First, the not so weird. Taschen has published a collection of Obama posters, Design for Obama. Posters for Change: A Grassroots Anthology. You can leaf through the entire book here. There are some very clever designs.
Then there is a collection of weird books. Here is the description of my favorite title, which I at first thought was a book for children:
I also like suggestive titles such as "Death in the Pot," or "The Deer-smellers of Haunted Mountain," as well as practical tomes such as "Toilet Paper Origami" (I thought I was the inventor of the idea), "Help! A Bear Is Eating Me," and "Do-It-Yourself Coffins" (well, aren't we all doing it ourselves?). And how can you resist a book entitled "Fart Proudly" (by Benjamin Franklin no less) or one that asks "Why Do I Vomit?" Finally, "A Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown" and "The Thermodynamics of Pizza" promise to appease, at least till the next edition of weird collection, your thirst for knowledge.If you've got a constipated or mouse-shy snake on your hands, you'll want to pick up a copy of What's Wrong with My Snake?: A User-friendly Home Medical Reference Manual by John and Roxanne Rossi.
"John Carter of Mars" Readies Shape Shifter
Out doing promotion for "Sherlock Holmes", British thesp Mark Strong
("Body of Lies," "Rocknrolla") tells Cinema Blend that most of his work
on the upcoming "John Carter of Mars" film will not involve much CG.
"My character doesn't actually get involved in any of the motion-capture stuff. All the stuff is live action. Although I can shift my shape, so I have to be photographed by a 360-degree camera. I can adapt into anything. That's going to be my particular talent" says Strong who plays Matai Shang, the ruler of the Thems.
He adds that "there's some filming in Utah, but most of it is in a studio outside of London". Joining him are the likes of Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Samantha Morton, Dominic West, Polly Walker, Thomas Haden Church and James Purefoy.
Andrew Stanton helms the project currently scheduled for a Summer 2012 release.
Roy Edward Disney Dies at 79
(forums.cgsociety.org) In the 1980s after establishing financial independence, he paved the way for a new management team that brought back to life the art form that defined Walt Disney Co.
Roy E. Disney
Roy Edward Disney, seen in his Burbank office in 1985, was the billionaire nephew of entertainment icon Walt Disney. Roy E. Disney so closely resembled his uncle's physical appearance that when he made outings to Disney theme parks or was out promoting the company's animated films, people in public would ask him if he was Walt Disney's brother. (Los Angeles Times)
Roy Edward Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney whose commitment to his uncle's creative spirit prompted him to mount revolts that led to the unseating of two of the company's chief executives and a revival of the studio's legendary animation unit, died Wednesday. He was 79.
Disney, who had been battling stomach cancer, died at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, according to Clifford A. Miller, a spokesman for Disney's company Shamrock Holdings.
Disney toiled for years in the shadow of his famous uncle and his father, Disney Studios co-founder Roy O. Disney, who ran the business side of the company for his brother. But the quiet scion would emerge as a forceful protector of Disney traditions when he believed that the company that bore the family name was headed in the wrong direction.
"People always underestimated Roy," Peter Schneider, the former president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, said recently. "You underestimate Roy at your peril, as many people have learned."
3D Computer Graphics Patents Deemed Invalid
(vizworld.com) In a victory for software patent haters everywhere, a patent on “improving 3D computer graphics through provision of an improved method for performing visibility calculations” was recently overturned because it was considered related to calculations and algorithms, and therefore not patentable.
Patents “directed to improving 3D computer graphics through provision of an improved method for performing visibility calculations” were invalid under In re Bilski, 545 F.3d 943 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (en banc), cert. granted, — U.S. —, 129 S.Ct. 2735 (2009) because they failed to claim patentable subject matter. “[Plaintiff] concedes that its patent claims are not transformative, but nevertheless argues that they are tied to a particular machine; to wit, a computer. . . . The claim language clearly states that these claims are drawn to mathematical calculations and algorithms for calculating whether certain surfaces are visible or invisible in 3D computer graphics. This is exemplified by the language of the claims, which specify a sequence of calculations that involve identifying,comparing,determining, and ignoring; data. Though the calculations may be performed on a computer, they are not tied to any particular computer. For these reasons, the claims of the [patents-in-suit] fail to pass muster under the Bilski machine implementation test for patentability under 35 U.S.C. § 101.”
Bryan Singer Will Direct X-Men: First Class!
(MySpace.com) James Cameron's Avatar had its premiere in Los Angeles tonight, and MySpace had a television crew on-hand at the "blue carpet" to interview arrivals.
One of the people there was director Bryan Singer, who directed X-Men and X2: X-Men United for Avatar distributor 20th Century Fox at the start of the decade. In recent interviews, Singer has been asked about possibly directing the planned prequel X-Men: First Class, and he always seemed interested, but earlier this evening he let slip that he has in fact just signed the deal with Fox to direct the next "Origins" film, which will reportedly look at the early days of Cyclops, Jean Grey and others at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.
You can see for yourself what Bryan Singer told the interviewer about signing to do X-Men: First Class if you go to the Official MySpace site, click on "Next Slide" at the bottom left and then scroll forward to the 27-minute mark where he's asked about what he has coming up next. He tells the interviewers without any hesitation and complete seriousness: "I'm ramping up to do a movie called 'Jack the Giant Killer' at Warner Bros, and I just yesterday signed a deal to do an 'X-Men: First Class Origins' picture, which is kind of cool. I'm very excited."
"District 9" VFX Studio Expands - Bank Provides $2.2M Financing
VANCOUVER, Dec. 17 /CNW Telbec/ - Image Engine Design Inc., a Vancouver-based production studio specializing in visual effects for movies, today announced the expansion of its studio facilities to help meet growing business demand. The acquisition of a new building was made possible through a $2.2 million financial loan package from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
Image Engine, founded in 1995, began providing visual effects for feature films in 2006. Most notable of these early years was a significant body of work for Marvel Studios' The Incredible Hulk. The company, which started out doing work for television, gained experience and respect with its work on the popular TV series Stargate as well as several other television productions, including one for Stephen King where its creature work garnered a coveted VES award.
A turning point occurred with the opportunity to provide visual effects on District 9, the breakout film for Writer/Director Neill Blomkamp. The film gave Image Engine the chance to show what a Vancouver, Canada facility could accomplish under tight budgetary constraints and an extremely challenging creative agenda. Since the movie's release in August of this year, the alien shots delivered by Image Engine have received critical acclaim from the visual effects industry, including recognition from District 9 Producer, Peter Jackson, of "Lord of the Rings" fame.
For Greg Holmes, CEO of Image Engine, BDC's support and understanding of the company's expansion plans were key to helping prepare for future successes: "BDC was very supportive, and able to qualify risk and characterize it differently than traditional banks. Their years of experience in supporting entrepreneurs and matching a decent business model to a property acquisition opportunity helped them understand where we were going."
BDC Financing Account Manager in Vancouver, Kobie Lofty-Eaton, says "a sound and solid evaluation of risk factors can lead a project on the path to success. This is part of the expertise we offer at BDC. The movie industry is a good example. No matter how big or how risky the project, with the right tools we can help our clients show that their expertise is second to none worldwide."
Greg Holmes points out that there are lessons to be learned from playing at a high level in this very competitive business: "Knowing your appetite and capability for risk and execution is important. This industry is driven by gifted artists and talented people, but without a solid business backbone to carry the weight of that risk, it is difficult to achieve results that are sustainable".
Avatar VFX Revolutionary?
(movieviral.com) Special effects are big thing for me. For years, they were an addition to what was going on on the screen; something to help your imagination along. I find that the Star Trek franchise sums this point up for me. Watch any of the early original episodes and the special effects are laughable, but they helped to set the scene. This was fine for years but then along came Star Wars. It has to be recognised as a milestone in cinema history, because it changed what we saw on screen. The ripple effect this brought to film can be seen up to this day, and the pioneer, ILM, is still the biggest and best in the business.
The problem I now have with special effects is the part it plays in a films today. 2012 may be the perfect example of this. If you read Dan’s review, you will remember his issues with the effects, that there far too many things going on to take in. For films like this, the special effects are the story, with everything gearing up to that set piece, where the White house is destroyed, or a big explosion rips through the Manhattan skyline. It takes away from the imagination of the audience, and I fear, the writers as well. But people are starting to notice and perhaps the biggest rebellion centered around Transformers 2. The effects were big, but the story was terrible and the acting even worse. It seems we, the film-going audience, have started to see past the effects now.
Up until this week, my film of the year for special effects was Star Trek. The effects were beautiful, well-crafted, and subtle. They add to the film but don’t take over it. If you look at the shuttle hanger scene for instance, you’re watching the film, not the effects, because they are subtle, believable. I was worried that Avatar would err on the overpowering side, after all, at least 75% of the film is special effects, but wow, you’d better be ready.
Avatar
My advice for your trip to the cinema? You’ll need to do some preparation work first. Buy some energy drink and some saline solution, mix them up and soak your eyes in it! You’ll need it. The effects are amazing. It’s as simple as that.
You might have cringed when you saw the first trailer. I know I did. These big blue creatures walking around just didn’t quite sit right with me, but when you see them on the big screen in all their 3D glory, you very quickly forget that these creatures are not real. The animation is flawless in their movement and their interaction with the scenery. It is like nothing you have seen before, and Cameron must be applauded for waiting all these years (upwards of 10 if you’re counting) until the technology could keep up with his imagination. The marines’ weaponry and machinery is just as amazing to watch and looks so damn realistic and plausible that I expect to see them hit the battlefield sometime in the future. Cameron enjoys taking us to places that we have never been before. Just watch the doc “Return to Titanic” to see his perseverance, and in Pandora, he has once again showed us a place that is so wondrous and intriguing that you want to spend more time there.
My one admission I have to make is that I watched this in a normal cinema rather than on IMAX (we’ll update the review though when we do), and as such I don’t know if my criticism of the 3D will ring true with those that do get to see it as the director intended. In parts the 3D worked very well, but there are other moments that I would have been just as happy watching the 2D version. The scene at the start of the film which sees Jake Scully landing on Pandora is a good example of 3D that works, but at other points, particularly when the Navi are on screen, the 3D seemed to be lacking. There are some scenes where you are following Navi Scully through the trees at a great height, and this should have been the money shot, but it just didn’t materialize. As I said, this may not be the case in IMAX, so if you’re torn between your local Multiplex or IMAX, choose IMAX for sure.
So, in terms of the special effects thats a big A+. This is the Star Wars for our generation, and your kids will be watching this for several Christmases to come. It will change cinema.
CGI Vampire & Werewolf Take On Animated Zombies
(Variety) DreamWorks Animation has hired Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris to write Gil's All Fright Diner, an adaptation of the A. Lee Martinez novel that has Barry Sonnenfeld attached to direct.
Gil's All Fright Diner revolves around a vampire and a werewolf. They are mismatched partners who battle zombies and try to save the world, after they stop in a diner in the desert that is a conduit for the supernatural.
Kirk De Micco was the first writer on the film.
Reiff and Voris' credits include Kung Fu Panda and the upcoming Robin Hood.
Award Winning VFX Studio Pixomondo Expands For Commercials
(shootonline.com) Pixomondo, with studios in Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, London, Shanghai, Beijing and Santa Monica – and with a Paris office opening soon - is launching a new commercial digital production company, called Public Art. Public Art is aimed to service the advertising community and features a collection of live action directors, designers, animators, visual effects artists and flash developers.
Pixomondo's feature effects division had many shots in the recently released movies "2012" and "Ninja Assassin". Currently they are engaged on work for several features including "Suckerpunch", "Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightning Thief", "Hindenburg" and a number of other movies.
Rob Marshall On Fourth "Pirates" Status
Out doing promotion for his new musical adaptation "Nine", director Rob Marshall talked with Coming Soon about his hiring to direct the next sequel in the 'Pirates' franchise, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", for Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Marshall says it may not have progressed as far as you might have thought - "We're still trying to figure out if it's going to all happen. If it happens--I think Johnny's doing a movie with Angelina Jolie in the spring ("The Tourist") - so if it happens, we'll start in the summer, and we'll see. I'm excited. If it happens, it happens. I'd be thrilled. I just love Johnny and I'm excited about the genre."
When asked about the film's visuals, he said "I would need a script first. It all comes from the script and the story. You serve the story and you find out what the story is and then you work from there, that's it. It's simple."
NY Anim Company to Create VFX for 'Ghost Whisperer' Director
(webwire.com) Walsh Family Media, an independent animation company and visual effects studio in NY, was selected to provide visual effects cinematography for the upcoming film White Irish Drinkers. The film is an independently funded venture by renowned writer/director John Gray whose projects include Ghost Whisperer, Empire and Helter Skelter.
Walsh Family Media was asked to digitally recreate a crowd of screaming fans at the concert of a legendary rock band. The scene was originally filmed at Lafayette Theater in New York where producers John Gray, Paul Bernard, Melissa Peltier, and James Scura had only 100 extras on hand for the scene. Using state-of-the-art composite and visual effects, Walsh Family Media helped transform the meager crowd of 100 into a roaring crowd of 3,000, the number of seats in Lafayette Theater.
According to producer Paul Bernard, the visual effects provided by Walsh Family Media helped the film overcome budget restraints. "It’s hard to fill a 3,000 seat venue on a small budget so we turned to WFM Services to help create a crowd scene deserving of legendary rock fame" said Bernard. "It’s amazing what these guys can do on the computer.”
Spider-Man 4 In Trouble?
(cinemablend.com) Director Sam Raimi is hung up on a few major issues, mostly notably that they still don’t have a completed script. And why is it incomplete? Why it’s Spider-Man 3 all over again. Raimi is butting heads with the studio over who the villain should be. That same conflict is how we got a Spider-Man 3 overloaded with too many villains, at least half of whom Raimi seemed to have absolutely no interest in shooting. If this is true, it sounds like Sony has learned absolutely nothing from the last movie and they’re still unwilling to simply let Raimi, a proven commodity, do whatever the hell he wants.
So word is that Raimi wants Vulture to be the bad guy and Sony wants anyone but Vulture to be the bad guy. Now I can see Sony’s point of view here, Vulture is pretty much the worst villain in the web-head’s rogues gallery. He’s more of a punchline than a villain really and I’m pretty sure that very few Spidey fans actually care about seeing him on screen. On the other hand, Raimi is Raimi and it probably doesn’t matter whether or not Vulture sucks in the comics, on film he has the ability to make the character awesome. There’s only one reasonable decision here and that’s for Sony to get the hell out of the way. We don’t need another Venom debacle.
VFX Games Artists Ready For Pool Party & Awards Show
(gamesindustry.biz) San Diego will be the new Host City for the previously-Canadian awards ELAN Awards Show which honors artistry and innovation in the video games industry.
Today the highly anticipated announcement of the Official Categories for the 2010 ELAN Awards.
Three days of celebrating are in place for the video game, animation and visual effects industries beginning with a pool party on Saturday, July 17th, followed by a street party on Sunday night and wrapping up with a four-part-party including the awards ceremony itself on Monday, July 19th, the evening prior to Comic-con.
Every year the ELANS go to the industry to determine their award categories, a practice they believe to be crucial to staying on top of what's important in such a rapidly changing industry. "This year's categories were a bit tougher than previous year's in that we're not quite done with some that are on their way out meaning they're still very relevant, and ones that were too new a year ago have proven themselves worthy now and must be included," says Carinci, explaining her thirty award category show. "And there will be more," she smiles, "as we're adding 4 exciting sponsored awards which we'll announce on January 4th, the day submissions officially open." An Industry-only newsletter containing all pertinent information for submissions pertaining to the entire judicial process and submissions will be delivered Monday, December 21st just prior to the holidays.
And now, the Official Categories for the 2010 ELAN Awards are:
21. BEST REAL-TIME VISUAL EFFECTS in a VIDEO GAME PRODUCTION
Recognizing outstanding achievement in visual effects in a video game, the ELAN in this category is awarded to the vfx artist, vfx team or vfx director that exhibits excellence in real-time game engine-rendered visual effects within a video game. This category is open to vfx teams hired outside of the video game company.
Full Press: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2010-elan-awards-award-categories-announced---all-30-of--em
Over 350 Avatar Screenings Already Sold Out
(cinemablend.com) Over 350 Avatar Screenings Already Sold Out Avatar is less than 24 hours away from exploding onto the screen, with thousands of midnight screenings kicking off tonight. Early ticket sales are already giving an idea of just how big the movie may be.
Given the heavy focus on the movie's visual effects and 3D nature, it's no surprise the movie will open on a record number of 3D screen. Of the 3,457 theatres showing the movie, 2,032 will be running it in 3D, including more than 190 IMAX theaters. Also unsurprisingly, almost 90% of all ticket sales at some major movie ticket sites are for 3D screenings.
Already more than 350 showings have sold out online, with many others filling up. That's no indication the movie will be breaking New Moon's midnight or opening day records, but it's a healthy sign that audiences are excited.
One thing is for sure: guys are far more excited for this movie than the ladies. MovieTickets.com reports that 78% of its tickets are being bought-up by the boys. I guess shirtless characters with well-defined abs only get the ladies going if they're werewolves, not blue aliens.
"My character doesn't actually get involved in any of the motion-capture stuff. All the stuff is live action. Although I can shift my shape, so I have to be photographed by a 360-degree camera. I can adapt into anything. That's going to be my particular talent" says Strong who plays Matai Shang, the ruler of the Thems.
He adds that "there's some filming in Utah, but most of it is in a studio outside of London". Joining him are the likes of Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Samantha Morton, Dominic West, Polly Walker, Thomas Haden Church and James Purefoy.
Andrew Stanton helms the project currently scheduled for a Summer 2012 release.
Roy Edward Disney Dies at 79
(forums.cgsociety.org) In the 1980s after establishing financial independence, he paved the way for a new management team that brought back to life the art form that defined Walt Disney Co.
Roy E. Disney
Roy Edward Disney, seen in his Burbank office in 1985, was the billionaire nephew of entertainment icon Walt Disney. Roy E. Disney so closely resembled his uncle's physical appearance that when he made outings to Disney theme parks or was out promoting the company's animated films, people in public would ask him if he was Walt Disney's brother. (Los Angeles Times)
Roy Edward Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney whose commitment to his uncle's creative spirit prompted him to mount revolts that led to the unseating of two of the company's chief executives and a revival of the studio's legendary animation unit, died Wednesday. He was 79.
Disney, who had been battling stomach cancer, died at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, according to Clifford A. Miller, a spokesman for Disney's company Shamrock Holdings.
Disney toiled for years in the shadow of his famous uncle and his father, Disney Studios co-founder Roy O. Disney, who ran the business side of the company for his brother. But the quiet scion would emerge as a forceful protector of Disney traditions when he believed that the company that bore the family name was headed in the wrong direction.
"People always underestimated Roy," Peter Schneider, the former president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, said recently. "You underestimate Roy at your peril, as many people have learned."
3D Computer Graphics Patents Deemed Invalid
(vizworld.com) In a victory for software patent haters everywhere, a patent on “improving 3D computer graphics through provision of an improved method for performing visibility calculations” was recently overturned because it was considered related to calculations and algorithms, and therefore not patentable.
Patents “directed to improving 3D computer graphics through provision of an improved method for performing visibility calculations” were invalid under In re Bilski, 545 F.3d 943 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (en banc), cert. granted, — U.S. —, 129 S.Ct. 2735 (2009) because they failed to claim patentable subject matter. “[Plaintiff] concedes that its patent claims are not transformative, but nevertheless argues that they are tied to a particular machine; to wit, a computer. . . . The claim language clearly states that these claims are drawn to mathematical calculations and algorithms for calculating whether certain surfaces are visible or invisible in 3D computer graphics. This is exemplified by the language of the claims, which specify a sequence of calculations that involve identifying,comparing,determining, and ignoring; data. Though the calculations may be performed on a computer, they are not tied to any particular computer. For these reasons, the claims of the [patents-in-suit] fail to pass muster under the Bilski machine implementation test for patentability under 35 U.S.C. § 101.”
Bryan Singer Will Direct X-Men: First Class!
(MySpace.com) James Cameron's Avatar had its premiere in Los Angeles tonight, and MySpace had a television crew on-hand at the "blue carpet" to interview arrivals.
One of the people there was director Bryan Singer, who directed X-Men and X2: X-Men United for Avatar distributor 20th Century Fox at the start of the decade. In recent interviews, Singer has been asked about possibly directing the planned prequel X-Men: First Class, and he always seemed interested, but earlier this evening he let slip that he has in fact just signed the deal with Fox to direct the next "Origins" film, which will reportedly look at the early days of Cyclops, Jean Grey and others at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.
You can see for yourself what Bryan Singer told the interviewer about signing to do X-Men: First Class if you go to the Official MySpace site, click on "Next Slide" at the bottom left and then scroll forward to the 27-minute mark where he's asked about what he has coming up next. He tells the interviewers without any hesitation and complete seriousness: "I'm ramping up to do a movie called 'Jack the Giant Killer' at Warner Bros, and I just yesterday signed a deal to do an 'X-Men: First Class Origins' picture, which is kind of cool. I'm very excited."
"District 9" VFX Studio Expands - Bank Provides $2.2M Financing
VANCOUVER, Dec. 17 /CNW Telbec/ - Image Engine Design Inc., a Vancouver-based production studio specializing in visual effects for movies, today announced the expansion of its studio facilities to help meet growing business demand. The acquisition of a new building was made possible through a $2.2 million financial loan package from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
Image Engine, founded in 1995, began providing visual effects for feature films in 2006. Most notable of these early years was a significant body of work for Marvel Studios' The Incredible Hulk. The company, which started out doing work for television, gained experience and respect with its work on the popular TV series Stargate as well as several other television productions, including one for Stephen King where its creature work garnered a coveted VES award.
A turning point occurred with the opportunity to provide visual effects on District 9, the breakout film for Writer/Director Neill Blomkamp. The film gave Image Engine the chance to show what a Vancouver, Canada facility could accomplish under tight budgetary constraints and an extremely challenging creative agenda. Since the movie's release in August of this year, the alien shots delivered by Image Engine have received critical acclaim from the visual effects industry, including recognition from District 9 Producer, Peter Jackson, of "Lord of the Rings" fame.
For Greg Holmes, CEO of Image Engine, BDC's support and understanding of the company's expansion plans were key to helping prepare for future successes: "BDC was very supportive, and able to qualify risk and characterize it differently than traditional banks. Their years of experience in supporting entrepreneurs and matching a decent business model to a property acquisition opportunity helped them understand where we were going."
BDC Financing Account Manager in Vancouver, Kobie Lofty-Eaton, says "a sound and solid evaluation of risk factors can lead a project on the path to success. This is part of the expertise we offer at BDC. The movie industry is a good example. No matter how big or how risky the project, with the right tools we can help our clients show that their expertise is second to none worldwide."
Greg Holmes points out that there are lessons to be learned from playing at a high level in this very competitive business: "Knowing your appetite and capability for risk and execution is important. This industry is driven by gifted artists and talented people, but without a solid business backbone to carry the weight of that risk, it is difficult to achieve results that are sustainable".
Avatar VFX Revolutionary?
(movieviral.com) Special effects are big thing for me. For years, they were an addition to what was going on on the screen; something to help your imagination along. I find that the Star Trek franchise sums this point up for me. Watch any of the early original episodes and the special effects are laughable, but they helped to set the scene. This was fine for years but then along came Star Wars. It has to be recognised as a milestone in cinema history, because it changed what we saw on screen. The ripple effect this brought to film can be seen up to this day, and the pioneer, ILM, is still the biggest and best in the business.
The problem I now have with special effects is the part it plays in a films today. 2012 may be the perfect example of this. If you read Dan’s review, you will remember his issues with the effects, that there far too many things going on to take in. For films like this, the special effects are the story, with everything gearing up to that set piece, where the White house is destroyed, or a big explosion rips through the Manhattan skyline. It takes away from the imagination of the audience, and I fear, the writers as well. But people are starting to notice and perhaps the biggest rebellion centered around Transformers 2. The effects were big, but the story was terrible and the acting even worse. It seems we, the film-going audience, have started to see past the effects now.
Up until this week, my film of the year for special effects was Star Trek. The effects were beautiful, well-crafted, and subtle. They add to the film but don’t take over it. If you look at the shuttle hanger scene for instance, you’re watching the film, not the effects, because they are subtle, believable. I was worried that Avatar would err on the overpowering side, after all, at least 75% of the film is special effects, but wow, you’d better be ready.
Avatar
My advice for your trip to the cinema? You’ll need to do some preparation work first. Buy some energy drink and some saline solution, mix them up and soak your eyes in it! You’ll need it. The effects are amazing. It’s as simple as that.
You might have cringed when you saw the first trailer. I know I did. These big blue creatures walking around just didn’t quite sit right with me, but when you see them on the big screen in all their 3D glory, you very quickly forget that these creatures are not real. The animation is flawless in their movement and their interaction with the scenery. It is like nothing you have seen before, and Cameron must be applauded for waiting all these years (upwards of 10 if you’re counting) until the technology could keep up with his imagination. The marines’ weaponry and machinery is just as amazing to watch and looks so damn realistic and plausible that I expect to see them hit the battlefield sometime in the future. Cameron enjoys taking us to places that we have never been before. Just watch the doc “Return to Titanic” to see his perseverance, and in Pandora, he has once again showed us a place that is so wondrous and intriguing that you want to spend more time there.
My one admission I have to make is that I watched this in a normal cinema rather than on IMAX (we’ll update the review though when we do), and as such I don’t know if my criticism of the 3D will ring true with those that do get to see it as the director intended. In parts the 3D worked very well, but there are other moments that I would have been just as happy watching the 2D version. The scene at the start of the film which sees Jake Scully landing on Pandora is a good example of 3D that works, but at other points, particularly when the Navi are on screen, the 3D seemed to be lacking. There are some scenes where you are following Navi Scully through the trees at a great height, and this should have been the money shot, but it just didn’t materialize. As I said, this may not be the case in IMAX, so if you’re torn between your local Multiplex or IMAX, choose IMAX for sure.
So, in terms of the special effects thats a big A+. This is the Star Wars for our generation, and your kids will be watching this for several Christmases to come. It will change cinema.
CGI Vampire & Werewolf Take On Animated Zombies
(Variety) DreamWorks Animation has hired Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris to write Gil's All Fright Diner, an adaptation of the A. Lee Martinez novel that has Barry Sonnenfeld attached to direct.
Gil's All Fright Diner revolves around a vampire and a werewolf. They are mismatched partners who battle zombies and try to save the world, after they stop in a diner in the desert that is a conduit for the supernatural.
Kirk De Micco was the first writer on the film.
Reiff and Voris' credits include Kung Fu Panda and the upcoming Robin Hood.
Award Winning VFX Studio Pixomondo Expands For Commercials
(shootonline.com) Pixomondo, with studios in Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, London, Shanghai, Beijing and Santa Monica – and with a Paris office opening soon - is launching a new commercial digital production company, called Public Art. Public Art is aimed to service the advertising community and features a collection of live action directors, designers, animators, visual effects artists and flash developers.
Pixomondo's feature effects division had many shots in the recently released movies "2012" and "Ninja Assassin". Currently they are engaged on work for several features including "Suckerpunch", "Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightning Thief", "Hindenburg" and a number of other movies.
Rob Marshall On Fourth "Pirates" Status
Out doing promotion for his new musical adaptation "Nine", director Rob Marshall talked with Coming Soon about his hiring to direct the next sequel in the 'Pirates' franchise, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", for Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Marshall says it may not have progressed as far as you might have thought - "We're still trying to figure out if it's going to all happen. If it happens--I think Johnny's doing a movie with Angelina Jolie in the spring ("The Tourist") - so if it happens, we'll start in the summer, and we'll see. I'm excited. If it happens, it happens. I'd be thrilled. I just love Johnny and I'm excited about the genre."
When asked about the film's visuals, he said "I would need a script first. It all comes from the script and the story. You serve the story and you find out what the story is and then you work from there, that's it. It's simple."
NY Anim Company to Create VFX for 'Ghost Whisperer' Director
(webwire.com) Walsh Family Media, an independent animation company and visual effects studio in NY, was selected to provide visual effects cinematography for the upcoming film White Irish Drinkers. The film is an independently funded venture by renowned writer/director John Gray whose projects include Ghost Whisperer, Empire and Helter Skelter.
Walsh Family Media was asked to digitally recreate a crowd of screaming fans at the concert of a legendary rock band. The scene was originally filmed at Lafayette Theater in New York where producers John Gray, Paul Bernard, Melissa Peltier, and James Scura had only 100 extras on hand for the scene. Using state-of-the-art composite and visual effects, Walsh Family Media helped transform the meager crowd of 100 into a roaring crowd of 3,000, the number of seats in Lafayette Theater.
According to producer Paul Bernard, the visual effects provided by Walsh Family Media helped the film overcome budget restraints. "It’s hard to fill a 3,000 seat venue on a small budget so we turned to WFM Services to help create a crowd scene deserving of legendary rock fame" said Bernard. "It’s amazing what these guys can do on the computer.”
Spider-Man 4 In Trouble?
(cinemablend.com) Director Sam Raimi is hung up on a few major issues, mostly notably that they still don’t have a completed script. And why is it incomplete? Why it’s Spider-Man 3 all over again. Raimi is butting heads with the studio over who the villain should be. That same conflict is how we got a Spider-Man 3 overloaded with too many villains, at least half of whom Raimi seemed to have absolutely no interest in shooting. If this is true, it sounds like Sony has learned absolutely nothing from the last movie and they’re still unwilling to simply let Raimi, a proven commodity, do whatever the hell he wants.
So word is that Raimi wants Vulture to be the bad guy and Sony wants anyone but Vulture to be the bad guy. Now I can see Sony’s point of view here, Vulture is pretty much the worst villain in the web-head’s rogues gallery. He’s more of a punchline than a villain really and I’m pretty sure that very few Spidey fans actually care about seeing him on screen. On the other hand, Raimi is Raimi and it probably doesn’t matter whether or not Vulture sucks in the comics, on film he has the ability to make the character awesome. There’s only one reasonable decision here and that’s for Sony to get the hell out of the way. We don’t need another Venom debacle.
VFX Games Artists Ready For Pool Party & Awards Show
(gamesindustry.biz) San Diego will be the new Host City for the previously-Canadian awards ELAN Awards Show which honors artistry and innovation in the video games industry.
Today the highly anticipated announcement of the Official Categories for the 2010 ELAN Awards.
Three days of celebrating are in place for the video game, animation and visual effects industries beginning with a pool party on Saturday, July 17th, followed by a street party on Sunday night and wrapping up with a four-part-party including the awards ceremony itself on Monday, July 19th, the evening prior to Comic-con.
Every year the ELANS go to the industry to determine their award categories, a practice they believe to be crucial to staying on top of what's important in such a rapidly changing industry. "This year's categories were a bit tougher than previous year's in that we're not quite done with some that are on their way out meaning they're still very relevant, and ones that were too new a year ago have proven themselves worthy now and must be included," says Carinci, explaining her thirty award category show. "And there will be more," she smiles, "as we're adding 4 exciting sponsored awards which we'll announce on January 4th, the day submissions officially open." An Industry-only newsletter containing all pertinent information for submissions pertaining to the entire judicial process and submissions will be delivered Monday, December 21st just prior to the holidays.
And now, the Official Categories for the 2010 ELAN Awards are:
21. BEST REAL-TIME VISUAL EFFECTS in a VIDEO GAME PRODUCTION
Recognizing outstanding achievement in visual effects in a video game, the ELAN in this category is awarded to the vfx artist, vfx team or vfx director that exhibits excellence in real-time game engine-rendered visual effects within a video game. This category is open to vfx teams hired outside of the video game company.
Full Press: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2010-elan-awards-award-categories-announced---all-30-of--em
Over 350 Avatar Screenings Already Sold Out
(cinemablend.com) Over 350 Avatar Screenings Already Sold Out Avatar is less than 24 hours away from exploding onto the screen, with thousands of midnight screenings kicking off tonight. Early ticket sales are already giving an idea of just how big the movie may be.
Given the heavy focus on the movie's visual effects and 3D nature, it's no surprise the movie will open on a record number of 3D screen. Of the 3,457 theatres showing the movie, 2,032 will be running it in 3D, including more than 190 IMAX theaters. Also unsurprisingly, almost 90% of all ticket sales at some major movie ticket sites are for 3D screenings.
Already more than 350 showings have sold out online, with many others filling up. That's no indication the movie will be breaking New Moon's midnight or opening day records, but it's a healthy sign that audiences are excited.
One thing is for sure: guys are far more excited for this movie than the ladies. MovieTickets.com reports that 78% of its tickets are being bought-up by the boys. I guess shirtless characters with well-defined abs only get the ladies going if they're werewolves, not blue aliens.
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- 21:11 左手で襖をさっと開け、右足を前へ出すも案外狭く、右足小指外側を全力で打ち付け「いとぅっ」という声。静かに雪は降り続け、積もる気配の信州でございます。
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Huntネタに付き宿題。
うちの近くのマンションっぽいアパートの４階にはベランダでよくイルミネーションをやっていましたが、最近はやっていません。どうしてなんでしょう・・・。お子さんが成長したからでしょうか？
Gwenmars
Driving a Million
1. Neon Tom
2. She Hung the Moon
3. Radio Gun
4.Venus
5. Come Here
6. Hurry Up
7. Train Song
8. Electro
9. Strawberry Ice
10. Lisa Candy
11. The Race
My head still feels very blocky and tinny. But I think I'm getting better, less congested, my eyeballs don't hurt as much. Yes, this cold affects the eyeballs somehow. Got TONS of grading to do. At this point I feel exhausted and under-motivated. Worried. I think I'll start with organizing the rooms. Not now, because I don't feel like it, but maybe tomorrow. I will make a list of things I need to take care of. It will be a long list, but it would be shorter than the dragon of my imagination.
Ok so I've had plenty of references to artists I like over the years. Of course they all have great influences over my own art, just like every artist. But I thought I'd take a moment today to write about some specific influences that have gotten my creative juices flowing lately (past few months) Its only fair to give these guys/gals recognition for their wonderful art! :D
One artist that I like for obvious reasons, is from Switzerland. I found his site via Media Militia's periodical "get inspired" posts. His name is Patrik but goes by the name of 2much as an artist. You can find his work following the post in the links.
An online comic book I ended up reading in its entirety in about a week, is called Megatokyo and is by artist and writer Fred Gallagher. It is a manga-style comic book and I say "manga-style" as it is written and drawn by someone other than an Asian writer and I know that for some that might make it an "impure" manga, but if you ask me, its ever bit as good as a Japanese, Korean or other manga you might find. The art is very well drawn but although it has the Asian "look", Fred has gone to great lengths apparently in creating his own flair to his art and I admire him very much for it.
Creaturebox is a site by artists Dave Guertin and Greg Baldwin. Well-established character designers and artists with Insomniac games. (Insomniac Games is responsible for such huge titles as Ratchet and Clank and Resistance for the Sony Playstation systems.)
Enjoy!
James Cameron Confirms He Is 'Actively Involved' In 'Forbidden Planet'
This time last year, a rumor emerged that "Avatar" director James
Cameron might step up to helm a remake (of sorts) of the sci-fi
classic, "Forbidden Planet." The possibility was sort of substantiated
by Latino Review, who reported that Cameron had seen the script and
"flipped" for it.
Shortly after, we had the opportunity to follow up with "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski, who was reportedly developing the "Planet" script. As he told MTV News at the time, "I’ve always wanted to do something involving 'Forbidden Planet.' It’s my favorite science-fiction film of all time. I’ve watched the rights go from one company to the next. I heard that the rights at Dreamworks were about to expire and I went to Joel Silver and said I think if you move quickly you can grab it and I can write it. And he did. It’s the dream of a lifetime to play in that universe."
Straczynski went on to explain that he has a very specific plan for the project, something unique and fresh. "It’s not a remake. It’s not a reimagining. It’s not exactly a prequel," he explained at the time. "You’ll have to see it. It’s something that no one has thought of when it comes to this storyline." With all of this in mind, MTV's Josh Horowitz had to ask what was up with "Planet" when he spoke to Cameron recently at the "Avatar" junket in London.
"That's a project that I'm actively involved in, but I haven't made any decisions about it yet," Cameron said, adding "I love 'Forbidden Planet.'"
So the rumor as it was originally reported isn't quite accurate. Yet, anyway. Cameron certainly could still step up to direct, but something tells me he's probably going to want to dive back in for an "Avatar" sequel if this week's sci-fi epic performs as expected. And it should, given how freaking awesome it is.
Besides, it's not like Cameron can make a decision before he gets a feel for where the project is. Which he hasn't yet. "I haven't seen it yet," he said of Straczynski's script. "I'm supposed to get it here pretty soon."
So there you have it. Cameron is definitely interested in "Forbidden Planet," but he's not making any commitments to it yet. Publicly, anyway. All that said, I expect we'll eventually see this project blast into space. I'm just not sure that Cameron will be at the helm.
42 Crazy Awesome VFX Breakdowns
(ae.tutsplus.com) Are you ready to get pumped up? I could literally watch VFX Breakdowns all day and night... which probably explains my lack of sleep this past week. Well, I'm willing to suffer for your enjoyment... that's just the type of guy I am. Here are 42 of the most killer VFX breakdowns I could find on the web. Hold on to your jaw because it's about to hit the floor. I'm not liable for dental bills.
Take a look: http://ae.tutsplus.com/articles/roundup/42-crazy-awesome-vfx-breakdowns/
Stop-Motion Artists Get Shout-Outs For "Coraline" Golden Globe Nom
(awn.com) Henry Selick, director/screenwriter and producer: "This Golden Globe nomination is sweet validation for the years of hard work it took to bring 'Coraline' to life using stop-motion animation with the greatest crew of animators, artists, and technicians I've ever been privileged to work with. I share this nomination with all of them and we all share our thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press."
Bill Mechanic, producer: "It is a very pleasant surprise and honor for our movie to be recognized with this nomination. The hundreds of artists who worked so hard and for so long on CORALINE all share in the joy."
Getting Wild About Facial Animation
(awn.com) At first, Spike Jonze wasn't sold on a CG approach to the facial animation for the creatures that populate his adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. He wanted to try animatronics, but his good friend David Fincher convinced him otherwise by showing him some of the early tests they were doing on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (which, ironically, Jonze turned down). And that gave him the faith he needed to go down this path.
Not surprisingly, it was an unusual path -- even for CG.
The creatures were defined; the movie had been shot; and there was a rough cut, but the faces were static because of the masks. But the emotional impact was still apparent.
In steps Daniel Jeannette as animation/visual effects supervisor, who had previously worked on Happy Feet at Animal Logic after a prestigious stint at ILM.
"Early on, somebody said you should use CG creatures because it gives you the freedom to do what you want," Jeannette recounts. "It gives you a lot of control, but there's also a lot of limitation that comes with it. And, ultimately, you're talking about a lot of greenscreen work. This didn't work with Spike's vision of shooting on location or the core of the story, which is the relationship between Max and the creatures. It was better to have him interacting with actors in costumes. It was real, the performances were nuanced and emotionally it hits you in the gut."
Image
However, Framestore wound up doing all of the animation and vfx. Jonze was very hands on: directing and helping supervise the delicate and crucial task of "making sure these creatures lived and had a soul." Photo by Sonny Geras.
They tried a lot of techniques before realizing that the best approach would be limited facial animation enhancement whenever they needed lip-synch. In other words, strictly for the movement of the face, they only animated the eyes, lips, teeth and tongue.
And the faces in Wild Things were brought to life at London-based Framestore primarily using a new twist on an old technique known as "sequence projection" or "projection mapping," often used to create talking animals. For Wild Things, however, it had to be taken to a new technical and artistic level. Character suit performances were filmed with static faces. The faces or heads were tracked in 3D and a CG articulated head was animated on top to achieve the appropriate performance to match suit and dialogue.
Full Press with pics: http://www.awn.com/articles/article/getting-wild-about-facial-animation
Avatar : How Many People Does it Take to Make a Movie?
Take a look: http://blogs.sundaymercury.net/anorak-city/2009/12/avatar-how-many-people-does-it.html
When to Outsource Your 3D Model and Rendering Services
(max3dmodels.com) Imagine that your launch was successful and now customers want your animation in a 3D scene futuristic city model. You are an expert in animation, but not in 3D modeling and 3D models of the city are known to take weeks to do! 3D animation using the plan took 2 weeks and now wants a more complicated than a week. . . In the medium term and more to do. You can customize a stock 3D models of the futuristic city scene or subcontract. This project has an aggressive deadline and you're not very good at adapting 3D models of the city quickly. . . and outsourcing can allow you to focus on animation.
Sound familiar? Outsourcing 3D modeling and rendering and do it at home is a common problem 3D Model Animation Studios and artists face, especially when in a hurry to make 3D projects. When is a good time to outsource their 3D modeling? A golden rule of one of our customers is that "If anyone can do it in half the time I … Then it's time to give it away. My time is too valuable. "Normally, customers outsource 3D modeling and rendering 3D model, such as 3D scene of the city, you can customize or very effective by custom 3D services like 3D personal flat pyramid. For example, creating a 3D model of downtown New York scene in max, obj or 3ds file format. What could take weeks to do can make 3D model builder expert who specializes in 3D cities just a few days. So you get less frustration, turn faster and higher quality of results, it is worth spending money on. Here are some tips to help you know when outsourcing can work for you:
– Runs on something you're not very good and is not part of its powers. Also it will take time to learn and become more efficient at it.
– You have too many projects 3D trapped in the pipe and a limited budget prevent you from taking on more 3D artists on staff.
– 3D project is a cycle and thus avoid cuts in the future to ensure that you only need the right people at all times.
– 3D project is a project for a while.
– Positive for project bids 3D model as 3D models of the city.
– It's more productive and profitable for you to have custom 3D services experts agree. Even when you outsource 3D modeling to increase profits, as it saves more than half of the 3D project costs due to savings in labor costs. Outsourcing experts agree that having someone else do the areas that are not within its competence, can do more, and you can take advantage of lower labor costs and increase profits. Account can not do everything and there are other options and ways to improve your 3D development cycle and get your 3D projects to its customers and / or customers much faster and cheaper than the competition
– or face losing customers.
Once you've decided the best thing for you to outsource, consider using the experience of a 3D model of artists with a wide range of experience in custom 3D modeling and rendering, including 3D models of the city.
Star Trek 2 Probably Not Happening Soon
(411mania.com) In an interview with the New York Times, Paramount Pictures chairman Brad Grey seemed to indicate that Star Trek 2 is a ways off.
"As for J. J. Abrams, a producer and the director of Star Trek," the article reads, "Mr. Grey is looking for Star Trek 2. And Mission: Impossible IV. And possibly before either, what he called another 'tentpole' film to be directed by Mr. Abrams, and yet to be announced. … 'We have been wildly ambitious,' Mr. Grey said of his plans. 'It has much to do with the fact that we are feeling as strong as we are.'"
Obviously if JJ Abrams has to do another new "tentpole" film first, Star Trek 2 would have to be pushed back a bit.
The "tentpole" film in question may be Mystery on Fifth Avenue, a new adventure film that is apparently a cross between National Treasure and Jumanji.
'Avatar' Fails to Make AFI Cut
The American Film Institute largely avoided bigger studio movies and focused on smaller indie efforts as it compiled its list of the year's top 10 movies.
Announced on Sunday, the list, devoted to U.S. productions, included Pixar/Disney's 3D-animated "Up" (the No. 3 film to date with $293 million in domestic grosses) and Warner Bros.' boys-gone-wild comedy "The Hangover" (No. 4 with $277 million) but did not include James Cameron's "Avatar," which already is being lauded for its groundbreaking effects work.
Instead, the 13-person AFI jury opted for a second 3D-animated film, "Coraline"; two movies dealing with the impact of the Iraq War, "The Hurt Locker" and "The Messenger"; "Precious," the tale of an abused inner-city teenager; "A Serious Man," which follows a Job-like character as he faces life's setbacks; "A Single Man," which centers on a gay widower; "Sugar," a sports drama about a Dominican-born baseball player; and "Up in the Air," which focuses on a corporate-downsizing expert.
FBI makes arrest in 'Wolverine' Uploading Case
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was uploaded to a file-sharing network last spring, before its release to theaters.
(Credit: 20th Century Fox)
Update 7:50 a.m. PT: To include new information from FBI that suspect may not be source of the leak.
The FBI has accused a man of copyright infringement for allegedly uploading to the Web the feature film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" last spring.
Gilberto Sanchez, 47, was arrested in the Bronx, N.Y., early Wednesday morning by FBI agents without incident, law enforcement sources told CNET. A spokeswoman from the FBI's Los Angeles field office, which led the investigation, confirmed the arrest.
If convicted, Sanchez faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or gross loss attributable to the offense, whichever is greater.
When the feature film from 20th Century Fox was leaked to the Internet in April, it caused panic in Hollywood because the movie, which reportedly cost $100 million to make, was not scheduled for theatrical release until May. The fear was that Internet distribution of an unauthorized copy would hurt ticket sales.
By the time the movie screened in theaters, the unauthorized copy had been watched 4.1 million times, according to market researcher BigChampagne.
According to a copy of a grand jury indictment that was unsealed last week in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Sanchez is accused of uploading the film to file-sharing network Megaupload.com under one of his online aliases, which include "theSkilled1" and "SkillyGilly."
The indictment does not say, however, how Sanchez allegedly obtained a working copy of the film and Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman, declined to provide those details. She did say that the agency has not ruled out more arrests. What this means is that Sanchez may not have been the source of the leak.
The copy that made the rounds online was rough. Many of the computer-generated graphics had not been inserted yet and the cables holding actors to simulate flying were visible.
The major studios say that films being leaked to the Web is a huge problem, and they have gone to great lengths to increase security. In this case, when the film first leaked, executives at Fox said they were confident that the person who leaked the movie would be caught because of forensic marks on the film copy.
Watermarks are inserted into varying film copies so that they can be identified and any leaks can be traced.
However, some proponents of content sharing claim that such leaks and the publicity they stir actually help ticket sales by building interest in a movie prior to its release--provided that the film is any good.
In 2003, a New Jersey man pleaded guilty to copyright infringement charges after uploading the superhero film "Hulk" to the Web weeks before its theatrical release. In that case, the man was sentenced to six months house arrest and ordered to pay a $7,000 fine.
George Lucas Loses Court Appeal Over Star Wars Costume Copyright
(timesonline.co.uk) George Lucas’s empire failed to strike back in the Court of Appeal today as he lost a multimillion-pound legal battle with the British creator of the Star Wars stormtrooper helmets.
Andrew Ainsworth recently began selling replicas of helmets and armour made from his original mould, prompting a $20 million (£12 million) lawsuit from Lucasfilm, Mr Lucas’s company. But yesterday a court agreed that he had not broken any British law — because his creations were not art.
“It’s taken five years but I think this should be just about the end of it,” Mr Ainsworth told The Times this morning. He is now recruiting sales and marketing staff and planning a big expansion of his memorabilia company.
Lucasfilm vowed to take the case to Britain’s new Supreme Court, saying that famous props such as the Daleks from Doctor Who could be freely copied under the Appeal Court’s ruling.
Related Links
Mr Ainsworth was a young industrial designer in Twickenham when he made the helmets in 1976, on a plastic forming machine that was usually “churning out kayaks and watersports stuff”. He was recruited via a friend who was working with Mr Lucas at the nearby Shepperton Studios.
“We just made it on spec. I didn’t even know it was for a film to begin with,” he said. Mr Ainsworth made 50 helmets, for which he was paid £20 each. He also made equipment for numerous other characters, earning about £30,000 from the Star Wars films. Lucasfilm’s earning from merchandise are estimated at several billion dollars.
In 2004, Mr Ainsworth closed his watersports equipment factory and dug out his original models. Realising that “the memorabilia market had really kicked off”, he began selling replicas.
Lucasfilm, acting to crush the rebel force, immediately sued him in the US. He did not defend the case — “taking on Lucas on his home patch is not a good idea” — and a California court awarded $20 million in damages against him, even though he had only sold 19 models in the US.
When Lucasfilm tried to enforce this in Britain, Mr Ainsworth appealed through the pages of The Times for legal help. “I got calls from about a dozen good lawyers,” he said.
During the battle that followed, Court 52 of the Royal Courts of Justice was invaded by stormtroopers and a fighter pilot from the forces of Emperor Palpatine.
Mr Justice Mannn ruled that they were not sculptures and so did not have copyright protections. They were instead industrial designs, which could be protected for only 15 years.
Yesterday Lord Justices Rix, Jacob and Patten agreed, dismissing Lucasfilm’s appeal. They said the helmet and armour had a “utilitarian” rather than artistic purpose, so “neither the armour nor the helmet are sculpture”.
They also ruled that Lucasfilm could not enforce its US copyright in Britain, but agreed with Mr Justice Mann that Mr Ainsworth did not himself own the copyright in the helmets.
Mr Ainsworth said yesterday “Anybody can now make them — but they’re not me. I make the original ones.”
He has been left with a legal bill of more than £2.5 million, although he will seek to recover many of his costs from Lucasfilm.
Asked how he might be celebrating his victory, Mr Ainsworth said, “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll go and find another galaxy.”
Shortly after, we had the opportunity to follow up with "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski, who was reportedly developing the "Planet" script. As he told MTV News at the time, "I’ve always wanted to do something involving 'Forbidden Planet.' It’s my favorite science-fiction film of all time. I’ve watched the rights go from one company to the next. I heard that the rights at Dreamworks were about to expire and I went to Joel Silver and said I think if you move quickly you can grab it and I can write it. And he did. It’s the dream of a lifetime to play in that universe."
Straczynski went on to explain that he has a very specific plan for the project, something unique and fresh. "It’s not a remake. It’s not a reimagining. It’s not exactly a prequel," he explained at the time. "You’ll have to see it. It’s something that no one has thought of when it comes to this storyline." With all of this in mind, MTV's Josh Horowitz had to ask what was up with "Planet" when he spoke to Cameron recently at the "Avatar" junket in London.
"That's a project that I'm actively involved in, but I haven't made any decisions about it yet," Cameron said, adding "I love 'Forbidden Planet.'"
So the rumor as it was originally reported isn't quite accurate. Yet, anyway. Cameron certainly could still step up to direct, but something tells me he's probably going to want to dive back in for an "Avatar" sequel if this week's sci-fi epic performs as expected. And it should, given how freaking awesome it is.
Besides, it's not like Cameron can make a decision before he gets a feel for where the project is. Which he hasn't yet. "I haven't seen it yet," he said of Straczynski's script. "I'm supposed to get it here pretty soon."
So there you have it. Cameron is definitely interested in "Forbidden Planet," but he's not making any commitments to it yet. Publicly, anyway. All that said, I expect we'll eventually see this project blast into space. I'm just not sure that Cameron will be at the helm.
42 Crazy Awesome VFX Breakdowns
(ae.tutsplus.com) Are you ready to get pumped up? I could literally watch VFX Breakdowns all day and night... which probably explains my lack of sleep this past week. Well, I'm willing to suffer for your enjoyment... that's just the type of guy I am. Here are 42 of the most killer VFX breakdowns I could find on the web. Hold on to your jaw because it's about to hit the floor. I'm not liable for dental bills.
Take a look: http://ae.tutsplus.com/articles/roundup/42-crazy-awesome-vfx-breakdowns/
Stop-Motion Artists Get Shout-Outs For "Coraline" Golden Globe Nom
(awn.com) Henry Selick, director/screenwriter and producer: "This Golden Globe nomination is sweet validation for the years of hard work it took to bring 'Coraline' to life using stop-motion animation with the greatest crew of animators, artists, and technicians I've ever been privileged to work with. I share this nomination with all of them and we all share our thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press."
Bill Mechanic, producer: "It is a very pleasant surprise and honor for our movie to be recognized with this nomination. The hundreds of artists who worked so hard and for so long on CORALINE all share in the joy."
Getting Wild About Facial Animation
(awn.com) At first, Spike Jonze wasn't sold on a CG approach to the facial animation for the creatures that populate his adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. He wanted to try animatronics, but his good friend David Fincher convinced him otherwise by showing him some of the early tests they were doing on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (which, ironically, Jonze turned down). And that gave him the faith he needed to go down this path.
Not surprisingly, it was an unusual path -- even for CG.
The creatures were defined; the movie had been shot; and there was a rough cut, but the faces were static because of the masks. But the emotional impact was still apparent.
In steps Daniel Jeannette as animation/visual effects supervisor, who had previously worked on Happy Feet at Animal Logic after a prestigious stint at ILM.
"Early on, somebody said you should use CG creatures because it gives you the freedom to do what you want," Jeannette recounts. "It gives you a lot of control, but there's also a lot of limitation that comes with it. And, ultimately, you're talking about a lot of greenscreen work. This didn't work with Spike's vision of shooting on location or the core of the story, which is the relationship between Max and the creatures. It was better to have him interacting with actors in costumes. It was real, the performances were nuanced and emotionally it hits you in the gut."
Image
However, Framestore wound up doing all of the animation and vfx. Jonze was very hands on: directing and helping supervise the delicate and crucial task of "making sure these creatures lived and had a soul." Photo by Sonny Geras.
They tried a lot of techniques before realizing that the best approach would be limited facial animation enhancement whenever they needed lip-synch. In other words, strictly for the movement of the face, they only animated the eyes, lips, teeth and tongue.
And the faces in Wild Things were brought to life at London-based Framestore primarily using a new twist on an old technique known as "sequence projection" or "projection mapping," often used to create talking animals. For Wild Things, however, it had to be taken to a new technical and artistic level. Character suit performances were filmed with static faces. The faces or heads were tracked in 3D and a CG articulated head was animated on top to achieve the appropriate performance to match suit and dialogue.
Full Press with pics: http://www.awn.com/articles/article/getting-wild-about-facial-animation
Avatar : How Many People Does it Take to Make a Movie?
Take a look: http://blogs.sundaymercury.net/anorak-city/2009/12/avatar-how-many-people-does-it.html
When to Outsource Your 3D Model and Rendering Services
(max3dmodels.com) Imagine that your launch was successful and now customers want your animation in a 3D scene futuristic city model. You are an expert in animation, but not in 3D modeling and 3D models of the city are known to take weeks to do! 3D animation using the plan took 2 weeks and now wants a more complicated than a week. . . In the medium term and more to do. You can customize a stock 3D models of the futuristic city scene or subcontract. This project has an aggressive deadline and you're not very good at adapting 3D models of the city quickly. . . and outsourcing can allow you to focus on animation.
Sound familiar? Outsourcing 3D modeling and rendering and do it at home is a common problem 3D Model Animation Studios and artists face, especially when in a hurry to make 3D projects. When is a good time to outsource their 3D modeling? A golden rule of one of our customers is that "If anyone can do it in half the time I … Then it's time to give it away. My time is too valuable. "Normally, customers outsource 3D modeling and rendering 3D model, such as 3D scene of the city, you can customize or very effective by custom 3D services like 3D personal flat pyramid. For example, creating a 3D model of downtown New York scene in max, obj or 3ds file format. What could take weeks to do can make 3D model builder expert who specializes in 3D cities just a few days. So you get less frustration, turn faster and higher quality of results, it is worth spending money on. Here are some tips to help you know when outsourcing can work for you:
– Runs on something you're not very good and is not part of its powers. Also it will take time to learn and become more efficient at it.
– You have too many projects 3D trapped in the pipe and a limited budget prevent you from taking on more 3D artists on staff.
– 3D project is a cycle and thus avoid cuts in the future to ensure that you only need the right people at all times.
– 3D project is a project for a while.
– Positive for project bids 3D model as 3D models of the city.
– It's more productive and profitable for you to have custom 3D services experts agree. Even when you outsource 3D modeling to increase profits, as it saves more than half of the 3D project costs due to savings in labor costs. Outsourcing experts agree that having someone else do the areas that are not within its competence, can do more, and you can take advantage of lower labor costs and increase profits. Account can not do everything and there are other options and ways to improve your 3D development cycle and get your 3D projects to its customers and / or customers much faster and cheaper than the competition
– or face losing customers.
Once you've decided the best thing for you to outsource, consider using the experience of a 3D model of artists with a wide range of experience in custom 3D modeling and rendering, including 3D models of the city.
Star Trek 2 Probably Not Happening Soon
(411mania.com) In an interview with the New York Times, Paramount Pictures chairman Brad Grey seemed to indicate that Star Trek 2 is a ways off.
"As for J. J. Abrams, a producer and the director of Star Trek," the article reads, "Mr. Grey is looking for Star Trek 2. And Mission: Impossible IV. And possibly before either, what he called another 'tentpole' film to be directed by Mr. Abrams, and yet to be announced. … 'We have been wildly ambitious,' Mr. Grey said of his plans. 'It has much to do with the fact that we are feeling as strong as we are.'"
Obviously if JJ Abrams has to do another new "tentpole" film first, Star Trek 2 would have to be pushed back a bit.
The "tentpole" film in question may be Mystery on Fifth Avenue, a new adventure film that is apparently a cross between National Treasure and Jumanji.
'Avatar' Fails to Make AFI Cut
The American Film Institute largely avoided bigger studio movies and focused on smaller indie efforts as it compiled its list of the year's top 10 movies.
Announced on Sunday, the list, devoted to U.S. productions, included Pixar/Disney's 3D-animated "Up" (the No. 3 film to date with $293 million in domestic grosses) and Warner Bros.' boys-gone-wild comedy "The Hangover" (No. 4 with $277 million) but did not include James Cameron's "Avatar," which already is being lauded for its groundbreaking effects work.
Instead, the 13-person AFI jury opted for a second 3D-animated film, "Coraline"; two movies dealing with the impact of the Iraq War, "The Hurt Locker" and "The Messenger"; "Precious," the tale of an abused inner-city teenager; "A Serious Man," which follows a Job-like character as he faces life's setbacks; "A Single Man," which centers on a gay widower; "Sugar," a sports drama about a Dominican-born baseball player; and "Up in the Air," which focuses on a corporate-downsizing expert.
FBI makes arrest in 'Wolverine' Uploading Case
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was uploaded to a file-sharing network last spring, before its release to theaters.
(Credit: 20th Century Fox)
Update 7:50 a.m. PT: To include new information from FBI that suspect may not be source of the leak.
The FBI has accused a man of copyright infringement for allegedly uploading to the Web the feature film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" last spring.
Gilberto Sanchez, 47, was arrested in the Bronx, N.Y., early Wednesday morning by FBI agents without incident, law enforcement sources told CNET. A spokeswoman from the FBI's Los Angeles field office, which led the investigation, confirmed the arrest.
If convicted, Sanchez faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or gross loss attributable to the offense, whichever is greater.
When the feature film from 20th Century Fox was leaked to the Internet in April, it caused panic in Hollywood because the movie, which reportedly cost $100 million to make, was not scheduled for theatrical release until May. The fear was that Internet distribution of an unauthorized copy would hurt ticket sales.
By the time the movie screened in theaters, the unauthorized copy had been watched 4.1 million times, according to market researcher BigChampagne.
According to a copy of a grand jury indictment that was unsealed last week in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Sanchez is accused of uploading the film to file-sharing network Megaupload.com under one of his online aliases, which include "theSkilled1" and "SkillyGilly."
The indictment does not say, however, how Sanchez allegedly obtained a working copy of the film and Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman, declined to provide those details. She did say that the agency has not ruled out more arrests. What this means is that Sanchez may not have been the source of the leak.
The copy that made the rounds online was rough. Many of the computer-generated graphics had not been inserted yet and the cables holding actors to simulate flying were visible.
The major studios say that films being leaked to the Web is a huge problem, and they have gone to great lengths to increase security. In this case, when the film first leaked, executives at Fox said they were confident that the person who leaked the movie would be caught because of forensic marks on the film copy.
Watermarks are inserted into varying film copies so that they can be identified and any leaks can be traced.
However, some proponents of content sharing claim that such leaks and the publicity they stir actually help ticket sales by building interest in a movie prior to its release--provided that the film is any good.
In 2003, a New Jersey man pleaded guilty to copyright infringement charges after uploading the superhero film "Hulk" to the Web weeks before its theatrical release. In that case, the man was sentenced to six months house arrest and ordered to pay a $7,000 fine.
George Lucas Loses Court Appeal Over Star Wars Costume Copyright
(timesonline.co.uk) George Lucas’s empire failed to strike back in the Court of Appeal today as he lost a multimillion-pound legal battle with the British creator of the Star Wars stormtrooper helmets.
Andrew Ainsworth recently began selling replicas of helmets and armour made from his original mould, prompting a $20 million (£12 million) lawsuit from Lucasfilm, Mr Lucas’s company. But yesterday a court agreed that he had not broken any British law — because his creations were not art.
“It’s taken five years but I think this should be just about the end of it,” Mr Ainsworth told The Times this morning. He is now recruiting sales and marketing staff and planning a big expansion of his memorabilia company.
Lucasfilm vowed to take the case to Britain’s new Supreme Court, saying that famous props such as the Daleks from Doctor Who could be freely copied under the Appeal Court’s ruling.
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Mr Ainsworth was a young industrial designer in Twickenham when he made the helmets in 1976, on a plastic forming machine that was usually “churning out kayaks and watersports stuff”. He was recruited via a friend who was working with Mr Lucas at the nearby Shepperton Studios.
“We just made it on spec. I didn’t even know it was for a film to begin with,” he said. Mr Ainsworth made 50 helmets, for which he was paid £20 each. He also made equipment for numerous other characters, earning about £30,000 from the Star Wars films. Lucasfilm’s earning from merchandise are estimated at several billion dollars.
In 2004, Mr Ainsworth closed his watersports equipment factory and dug out his original models. Realising that “the memorabilia market had really kicked off”, he began selling replicas.
Lucasfilm, acting to crush the rebel force, immediately sued him in the US. He did not defend the case — “taking on Lucas on his home patch is not a good idea” — and a California court awarded $20 million in damages against him, even though he had only sold 19 models in the US.
When Lucasfilm tried to enforce this in Britain, Mr Ainsworth appealed through the pages of The Times for legal help. “I got calls from about a dozen good lawyers,” he said.
During the battle that followed, Court 52 of the Royal Courts of Justice was invaded by stormtroopers and a fighter pilot from the forces of Emperor Palpatine.
Mr Justice Mannn ruled that they were not sculptures and so did not have copyright protections. They were instead industrial designs, which could be protected for only 15 years.
Yesterday Lord Justices Rix, Jacob and Patten agreed, dismissing Lucasfilm’s appeal. They said the helmet and armour had a “utilitarian” rather than artistic purpose, so “neither the armour nor the helmet are sculpture”.
They also ruled that Lucasfilm could not enforce its US copyright in Britain, but agreed with Mr Justice Mann that Mr Ainsworth did not himself own the copyright in the helmets.
Mr Ainsworth said yesterday “Anybody can now make them — but they’re not me. I make the original ones.”
He has been left with a legal bill of more than £2.5 million, although he will seek to recover many of his costs from Lucasfilm.
Asked how he might be celebrating his victory, Mr Ainsworth said, “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll go and find another galaxy.”
