A flashback to Valkyrie’s battle against Hela in Thor: Ragnarok is shown in deep slow-mo – it’s one of the coolest scenes in the film, and new in-camera lighting tech on a rig reminiscent of bullet time from Satellite Lab and VFX by Rising Sun Pictures helped make it possible. Find out more at SYFY WIRE.
That line begins the 1997 trailer for Starship Troopers. When I first saw that trailer I was spellbound. When I first saw the film, and realised there was A LOT more going on in the Paul Verhoeven film than people realised, I was hooked. It’s got to be one of the best satires made, and it sure has some of the best VFX I’ve still seen – thanks to a lot of players, from Tippett Studio to Imageworks, ADI and more. Recently I sat down with Phil Tippett to discuss the bug work, and how the film was greenlit, and what he thinks of VFX today – I was giddy doing this interview. Hope you enjoy it at Cartoon Brew.
On Monday evening during a preview screening of DreamWorks Trollhunters Part 2, creator and executive producer Guillermo del Toro announced that the world of Trollhunters will expand to become a trilogy of series called Tales of Arcadia.
On the surface, Arcadia appears to be a slice of timeless Americana, but it is no ordinary town. It lies at the centre of magical and mystical lines that will make it a nexus for many battles among otherworldly creatures including trolls, aliens and wizards.
DreamWorks Trollhunters, the first installment in the Tales of Arcadia trilogy, will be followed by two additional series 3 Below in 2018 and a final chapter Wizards set to debut in 2019.
Following Trollhunters, DreamWorks 3 Below will focus on two royal teenage aliens and their bodyguard who flee a surprise takeover of their home planet by an evil dictator and crash land in Arcadia. Now on the run from intergalactic bounty hunters, they struggle to blend in and adapt to the bizarre world of high school all the while attempting to repair their ship so they can return and defend their home planet.
‘Tales of Arcadia’
DreamWorks Wizards brings together the three disparate worlds of trolls, aliens and wizards who have found themselves drawn to Arcadia. The final chapter of the Tales of Arcadia culminates in an apocalyptic battle for the control of magic that will ultimately determine the fate of these supernatural worlds that have now converged.
Premiering in 2016 to critical acclaim, Trollhunters introduced audiences to the seemingly quiet town of Arcadia and an ordinary kid who embarks on an adventure in a hidden world right beneath his feet, featuring the voices of Anton Yelchin, Kelsey Grammer, Ron Perlman, Steven Yeun, Anjelica Huston and more. The first season had six wins at Creative Arts Daytime Emmys.
DreamWorks Trollhunters is created and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro with Marc Guggenheim (Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow), Rodrigo Blaas (Alma) and Chad Hammes (Dragons: Race to the Edge) and Christina Steinberg (Rise of the Guardians) serving as executive producers. Dan Hageman (The Lego Movie, Ninjago) and Kevin Hageman (The Lego Movie, Ninjago) serve as co-executive producers.
Trollhunters Part 2 premieres on Netflix on 15 December 2017.
The post Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Trollhunters’ to expand to a trilogy series ‘Tales of Arcadia’ appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Digital Domain, one of the world’s largest and most innovative providers of visual effects and immersive experiences, has set up its state-of-the-art VFX studio in Hyderabad, India.
Digital Domain’s ground-breaking visual effects appear in films such as “Titanic,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and recent blockbusters “Furious 7”, “Deadpool” and “Spider-Man:Homecoming”. Our artists have won more than 100 major awards, including Oscars, Clios, BAFTAs, and Cannes Lions.
We invite applications for Pipeline TDs & Core Software Profiles, from people who believe in their ability to craft an impactful leap in the Digital Domain’s VFX Production Pipeline. While believing in nurturing and investing in everyone’s potential, we want to strengthen our team with candidates from relevant Visual Effects/CG experience, across the following profiles:
Qualifications
Preferred
Qualifications:
Preferred:
Qualifications:
Preferred:
Interested candidates can send their CVs & worklinks at ddindia_recruit@d2.com or apply at our DD Career’s page (select Hyderabad at https://lnkd.in/fUsmuW5)
The post Digital Domain appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Abhishek Maheshwari
The Walt Disney Company in India today announced the appointment of Abhishek Maheshwari as country head for India.
Maheshwari, who joined Disney in 2012 and was previously VP and head (media networks & interactive), will now be responsible for all of Disney’s businesses reporting to Walt Disney International, South Asia executive vice president and managing director Mahesh Samat.
“Abhishek is an astute and transformative business leader. Since joining the company, he has championed and driven strategic changes that have positioned our businesses to achieve consistent significant growth,” Samant said.
Maheshwari has held several leadership roles in corporate strategy and business development, consumer products and interactive and, most recently, as the head of integrated media networks. Prior to working for The Walt Disney Company, he worked for Kubera and McKinsey & Company at its US and India offices.
“It is a privilege to lead Disney India and I am greatly encouraged by the talent, passion and commitment of our teams across the organisation. Together, our team will focus on bringing the best of Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars and our home grown brands of Hungama, bindass and UTV to Indian audiences and provide great consumer experiences across all our businesses,” said Maheshwari.
India recently was merged under a South Asian hub integrating Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam under the leadership of Mahesh Samat.
The post Walt Disney appoints Abhishek Maheshwari as India country head appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Sony Pictures Entertainment has released yet another trailer of its feature Peter Rabbit, and this time it gets funnier!
While the previous trailer introduced us to the mischievous rabbit, this one actually shows us the feud between Peter (Rabbit) and the house-owner McGregor (played by Domhnall Gleeson).
Throughout the trailer, we see McGregor trying to chase away the Rabbit and his gang from his house as the animal-party’s resolve to not leave becomes firmer. Peter’s broil with McGregor escalates to greater heights than ever before as their fight to gain control of McGregor’s coveted vegetable garden and the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover Bea who lives next door (Rose Byrne) extends to the Lake District and London.
Various elements in the trailer focus on humour around the animals, which makes it a delight to watch. For instance, the porcupine’s body shoots spikes when she comes in contact with a live wire!
In Peter Rabbit, the mischievous and adventurous hero who has captivated generations of readers now takes on the starring role of his own contemporary comedy.
James Corden voices the character of Peter with playful spirit and wild charm, with Margot Robbie, Daisy Ridley and Elizabeth Debicki performing the voice roles of the triplets Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail respectively.
The film is slated for a 9 February 2018 release.
The post Peter Rabbit and McGregor in animated conflict in new trailer appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Senior founding member of TASI, Tony Singh addressing the audience
The Animation Society of India (TASI) celebrated 16 glorious years of voluntary services in India by organising Anifest India 2017 at Jai Hind College, Mumbai on 4 November, 2017. The biggest annual animation festival in India, “Anifest India” is 13 years old and is an attempt to nurture the art of animation in India. It was a superb effort by the TASI team this year.
The main reason behind organising “Anifest India” is to showcase the talents of new animators within the industry to everyone. This year big names like Green Gold Animation, Technicolor, Cartoon Network, Toonz Animation, Whistling Woods International were the sponsors.
Vaibhav Kumaresh, founder and director of Vaibhav Studios and a part of the organising team for Anifest India spoke to Animation Xpress. He said, “The show is presented to be as informal as possible while keeping the atmosphere friendly and inviting to the audience.We also like to pack the show with plenty of audience involvement like sketching or question and answer round.”
He added, “The show is meant to be educational and inspirational to other new age animators as well.I am personally thrilled that this year we are showcasing Indian artists who are creating amazing original content across various formats. These artists have successfully paved new paths to reach their audiences. Their efforts I’m sure will inspire more budding content creators to join the band wagon!”
Vaibhav More
Since the event was for two days in a row, a variety of content was portrayed. The audience showed a positive reaction to the event as seen in the questions they have asked. It shows how curious they are and open to the information shared by the speakers. More than half the audience are students, the invitees are usually sent to members of the industry. This event has helped bring the community together. For new film producers, they get a chance to meet some of the most talented animators of the industry.
Live Sketching session
Live Sketching session
Ever tried sketching with charcoal? No! Well that’s the fun which happened in the first session. It was conducted by industry professionals like Chetan Sharma, E Suresh, Vaibhav Kumaresh, Vaibhav More and Vivek Ram. The event began with encouraging the crowd to sketch their surroundings.
Co-founder and director of Mumbai based animation studio Animagic India Chetan Sharma started a rough sketch of a man holding his mobile phone. He explained that he likes to record his surroundings by sketching them out. After the sketch was complete, the audience shared their drawings which were remarkable and much appreciated.
Co-founder and director of Mumbai based animation studio Animagic India Chetan Sharma in the live sketching session
Chetan Sharma spoke to Animation Xpress about Anifest, “The importance of this event is to bring people together and share their projects with the audience. This is why I feel very happy to be a part of the show and share my experiences. Everyone that works in this industry is a learner, hence in an event like this, it gives us all a chance to learn something new. We welcome more people to take advantage of this opportunity.”
He added, “ Our team has been working in the animation industry for about two decades and understand the importance of sketching . The objective of the event is to plant this idea into people’s heads about the fundamentals of artistic creation. In order for them to start creating projects of their own.”
Eeksaurus Studio founder Suresh Eriyat displayed pictures of all the doodles he creates while travelling and also shared how he likes to record all his experiences.Vaibhav More also on stage shared his expertise about animation. The bottom line is that to be a good animator, one needs to keep recording everything by drawing and sketching.
Suresh also gave a back story about his experiences and his love to doodle his surroundings, he displayed a drawing of the men’s toilet. There was another doodle that he shared about him standing against the wind with the intention of relieving himself. He unintentionally messed up; while the person behind him sat down to avoid the wind.
Live sketching session
Next he presented a short animated film titled “What’s your brown number” which has not yet been released to the public . The film is about the craze for fair skin tone in our country and how brown skin is put down. It had an interesting concept of brown colour number and was quite humourous and witty in appeal.
The second incubation project was made by a student Ananya who has been mentored by Suresh and has made a similar film called “The Art of Aping”. The story revolves around the concept of how Indians are aping the western culture. It also raised concerns on situations like how while blindly aping the western lifestyle, young adults send their parents to old age homes.The target audience for the films are for the Indian society and currently not meant for international audiences.
animator Ananya who showcased her animated film
Ananya said to Animation Xpress, “It took nine months to work on the project. A lot of efforts was put in for making this film a success. This is the first screening that I have attended for my film, and I felt very happy being on stage as a director and being asked questions about it.” She agreed, “It’s a good way to educate children and adults, and because its animated content it’s definitely displays a lighter side of the news.
Tokri film screening
As the day rolled on, Eeksauraus Studio displayed a film that hasn’t yet been released in India yet. We got to see the first viewing of their project. It was an Indian premiere of a sweet animated short film with a strong message named as Tokri. The film has a backstory and is based on a real incident. Tokri is the story is about a family of three and the love they share for each other. In the story, the little girl accidentally breaks a golden watch that is greatly adored by her father. And she spends the latter half of the story finding a way to earn money to get it fixed.Suresh narrated his experience of how he had nudged off a street beggar girl at Bandra and that event triggered the making of Tokri.
There are about 100 characters, everything was made from clay using clay animation. The character, the buildings were re-created as a small model. Music was made using a harmonium to reflect the regular Indian theme. The audio was perfectly designed, as the video did not display the characters having conversations. The audio used for vehicles and the traffic were recorded from actual vehicles, flute player and many other such natural sounds and added it to the film. The buildings were made from thermocol. Suresh wanted the image of the child to be reflected and felt by the audience.
The clay dolls used in Tokri
Suresh feels that animation portrays the essence of the character perfectly. The project originally started in 2010 and was taking a long time to complete. Hence they hired a Polish animator who helped them finish the story quickly. He shared his insights about a being a filmmaker. He said “To be an animation film maker you need to be very patient.”
The movement of the vehicles were done by the use of strings attached to each vehicle re-creating the events of a busy road. Interestingly, many of the sound tracks were done in just one take for the film.Suresh exclaimed that Indian animation industry needs to grow compared to European countries.
Suresh Eriyat spoke to Animation Xpress about his lovely film Tokri which wooed the audience. He said, “It is good to finally have a show for our own audience in India. This film was created has been screened in almost 50 festivals internationally and nationally. We finally managed to bring it to the Mumbai audience and we wanted to share it with our fraternity, that’s the important thing.
By taking this first step it would help broaden the aspirations of the Indian animation industry and no longer remain simply as an outsourced or backup animation company. It’s time to become part of the story telling system.”
The film was loved so much by the audience that there were suggestions to make it compulsory for studying it in animation curriculum as a case study.It took about six long years to make nine minutes of animation. The team faced lot of problems like monetary issues as well as the people involved in the The painstaking efforts and patience shown by Suresh is indeed commendable and it got a big applause from the audience.
Vichar BN with his sculpting session
Sculpting session with Vichar BN
Vichar BN spoke about his experiences in sculpting statues. He explained that Indian artists are very talented and as an artist himself he felt the talent needs to be explored. This talented artist has won an award for the 3D burning dragon, and he also displayed a statue called ‘Smoking Beauty’. Vichar explained that he creates his art through his own inspiration and feelings. He explained the importance of anatomy when making art and the fundamentals of digital sculpting and understanding basic shapes.
“To be a good artist you need create art by exploring the depths of a character, surroundings and the feeling that it needs to portray,” Vichar said to the audience.
Lamput team
Lamput Session
The next session was the much awaited session oozing with laughter and a lot of creativity. Yes Lamput saw, came and conquered all and sundry! Vaibhav Kumaresh who is the founder of Vaibhav studio was very interactive and jolly with all. He was the heart and soul of Anifest with his creative craziness.
The speakers were art director Ganesh Kotale, pre production artist Anand Babu and music composer and sound designer Roto Shah.They shared a glimpse of Lamput shorts which made the audience go hysteric with laughter.
Vaibhav Kumaresh, Founder of Vaibhav Studio
Vaibhav shared the story of how his team first pitched the Lamput show to Nickelodeon but it was declined. Then the idea was pitched to Turner in Hong Kong and the management team got super excited by the three magical words,gooey orange nut case. At some point, Turner wanted to change the colour from orange to red but later on decided to stick to the original colour.
He displayed all the shots and the music behind the scenes and how they designed it. Ganesh Kotale designed the background, art colour, and Roto Shah who is the sound designer and music composer from the team displayed the amazing work he has done for the series. Lamput season 2 will be launched in early 2018.
And recently Vaibhav studio launched an animated short of Lamput based on Halloween.They also showed some of the upcoming Lamput shorts which has not been aired yet exclusively for the audience. They are still in the animatic stage (hand-drawn and without audio). They spoke about how one needs to remain firm and validate one’s logic for creative liberty. But they confessed that Turner gave them a lot of liberty. Vaibhav Studio has a strong willed team and because of this they were able to accomplish everything they set out to do.
Presentation of the animated webseries Rat Race
Rocket Science Animation
The last session of day one of Anifest 2017 was on the topic, “Creating an Indian IP for the digital media – Rat Race”
The session was presented by Gautam Singh and Vivekanada Roy Ghatak who are the founders of Gurgaon based Rocket Science Animation studio. They explained how they created an Indian IP named as Rat Race for the digital media.
Interestingly, Gautam and Vivek revealed jokingly how they had designed the TASI logo and also showed the work they have done including animated ads. They screened an animated commercial video for an app called Truly Madly Unsingle at the event.
Rat Race is an interesting web series about office life and the interactions between colleagues in the office. It is being aired currently on Happii-Fi, the YouTube channel of SAB Group. Neeraj Dwivedi (Guddu), Nobbin, Shikhar Vyas (Chunna) are the some of the main animators who have designed the show and the characters are based on them only.
The three employees have been shown as rats while the boss is a dog who is very sadist in nature. Chugli, the office boy is an informant to the other employees and charges them for secretes that the boss tells him.
They showed the pilot episode which was an interesting episode about how the AC in the office is not working for the employees. Then they try asking the boss to change the AC which is of no use and then they try to get into his room to have a feel of the AC.
Rocket Science Animation Studio founder Vivekanada Roy Ghatak
The series was made for made for the digital media with easy animation and low cost. Both told the story of how they cracked the deal with Sab TV. It was launching 5 digital channels at that time and then they struck a deal of co-partnership with them. The company now co-owns 50 percent of the IP in terms of production, marketing and distribution. They explained that they preferred co-wning the show rather than losing all rights due to a deal. Currently, they have signed the next deal of 21 episodes.
Also, the Rat Race team tried bringing in stars of the film Munna Michael and HalfGirlfriend for its promotion for which they got a lot views but also some negative comments.
The founders agreed that abuses does not affect the popularity of the show and also it is very unpredictable with regards to what works and what does not work in the digital medium.
Gautam said, “ Earlier having one’s own IP was a dream but now its very easy. We did 100 minutes of animation in 6 months.The production was like working on a comic book but the tough part was hiring a writer for an animated series.They wanted to put a female character but the writer made it too obscene but they confirmed that it will be done soon.”
It was indeed a good learning experience for everyone who wants to create one’s own IP in the digital medium. The creative and marketing skills they shared was superb!
This is how day one of Anifest India 2017 ended with loads and loads of creativity, laughter and learning related to the beautiful world of animation. Stay updated with us for all the details about day 2 of Anifest India.
The post TASI Celebrates Anifest India 2017 with live charcoal sketching, Tokri & Lamput screening and a Rat Race appeared first on AnimationXpress.
One of the most burning questions that every card game player analyses over is, where you should really play online rummy. The Indian rummy game has been a rooted part of our tradition and now has moved to the online rummy avatar. Playing with millions of players from all over the country always offers exciting opportunities for the players. Further, the online rummy websites offer attractive cash prizes that can’t really compare with the offline experience. But the question for today is, should rummy players enjoy the game on the desktop or mobile? Let’s see the real difference when you play rummy on mobile vs on desktop.
What does the game really demand?
Rummy card game doesn’t ask for any fancy set up or gaming console. It is a fun game and all it needs is a compatible browser and a stable internet connection. You can start playing the game by just creating an account with the rummy website and picking the game of your choice. Here are the things you should keep in mind when you are playing rummy on the desktop.
What does playing on the mobile mean?
Playing rummy on the mobile comes with its own set of fun elements. As far as the game play is concerned, it is just like playing rummy on the desktop. However, the experience of a rummy player on mobile as compared to a rummy player on desktop is a bit different. Here are the things that change the whole experience for a rummy player.
Conclusion
Rummy can be played from anywhere and playing it on your mobile just adds to the fun. Play when you are stuck in hour long jams, enjoy the game at a boring wedding function or those endless shopping sale tours. No longer you have to wait to reach to your laptop. The power to win cash is now in your palm.
The post Playing Online Rummy on Desktop Vs Mobile appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Redchimpz has come up with an innovative product which attempts to keep children curious and encourage their self-learning skills. With 5D+ Cardz children can take a virtual peek into the animal kingdom or the mysterious world of insects and birds through 3D visualisation and interactive games.
“We are using high-end augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) technologies to make this a lasting and memorable experience for children,” said Redchimpz co-founder and director Yuvraj K. Sharma.
“These days most mothers are career women and often times they have to leave their children (aged three to nine years) in a daycare or under a nanny’s supervision. This can lead to some problems in the child’s mental development as most caregivers may not be in a position to aid their educational processes. Our product aims to fill that gap and assure the parents that their child is learning age-appropriate concepts,” he added.
Each flashcard in 5D+ Cardz the pack contains a quick visual cue along with interesting facts, which promises to rapidly increases your child’s memorisation and recall abilities. Parents can also use these cards as starting points for further exploration and theme based activities. These cards come with a free app that can be used on any smartphone or tablet.
5D+ Cardz is a perfect mix of fun and education. It provides hours of entertainment and mental stimulation through interactive games. AR and VR help visualise new concepts more easily and the use of flashcards promotes “active recall”. Since these cards can be separated into groups depending on how well you know the content or which theme needs more attention, it is the apparently an optimised way to improve memory performance.
The recommended system configuration for using 5D+ Cardz app is 2GB RAM & above and Android OS 5.0 and above/iOS 7.0 and above.The product is available online as well as your nearest toy shop.
The post Redchimpz launches ‘5D+ Cardz’, a virtual jungle safari for kids appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Generations of readers have enjoyed Tinkle and the magazine has changed to keep pace with each new generation that comes. However the essence of Tinkle remains the same – Where learning meets fun.
The Tinkle Toons make Tinkle special. They have been unique and massively popular down the years whether they are our classic toons – Suppandi, Shikari Shambu, Tantri the Mantri and Kalia the Crow or the new kids on the block—Ina Mina Mynah Mo, Defective Detectives, SuperWeirdos, Dental Diaries, WingStar and Wai Knot.
An excerpt form the comic ‘PV Sindhu’
And now, one of India’s oldest comic publications is coming up with fortnightly for the month of November in order to commemorate the thirty-seventh anniversary of Tinkle. Spread between the two issues are: a special story from PV Sindhu, a mega Toon mash-up, the launch of a new Toon series, two winning entries from the Idea Star contest, Tinkle Party Merch, and lots more exciting stories and activities.
Some of the highlights of anniversary issues include:
The fortnightly will also witness the launch of a brand new series YogYodhas and here’s a brief synopsis of the same – While staying and studying at VidyAshray, the school sanctuary for orphans, siblings Bir and Bala come upon a startling secret. The birthmarks on their bodies that get them called “freaks” by other students are not simple birthmarks. The marks indicate that the two kids are the last young of the YogYodhas, a secret group of Spirit Warriors with magical powers.
With YogYodhas, Tinkle explores a fictional philosophy and martial art form, based on yoga and kalaripayattu, for the first time. It will be a fantasy action-adventure set in present-day Kuruva as well as the Silent Valley (both based on actual places in Kerala).
The series has been conceived and written by Rajani Thindiath, illustrated by Vineet Nair, coloured by Varda Kumrotkar and lettered by Prasad Sawant.
Comprising of 52-pages each, the Tinkle team of writers, artists and designers have made ends meet in order to bring out the special issues.
Tinkle CEO Rajani Thindiath also explains the viewpoint of this anniversary special, “Every anniversary is an occasion to say Thank You to Uncle Pai who founded Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle, especially when many of us on the Tinkle team grew up reading these beautifully fun comics. Each anniversary is also a Thank You to our readers who span generations.”
“So it is a joy to brainstorm and figure out how special we can make each new anniversary. With these fortnightlies, we had the pleasure of knowing the gracious PV Sindhu who contributed a story from her childhood. We had a blast building a new world for the latest character series YogYodhas. We sifted through ideas and votes from the IdeaStar contest to come up with the best SuperWeird power, best WingStar villain and best monster for the Dental Diaries series. And then, figuring out which characters will combine to provide the maximum madness to make up a Mega-Toon mash-up,” she further added.
The first fortnightly will be from 1 to 15 November 2017, followed by the second from 16 to 30 November 2017.
The post Tinkle to launch PV Sindhu comic and more special issues for thirty-seventh anniversary appeared first on AnimationXpress.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A. during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
