“Return of Hanuman” finally released, throughout India

Triruvananthapuram-based firm has finally released, India’s first 2D animated feature film entitled "Return of Hanuman". The movie has been released throughout India in 370 theatres.

The release is a sequel to the surprise hit of 2005 animation movie 'Hanuman'.

The 90-minute animated movie is a co-production of Toonz Animation and Percept Picture Company. It has been written and directed by Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap.

The animated movie shows return of Hanuman in the current age to save the planet Earth from destruction.

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Big budget animation from Bollywood in '08

PUNE: There is a cyclone brewing in India’s animation film industry, after ‘Hanuman’ took the Indian film industry by storm. Many animations films are taking shape in studios, with big budgets riding on them and industry insiders claim that close to 10 such films will be ready for release in India in 2008. Here’s a peek at what viewers can expect.

Yashraj Films Ltd in alliance with The Walt Disney Studios has finished 60% work on its first animation film ‘Roadside Romeo’, slated for release in June 2008. Shemaroo has also finished work on ‘Ghatothkach’, its second animation film after ‘Bal Ganesh’. Govind Nihalani is working on ‘Kamlu’, his first animation film, and has lined up three other animation projects after that.

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'The Return of Hanuman' to begin new era of animated movies

New Delhi (PTI): As 'The Return of Hanuman', the first animation sequel, hits theatres on Friday director Anurag Kashyap promises to bring a new phase of animated movies.

'The Return of Hanuman' is set in modern day India and this time Hanuman has returned to the earth in a new avatar 'Maruti', who is a school boy with a mission to save the world from the evil doers.

Hanuman being the original super hero of India, the movie promises an all out fun for the kids who loved the previous 'Hanuman'.

It is full with the funny antics of a kid which involves action, comedy and drama.

Having a reputation for making dark and serious cinema, Kashyap's tryst with his first light hearted children animation movie was not easy, says the director.

"For me it was a great learning experience, I made so many mistakes while working on the movie but fortunately had the chance to correct them," Anurag Kashyap told PTI.

The movie has inspired the director and has opened a all new field of creativity, "Hanuman was a wonderful and enriching experience. I am planning to make another animation movie which will be entertaining for both children and adults," says Kashyap.

The director, who has also written the dialogues of the movie said "my inspiration behind writing and directing the movie was my daughter Aliya. The movie is dedicated to her."

Source : http://www.hindu.com/

Thomson unit ties up with DreamWorks Animation

Mumbai: The Technicolor Services division of French technology firm Thomson has partnered with DreamWorks Animation SKG to develop capabilities for production of animation films in India.

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“It is a strategic alliance in which we will be providing the infrastructure while Dreamworks will initially help us in recruiting and training talent in India. In the next 6-12 months, we expect to start production for Dreamwork’s movies,” Thierry Pasquet, Vice-President, Thomson – India, told Business Line. Both the parties intend to bring to India “as much production work as possible”, added Pasquet.

DreamWorks is an independent American animation studio, which roughly produces two feature animated films a year. Some of the well-known movies from the DreamWorks stable include Shrek, Shark Tale and Madagascar. The companies will also focus on partnering for TV programming, commercials and video games, with a strong focus on 3D content. The alliance leverages Thomson’s recent investment in Paprikaas Animation Studios, an animation and game content provider in Bangalore, said a company communication. The 200-people-strong Paprikaas offers creative, technical and production capabilities to design and produce computer-generated animation for feature films, television programming, commercials and video games.

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Inside Movie Animation: Simulating 128 Billion Elements

Ever wonder how animated films such as The Incredibles get hair, clothing, water, plants, and other details to look so realistic? Or how, like the lion in The Chronicles of Narnia, animated characters are worked into live-action films? If not, the animators would be pleased, since they don't want special effects to distract from the story. Behind the scenes, though, is a sophisticated combination of artistry, computation, and physics.

Traditionally, animation was hand drawn by artists who needed"some of the same magical eye that the Renaissance painters had, to give the impression that it's realistically illuminated," says Paul Debevec, a computer graphics researcher at the University of Southern California. Over the past decade or so, the hand-painted animation has faded as physically-based simulations have increasingly been used to achieve more realistic lighting and motion. Despite this movement toward reality in animated films, the physics of the real world remains a slave to expediency and art: Simplifications and shortcuts make the simulations faster and cheaper, and what the director wants trumps physical accuracy.

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Animation park next on state IT agenda

The IT department of West Bengal is in the process of negotiations with some animation companies to set up an animation park in Kolkata.

"We are in talks with some animation companies with the objective of setting up an animation park in the Kolkata", state IT minister Debesh Das told reporters on the sidelines of a roundtable discussion on India-EU trade and investment development programme (TIDP), organised by Ficci.

"Apart from the plan to set up the animation park, we are trying to rope in some hardware companies to set up manufacturing bases. Moreover, we are expecting some high-end industries to come up in the proposed IT park to be established near IIT-Kharagpur", he added.

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Animation, the big promise

Who watches animation? Children? Youth? Adults? What is animation’s potential? Who’s going to see Hanuman Returns, to be launched in a week’s time? What is India’s opportunity in animation? What can animation be used for? Can animation break geographical and cultural barriers?

The questions are endless and so are the answers. According to Orion Ross, VP creative and original content, Turner Entertainment Network Asia, Inc., we appear to have come full circle on animation, in one respect. “In the early days of cartoons (Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny), the creators couldn’t distinguish audiences, so cartoons had to be smart enough to straddle both children and adults. Bugs Bunny said some really smart truths. We could be seeing that coming back.”

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India to be main focus of animation film festival

NEW DELHI: The 'back office' tag on the Indian animation film industry is finally wearing off. In a rare honour, Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the world's biggest animation festival held every year in France, has announced that India would be the focus in 2008.

The recognition by Annecy festival could place the Indian animation industry, which has so far remained a technical hub for visual effects and post-production for Hollywood, on pedestals. Some of the biggest animation films like 'Shrek' have been partly done in Indian studios, but never acknowledged. That could change now with India's own animated films getting exposed to the beeline of buyers at Annecy.

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Animation competition for BETT 2008

Children invited to design animated characters in national competition

BETT 2008 will see the launch of the Animate IT competition, aiming to encourage children to design claymotion animations with a chance to win software for their trouble.

The competition is being curated by Bob The Builder designer, Curtis Jobling, Kudlian Soft and Film Street.

The competition is open to children aged 12 and under for both school and individual categories with two winners being chosen from each category. The two individual winners will receive an iMage webcam and a copy of either Kudlian Soft's I Can Animate or Stop Motion Pro. The two winners from the school category will win six iMage webcams and a school site licence for I Can Animate or Stop Motion Pro each.

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India needs 10k animation experts for global play

AHMEDABAD: India needs at least 10,000 professional animators of international standards if it wants to survive the competition from countries such as Philippines, Korea and Taiwan, said director of the animation movie Hanuman VG Samanth.

He was in Ahmedabad to inaugurate a training campus of Digital Asia School of Animation association with Lakhotia Institute of Art & Design, a division of Lakhotia Computer Centre (LCC). Set up at an investment of Rs 50 lakh, the institute claims to churn out around 125 trained animators every year.

Speaking to the media after the inauguration, Mr Samanth said, “Barring one or two films, I am not happy with the quality of animated movies being made in the country. People are entering into the business just to make quick money. They produce low cost, low quality animation movies.”

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"Anime: Drawing a Revolution" is Garbage

Not too long ago, lots of mainstream news outlets were running articles that had headlines like, "Biff! Bam! Pow! Comic Books Aren't Just for Kids Any More!" These articles were often poorly researched, superficial fluff pieces that expressed great surprise that modern comic books had four-letter words, graphic violence, and provocative themes. The idea that comics were a valid form of expression on their own and were a medium that had been shackled into a genre and an age group never seemed to occur to most of the writers of these articles.

The documentary film Anime: Drawing a Revolution might as well have been titled, Biff! Bam! Pow! Cartoons Aren't Just for Kids Any More! It may also be best if you walk into this hour-long documentary, which airs on Starz tonight at 9:00 PM (Eastern/Pacific), knowing that it's not really about anime at all, but rather about the co-opting of anime into mainstream American culture. It has little interest in the art and artistry of anime, focusing instead on how the American entertainment industry reacts to anime and borrows from it. It doesn't do a very good job explaining that, either, but knowing this ahead of time will reduce exasperation from otaku or general animation fans, and also temper any mistaken impressions from those who watch this in the hopes of gaining understanding more about anime.

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Antics Launches Free 3D Animation Software

Antics Technologies has released a free version of its realtime animation software that until now has been the reserve of film professionals such as Jim Rygiel, Oscar-winning vfx supervisor on THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. Now all animation enthusiasts will be able to use Antics V3 to quickly and easily create content-rich, animated stories using this versatile, intuitive and highly flexible animation system.

Alastair Woolley, managing director of Antics, explained: "With this latest version, we're really opening up animation for everyone. Using simple techniques like 'drag and drop' and a simple user interface, anyone with a story to tell or an interest in filmmaking can now bring their ideas to life in real time. We've also taken the hard work and complicated calculations out of animation by using intelligent props that characters can easily interact with through a simple 'point and click' action that moves your character from A to B in a single command. While the software helps make animation more accessible, it is still powerful enough to build complex scenes and add cameras to view the action from whatever angle and positions you want."

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Animation tools free to users

Amateur animators will now be able to use software that the production teams from the sets of The Lord of the Rings trilogies and the Chronicles of Narnia have used for free.

Antics Technologies has released a downloadable version of its realtime animation software Antics V3 that will allow users to create characters and sets in an easy to use, point-and-click format.

Alastair Woolley, managing director of Antics, said that with "simple techniques like drag-and-drop and a simple user interface, anyone with a story to tell or an interest in filmmaking can now bring their ideas to life in real time."

Users will still have access to the more complicated actions involving special scenes and camera angles that will allow "cameras to view the action from whatever angle and positions you want", he added.

The free version of the software has a library of scenes and characters including everything from a Wild West scene to a modern city landscape and for an additional fee, enthusiasts can purchase more scenes, import third party animations and share content with other users in an open forum.

Source : http://www.bcs.org/

New PowerPoint rival uses 3D animation to slash preparation time

World Class Solutions has just launched a new class of presentation software that combines the advantages of 3D graphics and animation with significantly reduced preparation time. The low-cost package is available from the firm's web site.

"It's called 'Executive Impact' because it's possible to create a complete presentation from scratch in less than 7 minutes", explained CEO Pat Hough. "Most business people don't have enough time to create effective presentations because they're just too busy. This package will help them focus on their message - the most important part of any presentation. The graphics and structure are already built-in."

Executive Impact actively blends 3D graphics with text. "Our aim was to develop something new to give our customers a professional edge. I think they also enjoy the irony that the best-looking presentations now take the least time to create", said Pat Hough. Audiences agree that the results are exceptional - a departure from PowerPoint templates that use graphics only as a backdrop.

World Class Solutions also develops high-end custom presentations. All of the key points in those presentations are illustrated using 3D animated graphics. "First we profile the audience", Pat Hough explained. "Then we fine-tune the graphics to appeal specifically to the decision-makers in the audience. The sequence, the timing and the keywords all have to be carefully chosen for maximum impact. Custom presentations can take between four and six weeks to prepare but the same underlying technology is used in the new product."

Executive Impact is a stand-alone presentation package for Windows XP or Vista. It does not require Microsoft PowerPoint or other presentation software. Each package is based on a single theme and costs Ђ25 + VAT (about US$37). More information is available on the website.

Source: http://www.pr-usa.net/

Frame by Frame, Animation Moves to India

If you have a date to go to the movies with a child this week, chances are good that part of the movie you'll see was made in India. Both The Golden Compass and Alvin and the Chipmunks used digital animation that was created in Mumbai.

India is rapidly becoming a player in the global cultural marketplace, and animation is no exception. Los Angeles-based animation company Rhythm & Hues worked on the films from their Hollywood offices — and from the offices that they have opened in India. Employees stay in contact through daily video conferencing, bridging 12 time zones and 13,000 miles.

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Should Oscar honor animation effects?

For many, the idea of honoring visual effects in animated films elicits a simple reaction: "Huh?"

Which is short for: How can you separate out "visual effects" in movies entirely created by artists?

Some in the visual effects industry insist there's an argument to be made for honoring effects in animated films. This Oscar season, Sony Imageworks is making that argument especially loudly, and it's not alone.

"If I had to draw the line," says Zareh Nalbandian, CEO and co-founder of Animal Logic, "anything that is part of the character performance is really on the animation side of the fence, where anything that is outside the character performance, the things we'd see in a live-action visual effects movie, should be eligible for visual effects consideration."

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Frame by Frame, Animation Moves to India

If you have a date to go to the movies with a child this week, chances are good that part of the movie you'll see was made in India. Both The Golden Compass and Alvin and the Chipmunks used digital animation that was created in Mumbai.

India is rapidly becoming a player in the global cultural marketplace, and animation is no exception. Los Angeles-based animation company Rhythm & Hues worked on the films from their Hollywood offices — and from the offices that they have opened in India. Employees stay in contact through daily video conferencing, bridging 12 time zones and 13,000 miles.

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Chandigarh firm plans animation, gaming studio

Chandigarh-based Compact Disc India Ltd (CDIL), an integrated media and entertainment company, plans to set up an animation-cum-gaming studio in the northern region with an investment of Rs 50 crore spread over 1 acre.

However, the location is yet to be finalised but it may be either in Chandigarh, Panchkula (near Chandigarh) or Mohali (Punjab).

Speaking to Business Standard, CDIL Managing Director Gautam Seengal said: “We have plans to set up an animation-cum-gaming studio with major thrust on gaming. We have applied for 1 acre of land in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. Out of these three location, the proposed studio would come up wherever the government allots us land. We have earmarked Rs 50 crore, funded through internal accruals and term loans, for the project. The proposed studio is likely to employ 350-400 people.”

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New PowerPoint rival uses 3D animation to slash preparation time

2007-12-06 14:23:50 - Presentations that blend text with 3-D animation can now be created in minutes with Executive Impact - a new low-cost software package from www.wclass.com.

World Class Solutions has just launched a new class of presentation software that combines the advantages of 3D graphics and animation with significantly reduced preparation time. The low-cost package is available from the firm's web site at www.wclass.com.

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'Yantra' — first local Tamil film to have 3D animation

PETALING JAYA: A local Tamil movie with 3D animation was launched yesterday.
Yantra, directed by K. Annan, revolves around a group of people seeking a treasure believed to have stemmed from a myth.

It will be screened nationwide on Dec 20. A gala premiere will be held on Dec 13.

“This movie is a wholesome movie that can be watched by audiences from all walks of life.

“This is also a first for a local Tamil movie featuring 3D animation,” said Annan.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Deputy Minister Datuk S. Veerasingam, who launched the movie, said it had the makings to be a hit with the audience.

The movie is produced by Avana Entertainment and ATV Pictures Sdn Bhd while Guinness Anchor Berhad is the main sponsor.

GAB and the producers have started a series of charity drives to collect funds for three Tamil schools — SRJK (T) Tapah Perak, SRJK (T) Ladang Tuan Mee and SRJK (T) Ladang Coalfields.

The money raised through the charity drive will be used to buy essential items for the students.

During the launch a total of RM6,000 was collected.

Also present at the launch were Pyramid Saimira Theatre Chain (M) chairman S. Vell Paari and Youth and Sports Ministry parliamentary secretary S.A. Vigneswaran.

Source : http://www.nst.com.my/

Animation film festival offers nearly 300 films

Around 300 productions from around the world are being screened at the ongoing International Animation Film Festival in İstanbul, running through Dec. 9 at İstanbul Museum of Modern Art's movie theater.

The festival will screen award-winning animation films from a variety of countries including the US, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Canada and France, among others. "One Rat Short" by Alex Weil, "No Room For Gerold" by Daniel Nocke, "Tyger" by Guilherme Marcondes, "Leviathan" by Simon Bogojevic Narath, as well as "The Runt," "Lapsus" and "Ark," are among the hotly anticipated titles featured in the festival lineup. Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai's latest film "5 Centimeters per Second," American director Eric Leiser's debut film "Imagination" and Christiane Cegavske's "Blood Tea and Red String" are competing at the festival's "most experimental feature animations" section.

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Pune set to become next animation hub

Maharashtra's cultural capital, Pune, is seen competing with Hyderabad and Mumbai to be the country's animation hub. With the sector facing severe human resources shortage, more and more studios are increasingly venturing into animation training.

And enough space and a ready-made pool of engineers around, Pune is seen jostling for bigger pie of India's animation hub. A conducive ecosystem for animation is already evolving in Pune with the best animation studios announcing plans to launch centres in Pune.

The Reliance ADAG-acquired Anirights Infomedia, with a capacity of 600, is one of the biggest animation studio in Pune. The studio was relocated to Pune from Bangalore in August this year. Jumpgames.com, another Reliance-owned company in gaming also opened up a development centre in Pune early this year. Nvidia Graphics has set up its operations and is rapidly expanding.

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Boom in animation - Courses become popular with jobs on offer

The animation training industry in the city has witnessed tremendous growth, with a spurt in the number of students enrolling for courses over the past few years.

Training institutes attest to the trend. At Arena Multimedia, the number of students has grown by 50 per cent since last year. Webel Animation Academy, the only state government-sponsored animation institute in the country, has also done well since opening doors in 2004.

“We started with 50 students in 2004. Now, we train 300 students every year. The growth in number is testimony to the tremendous interest in the animation industry,” says Srimati Mukherjee, the project head of Webel Animation Academy.

The students have become more focused about what they want to learn. It is no longer a case of trying out new avenues. “Those who come to us know exactly what skills they want to pick up and why. They are taking up the subject because they have keen interest in it,” says R. Krishnan, global head, Arena Multimedia.

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Innovation: Key for animation industry

In the animation industry, the key ingredient is innovation. Cartoons and graphics can be two-dimensional, as long as the ideas behind them aren't, that's the message at China's first international annimation trade fair in Anhui province.

Over 300 animation companies from home and abroad have turned out for the fair. Animation giants Disney, Paramount, and China's top producers, China Central Television and Shanghai Media Group are just a few of the big names. From animation makers and producers to distributors and traders, the fair is an opportunity for all key players in the industry to exchange ideas and make new deals.

The animation industry is booming with a product value of over 200 billion US dollars a year. And the price of its relative products is above 500 billion. China represents one of the big markets for the animation industry. Chinese animators say they are confident about reviving the animation scene here in China and are on a mission to become one of the main creators of animation. ZS CCTV

Source : http://www.cctv.com/

Indian Feature Animation Explodes

With the feature animation industry booming in India, Lisa Goldman reports on the opportunities and challenges presented by an immense and diverse audience.

In 2005, an animated feature called Jai Hanuman hit theaters in India and set the animated feature industry on fire. Children and families went crazy for this film and, following its record success, many Indian companies have been trying to get in on the action -- but it's not so easy. Connecting with India's billion-plus audience is a big challenge since the Indian market is so diverse. India has 28 states and seven territories, plus each state has its own language and dialects. The challenges are not only cultural; there are business hurdles to clear as well. Distribution is difficult unless you have major Bollywood stars as your voice-talent. Licensing and merchandising are in their infancy, although they show great potential. Piracy is also a concern.

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If animation is your dream...

Coming to the Capital: Toonz Animation Academy that gives training in 2D and 3D animation.

With the world’s leading entertainment majors signing up contracts with Indian animation companies, there is a growing demand for animation professionals in the country. Now one of the premier animation institutes in South Asia, Toonz Animation Academy, has opened its Delhi centre to create the next generation of animation professionals.

“The launch of the Delhi centre is only one among the major expansion plans we are undertaking. Our centre in Hyderabad will open next month and we plan to open academies elsewhere in key Indian cities,” says Toonz Animation Academy Executive Director Ramaprasad.

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'Enchanted' brings heart of animation to life

There are many things that are magical about "Enchanted," not the least of which is that it holds your attention from beginning to end.

The story begins with Giselle, the fair maiden of the enchanted — and animated — land of Andalasia, who falls in love with the handsome Prince Edward. But when the two are to wed, the wicked Queen Narissa bans Giselle to a place where "happily ever after" doesn't exist: the bustling, harsh streets of New York City.

What ensues is an extremely comical combination of every animated Disney movie ever made. The wicked queen tries to poison Giselle with an apple, and Giselle enlists the help of the local animals (which in New York includes a variety of vermin) to clean an apartment.

As Giselle waits for her prince to come rescue her, she meets the very handsome (and very cynical) lawyer, Robert, and the fair maiden is forced to face the realities of love in the real world.

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Toon Boom Releases its First Animation Software for Kids

Emmy award-winning Toon Boom Animation Inc. today announced the release of Flip Boom, a fun and creative free-form animation tool. Based on traditional animation principles, Flip Boom sets the imagination free while teaching notions of timing and motion.

Easy to use, Flip Boom is intuitive and provides a playful experience.Flip Boom is ideal for kids who want to start creating animation in seconds.

"Seeing the growing interest in animation coming from a younger age group, we decided to develop Flip Boom to cater to their creative needs. Keeping in mind the entertaining value such a tool can bring, we hope Flip Boom will appeal to kids when it comes to create animation" said Joan Vogelesang, President and Chief Executive Officer at Toon Boom.

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Visualization: Just Look What’s Coming

Today’s performance dashboards are cheap toys compared to the tools coming down the information visualization pipeline

Every now and then all of us have moments when we see something new and say, "This is big." Think back to when you received your first e-mail message or got your first glimpse of the Web. I had one of these moments two weeks ago at an information visualization conference.

Visualization’s ability to reveal stories hidden in plain sight was, pardon the pun, eye opening. The experimental new Web sites and research shown at the InfoVIS conference in Sacramento, Calif. made most of today’s performance dashboards look like cheap toys.

This wasn’t a business crowd. Several hundred grad students and geeks mostly in their 20s, 30s, and 40s from all over the world gathered in jeans, running shoes, and wrinkled cotton shirts eager to talk about algorithms. This year a healthy contingent from business came too, comprising about one third of attendees, up from nearly zero last year.

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Animation in e-mail

The primary goal of any e-mail marketing campaign is to reach the most users, raise product and brand awareness and drive conversion. With the abundance of promotional messages cluttering inboxes today, it is becoming more and more important to grab the user’s eyes while maintaining an optimized, e-mail friendly template. In addition to standard color and image use, many e-mail marketers are turning to the aesthetic and visual appeal of animation.

The two main types of animation e-mail marketers consider including in their messages are Flash movies and animated gifs. Whether you are more concerned with template flexibility or the size of your message, both formats present their own unique lists of pros and cons regarding use in e-mail.

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Animation pioneer may get hometown honor

Nestled between the Spring Lake District Library and Spring Lake Township Hall off Exchange Street is a small area marked by a solitary picnic table and sections of the former Union School foundation still jutting above the green grass.

It was here in the late 19th century that famed illustrator-cartoonist-animator Winsor McCay went to school and began drawing.

McCay eventually moved to New York to pen highly acclaimed cartoons for such papers as the New York Herald and The American.

His comics included Little Sammy Sneeze, Dream of the Rarebit Fiend and Little Nemo in Slumberland. All were intricately drawn with startling detail and daring use of black ink.

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Animation awards in February

Our country is blessed with several skilled animators, the work of whom have resulted in the country receiving several prestigious offers. Now’s the time to honour them by presenting them awards

India’s animation sector is witnessing a major boom. Overseas entertainment giants like Walt Disney, Imax and Sony are increasingly outsourcing cartoon characters and special effects to India. A lot of schools catering to teaching of animation have come up and so has the intertest to learn the trade been growing among young enthusiasts.

To give young animators further encouragement, CNBC TV18, India’s leading business medium along with Arena Multimedia has instituted Golden Cursor Excellence in Animation Awards powered by Animation Xpress.com. The award has been conceptualised with the objective of enhancing and shaping the future of the Indian Animation industry and creating a unique foothold in the international animation arena.

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How to Create a Stop Motion Animation

If you were wondering how they create movies such as Wallace and Gromit or those groovy Lego shorts on YouTube, your search is over! Although creating stop motion animation is not difficult, it is time-consuming, repetitive and requires patience. As long as you're forewarned and keen, this makes a fantastic hobby and sometimes even grows into a career.

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Animation films at Istanbul Modern

A staggering 300 movies from six countries will be showcased at the the 4th International Animated Film Festival to be held on Dec. 4-9 at the Istanbul Modern Cinema.

Animation buffs can enjoy movies from Germany, the United States, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Canada and France.

American director Bill Plympton, whose films “Mutant Aliens” and “I Married a Strange Person!” won the best full-length movie award, will be the special guest of the festival. He will share his story of success with the audience and organize workshops throughout the festival. The festival will host films from German directors Andreas Hykade and Daniel Nocke, American director Alex Weil, Argentinian director Juan Pablo Zaramella and Canadian director Marie-Josee Saint-Pierre. In the “Experimental Long Animations” section of the festival, visitors can watch American director Eric Leiser's first film “Imagination,” Christiane Cegavske's “Blood Tea and Red String” and famous Japanese director Makoto Shinkai's recent film “5 Centimeters per Second.”

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Animators eye local market to power growth

Players in the Indian animation industry, who primarily cater to movie studios in the US, are increasingly looking at the domestic market, especially after the commercial success of animated movie Hanuman.

Of the total revenues generated by the Indian studios, approximately 70 per cent comes from outsourced work.

While the domestic market is still very nascent, analysts predict there is tremendous growth opportunity for animated content in television and movies.

Over the next four years, the growth in the domestic demand for broadcast animated content on TV is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (cagr) of 49.5 per cent, according to a Nasscom report.

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When art merges with animation

HYDERABAD: An almost extinct folk art form from parts of Northern India gets merged with animation to narrate a Panchatantra tale. Dhvani Desai, the director of ‘Manpasand’ brings alive the 17th century tradition that was used to encourage unmarried girls take up Sanjhi paintings in order to obtain a suitable groom.

“Once the paintings were done, the tradition had the girls setting them free in the river for universal blessings. It was originally practiced as one of the traditional methods of creative visualisation to fulfil one’s wishes,” explains the director who has been associated with animation and special effects for the last 16 years.

Extinct art

‘Manpasand’ is about a journey of a father in search of a suitable groom for his daughter and to narrate this Panchatantra tale is used. “I worked on the project for more than two years and 42 artists were involved with it. Considerable time was spent on researching the Sanjhi art which is almost extinct and we travelled a lot to find the right practitioners,” Dhvani says.

Apart from the technique of Sanjhi, the underlying spiritual aspect appealed to the director who is credited with cartoon and animated titles for several feature films produced by NFDC among others. After the success of ‘Hanuman’, the animation scene in the country was more active these days. “Earlier, the initiatives were on smaller scale and animation was done for few minutes. Now full-length also seem to be catching up,” she says.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/

Animation Art - 5 Of The Most Common Mediums Purchased By Collectors

Animation Cels - A cel (short for celluloid) is a blank clear plastic sheet used by the studio artist to paint an animated character or object based on the animator's original pencil drawing. The cels are then placed over a background and photographed in sequence to produce an illusion of life in the completed film or cartoon short. Every cel is different but this does not mean that every cel is unique. Often multiple copies of a cel were created by the Inkers as color models in order to advance their technique and skills in Animation Art.

Limited Edition Cels - A non production hand painted cel created for sale to the collectors market. It is produced in fixed limited quantities and are easily identified by a fraction (150/500) in the lower right hand corner. They were not used in films or cartoon shorts, and the original intent was to recreate the original production cels. Nowadays many studios release new images not based on production artwork.

Sericels - A non production cel created by means of a printing process similar to silk screening. No work is done by hand, therefore no painting or inking is involved. They are often produced in limited quantities of 5000, and they are marketed as a low cost alternative to production and limited edition cels.

Animation Drawings - A drawing on paper in pencil, sometimes colored which is created by a studio artist of an animated character or object for which the cels are later created.

Giclee - The French term "Giclée", literally meaning "spray of ink," is used to describe these prints. Four precision nozzles spray up to a million microscopic droplets per second on to fine art paper. Then, each piece of paper is individually hand-mounted. Displaying a full color spectrum, the prints are lush and velvety, capturing the subtle nuances of the original artwork.

About the Author:

Paul Callis is the proprietor of Premier Animation, a respected Animation Art Gallery in the UK. Paul’s passion for Animation Art, has helped collectors unable to source this fine medium, own pieces of art they thought were impossible to locate, and allowing many unknown to this specialized art form, gain great knowledge and understanding. You can visit Premier Animation’s web site, and see a fantastic collection at http://www.premieranimation.com, as well as reading information and comments on animation art.

First animation feature film to be produced

Movie buffs can look forward to the country's first animation feature film "Roadside Romeo" being produced by filmmaker Yash Chopra in collaboration with Walt Disney.

The film is expected to be released next June, Chopra told reporters here on Tuesday night.

"India has a big potential for animated film industry which has assumed massive proportions in the West," Chopra, who was here to receive the 'Zenith Asia' award conferred on him at the Fifth Asian Film Festival, said.

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Animated cinema festival features animation from 10 countries

The Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema (WFAC) has announced programming details for the seventh edition of the festival, running Nov. 15 to 18, 2007.

A unique film festival dedicated to animated feature films from around the world, WFAC showcases the power of animation in filmmaking, and celebrates the art and the artists who work in this powerful visual narrative form.

"Animation is the only way a filmmaker can express himself without any creative limits," said curator Joseph Chen.

"There's a renaissance of feature animation going on outside North America right now, and we're really pleased to bring these wonderful films to Canada."

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Indian animation industry targets niche market

Bhavana Puljal - Televisionpoint.com | Mumbai
After creating an identity for itself in the global market, Indian animation industry is ready to up the ante further. The industry, which has capitalised on low-cost manpower, is exploring techniques like animation through sand, textile, oil on glass and clay.

Experts believe that by using these methods commercially, India can create a niche for itself in the world of animation. "The use of these techniques has been limited to college projects. But now students in various institutes like NID, IDC of IIT-Bombay are increasingly using them for short duration animation movies," says animator Nina Sabnani.

While the techniques are not exactly new, these are gaining popularity, in terms of experimentation and learning among the young animators. The cost of production depends on the method used but is definitely less than the computer generated animation. A short film may be made at a cost as low as Rs 30,000 and can go up to any amount. It is the amount of time involved that has been discouraging the use of these methods. A 30-second clay animation ad might take 7-10 days to complete.

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Tough battle for Oscar animation list

The contenders for the animation films in the race for Oscars were announced recently.

The films include the rodent story Ratatouille, the bug tale Bee Movie, the ogre sequel Shrek the Third and the penguin comedy Surf's Up.

Also in the running are The Simpsons Movie, Beowulf, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Meet the Robinsons, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Tekkonkinkreet and Persepolis.

A relatively recent addition to the list of Oscar categories, the number of animated films in competition shows how important - and lucrative - animated films now are, for an adult audience as well as kids.

A committee of academy members will pick three nominees, which will be announced on January 22.

Source : http://www.ndtvmovies.com

Universal Sounds Off for Animation, Games

Universal Studios Sound has announced that it is expanding its services in animation and gaming with the hire of supervising sound editor Michael Geisler, whose credits include Cartoon Network’s Squirrel Boy and Courage the Cowardly Dog, as well as the features How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Space Jam. A division of NBC Universal, the unit offers sound editorial and design, mixing, Foley, ADR and transfer for features, television, commercials, trailers and video games.

“With animation and gaming companies looking for that enhanced audience experience, Universal can supply the ultimate sound ride,” Geisler comments. “We have the one-stop shop for producers from voice recording to transfer for final delivery.”

“Michael brings an understanding of the unique challenges of animation and video game projects,” adds Chris Jenkins, senior VP of Universal Studios Sound. “The depth of our services and the depth of Michael’s expertise combine to make a quality client experience.”

Source: http://www.animationmagazine.net/

Special Report On The Indian Animation Market

Animation has come a long, long way since the first public screening of animation with cinematic apparatus that used hand-painted sequences on celluloid strips. Today the global market is worth about $50 billion and is projected to become a $70-billion industry by 2007. Animation is regarded as a part of the creative or content industry as artistic or creative effort is essential to the process of developing animation. The segment has the potential for job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property. The US industry, the largest user of animation products and services, describes entertainment as feature films, TV programs, music, broadcasting, cable TV, games, sports, performing arts theme parks and toys.

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Stakes in Sony’s animation businesses may go on sale

Sony Pictures Entertainment is considering the sale of a majority stake in Imageworks, the visual effects business behind films such as Spider-Man, and half its animation studio.

Sony Pictures, part of Sony Corporation, has hired Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, the investment bank, to assess the value of each division. It is understood their combined value is at least $500 million (£240 million). Sony has invested an estimated $400 million in the animation and effects businesses over the years.

Sony Pictures’ visual effects business has had much success in its 15-year history, pioneering computer-generated imaging techniques in the Spider-Man films, The Polar Express, Superman and Stuart Little.

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BIGGEST ANIME MOVIES AND SERIES OF 2008 TO BE SCREENED FOR FIRST TIME AT NEW YORK ANIME FESTIVAL

Exclusive Premieres of Adventures in Voice Acting and One Piece; As Previously Announced, CATBLUE Dynamite also Featured

Norwalk, CT, November 2, 2007: The New York Anime Festival (NYAF) today announced it will feature a selection of highly-anticipated premieres and previews at its inaugural event December 7 - 9, 2007, at the Jacob Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan. These special screenings include Adventures in Voice Acting, Appleseed: Ex Machina, and One Piece: Episode of Alabaster. The screenings are the most recent additions to a full schedule of events that have already been announced by NYAF. The debut festival, which promises to be an extravaganza featuring the latest in anime, manga, cinema, music, comics, and games, is anticipating a significant launch that will focus on all aspects of Japanese anime and culture.

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Low cost outsourcing model is not sustainable

Demand for animation content is rising and the sector is expected to grow 30 per cent annually over the next three years, from its current size of $550 million.

"There is also scope for animation companies to exploit from the gaming industry. Besides outsourcing, we are also seeing a surge in domestic demand from kids TV channels and film producers," said DQ Entertainment Tapaas Chakravarti while speaking at Nasscom Animation & Gaming India 2007.

Animation companies in India will have to focus on quality and scalability, other speakers said in a session on "Outsourcing from India.".

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Animation festival comes to life

Disney producer Don Hahn calls animation "the ultimate team sport."

To prove it, he'll bring to Everett artwork from the Disney archives, some of which, he says, has never been seen. It's a way to show the "people who draw and paint and work on scripts and music, who contribute to making an animated film," he said.

Hahn is the keynoter for the second annual "2D or Not 2D" animation festival Friday and Saturday at the Everett Theatre. Hahn will present films and share what he knows at 7 p.m. Saturday during the festival, which is rich with animator talks, animated film showings, and screenings of entries for the Golden Pencil awards, given out at 8 p.m. Saturday.

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Pixar Does Retro 2D Animation Short Film

The release of Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille is to include the first hand-drawn animated 2-D short film in Pixar history. The studio that innovated computer rendered 3D animation returned to the good old fashioned 2D animation method for it’s 11 minute-film (which is the longest short film in Pixar history).

“Your Friend the Rat” was directed by Jim Capobianco and was inspired by the research the filmmakers did into rat behaviour and history - much of this never made it into the final film.

The short follows Remy the rat (voiced by Patton Oswalt), and his brother Emile (Peter Sohn), who talk about the ‘history and behaviour of rats in an effort to persuade human viewers not to kill the ubiquitous rodents.”

Copobianco claims the end result of the short is reminiscent of 1960’s-era educational film, old UPA shorts and classic Ward Kimball animation from Disney.

The short isn’t solely 2D animation. It features a mix of 3D computer animation, 2D line animation, live-action filmed segments and some stop-motion animation (another Pixar first)

You can get your copy of Ratatouille when it comes to DVD and Blu-Ray on November 6th 2007.

Source: http://www.product-reviews.net

Age of 3D Animation

The art of creating and moving images with the use of computer is generally termed as 3D Animation. The era of 3D animation can be dated back to the early nineties when the first 3D animation film "Toy Story" was created. With the passage of time there was tremendous transformation in 3D animation and many more movies were created. The power and effectiveness of 3D animation became apparent when "Jurassic Park" hit the cinema screen in 1993. It really was wonder created with the help of 3D Animation. The most powerful animal, "the dinosaur" was brought to life. The movie stands as testimony to the powers of 3D Animation.

The Age of 3D animation has certainly brought about a revolution. There is hardly any area where 3D Animation is not playing a pivotal role. The popularity of computer animation has skyrocketed in this age of 3D Animation. The superiority of 3D Animation has several reasons. A few important ones are spelled out in the para to a follow.

In the age of 3D Animation crystal clear images can be revealed in a very short period of time and the impact created is just unimaginable. It is true to say that concepts and ideas which are not easy to be expressed in words or even through illustrations can not only be created easily but also analyzed from different perspectives. The dimensional feature of 3D Animation is where its true power lies and its ability to portray movement is exceptional. A huge amount of scientific data of movements is combined and presented in a simplistic manner. An advantaged tagged to this attribute of 3D animation is that it creates a long lasting impact on the memory and the viewer tends to retain the image for a much longer time and that too with accuracy.

Age of 3D animation brings to light limitless possibilities. It is a fine communicating tool which offers more information at a faster rate, presents complex concepts in a simplified manner and also helps turn an idea or even a hint into reality. Recreation of any event, expensive or dangerous to reproduce, is possible in this age of 3D Animation. Fine examples of this would be an air crash, demolition of buildings and /or creation of colonies. In the age of 3D Animation photo-realistic effects are possible by using virtual light sources from different angles with a fine blend of reflection, transparency and shadowing. One big area where 3D Animation is brining about a huge and fast transformation is Architecture. The 3-dimensional models are more accurate and make it easier to see and study the possible relationship of the buildings with the environment.

In the age of 3D animation there is no limit in so far as the software packages are concerned. You can find several packages in the market but the main and only problem that there are far too many and there re endless companies who have created their own 3D animation packages on the pretext that the ones available don't suit their purpose. However, there are still a few standardized ones. The first and the most familiar one that comes to mind is 'Alias Maya'. It is a software which allows you to create models, texture and animate, tight them and lots more. Another package which stands a rival to 'Alias Maya' is '3DS max', it is a package with almost the same facilities that one would find in 'Alias Maya' its advantage is that it allows you to from 'Maya' to '3DS max' and vice-versa. A few other software packages are Cinema 4D, Bodyshop, Light ware 3D and many more.

The future of 3D Animation is far reaching there are going to be more and more, different areas where 3D Animation is going to bring about a radical change. However, one area of challenge for 3D Animation is a photorealistic animation of humans. As of now animal characters, fantasy characters, robots or cartoon like humans are shown but time is not far off when you will certainly see 3D Animation succeeded in this area.

3D Animation

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deep_Raj

Warner Bros. to Distribute 'Peanuts' Animation

An entertainment brand that spans a seemingly infinite variety of media and an entertainment brand that has braved numerous eras of emotional, political and social thought, the Peanuts work of Charles M. Schulz often represents the most memorable moments a growing child can experience. Between a near-bald young boy and his ace pilot beagle, a blanket carrying philosopher, a master pianist, a girl who will wear sandals in any season of the year and much more, Peanuts has provided readers with a spectrum of humor over the past fifty plus years. Now, it appears that much of the media based on Schulz's imaginative stories will see its most collective and organized distribution yet.

In an announcement made recently, Warner home Video--in an agreement with United Media (or, United Feature Syndicate, Inc.), Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates and Lee Mendelson Film Productions--has entered an agreement that will see the Peanuts brand successfully distributed. The agreement is an exclusive, multi-year, worldwide home video distribution deal. The many memorable television specials, video releases and new media that further brought to life Charlie Brown and his many friends will see their most promising availability yet. Digitally remastered releases of classic holiday specials, the potential for newly produced Peanuts projects for a digital media platform and much more are on tap.

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Animation And Game Design Programs Create Exciting Careers

The animation and game design world is a multi-billion dollar industry. And it continues to grow. Experts predict that this trend will continue for a great number of years as people of all ages become more and more interested in this exciting field.

Since the demand for these types of services is continuously growing, there are a number of job opportunities for those individuals who possess the creativity and the drive that is needed to succeed.

This world is ever-changing, so there are a variety of different industries that a degree in animation and game design can be of use. It is nearly impossible to count all of the video game providers on the market these days. And new ones seem to be popping up all of the time.

Since this industry is so incredibly competitive, it is important for young, creative minds to come up with something different. Simply having experience in graphic design is no longer enough to compete in the animation and game design industry. You need the skills to create great characters, stories and graphics and above all, make it different than what is already on the market.

If you choose to enroll in a program such as animation and game design, you will be given all of the tools that are necessary to succeed. You will be taught everything you need to know to bring your creation from a simple idea to an outstanding success.

You will learn the ropes of 3D modeling, animation, character development and design among many other exciting aspects. As you complete the various courses, you will be able to construct an outstanding portfolio that will showcase all of your skills. In this industry, an innovative and imaginative portfolio is the only way that you will be able to get prospective employers to notice you.

Since the industry is booming at such an incredible rate, you will need to prove to employers that you have what it takes to succeed. And above all, you need to be able to stand out from the crowd.

Every year, video games get more and more complex; therefore it is important to always stay on the top of your game. So even if you have completed your animation and game design degree, you should always keep an eye open on other courses that can further your skill level.

However, people with a creative mind might be able to fare well with just the basic skills. Success in this market depends on creativity and coming up with a product that hasn't yet been seen on the market. And if you come up with the right idea or concept, you could end up quite wealthy.

With this program, you will also learn about the gaming industry itself. You will analyze trends and figure out where this industry is headed. With this knowledge, you will be ahead of the field when it comes time to design your own video game.

This can be an incredibly exciting and rewarding career if you have what it takes. Original concepts, creative story lines, interesting characters and innovative graphics are all a part of a successful video game. And with an animation and game design degree, you will learn all of these skills plus many more.

So if you want to be a part of this developing and exciting industry, start planning today for an exciting tomorrow by pursuing an animation and game design degree program.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/

About the Author:
Andy West is a writer for Virginia College. Learn more about Animation and Game Design at Virginia College. Higher search engine rankings by Vertical Measures.

Art students learn animation lessons

One hundred Zionsville Community High School art students learned a unique animation technique through Project Identity.

James Barany, associate professor of Foundations and Time-Based Media at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, is traveling to high schools around the country seeking help from students for an animated video project.

He chose Zionsville as the only Indiana school to participate in Project Identity. The short film, according to Barany's blog, asks students "what have they experienced, who have they become and who do they wish to be?"

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The evolution of a multi-screen animation destination

At 10, Teletoon is focused on growing from its original incarnation as a linear toon destination for a school-age TV audience to a multi-channel, multi-screen animation incubator for viewers of all ages.

The specialty channel received its licence in 1996, but president Len Cochrane says the idea for the channel was conceived back in 1995 by the board at Family Channel (which at the time was owned 50% by WIC Western International Communications and 50% Astral Media). At the same time, however, YTV, Cinar (now Cookie Jar Entertainment) and Nelvana had joined forces to pitch the CRTC for a licence to launch another all-toon channel.

After the CRTC rejected two applications, Cochrane called upon former Nelvana CEO Michael Hirsh (now CEO of Cookie Jar Group) to combine forces with his partners to make Teletoon a reality. They came on board, the pitch was successful, and the commission greenlit an October 1997 English-language launch date.

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Bad animation and casting make Moses movie a zero, not a 'Ten'

This new version of the story of Moses is a huge step backward for theatrical CG animation, or any animation for that matter.

Each character looks less like a person than an animated marionette, and in one sense that's not a bad thing. With all the violence inherent in this Old Testament story, the fact that everybody looks like a puppet helps lessen the impact of the death and destruction. After all, this is a family film.

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Koreans say India has great Animated Assets

Animation today is one of the most powerful media of entertainment and perhaps one of the most underrated too. But these animators foresee a big leap for animation. After it has the power to amuse all, beyond age groups or nationalities.

Meet Hyeosnu Kim, CEO of an animation production company, Durufix, in Seoul, and Jun-ho Chung, an animation director with 2D Animation Productions, Seoul, right now in India for a 3-D project (there is a Buddhist ceremonial centre to come up in Korea) on which they are working.

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Animated films make the grade

After 10 years and 5,000 pen-and-ink drawings, Steve Gentile's "Never Live Above a Psychic" will find a prestigious venue next weekend.

The animated film, which recounts the mischief imposed on a person who lives upstairs from a psychic and her apprenticing children, is based on a true-life experience when Gentile lived in North Cambridge in 1992 above a noisy psychic.

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'Spectacular Spider-Man' Animation Licensing News

Spectacular Spidey Licensing

Announced in recent months as the next adaptation of one of the most popular comic book characters ever put to print, film or animation, The Spectacular Spider-Man despite being months away from actually hitting Saturday mornings, is earning its stripes through a variety of licensing efforts and marketing initiatives. Featuring a streamlined set of character designs and a new version of the central story, The Spectacular Spider-Man will premiere early next year with a bang, or so MARVEL hopes. The Spider-Man Merchandising, LP (limited partnership) that comprises of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Sony Pictures Consumer Products Inc., continues to oversee the licensing and merchandising activities for Columbia Pictures' Spider-Man feature films and animated series based on the Marvel character.

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Entry Open For British Animation Awards

Entries have opened for the 2008 British Animation Awards (BAAs).

The prestigious awards are held every two years and cover all aspects of the UK animation scene from student work to commercials, children's entertainment, short and experimental art films, music videos, script-writing and craftsmanship.

BAA is introducing a new category in 2008 to celebrate talented artists lending their voice to animated work. The Best Character Voice Performance award will be sponsored by The Sound Company.

Interested entrants should visitwww.britishanimationawards.com for details on entering and can download the appropriate forms from 1 October.

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To be or not to be Flash

Should your website be in Flash or in HTML? The answer can make a difference to your business.

Flash Pros:

There are many compelling reasons for getting your website designed in Adobe/Macromedia Flash. Flash presentations are cool, have pizzazz and are great multimedia experiences.

• Animations:
  Flash websites are ideal for such businesses as real estate that need to show moving panoramic views, virtual tours of a property, or stages of development from the plans morphing to a finished apartment building. Real estate presentations are often for a short period, the time it's expected to take to sell the property. The real estate agent sends the visitors to the website and doesn't depend on casual searchers finding it on Google.

Flash animations are good for demonstrations of moving parts, or of tutorials. In fact anything requiring animation is often best produced using Flash.

• Multimedia:
  Videos display on websites better if converted to Flash. Visitors are not asked to download a pluggin for thier browser.

Flash files usually take some time to load, but this is not a problem if a visitor has been directed to look at the Flash website for a reason. Maybe the visitor has already expressed an interest in the subject of the presentation, e.g. a real estate property, and wants more detail. Maybe the visitor wants to see a tutorial, or a demonstration. Such visitors are captive audiences so they do anticipate the wait.

Flash Cons:

• Slow loading:
  Visitors who are not captive audiences, are often not prepared to wait for Flash files to load, or are frustrated by the wait. Some websites are totally in Flash, even moving from one web page to another taking much time. Some visitors may make the choice to not wait and are then lost to the website.
• Search engine listing:
  Search engines index websites on the words in the website's text. If the words are in graphic format (such as a Flash SWF file) instead of text format, then search engines cannot see them. If you can't copy and paste the words from the browser into Notepad or Word, then the text can't be read by search engines either.
• Search engine ranking:
  Search engines rank websites on their order of relevance to a visitor's search query. If a website has little or no text then it is not as relevant as websites with a lot of text. Such websites need a great number of other websites linking to them, often hundreds, in order to be ranked as relevant to a search.

We know of a business owner who insisted, against his designer's advice, on his website being totally in Flash. He was jubilant when it did appear on Google as a new site for three weeks. His jubilance turned to despair when the website then disappeared out of sight.

Javascript can display movement, fade in photos and slide shows. CSS and javascript provide good navigation systems. We use Flash in websites, but only to animate something which needs animation and which won't delay loading the home page. We never replace text with Flash.

Conclusions:

• If the website needs animation, but is aimed at visitors who are directed there by specific marketing, a real estate display, a technical demonstration, or tutorial, then there are good technical reasons for the website to be built in Flash.
• If the website needs animation, but is aimed at visitors searching the web, then only the animation should be in Flash. The home page especially should not be in Flash, but should have all the text required for a search engine's indexing.
• Who are the targets of the website? Captive audiences don't mind waiting. Casual searchers may quit waiting and go look for other 'user friendly' websites.

About the Author
Ken McKay is an Australian website designer for small businesses. More information on web design is available at platypus websites - www.platywebs.com.au

Interview with Animation Expert Jerry Beck

Jerry Beck (bio) has been researching cartoons for more than 30 years, authoring such books as Looney Toons and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons and The 50 Greatest Cartoons. He's also produced successful cartoon compilations for MGM/UA, worked as VP of Animation at Nickelodeon Movies, and been an animation consultant to Walt Disney Home Video, Warner Home Video, Rhino Records, and many others.

Jerry was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions for Animation School Review.

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Play a Macromedia Flash animation in PowerPoint

If you have an animated graphic that was created with Macromedia Flash and saved as a Shockwave® file (.swf file extension), you should be able to play it in a PowerPoint presentation using a specific ActiveX control and the Macromedia Flash Player. To run the Flash file, you add an ActiveX control to the PowerPoint slide and create a link from it to the Flash file. You also have the option of embedding the file in the presentation.

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World Class Animation and Visual Effects Studio in The Offing

A MOU was signed today between Pink Slip Productions, a company based in California run by a former Disney artist and executive, KuKri Ventures Inc, a USA based investment company, Mercantile, the largest IT company in Nepal and Transcube International Pvt. Ltd., a computer graphics and animation company, to set up a world class animation and visual effects (VFX) studio in Kathmandu to service the international market. The new company, which will be called Incessant Rain Animation Studios Pvt. Ltd., will start recruiting immediately and plans to come into production by the first quarter next year.

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Disney, Yashraj to tie up for animation films

One of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world, Walt Disney, is tying up with India’s biggest movie production house, Yashraj Films. to co-produce ‘animated films’ in Bollywood. Though the films will largely cater to the domestic market, there will be overseas releases as well.

The alliance, to be announced shortly, will increase Disney’s presence in the Indian market. While the deal is not a joint venture with equity participation, the industry perceives it as the beginning of a relationship that may later culminate in a strategic equity partnership.

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Selling eye care with animation

Ten years ago, Dr. Steven Sopher was an optometrist with a vision.

Sopher thought that eye doctors could use computer animation to educate their patients and to help explain - and sell - options for treatment. He began talking about it with his three sons, one a recent college graduate doing technology consulting, the others twins studying at University of Maryland, College Park.

The family discussions were mostly conducted over breakfast at the Bel-Loc Diner in Carney or the Denny's near Sopher's Parkville office. They were trying to figure out how the idea could turn into a business.

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Special Effects Animation - Digital Computer Animation

Movies would not be movies today without special effects animation. Special effects animators and multimedia artists are the ones that make the magic of the movies. They are responsible for the special effects that make movies so different from stage dramas.

Special effects animators must create whatever the director and the script call for. They can make a superhero man fly, sink ships into the sea or a make a monster bigger than a skyscraper. Now, digital computer animation is taking on a huge role in motion pictures and other media.
Getting Started in Special Effects Animation
In earlier times, people broke into the film industry by working as errand-runners or stagehands and working their way up into the job they wanted.

But today, because of the specialized computer skills necessary in special effects animation, you cannot just work your way up into the job you want. You must have training in special effects animation.

A university degree in animation is probably the best way to get into the field. Many universities offer degrees in animation, or they offer animation as a subcategory of illustration, design or even film technology.

However, if you have training in animation and would like to move into special effects animation, the best way to do that is to brush up on your computer skills and apprentice for someone working in the position you are interested in. There are courses available which can help you accelerate your career in special effects animation.

Your Future in Special Effects Animation

Special effects animation is a competitive area, and you must be at the top of your field to get the best jobs. If you have adequate education and skills, however, you will be at a great advantage as you search for a job in special effects animation.

Source: http://www.educationcenteronline.org/

Why Is Animation In Movies So Important?

The movie producers have wowed us with their creativity and imagination for years. The viewing public has craved the new and demanded that the movies they watch take them to new levels of thrills and the unimaginable. This is the exact reason why animation in movies is so important.

In the early days animation was sketchy at best. The most we could have hoped for was less than realistic images of giant lizards and insects that terrorized the country side. That all changed when computers came into being. The computer age helped to blur the line between fantasy and reality to give us the movies that we love so much. Using the newest technology allowed film makers to bring to the screen that which was deemed impossible in the early days of movies.

The forerunner of the animation movement was George Lucas. When he envisioned Star Wars he planned to make a movie like no one had before. This would require him to break new ground when it came to animation and special effects and he was able to come through in fine style. The animation of his characters in the first film gave people their first glimpse of the future and was an overnight sensation.

George Lucas laid the ground work for new movies with his advancements in movie animation technology that allowed other movies to move into the future. This was seen in many of the science fiction films of the early and middle eighties as they used the Star Wars model to bring new concepts to the screen. This also spawned many companies based on the new technology that are still sought out to make dreams and imagination come true.

The movie animation business is now a billion dollar a year industry that employs some of the best animators and computer specialists in the entire world. This is how the world was brought the hit movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? This film was the first of its kind where animated characters or cartoon characters interacted with the human characters in the entire story line. This was a new concept that was a smash hit in its time. The world had never seen anything like it and the trickery of the camera made everyone believe that they could touch and see a cartoon character like they did in the movie.

Today the animation in movies is far more advanced. Where film makers were once limited to making only two dimensional animated characters the norm now is three dimensional, fully interactive animated characters that dominate the screen. The first real advancement in this technology was the movie Toy Story. This film was created on a computer and featured no human presence in the film itself besides the voice over. The world was treated to the future of animation and movies with this film and it became an over night success.

About the Author:
Read more from this author at: arts-mag.com

Source: http://www.isnare.com/

7 STEPS IN ANIMATING A SCENE

Tips On Getting Started: there are a number of ways to start the process of learning animation. One is to buy books and teach yourself. The Bible of the industry is the ³Illusion of Life² by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. The information and drawings in this book make it worth the fifty dollars or more that you will pay for it. My advice is to buy this book and start your library of Animation Books to refer to and use as you start your journey of understanding ³The Fascinating World Of Animation.²

The following 7 steps became the gospel according to the nine old men of animation that worked with Walt Disney in founding the industry that you see today. Don¹t just read itŠmemorize it, learn it and use it every time you draw. There is no short cut for skills and knowledge. It all starts will heart and desireŠdo you have it? Next, it takes time and dedication, can you give it?

Seven Steps in Animating A Scene Taken from the ³Illusion Of Life² by Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnson (pp.236-241) *Look these up and read the original version for a complete understanding.

1. Think About The Scene: Plan out how the scene should be animated. Don¹t start animation until you have the action planned out in your mind. Also, keep in mind the character¹s personality and how the scent fits the overall picture. Time spent here will save you time later.
2. Thumbnails: These are small sketches that work out the staging of the characters in the scene and the key poses in the scene. Each pose should tell something about the character. Also, be aware of how your scenes fit into the visual continuity of the sequence. Your thumbnails will guide you and give inspiration for changes. Work out your ideas before you start to save you a lot of time later. These small drawings can be changed easier than the enlarged drawings and solve problems before you get to the storyboard.
3. Mechanics Of Presentation: Make sure your character fits the perspective and scale of the layout. Solve your basic problems of camera angles and camera placement to avoid redoing your work and this will also giving greater interest to the overall film. Recheck the size relationship of all characters before you commit to the animation.
4. Solve Special Drawing Problems: If there are unusual angles or staging angles that are complex, work them out in the thumbnail stage or when you enlarge to full size but have them solved before you start animating. Remember that it takes 12-24 drawing to create one second of animation. Don¹t waste your time on animation if you have problems with the thumbnails or enlargements.
5. Double Check Your Ideas: Make sure you haven¹t forgotten something in the planning of your ideas for the scene. Double check your layout, staging, perspective and key poses. Also, check your animation to make sure it is drawn within the field limits. Use your base sheet to guide your drawings. Trucks and pans can be adjusted to fit the animation, but you need to be sure they are correct before shooting the pencil test.
6. Enlarge Thumbnails To Full Size: Redraw or enlarge your thumbnails with the lucyagraph to fit the layout for the scene and adjust them to work as your key rough poses for animating your scene.
7. Animation And Timing: Now that the animator has his key poses and staging planned, he can concentrate on animating the additional extremes that will control the acting, expressions, dialogue and timing. Timing charts are put on the extremes or key frames so the assistant can put in the additional drawings that are needed to have the character moving at the correct speed and timing the animator has in mind for the scene. The numbers correspond to the key frames and the hash marks are visual guides as to the spacing of the drawing in relationship to the extremes or keys.

Hopefully these tips will help you understand more about the process of animation and spark your interest in the field of "The Fine Art of Animation"

Source : http://www.animationtoolworks.com/

Animators with diplomas to contribute to tourism sector

Education Ministry has opened animation departments in vocational high schools due to rising demand for the art in the tourism sector

Rising demand for animation and animators in the tourism sector has resulted in the opening of animation departments in schools, attracting a great deal of interest from students.

Nowadays hotels are trying to attract more and more tourists via various creative methods. Among them animation activities are an almost indispensable part of hotel facilities especially in the all inclusive system as well as an effective way to keep the tourists in the hotel premises and more involved in the hotel services.

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Cross Browser Animation

The fundamental idea behind animation has been around for a long time: when a group of images are presented quickly, the series of images seems to form a single moving picture. One of the first examples of this effect was the thaumatrope, a gizmo created by Paul Roget in 1828. A thaumatrope is a disk with a pole or string attached so the disk can be twirled. Each side of the disk contains an illustration, and twirling the disk merges the two illustrations, making it seem that there’s only one image. If the disk has a bird on one side and a cage on the other, twirling the disk gives the illusion that there’s just one image: a bird in a cage.

Animation on the web works in a similar way. In the Web’s early days animators could only use proprietary systems, like Shockwave, or animated GIF files. JavaScript expanded the animator’s repertoire to include rapid GIF swapping. Swapping GIFs with JavaScript makes for quicker downloads than proprietary systems and provides more flexibility than animated GIFs.

Dynamic HTML (DHTML) provides a new range of ways to animate a page. DHTML can animate both text and images and animations can move throughout the browser window, instead of being anchored in one spot. Unfortunately, DHTML can be tricky because of differences between browsers.

This article will cover the basics of cross-browser animation. You’ll learn how to animate text and images. Plus you’ll see how to move HTML elements around the screen. After you’ve finished reading this article, you should be able to add cross-browser compatible DHTML animations to your web pages.

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Animation, gaming to join BPO boom

Animation and gaming are seen as the next wave in India’s successful outsourcing story. However, there is a major change: this is a sector which has moved up from outsourcing to co-production, a move up the value chain from low-end, less creative work to higher creativity and advanced technologies, says Krayon Pictures director Namrata Sharma.

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Animation And Game Design Going To The Movies

Animation and game design have, for the most part, fallen into two categories in the past. You either worked on animation for children's movies or you focused on animation for video games. Today, however, many young animators are realizing that their opportunities are becoming much more diverse as the movie graphic novel and video gaming industries have begun to overlap.

Merging of Media
Today more and more video games are becoming movies. Successes in the last decade include Doom, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider. All of these movies were based on popular video games that had been created by animation and gaming professionals. The movie directors discovered that, in order to maintain the look and feel of the games, they had to get to know these games inside and out. They often called on game design experts as consultants to help them achieve this. There are few people as loyal as gaming enthusiasts, so capturing the proper look and feel was essential to the success of these films.

Graphic novels, a writing genre known for its highly graphic illustrative style, have also spawned movies recently. The two most notable are Sin City and 300, both based on violent, action-packed graphic novels. In both instances, the movies were directed with actors but relied heavily on computer graphics, computer design and, in some instances, animation, to enhance particular scenes and enrich the details. The success of these two movies in turn created video games based on the movies (which were based on graphic novels)...are you seeing the pattern now? Anyone with animation and game design credentials these days can go into a wide range of fields, not just game design. When the genres overlap, so do job opportunities.

Where the Talent Lies - Animation and Game Design
Hollywood is also producing more animated movies that ever before for family consumption. Cars, A Bug's Life, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Happy Feet, and the list goes on. Disney Studios continue to produce the traditional "princess" movies, but a dozen other studios also produce quality animation.

While a generation ago animation was done using thousands of artist's sketches put together to create action, today's animated movies are created with computer animation, and individuals with Animation and Game Design degrees are hot properties. Studios know that those with game design experience have an understanding of the complexities of movement, from the way the wind ruffles your hair to how someone lands when they fall, that no one else can match. Gamers are tough customers. They expect realism and accuracy and they get it. This has translated into increasing attention to detail in animated films. The more sophisticated the audience becomes, the more these industries have to work at giving the public what it wants.

The Future of Animation and Game Design
With the growing overlap of so many genres of entertainment, graphic novels, movies and video games, it is obvious that the need for professionals with both animation and game design skills will only increase. Whether you want to work in Silicon Valley or Hollywood, a degree in some kind of animation and game design area will get your foot in the door.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/

About the Author:
Andy West is a freelance writer for Virginia College. Virginia College offers a professional Animation and Game Design program. Please visit Virginia College at http://www.vc.edu/site/program.cfm?programID=63 .

Disney opens the vaults

Disney opens the vaults to go behind-the-scenes of the brand new Jungle Book DVD.

To Celebrate the 40th Anniversary Special Edition of The Jungle Book on DVD, Disney offered a rare opportunity to tour its hollowed vaults in Glendale, California.

Walt Disney gave birth to the modern animated feature as we know it with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. Naysayers said no one would want to watch a feature-length cartoon, but then again, there had never before seen a cartoon quite like Snow White. Walt would go on to supervise an almost endless string of classics over the next 30 years that would include Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, Alice in Wonderland and a host of others that would live on as timeless classics of the genre. Walt Disney’s final animated feature work as producer came with 1967’s The Jungle Book, a fitting swan song for one of the greatest figures in the history of animation.

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2007 Taiwan International Animation Festival begins

The 2007 Taiwan International Animation Festival is being held at Shin Kong Cineplex in Taipei's Ximending shopping district for 10 days until Oct. 7.

The annual event, now in its fifth year, is organized by the Chinese Taipei Film Archive. Altogether, more than 300 animated films from Taiwan and abroad will be shown in three theaters.

Related activities,including an Animated Art Exhibition, lectures and workshops, will be held throughout the festival at Taipei's Huashan Cultural Park.

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Animation, gaming to breach $1-b mark by 2010

The Indian animation and gaming industry is projected to breach the $1-billion mark by 2010 from the current combined revenues of $402 million driven largely by huge domestic demand for animated content and online/mobile gaming.

According to the Nasscom animation and gaming industry 2007 report, "the industry's dependence on exports is reflected in a major proportion of workforce being involved in the outsourcing segment. However, going forward, the share of the domestic market is expected to grow."

On the gaming side, increased mobile and broadband penetration along with introduction of new generation consoles is expected to drive growth for the nascent $48-million industry. Similarly, the report notes, success of several Bollywood movies like Krrish, Dhoom 2 and fully animated Hanuman has pushed up demand for animated content in the domestic market.

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The name of the game is animation

If art and technology could merge to create a business venture, the animation industry would fit the description nicely. With India’s emergence as a global outsourcing leader in the late 1990s, initial efforts were made to create a vibrant animation outsourcing industry.

There was intense interest from Hollywood and elsewhere to use the unbeatable combination of the country’s artistic talent and low production costs. However, questions of quality and scale were soon raised and the pipeline of outsourcing contracts virtually dried up in the early 2000s.

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