Jan
30
Jan
29
The third edition of Global Content Bazar to be held in Mumbai on 7 and 8 February, 2020
Posted in: AnimationIn February 2020, the island city of Mumbai will welcome a content marketplace positioned at the very heart of India’s multi-billion dollar entertainment industry – Bollywood. The 3rd edition of Global Content Bazaar signals the arrival of a new platform for content innovators to pitch and showcase their work to potential buyers, sellers and distributors and also participate in a collaboration between different yet innately related aspects of entertainment technology that are pivotal in the creation of content for films, television, new media, mobile, gaming, radio and lots more.
The global content industry is a formidable force that now powers everything you see and hear across multiple media platforms. Whether it’s Film or Television or New Media or Online, content is the undisputed king and currently the most celebrated industry around the world.
As the creators of the 29-year-old, highly successful Broadcast India Show, Saicom Trade Fairs & Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd invites you to take the plunge into the 3rd edition of their latest venture – Global Content Bazar which will be held on 7-8 February 2020, World Trade Centre, Mumbai, India.
This year, till now GCB has received, 120 pre-registration of buyers out of which 43 are from 21 countries like Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Ghana, Greece, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, UAE, UK, USA, Uzbekistan and 50+ from India. Registrations are pouring in every day.
Apart from India, our exhibitors are from countries like – Bulgaria, China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Italy, the USA, the UAE, Jordan, Lebanon and awaiting confirmation from many more.
Outside of being a marketplace for content, Global Content Bazar is set to provide an all-inclusive environment for industry professionals to develop new business relationships, explore creativity and bolster the content industry across its many different platforms and genres.
As the demand for quality content in numerous forms of media increases, the need for such a platform can hardly be brushed aside. As the nerve-center and financial backbone of the media and entertainment industry, Mumbai is primely positioned to bring together visitors, buyers and content creators to tap into the fastest-growing entertainment and infotainment content industry this side of the globe.
We wish you the best for this unique event.
The post The third edition of Global Content Bazar to be held in Mumbai on 7 and 8 February, 2020 appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
29
One Take Media Co. (OTMC) is continuously refreshing its content library and adding newer titles at regular intervals. These content acquisitions have kept the customer engaged, satisfied and maintaining stickiness to the platform.
OTMC has been adding newer titles to its library, and most recently acquired 100 new kids animation movies. It includes likes of Easter Sing, Farmtastic Fun, Penguin League, Pixy Dragons, Sea Monsters, Space Guardians, Sir Billi aka Guardians of the Highland, Tyon & Taekwon Heroes and many more.
Sir Billi is an adventure about the race to save the last beaver in Scotland, led by Sir Billi, who’s a veterinarian by profession, skateboarder by passion and grandfather by love. Also known as the Guardian of the Highlands, Sir Billi is a 2012 Scottish computer animated adventure comedy feature film. Directed by Sascha Hartmann, it is Scotland’s first CGI animated feature film. The film stars the voices of Sean Connery, Alan Cumming, Patrick Doyle and Kieron Elliott.
Tyon & Taekwon Heroes is another such animated movie that depicts the power of Taekwondo through four children who defeat the monster and save the world. The four children represent the four powers of nature: wind (Dragon), fire (Phoenix), water (Turtle) and earth (Tiger). In this movie children can understand the basic philosophy and techniques of Taekwondo and enjoy the adventurous story at the same time.
One Take Media founder and CEO Anil Khera said, “Each of the movies are handpicked by One Take Media Co. and they cover all genres of fun, education, entertainment, mystery, adventure and comedy. Not only Children but also Adults will enjoy the bright and beautiful characters, melodious songs and entertaining story line of each of our movies.”
OTMC is a global content production and distribution based in Mumbai, India. It is one of the leaders in providing Value Added Services (VAS) to DTH, Telecom and Cable industries. Services include Hollywood Movies, Hollywood Movies dubbed in Hindi and regional languages, Kids Animation Movies and Series, Celebrity based Cooking show and Korean Content and K Pop. OTMC is also successfully providing content to various OTT Players in India and abroad.
The post One Take Media Co. adds 100 new kids animation movies to its library appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
29
Universal Studios’ immersive state-of-the-art ride to have ‘The Secret Life of Pets’ cast
Posted in: AnimationThe voice talent behind the furry stars of Illumination’s global hits The Secret Life of Pets and The Secret Life of Pets 2 will reprise their roles in Universal Studios Hollywood’s lively new ride, The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!, opening in Spring 2020.
The film’s talent and their alter egos include Patton Oswalt as Max, Kevin Hart as Snowball, Eric Stonestreet as Duke, Jenny Slate as Gidget, Tiffany Haddish as Daisy, Lake Bell as Chloe, Dana Carvey as Pops, Steve Coogan as Ozone, Chris Renaud as Norman, Hannibal Buress as Buddy, Bobby Moynihan as Mel, Jessica DiCicco as Princess and Tara Strong as Pickles.
The ride will blend live, dimensional and animated characters with hyper-realistic media and projection mapping to fully immerse guests in a bustling New York City landscape. Seated within ride vehicles that resemble cardboard boxes—reminiscent of where Katie first finds her beloved Max as a puppy—guests will travel along a track towards the Pet Adoption event and the ultimate happy ending: forever homes.
The state-of-the-art ride will employ a series of technological firsts that combine sophisticated facial recognition with enhanced gesture tracking, which helps to identify each guest as a unique stray puppy for the duration of the ride. Every time guests experience The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! they will likely see themselves characterized as a different stray puppy, creating a unique new experience with each ride.
The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! will be located on Pets Place, previously referred to as Baker Street, and adjacent to the popular Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and Super Silly Fun Land attractions. With the installation of all-new storefront facades, Pets Place will capture the charm of a busy NY street, including an iconic NYC subway station.
The post Universal Studios’ immersive state-of-the-art ride to have ‘The Secret Life of Pets’ cast appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
29
HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, launched its Fury Ultra RGB gaming mouse pad in India. The Fury Ultra mouse pad features a radiant 360-degree RGB light ring and light bar that is customisable with HyperX Ngenuinty software. The gaming surface utilises a micro-textured hard surface with anti-slip rubber base that offers performance, speed and stability. The new product is now available in leading etail and retail stores.
“With the Fury Ultra RGB mouse pad been unveiled at CES, HyperX is happy to launch it in India to cater to enthusiast PC gamers. This mouse pad lets the user customize lighting and set up effects for each of the 20 LEDs with the HyperX Ngenuinty software.” said HyperX.
The specifications of the product include: Part Number: HX-MPFU-M, Light effects: Per-LED RGB lighting1, Braided cable type, 580g weight, 5.0mm thickness, Dimensions: 359.4mm width x 299.4mm length, the Cable length is 1.8m and the material used is plastic.
HyperX brand is known for consistently delivering products that deliver superior comfort, aesthetics, performance, and reliability. With the goal of providing gamers, PC builders, PC, console and mobile power users with high-performance components, HyperX’s mission for the past 16 years has been to develop gaming products for all types of gamers – high-speed memory, solid state drives, headsets, keyboards, mice, charging accessories for console players, USB flash drives, and mousepads – to the gaming community and beyond.
The post HyperX launches Fury Ultra RGB gaming mouse pad in India appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
29
In India, mobile gaming is king. Be it through mobile-optimised gaming websites or mobile gaming apps, if anyone wants to play, you can all but guarantee that they’ll turn to their smartphones.
All over the world, mobile gaming has become huge, but it’s rarely seen as such a primary form of gaming as it is in India. However, mobile gaming is still a grossly clustered field wherever you go.
App stores and the multitude of mobile sites that offer games are stuffed with titles. So, given that most people decide on a game based on their small preview tiles, description and a bit of free gameplay, one could assume that the animation style and aesthetics would play a major role in player retention.
Here, we’ll be examining some of the most popular games in India to see how important animation and look is to mobile gamers in the country – if at all.
Candy Crush’s booming colors
If there’s one word that best describes Candy Crush Saga, it’s “color.” Everything about the now-classic mobile puzzle game is bright colors, flashing lights, and satisfying reward noises. The mobile game is freemium gaming at its finest and it’s all down to its animations and use of vibrant colors.
Candy Crush is one of the most popular games in India, clocking in a mighty 4.4 out of 5.0 rating from 22.3 million reviews. In this case, animation has been crucial to the game’s popularity. Bright colors and explosions of colors for positive feedback are parts of the huge appeal of the Candy Crush game, which Forbes India notes is still very popular, seven years in.
More about themes and access
With any mobile gaming platform, coloration and animations will play their part in a game being clicked on, but in iGaming – casino gaming that’s hosted by online platforms – it tends to be the themes and increased access to free gaming that makes the biggest impact. On casino sites such as ComeOn casino, themes play a larger role than animations, with the likes of Cricket Star climbing to the top of the popularity charts. However, one could claim that the vehicles for said themes are the animation and graphics (in addition to the sound and gameplay), so the importance of animation should not be understated here either.
PUBG Mobile embraced more casual graphics
Mobile gaming rules India, and so the biggest mobile game in India is the biggest overall game in India: PUBG Mobile. The undisputed king of India gaming, PUBG Mobile even managed to shrug off the highly-anticipated big-name release of Call of Duty: Mobile this year, with PUBG Mobile still standing strong atop the game charts.
PUBG began as a PC game. One of the pioneers of this wave of battle royale-themed games, PUBG used a much more realistic style of graphics and animation than its main competitor, Fortnite. But to adjust to the mobile platform as well as appeal to the, generally, more casual player base, for PUBG Mobile, the developers infused more colors and artsy effects, making the game arguably much easier on the eye. This was a smart play for PUBG Mobile; this shift in animation style has certainly helped PUBG Mobile to maintain its fun/casual gaming appeal as well as stand out from the realistic graphics of CoD Mobile and other such titles.
Animation, graphics, and art style will always help to influence players to tap on a mobile game and download it, but sometimes it’s the other aspects that lead to player retention, such as the game’s theme and the gameplay itself – and India’s mobile gamers prove this.
The post Did animation style matter for the most popular mobile games in India? appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
29
Adaptation of legendary movies has been flavour of the season for quite some time now. Filmmakers have long seen legendary stories and classics as their ultimate cinematic cash cow. Be it Disney or Universal or Sony Pictures, this recipe of success has become prominent over the years. With live-action remakes of animated classics and cinematic treat of popular graphic novels and bedtime stories, moviegoers are lapping it up like there is no tomorrow. Here’s the list of the ones we are looking forward to :-
The Invisible Man (Universal Pictures)
Most of us can’t wait for the H.G Well’s popular classic sci-fi novel to be up on the cinematic canvas. Turns out the plan is on the cards as the modern retelling that will be starring Elisabeth Moss Opposite Oliver Jackson-Cohen who portrays the titular character will reportedly release in the fag end of February.
Sonic the Hedgehog (Paramount Pictures)
Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog character has starred across television and video games, the franchise has won millions and millions of hearts since its 1991 debut. Blue-furred critter is going to be starring in his first feature film. The movie was delayed due to changes in the look post the criticism it met with over the internet. Special Effects Supervisor Alex Burdett, Visual Effects Producer Jennifer Thompson and visual effects supervisor Ged Wright sent their Sonic work for them after fan reaction to Sonic’s look in the first trailer, but character redesign from Shade VFX (Visual effects producer Molly Pabian and Albert Testani), DMG (Visual Effects Supervisor Lisa Deaner), Blur Studio, Marza Animation Planet and Trixter should be the fix. Previ was provided by Digital Domain.
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn)
Ever since Margot’s depiction of Harley Quinn, the world can’t wait to watch her reprise the role from 2016’s Suicide Squad. The news is that she is going to switch to being a hero and join superheroes Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Black Canary (June Smollett-Bell) to face off against Gotham City crime lord Black Mask (Ewan Mc Gregor). This comic book adaptation’s visuals are done by special effects supervisor Mark Hawker, Visual effects producer Annemarie Griggs, visual effects supervisor Fernando Zorrilla, Luma Pictures (Visual Effects Producer Micheal Perfew and Visual Effects Supervisor Kevin Souls), Weta Digital (Visual Effects Supervisor Train Shadbolt), Crafty Apes, Day for Nite and Method Studios. It is slated to release in February.
Mulan (Walt Disney Studios)
Disney’s romance with live-action remakes of its classic animated features is well known. They are returning with this new version of Mulan, adapted from the 1998 hit about a young woman who becomes a fearsome warrior in Ancient China. Assisting Director Niki Caro bring the animated world of Mulan to life are visual effects producer Diana Giorguitti, Visual Effects Supervisor Sean Andrew Faden and Framestore (Visual Effects Supervisor Christian Irles), Sony Imageworks (Visual Effects Supervisor Seth Muary), Weta Digital (Visual Effects Producer Rene Sekula and Visual Effects Supervisor Anders Langlands), Day for Nite and One of Us. It is slated for release in the month of March.
Bloodshot (Sony Pictures)
Comic Book Company Valiant Comics is all set to bring characters to cinema with Bloodshot, starring Vin Diesel as a murder victim who is resurrected an reborn as the ultimate weapon with superhuman powers. Valiant comics universe is going to fly onto the screens with the help of Special Effects supervisor Cordell Mc Queen and Visual Effects Supervisor Ruslan Borysov with Clear Angle Studios, Day for Nite, Method Studios and RodeaFX. It releases in the cinemas in the month of February.
Fantasy Island (Sony Pictures)
A classic Fantasy Island television series that was broadcasted from 1977 to 1984 starring Ricardo Montalban’s Mr Roarke is gearing up for a rehash, this time with an all new horror makeover. Director/co-writer Jeff Wadlow’s feature film starring Micheal Pena as Roarke. Special effects Supervisor Dean Clarke and Visual Effects Supervisor Simon Maddison will be helping the filmmakers to bring it to life and scare the world. It hit the cinemas in the month of February.
We hope you liked the list of movies that are going to be as heavy on entertainment as on visual effects. We can’t wait!
The post VFX-rich legendary adaptations that we are looking forward to appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
29
Recently, the Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional global honorary society, announced the laundry list of nominees for the 18th Annual VES Awards, the prestigious annaul celebration that awards outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life.
VES LOGO
The nominees for the 18th Annual VES Awards in 25 categories are as follow:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Richard Hollander
Kevin Sherwood
Eric Saindon
Richard Baneham
Bob Trevino
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
Dan DeLeeuw
Jen Underdahl
Russell Earl
Matt Aitken
Daniel Sudick
GEMINI MAN
Bill Westenhofer
Karen Murphy-Mundell
Guy Williams
Sheldon Stopsack
Mark Hawker
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
Roger Guyett
Stacy Bissell
Patrick Tubach
Neal Scanlan
Dominic Tuohy
THE LION KING
Robert Legato
Tom Peitzman
Adam Valdez
Andrew R. Jones
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
1917
Guillaume Rocheron
Sona Pak
Greg Butler
Vijay Selvam
Dominic Tuohy
FORD V FERRARI
Olivier Dumont
Kathy Siegel
Dave Morley
Malte Sarnes
Mark Byers
JOKER
Edwin Rivera
Brice Parker
Mathew Giampa
Bryan Godwin
Jeff Brink
THE AERONAUTS
Louis Morin
Annie Godin
Christian Kaestner
Ara Khanikian
Mike Dawson
THE IRISHMAN
Pablo Helman
Mitchell Ferm
Jill Brooks
Leandro Estebecorena
Jeff Brink
Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
FROZEN 2
Steve Goldberg
Peter Del Vecho
Mark Hammel
Michael Giaimo
KLAUS
Sergio Pablos
Matthew Teevan
Marcin Jakubowski
Szymon Biernack
MISSING LINK
Brad Schiff
Travis Knight
Steve Emerson
Benoit Dubuc
THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART
David Burgess
Timothy Jason Smith
Mark Theriault
John Rix
TOY STORY 4
Josh Cooley
Mark Nielsen
Bob Moyer
Gary Bruins
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
GAME OF THRONES; The Bells
Joe Bauer
Steve Kullback
Ted Rae
Mohsen Mousavi
Sam Conway
HIS DARK MATERIALS; The Fight to the Death
Russell Dodgson
James Whitlam
Shawn Hillier
Robert Harrington
LADY AND THE TRAMP
Robert Weaver
Christopher Raimo
Arslan Elver
Michael Cozens
Bruno Van Zeebroeck
LOST IN SPACE; Ninety-Seven
Jabbar Raisani
Terron Pratt
Niklas Jacobson
Juri Stanossek
Paul Benjamin
STRANGER THINGS – Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum
Paul Graff
Tom Ford
Michael Maher Jr.
Martin Pelletier
Andy Sowers
THE MANDALORIAN; The Child
Richard Bluff
Abbigail Keller
Jason Porter
Hayden Jones
Roy K. Cancino
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
CHERNOBYL; 1:23:45
Max Dennison
Lindsay McFarlane
Clare Cheetham
Paul Jones
Claudius Christian Rauch
LIVING WITH YOURSELF; Nice Knowing You
Jay Worth
Jacqueline VandenBussche
Chris Wright
Tristan Zerafa
SEE; Godflame
Adrian de Wet
Eve Fizzinoglia
Matthew Welford
Pedro Sabrosa
Tom Blacklock
THE CROWN; Aberfan
Ben Turner
Reece Ewing
David Fleet
Jonathan Wood
VIKINGS; What Happens in the Cave
Dominic Remane
Mike Borrett
Ovidiu Cinazan
Tom Morrison
Paul Byrne
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project
Call of Duty Modern Warfare
Charles Chabert
Chris Parise
Attila Zalanyi
Patrick Hagar
Control
Janne Pulkkinen
Elmeri Raitanen
Matti Hämäläinen
James Tottman
Gears 5
Aryan Hanbeck
Laura Kippax
Greg Mitchell
Stu Maxwell
Myth: A Frozen Tale
Jeff Gipson
Nicholas Russell
Brittney Lee
Jose Luis Gomez Diaz
Vader Immortal: Episode I
Ben Snow
Mike Doran
Aaron McBride
Steve Henricks
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial
Anthem Conviction
Viktor Muller
Lenka Likarova
Chris Harvey
Petr Marek
BMW Legend
Michael Gregory
Christian Downes
Tim Kafka
Toya Drechsler
Hennessy: The Seven Worlds
Carsten Keller
Selçuk Ergen
Kiril Mirkov
William Laban
PlayStation: Feel The Power of Pro
Sam Driscoll
Clare Melia
Gary Driver
Stefan Susemihl
Purdey’s: Hummingbird
Jules Janaud
Emma Cook
Matthew Thomas
Philip Child
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
Avengers: Damage Control
Michael Koperwas
Shereif Fattouh
Ian Bowie
Kishore Vijay
Curtis Hickman
Jurassic World: The Ride
Hayden Landis
Friend Wells
Heath Kraynak
Ellen Coss
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Asa Kalama
Rob Huebner
Khatsho Orfali
Susan Greenhow
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Jason Bayever
Patrick Kearney
Carol Norton
Bill George
Universal Sphere
James Healy
Morgan MacCuish
Ben West
Charlie Bayliss
Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL; Alita
Michael Cozens
Mark Haenga
Olivier Lesaint
Dejan Momcilovic
AVENGERS: ENDGAME; Smart Hulk
Kevin Martel
Ebrahim Jahromi
Sven Jensen
Robert Allman
GEMINI MAN; Junior
Paul Story
Stuart Adcock
Emiliano Padovani
Marco Revelant
THE LION KING; Scar
Gabriel Arnold
James Hood
Julia Friedl
Daniel Fotheringham
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature
FROZEN 2; The Water Nøkk
Svetla Radivoeva
Marc Bryant
Richard E. Lehmann
Cameron Black
KLAUS; Jesper
Yoshimichi Tamura
Alfredo Cassano
Maxime Delalande
Jason Schwartzman
MISSING LINK; Susan
Rachelle Lambden
Brenda Baumgarten
Morgan Hay
Benoit Dubuc
TOY STORY 4; Bo Peep
Radford Hurn
Tanja Krampfert
George Nguyen
Becki Rocha Tower
Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project
LADY AND THE TRAMP; Tramp
Thiago Martins
Arslan Elver
Stanislas Paillereau
Martine Chartrand
STRANGER THINGS 3; Tom/Bruce Monster
Joseph Dubé-Arsenault
Antoine Barthod
Frederick Gagnon
Xavier Lafarge
THE MANDALORIAN; The Child; Mudhorn
Terry Bannon
Rudy Massar
Hugo Leygnac
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY; Pilot; Pogo
Aidan Martin
Craig Young
Olivier Beierlein
Laurent Herveic
Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial
Apex Legends; Meltdown; Mirage
Chris Bayol
John Fielding
Derrick Sesson
Nole Murphy
Churchill; Churchie
Martino Madeddu
Philippe Moine
Clement Granjon
Jon Wood
Cyberpunk 2077; Dex
Jonas Ekman
Jonas Skoog
Marek Madej
Grzegorz Chojnacki
John Lewis; Excitable Edgar; Edgar
Tim van Hussen
Diarmid Harrison-Murray
Amir Bazazi
Michael Diprose
Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature
ALADDIN; Agrabah
Daniel Schmid
Falk Boje
Stanislaw Marek
Kevin George
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL; Iron City
John Stevenson-Galvin
Ryan Arcus
Mathias Larserud
Mark Tait
MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN; Penn Station
John Bair
Vance Miller
Sebastian Romero
Steve Sullivan
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER; Pasaana Desert
Daniele Bigi
Steve Hardy
John Seru
Steven Denyer
THE LION KING; The Pridelands
Marco Rolandi
Luca Bonatti
Jules Bodenstein
Filippo Preti
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature
FROZEN 2; Giants’ Gorge
Samy Segura
Jay V. Jackson
Justin Cram
Scott Townsend
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD; The Hidden World
Chris Grun
Ronnie Cleland
Ariel Chisholm
Philippe Brochu
MISSING LINK; Passage to India Jungle
Oliver Jones
Phil Brotherton
Nick Mariana
Ralph Procida
TOY STORY 4; Antiques Mall
Hosuk Chang
Andrew Finley
Alison Leaf
Philip Shoebottom
Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
GAME OF THRONES; The Iron Throne; Red Keep Plaza
Carlos Patrick DeLeon
Alonso Bocanegra Martinez
Marcela Silva
Benjamin Ross
LOST IN SPACE; Precipice; The Trench
Philip Engström
Benjamin Bernon
Martin Bergquist
Xuan Prada
THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE; The Endless Forest
Sulé Bryan
Charles Chorein
Christian Waite
Martyn Hawkins
THE MANDALORIAN; Nevarro Town
Alex Murtaza
Yanick Gaudreau
Marco Tremblay
Maryse Bouchard
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Emile Ghorayeb
Simon Jung
Nick Epstein
Mike Perry
THE LION KING
Robert Legato
Caleb Deschanel
Ben Grossmann
AJ Sciutto
THE MANDALORIAN; The Prisoner; The Roost
Richard Bluff
Jason Porter
Landis Fields IV
Barry Baz Idoine
TOY STORY 4
Jean-Claude Kalache
Patrick Lin
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project
LOST IN SPACE; The Resolute
Xuan Prada
Jason Martin
Jonathan Vårdstedt
Eric Andersson
MISSING LINK; The Manchuria
Todd Alan Harvey
Dan Casey
Katy Hughes
THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE; Rocket Train
Neil Taylor
Casi Blume
Ben McDougal
Chris Kuhn
THE MANDALORIAN; The Sin; The Razorcrest
Doug Chiang
Jay Machado
John Goodson
Landis Fields IV
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature
DUMBO; Bubble Elephants
Sam Hancock
Victor Glushchenko
Andrew Savchenko
Arthur Moody
SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME; Molten Man
Adam Gailey
Jacob Santamaria
Jacob Clark
Stephanie Molk
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
Don Wong
Thibault Gauriau
Goncalo Cabaca
François-Maxence Desplanques
THE LION KING
David Schneider
Samantha Hiscock
Andy Feery
Kostas Strevlos
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature
ABOMINABLE
Alex Timchenko
Domin Lee
Michael Losure
Eric Warren
FROZEN 2
Erin V. Ramos
Scott Townsend
Thomas Wickes
Rattanin Sirinaruemarn
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD; Water and Waterfalls
Derek Cheung
Baptiste Van Opstal
Youxi Woo
Jason Mayer
TOY STORY 4
Alexis Angelidis
Amit Baadkar
Lyon Liew
Michael Lorenzen
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
GAME OF THRONES; The Bells
Marcel Kern
Paul Fuller
Ryo Sakaguchi
Thomas Hartmann
Hennessy: The Seven Worlds
Selçuk Ergen
Radu Ciubotariu
Andreu Lucio
Vincent Ullmann
LOST IN SPACE; Precipice; Water Planet
Juri Bryan
Hugo Medda
Kristian Olsson
John Perrigo
STRANGER THINGS 3; Melting Tom/Bruce
Nathan Arbuckle
Christian Gaumond
James Dong
Aleksandr Starkov
THE MANDALORIAN; The Child; Mudhorn
Xavier Martin Ramirez
Ian Baxter
Fabio Siino
Andrea Rosa
Outstanding Compositing in a Feature
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Adam Bradley
Carlo Scaduto
Hirofumi Takeda
Ben Roberts
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
Tim Walker
Blake Winder
Tobias Wiesner
Joerg Bruemmer
CAPTAIN MARVEL; Young Nick Fury
Trent Claus
David Moreno Hernandez
Jeremiah Sweeney
Yuki Uehara
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
Jeff Sutherland
John Galloway
Sam Bassett
Charles Lai
THE IRISHMAN
Nelson Sepulveda
Vincent Papaix
Benjamin O’Brien
Christopher Doerhoff
Outstanding Compositing in an Episode
GAME OF THRONES; The Bells
Scott Joseph
James Elster
Corinne Teo
Sean Heuston
GAME OF THRONES; The Long Night; Dragon Ground Battle
Mark Richardson
Darren Christie
Nathan Abbot
Owen Longstaff
STRANGER THINGS 3; Starcourt Mall Battle
Simon Lehembre
Andrew Kowbell
Karim El-Masry
Miklos Mesterhazy
WATCHMEN; It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice; Looking Glass
Nathaniel Larouche
Iyi Tubi
Perunika Yorgova
Mitchell Beaton
Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial
BMW Legend
Toya Drechsler
Vivek Tekale
Guillaume Weiss
Alexander Kulikov
Feeding America; I Am Hunger in America
Dan Giraldo
Marcelo Pasqualino
Alexander Koester
Hennessy; The Seven Worlds
Rod Norman
Guillaume Weiss
Alexander Kulikov
Alessandro Granella
PlayStation: Feel the Power of Pro
Gary Driver
Stefan Susemihl
Greg Spencer
Theajo Dharan
Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project
ALADDIN; Magic Carpet
Mark Holt
Jay Mallet
Will Wyatt
Dickon Mitchell
GAME OF THRONES; The Bells
Sam Conway
Terry Palmer
Laurence Harvey
Alastair Vardy
TERMINATOR: DARK FATE
Neil Corbould
David Brighton
Ray Ferguson
Keith Dawson
THE DARK CRYSTAL: THE AGE OF RESISTANCE; She Knows All the Secrets
Sean Mathiesen
Jon Savage
Toby Froud
Phil Harvey
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
DOWNFALL
Matías Heker
Stephen Moroz
Bradley Cocksedge
LOVE AND FIFTY MEGATONS
Denis Krez
Josephine Roß
Paulo Scatena
Lukas Löffler
OEIL POUR OEIL
Alan Guimont
Thomas Boileau
Malcom Hunt
Robin Courtoise
THE BEAUTY
Marc Angele
Aleksandra Todorovic
Pascal Schelbli
Noel Winzen
The post Here are the VES nominees for 18th Annual VES awards appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
29
Amar Chitra Katha’s Uncle Pai receives lifetime achievement award for promoting reading
Posted in: Animation
India is a land of stories! Our generations have grown up hearing and telling them too. Amar Chitra Katha’s founder Anant Pai, fondly known as Uncle Pai launched comics in an era when comics were not respected by the parents and other educational institutes.
Recently Food 4 Thought Foundation recognised Pai with lifetime achievement award for promoting reading. Amar Chitra Katha business head Shilpi Mathur accepted the award on his behalf. Feeling proud of it, Mathur said, “It was a feeling of pride to have collected the award on his behalf. I am a kid of the 90s and have grown up reading Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha comics. Uncle Pai was a hero in the eyes of many, his stories gave new lines of thinking to kids.”
Pai was a revolutionary in his own way. Recognised as the father of Indian comics, he solely took the responsibility of preserving India’s history which is not even captured in any history textbook. “As an Indian I cannot thank Uncle Pai enough to have created a treasure trove of such beautiful stories which we have cherished for generations,” Mathur added.
Change is constant, we at Amar Chitra Katha strongly believes that change is constant, and with the change in reading habits, the publishing house has changed themselves. “Our editors who are trained under Uncle Pai are writing, keeping in mind today’s smart kids.” ACK has adapted to the changing world and technology and have made their content available on Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle Studios’ official applications and also on portals like Kindle magzter.
“We connect to our readers on one on one basis, by conducting workshops at school which helps us to improvise our work,” Mathur mentioned.
Having tasted great success with recent titles such as Women Pathbreakers, Shakti, Saptarishi, APJ Kalam, Legends and Lore, the team is bringing fresh new Amar Chitra Katha’s year on year. In the coming year the comic house plans to launch more than 10 titles touching more intense subjects with beautiful storytelling and art.
The post Amar Chitra Katha’s Uncle Pai receives lifetime achievement award for promoting reading appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
29
‘Ramayana’ gets a fresh spin with Ashok K Banker’s graphic novel ‘Prince of Ayodhya’
Posted in: Animation
I clearly remember the time when as a child I used to listen to my grandad recite the epics – The Mahabharata and The Ramayana as enthralling stories. The magnanimity, grandeur and larger-than-life characters have always thrilled me. Over the years, I came to realise something that my teacher said when I was in fifth standard- “Whatever isn’t present in these epics aren’t there in this country”. These epics are still relevant and modern these epics are that we discover something new everytime we read them.
There have been countless adaptations and retellings of the epics – be it in films or series or graphic novels, the trend isn’t stopping anytime soon. Recently, author and screenwriter, Ashok K Banker launched the first book of his eight part adaptation of the epic The Ramayana. Titled Prince of Ayodhya, the book launched in December 2019 in India and will be coming in trade paperback in July 2020 from Penguin Random House USA and Campfire.
Banker’s areas of expertise include – mythology, crime thrillers, essays, literary criticism and fiction. He was also writing for DC Comics on graphic novels and has now returned to India for his mythological adaptation. Back in 2010, DC Comics purchased an original graphic novel script of his Becoming Kali and the film rights were purchased for development by Warner Bros the year afterwards. But, unfortunately both the projects were shelved and he went on to write different projects. His credits include over 70 books that have sold over three million copies in 22 languages and 62 countries worldwide.
AnimationXpress was lucky enough to have an interview that turned out in insightful conversation. Excerpts from the conversation :
1. Why did you decide to adapt The Ramayana in an eight part series, given there have been adaptations before?
Back in the late 1990s when I began working on my retellings of Indian mythology, there were no English-language retellings of the myths and epics, apart from academic translations and old versions for children (Rajgopalachari, Munshi, and so on). In the West, they retell their ancient myths and legends constantly in new and creative ways. There are literally tens of thousands of different variations on the same classic stories. I felt there was surely room in India or at least one sincere retelling of our great stories for a contemporary readership.
I began my Ramayana without knowing how long or how many books it would take. It ended up being eight books written over almost a decade. Each book was 500 to 700 pages long. It was only natural that each book should be adapted to a full-length graphic novel. Even then, I had to condense the story considerably and eliminate several supporting characters and subplots. In the end, I’m very satisfied with the result!
Ashok K Banker
2. How are you dividing the epic in eight parts given it’s so vast? Tell us about the first book – Prince of Ayodhya?
My Ramayana Series is one epic story split into eight parts. The first book Prince of Ayodhya tells the story of Rama and his family in Ayodhya when he was 15 years old. We see his innocent youthful days and his relationship with his brothers, his mother, the other Queens, his father, other characters, and the gradual rise of the threat of Ravana, whose plans to invade the mortal realm are gathering momentum.
There are forces within Ayodhya that work secretly for Ravana, trying to breed rebellion within the kingdom, and sabotage the royal family through internal conflict. The main plot concerns the arrival of the 246-year old brahmarishi Vishwamitra who seeks to take young prince Rama to the dreaded Bhayanak-van to end the menace of the yaksi Taraka, who is Ravana’s emissary. The book ends with an epic battle in the haunted forest where Rama and Lakshman and Vishwamitra face the monstrous children of the giantess and finally, in a climactic showdown, Tataka herself. This is the plot of the graphic novel. The prose novel has much more detail and subplots of course but Sachin Nagar’s powerful art portrays the key events, characters and battle action brilliantly.
3. Please throw some light on the rest of the books with little brief if possible?
The rest of the Ramayana Series continues the adventures of Rama, Lakshman, and later, Sita, Hanuman and other protagonists as well, all the way until the Luv Kush story and the final samadhi of Rama and Lakshman at the end of their lives.
4. There are several translations of the epic, from where are you drawing inspiration and information?
Having written several thousand pages of my Ramayana Series, that’s inspiration enough! Writing the series was a labour of love that took decades of research and study of the Ramayana, but in the end, everything you read in the novels, or see in the graphic novels is my imaginative (and often fantastical) interpretation of this classic story. As of now, my Ramayana series has sold well over a million copies worldwide in 17 languages and 26 countries. It’s considered the most widely known read and loved, Ramayana of all time. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to retell my very unique take on this timeless tale once again through the wonderful cinematic medium of graphic novels starting with Prince of Ayodhya.
5. Why do you think it’s still relevant in today’s time?
More people are reading books today than ever before in the history of the world. The sheer volume, sales and reach of books across the world, especially in the West, is growing even today at amazing rates. Young people in particular are reading books – the Forbes annual list of top earners includes several children’s book authors who earn tens of millions in royalties each year and sell tens of millions of copies of their books. Each generation wants to hear the stories of their culture retold in a way that appeals to their sensibility. The greatest stories will always be retold, time and time again, and will always find an audience – only the style of retelling will change in each era.
I think my Ramayana series struck a chord in tens of lakhs of Indian and international readers who saw the timeless appeal of this great story and these legendary characters. It’s an inspiring tale of one man, one family’s struggles to remain good and do good in the face of impossible odds, while battling evil. They don’t always succeed, and many people now speak of Rama’s glaring errors of judgement and action, but those very errors make his achievements all the greater. He may have been ‘Maryada Purshottam’ to many, but he was at the core, intensely, unavoidably, human. This is a great story of human struggle and endurance and it will live forever. Even today, almost twenty years after its first publication and almost three decades since I began writing it, I constantly receive fan mail from young, teenage readers who have discovered the books for the first time and fall in love with them.
6. Tell us about your journey till date as a graphic novel writer?
I fell in love with comics at a very young age, before the age of 10. I was already a precocious reader of books by that time, and read voraciously. Comics were a whole different way of storytelling. In my teens, I even registered three comic book imprints with the Mumbai registrar of periodicals and sought funding to start my own comic book publishing company. I came close to starting up but at the last minute, the funding fell through. I never stopped trying and over time, I wrote comics and graphic novels for several publications, often using pseudonyms as they were work-for-hire assignments. My goal was always to write original graphic novels that were my own creation. I have yet to achieve all my goals as a graphic novelist but I will never stop trying!
Even now, I’m working with several brilliant artists on a number of original projects. As is my policy, I’d prefer to talk about them only once they’re published. Several years ago, the head of Vertigo Comics (a part of the DC group) contacted me to ask if I would like to write a graphic novel for them. I happily agreed. Vertigo is a great imprint with some phenomenal titles. I developed and created an original graphic novel titled Becoming Kali. It was a wonderful experience and so interactive at every stage. There was daily communication between all of us, and every single line, breakdown, panel and art was discussed and perfected. There is a reason why American comics publishers produce such a high level of quality: they take the medium very seriously and work to perfection. There is no compromise at every stage. And you get paid very well indeed!
7. Adapting an epic into a graphic novel is a strenuous job. What kind of challenges have you faced?
Writing and creating a graphic novel is a wonderful, enjoyable experience. There is no other reason to be a creator unless you love it! For my part, since I was adapting my own novel, and was very familiar with the grammar and medium of graphic novels, it was quite simple and great fun. There were challenges on the editorial and publishing front, due to the extreme differences between the contemporary professional style of working followed in international comic publishing companies and the relatively conservative mindset of the Indian publishing company. The main difference is in workflow: the international publishers regard a graphic novel as an equal collaboration between artist and writer and they are the ones who engage directly with each other and maintain a strong, constant interaction, resulting in a powerful collaborative creation.
It’s quite different in India. I hope things will change and India will come into the 21st century in this respect as well! Still, thanks to a strong script and a very talented and determined artist, Sachin Nagar has managed to do a great job against the odds. His art is a shining example of Indian talent that deserves its place on the world graphic novel scene. He is a brilliant artist equal to any of those working for DC or Marvel. He should be in charge of his own imprint!
The post ‘Ramayana’ gets a fresh spin with Ashok K Banker’s graphic novel ‘Prince of Ayodhya’ appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A. during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.