Jan
08
VFX Voice on The Last Jedi
Posted in: Animation
What a thrill to chat to ILM vfx supe Ben Morris about The Last Jedi (we did this a few months before the film was out – it was tough!). VFX Voice magazine has the story.
Jan
08
HopMotion opens new facility in Hyderabad; on-job training to begin this summer
Posted in: AnimationMumbai-based animation studio HopMotion opened a new facility close to Hi Tech City area in Hyderabad. The 3,000 square feet office space opened its door in December 2017.
Apart from working on shows for television, digital and OTT platforms, the full-service 2D animation studio has also invested in creating its original IPs. “To cater to the booming digital content market internationally as well as in India, HopMotion has been growing at a great pace and needed to expand its capacity. This was the main reason behind starting a new production facility in Hyderabad,” says HopMotion founder and CEO Anish Patel.
Mumbai will remain as the centre of operations functioning as the creative hub housing writers and content development staff, while the Hyderabad facility will function as the production studio for 2D and 3D animation and will house storyboard artists, animators and video editors.
Neel Lukkani, an industry veteran with 15 years experience and one of the founding members of HopMotion, will head the Hyderabad facility.
The new studio can accommodate 50 artists and also has a classroom for training. The company’s on-the-job training program will begin in summer this year, for young animators looking to kick-start their careers in animation. Talented young entry-level animators will be trained in Toon Boom Harmony and Story Board Pro and will have the opportunity to work side by side with industry veterans.
The on-job-training classroom at the Hyderabad facility
On choosing Hyderabad as the location of the new studio, Patel explains, “While Mumbai is rich in creative talent when it comes to writing and live-action content, Hyderabad has a large pool of talented animators skilled in both traditional animation as well as digital. Everyone recognises Hyderabad for its IT talent but it is also a hub for VFX and animation talent. So it was the obvious choice.”
The studio follows a completely digital pipeline and is powered by Toon Boom Harmony animation software and Story Board Pro. Toon Boom’s India representative Hans Van Der Sluys adds, “As HopMotion expands into Hyderabad with a new state-of-the-art Toon Boom Harmony studio facility, we look forward to working closely with the team and helping it with software support and training needs. Currently, there is a huge demand internationally for studios who provide high quality 2D animation services and HopMotion is well placed to cater to that demand. We wish them the very best on their new expansion.”
The team at the new studio
Patel exclaims, “HopMotion was founded in 2013 and started with a small team of animators. Over the years, it has grown from strength to strength. Our core passion has always been to tell stories and create a slate of original IPs, the first of which titled KuKu Mey Mey will be out in India later this year.”
The post HopMotion opens new facility in Hyderabad; on-job training to begin this summer appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
08
Releases galore for Aniruddho Chakraborthy’s Chariot Comics in an eventful 2018!
Posted in: Animation
Chariot Comics founder Aniruddho Chakraborty
The year of 2018 would be the one set in stone for Chariot Comics. With as many as four different titles lined-up, Aniruddho Chakraborthy and co. are all set to take the Indian comic sphere by storm. It has been a long time coming, but the VRICA: Dawn of the Wolf writer recollects the rough and tumble they’d been through last year to bring it all about.
“To be honest, 2017 was a relatively slow year. We spent most of the year on developing the titles we are looking to launch this year and taking a back seat on rushing the production. We also spent the year scouting around for talent, both new and old, to expand the boundaries of the storytelling that we are doing.”
A harbinger of new series in Chariot Comics is AISHA: Of Children and Monster #1, dedicated to the kids and young adults fan base that’s a “segue from the usual mature reader titles” and aims to present something “fun and bright” to the same. It is slated for an October release, during the time of Hyderabad Comic Con.
Having cast an uncanny spell on its readers in 2016, the dynamic duo of Anga and Morphuz are ready to pack another hefty punch in their upcoming edition, Damned: The Madness/The Shadows Part One. Joined by a third member in Karki, these meta-humans embark on an all-new journey that sees them come to terms with a new set of resources. However, there’s a twist in the tale as the government has now formed a meta-human and mystical black-ops division, endangering their existence, whereas Anga contorts the case further with an agenda of her own.
The second chapter in the Damned saga builds on the sleeper hit Vampire Monks of Piyang, to which Aniruddho adds, “We debut a new penciller in Amit Kumar to our line-up with this issue. We loved his raw, untrained and weird artwork style and thought it works perfectly with the Damned title.”
“We are targeting a Mumbai Comic Con release, which maybe in November.”
Alongside, the year would also witness two new editions of (here’s the big one) VRICA, which apparently holds a special place in his heart. Their most successful publication, Team VRICA marks the end of an era with their third and the final chapter Descension Pact, and Aniruddho could literally sum up the mood at its launch – “As a creator, I’m probably going to be crying on stage when it launches at Delhi Comic Con. So you’re welcome to see me cry!”
The penultimate edition of the title, VRICA: Nightstalker, releases around the same time and would be narrated in the form of short stories introduced by a new writer. “We have roped in someone who has done some very good work in the Indian indie comic book scene with other publishers and we are hoping to make that official announcement sometime soon.”
Barring this one, Aniruddho takes the writing credits for the other three titles.
So the plans are firmly in place, but what stages of development have they reached? “All the titles are in different stages of completion currently. While Ayesha is nearly complete and should be ready in the next one month (fingers crossed!), Damned is now being pencilled/inked. We have finished the story for VRICA: Descension Pact and should go into the production stage soon, while VRICA: Nightstalker is in the early stages of development for now.”
Almost three years have gone by since the last VRICA title; that’s exactly how long the fans have been clamouring for the new edition. But Aniruddho is mindful of it and has a reasonable explanation for the delay in the releases. “Obviously we have disappointed some people and loyal followers with the time we’ve taken between the last VRICA title and the latest one – but that’s a conscious decision. I honestly, didn’t want to rush it and wanted it to the best story we could come out with for the series. The VRICA series has been our mainstay and our most popular, and it also remains to the closest to my heart. As the creator, I’m willing to delay it, if I know what comes out eventually is the best shot I could have taken at it.”
As the VRICA trilogy sees a culmination, the writer has made several indelible memories on the road, which he gleefully reminisces – “Out of the many, there are three incidents that stand out though – and a lot of them pertain to Ascension Protocol. When I was writing it, I was personally in a very weird place – and I guess it somehow reflected in the story I was writing. So, I remember having a very good laugh when my friends Vineet and Soubhik, who had read the early draft of the script, both called up individually to ask me if I was alright and if needed help. I thought that was a pretty great validation of the places we had gone to with the second one.”
Aniruddho Chakraborthy with Comic Con India founder Jatin Verma
“The second memory I have is of Jatin Verma, the founder of Comic Con, reading it and giving me a one-line review ‘I liked it, but you might have Snydered it a little bit.’ That was a such an honest review at so many levels. He was right in the sense that it was edited too tight as a comic – and given the math of comic book production in India, that was a damning indictment on the limits that exist to expansive storytelling in comics books in India.”
“The last memory that stands out is hilarious. I once had a teenager buy the first volume once because his ex-girlfriend was named VRICA! He went on to tell me that he wanted to buy it since the violence shown in the comic was reflective of their failed relationship! Kids these days, I tell ya!” he further stated.
With the four launches, 2018 marks their busiest period since the provenance of Chariot Comics in 2012, but has absolutely no qualms about it. “Since we’ve had a head start, like I mentioned, by using most of 2017 for pre-production – I think we are in a comfortable space in many ways. You want to be busy and having fun making things, and I think 2018 is going to be just that!”
And finally, here’s what he expects once the comics are out – “Let’s be honest, more you put expectations on something, more you may tend to be disappointed since not everything works according to your best laid plans. So no concrete monetary or numerical expectations per se. That’s because we are in a comfortable position in terms of numbers and sales rotation in general – both online and on ground. However, with AISHA, we are really hoping to give the kids something relatively meaningful yet weird, wonderful and fun to read.”
“Damned is slated to be our platform to expand the Chariotverse, so let’s see how that goes. With VRICA: Nightstalker we are aiming to get a new voice to our storytelling and with Descension Pact, we hope to provide the epic ending that the series deserves,” he concludes.
The post Releases galore for Aniruddho Chakraborthy’s Chariot Comics in an eventful 2018! appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
08
Possibly the biggest success story in the gaming scene throughout the previous year would be PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). An unfinished MOD by a single person, Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene, topped the charts of Steam, making it the game with the highest number of concurrent players surpassing Valve’s Dota 2 and even Counter Strike: Global offensive.
The game, before it was even formally released from early access, took over the gaming community by storm. Streamers and esports organisations were swift to hop on to the bandwagon and soon it became a title to be reckoned with.
Almost every gamer I know, who enjoys online multiplayers was smitten by the PUBG bug. Given the game was still replete with bugs and glitches coupled with very mediocre graphics, it was possibly the mode which made the game what it is today.
The idea of this mode came to the creator as an inspiration from the 2000 movie, Battle Royale and hence the nomenclature. A large map plays host to around 100 players per match who are dropped on an abandoned island through parachutes. The players must find tools and weapons in order to fight against others. As the match rolls in the playable area on the map shrinks, forcing players towards an inevitable faceoff, the last player or team standing wins the match.
Now, the mode seems to have unmistakably noticed by other people in the industry who are already integrating it into their own games. Initially, it was picked up by Epic Games for their title Fortnite, as a standalone mode. While not necessarily anguished, the creators of PUBG, Bluehole, were displeased with Epic Games’ way of promoting the mode, which is also free to play.
With speculations rife on which will be the next title adhering to the mode, the gaming circuit finally found their answer a few days back. Hi-Rez Studio’s Paladins will soon be having its own Battle Royale-like mode. Titled ‘Battlegrounds’, the first hero shooter battle royale mode, the studio of Smite fame is also set to showcase its take on the mode.
Should we expect more of these modes or new titles circling around it?
We might as well. Given the popularity PUBG has risen to, it will not be a surprise if more developers try to encash on the current trend. Already Tencent is planning to release PUBG in China with a localised version, even on mobile devices.
The “Last Man Standing” genre of games seems to be here to stay, or is PUBG enjoying the harbinger status?
Possibly the likelihood of the later being true are less. More and more studios might try to capitalise on the mode as it provides a lot of stickiness despite not being an MMORPG. If you’re playing a match as a team and your teammates are not around when you get shot, the chances of your demise are pretty high, and in most (ideal) scenarios you would be waiting for your team to finish their matches while spectating their game and hence the catch.
PUBG recently went ahead of its early access status to a formal release. It was also recently launched on Xbox One and continues to push out patches with new maps and gameplay improvements, but in the end, it’s the gameplay and the mode which is the deciding factor for the players to continue swarming the battlegrounds.
The post Hi-Rez Studios’ ‘Paladins’ next to join the battle royale bandwagon appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
08
‘Sachin Saga Cricket Champions’ reaches two million downloads; mobile esports event planned for IGS
Posted in: AnimationJetSynthesys’ Sachin Saga Cricket Champions announced a milestone of achieving two million downloads within less than a month of its launch. The mobile game has now become one of the top-most downloaded cricket games on Google Play in the month following its launch and the fastest cricket game to reach this download milestone.
Launched last month by the Master Blaster himself, the game attempts to give fans an opportunity to relive the legend’s career by stepping into his shoes. Sachin Saga is the only game to receive almost one million pre-registrations on Google Play and was also featured as #1 by Google on pre-registration amongst top global titles.
Going beyond the digital realm, JetSynthesys is all set to celebrate this milestone with the introduction of mobile esports to cricket fans in India and the qualifier rounds began on 5 January, 2018. For the first time ever, the gaming company will host the mobile esport finals at the India Gaming Show from 19 to 21 January 2018 with a prize pool of Rs. one lakh and more up for grabs.
Talking about this milestone JetSynthesys vice chairman and MD Rajan Navani said, “The game has grown from strength to strength since its launch and we are absolutely thrilled that it has become so popular among cricket fans and mobile game lovers. Celebrating two million downloads, we’re bringing mobile esports to the country for the first time in cricket and aim to blur the line between physical and digital, and simultaneously engage gaming enthusiasts in a unique experience of sporting events.”
The post ‘Sachin Saga Cricket Champions’ reaches two million downloads; mobile esports event planned for IGS appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
08
Disney-Pixar’s family entertainer Coco iced the cake of its commercial success by bagging the prestigious award for the Best Animated Feature Film at the seventy-fifth edition of the Golden Globe today.
The Lee Unkrich directorial fought off a challenge from the likes of Fox/Blue Sky studios’s Ferdinand, DreamWorks Animation’s comedy The Boss Baby, Cartoon Saloon’s The Breadwinner and BreakThru Productions’ Loving Vincent.
Moreover, Coco had also received a nomination for the best original song of 2018, Remember Me.
Pixar brings the movie to life by celebrating the diverse shades of colour, painting the celluloid from the palette of florescent blue, yellow, orange and red, against the backdrop of rural Mexico. This astounding piece of animation with rich and bright visuals, which garnered tremendous plaudits upon its release, is one of the instrumental reasons for Coco bagging home the award.
The music was composed by the ever so talented Michael Giacchino who had also worked on the music for another animated movie namely Inside out that had won the Golden Globe award in 2016.
One of the most well known critics Rotten Tomatoes posted its rating at 97 per cent as well as shared its critical consensus: Coco‘s rich visual pleasures are matched by a thoughtful narrative that takes a family-friendly and deeply affecting approach to questions of culture, family, life, and death. This and a lot more sheds light behind the efforts taken to produce this wonderful animation worth the honour.
Disney Pixar’s Coco released on 22 November 2017 and has grossed over $589 million worldwide against a budget of $175-200 million and continues to win hearts all over.
The post ‘Coco’ wins Best Animated Feature Film at the Golden Globe 2018 awards appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
07
Batman Dracula (1964) by Andy Warhol
Posted in: Animation
Yes, famed pop artist Andy Warhol made an unauthorized (albeit strange) Batman movie. Andy Warhol was a fan of the old Batman movie serials and his film was a homage to the serials and Dracula movies. Little is known about this movie, a lot of the footage becoming lost upon his death. This only contains about 40% of the entire film (as the entire film ran about an hour); the rest has pretty much fallen into obscurity. Some of the footage was shown in the 2006 documentary “Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis.” Click the links below for more info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Dracula
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057875/
http://lostmedia.wikia.com/wiki/Batman_Dracula_(Rarely_Screened_1964_Film%29
https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-3506333571/batman-and-dracula-the-collaborations-of-jack-smith
This is a compilation of the videos posted by terminal pictures/Andre Perkowski:
BATMAN/DRACULA/Warhol/Smith/Mutation/Cut-Up Pt.1
Velvet Underground & Nico “The Nothing Song” Warhol/Smith (BATMAN/DRACULA) Pt.2
(Part 3 could not be found)
BATMAN/DRACULA/Warhol/Smith/Mutation/Cut-Up) Pt.4
BATMAN/DRACULA/Warhol/Smith/Mutation – “Normal Nights for Jack Smith” 2000 Pt.5
Enjoy!
Jan
07
Meerkat feeding time is the cutest
Posted in: Animation
The Meerkats at Symbio Wildlife Park in Sydney just love feeding time with their favourite human, Zoo Keeper Beth.
Each and every day of the week visitors to the Southern Sydney based zoo can get behind the scenes to have their very own up close and personal an experience with the little cuties.
For more information or for licensing contact:
Kevin Fallon | Symbio Wildlife Park
email: kevin@symbiozoo.com.au
Ph: +61 2 4294 1244
Website: www.symbiozoo.com.au
Jan
07
Downsizing VFX Supervisor Jamie Price breaks down the history of people miniaturization in movies. In this timeline, Price explains the special effects techniques like forced perspective, compositing, the Schüfftan process, rotoscoping, motion control, motion capture and more. Movies include Bride of Frankenstein, Dr. Cylops, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Darby O’Gill and the Little People, Hook, The Indian in the Cupboard, The Lord of the Rings franchise, Ant-Man, and, of course, Downsizing.
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VFX Expert Breaks Down The History of Shrinking People in Movies | WIRED
Jan
07
A Band of Thieves
Posted in: Animation
The story of a young, western-obsessed girl hell-bent on turning her quiet Texas suburb into the lawless playground of her imagination. Official Selection: FantasiaFest 2015 Official Selection: Mill Valley Film Festival 2015 Official Selection: Hamptons International Film Festival Official Selection: Santa Fe Independent Film Festival Official Selection: deadCENTER Film Festival 2015 Official Selection: Oaxaca Film Festival 2015 Official Selection: Holly Shorts Film Festival Official Selection: Tall Grass Film Festival Official Selection: Williamsburg Film Festival 2015 Official Selection: USA Film Festival 2015 Official Selection: Alamo City Film Festival 2015 Winner: “Best Film Shot In Texas” Alamo City Film Festival 2015 Official Selection: Take Two Film Festival 2015 Official Selection: San Antonio Film Festival 2015 Winner: “Best San Antonio Filmmaker” San Antonio Film Festival 2015 Official Selection: MEME PAS PEUR Festival 2017 Official Selection: Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival Groningen 2017 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Written & Directed by Fidel Ruiz-Healy Produced by Tyler Walker, Fidel Ruiz-Healy, and Jordan Michael Blake A Product of The American Standard Film Co. Olivia Osteen as Josie Quinn Erickson as Ryan Logan Macaulay as Barry Julie Phillips as The Mom Fidel Ruiz-Healy as The Bank Teller Assistant Director // Tyler Walker Executive Producers // Josephine Ruiz-Healy & Eduardo J. Ruiz-Healy Associate Producer // Behrad Gramian Cinematographer // Conor Murphy Gaffer // Chelsea Soby Best Boy // Wilson Zellar Grips // Josiah Jones, Noah Acevedo, Ashley Flores Assistant Camera // Nicolas Wachter, Ethan Cohen Production Designer // Jordan Blake Art Director // Zack Block Set Decorator // Eduardo Ruiz-Healy, Behrad Gramian Costuming // Anastasia Holl Hair and Makeup // Sonia Holl Production Sound // Nick Hepding Boom Op // David Sanchez Editor // Katherine Yates Assistant Editor // Ari Sellinger Sound Designer // Douglas Szafir Sound Mix // Bobb Barito Production Manager // Christina Tellez Associate Producer // Behrad Gramian Locations Manager // Maggie Reville Catering // Carlota Rodriguez Ruiz-Healy Visual Effects // Josh Depew Colorist // Alan Gordon Trailer Editor // Sophia Harvey Special Thanks // The San Antonio Film Commission Shot on Location in San Antonio, Texas & Seguin, Texas Made at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with the guidance of Debbie Reinisch
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