SPIN takes its vision to Vancouver, creating a new studio, SPIN West VFX. The new studio (SPIN is headquartered in Toronto with another shop in Atlanta) has hit the ground running, landing vfx work on the much-anticipated television miniseries STEPHEN KING'S KINGDOM HOSPITAL. Close behind the Stephen King production is work for STARGATE SG1 (Sci Fi Channel) and SPYMATES (Keystone Pictures).
THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE director Sylvain Chomet has opened an animation company called Studio Django in Edinburgh, Scotland. The new firm has already signed on for two productions. Chomet's wife Sally will serve as a producer for the company.
Eovia Corp., developer and publisher of leading 3D software, announced the immediate availability of TransPoser. TransPoser is a full-featured plug-in to dynamically import animated Poser 4 and 5 figures into Carrara Studio 3.
NXN Software, the leader in digital asset management solutions, recently acquired by Avid Technology, will introduce alienbrain Studio 7 at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California, on March 24-26 (booth #423). The new generation of the award-winning alienbrain Studio is designed to allow creative teams to significantly improve their performance through process optimizations, enhanced usability and innovative feature upgrades, including new change management functionality.
Mark Ramshaw discusses the transition Weta Digital is taking from The Lord of the Rings series to new projects like King Kong.
That was the question I constantly had to answer while isolated from my old colleagues, and hunkered in this distant and seemingly God-forsaken communist-gripped misery. This chapter answers the question. Was I a pinko? A spy? An enemy agent? A CIA man? Or did I just happen to fall into something too good to be true?
Studio B is heading to NATPE this year with a bagful of new shows in development, new sales deals for existing series and brand extension plans for original properties.
In last months excerpt, Gene Deitchs life was turned around when animation producer William Snyder made Gene a deal that sent him to Prague.
Vancouver-based animation house Studio B will give 20 Canadian kids a chance to see their best jokes delivered by TELETOONs animated star Yakkity Yak. YAKKITY YAK follows the day-to-day trails and tribulations of Yakkity Yak, a teenage yak who dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian.
"Yakkity Yak has a can-do attitude, and a quirky view of the world," said Blair Peters, co-founder and partner, Studio B Productions. "We're looking for kids who have the same attitude and sense of humor."
Gene Deitch Associates, Inc. is possibly the most insignificant animation studio in the history of peg-holes, but Munro was born there, and it became Gene Deitchs way station to an entirely new life. Perhaps he is the first Born-Again Animator!
NXN Software has integrated support for Kaydara's universal FBX file interchange format into its flagship asset management product, NXN alienbrain Studio. The integration provides versioning, workflow and intuitive file management for FBX files.
WIA/LA will be presenting "It Sounds Crazy, Doc, But It Might Just Work!: Starting An Independent Animation Studio." A panel of indie artists will discuss how they have survived. The panelists are: Antonella & Roland
As part of the recent MIPCOM Jr 2003, Parijat Studio presented its two new series BORIS DESMOND & HUBERT and BOB & THE MACHINE. Both projects were written and directed by Parijat principals Atish Tripathi and Nalin Thakur. The fledgling studio hopes to secure co-production partners on the two comedy series.
Located in Hyderabad, India and found in Feb. 2003, Parijat Studio is an independent animation company, which aims to produce new and original content for television and other media, worldwide.
Former EYE Animation creative director Ian Bird has opened Bird Studios, a CG/3D animation production studio in London. The studio is working on various feature film, commercial and music video productions. It recently wrapped on the animated video for Iron Maiden entitled, WILDEST DREAMS. Bird Studios animation team storyboarded and animated the video from director Howard Greenhalghs script. The team at Bird is comprised of award-winning animators and illustrators with backgrounds in film, BBC, documentaries, history of art and classic comic illustration.
Top video game publisher and developer Codemasters has chosen NXN alienbrain Studio by NXN Software. Codemasters will equip all its game studios with more than 200 seats of NXN alienbrain Studio to manage the thousands of art assets and source code files created throughout the development of upcoming titles for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC.
Vancouver-based Mercury Filmworks is broadening its digital production scope in Canada with the addition of an Ottawa-based animation studio. Under the direction of former Funbag animation director Jerry Popowich (KING, UNDERGRADS, FREAKY STORIES, WATERSHIP DOWN, NEVER ENDING STORY, THE SIMPSONS, THE CRITIC, PINK PANTHER, TALES FROM THE CRYPT KEEPER), Mercury Filmworks new studio will offer design, pre-production and digital animation capabilities.
Studio Arts will be starting its Summer 2 quarter the first week of August...
Digital Productions Solutions (DPS), the animation unit of IDT Media, has entered into a joint venture with Vanguard Animation to co-produce and co-own all Vanguard properties, as well as buy a minority stake of Vanguard in the eight-figure range. The announcement follows on the heels of DPS's acquisition of a majority stake in Film Roman Inc.
Venice, California-based Blur Studio has created the vintage Atari video game-looking graphics for this year's Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, the only awards show dedicated to kids' favorite movies, music, TV and sports. As part of the package, Blur produced a main title, headers, monitor fills, lower-thirds, as well as other elements.
The Oscar-winning creators of the acclaimed animated TV series BOB AND MARGARET, Alison Snowden and David Fine, are set to produce their latest primetime animation series, SIMON SIMPLE, with Vancouver's award-winning Studio B Productions. The 26x22 series is in development for Canadian broadcaster TELETOON.
Digital artist/freelance writer Marian Rudnyk has completed a Website for the L.A. Conservancy (www.hannabarbera.org) to help save the old original 1963 Hanna-Barbera Studio buildings located at 3400 Cahuenga Blvd. in Los Angeles. The site features a history of the studio, photos of the buildings, art gallery, chat room, links to preservation and animation Websites and an online petition, encouraging interested fans and supporters to sign up as well as distribute petitions for more signatures.
Just as it gears up for more VFX feature work, Blur Studio (www.blur.com) has moved into a new, 20,000 square-foot computer animation studio that is nearly triple the size of its former Venice, California headquarters. Through an international talent search, it has also increased its artistic staff to 65, with additional talent to come.
"I'm definitely on my way back from hell," Will Vinton told AWN, a few months after the studio he founded, Vinton Studios, gave him the boot. The king of Claymation claims he is much happier now, having signed with Creative Artists Agency and is shopping around a number of animated projects, including a feature film script, THE QUEST, written by Peter Crabbe.
Anark Corp. unveils Anark Studio 2, the newest version of the company's multimedia authoring software. Anark Studio 2 features several product enhancements, including an upgraded timeline includes scalability, filters and a redesigned inspector palette. With the addition of Anark Player 2 and Anark Client 2, users can create Macintosh OSX files, allowing them delivery to both the Mac and PC. The update also features a screensaver export option for the creation of standalone, interactive 3D screensavers. In addition, the projector export allows for the production of standalone CD-ROM/DVD-ROMs.
Iain Pelling, Cosgrove Hall Films md said he has decided to move on from the Manchester, U.K.-based animation company. Under his direction, the studio has become one of the leading animation companies in Europe. He spearheaded adding capabilities to the studio, including a CGI unit, Cosgrove Hall Digital, as well as new talent and better production management for its award-winning 2D and stop-frame production crews. Since he joined CHF in 1996, the studio has won three international and six national programming awards, plus one Childrens BAFTA and five BAFTA nominations.
