Maker Walk LA - behind the scenes in DTLA

Just found out, need to tune in to twitter or instagram.

https://makeitinla.org/makerwalk/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2Ty5rjHVyE

https://www.kpfk.org/archives/

Is CGI Getting Worse?

Good commentary by Center Row.

3D Modeling and Animation Group on Facebook

Very informative group on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3dmodelingandanimation/?fref=nf

Discord - the Uber/Facebook/Kickstarter of Animation?

The next big change in animation?
The future of animation?
Meet Discord - the Uber/Facebook/Kickstarter of Animation

https://discordapp.com/

While designed as an online app for gamers, I met a student who was doing animation for the new animated TV project "Hazbin Hotel". It looks like it's being funded and managed through this system. I didn't ask, out of manners, how they were being paid. I'm wondering if this could sidestep the entire current studio system. I'm just concerned that labor is being managed this way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeOWxqYp80A
 (Caution - adult themed material)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discord_(software)

Here's my animation history rant in a nutshell:

 First, the Zoetrope invented by William E. Lincoln,
Next, animation drawn with pencil and paper, shot on black and white film,
Then acetate cels, shot in color,

Next, animated features,
Multiplane cameras,

TV limited animation,

Then came the first computer animation made with old military technology,

Soon, video games,
The internet and world wide web,

Next animated features Tron, Toy Story,

Massive layoffs of traditional artists - "Learn Maya"

Virtual reality and Augmented Reality

Games and animation for smartphones,

Plus, streaming new media.

And now, Discord.

Not that Discord!

Are you ready for what's next?

STAR WARS Episode 9: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Trailer (2019)

Not to be left out...
(copyright LucasFilm/Disney)

SIGGRAPH 2019 Keynote Speaker Victoria Alonso from Marvel Studios

First rumblings of Siggraph, which will be in L.A. this summer.

Being a comic book geek, I'm kind of anxious to hear one of the keynote speakers, Victoria Alonso, Executive Vice President of Production for Marvel Studios.

 

(photo copyright Siggraph)

From her bio in the first link below, Alonso started at Digital Domain, then joined Marvel as Executive Vice President of Visual Effects. She has won awards from the Visual Effects Society (VES), and the Harold Lloyd Award from the Advanced Imaging Society.

No info yet on the time or date of her talk.

The main dates for Siggraph I've found are from Sun, Jul 28, 2019 to Thu, Aug 1, 2019.

Will try to update more asap.
 

UPDATE: Victoria Alonso is scheduled to speak Monday, July 29, 2:00 - 3:15 PM.

Special thanks to Ginger Alford for the info!

https://s2019.siggraph.org/conference/programs-events/keynote-session/?fbclid=IwAR3z1lhDp0cOmGdTezMNUmKfVlfRqOzE9lLN3cfAXMUTWN7nXh3ZVEEQJC0

https://s2019.siggraph.org/ 

https://blog.siggraph.org/

Dragons and Unicorns - Stuffed Productions

On Sundays I need something fun and witty to look at, so check out "Stuffed", the misadventures of a little girl and her stuffed animals. Sibling rivalry breaks out when the little girl's favorite toy becomes jealous of the newcomer who steals the little girl's heart.

 

(copyright Stuffed Productions)

 

The kicker is that the toys are still inanimate, while still being able to observe their situation, and become sort of a Greek chorus to the little girl's adventures while making witty remarks to each other.

 

Sort of a Toy Story meets Calvin and Hobbes.

Enjoy!

 

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/stuffed/list?title_no=215575&page=1

 

 https://www.facebook.com/StuffedTheComic

And plush toys are also available as well. I support them on Patreon, in the cheapskate section.

https://www.patreon.com/stuffedthecomic/posts

Satina Wants a Glass of Water

                                
Welcome to the Ninth Level where dysfunctional families can still get together and get the most out of life. Or the After life, as the case may be. Meet Satina, the cutest little demon who manages to keep her hapless parents on the run!

Satina, her simmering Demon Queen mother Lucia, and lovable doofus dad Dave are created by Hannah Daigle, a student at the Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts. It's great how a project can take on a life of its own, plus Hannah's music choices help support the comical situation.

Hannah has lovable characters in one of the worst marital situations of all time, namely, what do you do when your fling with the devil ends up with such an adorable child? Stay tuned, and check Hannah's patreon page. I'm hooked and now I'm a supporter! But don't let the boss catch you.

https://www.patreon.com/satina/posts

You can also get to Hannah's youtube channel here-

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1fjSSxPEEHb7WqAdd6xChQ

Disney Acquires 21st Century Fox for $71 Billion

Grrr... The next mega-merger! So the Mouse finally owns the rights to the original Star Wars? Someday soon there will be just only one channel/theater/website. Less choices, less jobs!

None of the links below talk about lost jobs and only mention employees briefly.

Shows you where their priorities are.

UPDATE:

"Thousands of layoffs expected"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/read-the-memo-disney-ceo-bob-iger-sent-to-employees-after-closing-the-dollar71-billion-fox-deal/ar-BBV0D1Y?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout

(copyright Disney, of course)

https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/disney-fox-deal-complete-1203167374/?fbclid=IwAR30g3HSqxs0_UD2dUeesGohV3WLlZhV9HuFbIz46EmL27iaBmTHpyjKtCA

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/disney-closes-dollar71-billion-deal-with-fox/ar-BBUYFq5?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/business/media/walt-disney-21st-century-fox-deal.html

http://www.talkmedianews.com/featured/2019/03/19/ryan-joins-board-of-foxs-newly-established-public-company/

Director James Gunn Reinstated For ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy 3’

 After the political hit job, and much clutching of pearls over past sins, and past payments for sins, Guardians Of The Galaxy Director James Gunn is reinstated by Disney. We may finally get proper introduction of Adam Warlock in the MCU.

 (artwork copyright Marvel/Disney)

https://deadline.com/2019/03/james-gunn-reinstated-guardians-of-the-galaxy-3-disney-suicide-squad-2-indefensible-social-media-messages-1202576444/?fbclid=IwAR1c4alcrxcBsdLozrWMmLmg-k9S7NYUt0LWQW3tStjBvcxj09pcp8d8G40

T-Mobile and Sprint merger

Well, I only just found out about the T-Mobile and Sprint merger at a St. Patrick's Day party.
Another merger, and I feel like we're being boxed in, and losing our choices.
And it's more dough for a privileged few.
No mention on the usual news sources.

https://www.cnet.com/news/t-mobile-and-sprint-are-merging-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/

https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/14/18223819/t-mobile-sprint-merger-regulators-congress-hearing

https://www.wired.com/story/t-mobile-sprint-merger-is-scrambling-telecom-politics/

https://consumerist.com/2014/02/12/why-sprints-case-for-t-mobile-merger-is-logical-but-bad-for-consumers/

Oscars - Best Animated Feature and Best Animated Short for 2018

The nominees for 2018 are -

Animated Feature
“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

Animated Short
“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine
“Bao,” Domee Shi
“Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall
“One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas
“Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

With some bad news...

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/academy-voters-dont-watch-the-animated-features-they-vote-on-and-the-academy-is-fine-with-that-170670.html?fbclid=IwAR0fyGO6Nzkyhppfr7V_L1xmc3Nd13TKa1q1X-sMX-BGt1SRpyf-0ktH_yo

And the winners are...
 Best Animated Feature
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
and
Best Animated Short
Bao

https://www.sonypictures-guilds.com/spiderman-into-the-spiderverse

 (copyright A.M.P.A.S, Marvel, Sony and Time-Warner. Sorta)

Visual EFX Awards for 2018

Hello, other issues made me late to the party again, here's the results for this year's winners in visual effects. Who will get the Oscar for best Animated Feature?

https://www.visualeffectssociety.com/ayear/17th-annual-ves-awards

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/vfx/the-best-breakdowns-in-vfx-right-now-170276.html

https://www.awn.com/vfxworld/2019-academy-vfx-bake-celebrating-year-excellence-visual-effects

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/ves-awards-2019-winners-spider-verse-sweeps-animation-categories-169877.html

https://www.visualeffectssociety.com/

UPA studios in Burbank

Photos of the old UPA studios, next to the Smokehouse restaurant in Burbank. I wish I could have been there to have seen some of my childhood favorites in production.

 

(original copyright UPA productions)

https://midcenturymomanddad.wordpress.com/tag/upa/?fbclid=IwAR3Wqpna25Dc7EHlgyCxYabpAQlTRjMQ0MSVCmXE7yiFI-rGOBRCQzirH_M

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/books/inside-upa-a-cartoon-brew-book-4073.html?fbclid=IwAR0-oJjXwdoVKv0BHg__rtOrWtbo6zkkMkbFtqdrb5K5ZDc9NAbZki12Cl4

https://mrmagooschristmascarol.blogspot.com/2010/10/?fbclid=IwAR02Y9KURsV8vudYoSZMq3BFrNhVc_GyMx12iA3EQDJOIPHv1jUHgG4HvhA

 http://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2014/6/13/remembering-upa?fbclid=IwAR09MyJVjscoRzTeBAURZ6Yg1oJxKXEao8EKAvltXDdynEXxA9z02noibyk

Animateducated Live Stream: The Gary K Wolf interview

Animateducated Live Stream: The Gary K Wolf interview

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

'Nuff said!

https://www.sonypictures-guilds.com/

https://www.awn.com/news/spider-man-spider-verse-wins-best-animated-feature-46th-annie-awards

Bud Light x Game of Thrones Super Bowl Commercial - Joust

Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame - Big Game TV Spot

Super Bowl 2019 ads

Extra Christmas or New Year's Day celebration?

As we chow down, and root for our team, let's not forget the artists and technicians that bring us these mini movies that may be more entertaining than the game!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/Ad-Meter/2019/02/02/super-bowl-commercials-ad-meter/2753528002/

 https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2019-super-bowl-ads-your-guide-to-the-leaked-tv-commercials-to-know-in-the-big-game/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/superbowl-commercials-hub?ocid=mailsignout

46th Annual Annie Awards

https://annieawards.org/watch-it-live