DreamWorks Spends $85 million in Upgrades for 3-D

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. has embarked on an expansion project at its Glendale campus to modernize its production studio for the transition to 3-D animated films.

The renovation and addition to the Lakeside Building adds 100,000 square feet and makes the structure the production hub for the studio best known for the “Shrek” franchise.

The $85 million project that started this year is about creating the best possible environment for the artists, said John Batter, president of production.

“It will house our entire production department with all the specialty spaces they need and will be the ideal space to be,” Batter said.

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Now, Shakti Samanta classics in animated form

Three of veteran director Shakti Samanta's memorable films - Howrah Bridge, Amar Prem and Barsaat Ki Ek Raat - are all set to get animated, thanks to filmmaker Pritish Nandy.

"This is my homage to one of the most underrated filmmakers of the country. When I met Mr. Samanta, he was so pleased to know his films would reach out to a new generation," Nandy told IANS.

"Howrah Bridge is one of my favourite noire films. The magic of Sachin Dev Burman's music, the chemistry between Ashok Kumar and Madhubala and the seductive charm of Ashok Kumar's baritone - all that I want to capture in animation form," he added.

The film will be produced under his banner Pritish Nandy Communications, which has made films like Jhankaar Beats, Chameli and Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi.

Why these films from Samanta's oeuvre? Why not the other classics like Aradhana, Amanush and Kati Patang?

"I've chosen Howrah Bridge, Amar Prem and Barsaat Ki Ek Raat because they not only represent three phases in Mr. Samanta's career but also three generations of superstars - Ashok Kumar, Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan.

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My Friend Ganesha 2, promises to be another great 2D animated film

My Friend Ganesha 2, promises to be another great 2D animated film, explains director Rajiv Ruia

Second part
Last year, when we made My Friend Ganesha it won intense adulation from cinegoers.As a mark of completion of the film we had organised Ganesh Puja. On the day of the immersion, we went to Juhu beach to immerse the idol. When people came to know that the makers of My Friend Ganesha had come to the beach, they swarmed us like bees, many of them saying that they had brought home idols of Lord Ganesha after their children, who were dumstruck after watching our film, insisted. That gave us an impetus to make My Friend Ganesha 2.

Strong Point
My Friend Ganesha, our first film was the country’s first 2D composite film (a film mixed with live action and animation). This film combines the animation character of Lord Ganesh with real life characters to create a fascinating tale of a young boy, who befriends young Lord Ganesha.

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Channel 4 creates 'home for animation'

4mations: Day with the Devil, one of the animations on the site

Channel 4 has created what it hopes will be an online home for the UK's animation community, rolling out an advertising-supported, YouTube-style site that will pay animators for their work.

4mations.tv has been in development for two years and launched in a trial form this week with 200 animations from Channel 4's extensive archive. Amateur animators are also invited to upload their own work.

The project is a collaboration with Aardman, the Bristol-based independent producer behind Wallace and Gromit, and the animation specialists Lupus Films.

4mations includes comedy, adult, sci-fi and 3D work along with games and specialist groups. Users can vote on clips, upload their own work and embed their favourite clips on their own websites and social networks.

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Animation comes to Class X students' aid

AHMEDABAD: Dialogues from motion pictures are somehow always easier to remember than remembering portions from books, even if they have been read over and over again. But for students appearing for Class X exams in March 2009, they now have an option to study their course in an animated form.

Navneet Publications have launched self-practice software, on Wednesday called 'Navneet Top Scorer Digest Plus' for students of Class X of Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB). They also launched an Online Examination Software, 'Navneet GUJCET’.

The software has multiple choice questions which will prepare students for the entrance exam. The animated digest has information on Theorems. Formulae and Definitions. Audio-Visual Animation technic has been used to explain concepts which have been covered in the various chapters in the textbook.

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Gujarat to house animation SEZ

Gujarat may be the next destination for the country's animation industry, which is expected to touch Rs 4,200 crore by fiscal 2009. Targeting the sunrise industry, an unnamed developer has proposed an IT SEZ in Umargaon in south Gujarat, according to state officials.

Overseas entertainment giants including Walt Disney, Imax and Sony are expected to outsource cartoon characters and special effects to Gujarat once the SEZ is completed.

Confirming the development, Gujarat's IT secretary, Rajkumar Gupta, said Umargaon near Valsad would perhaps be India's first SEZ to target the animation industry. However, he declined to disclose the name of developer. According to a senior official in Industries Commissionerate, the government is considering the proposal and is likely to send it to the Centre for approval soon.

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'People, Passion Define Pixar Animation'

Adventuring with living toys (``Toy Story''), chasing a talking fish (``Finding Nemo'') and savoring a rodent's epicurean palate (``Ratatouille''), Disney-Pixar Animation Studios has given birth to contemporary classics of 3D animation.

Two artists who partake in of dreaming up such zany ideas found their way to Korea, where Pixar's latest franchise ``Wall-E'' is steadily holding the top five spot in the box office. Production director Ralph Eggleston, 42, and technical director Andrew Pienaar, 29, were in town to give lectures about animation over the weekend. The Korea Times met the two at Seoul Arts Center, which is currently hosting Pixar's 20th anniversary exhibition.

While cutting edge computer technology gives way to the impressive visuals of animations, it really boils down to individuals working together. ``It's the people,'' said Eggleston without hesitation when asked about what was most important in the creative process. While overlooking the general look and design of films like ``Finding Nemo'' and ``Wall-E,'' he said it was about teamwork. ``It's like finding the right vegetables, spices and right amount of water for making soup. It's about finding the right people.''

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Animation in Near Future for Cartoonist Ted Rall

NEW YORK Ted Rall will soon join the burgeoning group of editorial cartoonists doing animation.

"I'm rolling out my first ever animated cartoon in a week or two," he announced on his blog yesterday.

Rall's editorial cartoons are syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate. He's also president-elect of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, a syndicated columnist, and the acquisition and development editor at United Media.

Source : http://www.editorandpublisher.com/

Animation takes characters into virtual world

If you loved watching Eddie Murphy as Doctor Do-little, talking and befriending animals on screen, the credit should be given to the world of animation. Animation takes your favourite story book characters into a virtual world, where animals talk and angels sing.

The use of special effects in almost every movie and advertisement has made the demand for animation grow to the extent that it has now become a concrete career option. Animation beckons people with creative minds and technical skills. The industry traces its development to 10-12 years ago.

In the past, setting up an animation studio and the necessary technological accessories was very expensive. With the development of new technologies and software installation costs decreasing, many animation studios have sprung up and this translates into many more jobs.

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‘Strong pre-production plans can save animation industry’

The Indian animation industry, which is caught in a vortex today with hundreds of animators left unemployed as studios shut down or shift business focus, need to develop a strong pre-production plan and pipeline to turn around, say experts.

In the last couple of months, big studios like Crest Animation Studio, Prana and others have terminated hundreds of artists and animators. Even bigger studios like UTV Toons have now ceased to exist, as it has merged with UTV Motion Pictures and is shifting away from an animation studio model. While industry bodies like Nasscom and Ficci are advocating the setting up of better training facilities for the animation industry to reduce dearth of talent, experts and animation studio heads feel that the training should be more specialised.

Rahul Bakshi, co-producer of the 2D animation film, Dashavatar said , “No studio in India today has a strong pre-production back up.” Bakshi added, “Today, if I need character artists, I will not get specialised talent in the market.”

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Original content to drive growth of Indian animation industry

MUMBAI: Unlike the Indian cinema industry, which has brands like the Khans and the Bachchans participating in marketing stints to promote the end product that would consequently pull in audiences into theatres and create box office hits, the nascent yet growing Indian animation industry is still to witness anything of such kind, at least in the near future. This is because the industry is still under the spell of outsourced content.

Hence, industry experts and marketers, present at the Animated Feature Forum in Mumbai on 23 August to discuss the future prospects of the Indian animation industry, believe that the only way to drive brand India into animation is by producing "good original content".

The Animated Feature Forum was organised by Animation Xpress with an aim to provide professionals from both the cinema and the animation industry with a platform to share and discuss their expertise domain.

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Intel, DreamWorks Team On 3-D Animation Technology

Movie studio DreamWorks on Wednesday debuted at the Intel (NSDQ: INTC) Developer Forum what it calls a "revolutionary" technology in creating 3-D animation films.

While 3-D films have been around since the '50s, Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks, told IDF attendees that the studio's InTru 3-D technology, built on Intel hardware, is nothing like before. "This isn't your father's 3-D," he said.

To prove his point, Katzenberg showed a clip of the popular film Kung Fu Panda that had been redone in 3-D. "What you're about to see will never be publicly distributed, but I hope it will give you some idea what 3-D is all about," he said.
The vivid imagery and 3-D affects appeared to wow the crowd watching the clip through polarized glasses on a rolled-out screen large enough for any major theater. Later in the program, Katzenberg debuted a clip of the upcoming animation film Monsters Vs. Aliens, which opens March 27.

Katzenberg appeared on stage with keynoter Renee James, VP and general manager of Intel's Software and Solutions Group. The mogul said that, starting next year, the studio would offer all its animated films in 3-D, starting with Monsters Vs. Aliens. In addition, Katzenberg said such influential directors as James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Zemeckis had committed to making 3-D films.

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DreamWorks Animation, Intel tie up on 3-D movies

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Starting in 2009, all of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc's films will be in next-generation 3-D.

"This is the next innovation for the movie industry," Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation, said in an interview. "It impacts how we make our movies, how movie theaters present our films and how audiences experience our films."

Katzenberg's DreamWorks Animation and No. 1 chipmaker Intel Corp announced a 3-D movie image brand called InTru 3D at Intel's Developer Forum in San Francisco on Wednesday.

The first movie from DreamWorks Animation to use the brand and logo will be "Monsters vs. Aliens," coming out next March.

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Amedia eyes first 3-D animated release

MOSCOW -- Russian TV and movie production company Amedia said it expects to release Russia's first 3-D animated film in late 2008 or early 2009, the Russian business newspaper RBC Daily reported Monday.

Amedia's general director, Alexei Volin, told RBC that the visual side of the movie is expected to be completed by August, but he wouldn't discuss the budget or the title, saying the latter "has not yet been fixed."

This is Amedia's second stab at 3-D animation. Last year, it announced the $3 million project "Krakatuk," but the fate of that project remains unclear, having missed its tentative October 2007 Russian release date.

However, observers say that 3-D animation remains a promising area for the Russian film industry, where the niche of "family movies" has yet to be fully exploited

Source : http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/

If it's animation or special effects, it's Linux

When I was a kid, I used to make crude little animated cartoons in my notebooks using the flipbook technique. Walt Disney had nothing to worry about. I was awful even by the 3rd grade standards of White Pine elementary. Today, I could be great, because almost all top animation and special effects artists are Linux users.

My colleague Eric Lai discovered recently that while top animation and FX (special effects) programs are run on Macs and some of them, like RenderMan Pro Server are being ported to Windows, it's on Linux clusters that the really serious movie and television visual effects are created. As Robin Rowe writes at LinuxMovies.org, "In the film industry, Linux has won. It's running on practically all servers and desktops used for feature animation and visual effects."

Rowe's not just being a Linux booster. It's the Gospel truth. The animation and FX for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; Star Wars: The Clone Wars; WALL-E; 300; The Golden Compass; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; and I Am Legend, to name but a few recent movies, were all created using Pixar's RenderMan and Autodesk Maya running on Linux clusters.

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DreamWorks Animation's growth focuses on 3-D

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., creator of the hit "Shrek" films, is bulking up in a big way.

The company this week will begin an $85-million project to expand its 13-acre Glendale studio, adding 100,000 square feet of new production space and more than 500 jobs in the next two years.

DreamWorks is growing quickly at a time when many other Los Angeles-area film companies are cutting back in the face of a sputtering economy and a slowdown in film production, delays partly caused by difficult contract talks between studios and Hollywood's biggest actors union.

The new construction largely reflects the company's ambitious entry into 3-D filmmaking, as well as the enduring popularity of family-oriented computer-animated films.

"The business is flourishing and there is a good reason for [DreamWorks] to be hiring so many people," said Ron Diamond, co-founder of Animation World Network, an animation publishing group. "This is a very positive time for animators."

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Facebook and Intel combine for online animation

Professional film screening the reward for best group members

Facebook is many things to its millions of members, but among the various adjectives that can be applied to the social-networking site 'creative' is rarely found.

That's why it's a pleasure to come across a new art project based on the SNS and sponsored by Intel among others that aims to give an opening to new filmmakers.

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Arena's animation symposium captures aspirants' imagination

NEW DELHI: Arena Animation Academy, the global leader in hi-end Animation Training, presented ‘Perspectives: A seminar on Animation’ on Wednesday at Siri Fort Auditorium, which was attended by over 2500 students, aspirants and animation enthusiasts.

The seminar was inaugurated by Dr Kiran Bedi, who inspired the young audiences with her motivating talk and was able to establish an instant connect with them.

She stressed upon the need for constant learning and emphasized that one should aspire to learn something new every day to achieve excellence. She also highlighted the need for students to focus both on learning technical & creative skills, as well as work on developing language skills to communicate effectively.

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Mythology is heart & soul of Indian animation

NEW DELHI: “I hope we never lose sight of one thing, it was all started by a mouse.”––Walt Disney.

It took a mouse for Walt Disney to kickstart the $60-billion global animation industry. Back home, mythological heroes like Hanuman, Ganesha and Krishna have done that and more for the Rs 1,300-crore Indian animation genre, as per KPMG estimates. Mythology has virtually become a crutch for the risk-averse industry loathe to experiment with original storylines and characters.

Currently, as many as 15 animation movies are in the works for release starting end-2008—Arjun (UTV), Return of Ravana, Untitled movie on Lord Krishna (Percept Picture), Jumbo (Phoebus Media Creations), Krishna (Rakeysh Mehra) and Friends and The Trap (Dream Studio)—and most of them are mythological.

“When a concept is successful, everyone follows it. Plus, mythology provides readily available storyline, well-defined, easy-to-recall characters that instantly click with the core audience of 4-14 years,” reasons Shailendra Singh, MD, Percept Holdings, producers of Hanuman and Hanuman Returns.

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Arena Animation Announces Kala Srishti Scholarships

Arena Animation, the global leader in animation & multimedia training, announced the Kala Srishti Scholarships in Kolkata today. This special scholarship is being offered at all Arena centers in Kolkata, Siliguri, Bardhaman, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Patna, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Tinsukia & Shillong. This scheme is valid only till August 31, 2008.

Arena Animation, the global leader in animation & multimedia training, announced the Kala Srishti Scholarships in Kolkata today. This special scholarship is being offered at all Arena centers in Kolkata, Siliguri, Bardhaman, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Patna, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Tinsukia & Shillong. This scheme is valid only till August 31, 2008.

Speaking on the announcement of the scholarship, Mr. Anirban Das - Regional Head, Arena Animation, East said “The main objective of Kala Srishti scholarships is to give an opportunity to meritorious students who are keen to pursue a career in multimedia & animation. Seeing the overwhelming response of this scholarship for the last 5 years, we are pleased to announce this offer for the 6th consecutive year.”

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Imago Global in pact with Malaysian animation academy

Imago Global, the newly-launched animation academy promoted by Thiruvananthapuram-based animation player Mookambika Infotech (MooIT), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia's GO Academy for collaboration and internship in animation and production.

Under the agreement, students enrolled at MooIT will be offered internship at GO Academy in Malaysia.

Upon completion of the course, successful students will be absorbed to the production houses of Go Academy around the globe. The MoU was signed between K M Arun Kumar, CEO, Imago Global and Aaron Ong Lai Huat, Chairman, GO Academy here.

Huat said GO is the world’s first accredited City & Guilds centre dedicated to the certification of Digital 3 D and visual effects programme.

“Go Academy is into promotion and training and aims to boost the animation, post production industry through formal internship arrangements with leading international companies in digital animation development, film production, post-production and computer games development,” he said.

Source : http://www.business-standard.com/

Pune to have animation school, gurukul style

UNE: Who says technology and tradition are poles apart? Modern subjects like animation, gaming and broadcast journalism will soon be taught 'gurukul' style - modelled on the ancient Indian education system at a Pune school.

The unique venture, called Seamless Education Academy or SeamEdu, will be run by Saurabh Gadgil, a jeweller, and aims to cater to the fast growing animation industry's huge demand for trained personnel.

"There is a huge demand for talented animators in the country - around 200,000 in a couple of years. So we thought this was a very good business idea," said Gadgil, a major stakeholder in the venture.

Those behind the project say they only mean to simulate the gurukul tradition's aspect of individual attention.
"Gurukul education is based on individual attention and that's what we plan to do - identify the talent and harness it for industry needs," said Arun Nigvekar, Pune University's former vice chancellor under whose guidance the school will be run.

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Mainstream 3D animation film makers to capture market

NEW DELHI: Moving away from the concept of mythological characters in animation films, makers of 'Icy N Spicy' hope to capture the film market with their first 3D mainstream animation film.

"India has a huge and untapped market of animation films and we are quite confident that our film will do very good at the box office. In fact we have already planned a whole story based on 'Icy N Spicy'," says debutante director Anil Goel.

Goel feels that characters like 'Hanuman' and 'Ganesha' appealed to children for being fresh but if the mythological characters are repeated again they would not attract public attention.

"I did not adopt my story from any mythological theme. The characters are fresh with a story very much rooted in reality and similar to any school going child's life," Goel says.

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Indian animation: Future bright

Today Indian animation companies are doing feature films, commercials and TV series work that aspire to international standards. However, the company is only as good as the artists it employs. So good, well trained animation professionals find themselves in high demand.

The Animation industry in India has grown exponentially over the last few years. What is more remarkable is that even with this rapid growth India still represents only a small portion of the world animation pie! That means there are still lots of opportunities for Indian animation to grow.

What is it going to take for animation to come of age in India? Production of original content.

Animation is an extraordinary means of telling a story. What one can achieve in animation is the ability to strip away all the unnecessary details so the story can be presented in its purest form. Here is where the secret of animation’s appeal lies. This is why people remember good animation movies even decades after they first saw them.

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Is Bigger Always Better?: The Rise of the Indie Animation Feature

Erstwhile Animation Pimp Chris Robinson talks to Nina Paley and Bill Plympton about their new movies.

Two bad breakups, a blues song and the Indian epic Ramayana inspired Nina Paley to create Sita Sings the Blues. All Sita images © Nina Paley.

What's that? You want to know how I feel about the increase in animation features? Well, let me tell you just what I think.

Most of it stinks. These clods can't even make short films, so why are they on about features now? Me? I forgive them. So should you. They can't help themselves. They are the victims of a horrible disease that's infested their sponge-worthy carcasses. This blinding disease of the featuretwitus insinuates itself into the body (often through the penis opening or nasal passage) and saturates the sponge's noodle, convincing it that LOOOOOONNNNNGGGG is RIGHT. MUST MAKE LONG. Make 'em long and they will come (with money, praise, sunglasses and coke). Make' em short and they will yawn and forget.

Some are immune to this soul-sucking mind-twist; others are only partially affected. There have been some recently reported cases where some good has come from this viral bitch of a killer. Unconfirmed reports state that at least two (deux) mutants actually make 'em long AND make 'em good. These mutants, miraculously, think first, make second. It's a God damn miracle (who else's miracle could it be, praise ye all). Praise Wayne Gretzky for Persepolis, Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly (puritan animators be damned for your perverse perfection puddyfutting).

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Maya 2008 Character Modeling and Animation: Motion Path Animation

In this last excerpt from Maya 2008 Character Modeling and Animation, author Tereza Flaxman explains how to animate an object on a path and edit the animation timing using motion path keys.

This month VFXWorld concludes its excerption of the Thomson Course Technology book Maya 2008 Character Modeling and Animation. In this series, VFXWorld readers have taken on the challenge of animating realistic and compelling characters using the latest version of Maya, the powerful 3D graphics and modeling software. Excerpts have shown beginning to intermediate animation students and enthusiasts how to create professional quality characters, explaining the full character animation process from pre-production to final full body and facial animation.

Motion path animation is a technique which allows you to animate an object moving along a curve. The curve controls the direction, position and rotation of the object. To create a path animation you first create a curve and then attach an object to it. This excerpt from Maya 2008 Character Modeling and Animation teaches you how to animate a simple object on a path and set motion path keys.

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City to get Rs 80-cr animation studio

BANGALORE: Film animation buffs will love nothing better than a hi-tech studio on home turf to avoid the high costs of journeying abroad.

Their dreams could come true if Bangalore-born Hollywood producer, writer, director Siva Selvaraj executes his plans. Selvaraj, a US resident for the past 20 years, plans to set up a Rs 80-crore animation studio here to help filmmakers get access to state-of-the-art technology.

Selvaraj, currently here for post-production work on a film shot in the US, Black Men Can Swim , said the studio is part of a larger effort to bridge Indian films with Hollywood.

"The shooting of Black Men Can Swim is over and I'm looking to complete post-production in India, either at Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai or Chennai. This is my effort to bring India and Hollywood together."

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GoAnimate puts powerful animation tools in your browser

GoAnimate is a browser-based animation studio. It lets you build multi-scene animated creations, complete with support for music, transitions, and user-uploaded page elements. I spent most of this morning playing around with it and the results are about on par with what you'd find on one of those animated greeting cards.

Like most video editing applications GoAnimate centers around a time line. Everything is drag and drop, so you can pick out characters, props, backgrounds and special effects and simple put them on the canvas where you see fit. Each "scene" can be edited to last as long as you want, and you can drag finished scenes around the time line to re-order them. Basically everything is set up to let you quickly clone and continue your work with minimal effort.

The short I made consisted of nine scenes and took about a half hour to make, however most of that was me learning how to use the tool. Part of the process is picking out ready made characters and customizing them which is fairly intuitive and similar to working on a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. As the author you can move objects up and down, and program in things like automated object movement and transitions.

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