Netflix confirms season four renewal of ‘F is for Family’

Netflix has renewed the animated comedy F is for Family, for a fourth season consisting of 10 episodes. The adult show is inspired by the life of stand-up comic Bill Burr is set in the suburbs of United States in the 1970s, and features voices of Laura Dern, Justin Long and Sam Rockwell along with Burr himself.

Produced by Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Television in association with Gaumont International Television (Narcos), F Is for Family is executive produced by co-creators Burr and Michael Price alongside Vaughn, Peter Billingsley, Katie O’Connell, Elisa Todd Ellis, Sidonie Dumas and Christophe Riandee.

Netflix animation slate includes adult animated comedies like BoJack Horseman, Paradise PD, Disenchantment, Big Mouth and the forthcoming Tuca & Bertie from Lisa Hanawalt and comic Tiffany Haddish.

The show made its debut on Netflix on 18 December 2015, subsequently dropping season two on 30 May 2017. However, the series got back to a fourth quarter release strategy when it premiered season third on 30 November 2018. The new episodes are slated to debut in 2020.

The post Netflix confirms season four renewal of ‘F is for Family’ appeared first on AnimationXpress.

All you want to know about ‘Simmba’s VFX

Simmba‘s rage has swept over the nation like wild-fire, still going strong into its third week. One of the only successful hits of the year, last year’s crowning glory Simmba cruised its way into the current year too with its long stint on the big screen as fans just can’t get enough of our beloved cop. VFX has played a crucial part in its success. We spoke to the NY VFXWAALA team who informed about the intricacies of the visual effects involved in making the movie as stunning as it is.

Simmba has been a successful project which involves a fair bit of VFX. Please tell us about the role of VFX in the movie.

Simmba is a very special movie for NY VFXWAALA, we started the artwork and concept design almost a year back from the release, our Senior VFX supervisor Ranadheer Reddy was involved from the pre-production stage of the movie having an active involvement throughout the shoot, as majority of the movie was shot on sets or against chroma. Understanding the Director’s vision and imagining the way the film must be shot and worked upon in post-production in-order to achieve the desired result, our VFX Creative Head Naveen Paul having an Eye of Excellence, has given the stunning visuals which has added value to the film. With a strong production planning done by our Chief Operating Officer Vinoth Ganesh alongside with the Senior VFX Producer Sandeep Mane who were actively involved in coordinating with Rohit Shetty Films and DI Team in getting every piece information required by the creative team.

What were the challenges that you faced in the process?

The challenges we faced were about the huge amount of set extensions and 3D work which must look similar and match to the original set, we had to do the Lidar 3D scanning of the entire set and create a Virtual Set in Maya in the studio so that all the set extensions look real and seamless.

We’ve seen some chase scenes with stunning water sequences and droplets flying around. Could you discuss as to what sort of software and techniques you have used to create the same?

This film has many sequences which will give you goose bumps, one of them is the ‘dhobhi ghat’ sequence, which was originally shot at a different location altogether, the challenge was to make it look real, and as the desired output was supposed to exceed the expectations we used a combination of 2D and 3D VFX technology to give it a perfect look as per the director. The technology involves multilayer comping with water and cloth simulation done is software’s like NukeX, Maya and Realflow.

How many shots were delivered?

We have worked on more than 1800 VFX  shots which comes up to a duration one hour and 43 Mins.

How many people worked on the project and how much time did it take?  

The entire team of NY VFXWAALA, segregated in across both 2D and 3D departments, who have worked for more eight months straight on this film.

The hard-work has reflected well on the big screens as is evident from the sheer numbers at the theater. We hope filmmakers continue to floor us with such amazing VFX fused with the brilliant storytelling.

The post All you want to know about ‘Simmba’s VFX appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Playgames 24X7 unveils cricket fantasy game ‘MY11Circle’ similar to ‘Dream11’

Playgames 24X7 has entered the fantasy sports genre of games with the launch of the game MY11Circle. The game aims to provide the audience with an experience of fantasy cricket the game of skills and will be available from 1 February 2019.

Considering the year 2019 and the time when IPL 2019 and World Cup 2019 are around the corner, the launch of the fantasy cricket is quite a strategic launch. The game will be available on GooglePlay from 1 February and initially, it will be only supported to Android devices. Although they have plans to expand it on their PC website and iOS, as exclusively said to AnimationXpress. The gameplay of My11Circle is quite similar to fantasy sports game Dream 11 but centered around cricket but later they might explore to other sports genre as well.

“Today is a very important day for Playgames24x7 as we launch our first ever fantasy game. We, of course, start with cricket but the goal is to offer multiple games in this format. Our focus on understanding player behaviour has enabled us to provide awesome game playing experiences and we shall continue that endeavor by providing awesome fantasy cricket experiences to our players,” shared  Playgames24x7 co-CEO and co-founder Bhavin Pandya.

It is an online game where users create a virtual team of real-life players and earn points based on the performances of these players in real matches. A user who scores the maximum points in his joined contest attains the first rank on the leader-board. A user has to pay a certain fee to join a contest and can win real cash. To participate in a game, a user must be at least 18 years old players with age of 25 years are preferable as the game brand targeting that age group of players.

My11Circle currently offer players to choose from international and domestic cricket games with option from IPL to other international cricket leagues. Players have an option to select from practice or cash games post registration. The platform encourages fans to deeply engage with the sport which results increase in participation and viewership. Also, the game offers a real-time score plate and statistic to keep the decision clear to the audience. Not only that during the selection of the team members the players will get an option to know the metrics and form of the team member they are choosing for the game.

My11Circle business head Saroj Panigrahi added, “Playgames 24×7 has a history of successful growth across different product platforms and is excited to introduce the My11Circle fantasy sports app for all Indian cricket lovers. Fantasy sports have great potential in our country and complements Play Games24x7’s existing portfolio perfectly.”

As per the IFSG report, online fantasy gaming has witnessed a boom in India with the user base seeing exponential growth, right from 20 lakhs in 2016 to over 4 crores in 2018. With this pace sustained, India is all set to beat the United States and Canada that has 5.93 crores Fantasy Sports users.

Also, the existing RummyCircle player does not have to download the platform separately, as there will be one tab available in the RummyCircle after 1 February to enter into the game My11Circle directly and vice versa. Pandya further mentioned to AnimationXpress “this way it will help to attract the existing RummyCircle player to play My11circle and merge the audiences in both the platform.”

On asking is Playgames 24X7 choosing bitcoins to pay the cash prize in answer Pandya expressed, “Playgames 24X7 believe in 100 per cent real legitimate platforms for payment which includes Paytm, Phone-pay, bank transfer, since bitcoins in India is yet a debatable way of payment mode, therefore, we have not incorporated it. Maybe in a few years, when it will become a legitimate payment option, we might incorporate it in our platforms”.

Like Dream11 Playgames 24X7 also want to endorse a cricketer as My11Circle brand face but they are yet to decide on it as told to us.  The brand believes that Indian fans worship cricket. From IPL to overseas tours, to ICC championships, all cricket events are like festivals for the Indian fans not only that they believe, through this game they will target audience to the north as they believe ‘fantasy cricket is a game of skill.

The post Playgames 24X7 unveils cricket fantasy game ‘MY11Circle’ similar to ‘Dream11’ appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Google Imagery – Case Study

I’m pretty sure you can’t pack much more into this crazy weekend of visual effects in Vancouver

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Did you see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and want to know how it was made?

Did you see Mary Poppins Returns and wonder how they combined 2D animation and live action?

Did you see Roma and not realise there were any visual effects in it at all?

All those projects – and a lot more – are being presented on at SPARK FX in Vancouver at Emily Carr University on 8, 9 and 10 February. It’s an insane event that’s literally for people at every stage of their effects careers, and also for those who are simply VFX or film enthusiasts.

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Visual effects supervisor Rob Legato.

The big ticket items include: a keynote from The Jungle Book and The Lion King visual effects supervisor Rob Legato, a presentation by Imageworks on Into the Spider-Verse, a look behind the scenes from Framestore at Mary Poppins Returns, insights into the VFX work by MPC for Alfonso Cuarón’s black-and-white Netflix film, Roma, and a preview from Weta Digital about their photoreal work for Alita: Battle Angel – which they’re talking about even before the film has even been released.

Plus, SPARK FX has more than just presentations on the latest films. There’s also a Diversity & Inclusion Summit where real tools of change for the industry will be discussed. And there’s a major Career Fair with the top studios wanting to talk to you about your next VFX or animation job.

Let’s break it down.

Career Fair

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The Career Fair will be packed with employers.

If you’re looking to get a job in visual effects, or see what else is around, here’s who will be there to ask at SPARK FX:

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
The Focus (MPC Film)
Sony Pictures Imageworks
DNEG
Method Studios
Scanline VFX
Framestore
Animal Logic
Cinesite
Image Engine
Electronic Arts
FuseFX
Rodeo FX
Zoic Studios
CVD VFX
DHX Media
Mainframe Studios
Yeti Farm Creative

An insane list of companies. The Career Fair is on Saturday, February 9th, starting at 9.30am in The Hanger, at the Centre for Digital Media, 577 Great Northern Way – right next to where SPARKFX is being held. More info here.

Diversity & Inclusion Summit

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The Diversity & Inclusion Summit is all day on Sunday 10 February.

If you’ve been to any previous SPARK events, you’ll know that they’ve been leading the charge with sessions on getting more women into the VFX and animation industries, and improving diversity at studios as well.

This year at SPARK, VES Vancouver and Spark CG Society are co-presenting the Diversity & Inclusion Summit, and the sessions planned are aimed at not just talking about the problem, but actually delivering solutions. Leaders from inside and outside the industry will be on panels and audience participation and discussion is going to be a major feature.

The Summit is free to attend, and is happening on Sunday, February 10th. More info here.

The Conference

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
Into the Spider-Verse is just one of many talks you can see.

The big thing about the VFX presentations at SPARKFX this year is that so many of them are the first time you’ll be able to see anything about the VFX anywhere. For example:

  • Alita: Battle Angel – Weta Digital is giving a talk about the creation of their CG main character, before the film is even out at cinemas!
  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – this Oscar-nominated film has been stunning audiences with its original take on 3D and 2D animation aesthetics, and Imageworks will be revealing behind the scenes of their new tools and techniques for doing it.
  • Mary Poppins Returns – not many people have seen how the 2D and live-action scenes were combined, but they will here thanks to Framestore.
  • Aquaman – ILM is going to break down their underwater work for this crazy comic book film.
  • Roma – Yep, there’s a whole bunch of VFX work in Alfonso Cuarón’s black-and-white Netflix film, and MPC will be revealing how they helped tell this important story.

In addition to these ‘firsts’, there’s a number of other major moments happening at SPARK, including:

  • A keynote by The Jungle Book and The Lion King VFX supervisor Rob Legato. He’s calling the keynote ‘The Analog Art of Emotional Storytelling’, and it’s about his experience of bringing traditional filmmaking and storytelling tools into the digital world.
  • A whole lot more VFX breakdown talks: Welcome to Marwen with Method Studios, First Man with DNEG, Mortal Engines with Weta Digital, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald with Image Engine and Venom with DNEG.
  • Retro 25th anniversary sessions on Forrest Gump and Stargate with visual effects supervisors who worked on those films (full disclosure: I’m moderating these!)
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I’m hosting some old-school chats on Forrest Gump, and also Stargate, with actual VFX supervisors from the films.

In amongst these sessions are a whole bunch of free workshops aimed at going deeper into some of the key VFX tools around, with companies including The Foundry and Ziva Dynamics.

These VFX sessions and workshops start on Friday night, February 8 with Into the Spider-Verse and then run on the Saturday and Sunday all day. More info, pricing (which includes full weekend and session passes) and the full programme here.

Come on by

I’ve tried to give you a full round-up of what’s happening at SPARKFX, but it’s hard to capture in a single post how cool it is to just be at an event with a whole lot of like-minded people. You never know who you might meet and what you might learn. Hope to see you there, and please come say hi to me and the SPARKFX team.

Go to http://sparkfx.ca/ to start checking out all the SPARKFX events.

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Playgames 24X7 unveils cricket fantasy game ‘MY11Circle’ similar to ‘Dream11’

Playgames 24X7 has entered the fantasy sports genre of games with the launch of the game MY11Circle. The game aims to provide the audience with an experience of fantasy cricket the game of skills and will be available from 1 February 2019.

Considering the year 2019 and the time when IPL 2019 and World Cup 2019 are around the corner, the launch of the fantasy cricket is quite a strategic launch. The game will be available on GooglePlay from 1 February and initially, it will be only supported to Android devices. Although they have plans to expand it on their PC website and iOS, as exclusively said to AnimationXpress. The gameplay of My11Circle is quite similar to fantasy sports game Dream 11 but centered around cricket but later they might explore to other sports genre as well.

“Today is a very important day for Playgames24x7 as we launch our first ever fantasy game. We, of course, start with cricket but the goal is to offer multiple games in this format. Our focus on understanding player behaviour has enabled us to provide awesome game playing experiences and we shall continue that endeavor by providing awesome fantasy cricket experiences to our players,” shared  Playgames24x7 co-CEO and co-founder Bhavin Pandya.

It is an online game where users create a virtual team of real-life players and earn points based on the performances of these players in real matches. A user who scores the maximum points in his joined contest attains the first rank on the leader-board. A user has to pay a certain fee to join a contest and can win real cash. To participate in a game, a user must be at least 18 years old players with age of 25 years are preferable as the game brand targeting that age group of players.

My11Circle currently offer players to choose from international and domestic cricket games with option from IPL to other international cricket leagues. Players have an option to select from practice or cash games post registration. The platform encourages fans to deeply engage with the sport which results increase in participation and viewership. Also, the game offers a real-time score plate and statistic to keep the decision clear to the audience. Not only that during the selection of the team members the players will get an option to know the metrics and form of the team member they are choosing for the game.

My11Circle business head Saroj Panigrahi added, “Playgames 24×7 has a history of successful growth across different product platforms and is excited to introduce the My11Circle fantasy sports app for all Indian cricket lovers. Fantasy sports have great potential in our country and complements Play Games24x7’s existing portfolio perfectly.”

As per the IFSG report, online fantasy gaming has witnessed a boom in India with the user base seeing exponential growth, right from 20 lakhs in 2016 to over 4 crores in 2018. With this pace sustained, India is all set to beat the United States and Canada that has 5.93 crores Fantasy Sports users.

Also, the existing RummyCircle player does not have to download the platform separately, as there will be one tab available in the RummyCircle after 1 February to enter into the game My11Circle directly and vice versa. Pandya further mentioned to AnimationXpress “this way it will help to attract the existing RummyCircle player to play My11circle and merge the audiences in both the platform.”

On asking is Playgames 24X7 choosing bitcoins to pay the cash prize in answer Pandya expressed, “Playgames 24X7 believe in 100 per cent real legitimate platforms for payment which includes Paytm, Phone-pay, bank transfer, since bitcoins in India is yet a debatable way of payment mode, therefore, we have not incorporated it. Maybe in a few years, when it will become a legitimate payment option, we might incorporate it in our platforms”.

Like Dream11 Playgames 24X7 also want to endorse a cricketer as My11Circle brand face but they are yet to decide on it as told to us.  The brand believes that Indian fans worship cricket. From IPL to overseas tours, to ICC championships, all cricket events are like festivals for the Indian fans not only that they believe, through this game they will target audience to the north as they believe ‘fantasy cricket is a game of skill.

The post Playgames 24X7 unveils cricket fantasy game ‘MY11Circle’ similar to ‘Dream11’ appeared first on AnimationXpress.

#FeatureFriday: Literary masterpieces that’d make stunning films in animation

“The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink” – T.S.Eliot.

Literature has been the mirror of the roller-coaster ride called life! It has broken us, healed us in more ways than one on our best and worst days. There’s perhaps nothing more comforting than cuddling up in a corner with your favourite book and getting immersed in it, especially for the bibliophiles. Literature has a myriad and enigmatic world of its own that readers and admirers try to penetrate every now and then.

Different genres of this otherwise vast literature like novels and dramas, have survived time and continued to captivate generations by transporting them to parallel universes of fantasy and hard hitting realities alike. They have also inspired several wonderful cinematic instances for a long time now. Given the notion – ‘ Art for Art’s sake’, these books most of the times allow interpretations, re-readings and exploitations, to a certain extent.

With animation now capturing a wide range of audience through smart takes, treatment and execution, this filmmaking genre has garnered eyeballs and has traversed beyond the general typification of being something adorable, funny or cute, meant for kids. It can very well be a medium to showcase the dark, hard-hitting and morbid side of reality. Hence, bringing together both the genres- novels/dramas and animation, we can surely expect to see some mind blowing pieces of cinema.

Here’s our take on five literary masterpieces that can be recreated in animation :

Waiting for Godot  (1953; Samuel Beckett) –

Let me begin with my most favourite of this lot and the one that hits the hardest. This play will make sure that you sit back and think, and think and think…about life and what you’re doing with it. For me, Beckett has rolled life in between the covers of this book. This book ruins one for life as wherever you go, you’ll find ‘waiting for your own Godot’.

First performed in 1953 in London, this book has earned the stature of a cult classic in the field of Absurdist literature. A play in two acts where “nothing happens twice”, this play can be experimented at various levels with light-n-shade, silence, gestures, emotions and animated expressions making Gogo and Didi coming alive.

The Kite Runner (2003; Khaled Hosseini) –

Hosseini probably had struck gold with his debut novel. This book holds a special place “a thousand times over” in the hearts of bookworms. With amazing imagery and engaging words, we live and experience Amir and Hassan’s friendship, loss and redemption.

Set in Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood in Kabul, it captures the rural, local flavour through ‘kite-flying’, ‘kite chasing’ and fights over the same. It also documents the consequences of Soviet Union’s intervention into Afghanistan and the effects it had on the lives of common people. The book can be explored in terms of character sketches, landscapes and colour.

Thousand Splendid Suns (2007 ; Khaled Hosseini) –

Another masterpiece woven by Hosseini, this novel catalogues the journey of an Afghani girl named Mariam, through her struggles, pain, friendship, loss and finally sacrifice for Laila. She embodies power and strength in her own unique way that makes her one-of-a-kind.

Also set in Kabul, the novel resonates harrowing depiction of Afghanistan and the sorry condition of Afghani women. The story is achingly beautiful and Hosseini’s choice of words creates a mark. Most women in some way or the other almost instantly connects when Mariam’s mother says, “Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman.”

With Nora Twomey’s The Breadwinner (2017) depicting similar topic receiving great response, we hope to see Mariam’s life through striking and stunning animation.

The Hungry Tide (2004; Amitav Ghosh) –

Set in the world’s largest delta- the Sundarbans, Ghosh depicts the precarious life of the dwellers due to attacks by deadly tigers, political unrest, eviction, tidal floods, rise and surge over the land, in this place of vengeful beauty where the lives of three people from different worlds, collide.

A multicultural novel, The Hungry Tide marks what havoc man can wreak by disrupting the balance between themselves and nature. The novel explores topics like humanism and environmentalism, especially when they come into a conflict of interest with each other, in the backdrop of picturesque mangrove forest. The ‘Morichjhanpi’ massacre of 1978-79, when government of West Bengal forcibly evicted thousands of Bengali refugees who had settled on the island, forms the setting for some parts of the novel. Given the scenic beauty of that place, and such a concept, I can already visualise animated film influenced by Ghosh’s one of the best works. 

The Palace of Illusions (2008; Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni )

Divakaruni has given a feminist take on the world’s longest epic The Mahabharata narrated by Draupadi, in this novel. It reflects the position of a woman, (Panchali) living in a patriarchal world through her version of marrying the five heroic Pandava brothers, holding a secret love, a long exile in the wilderness, the catastrophic war of ‘Kurukshetra’, and the truth about her equation with Krishna, her mysterious friend.

The grand concept can be explored and exploited in several ways with a plethora of larger than life characters and humongous incidents that takes place in it. With mythological tales inspiring numerous films, this animated retelling of one of the most well-known epics of India will be an exciting thing to expect.

Though these are few picks out of numerous great examples of literature, that I’d like to see getting animated on screen, there are several others that hold the potential of being the same or even better. Which ones do you want to see? 

The post #FeatureFriday: Literary masterpieces that’d make stunning films in animation appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Incredible Paris Opening Titles!

Just got to London to begin the Video Copilot LIVE! Tour. Sleep schedule is almost adjusted! Saturday we’ll be in London and Paris is next week! There are still some tickets for Paris if want to come!

Video Copilot LIVE! 2019
Show Tickets and Information!

Beautiful Title sequence created by: Mehdi HADI Please follow!

 

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Hello London! 👋 Video Copilot LIVE! Is underway! Hanging with Max from @mhsprod as we prep the shows! www.videocopilotLive.net

A post shared by Video Copilot (@andrewkramer) on Jan 24, 2019 at 7:53am PST

Google Imagery – Case Study

Outlaw King’s invisible fx

Outlaw_King_Still_6_final

For VFX Voice, a chat with the team behind the visual effects of Outlaw King.