tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-170891432024-03-04T12:23:41.537-08:00 Animation Re-creationPostings of my art and animation work, along with observations on teaching, careers, media, technology, culture and a bit of geek stuff.
All material and images are copyright Ken Roskos, unless where otherwise noted. All rights reserved.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger507125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-61121125850567734602022-08-29T11:46:00.003-07:002022-08-29T11:46:56.569-07:00Discovery’s Warner Brothers Aquisition Leads To HBO Max Job Cuts<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm005_MVmG21KDfnyfqPbvS34zx-03ZoQSDdnAuKmjUhjOYmZa-64SmcE7XcU5whbt38LC-Jqjn2XvBikJkTRXoC4hsSaZD2cgo8BYcbswBywsjocJ6DF-oWWQS4xk8McD-4pWjUUy1bf6wifvP7kpYpANebDdSbTzpIS0e7NPirFTUfnRTg/s1200/streaming-warner-bros-discovery%20mod%20-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="1200" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm005_MVmG21KDfnyfqPbvS34zx-03ZoQSDdnAuKmjUhjOYmZa-64SmcE7XcU5whbt38LC-Jqjn2XvBikJkTRXoC4hsSaZD2cgo8BYcbswBywsjocJ6DF-oWWQS4xk8McD-4pWjUUy1bf6wifvP7kpYpANebDdSbTzpIS0e7NPirFTUfnRTg/s320/streaming-warner-bros-discovery%20mod%20-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">(copyright Warner Bros. Discovery) <br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Yeah, I'm feeling not feeling very charitable today. I've been struggling to overcome a new health problem that cropped up last week, and it's helped sour my mood towards this topic. But, is anyone not surprised by this? Corporate mergers usually mean getting kicked to the curb for the worker.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">It's one thing to be nimble and versatile. I was at a lecture at Otis a few years ago where the panel discussed how new animation artists now have to be ready to make lateral moves away from the traditional studios to games, new media, and online companies that you would never associate with animation. But I still feel we need to really twist congress' arms as far as helping Americans cope with factors such as the outsourcing of jobs, and the repeal of the fairness doctrine. This situation with Discovery, and the overreach of Netflix sounds like another dotcom bubble to me. Here's an oldie but a goodie-<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh6Hf5_ZYPI ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh6Hf5_ZYPI </a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://animationre-creation.blogspot.com/2022/04/discovery-aquires-warner-media-from-at.html">https://animationre-creation.blogspot.com/2022/04/discovery-aquires-warner-media-from-at.html</a><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><a href=" https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/19/heres-why-hbo-max-is-pulling-dozens-of-films-and-tv-series-from-its-streaming-platform.html"> https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/19/heres-why-hbo-max-is-pulling-dozens-of-films-and-tv-series-from-its-streaming-platform.html</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"> <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-08-26/why-some-of-your-favorite-shows-are-disappearing-from-hbo-max">https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-08-26/why-some-of-your-favorite-shows-are-disappearing-from-hbo-max</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-08-26/why-some-of-your-favorite-shows-are-disappearing-from-hbo-max"> https://www.thewrap.com/hbo-max-cuts-catalog-demand-infinity-train/</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/this-hbo-max-and-warner-bros-discovery-drama-is-a-big-depressing-mess">https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/this-hbo-max-and-warner-bros-discovery-drama-is-a-big-depressing-mess </a><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-20445039223679141032022-07-16T08:47:00.004-07:002022-07-16T08:51:06.666-07:00Akira - Premiere in Japan: July 16, 1988<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Little memory jolt from Tom Sito on Facebook today: Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic film Akira premiered in Tokyo on July 16, 1988, 34 years ago. I picked up this handout that was floating around the east side when I was working in Beachwood, Ohio. Just a hasty, but still stylish paste-up that was reproduced on an old photocopier.</span><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MVQfoa3IYGxuhkdV1Ox62Bum2-Aqsq-hEct8zb28-122k--azLTFZB6x00w4eTuc4Yz7yZ4yG2fuKOUV-wE61HhgBqTpXVuWYi9cpz5UGYG8zqBuIBU4Oaw98hiL8WVUUYTqatqSC7rv6HpdWxLP61Dk6bRQ4963hOGarzSeetVlAQ-A5Q/s907/Akira%20Cleveland%20Cinematheque.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="561" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MVQfoa3IYGxuhkdV1Ox62Bum2-Aqsq-hEct8zb28-122k--azLTFZB6x00w4eTuc4Yz7yZ4yG2fuKOUV-wE61HhgBqTpXVuWYi9cpz5UGYG8zqBuIBU4Oaw98hiL8WVUUYTqatqSC7rv6HpdWxLP61Dk6bRQ4963hOGarzSeetVlAQ-A5Q/s320/Akira%20Cleveland%20Cinematheque.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #3a3b3c; color: #e4e6eb; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">(original copyright Katsuhiro Otomo. Original poster artist unknown.)</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #3a3b3c; color: #e4e6eb; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
think this was from 1989 or 1990? But Akira brought the house down,
back at the good ol' Cleveland Cinematheque. Akira was a giant step away
from the old Speed Racer and the original Transformers. This director
meant business. No one under 13 admitted!</span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #3a3b3c; color: #e4e6eb; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">By now, most Anime' fans know of this grim, near future dystopian tale: Two friends in a motorcycle gang stumble upon a secret government plan that made nuclear weapons look like mere firecrackers. Akira helped develop an appetite in the U.S. for more serious work like the Animatrix, </span><span>and the great films of Hayao Miyazaki.</span></span> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ken.roskos/posts/1085670169022040:5 ">https://www.facebook.com/ken.roskos/posts/1085670169022040:5 </a></p><p style="text-align: center;"> So, charge up your bikes, rile up the gang, and take the wild ride again!</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_(1988_film)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_(1988_film)</a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-80273415448367364412022-07-04T12:14:00.001-07:002022-07-04T12:20:13.986-07:00The Bad Guys<p style="text-align: center;"> Here we go: I finally caught Dreamworks' "The Bad Guys" on Blu-ray. While I didn't fall in love with it, The Bad Guys has some elements that I admire. Even with a healthy box office turnout, Comcast/Universal didn't waste much time putting the movie out online and out on disks. After the loosening of Covid lockdown guidelines, the movie has generated a good buzz. The end credits even mention that the film was made during "unprecedented times". After the disasters that started in 2020, "The Bad Guys" is a part of animation film history, now that I think about it. Without high speed internet, and Zoom meetings, effective animation production would have been on a much rougher road. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauZvDfRM0-wiLWI5X_kA9ygqCSNX18ucM-qVxdKYUimF8h1lMUmlo-fBCbk3bF6JFeNz5SUEYaFwZ38n-SA3FRC6W9r2dscJ0oE-H1k2bIklgU1C7F58x5_MxgWxAQEzP5v7cxGqxsKHuHGSaxzIpLKu_NLbJcaAC6Ek1wVwHjIYchv2ccQ/s887/bad%20guys%20stair%20sequence_04.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="887" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauZvDfRM0-wiLWI5X_kA9ygqCSNX18ucM-qVxdKYUimF8h1lMUmlo-fBCbk3bF6JFeNz5SUEYaFwZ38n-SA3FRC6W9r2dscJ0oE-H1k2bIklgU1C7F58x5_MxgWxAQEzP5v7cxGqxsKHuHGSaxzIpLKu_NLbJcaAC6Ek1wVwHjIYchv2ccQ/s320/bad%20guys%20stair%20sequence_04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mr. Wolf's driving puts Speed Racer to shame! <br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(copyright Dreamworks/Universal)</div><p style="text-align: center;">And it's far from being a dud: Bad Guys has likeable characters, homages to famous heist movies and yet, callbacks to classic Looney Tunes, and even some Anime'. I think my old supervisor on Ren and Stimpy would have called it "snapimation" in the way characters "pop" from pose to pose. Mr. Wolf stands up to some potentially lethal punishment with their crazy cartoon logic, and Bad Guys is also following the trend to work some traditional "2-D" elements added back into a 3D computer animated film. Animation director Pierre Perifel brings in smears, flat style designs with smoke and facial expressions. Some of the animation even reminds me of <span><i>Osamu Tezuka</i> </span>, with the eyes, mouths and outrageous poses.The overall background design is based on a present day Los Angeles/So Cal environment, with a humorous, and even glowing, sort of romantic style.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21hNWHLYU7-B-etoyRwjZwR8j-L8zJNCCD_OGIpfTbu9zr0RK_o1pOo3uBIlMc56CbApUPMet-xP9WFGkkbtaQCtX5lPB3PP6y4jKNn18PpFZ-0SoSijTyTUvloSkr1xDqQMTwPYAFZzrMGHVYWtdvrm0mGUfHXP6R8odDhyiJM6pkiq20A/s840/ca-times.brightspotcdn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="840" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21hNWHLYU7-B-etoyRwjZwR8j-L8zJNCCD_OGIpfTbu9zr0RK_o1pOo3uBIlMc56CbApUPMet-xP9WFGkkbtaQCtX5lPB3PP6y4jKNn18PpFZ-0SoSijTyTUvloSkr1xDqQMTwPYAFZzrMGHVYWtdvrm0mGUfHXP6R8odDhyiJM6pkiq20A/s320/ca-times.brightspotcdn.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"> (copyright Dreamworks/Universal)</div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">The Bad Guys universe is a world primarily populated by cartoon humans, with the stars being the only few "funny animal" characters. Mr. Wolf and his crew appear to be magical characters that have negative histories going back to mankind's earliest myths. Their ostracization seems to have contributed to their becoming bank robbers, and troublemakers in general, reveling in their revenge against decent society. The plot revolves around the characters' attempt to "go straight", and their own secret longings to be accepted by the outside world. Naturally, things go awry, in a fun, crazy way. And, of course, Mr. Wolf's life is complicated when his heart is touched by accidentally helping a little old lady, and then the attentions of a lovely young vixen, who also happens to be their state Governor.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhol6fT53A6EEBkYh6JWX8K8ESp4NYbQM2ypfkmmxEs7W5DmGpVilKItWlIWdbRFNRHSggmUwAEiSlvmj3iRuDtd8vn_Mt2PH5or1MmqJfA_DcU3Xg4IYr-3vL26MhRhelruSeMXM66bb5xjHG7VwKgMxwKcvrkYb3M2ahmBySW6ofHfdaXug/s551/wolf%20%20fox.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="551" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhol6fT53A6EEBkYh6JWX8K8ESp4NYbQM2ypfkmmxEs7W5DmGpVilKItWlIWdbRFNRHSggmUwAEiSlvmj3iRuDtd8vn_Mt2PH5or1MmqJfA_DcU3Xg4IYr-3vL26MhRhelruSeMXM66bb5xjHG7VwKgMxwKcvrkYb3M2ahmBySW6ofHfdaXug/s320/wolf%20%20fox.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(copyright Dreamworks/Universal)</div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;">On the downside, the film is very dialogue heavy. Feeling a bit jaded, I first watched BG with the directors' commentary on. Without the performance of the voice actors, the movie sort of just clicked and popped along. And being a tribute to Quentin Tarantino movies, the film depends quiet a bit on flashbacks, with healthy doses of exposition to explain events that occurred off camera.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRcDbtMlpk8zompO9ltsVfmyf5IPmJCzUILHI__LCfssfg_RzDp29WHw-YTYKREWiWkbv-hx_6ug113bjYm0GUqKjO_5E1KcPephluijFRLdgT-qNwmKk6lXdOwhojQXG6-xJ1_Eb2VEWkNcWIDDXfSW8rjct7wNuXHj3uKYuwE0Q5FFFwg/s764/bad%20guys%20in%20car.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="764" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRcDbtMlpk8zompO9ltsVfmyf5IPmJCzUILHI__LCfssfg_RzDp29WHw-YTYKREWiWkbv-hx_6ug113bjYm0GUqKjO_5E1KcPephluijFRLdgT-qNwmKk6lXdOwhojQXG6-xJ1_Eb2VEWkNcWIDDXfSW8rjct7wNuXHj3uKYuwE0Q5FFFwg/s320/bad%20guys%20in%20car.png" width="320" /></a></div>(copyright Dreamworks/Universal)</div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">But all in all, The Bad Guys is a nice break from our Covid, politics and war nightmares. Definitely worth checking out.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-04-25/bad-guys-los-angeles-animation-pierre-perifel">https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-04-25/bad-guys-los-angeles-animation-pierre-perifel</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/806355508295247755/"> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/806355508295247755/</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8115900/" target="_blank">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8115900/ </a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-92117146384384368852022-06-19T09:52:00.006-07:002022-06-23T07:22:25.756-07:00The Animation Guild's tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) <p style="text-align: center;">Full Disclosure: I am an employee of the Animation Guild IATSE Local 839, so what I'm posting here is a matter of public record. Hopefully, a majority of our members will vote on these contracts, one way or another.<br /><a href="https://animationguild.org/ratify22/"><br />https://animationguild.org/ratify22/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://perfectunion.us/iatse-animators-demand-a-new-deal/">https://perfectunion.us/iatse-animators-demand-a-new-deal/</a><br /><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/animation-union-pushes-production-workers-strategy-labor-katie-kilkenny-1235164936/"><br />https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/animation-union-pushes-production-workers-strategy-labor-katie-kilkenny-1235164936/</a><br /><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/animation-guild-contract-deal-reached-long-negotiations-1235055769/"><br />https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/animation-guild-contract-deal-reached-long-negotiations-1235055769/</a><br /><a href="https://variety.com/2022/biz/news/animation-guild-amptp-deal-1235280032/"><br />https://variety.com/2022/biz/news/animation-guild-amptp-deal-1235280032/ </a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-23660882934956726102022-06-06T21:00:00.001-07:002022-06-06T21:06:53.822-07:00Innovations in Animation - Part 5 - Fever The Ghost - SOURCE (official music video)<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/9RHFFeQ2tu4" width="480"></iframe> </p><p style="text-align: center;">Here's some amazing work by Felix Colgrave. Born in Tasmania, now based in Melbourne, Colgrave blows the viewers' minds in the most unexpected, and dare I say it, charming way. Felix has a background in TV ads, music videos and video game cinematics, but he presently is focused on his own work. Pulsing to the music of the band Fever The Ghost, this little old man and his dragon, "Long Morrison", travel to the center of the earth. Their mission: turn the world into a party planet! But then, it looks like it's just their job, day in and day out.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/fevertheghost">https://www.facebook.com/fevertheghost</a> <br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">From what I've read, Colgrave uses After Effects to animate his fantastic art. Virtually all of the exposure of his independent work comes from using the world wide web. As far as I can see, no TV, film or DVD gave his work any publicity. There's some Monty Python surrealism, with even a touch of Moebius in this short. While there's nothing really groundbreaking in Colgrave's techniques, or use of animation technology, I'm putting his work down as an innovation simply from his use of the internet, and the fearlessness of his ideas.</p><p style="text-align: center;">All of which has gained him an audience!</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://felix.film/contact">https://felix.film/contact</a> <br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6150785/">https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6150785/</a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-55100325089907225372022-05-02T20:18:00.000-07:002022-05-02T20:18:30.362-07:00Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Animation Department ranks among best in U.S. <div><p style="text-align: center;">Some good news from the Edinboro Universtiy Alumni Newsletter:</p><p style="text-align: center;">"Edinboro University animation program ranks among best in U.S."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmc2-MvoAfGX6K-w1xJVrtfmdWIyMWFM0syZZ1RUgQvb1KvhJPIkUW-AbGzwwA721TShQAIlGqh04RKRZFpP6-tHho7QjyqBH7vGtDfjJK0rz_Q6P3Tu6c33LURUNytBdxFSbNvp7zIP3xIF84msfIp164lowiP2F8sYMXv76Qq4W5xOniyw/s1600/IMG_2734.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmc2-MvoAfGX6K-w1xJVrtfmdWIyMWFM0syZZ1RUgQvb1KvhJPIkUW-AbGzwwA721TShQAIlGqh04RKRZFpP6-tHho7QjyqBH7vGtDfjJK0rz_Q6P3Tu6c33LURUNytBdxFSbNvp7zIP3xIF84msfIp164lowiP2F8sYMXv76Qq4W5xOniyw/s320/IMG_2734.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(my photo from CTN Expo in Burbank CA)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">My second old Alma Mater Edinboro made a mark in the Top 25 East Coast Animation Schools and Colleges for 2022, going up against heavy hitters such as School of Visual Arts, New York, New York and Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island. Edinboro is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Nice to know the 'Boro's is still slugging it out, in spite of the Covid lockdown, and the university being merged into the new Pennsylvania Western University with Clarion and California (PA) universities. While my career didn't go as far as distinguished alumni as Bill Waldman or David Filoni, I'm still grateful to Edinboro and the teachers there.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/cal-u-clarion-edinboro-pennsylvania-western-university/">https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/cal-u-clarion-edinboro-pennsylvania-western-university/</a><br /></div></div><div><b></b></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/top-25-animation-schools-and-colleges-east-coast-2022-college-rankings?bbeml=tp-C46_VSp1tEOjDZGH79Bxrg.jHRPclhkYSkmX4fZFEa4tcA.ruNUcP2v3eEe6VooTH0KwzQ.lL5bAGYhnBU-JVBjexw41pQ"> https://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/top-25-animation-schools-and-colleges-east-coast-2022-college-rankings?bbeml=tp-C46_VSp1tEOjDZGH79Bxrg.jHRPclhkYSkmX4fZFEa4tcA.ruNUcP2v3eEe6VooTH0KwzQ.lL5bAGYhnBU-JVBjexw41pQ</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.edinboro.edu/news/edinboro-animation-ranking-2022.php?bbeml=tp-C46_VSp1tEOjDZGH79Bxrg.jHRPclhkYSkmX4fZFEa4tcA.ruNUcP2v3eEe6VooTH0KwzQ.ld5bES-qOg0KxyCl7z4_MOA"> https://www.edinboro.edu/news/edinboro-animation-ranking-2022.php?bbeml=tp-C46_VSp1tEOjDZGH79Bxrg.jHRPclhkYSkmX4fZFEa4tcA.ruNUcP2v3eEe6VooTH0KwzQ.ld5bES-qOg0KxyCl7z4_MOA</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.edinboro.edu/academics/schools-and-departments/cahss/departments/art/index.php">https://www.edinboro.edu/academics/schools-and-departments/cahss/departments/art/index.php</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.edinboro.edu/">https://www.edinboro.edu/ </a> <br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-33327691906438718512022-04-24T11:17:00.001-07:002022-06-06T20:01:04.781-07:00Innovations in Animation - Part 4 - Gorillaz<div style="text-align: center;">Hello folks, this article has been giving me trouble for a while. I've been an on and off fan of the Gorillaz for some time, and they've seemed to have fallen off the pop culture radar. Their music and graphic style from the '90's is still interesting to me, but I've had trouble collecting info on the artists and writers on this unique and outrageous virtual band. Been working on this since the pandemic started, so it's kind of slopped out down below. Publishing it "as is" may provide the spur for me to tighten up my writing here. We'll see.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-seCWMr2gxLgfMb1pLm2K2sozZMdqIi6hEvxfJOlMJGjNYycUM4_rWGXxwlc5qRTB4PUT0z99OMTyNMwSUEuOhrxNPjcwt8rhyphenhyphentop7i_aqj1Wz64qG1PECOv7QeioJDwPVwC6/s1920/Gorillaz+Phase+1-01.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1920" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-seCWMr2gxLgfMb1pLm2K2sozZMdqIi6hEvxfJOlMJGjNYycUM4_rWGXxwlc5qRTB4PUT0z99OMTyNMwSUEuOhrxNPjcwt8rhyphenhyphentop7i_aqj1Wz64qG1PECOv7QeioJDwPVwC6/s320/Gorillaz+Phase+1-01.JPG" width="320" /></a> <br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(original copyright Jamie Hewlett and "Zombie Flesh Eaters")</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The virtual band members: Murdoc - bass, "2D" - vocals and keyboards, Noodles -guitar and vocals, and Russel - drums, percussion.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I first heard the Gorillaz while riding along in my sister's truck over the Holidays on a dark winter night years ago, as we rumbled over the snowy back roads in Amish country. "Dirty Harry" came on her truck's sound system, and I was delightfully haunted by the whole bizarre experience. </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLnkQAeMbIM"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLnkQAeMbIM</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6841646/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6841646/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm </a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">This track had an enticing trance-dance-pop feel, with some killer rap that came in to break the spell. Later, when I picked up their DVD debut album set, Gorillaz Phase One: Celebrity Take Down, I was struck by the graphic underground comics style of <span><span>Jamie Hewlett, </span></span><span><span>who created these four bizarre misfits, streetwise, sort of rough and tumble characters, resembling his character designs from his Tank Girl comics.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span>(Gorillaz Phase One: Celebrity Take Down features the animation of director Pete Candeland, Dave Antrobus, and Chris Hauge.)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0474700/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0474700/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm </a><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span>Who were these bizarre, even frightening characters? They seem to be some sort of gang, or part of some criminal underworld. Again, comic artist </span></span><span><span><span><span>Jamie Hewlett oversaw the </span></span>dark, sinister stylized limited animation, with </span></span><span><span>some 3D CG elements, mostly backgrounds or characters with vehicles.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span>Blank eyes, bad teeth, and some character designs that flirt with racial stereotypes. </span></span><span><span>There's some demonic possession too. </span></span><span><span> </span></span><span><span><span><span>But they were also politically aware in a sardonic, but progressive way, and technologically adept as well. </span></span>Just what EMI, Parlophone, Virgin and later Warner needed to present what is essentially <span>Damon Albarn's </span>studio band work, with rotating members who provided the real music. Sort in method that was used by<span><i> </i></span>the Archies, or the Monkees. And yet, their music has polished, professional level of production quality that gives the Gorillaz a successful multi-media foundation.</span></span></div><div><div><p style="text-align: center;"><span>Musician: Damon Albarn</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><span>Artist: Jamie Hewlett</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><span>Passion Pictures, animation studio for the Clint Eastwood video <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.passion-pictures.com/project/gorillaz-clint-eastwood/"><span><span> https://www.passion-pictures.com/project/gorillaz-clint-eastwood/</span></span></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://aminoapps.com/c/gorillaz/page/blog/the-evolution-of-gorillaz-art-and-music-videos/MQ1o_7XpckugKn4DeGEYqek83gr6omgMkga "><span><span>https://aminoapps.com/c/gorillaz/page/blog/the-evolution-of-gorillaz-art-and-music-videos/MQ1o_7XpckugKn4DeGEYqek83gr6omgMkga </span></span></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><span> But, to sum up: It's good, "clean" dirty fun. The Gorillaz give me a chance to be a vicarious hoodlum. From time to time.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbw_Ew49zotejTRQBS2XfQj9ddyqS2lFhPxB5h4HZPZ2fqTEvNAcFIuDgjajJfOaRduceE8mCV2AE67EQA9ukHBzqFfF1e5y-Zc1FK-LjCtMePGYSSyRtlmmUK70PG3huKUv_P/s970/year-or-the-tank-girl-header.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="970" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbw_Ew49zotejTRQBS2XfQj9ddyqS2lFhPxB5h4HZPZ2fqTEvNAcFIuDgjajJfOaRduceE8mCV2AE67EQA9ukHBzqFfF1e5y-Zc1FK-LjCtMePGYSSyRtlmmUK70PG3huKUv_P/s320/year-or-the-tank-girl-header.jpg" width="320" /> </a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span>(Tank Girl original copyright<br />Jamie Hewlett - Dark Horse Comics)</span></span></div><span> </span><p></p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-1990723410237413892022-04-24T10:36:00.000-07:002022-04-24T10:36:53.445-07:00Netflix and Jeff Smith's Bone Feature<p style="text-align: center;">This bad buzz turned up on my Facebook feed a couple days ago. It sounds like it's the end for Jeff Smith's "Bone" Feature. Jeff Smith created a cleverly written and beautifully designed comic that was geared to be just right for animation. No dice. "Bone" seemed to be cursed ever since I visited their old Character Builders Studio back in Columbus Ohio. Hey, it's not my fault. Maybe management had something to do with it...<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.thewrap.com/netflix-animation-shakeup-executives-fired-shows-canceled-staged-data/">https://www.thewrap.com/netflix-animation-shakeup-executives-fired-shows-canceled-staged-data/</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"> More here-<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/never-again-jeff-smith-posts-215000073.html">https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/never-again-jeff-smith-posts-215000073.html</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/netflix-animation-erased-executives-fired-220251819.html?guccounter=1">https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/netflix-animation-erased-executives-fired-220251819.html?guccounter=1</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhN3tyMp4TpICdN9V-83f5GSS0qUKyko9ibamk4ovnqrroInvQKjcj7dhzQcgMcrI0nUeo458Bg0xWX6QEPj_Osrzf-lvoCHsqzXZsEl1i-acKf8qYtekJ6wY4ltFj0J32Bw5gCxxAOQBQeTpNcik9jvXaij32FjKqMYY7dKgMimE95U3pg/s701/Bone-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="701" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhN3tyMp4TpICdN9V-83f5GSS0qUKyko9ibamk4ovnqrroInvQKjcj7dhzQcgMcrI0nUeo458Bg0xWX6QEPj_Osrzf-lvoCHsqzXZsEl1i-acKf8qYtekJ6wY4ltFj0J32Bw5gCxxAOQBQeTpNcik9jvXaij32FjKqMYY7dKgMimE95U3pg/s320/Bone-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">("Bone" original copyright Jeff Smith)<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">And because, the Bone comic dealt with some mature issues, such as smoking and drinking alcohol, the censorship battle sprung up some years ago. There seems to be a rigid view of what an animated feature should be, and what "ingredients" it should contain. Heaven help up us if we get something refreshing, nutritious and imaginative besides the usual fast food.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cbldf.org/banned-challenged-comics/case-study-bone/">http://cbldf.org/banned-challenged-comics/case-study-bone/ </a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/19/jeff-smith-bone-us-banned-books-week">https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/19/jeff-smith-bone-us-banned-books-week</a></p><p style="text-align: center;">It's been a long time since I read the comics, but I remember Bone's story beginning to approach an epic that borrowed a bit from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Jeff Smith's influences from classic animation, and Walt Kelly' "Pogo Possum" also added to a lively mix of comedy, action and great characters interacting. Plus, some mysteries and drama that arise with the female leads, and their connection to the Dragons. It would be quite a story to squeeze all that material into one feature, along with all the desperately needed pop culture and music to "help make it a hit".</p><p style="text-align: center;">Get back to the basics here.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.boneville.com/">https://www.boneville.com/</a><br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-40395611050385121742022-04-09T22:38:00.000-07:002022-04-09T22:38:20.496-07:00Discovery Aquires Warner Media From AT&T<p style="text-align: center;">Hello group, I'm grateful to the readers who still follow this blog. Health and work issues have kept me away again, but I felt this article deserved some attention. The course of the old Time-Warner corporation has always has always held my interest, mainly due to its animation history. And the old WB was me bread 'n' butter back in the 1990's.</p><p style="text-align: center;">But now, Bugs Bunny, Batman and the whole Warner media empire will go to work for the Discovery Channel. This group includes the Food Network, Animal Planet and TLC. Do they know they will be inheriting skeletons in the closet like Pepe Le Pew? Will they actually see the real ingredients of a Scooby-Snack? Maybe Superman will show how he bakes one of his giant super cakes? </p><p style="text-align: center;">I'm just bellyachin' here folks, bear with me.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh07SaY6qR0u0B5yeRBSxG82HsNw_ZIa4OkPpl9olyRZLKygcU8Ps_Y7P0LdhUIUAi6RNGZAXoXor4M2JQFIHC-aT3kxz6MH87Q01dpy2YKoTLtwexn8tet6zAxU4UYqrkIIBT/s1600/PorkyDaffBugsTrapped.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="533" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh07SaY6qR0u0B5yeRBSxG82HsNw_ZIa4OkPpl9olyRZLKygcU8Ps_Y7P0LdhUIUAi6RNGZAXoXor4M2JQFIHC-aT3kxz6MH87Q01dpy2YKoTLtwexn8tet6zAxU4UYqrkIIBT/s320/PorkyDaffBugsTrapped.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"> (original copyright Warner Brothers)<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">At first, I was surprised that AT&T would sell off a library like Warner's when they still have all these digital arteries to fill. But now I'm wondering if the ol' "Ma Bell" isn't doing well with streaming. It looks like they have some big bills to pay off. And it's not like Discovery is a young, agile, cutting-edge new media entity like Amazon or Netflix either. This purchase looks more like another incident of buying up competitors, selling off the new surplus resources, and cutting jobs. </p><p style="text-align: center;">Meanwhile, the remnants of the old Hollywood studios only seem to be flashy accessories that get passed around, like old antiques.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-close-warner-bros-discovery-1235200983/?fbclid=IwAR1e3zcxH9IizjuSMSb9MNMs82yKCRYSb0Tz4w4A_YoAloP4q3IvfJw28uw">https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-close-warner-bros-discovery-1235200983/?fbclid=IwAR1e3zcxH9IizjuSMSb9MNMs82yKCRYSb0Tz4w4A_YoAloP4q3IvfJw28uw<br /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-shareholders-approve-1235097326/">https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-shareholders-approve-1235097326/</a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-21214100622376278412022-02-10T22:44:00.001-08:002022-04-09T21:38:24.215-07:00RIP Douglas Trumbull<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEie2-k9IkKpgpV32Z8flpQfVs2vGaXA7DeUok2RaHCEj8kJaGRbRrTR1SRLwYY9n_0taqjtW_C2PvV72vgj4ugREFHop7stN7XoiVo08PqK1m9KH9Hz1Ig8CA1CAtGN8BptC4Dzrm3ST0LPE6STgfi2RZAY35lTVy-l5iYHRDjmbfSXxr-8uA=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="1024" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEie2-k9IkKpgpV32Z8flpQfVs2vGaXA7DeUok2RaHCEj8kJaGRbRrTR1SRLwYY9n_0taqjtW_C2PvV72vgj4ugREFHop7stN7XoiVo08PqK1m9KH9Hz1Ig8CA1CAtGN8BptC4Dzrm3ST0LPE6STgfi2RZAY35lTVy-l5iYHRDjmbfSXxr-8uA=s320" width="320" /></a></div>(From <span>Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner". </span>Original copyright - the Ladd Company, now Warner Brothers)<br /> <p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Found out via facebook, regrettably, that visual effects king Douglas Trumbull has passed away at the age of 79. His work included cornerstone effects films such as as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Blade Runner, and, of course "2001: A Space Odyssey". But one of his most innovative creations was the "Back to the Future" ride. Trumbull was the first to give riders the full "immersion experience" with surrounding screens and motion actuated seating.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0874320/"> https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0874320/</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"> I saw him more as an visual artist, rather than a traditional story teller and movie maker when he was at the helm as director. During the downer 1970's, "Silent Running" was the only new science fiction product available, after countless Star Trek reruns. The visual style of 2001 kind of echoed there, but a much smaller budget. A grim tale of earth's last biospheres being placed in giant domes, and launched into space for protection. And a grimmer story of one man's fight to save them, as the space ship's owners order the crew to ditch the domes so the spaceships can return to more profitable cargo missions.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/news/douglas-trumbull-dead-visual-effects-1235174814/?fbclid=IwAR21RnvAfChZkQ2ZIKMaqU5UGUlLJou2RMNOBFRojUArGKUPnqUGYcOsGKw#recipient_hashed=5073b1559abbbd3a3604b5ef6781fdaf2c04921fe341af36057411c4f35cdb89&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=329416_02-08-2022&utm_term=9754522">https://variety.com/2022/film/news/douglas-trumbull-dead-visual-effects-1235174814/?fbclid=IwAR21RnvAfChZkQ2ZIKMaqU5UGUlLJou2RMNOBFRojUArGKUPnqUGYcOsGKw#recipient_hashed=5073b1559abbbd3a3604b5ef6781fdaf2c04921fe341af36057411c4f35cdb89&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=329416_02-08-2022&utm_term=9754522 </a></p><p style="text-align: center;">Still, before I outgrew the big budget Sci-Fi movies, there was a level of quality, and believability in the images that Douglas Trumbull created. While there may not have been much of a plot, going along for the ride was what mattered. <br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0874320/awards?ref_=nm_awd"> https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0874320/awards?ref_=nm_awd </a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47wO-Az22v0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47wO-Az22v0 </a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-42599881932681391882022-02-05T10:52:00.002-08:002022-02-05T10:52:11.881-08:00Visual Effects Nominees Spotlight | 93rd Oscars VFX Bake-off Apr 21, 2021<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/Nt5vUVZA-Wg" width="480"></iframe>Hello blog, 2022 has been off to a slow start for me with my duties in a new position at the Animation Guild, and the restrictions of the continuing Covid pandemic. <a href="https://animationguild.org/">https://animationguild.org/</a> Still coping with losses in the family, and the shut down of our Computer Lab. Trying to get my rest, and searching for some new inspiration. Will try to catch the Oscars, as well as the Annie Awards coming soon. Forward! <a href="https://annieawards.org/">https://annieawards.org/</a><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-83528923422539785152022-02-05T10:28:00.002-08:002022-02-05T10:32:10.642-08:00Animateducated Blogcast 002<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/raztlw35QB4" width="480"></iframe>Animated Educated is a great channel. It gives animation students and
fans access to great experience, and the backgrounds and insights
of very talented guests. I've been lucky to work with Jim Richardson back during my time at Woodbury University's animation department.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPETaABtv6Un8YMQ4d0Y57w">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPETaABtv6Un8YMQ4d0Y57w</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-54433773141294560332021-11-07T12:14:00.004-08:002021-11-23T19:55:41.065-08:00Animated Holiday Characters And Their Pets<p style="text-align: center;">Well, it's time for more musings on Christmas animation as the Holidays close in. In our most beloved Holiday TV Specials and movies, I've finally paid more attention to the ways the main characters usually seem to have a special dog, or some other unique animal companion involved in their story. Most recently, Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas comes to mind, with his poltergeist pooch buddy, Zero. Naturally, Zero leads the reindeer team through through the fog with his glowing pumpkin nose.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7_jkh62zZmuCa3BGtV5zkkH0i3od-6naTeSwTndrV5Viic3mPvdbjZc_bIJeTWOCpF3Da9Gw2X1ZgMLYSPXojL18cQHCMYMCPgJ3NSToypNbxH8LSApKDmnsJef8V1eqpLXL/s740/The-Nightmare-Before-Christmas-Jack-Skellington-and-Zero.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="740" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7_jkh62zZmuCa3BGtV5zkkH0i3od-6naTeSwTndrV5Viic3mPvdbjZc_bIJeTWOCpF3Da9Gw2X1ZgMLYSPXojL18cQHCMYMCPgJ3NSToypNbxH8LSApKDmnsJef8V1eqpLXL/s320/The-Nightmare-Before-Christmas-Jack-Skellington-and-Zero.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(copyright Disney)</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Rudolph doesn't really fit in this article, since he was ostracized very early on. He didn't become buds with Ol' Saint Nick until much later, when Santa finally appreciated his talents very late in the game. Once in a blue moon, Santa's reindeer do get some comments in, now and then, but they are still basically treated as beasts of burden.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://animationre-creation.blogspot.com/2021/08/ed-asner.html">https://animationre-creation.blogspot.com/2021/08/ed-asner.html</a><br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Even The Grinch, with his hostility towards Christmas, and just about the entire world in general, still had his friendly and faithful canine companion Max. Since Chuck Jones portrays The Grinch as this cranky, and even somewhat tragic character, the fact that he keeps Max around proves that The Grinch is not a complete monster.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWzHmWBdQURI2aBSUKCkC41260iFcKSXQkVyv8OvuhvjWLKkGdNJPAdHmy09vuYg5wBxgYxngB3LjIY7ShHYK9MX4jcp6GbefSln62hwH14-uM8tGVZYW57hB79xFK2WO7mON/s1130/grinch_icon_8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1130" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWzHmWBdQURI2aBSUKCkC41260iFcKSXQkVyv8OvuhvjWLKkGdNJPAdHmy09vuYg5wBxgYxngB3LjIY7ShHYK9MX4jcp6GbefSln62hwH14-uM8tGVZYW57hB79xFK2WO7mON/s320/grinch_icon_8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(original copyright Chuck Jones/MGM, now Turner-Time Warner)</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">A bigger leap occurred when Frosty the Snowman was assisted by the cute magician's rabbit, "Hocus Pocus". This new companion, and fellow traveler seemed to be a writer's contrivance, but a good one. The "mystically challenged" magician, <span>Professor Hinkle, throws away his top hat when his magic act for the schoolkids goes wrong. </span>Hocus hops away with the Hat to where the kids have built Frosty, and Karen places The Hat on Frosty's head. After seeing the Hat bring Frosty to life, <span>Professor Hinkle grabs it back when he realizes that the old top hat can actually generate real magic. (The Hat seemed to have some built-in moral compass that resisted Hinkle's selfish motives, but I'm being pedantic here.)<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span>Fortunately, with a sneaky, but clever bit of subterfuge, </span>Hocus returns the Hat to Karen to let her restore Frosty back to life. Hocus is the key player in Frosty's origin, but then allows himself to become somewhat overlooked. It's clear that Hinkle and Hocus didn't have a good relationship at the start, so the rabbit is more than happy to join Frosty and Karen on their adventure. Since Frosty is almost a blank slate in this TV special, he comes to rely quite a bit on Hocus for guidance to save Karen while on his journey to the North Pole.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycq_RyzBe7X-pHBdLdu0D5m8YEneANv5KKpCyGKQW2_UbJZiB0INiZNq_BBmBiI7FBV-aRnbTcb359_0OoC-Krx7G1XWU5NS_c34ImlGVfXj807BIQMWGXuClBdYro-8h8yko/s1280/frosty+snowman+hocus+rabbit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycq_RyzBe7X-pHBdLdu0D5m8YEneANv5KKpCyGKQW2_UbJZiB0INiZNq_BBmBiI7FBV-aRnbTcb359_0OoC-Krx7G1XWU5NS_c34ImlGVfXj807BIQMWGXuClBdYro-8h8yko/s320/frosty+snowman+hocus+rabbit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>(original copyright Rankin/Bass)</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">As characters for the very young viewers to relate to, all the dogs, rabbits and even a penguin become helpers, comrades, and witnesses to the main characters' actions and feelings. They also offer clues and inspiration to the main characters, sometimes accidentally; as with Max landing in the snow, and popping up looking like Santa to give The Grinch his perfectly, wonderfully, awful idea.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Which leads us to the heart of this article:<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Scrooge had no dog. <br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">After being stranded alone for the Holidays due to Covid last year, the corrosive effects of isolation became painfully apparent for me. No one should be alone, especially during the Holidays. It's a wonder there aren't more Scrooges in the world, and I've seen how becoming like Scrooge can happen all too easily. The usual unreasonable social and emotional expectations of the season are tough enough. In the meantime, let's hear it for those magical fuzzy buddies who are always there to bail us out!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://animationre-creation.blogspot.com/search?q=buddies">https://animationre-creation.blogspot.com/search?q=buddies</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp5zCUjjgYU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp5zCUjjgYU </a><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-77180577000730842262021-10-19T11:34:00.000-07:002021-10-19T11:34:18.845-07:00Inktober - 2021<p style="text-align: center;"> Finally sat down, concentrated, and put some ideas down on paper for Animation Guild post-it show.</p><p style="text-align: center;">They're also doing double duty for Inktober.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://animationguild.org/post-it-note-show/">https://animationguild.org/post-it-note-show/ </a><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialZp58KnijxP_bId9w5IdyXSdGz7PD7oU8biOxvbavfS3GsrXayaWLUXZC9PJqLGdmFbCo9Q5dSMaamQl5t6YmnELFjKm0bmibu8xxoOmyJ0VRGiVYHsM6OFcmOFR0PuuVNXm/s317/spooky+old+house+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="312" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialZp58KnijxP_bId9w5IdyXSdGz7PD7oU8biOxvbavfS3GsrXayaWLUXZC9PJqLGdmFbCo9Q5dSMaamQl5t6YmnELFjKm0bmibu8xxoOmyJ0VRGiVYHsM6OFcmOFR0PuuVNXm/s0/spooky+old+house+small.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">"Spooky Old House"<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1ySw1ixCF1K1XVgXti-3cBDbgWwBQwDp_SYlzYXPYzahmX-1sw9zD45h-zZeMvHNDB02VUqU0DOm3HVVGBM3VWYOC6wmT-OOhz6XLbNt60wJLjyAbCujDkDoYHbVtIqa82Kn/s318/Guild+post+it+art+2021+carousel+pegasus+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="314" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1ySw1ixCF1K1XVgXti-3cBDbgWwBQwDp_SYlzYXPYzahmX-1sw9zD45h-zZeMvHNDB02VUqU0DOm3HVVGBM3VWYOC6wmT-OOhz6XLbNt60wJLjyAbCujDkDoYHbVtIqa82Kn/s0/Guild+post+it+art+2021+carousel+pegasus+001.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">"Breaking Free"<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGiwPLOp6ZxZDP0aLNXH025cs4ib8-H1eXjBrWpxhkilAgVyO6dwxqWakJxoL63exTH_DO5lXWFBM5cqaWO5hN1TWlmlBEdJB46Kqe0ZWpfqfwa98lIUOvQJTjNfkbUazpilA/s321/Guild+post+it+art+2021+tiger+zebra+common+bonds+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGiwPLOp6ZxZDP0aLNXH025cs4ib8-H1eXjBrWpxhkilAgVyO6dwxqWakJxoL63exTH_DO5lXWFBM5cqaWO5hN1TWlmlBEdJB46Kqe0ZWpfqfwa98lIUOvQJTjNfkbUazpilA/s320/Guild+post+it+art+2021+tiger+zebra+common+bonds+001.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">"Common Bonds"</p><p style="text-align: center;">Enjoy!<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-14439271345238349742021-09-26T19:03:00.001-07:002021-09-26T19:08:35.747-07:00Disney Sues Marvel Creators’ Families To Keep Full Control Over Character Rights<p style="text-align: center;">Here we go again:</p><p style="text-align: center;">Disney is preemptively suing the families of comic creators to hang on Cap, Spidey and all the rest of the Marvel Universe to keep all of those sweet superhero simoleons. Indefinitely.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNCC135FPSu34xKkRur27gRleZfKqx-0h4r8gQ_eBVWhO6chwFQkAVqDZA0eApSe1374sbtsJ5FKV2XGIpfG2BnsgIM5DtkAy8pvmz8iavA4Agz45_j__-hVWpkd79jJWKygV/s560/Lee-Kirby-Ditko.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNCC135FPSu34xKkRur27gRleZfKqx-0h4r8gQ_eBVWhO6chwFQkAVqDZA0eApSe1374sbtsJ5FKV2XGIpfG2BnsgIM5DtkAy8pvmz8iavA4Agz45_j__-hVWpkd79jJWKygV/s320/Lee-Kirby-Ditko.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">(original copyrights of photos unknown, taken from piratesandprincesses.net)<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/disney-sues-marvel-creators-families-to-keep-full-control-over-character-rights/ar-AAOQw50?ocid=msedgntp">https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/disney-sues-marvel-creators-families-to-keep-full-control-over-character-rights/ar-AAOQw50?ocid=msedgntp </a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.piratesandprincesses.net/disney-marvel-fights-back-against-copyright-termination-lawsuits/">https://www.piratesandprincesses.net/disney-marvel-fights-back-against-copyright-termination-lawsuits/</a><br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-85252371727121464192021-08-30T08:35:00.007-07:002021-08-31T12:05:30.606-07:00Ed Asner <p style="text-align: center;">Here's to Ed Asner: steady, sturdy, gruff, crusty, but progressive character actor with a heart of gold.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8pqyS7VsXwAFsBjKg7yqsryu6QxK0RB0tx1iAWJ6-8WPs8a5nvhyphenhyphen0TpNOfxINLex2dpkUQEdqtGfiD5RVqHZmsMxhyphenhyphen2UxxOqLCgcY88e4Td-wZv1ER1AQUcFE_pciCovR3Tb/s1331/Olive+Reindeer+Ed+Asner+Santa_03.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1331" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8pqyS7VsXwAFsBjKg7yqsryu6QxK0RB0tx1iAWJ6-8WPs8a5nvhyphenhyphen0TpNOfxINLex2dpkUQEdqtGfiD5RVqHZmsMxhyphenhyphen2UxxOqLCgcY88e4Td-wZv1ER1AQUcFE_pciCovR3Tb/s320/Olive+Reindeer+Ed+Asner+Santa_03.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(original copyright 20th Fox)<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">I still remember him best as Santa.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/ed-asner-j-jonah-jameson-spider-man-cartoon-fans-remember/#3">https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/ed-asner-j-jonah-jameson-spider-man-cartoon-fans-remember/#3</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://basementrejects.com/review/olive-the-other-reindeer-1999-2/"> http://basementrejects.com/review/olive-the-other-reindeer-1999-2/</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.animationmagazine.net/people/passings/ed-asner-voice-star-of-up-dies-age-91/">https://www.animationmagazine.net/people/passings/ed-asner-voice-star-of-up-dies-age-91/ </a><br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-37168154487935343862021-08-11T08:41:00.000-07:002021-08-11T08:41:30.965-07:00R.I.P. Fred Ladd - American Producer of Astro Boy<p style="text-align: center;">Well, time takes it's toll. Again.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXfj9wKV1ONjLIyntZ-ckOmrDfERa54zBybdQxNC6BZhmMmD5JGqTCQRiHuPaEYsigzI3x48ovocDyVY_dy7TcCKvptutsRfo9nHeVzZ-sXywcPiv6EoC_0xtDPbfmkql19Fv/s600/fred-ladd.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="600" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXfj9wKV1ONjLIyntZ-ckOmrDfERa54zBybdQxNC6BZhmMmD5JGqTCQRiHuPaEYsigzI3x48ovocDyVY_dy7TcCKvptutsRfo9nHeVzZ-sXywcPiv6EoC_0xtDPbfmkql19Fv/s320/fred-ladd.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> (photo copyright Anime' News Network)<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">Sorry to report on geeky stuff, but Ohio native Fred Ladd - American producer of the classic, foundational anime' Astro Boy, has passed away August 3rd. at 94.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I was able to see Ladd speak at an ASIFA-Hollywood presentation years ago in Burbank. While he was known for bringing Astro Boy to the states, here's another show he brought to the U.S. When the other networks saw what a hit NBC had with Astroboy, they tried to make another one with "Space Ace". (Not the video game.) For the U.S., I think they called him "Ringo" at the ASIFA screening. Ironically, it never took off. I guess one Astro Boy is enough.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgNPPHlcLcc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgNPPHlcLcc</a></p><p style="text-align: center;">But here's to the pure enjoyment, and the pathways laid down for practically all the anime' that followed Fred Ladd's lead into the North American TV market. Astro Boy wrote the book on how to present great storytelling, and beloved characters. Developed from manga (comics) the animation was done on a dime, but Osamu Tezuka's classic designs and screen direction still kept us captivated, even with black and white TV.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> Thank you Mr. Ladd! <br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-08-10/american-anime-pioneer-astro-boy-anime-producer-fred-ladd-passes-away-at-94/.176123"> https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-08-10/american-anime-pioneer-astro-boy-anime-producer-fred-ladd-passes-away-at-94/.176123</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2021/08/10-1/astro-boy-american-anime-producer-fred-ladd-passes-away-at-94">https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2021/08/10-1/astro-boy-american-anime-producer-fred-ladd-passes-away-at-94 </a><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <br /> <br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-45191950760709210632021-07-25T22:21:00.004-07:002021-07-25T22:21:31.401-07:00On Story 1103: A Conversation with Brenda Chapman<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/9hyEN68dvPo" width="480"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Interview with Brenda Chapman, director and writer on hits such as The Lion King, The Prince of Egypt, and Brave. Chapman brings her views on strong female characters, story and flawed characters. Brought to you by Austin Film Festival's <em>On Story.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em> </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/"><em>http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/ </em></a> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-5725141070470346082021-07-21T08:26:00.000-07:002021-07-21T08:26:05.227-07:00SIGGRAPH 2021 Conference Overview (360)<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/3AOLMcy4Id0" frameborder="0"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-25163742587015137532021-07-04T09:10:00.004-07:002022-06-06T20:01:20.213-07:00Innovations in Animation - Part 3 - The Peanuts Movie<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hVkgnckIJS6rlACghK1x0Izw0TCaDd51Upq1LFe94fdVf0DMWmHi9oqQaWFM_NbzvOF9X9SLCeSzV2AYHmF_i-atgcq9GIIPp5VTDVHcS7wlq9EVrVMxaQdJ78Uq8bO97IYT/s1024/06PEANUTS-jumbo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hVkgnckIJS6rlACghK1x0Izw0TCaDd51Upq1LFe94fdVf0DMWmHi9oqQaWFM_NbzvOF9X9SLCeSzV2AYHmF_i-atgcq9GIIPp5VTDVHcS7wlq9EVrVMxaQdJ78Uq8bO97IYT/s320/06PEANUTS-jumbo.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;">(copyright Blue Sky Studios,
Twentieth Century Fox Animation, United Features Syndicate, and of course "Sparky" Charles M. Schulz)</div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Late to the party again, I finally borrowed the The Peanuts Movie screener DVD from work. After virtually growing up with all the original Bill Melendez animated TV specials from the 60's, I was hesitant to face a possible "South Park" kind of treatment of my childhood heroes. </p><p style="text-align: center;"> But this film wasn't bad. As a family film, The Peanuts Movie is a nostalgic romp going through the key story points of the entire Charlie Brown saga: the childhood torments of grade school, his love of baseball and his longing for the distant, seemingly unattainable attention of the Little Red-Headed Girl. And of course, Snoopy relives his never ending aerial battles with the mysterious and relentless Red Baron. And then there is the actual design of the movie itself, and how the director Steve Martino and crew strove to stay faithful to style and charm of Charles Schulz' original comic strip.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> Looking back on my last entry, I'm beginning to notice how studios having been making big strides in creating 3D polygon models to resemble flat, cartoon shapes. As with <span aria-level="1" class="u9DLmf" role="heading">Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse</span>, Blue Sky Studios worked overtime to take Charles M. Schulz' beloved Peanuts comic strip into the CG world, and then make it "flat" again. I used to think that the studios are using 3D animation in ways that it was "not meant to be used", in as far as the usual process of modeling, rigging and animating CG characters.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">But The Peanuts Movie is a nice reminder of how CG can do virtually anything, and should not just be shoehorned into mimicking alternate concrete looking realities. Director Steve Martino described how their first attempts with traditional modeling and rigging just didn't cut it, and eventually switched to a stop motion style to maintain the illusion of Schulz' and Melendez' art and animation styles. On a smaller scale, shows like South Park and the Olive The Other Reindeer Holiday special may have solved similar issues in the past with these techniques.</p><p style="text-align: center;">To sum up, The Peanuts Movie is worth a look, and can be a warm, fuzzy torch to pass on to a new generation.<br /></p><ul class="content-meta info" style="text-align: center;"><li class="meta-row clearfix" data-qa="movie-info-item"><div class="meta-value" data-qa="movie-info-item-value"><span style="text-transform: capitalize;"> </span></div><div class="meta-value" data-qa="movie-info-item-value"><a href="https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/charlie-brown-and-snoopy-the-peanuts-movie-animation-cheats/ "><span style="text-transform: capitalize;">https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/charlie-brown-and-snoopy-the-peanuts-movie-animation-cheats/ </span></a></div><div class="meta-value" data-qa="movie-info-item-value"><span style="text-transform: capitalize;"> </span></div><div class="meta-value" data-qa="movie-info-item-value"><a href="https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/the-tech-of-the-art-of-the-peanuts-movie/"><span style="text-transform: capitalize;">https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/the-tech-of-the-art-of-the-peanuts-movie/ </span></a>
</div>
</li></ul><p style="text-align: center;"> https://mashable.com/archive/making-the-peanuts-movie</p><p style="text-align: center;"> https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/movies/review-the-peanuts-movie-curses-the-red-baron-in-3-dimensions.html</p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">c • C • ɔ </span><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-84342229766653800312021-06-23T22:40:00.002-07:002021-06-25T08:05:34.197-07:00Animation Studios Use Game Engines for Production<p style="text-align: center;"> This relatively new area of using game engines to render is uncharted territory for me. I experimented with Unity and Maya a couple of years ago, but now Unreal Engine seems to be the leader in game engine technology. I'm not sure if, or how a game engine station will take the place of a render farm. I'm trying to study this procedure, but it has been tough after over a year of lockdown with no clear signs of life returning back to normal.</p><p style="text-align: center;">All I have is the links to the articles down below. I'm still trying to learn about what output settings the studios are using to get finished footage on the air. Or onto streaming, as the case may be.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I'll try to update this asap.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://kidscreen.com/2020/08/10/why-animation-is-leaning-into-real-time-tech/">https://kidscreen.com/2020/08/10/why-animation-is-leaning-into-real-time-tech/</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://postpace.io/blog/using-game-engines-for-cinematography-and-film-production/"> https://postpace.io/blog/using-game-engines-for-cinematography-and-film-production/ </a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://usv.edu/blog/using-gaming-engines-to-make-feature-films/">https://usv.edu/blog/using-gaming-engines-to-make-feature-films/ </a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-73316623653669719622021-05-14T15:14:00.000-07:002021-05-14T15:14:46.083-07:00How 'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse' Was Animated | Movies Insider<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/jEXUG_vN540" frameborder="0"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-4656611968325997612021-05-02T15:24:00.006-07:002022-06-06T20:01:30.443-07:00Innovations in Animation - Part 2 - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse<p style="text-align: center;"> It's been a hard year. As we start to dig out from under the horrors of 2020 and the Covid pandemic, let's take a moment to get back to my topic of Innovations in Animation. After my first entry from the 1980's, ("Twice Upon A Time") I want to jump forward to the 21st Century. Through the years, Sony Pictures was not my top pick as far as animation or superhero film studios go. But Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature for the studio. I finally saw it on Blu-Ray, and it definitely caught my attention.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfqYxVU0yrcVJ8RmL7by3g2WiIe1-b-pipIKFF5tBbJ_zkp4UHYB2mLsux4mqCFNGxgkfjDbVthkvNX9mDrk-YO8HxEsOqj-gb7y8ZgU3EhEhtHbrvs57LoD9kgFzUGN-fhny/s740/spid+man+spid+verse.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="740" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfqYxVU0yrcVJ8RmL7by3g2WiIe1-b-pipIKFF5tBbJ_zkp4UHYB2mLsux4mqCFNGxgkfjDbVthkvNX9mDrk-YO8HxEsOqj-gb7y8ZgU3EhEhtHbrvs57LoD9kgFzUGN-fhny/s320/spid+man+spid+verse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">(copyright Sony/Marvel/Disney?) </p><p style="text-align: center;">Comic book style! Other attempts have been made, with dubious success.</p><p style="text-align: center;">Hand drawn effects over 3D, far advanced from old cell shaders. <br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/</a><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imageworks.com/our-craft/feature-animation/movies/spider-man-spider-verse">https://www.imageworks.com/our-craft/feature-animation/movies/spider-man-spider-verse</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foundry.com/insights/film-tv/into-spiderverse"> https://www.foundry.com/insights/film-tv/into-spiderverse </a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEXUG_vN540"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEXUG_vN540</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://characterdesignreferences.com/art-of-animation-7/art-of-spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-part-1?fbclid=IwAR1iIrNQ4S-zKVtUY0NEt36ya6HTwBJd1dfF6s8C4k-8EGVT5UupxSUXr4E">https://characterdesignreferences.com/art-of-animation-7/art-of-spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-part-1?fbclid=IwAR1iIrNQ4S-zKVtUY0NEt36ya6HTwBJd1dfF6s8C4k-8EGVT5UupxSUXr4E </a><br /></p><br /><p style="text-align: center;"> Art Direction by Dean Gordon, Patrick O'Keefe</p><p style="text-align: center;">Production Design - Justin K. Thompson</p><p style="text-align: center;">Danny Dimian - Visual Effects Supervisor<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br />Directed by <br />Bob Persichetti <br />Peter Ramsey <br />Rodney Rothman <br /><br />Writing Credits <br />Phil Lord ... Screenplay<br />Rodney Rothman ... Screenplay<br /> <br />Phil Lord ... Story</p><p style="text-align: center;">Paul Watling - Head of Story<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;">While it's not a direct part of the MCU, <span>Kevin Feige</span>'s hand still seemed to be felt.<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-6299217023875935092021-04-22T20:05:00.009-07:002021-04-22T21:26:32.128-07:00Gnomon_School Animatics for Indie Filmmakers with Unreal Engine<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.gnomon.edu/community/events/animatics-for-indie-filmmakers-with-unreal-engine"> https://www.gnomon.edu/community/events/animatics-for-indie-filmmakers-with-unreal-engine</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVqz9Mu00pyFDVNKGwNpKAKET5mxYVX_bayALsSlJc0tu8AvhznfjPP8rQw65CbAak5ZNJdY3AGBYYpMEEXLw40EpkY65t-3RwRkzh-R2sWXYPVg-BwSGJBguGVKgsMVzt1rq6/s800/gnomon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVqz9Mu00pyFDVNKGwNpKAKET5mxYVX_bayALsSlJc0tu8AvhznfjPP8rQw65CbAak5ZNJdY3AGBYYpMEEXLw40EpkY65t-3RwRkzh-R2sWXYPVg-BwSGJBguGVKgsMVzt1rq6/s320/gnomon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Copyright Miguel Ortega & Tran Ma - Gnomon School)</div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Here is the short film project of Miguel Ortega, director and VFX artist, and Tran Ma, production designer and VFX artist. They demonstrate on the fly layout, scene composition and film direction using 3D assets in the Unreal Engine. Moderated by Beau Janzen, Gnomon Education lead.</p><p style="text-align: center;">Will look for youtube link asap.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.gnomon.edu/about/instructors/tran-ma">https://www.gnomon.edu/about/instructors/tran-ma</a><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.gnomon.edu/about/instructors/miguel-ortega">https://www.gnomon.edu/about/instructors/miguel-ortega </a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheNingyo/">https://www.facebook.com/TheNingyo/ </a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17089143.post-66325209935913315772021-04-19T08:02:00.005-07:002021-04-19T08:06:53.174-07:00 48th Annie Awards Winners: Soul & Wolfwalkers, Hilda<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/soul-and-wolfwalkers-dominate-48th-annie-awards-204408.html"> https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/soul-and-wolfwalkers-dominate-48th-annie-awards-204408.html</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0