#forefront 2

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Animation Block Party Festivals and Events North America Animation Block Party Re-Animates for Halloween Edition at BAM

Reading this article by  Milligan (2021) I have learned that there is a blog and festival called Halloween Special that is open for presentations from now until September 20, 2021. Some of the festival’s categories include Audience Award, Student Film, Minute Movie and the Gifoween award for best animated loop.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) will present animations with Halloween motifs. The Brooklyn Academy of Music reopened live theater events, and will host Doug Crane and Don Duga, festival contributors to animation industry legends. At this year's Halloween opening there will be horror shorts and cartoon loops. A poster illustrated by Michael Ruocco was featured for the Animation Block. Also at this event all award winners will receive a DigiCel FlipBook license; there will be a student movie they will receive the Dragonframe software. Each of the winners in the four award categories will also receive a special $ 420 cash prize for extra-animated Halloween excellence.

I found it very interesting to read this article because as animators and designers it is important to be updated with the opportunities and exhibition windows that exist in order to publicize our work so that we can earn recognition and money. I also think that it is very interesting how animation festivals create initiatives with concepts that are related to festivities or traditions because in this way they encourage the creativity of animators and producers of animated films. 

Reference:

Milligan, M. (2021) No TitleAnimation Block Party Festivals and Events North America Animation Block Party Re-Animates for Halloween Edition at BAM. Available at: https://www.animationmagazine.net/events/animation-block-party-re-animates-for-halloween-edition-at-bam/ (Accessed: 1 August 2021).

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Forefront 6

Minions: The Rise of Gru Streaming North America Universal, Netflix Ink Exclusive Animated Movies Pact for US

Reading this article by  Milligan( 2021) I found out about the agreements that Peacock has with Amazon's Prime Video and IMDb TV, and additionally with Netflix they will give rights to the franchise in the United States.

This extension of the association of the two companies ensures that Netflix will have access to UFEG from its Illumination and DreamWorks studios, with long-awaited films such as Minions: The Rise of Gru, The Bad Guys, and Puss in Boots: After the Window Pay 1 in four months on Peacock, NBCUniversal's internal platform. The new deal adds DreamWorks' animated offerings to the streamer's pre-existing lighting deal with UFEG, which has paid off for Netflix. According to a recent Forbes report, The Secret Life of Pets 2 is the most popular Illumination on Netflix of 2021 with the most Top 10 appearances, followed by Despicable Me and The Grinch from the studio.

Dream Works titles The Croods. Finally, according to the article, the agreement will include Netflix's license rights for UFEG's animation and live action list for four years after the premiere.

In general, what I find particularly interesting about this article is the alliances that production companies have to carry out to produce their film projects and at the same time for the distribution of their films in different media. As an animator I think it is very important to know the distribution channels that the most successful animated films have used to reach their audience.

Reference:

Milligan, M. (2021) Universal, Netflix Ink Exclusive Animated Movies Pact for US. Available at: https://www.animationmagazine.net/streaming/universal-netflix-ink-exclusive-animated-movies-pact-for-us/ (Accessed: 16 July 2021).

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Rising Sun Pictures Completes COVID-Safe Expansion as Production Rebounds in Australia

Reading this article by (Milligan, 2021), I find out that important animation studios such as Risin Sun Pictures (RSP), due to the COVID pandemic, have decided to optimize their workspace located in Adelaide. Fueled by a boom in film and series production, Rising Sun Pictures (RSP) has made several major feature films on a large scale, including more than 500 visual effects shots for New Line Cinema's upcoming Mortal Kombat movie. at HBO Max RSP, which took over the building alongside its main studio located on Pulteney Street in Adelaide, took just a few months to renovate the new section. Some of the changes made imply the remodeling of its infrastructure, its way of working and the work team. The walls were removed to allow staff to move freely within the studio.

The new studio can accommodate additional staff, has a cinema-style projection room, soundproofed installations and a workspace for up to 80 artists. RSP has taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, allowing itself to produce film and television in almost normal conditions, surpassing other countries. International production and post-production work has been drawn to the country by generous government incentives, which were expanded last year. On the other hand, the Australian government has provided a discount to the production of publication, digital and visual effects (POS), which has a favorable result and makes Australia an attractive destination.

According to the article, the quality of life in Australia has been attractive to filmmakers, which has increased filming, and the demand for visual effects. The studio currently has large projects for next year, for which it is adding capacity and talent in order to meet its goals. RSP has designed their studio to allow artists to work productively in a friendly and distraction-free environment, in addition to adding air conditioning. Lighting has also been designed to reduce excess light that can cause eye strain on artists.

Besides, RSP has overcome the pandemic working together as was usual for the company in productions based in the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, so that working remotely in countries with different time zones has not represented a challenge for them.

So they are optimistic about the future and ready to take advantage of new opportunities. What is really important to me about this article is the way in which animation studios have taken advantage of the severity that COVID represented until a few months ago. In this case, the RSP company renewed its studio to improve the quality of work of the artists and also began to work on new projects with new talents. Additionally for me it is very important to know that Australia is a promising nation as far as animation is concerned since nowadays with the globalization of digital media it is possible to collaborate with companies from different countries remotely just as mentioned in the article.

Reference:

Milligan, M. (2021) ‘Rising Sun Pictures Completes COVID-Safe Expansion as Production Rebounds in Australia’. Available at: https://www.animationmagazine.net/vfx/rising-sun-pictures-completes-covid-safe-expansion-as-production-rebounds-in-australia/.

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Stop-Motion Short ‘Astra’ Wraps Shooting in Wrocław

Thanks to reading this article by Milligan (2021) I have come to understand how limited production teams are able to deal with technical and technological limitations to produce good quality animation. In this case, a team of 15 people has produced a stop motion film called Astra, a story about brotherly love, adventure and the adversities of life.

According to the article, the film set, instead of being made up of constructions or virtual scenery, was improvised on a miniature scale. The CeTA Audiovisual Technology in Wrocław that produced the film was very pleased to produce Astra as they also want to produce animated films. Reading the article I also understood that character designs have a long and detailed process, because before the puppets were ready for the set, many weeks of preparation were needed. “First, figure drawings were developed, then 3D models, later heads and some body fragments printed in 3D technology were produced. I was also able to understand that the 3D puppet printing process requires precise, elaborate and highly experienced manual work.

Among the Łódź production team, which according to the article is recognized around the world for its specialists in animation puppets, were six renowned artists with extensive experience in the production of Isle of Dogs by Wes Anderson and Peter and the Wolf and Daniel Kusak decorator. Many locations were developed for the film, such as Astra's little room, the hallways of the science center, and even a ship in outer space. The scale used was large, which represented a challenge for the decoration and props team and the puppet makers. Particularly one of the drawbacks was Astra's hands, which are one centimeter long, turned out to be a difficulty on a scale of 1: 6 when it came to animating his fingers, built on thin cables, so he chose to do seven pairs of interchangeable hands for the character.

In conjunction, the film conducted many experiments, one of the most attractive and original was the use of ink in water to reproduce the cosmos and achieve a slow motion effect, the movement of which was recorded at a higher rate of frames per second. One of the animators commented for the article that he could not have done it all alone at home and that the advantage of using the CeTA facilities guaranteed the world standard of production and working conditions. Finally, a very important piece of information that I am very interested in is knowing how the project was financed, according to the article Astra was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute and the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sports among other organizations that joined to contribute with the project.

I found this article particularly attractive because it talks in detail about the process of creating an animated film from creative details to data on how the production could be carried out, which undoubtedly offers me a real panorama of what it is to develop an animated film.

Reference:

Milligan, M. (2021) Europe Stop-Motion Short ‘Astra’ Wraps Shooting in Wrocław. Available at: https://www.animationmagazine.net/shorts/stop-motion-short-astra-wraps-shooting-in-wroclaw/ (Accessed: 11 August 2021).

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Cannes: Pink Parrot Scores Pick-Ups for ‘Trash’

Reading this article by (Milligan, 2021), I was informed that a company from Montereal / Madrid Pink Parrot Media (PPM) has made a 3D animated feature film that has received many awards worldwide with a film that has an ecological message. The objective of the production company is to attract children from all over the world and arrive with an ecological message with its film Trash, an entertaining film, with a very valuable message suitable for all audiences.

The film stresses the importance of recycling and reusing garbage. The creator developed a world where garbage lives at night, the film tells the adventures of garbage that look for a mythical recycling container seeks. Personally, the background of this film caught my attention since it addresses a message that is relevant for today's society, and I found it particularly interesting to review it since the ecological message is something that draws a lot of attention to me.

Trash has been premiered at various Film festivals worldwide such as (SIFF), Festival del Cinema di Roma 2020, The movie was a Youth Section finalist in the BANFF Rockie Awards 2021 and is part of the Official Selection at Locarno Film Festival in the Kids Screening section Cinekid and so on.

Another factor that is interesting to me is how the audience's approach played a determining role when it came to showing the feature film at festivals, which I consider was a plus point when it came to gaining recognition.

Reference:

Milligan, M. (2021) Cannes: Pink Parrot Scores Pick-Ups for ‘Trash’. Available at: https://www.animationmagazine.net/features/cannes-pink-parrot-scores-pick-ups-for-trash/ (Accessed: 10 July 2021).

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Weta Digital and SideFX to Enhance Cloud Production with Houdini Software

Reading this article I learned that the world famous New Zealand Weta Digital has announced together with its partner SideFX, a new software service. The new software service will combine Weta's proprietary tools within SideFX's award-winning Houdini application. This partnership, known as WetaH, will enable unprecedented levels of creativity that give artists the ability to take advantage of the integration between Houdini and Weta Digital's award-winning technology.

According to this article Weta from New Zealand will launch together with SideFX, a new software service that will combine weta in Houdini of SideFX which will make the software much more powerful and effective.   SideFX's world leader in 3D animation and special effects, Houdini is the industry standard for both video games and animated movies.

Besides according to the article by Lyman ( 2021) , the merger called WetaH will offer the best "integrations and extensions of the Houdini workflow" of Weta Digital, will include the multiphysics solver Loki of Weta Digital and the paradigm of high performance computing, used in movies like Avengers. The partnership between Weta Digital and SideFX serves to demonstrate the importance of today's procedural workflows in today's visual effects channels.

This merger is undoubtedly very significant for the evolution of the entertainment industry. According to the article, the industry is moving towards distributed architectures in the cloud that reduce costs and break technological barriers, improving Houdini's workflow.

Reference:

Lyman, P. (2021) ‘Weta Digital and SideFX to Enhance Cloud Production with Houdini Software’, Animation Magazine. Available at: https://www.animationmagazine.net/vfx/weta-digital-and-sidefx-to-enhance-cloud-production-with-houdini-software/.

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Exclusive: LAIKA Re-Animates Kubo & Beetle for Bespoke Father’s Day Piece

Reading this article by (Milligan, 2021), I understood how animation studios are currently generating visual content to attract their audience through the use not only of production development, but also of animated material on social networks, making use of their characters and stories. And I have understood the power that images have to attract audiences. 

Award-winning feature animation studio LAIKA is celebrating Father’s Day across social media this weekend with the help of some old friends: Kubo and Beetle! The puppet stars of the two-time Oscar-nominated, triple Annie Award and BAFTA-winning 2016 movie Kubo and the Two Strings will be shot on stage, accompanied by paper / origami elements.

The relevance of using social networks to socialize with the public has reached the LAIKA study, which is why throughout social networks last weekend for the purpose of celebrating Father's Day. So using the Kubo beetle and the two Strings, a post was carried out to celebrate this special day.

Before the father's celebration, a BTS studio footage was created with TikTok fans with editor Steven Wong Jr. and assistance from Spencer Rutledge.

The objective of the team who are also parents was to show a moment that was not fully seen in the movie, in the scene where kubo and the beetle are playing, and to show a happy father and son.

The scene is a pleasant pose, which was performed spontaneously in the stop-motion technique. The animators sought to achieve naturalism in the animated scenes, they were not always perfect since there are details that for the eye of the beholder go unnoticed. According to LAIKA animators, these imperfections are part of the stop-motion technique that gives it the artisanal touch.

On the other hand, according to the LAIKA team, when taking still photographs the process must be perfect because the viewer has time to fully visualize the image. The important thing is to find the perfect pose to communicate the message. Capturing the essence of the image is a fun challenge, and Dan did a beautiful job showing the joy and mutual admiration of a relationship between a father and his son.

Reference:

Milligan, M. (2021) Happy Father’s Day | LAIKA Shorts Worldwide Exclusive: LAIKA Re-Animates Kubo & Beetle for Bespoke Father’s Day Piece. Available at: https://www.animationmagazine.net/shorts/exclusive-laika-re-animates-kubo-beetle-for-bespoke-fathers-day-piece/ (Accessed: 22 June 2021).

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Foundry's Nuke 13 Technology Worldwide Tech Reviews: Foundry’s Nuke 13, HP ZBook Fury 15 G7

Reviewing this article by Sheridan (2021) I came to find out that there is a new support tool for Katana called Hydra in its 3D viewer. This is a Tool that adds rendering elements to 3D elements in the viewer. Modeled after its similar Katana, Nuke is a draw for Hydra's 3D viewer.

This helps to have a clearer representation of 3D elements when rendered. Its biggest advantage is in the material and lighting settings as this tool speeds up production and feedback drastically, however the disagreement is that the software has support exceptions in the case of lights and cameras which currently only work in Windows and Linux. Another advantage is that users have access to a color transformation control to adjust the monitor display.

On the other hand, the resolution can also be different while working on a Mac since unfortunately at the moment it is not possible to use Hydra on a Mac. So Nuke has derived the compatibility of external monitors for those who use different monitors. Users can use independent controls to adjust and transform the external monitor's viewfinder settings.

The resolution may also vary depending on the resolution of the project. At higher resolution the monitor will reduce the image. A note for Mac users who are sad that they still can't use the Hydra viewer - you can take advantage of its Apple XDR display and actually compile and view in high dynamic range.

In general, users consider that the most useful actions have to do with machine learning for composition tasks. Nuke 13 has CopyCa for modifying changes across multiple frames to use on the footage you need to tweak: warp, paint, color correct, or even generate garbage mattes.

Reference:

Sheridan, P. T. (2021) Foundry’s Nuke 13 Technology Worldwide Tech Reviews: Foundry’s Nuke 13, HP ZBook Fury 15 G7. Available at: https://www.animationmagazine.net/technology/tech-reviews-foundrys-nuke-13-hp-zbook-fury-15-g7/.