program. Meanwhile, Miniscule was named the top TV series for all ages by both the international jury and the jury of Rai subscribers. Also taking multiple awards was the short film Wives Supermarket from Italy’s Centro Sperimentale Di Cinematografia’Dipartimento Di Animazione. The retro-styled musical took Best Short and was given the Carta Giovani Euro<26 Award by a jury of 23 children. The 11th annual Cartoons on the Bay international showcase of television animation took place April 19-22 in Salerno. A total of 162 programs from 19 countries were selected to be on display in the digital video library for artists and professional in the industry, buyers, distributors, multimedia publishers and journalists. More information on Cartoons on the Bay can be found at www.cartoonsbay.com. 2007 Pulcinella Award Winners: TV Series For Infants

    Charlie and Lola ‘ season 2

    Tiger Aspect Prods. (U.K.)

    TV Series For Children

    Ruby Gloom

    Nelvana (Canada)

    TV Series For All Ages

    Minuscule

    Futurikon (France)

    TV Series of Action & Adventure

    The Secret Show

    The Secret Show (U.K.)

    Educational & Social Program – Unicef

    The Little Short-Sighted Snake

    A Film Estonia (Estonia)

    Pilot of TV Series

    Monster Safari

    Nickelodeon (U.S.)

    TV Special

    Anna And The Moods

    Caoz (Iceland)

    Short Film

    Wives Supermarket

    Centro Sperimentale Di Cinematografia ‘ Dipartimento Di Animazione (Italy)

    Best Character

    Guide Dog

    Bill Plympton, Snd Films, Sydney Neter (U.S.)

    Best Program

    Charlie and Lola ‘ Season 2

    Tiger Aspect Prods. (U.K.)

    Best European Program

    Peter & The Wolf

    Breakthru Films (U.K.)

    Best Soundtrack of the Year

    Class Of 3000

    Cartoon Network Studios (U.K.)

    Special Mentions:

    How To Cook Italian By Arturo & Kiwi

    Toei Animation (Italy)

    Ayakashi

    Toei Animation (Japan)

    Santapprentice

    Alphanim (France)

    Jury of Rai Subscribers Awards:

    TV Series For Infants

    Pet Pals

    Gruppo Alcuni (Italy)

    TV Series for Children

    Growing Up Creepie

    Mike Young Prods. LLC (U.S.)

    TV Series for All Ages

    Minuscule

    Futurikon (France)

    Carta Giovani Euro<26 Award:

    Wives Supermarket

    Centro Sperimentale Di Cinematografia ‘ Dipartimento Di Animazione (Italy)

  • Joes Meet Pros at Stop-Mo Expo

    Practitioners and fans of stop-motion animation gathered at Woodbury University in Burbank, Calif. on Saturday for ASIFA-Hollywood’s inaugural Stop Mo Expo. Spearheaded by educator, animator and animation historian Larry Loc, the event drew a good-sized crowd of enthusiasts that included students and such industry luminaries as Will Vinton, Corky Quackenbush, Jim Aupperle, Gene Warren Sr. and Stephen and Edward Chiodo. Randy Cook, who has moved on to CG and won Oscars for his vfx work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, was scheduled to attend but was held up by a storyboarding deadline.

    The day’long expo featured panel discussions and seminars including ‘Stop Motion in the Computer Age’ (moderated by Edward Chiodo), ‘Ask the Experts’ (Tennessee Reed Norton), ‘Stop Motion Education’ (Larry Loc), ‘Sets, Lighting, Camera’ (Jim Aupperle) and ‘Evolution of Stop Motion Animation’ (Stephen Chiodo). The professionals generously gave up their Saturdays to offer valuable insight and practical advice.

    During the first session, director of photography Chris Warren, son of vfx guru Gene Warren Jr. (The Terminator, The Mothman Prophecies) and grandson of animator Gene Warren (Jack The Giant Killer, Land of the Lost), discussed the need for a digital camera with a true rotating shutter since most stop-motion is these days using digital still cameras. He explained that while digital offers a number of advantages over traditional film technology, none of the major camera manufacturers have expressed any interest in making a digital camera that operates like a film camera to service filmmakers working a one frame at a time.

    During Norton’s ‘Ask the Experts’ panel, Christine Cegavske showed clips from her new feature film Blood Tea and Red String, a beautifully strange fantasy movie that was 13 years in the making. She also showed photos of her puppet-making process that depicted her characters in the various stages of construction, and even brought a few of the puppets along to show the audience. Blood Tea and Red String was picked up for distribution by Cinema Epoch and will be released soon. Animator Misha Klein then showed the first several minutes of his short film in progress titled The Hallway, in which a Clown contemplates a performance he doesn’t want to make.

    The future of stop-motion looked bright after Loc’s discussion of animation in education. Greg Kindseth of Movies by Kids and Brad Koepenick of the L.A. United School System talked about how they used stop-mo as ‘the ultimate engagement tool for teaching kids.’ Koepenick, whose innovative program earned him a Teacher of the Year award, said he was excited because the government recently released $650 million for use in the arts at public schools. ‘My goal is to have stop-motion in every school, every day, in every subject,’ he noted. Kindseth, whose after-school program operates in 50 schools in the Los Angeles area, brought along two star students to participate with the pros in an animation jam. A little studio was set up off to the side and animators took turns working on short vignettes. The finished movie was later premiered during the festival.

    Those participating in the animation jam didn’t have to contend with a lot of the complexities of professional stop-motion production, which were highlighted in the Sets, Lighting and Camera panel discussion. Aupperle, whose lighting credits include The Nightmare Before Christmas, stressed the importance of using a Variac, a variable transformer that shows you the exact voltage you’re operating at and allows you to ‘animate up.’ He explained that voltage naturally drops over the course of the day and the Variac gives one the ability to set the voltage to the previous day’s low and gradually bring it back up so that there aren’t any noticeable spikes in lighting intensity when the footage is viewed.

    Also participating on the panel was director of photography Jim Matlosz, who was mentored by Pete Kozachik on Nightmare and recently shot the clay animation for an episode of NBC’s My Name is Earl. When not shooting a frame at a time, he does a lot of high-speed photography for commercials and said the thing he loves about animation is that you can control everything and make sure the hard work done by the animators looks good on screen. He revealed that his go-to light diffusion material is 1000H, a type of tracing paper that is available at art stores and is much cheaper than the industry standard solutions. Matlosz and filmmaker Mark Sawicki then voiced their frustration with computer-generated pre-viz, which doesn’t take into consideration the size of the actual camera and the fact that it throws a shadow when placed in front of the sun or another lighting source.

    Gene Warren Jr. later offered his two cents on digital pre-viz, commenting, ‘I think it brings too many cooks into the kitchen. The more people you bring in to change a shot, the more you lose that visceral thing and water down the final product.’ He pointed out the economy and singularity of vision inherent in Alfred Hitchcock’s filmmaking because he storyboarded the entire movie and followed that blueprint to a tee. Warren brought along the only metal armature used for Dopey the dinosaur in the original Land of the Lost series and Aupperle brought one of the 36 gremlins that Pete Kleinow animated for a group shot in Joe Dante’s Gremlins.

    During the closing session, Corky Quackenbush, who has been providing stop-mo for FOX’s Mad TV, expressed his delight in being on the same panel with Will Vinton and Stephen Chiodo, two people who have influenced his career more than anyone. ‘[Vinton’s] Closed Mondays opened the doors and showed me that you can do anything in animation,’ he remarked. ‘Then I saw Large Marge [animated by Chiodo in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure] and it put me over the top in deciding what I wanted to do with my life.’ Vinton then discussed his new company, FreeWill Ent., which he says has been liberating because he no longer has to focus on the business side of running a company and can funnel more of his energy into creating. ‘I’m more of a writer than a director or animator now,’ he said, referring to the different properties he’s developing. His latest creation is Jack Hightower, a secret agent graphic novel now available from Dark Horse Comics.

    The panels were followed by later that night by a festival of 25 stop-motion films including The Great Cognito by Will Vinton, Africa Partings by Robyn Yannoukos, Blood and Sunflowers by Christiane Cegavske, Butter Dove by Jean Ngo, Raging Rudolph by Corky Quakenbush, Keep It Down by Max Maddox and Brady Serwitz, and Viscous Cycles and Sergeant Swell of the Mounties by Len Janson and Chuck Menville.

    The 8 p.m.-10 p.m. block was reserved for screenings of rare 16mm stop-motion prints from the extensive collection of Mark Kausler. These included The Mascot from Ladyslaw Starewicz, Archangel Gabriel and Mother Goose from Jiri Trynka, 1930s Philips Radio Commercials and Rare Puppetoons from George Pal and Eastern European stop-mo from the ’30s. Information on upcoming ASIFA-Hollywood events can be found at www.asifa-hollywood.org.

  • Ex-Gov Davis Joins DIC Board

    Gray Davis, the former Governor of California, has been appointed to the board of directors at DIC Ent. The Democrat, who was replaced by Republican action star Arnold Schwarzenegger after the 2003 recall election, will serve as a non-executive director at DIC, the family entertainment and global brand management company behind a number of hit animated series.

    Davis served as Governor of California from 1995 to 2003, and has held other high-level public service positions in the state over a period of more than 30 years. He continues to serve as a senior statesman and mentor to elected officials, while also providing strategic advice and counsel in the Los Angeles office of Loeb & Loeb LLP, a multi-service law firm.

    “As one of the most experienced and admired public servants in California, Gray brings a wealth of knowledge and a extensive network of contacts that will benefit DIC enormously,” says DIC chairman and CEO Andy Heyward. “We are honored to add such an esteemed colleague to our board, and we look forward to his invaluable contributions as we continue to grow the company worldwide.”

    “By exploring new technologies and building strategic partnerships with key broadcast partners, DIC continues to set a standard of excellence in family-based entertainment,” adds Davis. “I am proud of the work that Andy Heyward and the whole DIC team have done, and I am excited to build upon that success.”

    Davis also serves on the board of directors for Source Interlink, a marketing, merchandising and fulfillment company of entertainment products, and sits on an advisory board for Roth Capital Partners, a leader and innovator in the small and micro-cap markets.

    DIC’s newest animated properties, Sushi Pack and I Was a High School Dinosaur, are set to debut this September. The company is also re-launcing the popular ’80s properties Strawbery Shortcake and Care Bears with new toon shows that will join the Saturday morning kids’ lineup on CBS this fall as well.

  • Lil’Bush Makes the Big Time on Small Screen

    In what may be a TV first, Comedy Central’s new series Lil’ Bush (which premieres in June) comes to TV by way of mobile devices such as web-enabled cell phones. The property began as mobisodes seen on 2′ mobile screens.

    The show follows the misadventures of Lil’ George Bush and his precocious pals Lil’ Condi, Lil’ Rummy and the unintelligible, foul-mouthed wisecracker Lil’ Cheney. They’re like the Lil’ Rascals except they access to weapons of mass destruction. And instead of getting into mischief and learning stuff from other kids in the neighborhood, the little people in Lil’ Bush square off with rivals such as Lil’ Kim Jong-Il and Lil’ John Kerry. As with the venerable series The Simpsons, this one features celebrity guest voices while pushing the social satire envelope.

    Each week the show follows the Lil’ gang (along with irascible dad George Sr., sweetly sinister Bar, and dumb as paint Jeb) as they get mixed up in all sorts of crazy adventures from taking a field trip to Iraq to just taking crank. This show will probably not end up on any top ten list of the Republican National Committee’unless it’s an enemies list.

  • Fishburne Hangs Ten for Silver Surfer

    Lawrence Fishburne (Matrix, Akeelah and the Bee) has reportedly been hired as the voice of the Silver Surfer in 20th Century Fox’s upcoming big-budget Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

    Actors Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis will reprise their roles for the adaptation of the long-running Marvel Comics series. The character of the Silver Surfer, a herald to cosmic bad-guy Galactus, is played by Doug Jones. Jones provided performance and movement references for New Zealand f/x house Weta Digital, which produced visual effects for the movie. Surfer premieres June 12 in London and opens worldwide June 15. Fishburne’s distinctive basso voice is heard as the narrator in current the CGI-animated film TMNT.

    Also, in toon adaptation casting news, Matthew Fox (Jack on Lost) is in final negotiations to play Racer X in Larry and Andy Wachowski’s live-action film version of Speed Racer. Fans will remember Racer X as the hero’s mysterious, masked rival. Emile Hersch is set to play Speed, as are Christina Ricci (Speed’s girlfriend, Trixie), John Goodman, who will play Speed’s father, Pops, and Susan Sarandon, who’s been cast as Pops’ wife. Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver are planning a summer 2008 release for the film.

  • More Jasper for Lucas

    Fans of Anthony Lucas’ Oscar-nominated short film The Mysterious Geographic Exploration of Jasper Morello can look forward to second and third installments of the animated gothic science-fiction saga. We spoke with the Australian filmmaker and exec producer Susie Campbell at MIPTV at the end of a busy week of pitching the project to prospective co-producers and broadcasters. Through their 3-D Films banner, they hope to release the production as a three-part miniseries or a 75-minute telepic titled The Three Voyages of Jasper Morello.

    With Lucas’ Silhouette animation style, Jasper Morello has drawn comparisons to Lotte Reiniger’s 1926 feature film The Adventures of Prince Achmed. And while he recalls watching that film in high school, Lucas says the unique look of Jasper owes more to shoddy animation equipment than anything else. He initially began working in stop-motion using crudely constructed characters on an old animation table. ‘These things had these dodgy lights and one of them went out while I had models on there and what happened is they went to silhouette,’ he says. ‘It was all very serendipitous.’

    Lucas made a few short films using his stumbled-upon style but the first Jasper flick proved too epic in scope to be done cost-effectively in stop-motion, so he turned to CG animation software to create his fantastical world where iron, steam-powered airships rule the skies and lead a new breed of explorers to imaginative and horrific adventures. The second and third episodes will take about a year to finish, but Lucas won’t be alone in the endeavor. In addition to Campbell, he’ll be leaning heavily on writer Mark Shirrefs (Spellbinder, The Girl From Tomorrow) and his fellow producer and wife Julia Lucas, among others. ‘Jasper is a family,’ says Campbell. ‘It takes a lot of us to make Anthony Anthony.’

    Another big part of that family is Australian broadcaster SBS, an ad-supported public television entity that helped fund both Jasper Morello and the Oscar-winning short film Harvie Krumpet from fellow Aussie filmmaker Adam Eliot. ‘They’ve been incredibly supportive and want to help make stuff that has artistic vision,’ Lucas notes, adding that the broadcaster helped finance the scripts for the next Jasper expeditions.

    The second voyage of the aeronaut of the Third Royal Cartographers will be titled Jasper Morello and the Return of Claude Belgon. Racked with guilt over the death of his wife, Amelia, Jasper is saved from self-destruction when he is ordered to transport the Royal Executioner to the outpost city of Grumbath. There, our hero runs into his old adversary, Doctor Claude Belgon, who has miraculously returned from the grave and promises that he can bring Amelia back to life through a secret buried in the lost city of Alto Mea.

    The story will continue in the third adventure, Jasper Morello and the Ghosts of Alto Mea. Here, Jasper must choose between having his beloved Amelia returned or saving his homeland from destruction at the hands of the crazed Horizontalists, an anti-technology cult that wants to revive its fanatical and dangerous leader.

    ‘I’ve always wanted to put three things in these films: a funeral, a duel and a foxhunt,’ Lucas tells us. ‘So far I’ve gotten two of the three in and I’m working on the fox hunt. They’re actually going to be fox frogs.’

    Since winning the Grand Prix at the Annecy Int’l Animation Festival and getting his Oscar nomination, Lucas has signed with the prestigious William Morris Agency and has been receiving a number of live-action scripts to consider directing. He also served as a third-unit director on Spike Jones’ upcoming live-action adaptation of the Maurice Sendak children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, which will employ actors in suits augmented by digital animation. Right now, his passion is still finishing the story of Jasper Morello, which will hopefully continue beyond the planned trilogy. At any rate, we’re eager to see what the talented filmmaker, family man and self-proclaimed sci-fi geek will do next.

    ‘My kids and I are going to make a home movie,’ Lucas reveals with glint in his eye. ‘It’s a little horror film about my son Henry’s rabbit, who goes bad.’

  • 300 Passes 20 Million On Imax Screens

    Still more of a niche product than the more mass-consumer experience company execs would like, Imax has nevertheless been a good deal for films particularly suited for 80-foot screens. The latest case in point, the sword-and-sandal epic 300. IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures say that 300: The IMAX Experience has grossed more than $20 million worldwide in its first month of release since premiering on March 9, 2007.

    That’s faster than any other 2D digitally re-mastered IMAX release. 300 is currently playing on 84 IMAX screens worldwide and is showing strong box office performances in both domestic and international markets. The film’s total worldwide box office from both conventional and IMAX theatres is now at $404.5 million.

    “300 is an ideal film for Imax,’ says Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures. ‘The excitement surrounding an enhanced rendering of the film has contributed to its strong showing.”

  • Corus, ST Electronics Pact for Puff, Franklin

    Corus Ent. and Singapore Technologies Ltd. (ST Electronics) have joined forces to co-produce a series of animated direct-to-video titles. Signed Tuesday during a press conference at MIPTV in Cannes, the deal will first yield movies based on the classic Puff the Magic Dragon property and the popular Franklin the Turtle series. Animation duties will be divided between ST Electronics’ digital media unit and Corus’ Nelvana Studios.

    The Puff the Magic Dragon DVD movie is based on the hit folk song written by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton. The production will explore the relationship between Puff and Jackie Paper in the whimsical world of Honahlee. Scott Dyer, exec VP and general manager of Corus Kids tells us they’re working with Yarrow to develop the latest incarnation of the property, which was previously animated in a pair of TV specials that aired on CBS in 1978 and 1980.

    Based on the best-selling books by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark, and the subsequent Nelvana television series airing on Noggin in the U.S., The new Franklin the Turtle DVD movie will continue the adventures of the little reptile with a lot of determination.

    ‘I can’t emphasize enough the importance I place on the creation of an industry as opposed to the funding of a production,’ Dyer says of his partnership with his ‘old friends’ in Singapore, a nation making that is quickly becoming a important hub of digital content creation. Dr. Christopher Chia, CEO of the Media Development Authority of Singapore, projects that 18 months from now Singapore will see as much as $100,000,000 coming in from projects based in North America. Lucas Animation is currently in production on the CG-animated Star Wars: Clone Wars series at its studios in Singapore, and other major companies, including video game leader Electronic Arts, have established studios on the island.

    The world of animation is nothing new to ST Electronics, which has been in the business of creating 3D simulation and training systems for defense and commercial applications. The company recently moved into the entertainment sphere recently when it teamed with Nelvana to co-produce the 26-episode, half-hour CG series The Future is Wild. Based on a 2002 CG-animated Discovery Channel documentary, the show about kids who visit evolved creatures of the future will debut on Discovery Kids in the U.S. and TELETOON in Canada later this year.

    ‘Our move into the digital animation business was a natural progression for the company from our core base of computer-generated imagery for our simulation business,’ comments Seah Moon Ming, president of ST Electronics. ‘We have been fortunate to establish a strong partnership with an international player like Nelvana. This will allow us to escalate our new efforts to a global level.’

    ST Electronics will distribute the Puff and Franklin DVDs, along with future projects with Corus, in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Nelvana Enterprises will handle distribution in the rest of the world.

  • Toon Boom Debuts Storyboard Pro

    Toon Boom Animation Inc. has released Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, a digital storyboarding software solution for films, gaming, advertising and animation projects. The entirely paperless process is designed to save directors and producers significant time and costs, while also saving a few trees in the process.

    Key features of Storyboard Pro include a true WYSIWYG, multi-layer drawing engine that mimics the traditional storyboarding process using a graphic tablet and pen compatible with Tablet PC for Windows and Vista, as well as Mac Intel. The release also offers simultaneous animatic creation (complete with complex camera moves), pre-production management functions and total pipeline integration with AAF, CSV, PSD and PDF file format support.

    “We are pleased to release such an advanced storyboarding software that will cater to content creators of all styles, being live-action or animation,’ says Toon Boom president and CEO Joan Vogelesang. ‘As a green product, Storyboard Pro reduces significantly the need to use paper, especially at the pre-production level, which involves several rounds of idea generation, corrections and approval. All can be done digitally and efficiently.”

    Toon Boom Storyboard Pro carries a suggested retail price of $899.99, but is being offered at the launch special price of $799.99. The product is now available online at www.toonboom.com/products/storyboardpro, and will be showcased during MIPTV at booth C1.05, and at NAB at booth SL2622. For more information on the Emmy Award-winning Toon Boom and its various animation products, go to toonboom.com.

  • Aqua Teen Movie Served in Theaters

    Cartoon Network’s [adult swim] makes its big-screen debut this weekend with the release of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. Rolling out in around 877 theaters across North America, the First Look Pictures release has had critics split pretty evenly down the middle, suggesting that it is likely to be a love-it-or-hate it affair. Expect some love from fans of the late-night cartoon show, especially those under the influence, and bewilderment from the uninitiated.

    Written, produced and directed by series creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis under the Williams Street banner, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters reveals the mysterious origins of Master Shake, Frylock and Meatwad, the three fast-food items who come to share a rental home in New Jersey. The trio must come to the rescue when the Plutonians team with the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past to take possession of an immortal piece of exercise equipment that threatens the balance of galactic peace.

    Cult film hero Bruce Campbell and Rush front man Neil Peart lend their voices to the film, joining series regulars Maiellaro (Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past), Willis (Carl, Meatwad, Ignignokt), Dana Snyder (Master Shake), Carey Means (Frylock) and Andy Merrill and Mike Schatz (The Plutonians).

    Despite getting some negative buzz from early test screenings, the movie has managed to garner favorable reviews from critics at such major publications as Rolling Stone, Village Voice, Newsday, the Washington Post, Premiere and the famously fickle Daily Variety. A number of reviewers applaud Maiellaro and Willis for sticking to their offbeat guns and delivering a surrealist assault on pop culture.

    Aqua Teen Hunger Force premiered on Adult Swim in September of 2001 and has delighted fans with more than 60 15-minute episodes. Box office results will decide whether or not it was a mistake to stretch it to 85 minutes, especially after the three-hour Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse overstayed its welcome with too many moviegoers last weekend.

    Also opening in wide release today are Paramount/DreamWorks’ Rear Window-esque thriller Disturbia, Sony/Revolution’ Haley Berry/Bruce Willis suspense fest Perfect Stranger, Twentieth Century Fox’s Vikings-meet-Native-Americans actioner Pathfinder: Legend of the Ghost Warrior, Lionsgate’s Ray Liota crime thriller Slow Burn and Chicago Pictures’ high-octane car movie, Redline.