Friday, July 31, 2009

DreamWorks Animation gets a kick from 'Kung Fu Panda'

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. blew past analyst estimates in the second quarter on continued strength from its animated feature "Kung Fu Panda."

In the quarter, the company earned $25.6 million, or 30 cents per share, which includes a gain of 10 cents a share after an agreement with Activision Blizzard that allows the company to recognize revenues from video games earlier.

Excluding the estimate, the earnings per share still beat analyst estimates of 13 cents a share.

In the second quarter a year ago, the company earned $27.5 million, or 30 cents a share.

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Animated Endorsers Turn Stars on Brand Screen

NEW DELHI: Animation and advertising, separated at birth, seem to be pairing up to create an all-consuming on-screen culture. The animated model is fast replacing celebrities on the endorsement circuit. These blown-up “characters” are now selling everything, from cell phones and fizzy drinks to cough lozenges and air-fresheners.

Companies like Vodafone, Virgin Mobile, Reliance Communication, Coca-Cola and Reckitt Benckiser are using animation-based advertising to come through the clutter of celebrity overkill, make cost-effective ads and, in some cases, rejuvenate brands.

Coca-Cola is set to kick off a campaign for its lemon drink Limca starring animated characters, despite having popular model Sushma Reddy as the brand’s face. Vodafone’s series of ads using the eggshell ZooZoos pushed the who’s who of Bollywood A-listers, including Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan, promoting rival Bharti Airtel out of the spotlight.

ZooZoo became an overnight sensation during the Indian Premier League this summer. All 27 ZooZoo commercials were aired back-to-back on 15 channels recently. “The aim was to push the boundaries and create benchmarks of disruptive communication,” said Ajit Varghese, MD of Maxus, Vodafone’s media buying agency.

Virgin Mobile chose animation characters Pebbleheads to popularise its brand late last year. Reckitt Benckiser is using Mrs Raccoon for Air Wick air-fresheners and Mr T for Strepsils throat lozenges. Pebbleheads commercials made their debut with a 50-paisa offer late last year. “The Pebble World breaks the shackles which normal creatives could get confined to. It also helps us spin youth-relevant stories,” says Virgin Mobile chief marketing officer Prasad Narasimhan.

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Friday, July 24, 2009

Animated G-Force in 3-D

Action filmmaker Jerry Bruckheimer’s first 3-D movie combines animation with live action in a story about animals and people looking for peace on earth. They may have different objectives individually, but they know how to bring their story to life in a Disney-like way to please everyone.

The movie is “G-Force,” and it has a cast of notable performers voicing the key roles of the animals that band together. Their objective is to help mankind as well as themselves, while a group of self-serving human beings have different ideas. Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Kelli Garner and Loudon Wainwright III shoulder the responsibility of those adult human beings with their “live” action roles, while the animals play the film’s most substantial characters.

The variety of pet shop animals is a constant reminder of the film’s family audience objective. It is also the first Disney Digital 3-D film to use Jerry Bruckheimer’s name in the credits. He produced the film, while Marianne Wibberley wrote it and newcomer Hoyt Yeatman directed it.

All the animated characters are compatible fugitives from a pet shop, and they speak perfect English. The four guinea pigs include Darwin (voiced by Sam Rockwell); Juarez (voiced by Penelope Cruz); Blaster (voiced by Tracy Morgan) and Hurley (voiced by Jon Favreau). Mooch the fly is voiced by Edwin Louis; Bucky the hamster by Steve Buscemi and Speckles the Mole by Nicolas Cage.

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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Seminar on 3D animation on July 26 at Hotel Tampha

India's leading animation and visual effects training institute, Frameboxx is organizing a 'Seminar on Careers in 3D Animation and Visual effects' at Hotel Tampha, North AOC, Imphal on 26th July 2009 from 9:30 am to 12:30 am.

MLA Dr NG Bijoy Singh, Former Vice Chancellor Manipur University will be the chief guest and Naba Chandra, Pricipal Imphal Arts College, Soumerjit, Asst Professor Manipur University, Navneet Singh, Director Frameboxx Animation Visual Effects and Okram Gogo Singh, AGM Frameboxx Animation Visual Effects will be the guests of honour.

This is the first time that such a seminar is being organized in Manipur for the students who wish to benefit from the thriving employment opportunities in the 3D Animation and Visual Effects industry.

The Seminar would be followed by a series of Free Master Classes and Workshops on Production Pipeline for Animation Film and Digital Painting using Photoshop.

Frameboxx would also be conducting a Scholarship Creativity Test for the interested candidates.

Source: http://www.e-pao.net/

Friday, July 17, 2009

Too Much 3d for Me

The third installment of the computer-animated Ice Age films, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, has been released to excited fans. The film is being presented in three-dimensional formats across the country like so many of its animated contemporaries (Monsters vs. Aliens, Up). Audiences seem to gravitate toward these films. It is not necessarily the format, the animation and kid-friendly material all coagulate to form a gel of a film perfect for soaking up consumer funds. Still, the computer-animated three-dimensional film trend is exhausting.

Computer animation has entered a stage that is enough of a film deterrent in and of itself. If a viewer wants to watch a fully-dimensional film then they should watch an actual film with human actors. Animation was created and meant for a two-dimensional format. Classics like Cinderella, Pinocchio, and the animated films like them are works of art. It is both refreshing and humbling to think each second of those films consisted of multiple drawings, which were made by artists. Computer-animation is made by engineers, while it is not about attacking the person who creates the respective computer-based film, it does seem much of the craftsmanship is dead. It is too bad that artistic integrity has been replaced by monetary interests.

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Animation: It’s Time to Toon In

Cartoon creators and companies are getting animated about the future of the industry. Raziqueh Hussain discovers what colourful capers lie around the corner Cartoons are fast becoming a serious business in the region. New animation companies and talented creatives are gaining international attention for their inspirational characters and shows that focus on life and culture in the Middle East.

Shaabiyat Al Cartoon is a perfect example of this success. Aired on Sama Dubai, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon is a social comedy dealing with the problems of the Gulf community through the lives of people from different cultures living in Dubai. Anyone who has been through the trials and tribulations of daily life in the Emirates will laugh along with the characters Hanafy, Osman, Bu Sulaiman, Daheem, Koty and Umm Sayed.

Companies in the Middle East now see animation as big business, even though the region is a relative newcomer when it comes to producing its own content, lagging behind markets of India and South Korea.

Animated series Freej, meaning neighbourhood, is widely seen as the first indigenous computer animated cartoon about four elderly grandmothers and their dealing with life in the fast-paced, ever-changing, modern-day Dubai.

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Friday, July 10, 2009

Japan’s Master Animator to Be Honored in U.S. Visit

LOS ANGELES — When the schedule of events for the 40th Comic-Con International fan convention is announced on Thursday, it is expected to include something quite rare, even for a gathering that has pretty much seen it all: an appearance by Hayao Miyazaki.

Mr. Miyazaki, regarded by many as the world’s greatest maker of animated films, does not seem to crave publicity. He was a no-show at the Oscars in 2003, when his “Spirited Away” won for best animated feature.

And he has not been quick to visit this country. “I think he has an image of the United States as a culture that isn’t that helpful to the world,” offered Duncan Williams, chairman of the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

Yet the very private Mr. Miyazaki, in an extraordinary step, has agreed to address a room full of 6,500 admirers at the San Diego comics, fantasy and film convention on July 24. That is a prelude to his planned appearance the next day in Berkeley, where Mr. Williams’s center will present Mr. Miyazaki with its Japan Prize, awarded annually to a person who has brought the world closer to Japan.

July 28, should find Mr. Miyazaki in Beverly Hills, Calif., to be honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The night before, he will be in Hollywood for the United States premiere of his “Ponyo,” about a 5-year-old boy and a goldfish princess in a world gone awry.

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Thursday, July 9, 2009

Animation should be included in formal education: Expert

PUNE: Animation should be included in formal education system considering its widespread applications, Ram Mohan, an animation expert opined here recently.

Animation industry has the scope of transcending itself beyond the entertainment sector, he said, adding that animation has vast applications in the fields of education, health and construction and students could derive great benefits if included in formal mainstream education. He was talking to Sakal Times after attending the third anniversary celebration of MAAC Animation Institute.

Talking about the present status of field of animation in India, Mohan said, “Animation industry, which has numerous job opportunities on the lines of IT industry, is yet to receive recognition in India. Economy of this industry depends mainly on outsourcing work of foreign countries only. However, if cultivated properly it can cater to the domestic needs and thereby could gain proper ground within India.”

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Friday, July 3, 2009

Animation Festival to Be Held News

The fifth edition of Anifest India, an annual international animation festival organized and promoted by The Animation Society of India (TASI), is slated to be held from August 13-16, 2009 at the IIT Powai campus in Mumbai.

Anifest India brings together some of the world's best animation directors, technicians and several international animation stalwarts under one roof. Some of the speakers at this year's event include MTV India's Piyush Raghani; Manish Sherawat and Sheetal Sudhir of Channel [v]; VCL's Bill Miller; Krishnakant Mishra of Sony ImageWorks; and Nate Wragg of Pixar.

Some of the topics for discussion at Anifest India 2009 include Art direction and pre-production, Principles of animation in 2D & 3D, VFX: Behind the Scenes, Career options, Comic Art, Graphic Novels, Character Animation and Story-Telling, Creation and Marketing of IP, Art of Voicing for Animation, Animation for tele channels, and Animation Production Management, to name a few.

Anifest India 2009 has targeted students to creative heads of organizations to enthusiasts looking to get a comprehensive in-depth understanding about the various stages involved in creating an animation film from concept to completion.

Source: http://www.domain-b.com/

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Take Your Fill of Animated Movies

According to a Nasscom-Ernst & Young report, the Indian animation industry is slated to grow to $1.2 billion in 2012.

While the the numbers are small compared to the $80 billion global industry, the growth is encouraging for India.
It’s also well known that many countries are outsourcing their animation work to India mainly because of cheaper labour. Top companies such as UTV Software Communications, Toonz Animation, Pentamedia Graphics, Crest Communications, DQ Entertainment and JadooWorks have all inked in deals with global giants like Walt Disney, NBC Universal and Mattel to share copyrights and profits.

Hanuman, India’s biggest animated hit earned Rs 20 crore through theatrical and satellite releases, besides mopping up big bucks from home videos and merchandise. Inspired by its success, a slew of animation films were lined up and made ready for Indian audiences. Percept tied up with animation studio DQ Entertainment to make three films for the global market costing Rs 100 crore slated to be released in 2009-10. Reliance Entertainments has invested Rs 100 crore in animation. BR Films plans to invest Rs 50 crore in animation films over three years.

At a time like this, a few commercial duds seemed to have played spoilsport with Bollywood’s animated dreams. Trade sources confirm that Bollywood has had a bad run with Hanuman Returns, Krishna, Roadside Romeo, Dashavatar, Ghatothkach and My Friend Ganesha (1 and 2) with an estimated loss of up to Rs 70 crore. In fact, insiders say several animation films are ready, but have no takers. At least 25 animation films were announced by top corporations, and an estimated Rs 4,000 crore ($831 million) was to be kept aside for the animation studios that were being planned across India. Everything is on hold now. “Indian animation films have improved a lot when it comes to creativity and technology. If the script of an animated film is good, there will be an audience for it,” feels Prasad, owner of the Oscar winning animation company, Rhythm and Hues based in Hyderabad. Suryadevara Vinod who produced Ghatothkach doesn’t seem to be too worried either. “Ghatothkach was made in several languages. It was didn’t do well only in Indian theatres. But we topped the DVD list for a very long time.”

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