Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • VICON Mints Entertainment Division

    Academy Award-winning motion capture technology developer VICON announced that it is opening a dedicated U.S. entertainment division in Los Angeles. The Oxford, U.K.-based company will leverage the new L.A. home base and its motion capture service facility, House of Moves, to service customers in the entertainment industry with everything from technology development to actual motion capture production.

    VICON development manager Gary Roberts has been appointed VP of professional services for the Vicon Feature Unit and House of Moves. Moving to the U.S. from Vicon’s UK headquarters, Roberts will continue to forge relationships with top feature film and game companies. In his former position, he guided product development for VICON iQ and consulted with Sony Pictures Imageworks and SQUARE Enix to develop custom mo-cap solutions. Prior to joining VICON, he was CEO of Performance Capture Studios and served as a motion capture supervisor at Electronic Arts.

    In addition, Jon Damush has been named VP and general manager of VICON’s entertainment division, and House of Moves founder Tom Tolles, has been tapped to oversee VICON’s worldwide entertainment product marketing. Architect of the Diva software package, Tolles will apply his entertainment-focused solutions and software development expertise in his new role.

    VICON was recognized with a 2005 Scientific and Technical Academy Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. The company’s new Los Angeles headquarters is located on Beatrice Street, adjacent to the 12,000 square-foot House of Moves motion capture stage and production offices. For more information on VICON, or to view a comprehensive list of worldwide distributors, go to www.vicon.com.

  • Upper Deck, Nick Making Avatar Card Game

    While many hit anime shows for kids begin life as trading card games, one is poised to leverage its television success with a foray into the gaming world. Upper Deck Ent. (UDE) and Nickelodeon have announced plans to create and distribute a new trading card game based on Avatar: The Last Airbender, Nickelodeon’s latest original animated series.

    Slated to hit retail across North America in February, the Avatar trading card game will be the first collectible card game to use UDE’s new QuickStrike game engine, which features lightning-fast, one-on-one card combat moves. The title will also be compatible with future releases on the QuickStrike system.

    Like the TV series, the Avatar trading card game will plunge gamers into the amazing world of Waterbenders, Earthbenders, Firebenders, and Airbenders. The story centers on Aang, a reluctant hero who must lead the fight against the evil Fire Nation to restore balance in his war-torn world. Fans can execute all of Aang’s signature bending moves with UDE’s new foil Zenemental cards. There will also be slide-open chamber cards, which allow players to reveal hidden moves.

    Avatar: The Last Airbender is created by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The series premiered last February and is currently the top-rated regularly scheduled television program in its timeslot among kids 2-11. The second season will debut on Nickelodeon on March 17, and the first of five season-one DVDs will be available on January 31. For more information on the Avatar trading card game and other Upper Deck Ent. products, go to www.upperdeckentertainment.com.

  • Science Exhibit Examines Marvel Heroes

    For all its gamma rays, radioactive spider bites and chemically induced transformations, superhero science tends to be a bit shaky, to say the least. Even so, the California Science Center in Los Angeles has seen fit to dedicate a new exhibit to the heroes of Marvel Comics and the role science plays in their mythologies. The Marvel Super Heroes Science Exhibition will be open from March 26 through Sept. 4.

    More than 9,000 square feet of the California Science Center will be devoted to Marvel interactive experiences created by Yellowbrick Holman Exhibition Inc. in partnership with the Ontario Science Center. Among other things, visitors will match their senses against those of Daredevil, investigate the source of rage in the Incredible Hulk’s brain, discover what it might be like to have prosthetic limbs like Doc Ock and learn how an optical illusion known as motion-induced blindness can make Fantastic Four‘s Invisible Woman disappear. Other attractions will explore the concepts behind Spider-Man and the X-Men, while an Iron Man feature actually allows patrons to step into a mechanical exo-suit to lift a sports utility vehicle.

    Also on display will be a collection of Marvel artwork featuring some of the most popular artists from the company’s long history. The exhibit will be open 7 days a week with admission priced at $9.75 for adults, $8.75 for seniors and $7.75 for children under 12. Tickets are available online at www.californiasciencecenter.org.

  • CBS, Warner Bros. Plan 5th Network

    CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Ent. today announced plans to launch The CW, a new major network to compete with CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX. Scheduled to debut this fall, the new broadcasting outlet will mean the end of both CBS’s UPN and Warner Bros.’ The WB. The CW will incorporate programming from both outgoing networks, including the Saturday Morning block currently known as Kids’ WB!

    Warner Bros. and CBS will each have 50% ownership of joint venture. UPN president Dawn Ostroff will become president of entertainment for The CW, while The WB’s chief operating officer, John Maatta, assumes the role of chief operating officer of the new network.

    Major market distribution for The CW will be assured via 10-year affiliation agreements signed by Tribune Broadcasting and the CBS Corporation’s UPN affiliates. The combination of Tribune’s 16 major market stations and the 12 CBS-owned UPN major market affiliates give The CW instant coverage in 48% of the country. The remainder of the network’s distribution system will be a combination of selected current UPN and The WB stations. The full distribution of the new network is expected to exceed 95% of the country.

    CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves comments, “The CW will be able to draw from the creative talent and production resources from the top two television production studios in the business, while also seeking programming from all sources’independent producers or other studios.’

    “This new network makes sound business and creative sense at every level for our viewers, advertisers, affiliates and for the shareholders of our companies,” adds Barry Meyer, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Ent. “Every key constituency of the network will now greatly benefit from this combination by being part of a highly rated, competitive, 5th broadcast network that is financially sound.’

    The CW will mirror The WB’s current scheduling model, which includes a 5-hour Saturday morning animation block. All together, the network will program 30 hours per week for its affiliated stations, offering such hit shows as The WB’s Smallville, Gilmore Girls and Supernatural, as well as UPN’s Veronica Mars, Everybody Hates Chris and Girlfriends.

  • Cartoon Network Buys Ellen’s Acres, HTDT

    Cartoon Network has picked upEllen’s Acres and HTDT, two original series from New York toon studio Animation Collective. The shows will both debut in the fall on Cartoon Network, which previously acquired Animation Collective’s Princess Natasha and Wulin Warriors.

    The preschool comedy series Ellen’s Acres centers on a 5-year-old girl who has adventures with her feather duster and her radial tire at Emerald Acres Hotel, which her parents own. Though her only companions are her parents and the hotel employees and guests, Ellen makes her own fun through the power of imagination. Cartoon Network has ordered 52 eleven-minute episodes.

    HTDT, an anime-inspired action comedy for kids 6-11, puts a superhero spin on the classic tale of Humpty Dumpty. When all the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put our hero back together again, they turned to Dr. Kizami Miyazaki, the King’s top bio-nuclear scientist. Not only is Humpty back in one piece, but he now has super powers that help him battle evil forces that threaten the kingdom of Happily Ever After. Joining him on his adventures are Dr. Miyazaki’s 10-year-old son, Axel, and his babysitter, a beautiful assistant librarian and teen pop star named Arisa. On order are 26 half-hour episodes.

    Both new series are created and produced by Larry Schwarz, CEO of Animation Collective. The studio’s flagship series, Princess Natasha, was originally created for America Online’s KOL service and is scheduled to begin airing soon on Cartoon Network. Animation Collective developed and produced Wulin Warriors for U.S. television. The series from Broadway Video Enterprises, GT Media and Distant Horizon will begin airing on Cartoon Network this February. Animation Collective can be found on the web at www.animationcollective.com.

  • Jetix Tangles with Monster Warriors

    Giant movie monsters come to life and terrorize Capital City in Monster Warriors, Jetix Europe’s new action series that blends live-action and CG animation. Produced by Canadian production company Coneybeare Stories in association with Jetix Europe and Canada’s YTV, the series is distributed by Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) and Bejuba! Entertainment. It is scheduled to debut on Jetix Europe channels this spring.

    Aimed at kids 8-12, Monster Warriors centers on four normal teenagers who become creature combatants when a 1950’s sci-fi B-movie director escapes from his nursing home and unleashes his creepy creations for real. Using homemade weapons, our heroes take on giant spiders, an army of skeletons, an overgrown anaconda, a rampaging T-Rex and other fierce beasties as they unravel the plot of Dr. Klaus Von Steinhauer, a character inspired by legendary monster maker Ray Harryhausen.

    The 26 half-hour adventure saga is created and directed by Wilson Coneybeare of Coneybeare Stories. Members of the vfx production team count among their credits Miramax’s Sin City and Paramount’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

    Jetix Europe holds all pay TV rights to Monster Warriors for Europe and the Middle East, and has TV distribution, home video, consumer product and online and interactive rights including mobile. JCP (Jetix Consumer Products) is managing the licensing, merchandising and home video rights in their territories. Bejuba! Entertainment controls all rights in North America, Latin America, Australia and Asia. The company will focus immediately on introducing a line of toys based on the show’s character and monsters.

  • Disney to Buy Pixar

    Disney President and CEO Robert Iger today ended months of speculation by confirming that Disney will acquire animation studio Pixar. The all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion is expected to be completed by this summer, combining the Disney brand and marketing machinery with Pixar’s industry-leading creative capabilities like never before.

    With the acquisition, Pixar chairman and CEO Steve Jobs will be appointed to Disney’s board of directors as a non-independent member. Meanwhile, Pixar president Ed Catmull will become president of the new Pixar and Disney animation studios, reporting to Iger and Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. Pixar executive VP John Lasseter will be chief creative officer of the animation studios, as well as principal creative advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering, where he will be involved in the design of new theme park attractions. With the addition of Jobs, 11 of Disney’s 14 directors will be independent.

    Iger comments, “The addition of Pixar significantly enhances Disney animation, which is a critical creative engine for driving growth across our businesses. This investment significantly advances our strategic priorities, which include’first and foremost’delivering high-quality, compelling creative content to consumers, the application of new technology and global expansion to drive long-term shareholder value.”

    “Disney and Pixar can now collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders,” says Jobs. “Now, everyone can focus on what is most important, creating innovative stories, characters and films that delight millions of people around the world.”

    Lasseter chimes in, stating “For many of us at Pixar, it was the magic of Disney that influenced us to pursue our dreams of becoming animators, artists, storytellers and filmmakers. It is exciting to continue in this tradition with Disney, the studio that started it all.”

    Disney and Pixar first teamed up in 1991 to create the revolutionary 3D animated feature Toy Story. A co-production agreement was struck in 1997, assuring the delivery of five original Pixar features for distribution by Disney. That contract was set to expire with the June 9 release of Cars, but now Pixar will remain involved with future Disney movies, including potential sequels to such hits as Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

    Under terms of the agreement, 2.3 Disney shares will be issued for each Pixar share. Both the Disney and Pixar animation units will retain their current operations and locations.

  • Sony Acquires SOCOM Developer

    Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) has bought long-time partner Zipper Interactive, the video game developer behind the successful SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs franchise. Redmond, Wash.-based Zipper joins SCE Worldwide Studios, the newly formed global development operation that last month began building its stable with development studio Guerrilla B.V.

    To date, Sony has sold more than seven million units of the SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs games for PlayStation 2 and PSP. The combat series also gave the PlayStation 2 console a foothold in the online market, which had been dominated by Xbox Live.

    SCE Worldwide Studios handles the global strategy, management and production of interactive software published by SCE companies worldwide. Zipper’s day-to-day operations will be run out of the SCE WWS Foster City Studio. Financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

  • AtomFilms Studio Opens

    Broadband video pioneer Atom Entertainment today announced the opening of AtomFilms Studio, a new program that that will foster the creation of original content from independent producers. There are currently six projects development with dozens more planned to roll out during the course of the year. Starting this spring, the new shorts will be available for download on the AtomFilms website (www.atomfilms.com) and through its online and mobile entertainment partners.

    “AtomFilms enables innovative filmmakers and animators to earn money and reach a large audience,” says Atom Entertainment CEO Mika Salmi. “AtomFilms Studio increases our commitment and value to content creators, giving them an environment to develop new projects and advance their careers’all while maintaining creative control.”

    AtomFilms Studio’s first quarter development slate includes two projects from PES, including Game Over, a stop-motion homage to old-school videogames, and a unique sex story titled Cemetary Sex. The studio has also tapped Project Greenlight winners Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin to produce a vfx- driven short film titled Wanna See My Bug?

    Over the years, AtomFilms has partnered with such noteworthy entities as JibJab, Aardman Animations and Joe Cartoon to offer online access to cutting-edge entertainment for more than 5 million consumers. JibJab’s 2004 political spoof, This Land, generated more than 70 million online plays, while Aardman’s Angry Kid series has been viewed online more than 20 million times in the past five years. Filmmaker Keith Thomson, who created more than a dozen animations for AtomFilms, has a pilot for a pop-starlet spoof titled Annibelle Scoops in development with MTV.

  • SPTI Draws Blood Plus from Aniplex

    Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) has agreed to acquire television and home video rights to the anime series Blood Plus from Aniplex Inc. Covering Asia (outside of Japan), Latin America, North America, Australia and New Jealand, the deal will see SPTI exploiting television opprotunities while Sony Pictures Home Entertainment handles the title on disc.

    Set to make an appearance at NATPE 2006 in Las Vegas this week, the 50-episode Blood Plus is based on the best-selling anime title Blood the Last Vampire, and focuses on the ongoing conflict between the evil, bat-like shapeshifting Chiropterans and the secret organization of Chiropteran hunters known as Red Shield. An unlikely heroine emerges to lead Red Shield when a mysterious high-school girl discovers that she was once a great warrior.

    Blood Plus is directed by Junichi Fujisaku (Ghost in the Shell) and produced by animation studio Production I.G (Blood the Last Vampire, Ghost in the Shell). The series enjoyed a successful Japanese premiere on Mainichi Broadcasting System and Tokyo Broadcasting System last October.

    Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) are divisions of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). With dedicated offices in France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Miami (Latin America), the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Spain and the U.K., SPTI oversees production in nine regions of the world and is a leader in international television production among major Hollywood studios.

  • Underworld no Box Office Underdog

    Sony Screen Gems’ Underworld: Evolution debuted to an estimated $27.6 over the weekend, claiming the top spot at the North American box office. Though the studio exhibited a lack of confidence by withholding the film from critics, the vampire/were-wolf actioner did even better than its predecessor, which opened at No. 1 with $22 million in 2003.

    Underworld: Evolution sees Kate Beckinsale return to the role of Selene, a vampire death dealer who battles lycanthropes and treacherous villains among her own kind. A high theater count and a dearth of box office competition put the sequel well ahead of the pack as moviegoers chose popcorn action and CG scares provided by Luma Pictures, CafeFX, ntropic, Fantasy II Film Effects, Krypton, Company 3, Furious FX and Framestore CFC. The film’s extensive vfx work was overseen by vfx supervisors James McQuaide and Gary Beach.

    Holding strong at No. 2, the Weinstein Co.’s animated Hoodwinked did well in its second weekend. The modestly budgeted fairytale spoof slipped only slightly, earning another $11 to bring its two-week cume to nearly $30 million. Meanwhile, last weekend’s top contender, Disney’s Glory Road, took a steeper tumble. The historical basketball piece earned an estimated $9.1 million, putting it in a neck-and-neck race for No. 3 with Paramount’s Queen Latifah comedy, Last Holiday.

    Fresh off its Golden Globes win for Best Picture, Brokeback Mountain from Focus Features continues its rise up the charts, hitting No. 5 with around $7.8 million in its seventh week. Made for around $14 million, the cowboy romance pic from acclaimed director Ang Lee has earned approximately $42 million on its way to the big Oscar competition in March.

  • 3D Feature Debuts in Singapore

    With the Chinese New Year promising a 40% boost in movie ticket sales in Singapore, the country’s first feature-length, 3D-animated film is set to debut this week, according to Daily Variety. Cubix Int’l’s Chinese-language digital toon, Zodiac: The Race Begins, will bow on 10 screens in the small but influential island nation on Jan. 26.

    Zodiac: The Race Begins has the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac racing to determine their order. The local animation industry is looking to the film to jumpstart efforts to make Singapore a major player in the worldwide CG animation arena. The pic has reportedly sold to 22 countries with hopes of cracking Western markets.

    Last year, George Lucas established a LucasFilm Animation facility in Singapore to leverage emerging local talents for the production of a computer-animated Star Wars: Clone Wars series. Video game giant Electronic Arts has also set up a Singapore shop, which will focus on tailoring popular EA titles for Asian markets.

    Zodiac will get a video game of its own via Honor Games International, while other marketing and licensing deals have been struck with soft drink maker Yeo Hup Seng and the Singapore Mint.

  • THQ Spies with Alex Rider

    THQ Inc. has nabbed exclusive worldwide video game rights to the upcoming teen spy movie, Stormbreaker, based on the best-selling book series by Anthony Horowitz. Boasting a cast that includes Ewan McGregor (Robots, Valiant), Mickey Rourke (Sin City), Alicia Silverstone (Batman and Robin, Clueless) Bill Nighy (Underworld, Underworld: Evolution), Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) and Robbie Coltrane (the Harry Potter films), Stormbreaker is slated to arrive in theaters this summer.

    With more than nine million books sold to date, Horowitz’s Alex Rider saga is the latest in a string of young adult lit franchises to be scooped up by Hollywood and Silicon Valley. The video games, developed by Altron for Nintendo DS and Razorback Developments for Game Bo Advance, are due in stores worldwide with the release of the feature film. Entertainment Film Distributors will release it in the U.K. on July 21, followed by a U.S. release by The Weinstein Co. on August 18. Local distributors will handle the pic in other parts of the world.

    Directed by Geoffrey Sax from a screenplay by Anthony Horowitz, the Stormbreaker movie is based on the first novel in the series and stars newcomer Alex Pettyfer as parachuting, scuba diving 14-year-old action spy Alex Rider. The film is being produced by brothers Marc and Peter Samuelson of Samuelson Prods., whose producing credits include Arlington Road, Wilde, Revenge of the Nerds and Tom & Viv. They also served as exec producers on the new Johnny Depp perieod piece, The Libertine.

    In the handheld games, players will take on the role of Alex Rider, who must out-spy, outwit and out-cool evil forces in third-person stealth gameplay. Through Fast-paced racing action, intense fighting and gadget-based mini-games, players will relive defining moments from the movie as they strive to become the ultimate spy.

  • Gromit, VFX Flicks Up for BAFTAs

    Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit from Aardman Animations and DreamWorks Animation is taking on some heavy live-action competition at this year’s Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFA). The clay-animated feature is up for the Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year, which will be awarded on Sunday, Feb. 19, at the Odeon Leicester Square in London.

    Produced by Peter Lord, David Sproxton, Nick Park, Steve Box, Mark Burton and Bob Baker, Were-Rabbit is up against BBC Films’ A Cock & Bull Story (Andrew Eaton, Michael Winterbottom, Martin Hardy), United International Pictures’ The Constant Gardener (Simon Channing Williams, Fernando Meirelles, Jeffrey Caine), Path’s Festival (Christopher Young,Annie Griffin) and United International Pictures’ Pride & Prejudice (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Joe Wright, Deborah Moggach).

    Films competing for achievement in special visual effects are Disney’s The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, Scott Farrar), Universal’s King Kong (Joe Letteri, Christian Rivers, Brian Van’t Hul, Richard Taylor) and the Warner Bros. hits Batman Begins (Janek Sirrs, Dan Glass, Chris Corbould), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Nick Davis, Jon Thum, Chas Jarrett, Joss Williams) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Jim Mitchell, John Richardson). Batman, Charlie, Potter and Kong are also up for the award for production design, along with DreamWorks’ Memoirs of a Geisha.

    This year’s run-off for Short Animation Film pits Anthony Lucas’ Annecy Grand Prix-winning short epic The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello against Tomek Baginski’s Fallen Art, Osbert Parker’s Film Noir, Sumito Sakakibara’s Kamiya’s Correspondence and Run Wrake’s Rabbit. Monster Distributes picked up rights to Jasper Morello after Annecy and has sold it to Arte France, Canal Plus Poland, EBS Korea and TSR Switzerland.

    Nominees for Film of the Year are Paramount Pictures’ Brokeback Mountain, Sony Pictures’ Capote, United International Pictures’ The Constant Gardener, Lions Gate’s Crash and Warner Independent Pictures’ Good Night, and Good Luck.

  • VFX Pioneer Demos to Accept Oscar

    Digital visual effects pioneer Gary Demos will receive this year’s Gordon E. Sawyer Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Co-founder of the “Motion Picture Project” at Information International, which produced computer generated scenes for Disney’s Tron, Demos will accept the Oscar statuette during the Feb. 18 Scientific and Technical Awards Dinner at The Beverly Hilton.

    Demos has been investigating scientific issues in the motion picture industry for more than 30 years, a distinguished career that earned him a lot of Academy recognition. In 1984, he received his first Scientific and Engineering Award (with John Whitney, Jr.) for the practical simulation of motion picture photography by means of computer-generated images. His second Scientific and Engineering Award came a decade later for his groundbreaking work in the field of film input scanning (with Dan Cameron, David DiFrancesco, Gary Starkweather and Scott Squires). In 1995, the Academy honored him with a Technical Achievement Award (with David Ruhoff, Dan Cameron and Michelle Feraud) for his efforts in the creation of the Digital Productions Digital Film Compositing System.

    In 1988, Demos established DemoGraFX, a technology research and computer and visual effects consulting company where he specialized in research relative to high performance cameras and digital compression.

    He is now working in the development of new wavelet-based and optimal-filter-based moving image compression technology for high bit-depth and high dynamic range. A member of the Academy’s visual effects branch since 2003, Demos serves on the Scientific and Technical committee and will be the 19th recipient of the Gordon E. Sawyer Award.

    Clips of the Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony will air during the 78th Academy Awards, which will be broadcast on ABC on March 5 at 5 p.m., from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland.

  • Underworld Evolves

    Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman are back as a vampire/werewolf team battling evil and divisive forces in Underworld: Evolution. Opening in theaters today, this sequel to a 2003 surprise hit promises to offer more intense action and digital visual effects as a new species of man-beast emerges to threaten both bloodsuckers and their hirsuit counterparts.

    Also returning for the second chapter is director Len Wiseman (Beckinsale’s husband), who again teamed with screenwriter Danny McBride to expand the world of Selene (Beckinsale), a gun-toting vampire warrior who finds herself at odds with Viktor, the father of modern-day vampires, played by Bill Nighy.

    Underworld: Evolution was not screened for the press, which is usually not a good sign. However, judging by the trailer, fans of digital effects and animation should have plenty to take in as the film dishes out some impressive work by Luma Pictures, CafeFX, ntropic, Fantasy II Film Effects, Krypton, Company 3, Furious FX and Framestore CFC overseen by vfx supervisors James McQuaide and Gary Beach.

    The first Underworld film was released in September of 2003 and debuted to more than $22 million, claiming the top spot at the box office. The sequel has a chance of pulling a repeat performance given the weekend’s lack of other wide releases and the recent No. 1 success of the Lions Gate horror entry, Hostel. The only competition may come from The Weinstein Co.’s animated hit, Hoodwinked, should word-of-mouth bring out more families.

  • S4 Studios Forms S4 VFX

    Need to remove some gore or nudity from your movie trailer? Six-year-old 3D animation company S4 Studios has your fix with the launch of S4 VFX, a new division dedicated to MPAA fixes such as object removal and replacement, as well as 2D and 3D feature vfx work. The new unit is run by S4 Studios partner Geoffrey Kater, who will be supported by partners Larry Le Francis and Dale Hendrickson.

    Kater says S4 VFX was born from a boom in the movie trailer business, increasingly driven by the direct-to-video market. ‘Along with a lot of design and animation for trailers, we found that we were being asked to do 15 to 20 shots a month of removal and replacement work.’ He notes. ‘We saw a market for this kind of image processing that would enable us to easily handle many times that amount and bring in clients who might ordinarily take these shots to a post house or large effects studio at a far greater cost. We can provide clients with a quick, economical turnaround, sometimes the same day, which is something that others will do, but at rush costs.’

    S4 VFX has completed shots on theatrical trailers for Assault on Precinct 13,

    Saw II, Dodgeball, Unleashed, Underworld and Big Momma’s House 2. Other credits include creative graphics work for the home video releases of The Day After Tomorrow, Robots, the Batman Anthology and Fantastic Four.

    ‘The dilemma facing a trailer house is that they naturally want to select scenes that are really dynamic and action packed, and these are the scenes that usually contain the highest level of violence or sexual content,’ Kater adds. ‘Our job is to address the story and offer creative solutions using vfx techniques that directly address our clients’ need for removal and replacement work. Additionally, as a creative animation studio, we offer a creative fix that far outshines the typical blur or dark spot associated with most MPAA fixes.’

    S4 Studios is based in Hollywood, Calif. and can be found on the web at www.S4studios.com.

  • The Foundry Fires Off Furnace 3

    The Foundry, a developer of visual effects solutions, has launched Furnace 3 for Shake. Available for Linux and OSX, the release features ten brand new image processing plug-ins designed to significantly enhance workflow and productivity for Shake artists.

    Furnace 3 is a product of The Foundry’s continual research into advanced image processing algorithms, notably motion estimation technology. The new plug-ins include a sophisticated DeBlur solution, which automatically removes motion and out-of-focus blur, MatchGrade for automatic color histogram matching and Tracker, a multi-point tracker which can track the most challenging regions within a moving image.

    Since arriving on the scene in 2002, Furnace have been adopted by such leading post production facilities as Double Negative, Rhythm & Hues, Weta Digital, Pacific Title and Art Studio, Moving Picture Company, Cinesite U.K., Framestore CFC, Animal Logic and Gray Matter. Foundry products have recently been used by digital artists on projects including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins, King Kong and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

    “Furnace is one of the most advanced toolsets available for Shake artists,’ comments Simon Anderson of Photon VFX in New Zealand. “Furnace 3 gives you a superior collection of plug-ins that deliver quick and easy solutions to everyday tasks, giving you great results and saving hours. I wouldn’t be without it.’

    New Plug-ins included in Furnace 3 for Shake are ColorAlign, which automatically removes any discrepancy in the alignment of the three color channels in an image; Depth, which generates a relative depth matte from a sequence; DeNoise, which reduces noise without introducing any of the artifacts typically associated with noise reduction; DeBlur, a tool for automatically removing global motion blur or out-of-focus blur; MatchGrade for automatically grading one image to match another and performing severe histogram corrections; MotionBlur for adding motion blur to a sequence; MotionMatte, which generates a segmented version of the foreground and associated alpha matte with minimal user intervention; PlanarPatcher for tracking planar regions and creating new image elements such as hand-painted frame repairs and accurately patching them over a complete clip; Splicer, which stitches together arbitrarily shaped images or parts of an image; and Tracker, a multi-point tracker designed to track the most challenging of regions, including those where of occlusion scale/rotational changes occur.

    Furnace 3 node-locked is priced at $4,000, while Furnace 3 float can be had for $6,000. Existing customers can upgrade to the node-locked release for $2,000 and the floating version for $3,000. More information on this and other Foundry products can be found at www.thefoundry.co.uk.

  • Stars Align for Butch Hartman’s Doogal

    Still basking in the surprising box office success of its first animated theatrical release, Hoodwinked, The Weinstein Co. has released the cast list for its next CG feature, Doogal. Released in Europe last year under the title Sprung: The Magic Roundabout, the film has been adapted for U.S. audiences by director Butch Hartman, creator of Nickelodeon’s The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom.

    The title character will be voiced by Saturday Night Live player Kenan Thompson, who recently played a live-action Fat Albert on the big screen. As candy-loving mutt Doogal, he will match wits with evil sorcerer Zeebad, voiced by Daily Show host Jon Stewart in his animated debut. Doogal will be joined on his quest to save the world by friends Dylan (Jimmy Fallon), Brian (William H. Macy) and Ermintrude (Whoopi Goldberg). Oscar winner Dame Judi Dench serves as narrator, while additional voices are provided Chevy Chase, pop star Kylie Minogue, actor Ian McKellen, filmmaker Kevin Smith, and current Saturday Night Live cast member Bill Hader

    Written by Hartman and the Hoodwinked team of Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards and Tony Leech, Doogal takes place in a magical world where three special diamonds can be united to create a force powerful enough to freeze the sun. When Zeebad escapes from his ancient prison and vows to exact revenge by deep-freezing the earth forever, our heroes band together to find the diamonds beore he can get his hands on them. In the process, they must climb icy mountains, navigate fiery pits of molten lava, sail across vast oceans and pass through a booby-trapped temple guarded by an army of ninja skeleton warriors.

    The movie is based on the classic British children’s TV series The Magic Roundabout, created by Frenchman Serge Danot in the late 1960s and adapted into English by Eric Thompson. In addition to McKellen and Minogue, the European version of Doogal featured the voices of Ray Winstone (King Arthur, Sexy Beast) Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge!, Vanity Fair) and recording artist Robbie Williams. That version was directed by Jean Duval, Frank Passingham and Dave Borthwick.

    The Weinstein Co. will release Doogal nationwide on Feb. 24. The company is hoping for a success on the order of Hoodwinked, which was made for less than $20 million and earned nearly $17 million over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

  • Baby Genius Sold Back to Creators

    Genius Products Inc., the exclusive U.S. home entertainment distributor for The Weinstein Co., has sold its Baby Genius brand back to creators Klaus Moeller and Larry Balaban and their newly formed Pacific Entertainment Corp. The deal enables Genius to focus distribution efforts on feature film titles, while retaining exclusive U.S. distribution rights to Baby Genius and other preschool brands.

    The deal includes all worldwide rights and existing licensing agreements for the Baby Genius and Wee Worship preschool brands, along with a production deal for Little Tikes music and DVD series. Genius Products will continue to distribute DVDs, music CDs and all other products under the Baby Genius, Little Tikes and Wee Worship brands.

    Moeller comments, ‘As Genius focuses in on its new wealth of top independent and mainstream titles, we intend to develop these preschool brands across all product categories in order to capitalize on Genius Products’ increasing distribution capabilities and market share.’

    Pacific Entertainment plans to release two new Baby Genius DVDs and two new Little Tikes DVDs this year. Meanwhile, Genius Products will handle home video distribution for The Weinstein Co.’s first animated feature, Hoodwinked, which was a surprise hit with moviegoers over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend. Other potential releases for the company include sequels to Sin City, Scary Movie, Kill Bill and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.