I get out of the taxi and it’s probably the only city which in reality looks better than on the postcards, New York. – Milos Forman Ran some “DJI – Osmo Mobile Stabilizer” test. iPhone 7plus. Music by Emune -“”butta” Follow me on Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/andriy_kyryllov/
An excerpt from the upcoming film Buster Williams – Bass to Infinity. This is part 2 of 3 of the story of Buster’s introduction to life on the road with legendary jazz musicians Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. Buster was 18 and right out of high school. Animation by the wonderfully talented Matt Smithson. Audio mix and sound design by Mike Ungar of Sandblast Studios. More to come..!
This is a very special projected to me that I conceived of and directed for one of my favorite clients who shall remain nameless for now. Over several months of prep and R&D we modified a LearJet and flew above the earth looking straight down at the shear beauty of what Mother Nature has to offer us that we all too often miss from the ground. Shot on RED in 8K.
Video: Regie Temporary tattoo: Sasha Unisex Model: Alberta Berlin Muah: Elya Bulochka Dress: AVA11 Music: Glen Porter – Suffer
“Modern Lives” is available for download and streaming: http://smarturl.it/ModernLives
A Plymptoon Production in Association with Blue Rose Music
Words and Music written and recorded by Jackie Greene
http://www.jackiegreene.com/
Director & Animator: Bill Plympton
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Blue Rose Music
MPC India has announced a new addition to its team, as internationally acclaimed visual effects artist Nick Davis has joined it as the VFX supervisor.
With as many as 27 years of experience and some major Hollywood projects such as Batman Forever, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and lately King Arthur: Legend of the Sword under his belt, Davis is a seasoned professional with numerous accolades to his name too.
He has also won an Academy award nomination for his work in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and a BAFTA for Tim Burton’s taste-bud tugging Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Nick Davis now becomes a part of MPC’s international VFX roster that boasts the likes of Gary Brozenich (Pirates of the Caribbean), Adam Valdez (The Jungle Book), Erik Nash (The Mummy), Guillaume Rocheron (Ghost in the Shell).
The post Hollywood VFX Supervisor Nick Davis joins MPC India appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Creodomus CEO Rajendra Praveen
Gaming shows are here to redefine themselves to some notches higher. We are talking about game shows which connects a cartoon character, TV and the game player. Intriguing! Creodomus Entertainment CEO Rajendra Praveen attended MIPCOM 2017 at Cannes, France as a part of the ABAI delegation. Animation Xpress spoke to him at MIPCOM and he shared his excitement about his newly developed out-of-the-box game shows.
Live Interactive Game show
The name of the interactive game show is ‘Run Singoo Run’. Already 300 episodes have been released on the Sun TV network in south and they are running successfully. This idea has been proposed to other channels as well.
Mechanics of the game: The interactive gaming show will give kids a chance to speak to their favourite cartoon characters on TV. The show will remains live with phone numbers on the screen.Children can call and speak to a cartoon character and then it will respond back.There will be a person in the background wearing a motion capture suit who will make movements and react to the child’s call. All this is captured live and streamed. Now this sounds interesting! We can picture this.
For the success of animation of this level, four to five departments worked together to create the final output. It usually takes months and sometimes years for the process. Creodomus has now created the technology that avoids the use of multiple departments and provides results within seconds.
For the first time the idea was taken abroad to MIPCOM 2017. The patent for this whole technology and process is filed under “Creodomus Entertainment Pvt Ltd” and is looking to complete more projects as well.
The duration of the game ‘Run Singoo Run’ game is one minute currently as they want to make sure that as many children as possible get a chance to play the game. Since the show is for one hour, limited kids will be playing the game. Hence the duration is too short to allow more children to play.
Currently, the game has been launched in the regional languages – Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Later on, it will be extended to Hindi, English and other languages as well.
Creodomus CEO Rajendra Praveen feels that the game has an international appeal. He said, “We are getting a lot of support from the Karnataka government and a lot of policies are being passed.”
Three Interactive Concepts
Creodomus has 3 different concepts- one live interactive game show that is for the kids of age group between 4 to 12 years in collaboration with Aadarsh group. There is another live interactive quiz show using BuzzleBot character for the age group between eight to sixteen years in collaboration with EZVidya. It has another very social impactful interactive news show using the character “Common Man” which is still under talks that would have questions related to current issues and what is the public opinion over the issues.
The interactive news show has taken inspiration from late R.K. Laxman and “Common Man” is the protagonist character. Creodomus is working on linking the character with the show where viewers are asked to choose from four options. Then they have to vote for the best one. The idea of the winning approach is then taken for debate. Once done, the message will be passed on to the government.
In a way, the game show will have a social role as well. The show is still in talks and Creodomus has given green signals to proceed and explore the possibilities of the character. The game show has been tested on Sun TV for the last two and a half years and it has become a hit. Wow!
Praveen said, “Common man will also have a corresponding animated cartoon character in order to make the news sharing little sarcastic and a comic tone attached to it. This is something we have seen work in other parts of the world which we haven’t experienced in India.”
In countries outside India, this process is followed with a normal person. Over here, one can do it with an animated cartoon character rather than using a normal person so that people won’t take it too seriously. There will be a cartoon host who will read out the news.
MIPCOM 2017
It had brought two IPs to MIPCOM, one is the Purple Turtle and the second is the Buzzle bot. Praveen said, “ Regarding MIPCOM 2017, I am very excited as many of the clients were very interested in hearing about the concepts and I have got a very good response. We were very confident about their technology and our clients also felt so.”
He added, “ I am really thankful to ABAI for having me as a part of the first Karnataka delegation to MIPCOM and in particular to the joint secretary B.S. Srinivas who helped and guided me throughout the event.”
There are plans to bring the game show in Hindi language as well but it will take some time.These games can be found on Facebook Live, YouTube Live and it is focused primarily on television. Anyone will be able to interact with the characters. It is user friendly on all devices, since the television program concentrates on regions, with YouTube it goes international.
The post Creodomus founder Rajendra Praveen shares his out-of-the-box gaming shows appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Padmavati 3D Trailer launch
Viacom18 did a big announcement today at PVR Icon Mumbai which was thronged by mediapersons for the 3D trailer launch of much awaited film Padmavati. Viacom18 COO Ajit Andhare, PrimeFocus Global CEO Namit Malhotra and actress Deepika Padukone were present at the event.
Viacom COO Ajit Andhare said, “This film is going to be taken all over the world by Paramount Classics. The 100-year old studio is going to distribute this film all over the world, whether its Europe, China, US and beyond. The Hollywood studio have been very impressed with the work and are very keen on it.”
He praised the Sanjay Leela Bhansali epic film based on queen Padmavati saying, “It’s the romance of the big screen, the dark room, the dream world that opens up in front of you and when it’s opened with master-craftsman Sanjay Leela Bhansali, it becomes a spectacle when it meets technology; a spectacle worth looking and waiting for.”
VIACOM18 COO Ajit Andhare
The movie has been converted into 3D as Sanjay Leela Bhansali is someone who thinks as well as visualises a story in three dimensions. There was a superb whistleblowing screening of the 3D trailer of the film at PVR Icon Mumbai with shouts of “once more” which was accepted by the organisers with enthusiasm. It was followed by announcements and interaction with media.
Prime Focus has done the post production work for the film and it was also a proud moment for them. Founder, executive chairman and global CEO of Prime Focus Namit Malhotra said to Animation Xpress at the event, “This was one of our biggest passion projects. We have previously worked on big projects like Avatar, Gravity but working with our own film-maker like Bhansali has been a reason of great excitement and enthusiasm for the whole company.”
He added, “In terms of creative standards that Bhansali sets, it is as good if not better than anything else. There’s no question about.”
The 3D was done across its international as well as domestic offices. Its teams in Canada and in India worked together for creating the majestic and awestrucking Padmavati. Currently Prime Focus have got a lot of Hollywood projects such as Justice League coming up and so is Jumanji.
NamitMalhotra, GlobalCEO, Prime Focus Ltd
On being asked about Bhansali’s reaction after seeing the work done by his team he said, “He absolutely loved it. He himself was very keen to do something new and this film was the perfect opportunity. I haven’t seen him happier in all these years of working together.”
Viacom18 COO Ajit Andhare explained the reason behind going for a 3D conversion to Animation Xpress. He said, “Look at Sanjay’s shots, look at the layers of the set. If you have produced such an epic film it lends itself very well as you get many layers to play with. Then, 3D becomes very meaningful. And that is just one aspect as the geometry, the detailing, the colour and the various tones of it. Sanjay is an artist who loves to play with textures and the also given the way the character are dressed, why wouldn’t it be made into 3D?”
Converting the film to 3D costs more than the cost of the production, but Viacom hopes to recover more than it has invested. It is indeed a financial risk but the bigger question is if one can creatively improve the product then it makes a bigger impact.
Viacom head Andhare remains hopeful about the project, “I’m very enthused, very optimistic. It’s an ambitious film and increasingly I’ve felt more confident, more positive, also given the kind of response we’ve got.”
Creativity makes technology and it is very important to use technology. Prime Focus has done the DI and NY VFXWAALA has worked on with the VFX. All of this has collectively helped in making an impact. We are waiting for the big impact on the silver screen as well!
The post Viacom18 announces Paramount Classics as Padmavati’s international distributor appeared first on AnimationXpress.
As we settle down on our seats in the cinema hall, girding up the loins for what’s set to be showcased on the big screen and sporting a charcoal-black 3D glass, there’s an uncanny sense of exhilaration that engulfs the air. Maybe it’s just the repercussions of the build-up to the release.
Nevertheless, as we sit through an adventure through Taika Waititi’s lens over the next two hours or so, not once does the exhilaration dip. Mind you, no exaggerations there, for Thor: Ragnarok really does whip up a storm that leaves you berserk even long after the end credits roll.
Staged directly after the events of Ultron from two years ago, Thor is caught up in the dark, dystopian universe of Sakaar whereas the evil shadow of Hela, the self-proclaimed Goddess of Death, looms large on the kingdom of Asgard. The onus is now on the God of Thunder to protect his people from the colossal damage that she causes.
Though this superhero-supervilllain face-off narrative reeks monotony, don’t be mislead, for there’s a lot to digest here.
Ragnarok introduces numerous new faces – Taika Waititi’s rocky character Korg, Skurge The Executioner, cheeky and impudent Valkyrie, indulgent Grandmaster – all of which add their own eccentric touch to the narration. They all may not be the strongest characters but are a delight to watch. Hela’s dramatised body language and dialogue delivery is scary to the point of laughter while Hulk’s innocent oblivion is too adorable to ignore. Thor is his own self, wavering between confidence and making a fool of himself, vaguely reminiscent of Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy series. And not to forget how hot he looks when he goes shirtless!
And behold, as Benedict Cumberbatch makes his entry as Doctor Strange, guarding planet Earth from dangers of the other realms. His encounter with the Asgardian brothers leaves you in fits of laughter!
The characters and dialogues (and the VFX undoubtedly, which we will come to next) win it for this one more than the story. Humour here is hidden in the conversations, weaving them subtly with the previous Marvel flicks in a way that the movie appears to be so connected, yet having no relation to the earlier flicks.
Also, this one’s perhaps one of the few films that’s entirely made on green screen. Such is the scale of its visual effects. Right from the first scene to the last, the movie tugs at your ocular nerves with some spell-binding visuals- two particularly being of Fenris Wolf and Surtur (which reminds us of Moana’s Demon Teka) in which you’re almost thrown off your seat.
Industrial Light and Magic, Framestore, Double Negative, Digital Domain, Rising Sun Pictures, Luma Pictures, Method Studios, Image Engine, Iloura, Trixter and Craft Apes have all weighed in with the animation and effects. No wonder the impeccability.
Led Zeppelin’s hair-raising Immigrant Song you’ve seen in the trailer is one background score that stands out the most, making the war cooler and adding swag to the action sequences.
With Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel has truly upped its game and also laid down the gauntlet to its DC counterparts, who are gearing up with a league of their own. But until then, one cannot help but deliberate about the latest events in the MCU and the road that it has paved for an epic war that’s lurking around the corner.
Verdict- Unmissable!
Directed by Taika Waititi and produced by Kevin Feige as well as Marvel Studios, Thor: Ragnarok will hammer his way in theatres on 3 November 2017.
(This review has been jointly written by Sachin Bhat and Anshita Bhatt)
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