Mar 23

‘Dr Stone’: New Trailer of ‘Dr Stone’ reveals new cast

Posted in: Animation

Shueisha’s Shonen Jump has seen loads of stories entering into the area of anime, and this year, in particular, will see the premiere of many of the more recent series that have sprung in popularity with fans Dr Stone is one of these recent subjects of interest, and it seems it will make a mark when it releases this Summer.

Dr Stone was originally created by Riichiro Inagaki with illustrations provided by Boichi for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 2017. The series follows two boys (initially) as they try and save a world that’s been completely petrified in stone. The series has so far been collected into seven volumes since it’s release, and Viz Media has licensed the series for an English language release. Viz Media describes the series as such:

One fateful day, all of humanity was petrified by a blinding flash of light. After several millennia, high schooler Taiju awakens and finds himself lost in a world of statues. However, he’s not alone! His science-loving friend Senku’s been up and running for a few months and he’s got a grand plan in mind—to kickstart civilization with the power of science!

The series revealed two new trailers giving a glimpse of much of the series’ universe but there’s not much of a difference between the two of them. On top of that, Dr Stone revealed more of the characters and cast coming to the series.

The list includes to Manami Numakura as Kohaku, Gen Satou as Chrome, Tomoaki Maeno as Kinro, and Ayumu Murase as Ginro. These join the previously confirmed Yusuke Kobayashi as Senku Ishigami (Subaru in Re: Zero -Starting Life in Another World-), Makoto Furukawa as Taiju Oki (Saitama in One-Punch Man), Kana Ichinose as Yuzuriha Ogawa, and Yuichi Nakamura as Tsukasa Shishio.

 

Scheduled for a release in July, Shinya Iino will be directing the series for TMS Entertainment. Yuichiro Kido will be providing the scripts for the series, Yuko Iwasa will be designing the characters, and Tatsuya Kato, Hiroaki Tsutsumi, and Yuki Kanesaka will be composing the music for the anime.

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Mar 23

Tom Holland probably hinting another ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ trailer on Monday

Posted in: Animation

Spider-Man: Homecoming star Tom Holland has put out a rather abstruse Tweet yet hinting at a possible trailer of his upcoming sequel Far From Home.

With the first official trailer dropping over two months ago, the time for another sneak-peek into the web-slinger’s new adventures may have finally come, especially now that Captain Marvel has been released and the second official trailer of Avengers: Endgame is out too.

“Monday Morning” – Holland published on his official Twitter handle without any indication or further elaboration. However, this has immediately sparked rumors of a possible second trailer of his new Spider-Man film slated for July release.

On the flip side, it can also be a reveal of his other projects in the pipeline as Holland has as many as five films – including Spider-Man – in the pipeline. Yet, the ambiguous nature of the Tweet sharply feels like it’s going to be that of the latter (and we dearly hope for it too!).

Hold your horses, we shall find out soon. Monday is just a stone’s throw away.

Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Far From Home spins its way to theatres on 5 July 2019.

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Mar 23

FILMART draws nearly 9,000 international buyers

Posted in: Animation

The 23rd edition of Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART), organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), drew to a successful close today. The four-day event attracted nearly 9,000 buyers.

International exhibitors win orders from enthusiastic buyers on-site

Acort International, a US exhibitor and long-time FILMART participant, reached a distribution agreement for a war film titled World W4R with buyers from Korea, Vietnam and India on the second day of the exhibition. Horizon Motion Pictures from Canada featured Wedding and Lovers Tourist around the World and discussed with filmmakers from the Philippines, India, Indonesia and the United Kingdom. This documentary will have two episodes on each place to introduce local wedding ceremonies and cultural traditions.

Sil-Metropole Organisation from Hong Kong said its martial arts films were popular among Southeast Asian buyers at FILMART, with a number of investment discussions ensuing, including for The Shaolin Temple 2. Sil-Metropole also revealed that a virtual reality production company from the UK intends to remake Sil-Metropole’s action movies and micro-movies with VR technology.

Mainland China-based China Central Television (CCTV) does a lot of international business, with 60 to 70 per cent of the buyers of its drama-series productions coming from overseas. CCTV said many new-media platforms, including Facebook, in addition to TV stations, negotiated with them at FILMART this year. Mainland animator Fantawild Animation from Guangdong Province reached a broadcasting agreement with an Indian TV station for the company’s animation Boonie Bears on the third day of FILMART.

14 thematic seminars feature impressive line-up of industry heavyweights

FILMART’s thematic seminars featured an impressive line-up of nearly 60 leading industry representatives from the film, digital entertainment, animation and other sectors. The 14 seminars organised by the HKTDC solely or in conjunction with other institutions attracted more than 3,000 attendees. Speakers included First Hand Films CEO Esther van Messel; A Bite of China producer Lex Zhu; BBC Studios EVP Asia David Weiland; HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink; YouTube International Markets marketing director Sean Park; Lionsgate president of worldwide TV and digital distribution Jim Packer; iQIYI founder and CEO and president of Worldwide TV and digital distribution Yu Gong; Emmy Award-winning producer Joe Aguilar; The Meg producer Belle Avery; Love in a Puff director Pang Ho-cheung; Soul Mate director Derek Tsang; and Men on the Dragon director Sunny Chan.

Focus on Greater Bay Area film, TV and music development and opportunities

FILMART this year focused on the development of film and TV in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. Industry representatives in the Greater Bay Area explored the cooperation opportunities and future development for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau film, TV and music in events including the TV World 2019 – Opening Ceremony cum International Forum; Greater Bay Area: Golden Opportunity to Spearhead Film-TV business, Cantonese Movies Opportunities in the Greater Bay Area Forum and Hong Kong Asian-Pop Music Festival Business Forum: Greater Bay Area – New Business Opportunities for Cantopop. Lan Kwai Fong Group chairman Allan Zeman believes the film and TV industries in the Greater Bay Area need to understand each other and how everyone can work together to grasp those opportunities. National Arts Entertainment and Culture Group honorary chairman and founder Sin Kwok-lam hopes the mainland could further relax the restrictions and quotas on Hong Kong films, allowing them to be released directly in the Greater Bay Area, which has a population of about 70 million.

The future of OTT platforms

The rapid emergence of over the top (OTT) platforms in recent years was a hot topic of discussion at FILMART. Spink said despite the challenges, the future is looking very healthy for OTT services. “You will see people not just selecting and paying for one platform, but for two or three, and people are watching more content than ever before.” Park shared that YouTube has become part of everyday life, and 500 hours of YouTube content are now uploaded every minute. “Some 70 per cent of views are on phones, for an average of an hour a day – about the time many spend commuting.”

Networking events, project announcements and more than 300 screenings 

At this year’s FILMART, more than 60 scheduled events – including professional seminars, new film launches and networking activities – facilitated exchanges and business matching. Major film and TV production companies announced new projects on-site, including Emperor Motion Pictures, Media Asia Distribution, Mega-Vision Project Workshop, Mei Ah Entertainment, One Cool Film Production, TVBI Company and PCCW Media. There were also more than 300 screenings, including over 100 world or Asia premieres and numerous award-winning productions. FILMART featured the online catch-up screening facility for the first time this year. The facility enables buyers and visitors to view exhibitors’ works at any time.

Hong Kong International Film Festival Society curator and HAF director Jacob Wong called the 17th Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum a resounding success. “Both the number and total value of this year’s awards have set new records, affording more resources and opportunities for filmmakers to realise their dreams. As a mission, HAF will continue to support the robust development of emerging talents in Hong Kong and Asia by seeking out promising filmmakers with interesting film projects,” he said.

Another key event taking place as part of Entertainment Expo Hong Kong – The 17th Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) successfully concluded. Widely recognised as one of the most important film-financing platforms in the region, HAF showcased 42 shortlisted projects, including 19 work-in-progress projects. This year also marks the third edition of the WIP programme in which, for the first time, a separate section for documentary projects is organised. The programme offers a great opportunity for fiction and documentary filmmakers to secure post-production funds, sales agents and film festival support.

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Mar 23

Pixar releases a new trailer for ‘Toy Story 4’

Posted in: Animation

Pixar has released a new trailer for Toy Story 4. The trailer shows Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) crossing paths with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and seemingly questioning his very purpose in making kids happy.

Set to a soundtrack of the Beach Boys’ God Only Knows, this preview of Toy Story 4 reveals a little more about Forky, the new character set to join Woody and the gang.

Pixar and Disney franchises incorporate old characters into new movies, that seems to be the case for the new Toy Story character, Duke Caboom. According to some released Toy Story merchandise and the new trailer, we know that Duke Caboom is a Canadian motorcycle fanatic, voiced by Keanu Reeves.

A synopsis of Toy Story 4 from Disney Pixar reads:

Woody has always been confident about his place in the world and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. But when Bonnie adds a reluctant new toy called “Forky” to her room, a road trip adventure alongside old and new friends will show Woody how big the world can be for a toy.

Toy Story 4 will be released in theatres on 21 June 2019.

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Mar 22

Announcing ‘befores & afters’

Posted in: Animation

I’ve just launched a brand new VFX publication called befores & afters. Check it out at https://beforesandafters.com.

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Mar 22

Highlights from 19th Game Developers Choice Awards

Posted in: Animation

The 19th Game Developers Choice (GDC) Awards are the premier accolades for peer recognition in the digital games industry. Each year, the Choice Awards recognised and celebrated the creativity, artistry and technical genius of the finest developers and games created in the last year.

The Game Developers Choice Awards honour the very best games of the year and was created for and voted on by developers. Winners are selected by the Game Developers Choice Awards-specific International Choice Awards Network (ICAN), which is an invitation-only organization, comprised of leading game creators from all parts of the industry.

Here is a glimpse of 19th edition of Game Developers Choice Awards:

  • Sony Santa Monica’s blockbuster action game God of War coveted Game of the Year trophy at the 19th Game Developers Choice Awards. God of War beat out Return of the Obra Dinn, Red Dead Redemption 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Celeste which were GamesBeat’s choice for game of the year.
  • Devil May Cry 5 director Hideaki Itsuno revealed that the Capcom action game has sold 2 million copies. The announcement came at the start of his talk about the title at the Game Developers Conference today in San Francisco.Devil May Cry 5 came out on March 8 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. It has passed this milestone in just under two weeks.

  • Florence, the sincere and emotional game exploring young love, also earned developer Mountains two awards tonight, for Best Debut and Best Mobile Game. The game uses clever interactive story elements to sew together various scenes of the birth, maturation and denouement of a love story.
  • Developer Beat Games also took home two awards for its game Beat Saber, for Best VR/AR Game and the Audience Award. Beat Saber is a compelling and active VR rhythm game in which players use motion controllers to slice blocks to the sweat-inducing syncopations of music.
  • Best Technology winner Red Dead Redemption 2by Rockstar Games, which presents a meticulously realised open-world environment of the waning days of the Wild West.
  • Lucas Pope’s 3909 won Best Narrative for The Return of Obra Dinn, for the game’s exploration of a series of mysterious murders set aboard the namesake ghostship. 2018 IGF Award winner, Celeste, by developer Matt Makes Games, returned to the awards podium with their win for Best Audio, cementing the inspiring platformer’s reputation for its musical presentation.
  • The stunning platform-adventure game, Gris by NomadaStudio, earned the award for Best Visuals for its colourful artistic flourishes.
  • The Award for Best Design went to Into the Breach developed by Subset Games, a strategy title whose minimalist pixel art aesthetic belies the deep tactical and engaging gameplay that has earned it countless fans.
  • Nintendo’s Labo won the Innovation Award, honouring the revered Japanese publisher for its (literally) out-of-the-box title, which allows users to combine the versatile Switch hardware with self-constructed interactive toys and games made from cardboard.
  • In addition to the best games of the last year, the GDCAs also honour the dedicated individuals who have helped further the art, science and craft of video games with special awards. This year’s Pioneer Award, which recognises breakthrough tech and game design milestones, went to veteran game developer Rieko Kodama, recognising her for her trailblazing and continuing legacy in game design, which spans more than three decades of work on some of the most beloved titles in SEGA’s classic games library, from Phantasy Star through Alex Kidd to Skies of Arcadia and beyond.
  • The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to esteemed writer and director Amy Hennig, whose decades-long career in game development began in the Atari 7800 era and includes roles as creative director and writer of Naughty Dog’s acclaimed Uncharted game series. The award recognises Hennig’s varied career, with professional experience as a digital artist, animator, game designer and especially in the last two decades, as a writer and director of acclaimed adventure titles with a strong narrative and character elements.

“The Game Developers Choice Awards represent the most refined games of the year, and the sheer variety of games honoured tonight showed that games can still represent wholly new and unique creative visions. A number of independently developed titles like Celeste, Gris and Florence helped prove how internal or deeply personal turmoil can make for massively appealing games for millions of fans. While games like God of War and Red Dead Redemption 2 capture our imagination with poignant moments juxtaposed against epic tales of staggering scale and technical prowess. We embrace and accept all these amazingly creative works, and we’re proud to recognise these nominees and winners alike for the imagination and hard work that brought them here,” said Katie Stern, general manager of the Game Developers Conference.

Apart from that at the keynote, Google has launched Stadia cloud gaming service at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who says he plays FIFA 19 “quite a bit,” introduced the Stadia service during a special keynote at GDC.

Pichai shared Google’s ambitions to stream games to all types of devices. Stadia will stream games from the cloud to the Chrome browser, Chromecast, and Pixel devices, and it will launch at some point in 2019 in the US, Canada, UK, and Europe.

The overall 19th edition of GDC was quite eventful and the fraternity is preparing and anticipating what it will have to offer in 2020.

 

 

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Mar 22

17th HAF (Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum): Indian film bags an award at the global stage

Posted in: Animation

The 17th Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) successfully concluded with an awards ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

India’s The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs bagged an award from White Light Post-Production Award; an honour designed to promote cinematic innovation and promising Asian directors.

A total of 18 awards – worth over $2.1 million (US$270,000) in cash and value-in-kind – were presented to filmmakers for their promising and remarkable projects.

Widely recognised as one of the most important film-financing platforms in the region, HAF, now in its 17th edition, showcased 42 shortlisted projects, including 19 Work-in-Progress (WIP) projects.

Hundreds of film financiers, producers, distributors and buyers attended the three-day event from around the world and, through business meetings and networking events organised by HAF, they were connected to these talented filmmakers.

This year also marks the third edition of the WIP program in which, for the first time, a separate section for documentary projects is organised. The program offers a great opportunity for fiction and documentary filmmakers to secure post-production funds, sales agents and film festival support.
Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Curator and HAF Director Jacob Wong called the 17th Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum a resounding success. “Thanks to the generous support from our partners, sponsors and fellow filmmakers, both the number and total value of this year’s awards have set new records, affording more resources and opportunities for filmmakers to realise their dreams,” Wong said. “As a mission, HAF will continue to support the robust development of emerging talents in Hong Kong and Asia by seeking out promising filmmakers with interesting film projects.”

The highlight of the winning projects are: –

1. HAF Awards (Presented by Create HK, Hong Kong Film Development Fund and HAF)

Mr Wellington Fung, Assistant Head of Create Hong Kong presented two HAF Awards to Wong Tai Sin Assassination (Hong Kong) and Our Apprenticeship (Japan) for Hong Kong Project and non-Hong Kong Project categories respectively. Each project received a cash prize of HK$150,000 (approx. US$19,200) in recognition of their originality and creativity.

2. WIP Documentary Award (Presented by Create HK, Hong Kong Film Development Fund and HAF)

This year, an award was added for WIP documentary projects. The new WIP Documentary Award is to encourage and promote the development of documentaries. The winning project, Odoriko (Japan), received a cash award of HK$78,000 (approx. US$10,000).

3. HAF Goes to Cannes (Presented by HAF and Marché du Film)

In collaboration with Marché du Film, Festival de Cannes, HAF Goes to Cannes Program presents opportunities for filmmakers to look for sales agents, distributors and film-festival. Mr. Yu Li-ping will provide a travelling subsidy of RMB 75,000 (approx. HK$87,000) in total to the selected projects including Odoriko (Japan), To Live To Sing (China), SUK SUK (Hong Kong), Invitation (India) and Marygoround (Poland).

4. Heaven Pictures Young Director Award (Presented by Heaven Pictures (HK) Culture & Media Co., Ltd.)

Another new award, Heaven Pictures Young Director Award, was given to Solitary Kills (Hong Kong). The Award aims to encourage young Hong Kong directors to create local-themed projects with unique personal style. The winner received a cash prize of HK$150,000 (approx. US$19,200).

5. mm2 Award (Presented by mm2 Asia Ltd.)

Wong Tai Sin Assassination (Hong Kong) was honoured with the mm2 Award which aims to encourage and support Chinese-language film projects that exhibit good commercial and artistic quality. The winner received a cash award of HK$100,000 (approx. US$12,800).

6. Wanda Elite+ Plan Award (Presented by Wanda Media Co., Ltd)

Wanda Elite+ Plan Award has its root in the Elite + Filmmaker Plan launched by Wanda Media. It is dedicated to discovering and cultivating new film talents for the China market with the advantages of Wanda Media’s integrated industry chain. The winning project, A Story of HERS (China) was selected by Wanda Pictures executives and received a cash award of HK$100,000 (approx. US$12,800).

7. Artention-Vanke Film Award (Presented by Artention-Vanke Cultural Industries Corp.)

Sponsored by Artention-Vanke Cultural Industries Corp., the Award aims to support young filmmakers and the development of their projects that exhibit both commercial and artistic qualities. A cash award of HK$100,000 (approx. US$12,800) was awarded to Who is Sleeping on My Pillow? (China). The winning project is also allowed free access to designated space in the Artention-Vanke Creative Arts Incubator, fully linked with high-quality resources from Artention and Vanke.

8. KOFIC Award (Presented by Korean Film Council) Korean Film Council (KOFIC) is renowned for its commitment towards the growth of the Asian film industry. Zalava (Iran) was honoured with the KOFIC Award which aims to recognise the outstanding potentials of an Asian film project for its development. The winner received a cash award of HK$100,000 (approx. US$12,800).

9. Wouter Barendrecht Award (Presented by Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation, Create HK and Hong Kong Film Development Fund)

Dedicated to the memory of the late Wouter Barendrecht, the renowned film producer and one of the founders of HAF, the Wouter Barendrecht Award went to Belonging (Bangladesh). This cash award of HK$50,000 (approx.US$6,400) recognises a project by a director under 35 who has not made more than three feature films. 4

10. Wutianming Post-Production Award (Presented by China Film Foundation-Wutianming Fund for Young Talents)

The Wutianming Post-Production Award is to encourage and support young film talents. An in-kind award of RMB 300,000 (approx. HK$365,000) was given to The River in Me (China), which will be offered post-production services by Leading Digital Post Shanghai.

11. White Light Post-Production Award (Presented by White Light Studio)

White Light Post-Production Award is designed to promote cinematic innovation and promising Asian directors. The two in-kind awards went to Circa (The Philippines) from HAF and The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs (India) from WIP. Each project will be offered post-production services valued at US$15,000 (approx. HK$117,300) at their studio in Bangkok, Thailand.

12. G2D Post Production Award (Presented by G2D)

G2D will sponsor two in-kind awards for Belonging (Bangladesh) from HAF and On High Ice (Israel and South Korea) from WIP. Each winning project will be sponsored a sound package valued at US$15,000 (approx. HK$117,300) towards a full sound package of US$25,000, including foley, sound design, dialogue editing, atmosphere and a final mix.

13. Cinerent Award (Presented by Cinerent Beijing Ltd.)

The Cinerent Award, an in-kind award of RMB 150,000 (approx. HK$175,000), was given to The Priest in the Village (China). The Award aims to support and encourage high-quality film projects. The winning project is required to shoot in Mainland China in order to entitle the benefits.

14. Udine Focus Asia Award (Presented by Udine Far East Film Festival) The objective of the Award is to encourage and facilitate coproduction between Asia and Europe. The Udine Focus Asia Award was given to The Grandstand (The Philippines) with sponsored hospitality of EUR 7,000 (approx. HK$62,000) to participate in Focus Asia 2019 in Udine, Italy.

15. Network of Asian Fantastic Films Award (Presented by Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival)

The Network of Asian Fantastic Films Award was given to Wong Tai Sin Assassination (Hong Kong) with sponsored hospitality of US$2,700 (approx. HK$21,000) to participate in the Network of Asian Fantastic Films 2019 in Bucheon.

We hope to see more such award ceremonies which felicitate the talents and cinema all across the globe instilling a spirit of filmmaking.

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Mar 22

Framestore joins forces with Leo Burnett on new multi-faceted McDonald’s commercials

Posted in: Animation

Framestore has collaborated with advertising agency Leo Burnett and McDonald’s on the brand’s new McCafé commercials. The complex film, We Could is directed by ‘Us’ and has been created as a 60” film with two 30” cutdowns. It gives viewers all of the possible ads that McDonald’s could have created for its McCafé range by presenting a collection of hyper-stylised vignettes.

Directed by Us, the duo from Academy, the film features seven distinct sequences, each representing an advertising trope with its own style. It presents a rainforest with three conveniently-placed sacks of coffee, some catalogue models smelling the aroma from their cups of coffee and coffee bean meteors flying through empty space. A coffee artisan then experiments with lab equipment and interpretive dancers perform a physical representation of McDonald’s McCafé. The commercial comes to a climax with a sequence where a heroic Napoleonic figure discovers a cup of coffee in a chest.

“The multi-sequence nature of this commercial made it a really interesting project for Framestore and one that we enjoyed working on with Leo Burnett and Us, providing guidance on how we could achieve the directors’ vision,” said Framestore creative director Ben Cronin.

“The complexity of all the moving parts of this film meant it was like creating seven ads all at the same time. Bringing all this together into a single coherent film was a big job and the entire crew worked well together to create something really conceptually and visually interesting,” said Framestore senior flame artist Darran Nicholson.

With so many distinct parts to it, Framestore’s work was varied on the 60-second film. Its job was to deliver seamless VFX and polish parts of the film to achieve the directors’ vision and it achieved this through several roles including compositing a butterfly and enhancing the rays of light in the rainforest scene.

“The biggest job we did was on the master and commander-esque sequence. Here, we had to remove and replace entire backgrounds and skies because the boat wasn’t on water. And the directors had a really clear idea of how they wanted this sequence to look so we created several layers of sea mist and placed different characters behind each. It was important that the hero was left untouched by the fog, something that resulted in an epic sequence,” added Nicholson.

As far as the colour grade went, each vignette had to have a very different look – almost like the viewer is flicking through TV channels. “The napoleonic sequence was the most challenging because there were several ways we could have approached it, but we decided on a master and commander style,” added Framestore senior colour artist Simon Bourne.

The relationship between Framestore and Leo Burnett is one that now spans several projects including the #ReindeerReady McDonald’s Christmas campaign on which the Framestore team delivered technically-complex visuals with warmth and emotion. The continuation of that relationship in We Could displays the versatility of the creative studio’s team as one that can address the multiple challenges that were presented by each of the film’s vignettes.

The McDonald’s We Could film aired in the UK on 18 March 2019.

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Mar 22

DHX Media appoints two new distribution sales managers

Posted in: Animation

Global children’s content and brands company, DHX Media has announced to have promoted Darcee McCartney and Rebecca Lugo to the position of sales manager, for key territories to its distribution sales team. Both of them will be reporting to DHX Media distribution VP Jerry Diaz.

McCartney will oversee client relationships for Central Eastern Europe, Poland, Russia, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Middle East, and Africa. Based in Toronto, McCartney has been with DHX Media for seven years and was previously the senior manager for client operations. She holds a BA in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson University.

Darcee McCartney and Rebecca Lugo

Lugo on the other hand, will oversee client relationships for Latin America, Brazil, US Hispanic, Local US Digital, Ireland, and In-flight. Based in Toronto, Lugo has been with DHX Media for five years and was previously a sales associate. She holds a BFA in Film Production from York University.

Diaz commented, “Both McCartney and Lugo are passionate about kids’ and family shows and have a keen understanding of the international content market. We’re confident they’ll be strong assets on the sales team, and we’re happy they’ll be joining us at MIP TV this April to share our exciting slate of new shows with clients, as well as our deep library of classics.”

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Mar 22

Animation Production Days conference highlights current industry trends

Posted in: Animation

The conference programme for the 13th Animation Production Days (APD) has been finalised and offers inspiration for the future of the industry with case studies detailing the use of game engines in animation production and new ideas and strategies for the exploitation of animation projects.

APD is the most important business platform for animation projects in Germany and takes place as part of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) and FMX – conference on animation, effects, games and immersive media. In addition to the APD conference, Animation Production Days (from 1–3 May 2019) comprises a two-day co-production and financing market. Its conference is being held on the afternoon of 2 May in the Rotunda of Stuttgart’s L-Bank.

In the first part of the conference, producers who have explored new paths will share their experiences. Thomas Borch Nielsen (Nice Ninja) and Dirk Hampel (B-Water Animation Studios) have both produced projects using game engines and will report on lessons learned.

Can you build a series and establish a successful brand without a linear platform? Helen Howells and Oliver Ellis from Hoho Entertainment will discuss how they refused to give up on their preschool brand, Cloudbabies, long after the series finished airing on terrestrial TV in the UK.

Niko and the Sword of Light went from being a hit animated comic book app to an almost cancelled series to an Emmy award winner. Co-creator Bobby Chiu will recount the strategies, trials and tribulations behind the series.

In the conference’s second section, the Content Briefing Session, representatives from German and international TV channels and distributors will provide an overview of current industry trends and market developments. KiKA, the Children’s Channel of ARD and ZDF managing and programming director Astrid Plenk, Disney Channels GSA senior manager of acquisitions and co-production Dominique Neudecker, DHX Media director of international acquisitions and co-productions Richard Rowe and Nickelodeon International VP of animation production/development Chris Rose will introduce their programming requirements and strategies with regards to animated content.

Access to the APD conference is granted to all accredited APD participants and also to industry guests with ITFS and FMX accreditation.

Over 160 participants from 23 countries are accredited for the APD co-production and financing market. In around 800 pre-planned one-to-one meetings on 2 and 3 May, they will be discussing the 50 animation projects chosen by the jury (from a total of 84 applications) to be presented at this year’s APD.

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