May
15
The Europas 2016 – A taster
Posted in: Animation
A quick look back at last week’s Europas. More to come!
Video directed by Tom Hayton www.vimeo.com/tomhayton
May
15
American Gods and the blue screen kitty
Posted in: Animation
Oh, and the huge gay sex scene. Here’s how the VFX team managed to make those things possible. Their work on the show is incredible.
May
15
Released back in 2014, ‘Asterix & The Mansion of Gods’ had got fairly decent response from the critics and the public as well. It sold more than three million tickets in France and another three million worldwide in 34 countries where it was distributed. Another movie from the franchise is already in production.
Mikros Image, executive producer and co-head of animation studio, Nicolas Trout took to the GAFX 2017 stage on the second day to give the attendees a glimpse on what went into the making of the movie.
Crowned as the most successful French comic licence ever and having sold 350 million copies, translating Uderzo’s piece into an animated form was not an easy one, according to Trout as the expectations were pretty steep.
According to the stats that he presented, it took around 700 days for production, about 233,000 final pictures were rendered (stereo), and about 390,000 lines of Python code was written for the final pipeline. The project took about 1,700,000 hours of rendering where around 4,000,000 images were rendered.
One of the major challenges as the speaker explained was to remain faithful to the artistic universe of the comics and thus they were not sure what render style to use. The first 3D test was made five years back. The characters and all their aspects had to be localised to bring in the feel, that included French acting over French voices and a unique choice of album and its adaptation had to be put in place.
On the technical aspect, character density was a challenge faced by the makers. Most of the work was outsourced to a studio in Belgium owing to its close proximity. The vegetation was reportedly complex as well.
We were also informed that the whole village set-up for the film had to be made afresh as each one of the comics has a different look. Thus, adapting from each of the books, an entirely new model of the village was made. But at some parts the makers bent some rules and custom made their own and the speaker encourages it. Something we in this country are pretty familiar with, that is ‘jugaad’.
The makers only modelled a few characters and made changes to the assets of the same model to multiply the crown in several scenes.
Addressing the problem of the work pipeline, Trout asserted how complex it was and how they changed the entire designated pipeline for creating the feature.
The future challenges he said include adapting to the future industry as well as to the pipeline. He also showed his concerns about adapting to the new production model.
The studio is currently working on a few features like Sherlock Gnomes, another Asterix movie and also Sgt. Stubby.
The post From comics to feature film, how Asterix was brought to life by Mikros Image appeared first on AnimationXpress.
May
15
Faraz Hameed unravels how previs became the visual backbone of ‘Doctor Strange’
Posted in: AnimationLet’s be honest, Marvel’s Doctor Strange was arguably the most mind-bending movie of the recent times, at least visually. Replete with trippy, dimension-shifting visuals, Marvel was pretty successful in bringing about the essence of the comics to life in the feature, with great élan that is.
However, it is pretty clear that in order to create a movie like this and to achieve what the makers have achieved, a lot of hard work and exhaustive research was required. One of the most crucial parts was possibly the previs part or the pre-visualisation which brings about the primal shape of how the film will look and how to go about it.
Third Floor, previs : postvis supervisor, Faraz Hameed, who was responsible for overseeing the previs process for Doctor Strange was present at GAFX 2017 and provided us a brief insight about how he and his team went about with the initial concept of the feature.
Firstly, to make it lucid, Hameed gave a brief on how the previs part is divided. It consists of four parts, he said.
Pitchvis: The inception of the idea coming to life with very short clips which is then pitched to the directors / makers where they choose the best one from the various ideas presented. It’s more like ideas for previs people.
Previs: This is the actual, well-articulated phase after the pitch is selected. The concept is brought to life in small videos by presenting a scene or two. It is mostly done with very simple graphic work while making the concept pretty clear.
Techvis: Once the concept is approved, the previs team then calculates what the production / tech team will require in order to complete the proposed shoot to bring it to life. This ranges from cameras, equipments, vehicles, schedules and more. The requirements are then communicated to the shoot crew.
Postvis: The VFX ready movie is not readily available right after the shoot, sometime it takes a long, long time before the final, VFX integrated final version is out. Postvis provides an early look into how the scenes would look with the VFX. This is achieved by putting the previs concepts to the scenes shot.
As Hameed described, he and his team worked on the feature for two years. They prevised over 3,000 shots with at least 23 sequences with around 30 previs and postvis artists working on it. The previs was of approximately 90 minutes which included 30 previs sequences (2,620 shots). The postvis included 32 sequences and had 2705 shots.
The speaker described that the initial inspiration came from the comics of Doctor Strange as they were given access to the whole comic library of Marvel.
Director Scott Derrickson gave them the brief that they need to investigate visual illusions like hallucinogenic images. Hameed went about investigating fractals (an abstract object used to describe and simulate naturally) and how to make it fun to watch. Usually fractals take a lot of time to work on and so they had to make it light which was easily produced in Maya. The team had to handcraft fractals for this movie. They did a previs with fractals which was presented to Marvel’s Kevin Feige and got a green signal from there.
He disclosed that not all the previs shots saw the light of the day, but that is just how it works. However, previs apparently saves a lot of money for the makers, as everything is well planned and hence executed perfectly.
Next they did modelling. It was important to make characters look alike as if they just do a rough sketch of the actors then the conversation with director steers away from the main point. Instead of looking at the shot, they look at the character.
Derrickson had told his team to actually build the original set the same as previs, as the base idea is already existent. Previs even helps in the scriptwriting process.
For Doctor Strange’s Hong Kong chase scene, the entire, half a mile set was created in Longcross studio in London and was brought to life with final touches of CGI. It was the most challenging sequence and had 300 shots which had to be shot in 60 days.
Hameed also showcased some examples of the scenes in the early concept stages which can be later seen in the movie, like the cross-road chase sequence which reportedly took a lot of effort. He also displayed various scenes and how they looked during the previs, the actual shot, postvis and finally the end product.
All in all, the session was an absolute treat; getting initial insights to such a VFX heavy movie was kind of mind-boggling in itself.
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May
15
Singapore’s One Animation has commenced production on a new 60 x 7 minutes season of its award-winning kids’ animated comedy Oddbods. The upcoming package was green lit earlier this year, and has already secured key broadcast partners – including Turner, for its flagships channels Cartoon Network and Boomerang in Latin America, and for Boomerang across EMEA.
Since Oddbods launched as a digital short-form series, the new season is the second for long-form, but the third overall. The cartoons have racked up 1.5 billion views online and attracted tens of thousands of fans on social media.
The production is getting into gear just as the studio has revealed a raft of new broadcasting partners for the first long-form season, including Nickelodeon (Benelux), SVT (Sweden) and Carousel (Russia). Netflix began its global roll-out in April, starting with its streaming services in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
“Oddbods has a strong fan base spanning not only kids but also teens, young adults and parents,” said One Animation, CEO, Sashim Parmanand. “Our broadcast partners are reporting strong viewing figures, and we’ve seen phenomenal growth from our social media following over the last 12 months. Both of which reflect the change in viewing habits- increasingly audiences want to engage across multiple platforms whether it’s a TV or a mobile phone.”
Oddbods is a non-dialogue comedy featuring seven distinct little characters who, despite their differences, band together to survive the perils of daily life, unintentionally turning ordinary situations into hilarious escapades.
The post One Animation starts new ‘Oddbods’ season production appeared first on AnimationXpress.
May
15
‘Baahubali 2’ touches Rs 1400-crore mark; ‘Dangal’ reaches Rs 382 crore in China
Posted in: AnimationWe saw it coming. The uproar and buzz around Baahubali 2 were too immense to ignore. What really took us by surprise was the speed with which it happened; and now it is a phenomenon.
‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’
It did not take too long for Baahubali 2: The Conclusion to zip up the box-office ladder. In a span of only 10 days, this VFX-heavy sequel broke all box-office records to become the highest grossing Indian film worldwide, with a collection of Rs 1000 crore ($150 million).
And now, it has grossed Rs 1400 crore at the worldwide box office in a span of only 17 days since its release. It will not take it long to touch the 1500 crore mark, or the Rs 2000 crore signpost, who knows? There is no stopping this saga.
Indian film industry tracker and social media strategist Ramesh Bala tweeted:
#Baahubali2 16 Days WW Box office:
India:
Nett : ₹ 855 cr
Gross : ₹ 1090 Cr
Overseas:
Gross: ₹ 240 cr
Total: ₹ 1,330 cr
— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) May 14, 2017
S.S. Rajamouli’s great epic raced past Aamir Khan’s PK (Rs 743 crore) at the worldwide box-office with easily more than Rs 800 crore in two weeks. It is also sprinted past the previous Bollywood all time blockbusters Dangal (Rs 495 crore) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (Rs 422 crore) at the domestic box-office.
The Hindi version of the Prabhas-starrer made Rs 128 crore over the first weekend and Rs 80.75 crore over the second weekend in India. The worldwide collection of the Hindi version had reached Rs 508 crore in the first 10 days.
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, which has been made at a budget of Rs 250 crore, has earned more than Rs 100 crore in US theatres alone, making it the first Indian film to do so. Movie critic and business analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted:
#Baahubali2 – NORTH AMERICA – till 13 May 2017…
USA: $ 17,738,769
Canada: $ 713,413
Total: $ 18,452,182 [₹ 118.42 cr]. EXCELLENT!@Rentrak— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) May 14, 2017
‘Dangal’
Meanwhile, Dangal is breaking records at the Chinese box office. Within the first six days since its release, it earned Rs 21.88 crore in China, having grossed Rs 889.75 crore at the worldwide box office. It then escalated to Rs 382.46 crore in a matter of 10 days. The film is inching towards the Rs 1000 crore mark at the worldwide box office.
1st Week: $27.15 M
2nd Weekend: $32.46 M
Total (10 Days): $59.61 M [₹ 382.46 Crs] – Excellent!
— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) May 15, 2017
Now, it remains to be seen whether the upcoming blockbuster titles like the Salman Khan-starrer Tubelight, Amir Khan’s Thugs of Hindostan and the Rajinikanth- Akshay Kumar starrer 2.0 can set new benchmarks.
The post ‘Baahubali 2’ touches Rs 1400-crore mark; ‘Dangal’ reaches Rs 382 crore in China appeared first on AnimationXpress.
May
15
Experienced media executive Anthony Vinciquerra has been named the new chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), effective 1 June, 2017. Vinciquerra is stepping in for 13 year veteran Michael Lynton, who announced his departure in January.
Reporting to Sony president and CEO Kazuo Hirai, the new SPE head will oversee the studio’s corporate groups and its business division – Sony’s Motion Picture Group (which includes Sony Pictures Animation and Imageworks), Sony Pictures Television and Worldwide Media Networks.
“Tony is a proven, results-oriented leader with extensive experience running and driving growth in large, complex media and entertainment businesses,” said Hirai. “His operating skills, effectiveness working with creative teams and expertise in managing digital disruption and new technologies make him the perfect choice to lead SPE, and build on the studio’s turnaround efforts to date. I want to thank Michael for his years of service and dedication to the success of our entertainment businesses, and for his commitment to our CEO search and this transition.”
Vinciquerra is currently senior advisor for technology, media and telecommunications to Texas Pacific Group. Previously, he was chairman and CEO at FOX Networks Group, where he spent nearly a decade. Prior to FOX, he worked in the broadcasting division at Hearst Corporation and CBS.
Sony Pictures Animation recently released Smurfs: The Lost Village and will see two more titles this year: The Emoji Movie (28 July) and The Star (10 November). Its upcoming slate also includes Peter Rabbit, Hotel Transylvania 3 (21 September), the highly anticipated, untitled animated Spider-Man flick in 2018 and the musical animated feature Vivo in 2020.
The post Anthony Vinciquerra roped in to head Sony Pictures Entertainment appeared first on AnimationXpress.
May
15
Technicolor invests in Baselight X to meet increasing demands for HDR finishing
Posted in: AnimationTechnicolor, the world leader in production and post-production services, has extended its colour grading capabilities in Hollywood with FilmLight’s Baselight X system – the latest and most powerful implementation of the Baselight colour grading and finishing system.
HDR colour grading services are available at Technicolor’s post-production facilities globally, but its Hollywood center represents a major film and television production market. The expansion in Baselight grading in this location reflects the increasing demand from the local industry to deliver an uncompromised finish that still pushes creative boundaries. Baselight X provides exceptional power and performance for HDR projects, along with unrivalled colour space management.
HDR is not the only technology where Technicolor is very active. Over the past few years, the group has made a significant commitment to the growth of several next-generation entertainment formats, such as 120 fps stereo 4K, 8K UHD (ultra high definition) and other custom display formats. The architecture of Baselight X ensures Technicolor can rise to the challenge to work at the maximum resolution through every stage in the process – from the original source material to the final deliverables.
Maxine Gervais at Technicolor
Technicolor’s senior supervising colourist, Maxine Gervais, has worked with Baselight for many years. “Of the many things that are important to better serve my clients, one is to work directly from raw camera files,” she explained. “The ability to debayer these files live not only saves time, but it preserves image detail that can be accessed and manipulated during the DI.”
The ultra HD video output – available on all Baselight systems – provides a full 4K 4:4:4 display output at frame rates up to 60p, allowing the user to view 4K work at its native resolution. Additionally Baselight X also incorporates a large, ultra high-speed storage system that connects directly to the internal image processing components, addressing Dolby’s requirement to play 4K (4000) 4096 x 3112 16-bit film scans and cache the results to disk at the same time.
“As camera technologies evolve, it’s become common for shows to capture and deliver 6K (6000) raw files,” added Gervais. “And some shows are moving towards a 4K VFX workflow too. The additional processing power and storage capacity of Baselight X is essential in allowing me to work with today’s larger files, without sacrificing the real-time playback with complex colour grading and compositing that my clients have come to expect.”
Technicolor and FilmLight have a long history of collaboration, with Technicolor facilities in Montreal, New York, Los Angeles and London all offering Baselight as part of their DI pipeline. This gives Technicolor’s colourists and colour scientists ultimate real-time control over high-resolution, high-bit depth HDR grading and finishing. “Technicolor is excited to be able to offer this new powerful tool to their clients,” said Gervais. “And so am I!”
The post Technicolor invests in Baselight X to meet increasing demands for HDR finishing appeared first on AnimationXpress.
May
15
Alex Myung’s animated LGBTQ short ‘Arrival’ portrays the guilt of loving the right person
Posted in: AnimationIt is okay to be the way you are – that is what all stories on the LGBT theme tell you. Acceptance and awareness are the two values raised in any film that revolves around this theme. Yet, each film is unique in its own way as the dilemmas explored are unique.
Written, animated and directed by Alex Myung, Arrival is a 2D animated short film that reflects the life and experiences of Myung himself as a gay man in the city of New York. The film explores one boy’s struggle to face the truth of his love and his life, and reveal it to the person he cares about the most.
The scene starts with a young man taking deep, ragged and quick breaths as he stands in what looks like a room, facing something bright, and a tear rolls down his eye. At that moment, you are forced to believe that something terrible has happened. The film then moves to the flashback where the little boy is having a wonderful time with his mother, clicking pictures and bathing in the beauty of nature. Days pass like that and a time comes when the boy grows up and has to leave for the city in search of a job. With a heavy heart, he bids adieu to his mother and comes to the sparkling city. That his when his journey of finding his love begins.
A still from ‘Arrival’
The film comprises of only music with no dialogues. The communication of the boy and his mother while he is in the city happens through photographs. Both of them share their experiences in their respective places through taking pictures and posting them to the other. Myung has very finely portrayed the anxiousness of the boy when he is new to the city and his ease as he finds his companion and starts exploring the joys of urban life.
Told through the eyes of a young gay man and his relationship with his mother, the film depicts queer culture and the difficulties one faces when contemplating about “coming out”. The characters in the film, while faced with a problem that is centric to those of the LGBT community, speak to those who question any part of their identity and are afraid to confront it.
The film got funded on Kickstarter It has been hand animated frame by frame and digitally inked and coloured. The original score was recorded live with an Orchestra in Nashville, in the state of Tennessee, USA. It is produced by Amy Benaroya with executive producers as John Compton, John Truex and Eric P. Sherman. Upright T-Rex has composed the music while additional inking and colouring is provided by Shelly Low, Keenon Ferrell, Claire Van Ryzin, Josephine Mark and Serene Hu.
Arrival delves into the often-unexamined ripple effect that hiding your true self has on loved ones around you. The film imparts a very simple and touching message – whatever the highs and lows, one must never feel guilty for loving the right person.
Arrival: A Short Film by Alex Myung (2016) from Arrival Short Film on Vimeo.
The post Alex Myung’s animated LGBTQ short ‘Arrival’ portrays the guilt of loving the right person appeared first on AnimationXpress.
May
14
How To Fix a Leaky Faucet
Posted in: Animation
This is a little video that walks you through the steps on how to fix a leaky/dripping American Standard bathroom faucet.
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