December 26, 2006
Charlotte's Web - Post Production Summary
A Paramount Pictures Release
Directed by Gary Winick
Special Effects
SPecial Effects Supervisor - Clay Pinney
Animatronic Effects
Stan Winston Studio
Wilbur puppets / Golly & Gussy puppets
Animatronic Effects Supervisors - J. Alan Scott, Christopher Swift, Matt Heimlich
Visual Effects
Visual Effects Supervisor - John Andrew Berton, Jr.
Animation Supervisor - Eric Leighton
Visual Effects Producers - Karin Joy, Allen Maris, Jamie Stevenson
Rhythm & Hues
face replacements & talking effects for live & animatronic animals
270 shots
Visual Effects Supervisor - Todd Shiflett
Animation Supervisor - Craig Talmy
Rising Sun Pictures
Charlotte / spider webs / live animal morphs & composites
232 shots
Visual Effects Supervisor - John Dietz
Tippett Studio
Templeton / talking crows
239 shots
Visual Effects Supervisors - Joel Friesch, Blair Clark
Animation Supervisor - Todd Labonte
Digital Pictures Iloura
CG Wilbur / Ike falls over / season changes
53 shots
Visual Effects Supervisor - David Booth
Fuel International
live animal morphs & composites / Gus & Golly talking / baby spiders
156 shots
Visual Effects Supervisor - Simon Maddison
Digital Dimension
fairground & crowd enhancement
1 shot
Visual Effects Supervisor - Tammy Sutton
Illusion Arts
misc fix-its & web enhancement
4 shots
Visual Effects Supervisors - Syd Dutton, Bill Taylor
Micronite
motion control photography
Miniature Effects Supervisor - Kent Allen
Proof
previsualization
Previz Supervisor - Ron Frankel
-CINEFEX 108 p84, January 2007
Posted by dschnee at 12:27 PM
December 21, 2006
Disney dropping CGI? a lot riding on Enchanted...
Walt Disney recently fired director Chris Sanders (LILO & STITCH) off the upcoming film AMERICAN DOG, which was supposed to be the studio's big 2008 release. Sanders created many of the film's characters and wrote the script and was fired along with 150 staffers? Doesn't sound like a Merry Christmas at The New Disney... But, according to Jim Hill Media, new Disney animation head John Lasseter didn't ditch Sanders because he didn't like the film. Apparently, Lasseter's new plan for Disney is to return the studio to its 2-D, traditional route. That's right - no more CGI-style CHICKEN LITTLEs from Disney. Sanders, who had designed his film to be a CGI feature all along and wasn't ready to redesign his film to fit the traditional mold, then left while a new director could be brought in to do said redesign. It's a tough break for Sanders and AMERICAN DOG but probably a smart move in the long run for Disney. Pixar, under this plan, would produce all the CGI films while Disney would produce only traditional film. That would mean that other projects in the Disney pipeline, like RAPUNZEL and THE FROG PRINCESS, could as well be transitioned into traditional style.
A lot, apparently, is riding on next November's ENCHANTED, live-action/traditional animated film, to see whether traditional animation can still be successful.
Catmull & Lasseter ... Well, they don't really want Disney Feature Animation to be in the computer animation business as of 2008."Wait a minute ..., " you sputter. "You don't mean ... You can't mean ..."
Yep. Following the release of "Meet the Robinsons," Ed & John would like WDFA to go back into the traditional animation business. Full-time. With their battle plan being that -- from here on in -- Pixar would do all of the CG features while Disney Feature Animation would then become a strictly traditional operation.
Obviously, this is a pretty bold plan. One that (given the $100-million-plus that WDFA spent over the past three years to retrain that studio's staff as well as to change Disney Feature Animation into a start-of-the-art CG operation) Bob Iger reportedly hasn't entirely embraced yet. The way that I hear it, Disney's new CEO wants to see how well "Enchanted" does at the box office next November as well as how the story reels for "The Frog Princess" turn out before he officially commits to Catmull & Lasseter's new scheme.So again ... When you take in the view from a thousand feet back ... And you realize that animated features are like ocean liners. In that they both take years to build & then launch ... If Disney Feature Animation really is going to get back into the traditional animation business ... Well, that means that -- at some point -- WDFA actually has to stop working on those CG-only projects that it already has in its development pipeline.
read the entire article here (jimhillmedia.com)
Posted by dschnee at 9:28 AM
December 19, 2006
More Charlotte's Web Articles
Check this out: here is the spiffy congratulatory Ad will be featured in Cinefex #108 listing Tippett's talented CH crew, nicely done dLink!
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How a Complicated Web of CG Work Brought Charlotte and Friends to Life
Six Visual Effects Studios Push the Boundaries of Reality in Charlotte's Web's Barnyard(filmandvideo)
Filmmakers rarely rely on visual effects to tell humble stories, but the gentleness of the new film version of Charlotte's Web depended largely on the artists who made the talking live-action and CG animals believable. [article w/pics] [read me]
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'Charlotte's Web' gives a rat sass with a 'so real' presence(usatoday.com)
BERKELEY, Calif. — E.B. White may have been a master wordsmith, but Steve Buscemi actually says it best: "The rat rules!"
Templeton was born out of a warren of darkened offices here at Tippett Studio, whose animators conjured up Hellboy and the giant bugs of Starship Troopers. But imaginary beasts are one thing. [article w/pics] [read more]
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Berkeley Animators Create 'Templeton' Character (nbc11.com)
BERKELEY, Calif. -- An animation studio in Berkeley created the computer-generated version of Templeton the rat, who stars in the newest movie version of "Charlotte's Web," which opens in theaters this weekend. [article w/pics] [read more]
Spinning A New Charlotte's Web (VFXWorld.com)
J. Paul Peszko reports on the collaborative CG effort between Tippett Studio, Rhythm & Hues and Rising Sun Pictures in bringing the new live-action Charlotte’s Web to the screen. [ article w/pics] [read more]
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How a Complicated Web of CG Work Brought Charlotte and Friends to Life
Six Visual Effects Studios Push the Boundaries of Reality in Charlotte's Web's Barnyard
December 20, 2006 Source: Film & Video
Filmmakers rarely rely on visual effects to tell humble stories, but the gentleness of the new film version of Charlotte’s Web depended largely on the artists who made the talking live-action and CG animals believable.
Director Gary Winick brought the adaptation of E. B. White’s classic children’s tale to the screen for Paramount Pictures; visual effects supervisor John Berton wrangled the effects crews. Six VFX studios worked on the film, with Rhythm & Hues, Tippett Studio and Rising Sun Pictures taking the lead.
The circle-of-life story in Charlotte’s Web revolves around a young girl, a young pig, a motherly spider, and a bevy of barnyard residents. Rhythm & Hues created lip synch and some facial animation for Wilbur, the pig, and most of the barn animals including Ike the horse, Betsy and Bitsy the cows, and Samuel the Sheep. Tippett Studio created Templeton the rat in CG and also digitally enhanced the mostly live-action crows. Rising Sun got Charlotte, a spider who is always CG.
“We wanted to keep each of the characters in one house so they could develop the personality for the character, understand it, and constantly and consistently put the character on screen,” says Berton. “That caused us to go into the morass of compositing these shots in different places with someone in the center knowing how to take the blocking from one character and send it to another studio. But we decided to bite that bullet to get consistent performances.”
The filmmakers shot dozens of real pigs playing Wilbur, along with other barnyard animals, though not all at the same time. It turns out that real animals aren’t as companionable as in the bucolic children’s tale. “Geese attack sheep,” says Berton. “We previs’d the whole movie to understand the relationships and what the shots were like. Without that previs, we could have been standing on the set going, ‘The geese are going to do what?’” Proof handled the previs. Tippett visual effects supervisor Blair Clark handled the second unit.
“It was so time consuming,” Clark says. “We had to do multiple motion control passes — the cows didn’t like the horse and the geese had to be on their own. And we had big sweeping camera moves into the barn. We had to film the animals in order to get the shadows right.”
Rhythm & Hues, which would make most of the live barnyard animals talk, hadn’t yet signed onto the film during most of the principal photography. “We put in requests for the kind of information we needed, though, while we were bidding,” says Todd Shifflett, visual effects supervisor. “But not getting to go through our usual process for measuring the set and the animals was one of our biggest challenges.”
Usually the studio, which won an Oscar for making Babe talk, takes stereoscopic images of the animals from two cameras simultaneously, front, top and sides. They use the stereoscopic images to build a model in 3D and to get precise measurements.
“One of the most difficult parts of the process is doing the modeling and match move for the facial tracking of the animals. That sets up the foundation for the entire effect,” says Shifflett. “It’s hard to hold a ruler up to an animal, which we also do, of course.”
Because they hadn’t taken 3D stereo images, the crew pored through outtakes looking for two pictures they could sync up to create substitutes. The outtakes proved a valuable resource in other ways, as well. “We like to get footage of the animals looking up, from each side, lighting reference and materials we can use to extract textures from,” says Shifflett. “So we looked for angles that would be useful to us.”
One of the most invisible parts of the talking-animal process is background replacement. Artists must remove an animal’s jaw before adding the talking muzzle because in a profile shot, for example, a remnant of an old muzzle might become visible when the animal opens its mouth. Thus, artists patch in a new background, sometimes using a simple garbage matte, but not always. “The sheep were particularly difficult when they were talking on top of one another because that put another sheep in the background,” Shifflett says, “and sheep wool is a difficult texture to paste back in.”
To do the lip sync, the studio creates the animal’s head and neck in CG to make it easier for match movers to line up the cg animal with the real animal. Animators work with the entire face – eyes, nose, cheeks and jaw – and occasionally even the neck. Rhythm & Hues models in Maya, but otherwise works with proprietary software.
“Essentially, this effect is a complex 3D morph,” Shifflett says. “We line up the animal in the original space, then move it, pushing and pulling the texture around to make it look like the animal is talking. We’ve done a lot of these talking animal projects, so we’re always looking for new things. What I found interesting on this project was that we pushed the technology in ways that allowed animators to make more subtle movements.”
The new technology is more realistic CG hair, fur, and shading models. When Rhythm & Hues worked on Babe, for example, they didn’t have enough rendering power to put thousands of strands of hair on the pig’s face, and subsurface scattering didn’t exist in CG.
“We used tiny little texture-mapped cards for Babe,” says Shifflett, “painted maps for the strands of hair – tiny little sprites. We’d line them up along the edge and then smear in color from the surrounding footage to look like the right color for the animal. Now, we can really color the fur, not just use background texture. We can have an accurate shading model for the hair.”
Shading models such as subsurface scattering, which added luminescence to skin, gums and teeth, also meant the team could more effectively blend the animated CG surfaces into the photography. “One of the most difficult things is to transition from live-action photography used as a texture to the CG mouth, and that happens somewhere along the lip,” says Shifflett. “You wouldn’t see the subtle motion created by the animators if we only used textures from principal photography. When you’re pushing and pulling texture around, you don’t get a lot of shading change.”
The horse provides a good example. To make it look like the lips are moving, the big broad fleshy areas of the mouth must move up and down, but without shading changes on the malleable surfaces it looks fake. “The surface is a mixture of the original background and a CG texture,” says Shifflett. “That allows us to introduce our own CG lighting, which is different from the set lighting, to create the the shading and shadow that should happen when the muzzle changes shape.”
When a muzzle stretch exposed part of an animal’s face not caught in principal photography, artists in the lighting department created a 3D patchwork quilt of textures to fill the spots. “They might have 20 or 30 spots on any shot that they have to paint and blend together,” says Shifflett. To do this, they paint a series of mattes and then reveal textures they know will work through those mattes. The tiny textures come from different frames in the film – the outtakes. “Think of using the little clone tool in Photoshop,” Shifflett says. “It’s like using it on a 3D surface across time.”
Although compositors might have handled this process, the studio decided that, because the lighters focused on lighting the eyes and inside of the mouth, it was better to have them stitch the patches.
Anyway, the compositors had enough to do. They had the finishing touches – the specular highlights for the eyes, the color blending, and more. “It wasn’t as simple as getting this thing from the lighters and comping it on top,” says Shifflett. “They had to maintain the grain of the film. Some of the pieces in the patchwork on the face are individual frames that we locked down or stuck onto the creature for the shot, and some are patches of animating textures. Mapping the textures onto the animal affects the grain structure, so we had to blend those or you’d see floating blobs on the screen. There’s no way to do that automatically.”
Berton believes that the work Rhythm & Hues did for Charlotte’s Web pushed beyond that for talking animals created in the past. “In the past, you’d try to get away without creating fur for the pig, but you can’t, and we didn’t,” says Berton. “The fur rendering on the pig was incredibly important. It was a technical achievement. We had a subtle story to tell, and our characters could tell it in a way that fit the tone of the film. You can’t do that without complex surfaces and people who can manipulate those surfaces.”
Berton believes the most difficult animal in the film, though, might have been Charlotte the spider, who saves Wilbur, the spring pig, from becoming Christmas dinner by spinning words into her web. “At the end of the movie, when she says, ‘The miracle is you,’ in full close-up, she has to be to bring it home,” says Berton. "We worked very hard to make Charlotte perfect for that moment.” Charlotte had to be endearing, but she was still a spider in a live-action film.
That challenge fell to Rising Sun Pictures in Adelaide, Australia. There, visual effects supervisor John Dietz led a team of more than 60 artists who convinced audiences that spiders, or at least this particular spider, could be endearing.
“It’s a dream job to have a title character,” he says. “We had worked with the filmmakers before, and we did a good test that I think convinced them we understood the book and the nature of her character.” Also, taking this role would be an important step for the studio, which had not yet handled a lead character in a film. “The filmmakers knew we wouldn’t let Charlotte not turn out as good as she could be.”
To create Charlotte, Rising Sun used Softimage XSI for the modeling, rigging, and animation of the eight-legged creature, and for grooming her fur. For rendering, they use 3Delight, a RenderMan compliant renderer; for compositing, Shake; for tracking, Boujou with Hype software from Visual Appliance. “It’s a cool piece of software that removes lens distortion so you can work in an undistorted environment,” says Dietz of Hype. “It helps Boujou get better solves on the tracks.” Cinesync software from Rising Sun's sister company allowed them to share QuickTime versions of their dailies over the Internet with Berton once he returned to the States after filming in Australia.
The biggest challenge for Charlotte, Dietz believes, was her design. “At first we tried to make her fluffy, but she had to be real so we moved into more of a lifelike design,” he says. “But photoreal was too much.” To soften her creepy-crawly look, the artists gave her humanistic eyes, moved her secondary eyes above her “brows,” made her face heart-shaped, and developed a smile line from her fang lines. When the camera moves close, she becomes a performer; when the camera moves away, she becomes a spider.
But Charlotte wasn’t the biggest challenge for the crew. Her webs were. The studio created the webs using three different materials, each with different tensile strengths, and proprietary software that works inside XSI. “Nothing off the shelf could take those three materials, turn on dynamics for the combination, and make them behave properly in the wind,” says Dietz. The web also had to react to the spider’s sticky feet. A dramatic sequence, during which the spider first weaves words into a web, is entirely CG.
Fortunately, Charlotte often appeared on camera separately from the other characters, but in a few sequences, she needed to share the spotlight with other animals. “We determined who would be the lead vendor on a sequence-by-sequence basis,” says Dietz. “If Charlotte and Templeton [the rat] worked together, we’d share gray-shaded stuff.”
Tippett Studio created the always-CG rat Templeton. While Clark was on set during principal photography, co-visual effects supervisor Joel Friesch managed the rat work back in Berkeley. As with Charlotte, the challenge was in making a scary animal not so scary.
“He had to look like a real rat because he plays against real animals,” says Friesch, “but when he’s true to real, he could go scary easily.” Moreover, this rat had to act in ways real rats don’t. In one shot, for example, the rat rolls gloriously on his back in buttermilk, which a real rat wouldn’t do, and in another, drinks out of a little wax bottle. To soften the rat’s rodent demeanor, Tippett played him nose down to avoid looking at his big, yellow teeth. They also turned his eyes in a bit and made his “hands” act more squirrel-like than ratty.
Templeton stars in the film’s action scenes – racing through his little tunnel (a practical set) and scampering through the crowds at the county fair. “Our goal was to have it look like a trained rat was precisely hitting his marks,” says animation supervisor Todd Labonte who worked with a team of as many as 18 animators to create walking patterns and behaviors for the rat based on dialog from voice actor Steve Buscemi.
Working in Maya, animators blocked out the performance in low-res, then moved to temp animation for approvals. In low-res, they could toggle a shell to estimate the shape changes once Templeton was furred.
For fur, Tippett uses proprietary software they call “Furocious,” and for rendering, RenderMan. Tippett also animated the two crows by match-moving and tracking the live crows’ beaks.
During one shot, the Tippett animals all appear together: Templeton lures the crows into an arcade and into crashing into a scarecrow. In this shot, the crows were sometimes elements shot in Los Angeles, sometimes CG; Tippett filmed the scarecrows in Berkeley. For feathers, the studio modified its fur tools. “Fortunately, the crows are black,” says Friesch, noting that these shots arrived after they were well into production.
Two other studios, both in Australia, contributed to the visual effects. Fuel International in Sydney created baby spiders and beak replacements for the geese. Digital Pictures: Iloura in Melbourne created Wilbur’s stunt double. “They did something along the lines of 50 shots,” says Berton. “Anytime you ask, ‘How did they get a pig to do that?’, he’s probably a digital pig.”
With so many studios working on the effects, Berton masterminded a novel method for dealing with color-space issues. “We picked a digital image from each scanned sequence as a target,” he says. “As long as the studios could match that picture, I knew everything would match. It didn’t matter if that was the right color; it only mattered that it was the same color.” As a result, a color-correction that worked for one shot worked for all the shots, which sped up the DI process at the end.
For Berton, this project was a labor of love. “Charlotte’s Web was the first book I read that didn’t have mostly pictures. The story of friendship and sacrifice blew me away. It was a big moment for me.”
Sadly, though, the charming film wasn’t chosen to be a contender for the visual effects Oscar. Berton thinks that’s probably fitting. “It reminds me of the scene where the big pig gets the blue ribbon,” he says.
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'Charlotte's Web' gives a rat sass with a 'so real' presence
Updated 12/20/2006 8:04 AM ET
By Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY
BERKELEY, Calif. — E.B. White may have been a master wordsmith, but Steve Buscemi actually says it best: "The rat rules!"
The new live-action version of White's iconic children's tale, Charlotte's Web, features a computer-generated rat so lifelike that animal actors everywhere should be quaking in their hides.
THREE OINKS: Charlotte's Web review
"I always figured they'd use a real rat for some scenes, like they did with the other (animal) characters," says Buscemi, who voices Templeton, a rodent with a bloated ego who grudgingly learns the value of friendship from his barn mates. "I was amazed when I first saw him. He just looks so real."
Templeton was born out of a warren of darkened offices here at Tippett Studio, whose animators conjured up Hellboy and the giant bugs of Starship Troopers. But imaginary beasts are one thing.
"We assumed someone in the audience would have a pet rat and know if what Templeton was doing didn't look right," says effects supervisor Joel Friesch, who with colleague Blair Clark oversaw Tippett's work on Charlotte's. "We had to get it right."
The key to the CG rat's uncanny resemblance was found just down the block at a zoo-like reptile emporium called the East Bay Vivarium.
"We picked out a brownish rat that was destined to be a big python's lunch," Friesch says.
Nicknamed Splinter, the critter soon found himself fed, handled and videotaped by his new family. But despite being saved from the jaws of a snake, he wasn't entirely on board with the project.
"We had a chart of everyone he bit, some more than once," Clark says, smiling. "Boy, what a prima donna."
Months with Splinter helped animators create a lifelike rodent using computer mice and digital pixels. But they also found that some rat habits and movements would take major effort to translate to the big screen, if they could at all:
•Because a rat's mouth is tucked way under its nose, "whenever Templeton spoke, we had to make his head tilt up a bit without it looking too awkward," Friesch says.
•"Rats are very clean and groom themselves constantly, like cats," Clark says. But in the film, Templeton revels in filth.
•Sequences of Templeton twisting his head 180 degrees relative to his body were nixed. "Real rats do it, but on screen it looked sort of creepy," Clark says.
By far the toughest animation challenge was a three-second pan that took weeks to conjure. It shows Templeton lolling in a tub of buttermilk. To see how a rat's fur would mat when wet, Clark and Friesch gave Splinter a bath.
"Ah, let's just say that's not something I'd want to do again," Clark says. "He was not happy."
Alas, Splinter is no more. Templeton's template died a few months back. Clark buried him near the company's outdoor picnic tables, beneath a headstone that resembles a block of cheese.
In a nod to a poignant moment in director Gary Winick's Charlotte's Web, it reads, simply, "Some rat."
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Berkeley Animators Create 'Templeton' Character (nbc11.com)
BERKELEY, Calif. -- An animation studio in Berkeley created the computer-generated version of Templeton the rat, who stars in the newest movie version of "Charlotte's Web," which opens in theaters this weekend.
Joel Friesch supervised the creation of Templeton, which involved about 170 people at Tippet Studio in Berkeley, NBC11's Susan Siravo reported.
"We strived really hard to make a real rat," Friesch said.
Friesch said animators used a real rat, which they named Splinter, to help create Templeton.
Click here to find out more!
"You start with a wire-frame rat with a model builder, and give that to the puppet guys or the riggers. They'll put a skeleton in it, so the rat can move," Friesch said.
Animators studied Splinter to replicate his appearance and movements.
"(We) took video of him, photographs of him, made him go through obstacle courses for the animators, people got to hold him," Friesch said.
Splinter got to live the good life at Tippett Studio for about two years. Sadly, he has passed away and was buried near the company outdoor patio, Siravo reported.
Friesch said she doesn't expect to receive many accolades, because actors get most of the attention. He said that if people don't notice their work, they've done their job well.
"If you're watching the movie and you think Templeton is real, and they did mouth replacement to make him talk, that's a huge compliment to us, because that means we fooled you," Friesch said.
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Spinning A New Charlotte’s Web (VFXWorld.com)
J. Paul Peszko reports on the collaborative CG effort between Tippett Studio, Rhythm & Hues and Rising Sun Pictures in bringing the new live-action Charlotte’s Web to the screen.
This month marks the release of Paramount’s much awaited live-action version of E. B. White’s classic children’s tale, Charlotte’s Web (Dec. 15). The process, as producer Jordan Kerner explains it, involved making two movies. "We made one movie with our wonderful live actors. Then we made another movie that added computer images, face replacements, eye rhythms, moving mouths and facial expressions that mimic the actors. Hopefully, this second movie fits seamlessly with the first."
To accomplish this, five visual effects houses joined forces to create the computer-generated effects: the Tippett Studio in Berkeley, Rhythm & Hues (R&H) in Los Angeles and Australia-based houses Rising Sun Pictures (RSP), Fuel International and Digital Pictures Iloura. Through the cineSync program developed by RSP, director Gary Winick, Kerner and the visual effects staff could fully communicate in realtime even when thousands of miles away from each other. First, let's take a look at the two effects houses on this side of the Pacific before moving on to RSP.
Joel Friesch and Blair Clark were the visual effects supervisors for Tippett Studio. “We were to create Templeton, which is the rat,” says Friesch. “He was going to be completely CG throughout the whole film.” This, as you can well imagine, presented several challenges. “First off the rat had to be photoreal,” states Friesch. “He had to cut against and with real animals. So, if our rat didn’t look real that kind of blows the whole illusion of real animals talking. That was our biggest challenge. The second one was to build a photoreal rat and yet still give him the ability to act because he had a definite character curve throughout the movie. So, we had to make sure he could still act and show emotion. Then our next challenge was that, a third of the way through the production, they came to us and asked if we could do some crows. We had not really prepared for that in pre-production. So, we had to build a feather tool and create crows that were also photoreal and squeeze it into our pipeline. Our crew, our pipeline and our schedule were set up to do the rat and this was a little something extra.”
Tippett Studio has done quite a few furry animals for various productions, including the sentient cat from Catwoman and the Russian Blue from Cats & Dogs, so creating Templeton was something they could really sink their teeth into. Having a proprietary fur tool already in the pipeline along with detailed movement studies allowed the artists and animators at Tippett to accelerate and enhance their renders to the point that they were ahead of the other vfx houses working on the production. “We were always moving, and the cup was constantly changing, so we were having to change things,” Friesch explains. “Sometimes we’d work on a shot and find out that the shot was cut. Then we’d stop and find out the shot was back in again, so we’d have to start up again. Things like that were always happening.” However, because they were always ahead, Tippett tended to take the lead in completing the shots. “So, in the shots that we had to exchange with Rising Sun or R&H, we’d pretty much have our rat down and give them an alpha channel, and then they would take the shot and put their character in.” Since Templeton was completed first, this enabled the Tippett crew along with director Winick to establish the eye lines that the other companies would follow in subsequent shots.
Not only did their previous experience with furry animals allow the visual effects team at Tippett to speed up their production but also to be more creative. “Among other things, this show didn’t have huge technological leaps, where you had to figure out how to do something,” continues Friesch. “It was a nice show for our artists to really concentrate on being creative because they didn’t have to worry about any of those limitations. The stuff that we had to do, we had pretty much done before on other shows. So, we were pretty confident that we could pull the rat off. The artists could just create and didn’t have to worry about technology so much. It was a little different for the crows, but it wasn’t so bad. But for Templeton, it was nice just watching people be creative.”
All in all, there were approximately 115 artists working on the Tippett crew at the height of the production. As for technology, Friesch explains, “We used RenderMan for rendering. All of our animation, models, a lot of the effects animation and things like that were done in Maya and composited in the new Shake. I believe we used RealFlow for some water effects.”
While Friesch remained at the Tippett Studio in Berkeley to oversee the creation of Templeton, Clark, their other visual effects supervisor, went on location to Victoria, Australia, for principal photography. “My job on location was to work with John Berton Jr., who was the overall visual effects supervisor,” says Clark. “We ended up working quite a bit together, and also they created a second unit. So, I went on to oversee the plates shot on the second unit while John stayed on with the main unit. That kind of entailed shooting motion control passes for all the animals as well as the stuff specifically for Tippett, which would be the plates for the rat and the plates for the crows.”
Clark worked closely with second unit director, E. J. Forester, and John Mahaffey, the second unit dp. “Most of the shots were things that didn’t have any live-action actors in them,” Clark explains, “so we kind of focused on the more time-consuming, laborious kind of things like motion control and getting all of the plates where they had to have all of the characters in the barn together.” Shooting all of those different animals was by no means an easy task. “You couldn’t shoot them all at once mainly because of maintaining eye lines, and all of the animals (gathered together) at one time would have been a nightmare. It was hard enough, say, just with the sheep. You had five sheep and a trainer with a little stick with a ball on the end to get their eye lines. You’d always get one sheep that was just going nuts. So, we would shoot them in different passes. And some of the animals didn’t get along. The horse didn’t like the cows because they were in close proximity. You’d have to shoot them separately. Then you’d have to shoot the geese separate from everyone. The geese were so hated universally by the other animals. Then you’d have to shoot them in a specific order, so you wouldn’t run into problems as far as the shadows cast from the cows onto the geese. There was a lot of that. And that’s pretty much what the job was, making sure everything was shot in an organized order for technical reasons and making sure that everything was covered with any necessary bluescreen and getting all the reference we needed. We shot a lot of reference.”
Todd Shifflett, the visual effects supervisor for R&H, explains their work on Charlotte’s Web. “R&H was responsible for creating the facial expression and articulation for the live-action barnyard creatures, everything from animating their vocalizations to subtle emotional cues that come from a squint, a frown or a smile,” explains Shifflett. “Time and production schedules are always a complicating factor. We're always caught in a need to improve upon the techniques while at the same time make the process go faster. There are a lot of challenges that arise from that. You need a team of not only experienced artists but a creative production staff as well.”
One of the challenges that R&H had to face was character matchmove without sufficient modeling. “R&H really came onto the production after principal photography had completed and so we did not get to employ some of the modeling and measuring techniques we normally use with a talking animal project,” states Shifflett. “The modeling and matchmove process is the foundation for the entire effect and requires very exacting detail. The nature of working with live animals on set means that there have got to be several real animals playing the part of one character, each of which has slightly different features that can make recreating that motion a real nightmare.”
To overcome this, R&H developed automated facial tracking software, but, according to Shifflett, the real key is still to rely on very skilled and persistent artists. “With the look and feel of the animals in Charlotte's Web, we were able to utilize some more recent advances in the speed and quality of rendered fur to help add reality to very subtle facial motion which allowed the animators to really explore the animal's emotional expression. Usually, with talking animals, you struggle with needing to over exaggerate an expression just to make it read, and we're now really getting to the point where we can manipulate very small details, which has a subtle effect that leads to a much larger impact on the audience.”
Another challenge was that of trying to apply a universal standard to the collaborative effort. As Shifflett explains, “Sharing shots with other visual effects houses is always a challenge. And we were lucky enough to work with some very talented people in other facilities. But the visual effects industry still struggles with standards, in particular how to manage color. With each facility attacking the problem in a different way, you can very quickly generate a lot of confusion. I have to say that, as we come to terms with how to produce a film whose delivery is now digital rather than on negative, John Berton did a fantastic job holding all the pieces together so that each studio could concentrate on what they needed to do.”
Meanwhile, RSP had the role of creating the lead character for Charlotte’s Web. Starting in January 2005 and finishing in July 2006, RSP delivered 242 shots of spider Charlotte and her magnificent webs that comprised approximately 23 minutes of screen time. A team of 65 artists and 25 support staff developed the photorealistic CG character, who is voiced by Oscar winner Julia Roberts.
Naturally, a realistic yet lovable Charlotte was crucial to the success of the story. Like Templeton, she needed to display an onscreen presence without breaking the illusion that this unique arachnid was as much a part of Zuckerman's barn as the rest of the animal cast. RSP built a collaborative relationship with the filmmakers, especially director Winick, vfx supervisor Berton Jr. and animation supervisor Eric Leighton. They succeeded, says director Winick, by paying special attention to the eyes. "They had to have a quality to them that would be expressive." An additional challenge that RSP undertook was the creation of the web, which Charlotte uses in the story to communicate with the world. The team at RSP developed an extensive set of custom tools for Charlotte to interact with her web and the environment and for the web to look suitably magical and realistic.
John Dietz, visual effects supervisor for RSP, talks about the daunting task that faced them. “Because of the nature of her character, being so iconic, and also that she's a spider who needs to be nurturing, motherly and endearing, design and finding her character proved extremely difficult. Getting it wrong just wasn't an option.”
Finding the proper balance was essential. “We started with the look design, and went through many iterations. We went from too cute and cuddly, to too photoreal and spidery and back and forth. Finding that balance was always the main key and also to get the performance out of her because this isn't a typical visual effects movie (she sits on screen for extended periods of time delivering intense dialog). We had to try and develop a language in the design of her face to keep her a bit humanistic but not lose her ‘spideryness’ or become too cartoony.
“On a spider, the main place to go is the eyes. There really isn't much else there that's human. We took the eyes of a spider, which are pretty much just spherical, and we made them almond shaped. Also, we edged on the side of a human iris. These things also made her feel feminine. Spiders have eight eyes, so we used the secondary eyes to represent a brow line to get slight expressions. Spiders also have chelicerae, which are basically the fangs, so we used the line between those fangs and the main shape of her head to have a line that represented a mouth line. We didn't animate it that much, but we could come into a shot more in a smile or turned down into a frown. Also the shape of the head, and the chelicerae made a heart shape that we really focused on, also to give her more femininity. We always went back and forth on Charlotte having a mouth, but in the end we animated the fangs on major phonemes, simulating a mouth behind. [It was] almost like the fangs played like a vale, or cloth. Again very feminine.”
Femininity is certainly not something a moviegoer would associate with a spider’s fur or exoskeleton. Dietz explains how RSP handled that problem. “Actually spiders are usually pretty spikey -- that's not very feminine or attractive, so we went with a more downy type fur, like a fawn but still let the exoskeleton play through the fur, mostly on the legs. The combo becomes sort of furry/cuddly, but the exoskeleton takes light nicely and let's you know that she's still a spider.”
Another unattractive aspect of a spider when it comes to a screen heroine is her twitchy posture and movement. Gangly at best with all those legs moving up and down in a choppy staccato motion as she crawls along, her posture is anything but feminine or such that it can evoke a variety of emotions. “We had to do a similar process for all of her animation/performance, building that language of her posture when she's happy, sad, angry, etc.,” Dietz discloses. “Also to keep that balance between spider and character, we really animated her ‘spidery’ in wider shots, where her legs move more naturalistically. Then you come to a close up for impact, and we toned down all the spider twitchiness and major movements and let her perform more like a character to get the meaning of the shot. Making sure all that language was correct to deliver an arc of her character and have the audience bond with this spider was by far and away the most difficult part of this project.”
RSP did their rendering using 3Delight, a RenderMan-compliant renderer. The 3D animation was done in XSI and 2D in Shake, while boujou was used for tracking. Lighting was carried out using a custom RSP light rig in XSI. “Because we rendered out of 3Delight and did our animation and lighting in XSI, we had to write a proprietary .rib exporter for XSI called Affogoto,” Dietz explains. “Also, because of the nature and complexity of the webs, we wrote all the web dynamics ourselves.”
In addition, ambient and reflection occlusion were used on the body to mask out the HDR reflections and the lighting. 3Delight added extensions for hair rendering that allowed quality control beyond the industry standard. HDR environment maps, captured on the set, were utilized for eye and body reflections and anisotropic reflections on hair for realism. Due to the need for interactive tweaking of the look of Charlotte and her web, there were more than 30 separate elements passes for Charlotte and 40 for the web.
As mentioned above, RSP used cineSync, a remote review and approval tool that was developed by Rising Sun research, that allowed all the companies involved in the production to review each other’s images and communicate visually in realtime no matter where they were in the world.
In that regard, too, Dietz says that all of the other visual effects companies were great to work with. “Iloura, R&H and Tippett did CG characters or facial replacement work, so when Charlotte was in a shot with a CG Wilbur [the pig] or Templeton, we'd pass the plates back and forth for blocking and to develop eye lines. Fuel did the baby spiders, so we worked with them as the Charlotte design was developed.”
Dietz is extremely pleased to have pulled off the lead character of a classic tale. “Everyone stayed focused, passionate, resolved, to get this done right for a long schedule. I'm as proud of the work as I ever have of any project, but I'm really proud of the people who made it happen. It was a special project!”
J. Paul Peszko is a freelance writer and screenwriter living in Los Angeles. He writes various features and reviews as well as short fiction. He has a feature comedy in development and has just completed his second novel. When he isn't writing, he teaches communications courses.
Posted by dschnee at 9:59 PM
December 18, 2006
Seven Vie for Visual Effects Oscar
Beverly Hills, CA - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that seven films are in consideration for achievement in Visual Effects for the 79th Academy Awards.
The films are listed below in alphabetical order:
"Casino Royale"
"Eragon"
"Night at the Museum"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
"Poseidon"
"Superman Returns"
"X-Men The Last Stand"
What the F@#$! Where the heck is Charlotte's Web!!! come on, that rat rules! and the spider was fantastic! Son of a B@#$%, Tippett get's no love... :(
On Wednesday, January 17, the Academy's Visual Effects Award nominating committee will view 15-minute film excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for Oscar consideration.
Nominations for the 79th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006 will be presented on Sunday, February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 p.m. PST, beginning with a half-hour arrivals segment.
Posted by dschnee at 11:04 AM
December 14, 2006
Crew Screening of Charlotte's Web
Tippett is treating us to a crew screening of Charlotte's Web tonight! One night before it opens in theatres tomorrow, fancy that! Aruna went to the VES screening @ Paramount Studios in Hollywood last weekend, head on over to digitalgypsy for the scoop!
I'm excited for tonight, to see all the hard work, animator sweat, and CG Fur that is Templeton on the big screen, I came in toward the end of Tippett's work on Charlotte's Web, so there is a lot of work I will be seeing for the first time tonight.
I'm also excited because I get a chance to bring my cousin Melissa along and share the crew screening experience and show her some of the shots I got to work on!
A couple more tid-bits, this is cool! KTVU Mornings on 2 will be interviewing our Compositing Supervisor for Charlotte's Web, Colin Epstein, LIVE at 8:45AM Today! about our work on Charlotte's Web.
*** Check Out That Interview *** A STAR IS BORN: Visual Effects Artist Colin Epstein Talks About The Creation Of 'Charlotte's Web" Star Templeton The Mouse ***
Secondly, breaking away from Charlotte's Web for a moment, It was exactly 1 year ago today, that King Kong was unleased and released to the world, I can not believe it has been over a year since I was in New Zealand and got Engadged! This year has flown right by!
Lastly, check out a Clip from the movie with Templeton talking to Wilbur 'The Rat is Handsome' (comingsoon.net)
Posted by dschnee at 7:07 AM
December 11, 2006
Spider's Web, Double07 & a slick Dragon in Cinefex #108
Tippett and Templeton were in the running to make the cover for this issue of Cinefex, but being that it's Charlotte's Web... well yeah it's not called Tempelton's Words so yeah the spider gets the cover... I think it looks great as a spider, but a bit too photo-real, ie creepy.
Arachnophobia & Musophobia was the consensus from: Ebert(Aisha Tyler) & Roeper... Roeper thought it was a sweet and charming adaptation with less appealing creatures...Charlotte was pretty creepy and there is no rat that charming...(Bah, The Rat Rules!) but that Julia Roberts did a lovely job voicing charlotte (really?) Lastly he said Charlotte's Web could have been better as an animated film? but he gave it a thumbs up enjoying the film but that spider and that rat not so much, even with that impressive cg work.
Tyler also gave it a thumbs up but, said the rat being creepy is part of the original story but agreed that the spider was not beautiful, but CGI was very well done. Roeper said CG is almost too effective during the spider sack and spiderlings scene... but lovley and great acting all around... (Ebert&Roeper Early Review)
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Casino Royale:
Back to Basics
In a break from tradition, Casino Royale, the latest entry in the enduring James Bond series, directed by Martin Campbell, reverts back to the franchise’s leaner beginnings, eschewing the fancy gadgetry and slick CG tricks of more recent installments in favor of practical effects, exhilarating stunt work and meatier character development. Special effects supervisor Chris Corbould and stunt coordinator Gary Powell teamed with visual effects supervisor Steven Begg and Peerless Camera Company to handle the requisite high-octane action featuring a new, more intense Bond – Daniel Craig – who, having just earned his stripes as a double-0 agent, falls in love and tangles with terrorists in a plot that spans the globe from Madagascar to Miami.
Article by Joe Fordham
Charlotte's Web:
Arachnophilia
Adapted from the children’s classic about the unlikely friendship between a barnyard pig and a spider, Charlotte’s Web offers up a live-action retelling of the beloved tale, directed by Gary Winick. Visual effects supervisor John Berton invited Rhythm & Hues – whose pioneering use of CG muzzle replacement in Babe made it the go-to company for talking animal effects – to craft an even more sophisticated version of that technique in the service of Wilbur, the talking pig. Tippett Studio and Rising Sun Pictures provided CG character animation for the film’s other two protagonists, Charlotte and a rat named Templeton, while other contributors to the project included Digital Pictures Iloura, Fuel and Stan Winston Studio.
Article by Jody Duncan
Eragon:
Searching for Saphira
For his debut film, Eragon, based on the best-selling novel about a boy and the sapphire-colored dragon he raises from a hatchling, former visual effects supervisor-turned-director Stefen Fangmeier appealed to former colleagues at Industrial Light & Magic for help in conceiving and animating the CG fantasy creature. When the volume of shots grew in postproduction, additional CG dragon shots were assigned to Weta Digital, with visual effects supervisor Michael McAlister coordinating the work emerging from the two facilities. A variety of non-dragon effects were divvied among eight other facilities, with visual effects supervisor John Van Vliet overseeing the work.
Article by Jody Duncan
OVERVIEWS
Q&A: ROB LEGATO
Operating out of a home-based visual effects unit set up in his basement, Oscar-winning freelance visual effects supervisor Rob Legato discusses his decision to break away from a studio-based paradigm, as well as his most recent work with Martin Scorcese on The Departed, and Robert De Niro on The Good Shepherd.
FLYBOYS
Visual effects supervisor Peter Chiang elaborates on the clever use of practical, CG and miniature effects to capture authentic aerial battles for Flyboys – a film about the daring escapades of the Lafayette Escadrille, a combat unit of youthful American pilots who battled German forces in Europe prior to the United States’ entry into World War I.
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM
A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton and myriad other exhibits in New York’s American Museum of Natural History magically come alive in Night at the Museum. Visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel and associate producer Ellen Somers examine the challenges of mining the film’s fanciful premise for its full comic potential.
Posted by dschnee at 7:39 AM
December 10, 2006
Building a better rat in 'Charlotte's Web'
A look behind-the-scenes at the making of Templeton the rat.
By Sheigh Crabtree, Special to The Times
ANIMATORS at Tippett Studio took the tenets of Method acting to a new level when they rescued a rat from a snake's mouth and put him up in luxurious digs in their Bay Area studio where they could scrutinize his every move.
It was all to prepare for a leading role in Paramount Pictures' "Charlotte's Web," opening Friday, which revolves around a series of startling events that occur in a barnyard filled with ordinary animals.
Director Gary Winick sought to root the creatures in reality: For starters he cast the film with actual animals — the only exception being two of its stars: Charlotte the spider (voiced by Julia Roberts) and Templeton the rat (Steve Buscemi).
To cast the film's computer-animated rodent, producers at Paramount turned to seven visual effects houses around the globe. Each shop was sent a packet of test materials, including an illustration of the Templeton character, 15 seconds of barnyard footage and a clip of an actor reading the rat's dialogue. The studios had two months to build a computer model, animate it in sync with the dialogue and composite their pest into the barnyard plate.
One hopeful, Tippett Studio in Berkeley, created a 15-second performance piece showcasing its take on the famously grouchy kids' book character. Looking back, Tippett visual effects supervisor Joel Friesch says their version of Templeton looked a bit like a bear, while supervising animator Todd LaBonte says it recalled a miniature dog.
But something about the rat's attitude in the screen test captured the imagination of Paramount production execs; they awarded the job to Tippett a few months later. When the artists heard the news, their first order of business was to head to a pet shop and splurge on a $7 Dumpster rat for reference.
Quickly dubbed Master Splinter, after the all-knowing martial artist rat in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," the new pet would serve as muse to a studio of computer artists working to create the most believable CG rat possible. They say Master Splinter lived a life of leisure except when he was doused with water so artists could study the way the liquid altered his fur.
Founded by CG luminary Phil Tippett, the studio is well versed in fur effects. The company wrote an in-house software tool now in its fourth generation called Furoscious that enabled visual effects artists to cover the CG model of Templeton with 1.5 million realistic rat hairs.
It was up to the animators to minimize a tendency toward human pantomime and deliver realistic rat kinetics to Winick's specifications by becoming experts in rat motion. Animators were going for the antithesis of the boyish mouse in "Stuart Little." Instead, Templeton's humanistic gestures are layered lightly onto a virtual rat and expressed primarily through his "movie mouth," says LaBonte.
And while some celebrities are badly cast in animated voice roles, delivering flat performances, LaBonte says Buscemi's voice for Templeton was a delight to animate.
"A guy like Buscemi conveys so much humor and menace and intensity in his voice that it makes our animation so much cooler," he enthuses. (For their own edification, the animators created a reel of Templeton performing to Buscemi's expletive-laden scenes in "Reservoir Dogs.")
Once the movie got underway on location, principal photography provided animators with a few natural gifts too. Animators often spend hours combing through raw footage (known as background plates) looking for opportunities to tie the CG world and real world together.
In one case, animator Raquel Cahuelo spotted a take in which a real-life newborn gosling accidentally tripped over itself. She incorporated Templeton into that plate to make it look as if he pushes the baby out of his way to grab an unhatched egg with the intent of turning it into dinner. "It was so cold-hearted we had to leave it in," LaBonte chuckles.
And what about Master Splinter? Three weeks before Tippett shipped the last of their 280 shots, their in-house rat passed away. "Master Splinter served his purpose," LaBonte says in his best Buscemi voice. "Roll the credits, cut to black."
-Building a better rat in 'Charlotte's Web' from the latimes.com
Posted by dschnee at 11:21 AM
December 8, 2006
Templeton's POST Magazine Cover
Tippett's Cover Art team: Joel Friesch, Blair Clark, Todd Labonte, Colin Epstein, Aharon Bourland, Will Groebe, and Lee Hahn contributed to the December cover of Post Magazine! And what do you think? Congrats guys and gals, It looks great! The featured article is below: (Charlotte's Web is in theatres December 15th 2006)
ANIMATION - 'CHARLOTTE'S WEB'
Ken McGorry
mcgorry@optonline.net
-
BERKELEY, CA - To help dramatize a tale with the whimsy and heart of E.B. White's classic children's story, you'd start to think in terms of Sony's lovely, photoreal work on the Stuart Little mouse character (also a White creation) a few years back.
Well don't go there. For one thing, the lead rodent in the new Charlotte's Web is a rat. A rather skeevy rat voiced by none other than Steve Buscemi.
For another thing, the photoreal rodent animation was done here at Tippett Studio, a shop that long ago graduated from creating Starship Troopers' hard-edged, armored alien creatures to cozy mammalian fur for Blockbuster Video's guinea pig and rabbit spots. Of course, convincingly cozy fur is geometrically harder to, uh, pull off than solid objects. And then there's lighting and compositing it all. And all that barn-floor straw.
All told, Tippett (www.tippett.com) provided around 250 VFX shots for Paramount Pictures' Charlotte's Web and director Gary Winick. With the production duties split largely along character lines, Tippett was responsible for Templeton the rat and the two trying crows, Elwyn and Brooks (E and B, get it?).
Post Magazine Issue Date: December 1, 2006, Posted On: 12/5/2006
Live action was filmed in Australia and local shops Rising Sun Pictures (www.rsp. com.au) handled the titular arachnid with Fuel International (www.fuel-depot.com) creating the baby spiders. Digital Pictures Iloura (www.iloura.com.au) did some stunt shots of a fully digitized Wilbur the pig. LA's Rhythm & Hues (www.rhythm.com) provided their expertise in face replacement for the film's live animals with speaking parts.
YOU SCRUFFY RAT!
Director Winick and Rising Sun had to wrestle with the level of realism imparted to Charlotte in this film in which every creature is portrayed as natural looking. Charlotte is, after all, a spider. But that was not an issue for Tippett artists, says the shop's VFX supervisor Blair Clark. "Our directive was always to stay as photoreal as possible," he says, "within the confines of the actions that Templeton had to do beyond what a real rat would do."
Templeton's very naturalistic rat-like movements are balanced with anthropomorphic vignettes such as flopping onto his bed with a Coke in hand and, later, wallowing in a bath of buttermilk and cavorting inside a cotton candy machine.
"Templeton is not the most savory character," Clark says. "We got the go-ahead to make him definitely like a barn rat — kind of realistic-looking and scruffy."
Clark co-supervised Tippett's work on Charlotte with Joel Friesch; both had worked together supervising VFX on Hellboy and Cats & Dogs. The two bring different skill sets to bear, says Clark: "I come from an animation background and Joel comes from a painting and art background."
So Clark would communicate more with animation supervisor Todd Labonte, and Friesch worked more closely with compositing and paint artists. Clark goes on location; in this case four months in Australia while Friesch remained on the farm overseeing the character animation through finalizing the models and getting the facial blend shapes and paint work done.
Clark communicated with Tippett via phone, conference calls, email and sending files back and forth on CDs overnight. He loved the Australia experience and worked with the production's overall VFX supervisor John Berton, who placed him in charge of the second unit shooting background plates.
A RAT'S BUTT
Todd Labonte's animators worked in Autodesk Maya and rendered with Pixar RenderMan. But for him and his crew, animating a rat is not about fur — fur is extremely CPU-intensive. Instead, Templeton's "like a shaved rat with little hair plugs," he says. "Since he's shaved, his silhouette is different and his proportions are different. You're waiting days [for fur rendering] to see what he really looks like and if it works."
All the Tippett crew studied a live, caged rat who visited during the production, but Labonte and his animators had a particular area of interest: Templeton's butt. "Especially with our photoreal line of work, we always struggle with weight," says Labonte. "It's critical — posing it so it looks like it has weight. The computer operates in zero gravity. First you have to work out the main performance and make sure that the performance has the weight and the rat-like quality. The butt has a lot of weight and mass and is a big, inertial part of his body."
A lot of the CG straw had to be animated by hand, with the art department building 12 different straw models rather than relying on generic simulation, Labonte says. "We'd animate it so that when his foot placed down in it, it would squish a little bit."
Labonte's crew studied footage of a real rat's pelvis and back legs when it walked. "You absorb it all so you don't think when you're animating; you just know," he says. "How do you make a rat scurry? It's sudden stops and starts."
READY FOR POST
"Getting the rat done was job one" at Tippett, according to Friesch. That includes "the CG model, the fur, the paint job, the puppeting, so you're ready to go into production." When Clark returned from the four-month shoot, Tippett was ready to go right into post production. On Charlotte Tippett had upwards of 170 craftspeople and artists at work on the shots, although many were also splitting their time with other Tippett business.
Each week as sequences were finished Clark, Friesch and Tippett VFX producer Alessandra de Souza would fly to LA and present the work to director Winick. Clark particularly liked getting Winick's reactions in person, since Clark could emulate animated movements live, rather than describe them over the phone.
There's another reason the rat needed fresh, CG straw. Friesch says that "the depth of focus on these plates where the rat goes is so narrow that we had to put in CG straw to give us a place in the plate that was as focally sharp as the rat would be. We also used a lot of plate-warping, effects animation, displaced the surface of the plate — a lot of compositing tricks."
LIGHTING A RAT
"One problem with a rat is, they're designed to be camouflaged," Friesch says. "We found that rim lights really help fur; especially computer fur." Friesch's team worked hard to exploit opportunities to give their rat a rough, textured silhouette and avoid any sense of a "slick, computery" look that would distract the viewer.
Tippett's lighting supervisor, Steve Reding, was in charge of lighting the rat. Templeton even has silver tips on his otherwise gray rat fur. Since Templeton would not be on hand at the principal shoot, DP Seamus McGarvey would light the area appropriately, but leave any fine lighting on the absent CG rat to Tippett.
The compositing process would often see last-minute adjustments like tweaking eye reflections and kick lights in the eyes, brightness on toenails and fingernails, the backlight on the ears, and fine tuning the light on the rat's whiskers for each shot.
COMPOSITING HOG HEAVEN
Besides the barn's somewhat monotone, straw-and-wood feel, Templeton also ventures out to a dump and on to a country fair, which has some intensely lit night scenes. Tippett primarily used Apple Shake on Linux for compositing with artists, led by Colin Epstein, occupying about 12 seats.
A complex sequence involves Templeton's immersion in a hog heaven of garbage and goodies at the fair, culminating in his enraptured plunge into a practical, swirling cotton candy machine. The cotton candy climax was comped by Chris Morley. Although the team had reservations about attempting this shot, Clark says, "It looks great; you totally buy it."
"It's kind of gross," adds Labonte, "this big rat in a cotton candy machine, but we still tried to get the weight right."
Morley was also involved when Wilbur gets his pre-fair buttermilk bath in a trough. Here the camera pans down and there again is Templeton stealing the scene, laying beneath the pig and wallowing in the raining buttermilk. The buttermilk is real, with additional liquid shot by Tippett and more buttermilk-like liquid created in Maya and hitting the rat's wet fur.
Friesch counts this sequence as a favorite. "It was just a pig and buttermilk," he says, "so we had to stick Templeton down in there and get him interacting with the buttermilk. That was probably the most extensive and complicated of our comping shots."
"The buttermilk bath was fairly straightforward for animation," Labonte says. "We basically animated him relaxing and making like a backstroke in this pool of buttermilk. It's a great piece of animation by Raquel Coelho. When animation was done, they then had to create fluid simulation for ripples and streams of milk pouring onto him, and that fluid also affects his fur; the fur is parting like when you put your head under a tap. That was a lot of work for the effects animation department and then the compers just had a huge challenge to integrate all that stuff."
THE BLACK CROWS
Tippett did either CG beaks or full CG head replacement on real Australian crows — with complex specular light on the CG feathers to match the real birds — to create the spirited pair of crows who end up at the fair. In one outrageous sequence, the crows, lured toward an arcade game by Templeton, appear as a mixture of shots: real flying crows interspersed with CG crows who ultimately crash into the game and are ensnared in a CG net with a real scarecrow. "That was really a complicated series of shots," Clark says.
Friesch says it was crucial to have Clark out on the Australian set because, with his animator's background, he knew how long certain shots needed to be to allow for the CG characters to complete their movements. This shot's real scarecrow had to be filmed greenscreen at Tippett, then comped into the plate, then adding the flapping CG crows, CG net and CG net shadows.
CHARLOTTE'S EGG SAC
Back on the farm at the film's end, Wilbur must convince Templeton to rescue Charlotte's egg sac. "It needed a lot of effects animation to get that diaphanous look of these layers of webs over the eggs," Clark says. Templeton has the sac in his jaws as Charlotte thanks the rat. "He has to shoot a look back at Charlotte in a very sympathetic [way], like, 'You're welcome.'" This was a delicate scene to animate, with its extreme close-up of the rat conveying the sense that Templeton understands the importance of his rescue effort. "All the animators will be crying," Clark says, "because they understand!"
-Post Magazine - ANIMATION - 'CHARLOTTE'S WEB'
Posted by dschnee at 10:36 AM
December 5, 2006
Pirates 2 Dead Man's Chest DVD Released!
See Also: Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest is up For Your Consideration Best Visual Effects (Buena Vista Pictures Awards)
Check out the dvd details on my previous post Pirates Sequel 'Breaks DVD Record'
Posted by dschnee at 11:19 PM
December 4, 2006
Local Rat Makes Good
from Diablo Magazine - Dec. 2006
By Peter Crooks
To create an American setting of bucolic farms and state fairs for the movie version of Charlotte's Web, Paramount Pictures filmed in Australia. But the studio didn't outsource the movie altogether. Effects wizards at Berkeley's Tippett Studio were hired to digitally animate a key character: the self-serving, food-obsessed rodent Templeton.
Animation Supervisor Todd Labonte, who lives in Berkeley, managed a team of 17 computer animators to craft Templeton, whose voice is provided by actor Steve Buscemi (Fargo, Monsters, Inc.). "He's such a great voice actor; half our job was done for us," says Labonte modestly. Labonte's team studied rats for hours so they could re-create their movements and generate a naturalistic (although talking) rodent with computers.
Because the movie was shot down under, Tippett's artists worked with director Gary Winick via videoconference calls. "He would draw all over the screen, like John Madden does during a football game," says Labonte.
Fans of the book will note that this live-action version of Charlotte's Web tries to be closer to the gentle tone of E. B. White's beloved book than the 1973 musical cartoon version by Hanna- Barbera studios. And animation buffs will be pleased to know that Tippett Studio's next project is a big-budget adaptation of the best-selling fantasy books The Spiderwick Chronicles.
Posted by dschnee at 10:00 AM
November 29, 2006
Pirates Sequel 'Breaks DVD Record'
Just Wow... Worldwide Box Office: $1,064,087,628 Million Dollars...(are you thinking of Austin Powers?) so yeah the DVD should do very well indeed... check out the Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
(news.bbc.co.uk)
The Pirates of the Caribbean sequel has become the UK's fastest-selling DVD of all time, says distributor Walt Disney.
Nearly 1.5m copies of the Johnny Depp film have been sold in just one week - one in every four DVDs sold in the UK.
Demand has been so great that Disney says it has had to order another one million copies from its production facilities - in the Caribbean.
Last year's biggest-selling DVD was another Disney film, The Incredibles, which sold 1.9m copies in nine months.
The film company says that if demand for the Pirates DVD is sustained, it expects to sell more than three million copies before Christmas.
Dead Man's Chest set box office records during its cinema run earlier this year, when it became the fastest film to reach the $300m (£162m) total at the North American box office.
It is now the third-highest grossing film of all time, having taken more than $1.003bn (£536m) at the global box office.
However, it still lags behind Lord of the Rings: Return Of The Kings, which took $1.1bn (£590m) and Titanic, which sold $1.8bn (£965m) of tickets.
A third Pirates film, At World's End, is due to hit cinemas in May 2007.
DVD Features:
* Available Subtitles: Spanish, French
* Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
* Commentary by screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio
* Bloopers of the Caribbean
* "Charting the Return" featurette
* "According to Plan" hour-long production documentary
* "Captain Jack: From Head to Toe" featurette
* "Mastering the Blade" featurette
* "Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend" featurette
* "Creating the Kraken" featurette
* "Dead Men Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering the Attraction" featurette
* "Fly on the Set: The Bone Cage" featurette
* Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer's Photo Diary
* Pirates on Main Street: The Dead Man's Chest Premiere
* Easter Eggs
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Posted by dschnee at 7:18 AM
November 20, 2006
Constantine 2? in the works...
without Francis Lawrence directing...but remember Bullock's! said No on Constantine 2?
From rottentomatoes.com
Posted by Scott Weinberg on Monday, Nov. 20, 2006, 05:38 AM
Ftopel writes: "Constantine" was one of the better reviewed comic book movies in the beginning of 2005, but a sequel was not immediately green lit. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner assures fans that one is definitely in the works.
"Yes, with Keanu," she said. "We have been working with a team of writers to come up with a story and yes, we will."
Shuler Donner hopes "Constantine 2" will push the limits of spiritual action even further. "It's going to be a hard R. We're going to go for it this time. The area that we found, it's very scary. It's good."
"Constantine 2" won't return John Constantine to the comic book's London setting, but he will get out of L.A. "Another country though. It's outside of America."
Francis Lawrence will not be available to direct "Constantine 2," but Shuler Donner is keeping him involved. "Different director but Francis will produce it. We will try to maintain his vision."
Posted by dschnee at 11:39 AM
November 16, 2006
Race is on for Visual Effects Oscar
This article was found on (monstersandcritics.com) today... it includes 'Charlotte`s Web' and actually mentions us!?! wait who? TIPPETT! A couple of films I'm really excited to see is Darren Aronofsky`s The Fountain which releases next friday, and Guillermo del Toro's Pan`s Labryinth, both should be very imaginative, beautiful, and fantastic!
This years VFX Oscar could prove tough...there was some great work in Pirates 2 with Davy Jones, and I thought the folks at Weta and Lola did some fantastic work on X-Men 3, and Superman Returns had it's moments...I haven't seen MI3 yet, but I doubt that and Casino Royal will have any real chance...with Eragon, "Our hope is that Weta is going to do for dragons what Jurassic Park [and ILM] did for dinosaurs. " says Tom Rothman (20th Century Fox Chairman)...really Tom? Yeah, so The Fountain will showcase microphotography to simulate galactic clouds and pillars of dark matter in space for the films climax, and ditch the digital VFX route (awesome!), read more about Aronofsky's controversial sci-fi epic in the wired.com spread The Outsider. And the sweet bit of visual eye candy will come from Guillermo del Toro's Pan`s Labryinth... you should just check out the trailer, it pretty much speaks for itself. Aruna and Digital Domain created seamless supporting work on Flags of our Fathers, "The digital Iwo Jima invasion in "Flags of Our Fathers" is so faithful that even veterans have mistaken the shots for documentary footage." says David S. Cohen of Variety.com "It's provocative, but not as effects-dependent as the other contenders, and its violence may be too graphic for some."
'Charlotte`s Web'
"Tippett Studio designed the film`s only other entirely CG character, Templeton the rat. "We tried really hard not to make Templeton too anthropomorphic," Berton says. "We wanted him to look like a trained rat, not a computer character. He doesn`t ever do something you don`t believe is real. Except, of course, talk!"
"With no "Harry Potter" or "Narnia" among this year's holiday pics, the big wild card here may be "Charlotte's Web." The live-action film promises to take the talking-animal picture (a staple on the animation side this year) to a new level."
Following is a look at the eye-popping films headed to theaters later this year.
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HOLLYWOOD, CA - Capt. Jack Sparrow`s soul isn`t the only trophy tempting Davy Jones, the villain from 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man`s Chest.' The creepy creation of visual effects supervisor John Knoll and his team at Industrial Light + Magic is considered by many to be a front-runner in what`s shaping up to be a heated race for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences` visual effects' prize.
Still, the path to awards-season gold will be anything but smooth sailing. Not only will 'Pirates' be sparring with numerous other summer spectacles including 'Poseidon,' 'Superman Returns,' 'X-Men: The Last Stand' and 'Mission: Impossible 3' - an impressive group of year-end entries.
'Casino Royale'
Visual effects supervisor Steven Begg might jokingly refer to 'Casino Royale' as 'Bond Begins', a reference to 'Batman Begins,' which relaunched that action-adventure franchise last summer - but the upcoming installment in the James Bond film series does usher in a new era for the suave superspy, with Daniel Craig in the starring role and a story line that details his first mission.
With that in mind, Begg says he decided to take a back-to-basics approach to ensure that the film`s visual effects didn`t overwhelm the stunts, which were designed to be both awe-inspiring yet based in reality. "I think the last few (films) in particular had an air of unreality that contradicted the reality of the stunts," Begg says.
Begg collaborated closely with special effects and miniature effects supervisor Chris Corbould, a Bond veteran, on scenes including the opening sequence, which sees the spy chase villain Mollaka (Sebastien Foucan) across giant cranes high atop a construction site.
"There`s some amazing stuntwork," Begg says. "We had safety wires on them just in case, so the bulk of our work in the sequence was wire and rig removal. There were also a few greenscreen shots, purely for convenience- if they needed an extreme close-up of Daniel Craig or if we had very large drops underneath them."
The end result proved incredibly convincing, at least, according to Begg. "This is the most brutal James Bond ever," he says.
'Charlotte`s Web'
When it comes to talking animals, realism isn`t exactly the first word that leaps to mind - a fact that made visual effects supervisor John Andrew Berton Jr.`s job that much more difficult when he took the reins on 'Charlotte`s Web,' the upcoming live-action adaptation of E.B. White`s beloved 1952 children`s fable about 'some pig' and his best friend, a barn spider.
The film features a unique menagerie, with human characters like Dakota Fanning`s Fern interacting with real and digitally created barnyard critters, and required a whopping 900 effects shots. "There were times where we`d go, `That doesn`t look realistic,` and then we`d realize, `Do you notice the sheep are talking!?" Berton says with a laugh.
But the challenges faced by Berton, animation supervisor Eric Leighton and the animators at Rising Sun Pictures, who created the film`s heroine, Charlotte, involved not only achieving a consistent look among the real and computer-generated animals but ensuring that the end result would appear uniform even though the effects were split up among several key houses.
Rhythm & Hues Studios did more than 300 digital mouth replacements on real animals, while Digital Pictures animated additional animals and Fuel International created baby spiders, among other tasks. "We wanted everything to look like it was part of the same tone," Berton says. "But to make a realistic spider - they don`t have a face, you know? We had to find that balance between realism and performance. We decided to give (Charlotte) more expression but still not go over the top where suddenly she`s a cartoon."
In fact, the team reworked the initial character design to improve Charlotte`s ability to emote. "We restructured her facial muscles to permit more expression," Berton says. "We made her two main eyes bigger and moved her six secondary eyes around to create a bit more structure to her face, which gave her more femininity."
Tippett Studio designed the film`s only other entirely CG character, Templeton the rat. "We tried really hard not to make Templeton too anthropomorphic," Berton says. "We wanted him to look like a trained rat, not a computer character. He doesn`t ever do something you don`t believe is real. Except, of course, talk!
'Eragon'
Adapting Christopher Paolini`s best-selling novel about a boy and his dragon, 'Eragon' proved particularly complicated for first-time feature director Stefen Fangmeier, despite his extensive experience with mythical beasts during his previous career as an Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor.
For one thing, the female dragon, Saphira, is blue in the novel - an unlikely color, even for a dragon. "You want to be true to the essence of her character from the book, but you still have to fit her into the scene,"' Industrial Light + Magic visual effects supervisor Samir Hoon says. "'In nature, you don`t see creatures that size that are vibrant blue. We had to come up with sophisticated rendering techniques of iridescence and scale patterns so she could be blue and still look like she belonged in the shots."
Secondly, Saphira communicates telepathically, but since the actress vocalizing the part hadn`t yet been cast, the animators couldn`t impart the unknown performer`s mannerisms to the CG character. "t would`ve been better if we`d had a track, but we didn`t," Hoon says. "We paid a lot of attention to her eyes to make them alive because they had to express a lot."
Finally, Saphira had to be animated from a hatchling to maturity, all the while interacting closely with Eragon (Edward Speleers); in two major aerial sequences, Saphira soars heavenward with Eragon on her back. The filmmaker shot those scenes against a bluescreen with Speleers on a saddle straddling a mockup of Saphira`s torso and neck that sat atop a motion rig, which was driven by the movement of the animated character and later replaced with the digital dragon.
"We wanted to get as much realistic motion from the live action as possible," Hoon says. "For some shots, we used the Cyclops motion-control camera, so both the rig and the camera were locked to the animation and we could almost see the final shot in real time on-set. But there were other times where we`ve added more secondary motion or more sweeping camera moves. It was all about making Saphira`s flight look sleek and fast."
'The Fountain'
Writer-director Darren Aronofsky`s metaphysical tale of love and death, 'The Fountain,' might span thousands of years, but the filmmaker was determined to keep the film`s most outre component rooted in the modern world - at least as far as the visual effects were concerned.
In one of 'Fountain`s' three interweaving narratives, the lead character (portrayed by Hugh Jackman) travels the galaxy in a clear, sphere-shaped spaceship that contains the mythical Tree of Life, but Aronofsky insisted that his psychedelic vision of the universe not be created using CG imagery - which he thought would look dated - but rather with optical effects that would give the film a timeless quality.
"It would`ve been so easy to say, `Oh cool, we`re going to make outer space on the computer the way they did in 'Superman Returns,'" but Darren really wanted everything to be organic,' visual effects designer Dan Schrecker says. So, he and his Amoeba Proteus colleague, visual effects designer and second unit director Jeremy Dawson - both Aronofsky`s college friends and his go-to effects gurus on 1998`s 'Pi' and 2000`s 'Requiem for a Dream' found a creative solution.
"We worked with Peter Parks (responsible for the film`s optical effects), who does science macrophotography of reactions in petri dishes, and that`s how we ended up creating all the outer-space footage," Dawson says. "There`s something beautiful about the idea of shooting outer space that way - the chemical reactions in that petri dish must be the same ones going on inside nebulas."
Afterward, Toronto-based Intelligent Creatures surrounded the shots of the spaceship set, which had been filmed in front of a 180-degree greenscreen , with a CGI bubble and then composited it onto the outer-space background. When Dawson and Schrecker finally saw the result of their labors, they were shocked by the film they`d helped to create. "This one is very heartfelt," Schrecker says.
'Night at the Museum'
It would be difficult to think of a visual effects obstacle that Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel didn`t surmount during the years he spent toiling on the films in Peter Jackson`s epic 2001-03 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. But Rygiel, also second unit director on the film, managed to find one in 'Night at the Museum' - namely, creating complex effects that would play well in a comedy.
The film stars funnyman Ben Stiller as a night watchman who has to decide what to do when various exhibits spring to life, which meant that Rygiel had to animate not only a tyrannosaurus rex and a hoard of African animals but a virtual army of miniature cowboys led by Owen Wilson. With more than 400 visual effects shots required, several houses were recruited to finish the work: Image Engine Design, the Orphanage, Rainmaker and Rhythm & Hues.
Rygiel says he was determined to keep the action as photorealistic as possible, which required tremendous attention to detail. "We wanted the lion to act like a real lion, not a caricature, but hit its marks," Rygiel says. "You can easily build a (digital) dog and stick it out there, but it doesn`t look real until you start working on the mucous membrane in the eye. Very subtle things bring characters to life hundredfold, and it was caring for all that that made these characters look real."
Another challenge facing Rygiel and his team was how to create realistic miniature environments for Wilson and his fellow toy cowboys and Roman soldiers. "We started with miniature sets, but when we got down into the microworld, there are depth-of-field problems," he says. "You need endless depth of field for our guys to appear 3 inches tall, so we decided to do the whole world in virtual. The environments were generally all 2-D matte-painting set extensions derived from the real dioramas. Then, we had our live-action guys in the foreground - Owen Wilson and his compadres and the Romans. But the other 5,000 miniature soldiers behind them were all computer-generated using Massive (Software)."
In a strange way, however, 'Night' was like going home for Rygiel. "It had that same cornucopia of effects as (`Lord of the Rings`) all folded into a comedy," he says.
'Pan`s Labryinth'
Director Guillermo del Toro and visual effects supervisor Everett Burrell first teamed up on 2004`s 'Hellboy,' a comic-book-themed piece of action and eye candy with a budget in the neighborhood of $66 million. But when it came time for the pair to collaborate on 'Pan`s Labyrinth,' del Toro`s gothic fairy tale, which had a budget much closer to $5 million, they had far fewer financial resources to draw from - even though the production is, in some ways, almost equally ambitious considering its smaller scope.
Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War in the 1940s, the story follows Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a young girl who is taken to an abandoned mill to live with her mother`s new husband. After she enters a garden maze, Ofelia finds herself transported into a new world inhabited by fantastic creatures and watched over by a faun named Pan (Doug Jones).
"We had to really be conscious because we only had so many shots we could go all out on," Burrell says. 'So, we could shoot what we wanted, but once we get into editing, we can`t have it all. We were budgeted for 200 shots, but afterward, we were at 400-plus shots, so it was a give and take."
In order to make the shots more effective, Burrell says he and his team at CafeFX embraced the idea of dark, grainy imagery. Specifically, he used shadows to his advantage - both to underscore the dark underpinnings of the fairy tale and to enhance the atmosphere onscreen.
"The lighting was very moody, and the creatures would go in and out of the lighting, and that created a nice template for us since our creatures weren`t lit in the bright light," he says. "It helped us integrate our creatures into the environment - like Pan, who would appear in the room coming from a shadow and exit into a shadow. So, it was an interesting entrance and exit device."
© 2006 VNU eMedia. All Rights Reserved
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In-you-face f/x
War, pirates, flying and fantasy take CG center stage
By DAVID S. COHEN
The race for the visual effects Oscar is still a big guessing game, since some holiday releases remain unseen, including Paramount's "Charlotte's Web" and Fox's "Eragon." But so far, the race is ecclectic, including a war zone, fantasies and a 13-year-old's fantasy deathmatch: pirates vs. superheroes.
Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" took motion-capture and digital characters to a new level. Its villains, including Bill Nighy as Davy Jones, were captured on set, in a new process that Industrial Light & Magic considers a trade secret. Allowing thesps to work in a more natural environment, vs. a greenscreen, can improve the quality of mo-cap performances -- things Academy voters notice. Nighy's eyes were digitally replaced while retaining his emotion and expression.
Fox's "X-Men: The Last Stand," though, offered perhaps the most talked-about visual effect of the year: the opening flashback sequence in which Patrick Stewart and Ian Mc-Kellen appear some 20 years younger. The rejuvenation was accomplished by Lola Visual Effects without the aid of makeup. It represents a significant breakthrough, and the kind that gets the attention of the Acad's effects branch.
In the '70s, Christopher Reeve's Superman flew with a lot of rigging, and his "Metropolis" was New York. In "Superman Returns," the city is mostly CGI and the flying Superman is often a digital double, albeit a very lifelike one rendered by Sony Imageworks. Film's shuttle disaster sequence is a highlight, and the Orphanage's shot featuring a bullet bouncing off Superman's eyeball, in closeup, is a contender for effects shot of the year.
On the other end of the spectrum are two films that re-create some of the more violent events in recent history. The digital Iwo Jima invasion in "Flags of Our Fathers" is so faithful that even veterans have mistaken the shots for documentary footage. Digital Domain rendered not just the island but many of the landing boats and digital extras. The extras and boats were given artificial intelligence so they would automatically stay on their assigned paths and avoid bumping into each other. Many explosions, with plumes of water, fire and sand, were digitally enhanced. Also, Par's "World Trade Center" features an unnervingly accurate re-creation of the 9/11 attacks.
In contention too is Warner's "Poseidon," which boasts some intricate CG work. Pic's opening, with cameras circling and zooming in on the ship, is billed as the most complex digital shot in ILM's accomplished history.
From an effects standpoint, "Pan's Labyrinth" is like "The Chronicles of Narnia" crossed with "Flags of Our Fathers." It's provocative, but not as effects-dependent as the other contenders, and its violence may be too graphic for some.
With no "Harry Potter" or "Narnia" among this year's holiday pics, the big wild card here may be "Charlotte's Web." The live-action film promises to take the talking-animal picture (a staple on the animation side this year) to a new level.
Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117954086.html
© 2006 Reed Business Information
Posted by dschnee at 11:27 AM
November 15, 2006
The Charlotte's Web Bells Holiday Teaser
Wilbur's Size
The Rat Rules Size
Itsy-Bitsy Charlotte's Spiderlings Size
I think Charlotte looks a bit better as shown in this trailer, there are some great shots in there with back/rim lighting that highlight some of the detail and hairs on her legs and body. It gives her more shape and brings out more life to some of the other more flatly light shots...
Posted by dschnee at 7:33 AM
November 14, 2006
King Kong Deluxe Extended Edition Out Today!
A year in the making... take in some air...and the King Kong 3 Disc Deluxe Extended Edition
So if you want the Limited Edition Weta sculpture of Kong climbing the Empire State Building you'll need to take in another breath for the... King Kong Deluxe Extended Limited Edition DVD Gift Set, ohhhBboy.
*King Kong (3 Disc Deluxe Extended Edition)
*King Kong (Deluxe Extended Limited Edition DVD Gift Set)
King Kong Extended Edition: Disc One
* 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
* English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track
* Commentary with Director Peter Jackson & Producer Phillipa Boyens Part 1
* Sixteen Deleted Scenes (Totalling around 40 Minutes)
* English SDH, Spanish, French Subtitles
King Kong Extended Edition: Disc Two
* Commentary with Director Peter Jackson & Producer Phillipa Boyens Part 2
* The Eighth Blunder of the World Featurette
* The Present Featurette
* A Night in Vaudeville Featurette
* King Kong Homage
* Weta Collectables
* Selection of Trailers
King Kong Extended Edition: Disc Three
* The King Kong Archives
* Introduction by director Peter Jackson
* The Origins of King Kong Documentary
* Pre-Production Part 1: The Return of Kong
* Pre-Production Part 2: Countdown to Filming
* The Venture Journey Featurette
* Return to Skull Island Featurette
* New York, New Zealand Featurette
* Bringing Kong to Life Part 1: Design and Research
* Bringing Kong to Life Part 2: Performance and Animation
* The 1996 King Kong Video Gallery
* The Venture Video Gallery
* Skull Island Video Gallery
* New York Video Gallery
* Kong Video Gallery
* Arrival at Skull Island Pre-Viz Animatic
* Bronto Stampede Pre-Viz Animatic
* T-Rex Fight Pre-Viz Animatic
* Kong's Capture Pre-Viz Animatic
* Empire State Building Battle Pre-Viz Animatic
* Ann Disarms Kong Motion-Capture/Animation Comparison
* Kong's Capture Motion-Capture/Animation Comparison
* Kong in New York Motion-Capture/Animation Comparison
* DVD Credits and 1996 and 2005 Scripts (DVD-ROM)
Posted by dschnee at 6:47 AM
November 13, 2006
Spiderwick's Magical Mystery Mansion
Filmmakers build a real house in Cap St. Jacques to capture the enchantment of The Spiderwick Chronicles
Brendan Kelly @ The Gazette(canada.com)
If you happened to have taken a stroll recently in the Cap St. Jacques nature park on the West Island, you might have noticed something strange. There's a big striking looking house nestled in the woods that wasn't there just a few months back. That's the Spiderwick mansion, a magical place that will be familiar to the many young readers who've devoured the books in the popular kids series The Spiderwick Chronicles
The producers of the big-screen version of The Spiderwick Chronicles, which is currently shooting here, decided to build the enchanted mansion from scratch rather than film in an existing building. A major construction crew spent three months this summer putting together the impressive mansion in Cap St. Jacques. Often filmmakers will build a facade of, say, the front of a house on a film set. What's unusual here is that the producers built a real house - the only things missing for it to be habitable are heating and running water. "If you're going to call it The Spiderwick Chronicles and it's set at the Spiderwick mansion, you've got to make sure that once you visualize it, that it's going to have impact," producer Mark Canton said. "It's beautiful and it was worth it."
"They wanted to shoot the rich way," said Michele St. Arnaud, the film's location manager. The Spiderwick Chronicles - which is based on parts of several of the books in the five-novel series - is estimated to have a budget of $130 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever shot in Montreal. One reason they built the house from scratch is that the Spiderwick mansion is the main set in this flick, which Canton and Paramount Pictures are hoping will turn into a Harry Potter-like franchise movie series.
It is the story of the three Grace children - twin brothers Jared and Simon, both played by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory star Freddie Highmore, and sister Mallory, portrayed by Sarah Bolger from In America. They move into the Spiderwick mansion where they discover a book, Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You 
The cast also includes Joan Plowright as the eccentric Aunt Lucinda, David Strathairn as Arthur Spiderwick, Mary-Louise Parker as the mother of the three kids, and Andrew McCarthy as her ex-husband. Martin Short will provide the voice of Thimbletack, one of the creatures.
St. Arnaud initially found a bed and breakfast in Stanstead in the Eastern Townships that she thought might work as the Victorian mansion, but the filmmakers decided it would be easier to film in a building constructed specifically for the film's needs.
St. Arnaud took the producers to Cap St. Jacques this spring, and when they drove up to the bungalow housing the park's administrative staff, the producers asked her - "Why don't we film here?"
The only hitch was the city of Montreal building right there. But a detail like that wasn't about to stop these Hollywood producers. They struck a deal with the city to tear down the building, and it was demolished in early July. (The five Cap St. Jacques administrators are currently working out of two luxury trailers in the park and are eventually supposed to move into an abandoned building, the Maison Richer, nearby.)
Director Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday) and the rest of the crew spent most of October filming at the house in Cap St. Jacques and have now moved into Mel's Cite du Cinema studios, where the interiors of the Spiderwick mansion have been recreated. Shooting will continue there until the end of the year.
As for the Cap St. Jacques mansion, St. Arnaud said, "We're going to put a sort-of shrink wrap on the roof like they put on boats" and keep it until next spring in case they have to do re-shoots. After that, it will be torn down.
St. Arnaud notes that it also would've been expensive if they'd decided to shoot in the house in Stanstead because they would've had to put up the entire cast and Montreal crew in hotels there for a month.
"Cap St. Jacques offers the look of the country right in Montreal," St. Arnaud said. The filmmakers also shot in Rougemont, which was used for the magical forest scenes, and in Ormstown, which stood in for the small Vermont town where the story takes place. In addition, they shot the scenes with Aunt Lucinda in the sanatorium in a former convent in St. Cesaire.
The Spiderwick Chronicles is due in cinemas in March 2008.
Posted by dschnee at 1:29 PM
November 6, 2006
VFX of The Santa Clause 3
The Santa Clause 3: No Escaping These Yuletide VFX
Alain Bielik uncovers some of Santa’s vfx secrets from Furious FX and Tippett Studios in his coverage of The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.
VFXWorld's spread on the VFX of Santa Clause 3... below is Tippett's coverage! (more pics on the VFXWorld site, I helped comp the shot with the reindeer above)
Of Rudolph and Co.
Santa was also taken care of at Tippett Studios. Less than 10 shots were realized at the facility, but all were highly complex. The project was produced by Tim de Pala and supervised by Brennan Doyle, with Eric Leven taking over as supervisor for the last 10 weeks due to a scheduling conflict. “We created Santa’s reindeers, as we had done on the second movie,” Doyle says. “We also built several highly detailed large-scale environments such as Elfburg for the beginning of the film, and the frozen tundra of the North Pole as seen from the air. This last shot also required a CG plane to be created as well as an aurora borealis. For the reindeers, we re-used the CG models that we had built for the second movie, but ran them through a completely different pipeline. We have a proprietary new fur tool called Furocious that generates a much more realistic fur than what we used on The Santa Clause 2. The shots were animated in Maya, rendered in RenderMan, and composited in Shake.”
The trickiest part of the reindeer shots was linking the CG reindeers to the live-action sleigh with Allen and the rest of the actors sitting in it. The team started by having on-set matchmove supervisor Devin Breese previs the shots with motion control specifications provided by General Lift’s Joe Lewis. The previs was then recreated by the motion control team on the greenscreen set. General Lift’s team was able to drive the camera, but the sleigh was mounted on a hand controlled hydraulic gimbal rig. Much practicing was needed to synchronize the camera to the sleigh’s motion. Eventually a select was made and the camera move was reverse engineered to make it appear that the sleigh was moving through space, instead of the camera. They also locked the CG reindeers to the sleigh to give it the feeling that deer were initiating directional changes and the sleigh was following, rather then the other way around.”
Bringing Elfburg to Life
The exteriors and the interiors of the ice cave in which Elfburg is hidden were created under the supervision of painter Ben Von Zastrow. “We used World-Machine, a node based terrain generator, to create the basic terrain,” Von Zastrow explains. “I painted a series of masks in Photoshop to control everything from height to erosion and fed those into WM to create the terrain. Unfortunately, WM is a Windows-only application and, as such, suffers from Windows’ 2GB memory limit. As a result, I had to create it in four tiles, each of which was 4Kx4K. WM output a grayscale height field that I imported into Photoshop under OSX, and combined the four tiles into a single 8K map. Once I had an 8K height field, the whole thing was taken into Terragen via a plug-in called F.E.O. (which stands for "For Export Only"). The same tool then exported a low-res obj that I could import into Maya.
“I also created a simple plane that lived in the exact same location. I used an in-house shader in RenderMan to apply the original 8K height field as a displacement map on this simple plane and generate the actual terrain. This terrain was lit with some basic lighting, but had no shading other than a single, icy blue color. I then rendered a series of still frames of this basic, lit displacement and painted them up in Photoshop with all the details other than shadowing. These images were then projected from the same cameras used to originally render the base images onto the low-res obj imported from F.E.O. Finally, a ray-traced reflection pass was rendered and perturbed using a projected normal map to generate reflections of the aurora (which was originally created in 2D in comp).”
The elf village was modeled by Paul Zinnes, including 1,000 cards on which painted trees would be projected. Von Zastrow painted each of the houses in basic UV space and then rendered a single frame of the entire image in RenderMan with some basic lighting. He also rendered a single frame, from the same camera, of streetlights illuminating white buildings using mental ray and Final Gather. These images were combined in Photoshop and then painted on top of to give the final image of the elf village.
...
In the first movie, Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) became Santa Claus. In the second, he found a new wife. In the third opus, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, opening from Walt Disney Pictures on Nov. 3, he must foil Jack Frost’s (Martin Short) crafty scheme to take over Christmas. Directed by Michael Lembeck, The Escape Clause, turned out to be a greater technical challenge than the first two movies, as more than 90% of the action took place at the North Pole. It meant that the elf world had to be significantly extended, with many new magical locations being introduced to the audience. A large part of this universe was created via elaborate sets designed by Richard J. Holland, but its real magic was crafted by digital artists at Furious FX and Tippett Studios, the two facilities selected by vfx producer David Yrisarri.
Having just delivered 115 shots for Sky High for Yrisarri, Furious FX was a logical candidate to handle the bulk of the work on The Santa Clause 3. The team included vfx producers Tracy Takahashi and Tiffany A. Smith, CG supervisor Mark Shoaf and creative director Kevin Lingenfelser. “We delivered just under 180 shots, which accounted for our largest project total to date and our most complex CG effects so far,” notes co-founder and exec producer Scott Dougherty. “We also had the notable distinction of being the first vfx house to alter the brand new Walt Disney Pictures CG logo (introduced with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) via an added opening segment where the logo is revealed in a snow globe, then picked up and shaken by Santa.”
Altering a Landmark Logo
It was Lembeck’s idea to extend the camera pull back on the Disney logo to reveal the snow globe in which it is supposedly encased, and then introduce Santa Claus, creating a smooth transition with the opening shot. “They wanted to get the audience into the movie right away,” Co-founder and exec vfx supervisor David Lingenfelser explains. “The only problem was that we got this assignment about three weeks before our deadline… And since we were altering the company’s logo, the approval process was more complex than it typically is. After heavy previsualization, we shot a locked off plate of Santa holding a base without any snow globe mounted onto it. Then, we tracked a CG snow globe to that base and projected that onto our CG camera move, so that the plate would move at the exact same rate as everything else in the shot. We used the 2K file of the Disney logo and tracked it to the snow globe, adding CG snow and a through-glass effect. All this was modeled, animated and rendered in Maya, before being composited in Shake, our main pipeline for this project.”
Although 80% of the CG elements created for the movie were rendered in Maya, there were some specific shots for which the team felt that RenderMan or mental ray were more appropriate. “Basically, whenever we had heavy effects particles that required motion blur, we used mental ray,” Lingenfelser notes. “That was the case for the magical gold dust that appears many times in the movie. And when we needed a lot of motion blur on a heavy CG object, like the toy mobile or the gift bag, we employed RenderMan.”
Revealing the Great Hall of Snow Globes
Snow globes also played a key role in the Snow Globes Room sequence, an extremely important effect for the director. Lembeck wanted it to be the most magical scene of the entire movie. In this sequence, the Hall of Snow Globes is revealed in all its glory. Surrounded by huge carved ice windows with changing colors, about 60 snow globes float magically in the room, each encasing an image linked to a previous Santa. “When we shot the plate, all that existed were the two actors and the frame of the room,” Lingenfelser says. “We added all the floor-to-ceiling windows, with CG frost animated to softly form and dissipate, the floating snow globes and their content, the snow falling down in the room, plus the artificial snow inside each globe, and all the interactive light on the environment. As a final step to give it a little bit more of a magical feeling, we added many highlights and glints on the globes that turned on and off.”
All the elements for this sequence were created in Maya. Once the team had the live-action plate, CG artists started by layering in the background windows. “We ran a lot of single frame tests playing with different shades and colors of background. We wanted to see what would give the best translucency on the frost layers covering the glass, without revealing any of the exteriors. We did about 60 iterations before finding the right balance. We then covered the windows with several layers of CG frost passes, and within Shake, we added little glints on the highlights of the glass that would twinkle quickly and go away. After that, we put in three layers of CG snow globes: background, mid ground and foreground. For the background globes, we decided to have some fun and included humorous objects, such as a snowman on a tropical island. Since the globes were all rotating, we had to use CGI to create every object. We even included a three-dimensional image of the director, for which we projected still photographs onto 3D geometry.”
Each snow globe required at least 11 passes: a brass base with its own highlight, the 3D interior object, reflections, refractions, artificial snow, and finally, diffusion. “Multiply this by about 60 snow globes and you’ll get an idea of what this sequence involved,” Lingenfelser observes. “To create a realistic refraction, we actually flopped the live action image upside down and tracked it to the globes. Seeing the actors being refracted upside down really sold the whole concept of the room. This sequence is visually so rich that you probably need to view it ten or twenty times to really see the amount of detail that we put into it…”
The advantage of breaking the shots down in many passes was that it gave the team much more control to tweak the images and get exactly what the director wanted. “If Michael preferred to have, say, less reflections or less refractions, we could back them off in 2D without going back to the 3D stage and re-rendering. In the long run, it probably saved us time, because we had so much more control on the 2D side.”
Giving Santa and Jack Frost Their Magic
Another major contribution from Furious FX was the creation of Jack Frost’s powers. The character is able to instantly freeze anything or anybody with a single breath. The Frost breath was a particle animation created and rendered in Houdini through a collaboration with Martin Labs. CG artists used 3D animation to reveal Frost’s diminishing powers, and to also show the character defrost on screen. Short was first shot twice, once performing the action with a blue jacket (as bad Jack), and then, with a white one (as good Jack). The key aspect of the sequence was the frosted blue jacket breaking up into hard pieces and falling off of Jack, revealing the pristine white cloth underneath. “We used high-resolution photographs of the real jackets, and scans of the fabrics, to create realistic cloth textures on our CG replicas,” Lingenfelser explains. “We then replaced the real jackets in the shot with the CG versions on which we did all the animation within Maya: cracks appearing, more and more chunks falling off… In the last shot, we transitioned to the live action Martin Short wearing the white jacket. The last tweak was to paint out Frost’s frozen eyebrows to complete the transition from bad Jack to good Jack.”
Artists at Furious FX also got to tackle Santa Claus and his many gadgets. The toy mobile was created in Maya and rendered in RenderMan, based on the practical prop that had been used on set. The colorful carousel is revealed in a unique manner, when Santa starts bouncing a simple chain up and down. “At the beginning, it’s just a chain, but we replaced it with a CG version and animated CG particles running down the geometry,” Lingenfelser says. “The particles quickly draw the shape of the mobile, and, finally, the full toy appears out of the particles. We also created a nice sequence where Santa comes down a chimney. The plate was shot with a chimney set, but we replaced it with a CG model that we animated to stretch and open up for Santa. Tim Allen was shot separately. During plate photography, we had the practical effects team turn the fire down, and then back up. Later on, we timed Santa coming out of the chimney with the moment the fire went down.”
As for cave, it was created in two stages. The first, the cave walls were done by painting projected displacement maps and rendering out still frames with basic lighting. Then, icy textures and details were painted to suggest massive ice walls. The mountains and terrain were accomplished more or less the same way as the exterior tundra shot.
Although the project was full of challenges, both technical and artistic, it ended up being one the most enjoyable films for Lingenfelser and the Furious FX team. “We were given the freedom by the director to shoot the way we needed in order to achieve the best effects. I couldn’t have dreamt of a more collaborative effort.”
Alain Bielik is the founder and editor of renowned effects magazine S.F.X, published in France since 1991. He also contributes to various French publications and occasionally to Cinefex. Last year, he organized a major special effects exhibition at the Musée International de la Miniature in Lyon, France.
Posted by dschnee at 10:22 AM
November 1, 2006
Charlotte's Web Trailer 2
You get to see a lot more of the spider and the rat rules in Charlotte's Web Trailer 2 - see it BIG here.
Posted by dschnee at 6:52 AM
October 11, 2006
Charlotte's Web posters, cg spider, & cinefex 108
Lots of 'em... but where's Charlotte's close up? after all Special spider is key to weaving 'Charlotte's Web' and "They succeeded, says director Gary Winick, by paying special attention to "the eyes. They had to have a quality to them that would be expressive." So let's see those eyes! hmm... I have seen some of the final cross-over shots between RSP and Tippett with the CG spider in them... and well, ummm, ya... :/ From a far it seems to hold up, but come December we will find out how she looks for her close up.
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Also look for Charlotte's Web VFX coverage in Cinefex #108 and most likely the cover:
For the film adaptation of E.B. White's beloved children's book -- about a spider who attempts to save a barnyard pig, the favorite of a young girl, by weaving messages into her web — director Gary Winick and visual effects supervisor John Berton assembled an all-star effects team comprised of Tippett Studio, Rising Sun Pictures, Rhythm & Hues and Stan Winston Studio.
Posted by dschnee at 7:21 AM
October 4, 2006
Four caught in web for 'Spiderwick'
Mary-Louise Parker, Nick Nolte, Martin Short and Joan Plowright are in negotiations to join the cast of Paramount's big-budget adaptation of "The Spiderwick Chronicles," being directed by Mack Waters.
Izabella Miko and Andrew McCarthy also have boarded the production, which is being made by Nickelodeon Movies, Atmosphere Entertainment MM and the Gotham Group, and is mixing live action with visual effects. (Tippett Studio,ILM)
"Spiderwick" is based on the best-selling books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi and centers on twin brothers Jared and Simon who, along with their sister Mallory uncover a world of fairies and other creatures. Freddy Highmore(Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) already has been cast as the twins, and Sarah Bolger will play the sister.
Parker would play the kids' mother, worn out by her recent separation from her husband (McCarthy).
Nolte and Short will lend their voices for a couple of otherworldly characters: Mulgrath, a shape-shifting evil lord trying to get his hands on the kids, and Thimbletack/Bogart, a small being that can either protect a household or mischievously throw it in disarray, respectively.
Plowright will play the kids' aunt who is deemed crazy because she can see the creatures and is put into an asylum.
Miko will be the leader of the elves.
Production is under way in Montreal. Mark Canton, Albie Hecht, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Kathleen Kennedy are producing.
WMA-repped Parker stars on Showtime's "Weeds," for which she won a Golden Globe.
CAA-repped Nolte will next be seen in "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," while Short, repped by Gersh, will next appear in "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause."
Plowright, repped by Paradigm, is best known for her Oscar-nominated performance in "Enchanted April."
Miko ("Coyote Ugly") and McCarthy, last seen on TV's "E-Ring," are repped by Innovative.
---scoopedUpFrom hollywoodreporter.com
Posted by dschnee at 10:28 AM
September 29, 2006
Tippett inspired by latest monster task
Finally, some PR! - from hollywoodreporter.com
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By Sheigh Crabtree
Fans of menacing movie varmints bow down before visual effects wizard Phil Tippett. When the Oscar-winning mind behind "The Empire Strikes Back's" sinister Imperial Walkers, "Jurassic Park's" blood-thirsty dinosaurs and "Starship Troopers' " arachnids was tapped this summer by producer Kathleen Kennedy to supervise creatures on Paramount Pictures' upcoming "The Spiderwick Chronicles," a collective 'Hail Mary' could be heard among critter aficionados.
In recent years, Tippett has become something of a rarity on the visual effects scene. He still presides over the 2-decade-old Tippett Studio, but in 2000 he turned his energy to writing and directing. The result was 2004's direct-to-video title "Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation," Tippett's writing and directorial debut. Despite his new direction the beast maestro was unable to turn down Kennedy when his former "Jurassic" producer called with an opportunity to reunite on "Spiderwick," director Mark Waters' adaptation of the six-book series written by Holly Black and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi. eyeing a 2008 release.
Tippett has designed eight to 10 "Spiderwick" characters, ranging from goblins and spirits in various subsets -- from a goblin king to a bull goblin -- with temperaments that range from "really scary to really hilarious to scary and hilarious at the same time," he says.
The creature supervisor's partner in crime is Industrial Light + Magic VFX supe Pablo Helman, who is handling two-thirds of the VFX work at his Bay Area shop while Tippett handles character design, animation and some VFX.
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I have to step in here... I don't think it's stressed enough that Phil Tippett is the overall creature and animation supervisor for the show, supervising for ILM and Tippett Studio. Furthermore, "some VFX"? Tippett will be doing a few hundred shots and performing a handful of creatures for the show!
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The twosome's overarching goal is to base creatures on DiTerlizzi's pictorial style but transform them into biological creatures believable enough for you or me to encounter them in the woods. The leap of imagination entails crafting anatomically plausible skin surfaces, textures and actions found in a fantasy kingdom still rooted in a tactile world, Tippett says.
But more than the possibility of making great technical breakthroughs in post, Tippett says he is inspired by the possibilities of performance, with lead actor Freddie Highmore, playing Simon Grace, providing rich takes for character animators to work from. "This isn't 800 charging CG horsemen," Tippett says. "What I like most about 'Spiderwick' is it's the story of a very close family pulled into a magical world. It has a very intimate feel, with lots of meaty roles to play."
In the years since 1993's "Jurassic" and even 1997's "Troopers," Tippett says he has noticed a promising shift in the way studios and filmmakers have begun to deal with fantastical creatures onscreen. "The industry has been moving -- due in large part to Peter Jackson and the CG characters in (Andrew Adamson's 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe') -- to more compelling characters," Tippett says. "It's not just a monster chasing a human from A to B or getting blown up. It's daunting character performance."
For the time being, overseeing creature performances infused with emotional nuance is enough to keep Tippett engaged while his personal projects simmer on the back burner.
"I'm not really a careerist by nature," Tippet says. "I don't fit into the whole Hollywood thing being a Berkeley boy. I'm attempting to develop three to four projects that I'd like to direct, but that process takes forever. I'm 100% committed to ('Spiderwick') in between while I try to get the next weird thing going."
Posted by dschnee at 9:18 AM
September 11, 2006
All that Booty from Dead Man's Chest
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" has become only the third film ever to gross more than $1 billion worldwide, it was announced in Hollywood.
The action film joined "Titanic" and "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" as the only $1 billion films of all time when it surpassed the mark Friday, Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook said in a new release.
"To say we are excited is an understatement," said Cook. "This is truly an historical time for The Walt Disney Studios and a time to celebrate."
He said the movie's success was "a real tribute" to producer Jerry Bruckheimer; director Gore Verbinski; actors Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom; and writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.
The second "Pirates" film has led the international box office for nine consecutive weeks, grossing $587.5 million -- $150 million more than it has taken in at U.S. theaters.
It is the highest-grossing movie in America so far in 2006, with ticket sales of more than $415 million, the studio said.
--- upi.com
Domestic Records:
-- Highest three-day opening in box-office history ($135.6 million)
-- First film in box office history to pass $100 million in only two days
-- Tied as fastest film in history to reach $200 million (8 days)
-- Fastest film in box office history to pass $300 million (16 days)
-- Passed the $305.4 million final gross of its predecessor (Pirates
of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) in the same 16 days as
above
-- Opening day gross ($55.8 million) is highest single-day gross in box-office
history
-- "Dead Man's Chest" is the 51st film in Buena Vista history to pass $100
million in gross, the most of any studio
-- "Dead Man's Chest" is the 13th film in Buena Vista history to pass $200
million in gross, the most of any studio
-- "Dead Man's Chest" is the highest grossing film in Buena Vista history
and the sixth highest grossing film of all time ($414.0 million through
9/4/06 and still counting!)
International Records:
-- "Dead Man's Chest" is the biggest international release of 2006.
-- It is the sixth biggest film ever released internationally.
-- The film is the most popular international release in the history of The
Walt Disney Studios.
-- Since its initial weekend of release overseas, "Dead Man's Chest" has
ranked #1 for nine consecutive weekends in a row. This is the longest
consecutive weekend reign of any film this century (and surpasses the
previous record of seven weekends held by "The Curse of the Black Pearl"
back in 2003.
-- Biggest BVI opening of all-time: Australia, Austria, Bahrain,
Brazil, Croatia, Czech, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Hong Kong,
Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya,
Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, So. Africa, Malaysia,
Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines,
Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, UAE,
Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela
-- Biggest BVI film of all time: Argentina, Bahrain, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India,
Jordan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, Russia,
Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, UAE, UK
-- Biggest industry opening of All Time: Greece, Russia, Spain
-- Biggest US film of all time: Russia
-- 52nd in BVI history to pass $100M in gross, the most of any studio
-- 19th in BVI history to pass $200M in gross, the most of any studio
Posted by dschnee at 5:43 PM
September 8, 2006
Barnacles, Flags, and the Metaphysical in Cinefex #107
Check out Cinefex.com for the complete skinny on this issue, but the cover speaks volumes, the work ILM achieved with Davy Jones and his tentacles, the motion capture, the sub surface scattering, the animation, lighting, integration, all superbly done. You most likely won't find a mention of the ~50 some odd shots that Tippett Studio did for the show, we didn't even make a studio credit... but a few others scooped up the farmed out work from ILM, a good friend at Method Studios did some sweet work dealing with matte paintings. Pirates 2 came and went and took the booty on pretty much all the box office records, I think it recently exceeded the $1 billion mark worldwide, that's just silly, silly, a silly amount of money. So as Pirates 3 is in the works, the pipeline has been laid out so we should see a lot more fantastic stuph and bigger payoffs in the 3.
Cinefex #107 will also spotlight one of my favorite directors, one of which who hasn't graced us with any content since Requiem for a Dream in 2000, the long overdue return of Darren Aronofsky... I read this recently got some boo's from a screening at The Venice Film Festival, but I could care less, this movie is going to be different and not for everyone, but I know I'm going to love it! - catch the trailer in HD here
Speaking of trailers... The US version of Flags of our Fathers trailer has hit the streets HERE - your going to see a whole lot of seamless well integrated supporting visual effects work done by the talented artists at Digital Domain, who are in the trenches right now working on the Japanese perspective of Flags of our Fathers, because that is a wrap, so head on over to one of my good friends writing letters for the movie and his blog, digitalgypsy.com|Aruna for more on Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, sweet-as...
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest:
Beneath the Barnacles
In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, a rousing sequel to the immensely popular original, Curse of the Black Pearl, returning director Gore Verbinski once again joins forces with Industrial Light & Magic and a host of supporting visual effects vendors to deliver all-new adventures on the high seas with Captain Jack Sparrow and his cohorts. ILM visual effects supervisor John Knoll, whose work on the original garnered an Academy Award nomination, this time pushes the boundaries of motion capture and CG animation in depicting a tentacled sea monster and legendary pirate Davy Jones and his crew, hideously mutated by an ancient mariner's curse. Other key contributors include conceptual artist Mark 'Crash' McCreery, makeup supervisor Ve Neill and physical effects supervisors Michael Lantieri and Allen Hall.
Article by Joe Fordham
The Fountain:
Celestial Alchemy
Exploring metaphysical themes of life, death and rebirth interwoven in a narrative that spans past, present and future, The Fountain follows one man's quest for the Fountain of Youth and eternal life. Writer/director Darren Aronofsky, who favored a traditional optical approach over CG, called upon visual effects designers Dan Schrecker and Jeremy Dawson to oversee the effects work, which ranged from ancient Mayan battles to a futuristic starship's exploration of uncharted space. Heading up the roster of visual effects vendors was Intelligent Creatures, a Toronto-based company assigned the majority of shots, many of them featuring spectacular cosmic vistas derived from macrophotographic imagery. Zero-gravity rigs and other practical effects were the work of Les Productions de l'Intrigue.
Article by Joe Fordham
Flags of our Fathers:
One for All Time
The iconographic photograph of six young soldiers raising the American flag during World War II's bloody battle of Iwo Jima serves as the focal point of Flags of our Fathers, director Clint Eastwood's latest film, based on the bestselling nonfiction book by James Bradley. Production visual effects supervisor Michael Owens and a team of artists at Digital Domain were challenged to re-create the famous battle and flag-raising, as well as views of 1940s-era New York and other period settings for scenes of the surviving soldiers on a cross-country tour to promote the sale of war bonds. Seeking a gritty photorealism, digital artists augmented live-action, shot mostly in Iceland, with everything from CG environments and set extensions, to virtual ships and assorted atmospheric effects.
Article by Jody Duncan
OVERVIEWS
WORLD TRADE CENTER
Visual effects supervisor John Scheele discusses the challenges inherent in simulating the horrific events of September 11, 2001 for Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, a recounting of the nation's worst terrorist attack as seen through the eyes of two New York Port Authority police officers, buried and later rescued from the rubble of the twin towers.
LADY IN THE WATER
For Lady in the Water, a scary bedtime tale adapted to the big screen by writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, creature effects supervisor Mike Elizalde of Spectral Motion and visual effects supervisor Ed Hirsh of Industrial Light & Magic share their approach to the design and creation of the story's array of mythical creatures.
A SCANNER DARKLY
Lead animator Sterling Allen elaborates on the novel technique of digitally rotoscoping live-action performances to achieve the uniquely stylized, yet realistic look of Richard Linklater's all-animated film, A Scanner Darkly.
Posted by dschnee at 10:04 PM
September 5, 2006
Danny Elfman's CHARLOTTE'S WEB Interview
Here is a nifty little snippet of Danny Elfman discussing the score for Charlotte's Web, and playing Charlotte's theme for the first time!
On a related note: As of September 7th, 2006 Tippett Studio's work on Charlotte's Web is officially complete! The one last lingering shot has been finaled... ~fin
Source:
-Ain't It Cool News
Posted by dschnee at 7:52 AM
August 30, 2006
Monday MouseWatch and Enchanted
bits taken from Jim Hill Media's Monday MouseWatch: "That's why I invited you here ... So that we can avoid the mistakes of the past" article below:
You all remember the Michael Eisner era, right? Back when the company was run by a guy who'd first brag about how there were only two letters difference between how his last name was spelled and how Walt Disney's last name was spelled, then pull out his old Paramount Pictures playbook. Which told him that the very best way to make an executive-level decision was (I'm quoting from James B. Stewart's "DisneyWar" here)" ... put six pit bulls together and see which five die."Iger? He doesn't do the pit bull thing. He doesn't share Eisner's go-with-your-gut sensiblity. Though -- that said -- Bob has still done some pretty gutsy things over the past 11 months.
And -- no -- I'm not talking about the Pixar acquisition. Truth be told, Iger had to make that deal. Otherwise Wall Street would have never forgiven him for allowing Pixar Animation Studios to get away. No, I'm talking about Bob's decision to finally move "Enchanted" out of development hell and make this ambitious live action / animated feature Walt Disney Pictures' big holiday release for 2007.
"What's so courageous about doing that?," you ask. Well, you have to understand that "Enchanted" is a romantic fantasy-comedy that riffs on traditionally animated Disney films like "Beauty & the Beast," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Cinderella." And -- in order for this Kevin Lima film to work -- the first 10 minutes or so have to be traditionally animated.
And given that -- back in 2003 -- Disney Feature Animation made a very big deal about how it was getting out of the traditional animation business, how Disney Studios would only be making CG features from now on ... To put something like "Enchanted" into production sends a very clear message to the rest of the industry.To put it bluntly, this is Bob Iger's way of acknowledging that Disney made a mistake by shutting down its traditional animation unit. And by positioning "Enchanted" as the studio's big release for the 2007 holiday season, that signals that Disney believes that there is still a significantly large audience out there that would be eager to see this sort of picture.
And make no mistake, folks. Disney plans on giving "Enchanted" a huge promotional push next year. Not just because the success of this film will then clear the way for a full-blown traditionally animated feature like "The Frog Princess." But -- rather -- because Disney Consumer Products genuinely believes that there are millions of little girls out there that will want to own their very own Giselle doll (I.E. The character that Amy Adams plays in ).
I mean, this is a business after all. But -- that said -- isn't it kind of refreshing to have Disney's new CEO working to ensure the company's future by trying to correct some of the mistakes that the Mouse made in the past? Rather than just ignoring these previous errors and/or pretending that they didn't exist?
Posted by dschnee at 12:22 PM
August 24, 2006
King Kong: Deluxe Extended Edition
Saw this one coming... but I'm excited to see the extra what? ~230 vfx shots!!! and to see all the more fleshed out sequences, and ones that were left on the cutting room floor put in there will be great! I definately felt cheated at the content the put on the regular special edition of Kong... and I knew they were going to continue to work on stuff for the dvd, I can't wait! Kong is too long, and with this edition much too long, but it will fantastic to see the work! sweet-as Weta!
via-My Two Cents @ thedigitalbits.com (from 7.27.06):
Here you go... Universal has finally sent over the complete DVD details and cover art for the King Kong: Deluxe Extended Edition, due to street on 11/14 (SRP $34.98). The 3-disc set will include a 13-minute longer version of the film in anamorphic widescreen video, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The film will be split over the first two discs in the set. The new footage will include over 230 additional special effects shots. Some 40 minutes worth of additional deleted scenes will be included separately on the 3-disc set as well. Here's the disc by disc breakdown:
Disc One - The Film, Part One - audio commentary with director Peter Jackson and co-writer/producer Philippa Boyens, 16 deleted scenes
Disc Two - The Film, Part Two - audio commentary with director Peter Jackson and co-writer/producer Philippa Boyens, 5 featurettes (The Eighth Blunder of the World, The Present, A Night in Vaudeville, Kong Kong Homage, Weta Collectibles) and theatrical trailers
Disc Three - The King Kong Archives - introduction by Peter Jackson, 8 featurettes (The Origins of King Kong, Pre-Production, Part 1: The Return of Kong, Pre-Production, Part 2: Countdown to Filming, The Venture Journey, Return to Skull Island, New York, New Zealand, Bringing Kong to Life, Part 1: Design and Research, Bringing Kong to Life, Part 2: Performance and Animation), 5 video galleries (The 1996 King Kong, The Venture, Skull Island, New York, Kong), 5 Pre-Viz Animatics (Arrival at Skull Island, Bronto Stampede, T-Rex Fight, Kong's Capture, Empire State Building Battle), 3 Motion-Capture/Animation Comparisons (Ann Disarms Kong, Kong's Capture, Kong in New York), DVD credits, the 1996 and 2005 screenplays (via DVD-ROM) and more
In addition, as we mentioned earlier, you'll be able to purchase the same 3-disc set in a King Kong: Deluxe Extended Limited Edition DVD Gift Set (SRP $79.98) in collectible packaging, which will also include "A beautifully crafted King Kong figurine, created exclusively for the package by the Oscar-winning artists at Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, the company responsible for the film's creature design, special makeups, miniatures and dazzling visual effects." Here's a look at the DVD cover artwork for the King Kong: Deluxe Extended Edition and also the new figurine that will be found in the Gift Set...
Posted by dschnee at 2:38 PM
August 18, 2006
Santa Clause 3 a wrap
The Santa Clause 3 escaped Tippett Studio today, as this show is officially wrapped! congrats to the sc3 crew!
Santa Clause 3 - HD Trailers - I think I saw the kid, Tim Allen's son from The Shaggy Dog in the trailer...nice
"The sleigh ride of your life begins November 3rd, 2006" -omg
SYNOPSIS...
Holiday magic mixes with comical chaos at the North Pole in THE SANTA CLAUSE 3. Tim Allen reprises his role of Scott Calvin -- AKA Santa -- as he juggles a full house of family and the mischievous Jack Frost (MARTIN SHORT), who is trying to take over the "big guy's" holiday.
At the risk of giving away the secret location of the North Pole, Scott invites his in-laws (ANN-MARGRET & ALAN ARKIN) to share in the holiday festivities, and upcoming birth of baby Claus with expectant wife, Carol, -- AKA Mrs. Claus -- (ELIZABETH MITCHELL).
Along for the adventure are Scott's extended family, son Charlie (ERIC LLOYD), ex-wife Laura Miller (WENDY CREWSON), her husband, Neil Miller (JUDGE REINHOLD) and their daughter, Lucy (LILIANA MUMY) who together with head elf Curtis (SPENCER BRESLIN), foil Jack Frost's crafty scheme to control the North Pole. -- © Universal Pictures
Posted by dschnee at 7:23 AM
August 1, 2006
The Shaggy Dog DVD Released!
Ohh yeah... look for my shaggy dog show reel sometime soon'ish
Rebecca got to see this for the first time on the airplane trip home from our Honeymoon... haha, nice.
DVD Details:
2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen,
1.33:1 Reformatted Fullscreen
Dolby Digital 5.1 (English),
Dolby Surround (French, Spanish - fullscreen only)
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; Closed Captioned
Release Date: August 1, 2006
Single-sided, dual-layered disc (DVD-9)
Suggested Retail Price: $29.99
White Keepcase with Side Snaps
Check out UltimateDisney.com for The Shaggy Dog (2006) DVD Review
Theatrical Release: March 10, 2006 / Running Time: 99 Minutes / Rating: PG
Director: Brian Robbins
Cast: Tim Allen (Dave Douglas), Robert Downey Jr. (Dr. Kozak), Kristin Davis (Rebecca Douglas), Danny Glover (Ken Hollister), Spencer Breslin (Josh Douglas), Jane Curtin (Judge Claire Whittaker), Zena Grey (Carly Douglas), Philip Baker Hall (Lance Strictland), Coal (The Shaggy Dog), Annabelle Gurwitch (Justin Forrester's Attorney), Jane Hajduk (News Reporter), Joshua Leonard (Justin Forrester), Joel David Moore (Pound Employee), Jarrad Paul (Larry), Phil Pavel (Highway Driver), Shawn Pyfrom (Trey), Rhea Seehorn (Lori), Bess Wohl (Dr. Owen Lightman), Craig Kilborn (Baxter), Laura Kightlinger (Ms. Foster), Casey Sander (Leader)
Synopsis:
Comedian Tim Allen unleashes all the outrageous fun in this doggone hilarious update of Disney's comedy classic! The adventures begin when workaholic Dave Douglas (Allen) is accidentally transformed into a lovable dog. Now as Dave digs to uncover the mystery, this overworked dad wants nothing more than to stop fetching ... and get back to fathering. But before he does, he's about to discover that being man's best friend gives him a curious insight into what it takes to be a great dad! The tail-wagging fun continues with bonus features to howl about including bone-tickling bloopers, deleted scenes, and a special bark-along bone-us feature dogs will love! Rated PG.
Interesting Post-script:
This is actually the fifth time that the Disney studio has mined the source material -- roughly, Felix Salten's 1930 mystery novel The Hound of Florence; more accurately, the premise of a male human turning into a shaggy dog and the comedy that emanates from it. I've already discussed at length the 1959 original, the 1976 sequel, and here, this loose 2006 remake; these three are the best-known adaptations, for they are the only three that reached the big screen (and home video, for that matter). But, in the fall of 1994, at the beginning of a period rich in remakes-for-TV (which soon spilled over to the remakes-for-theaters business), there was Dennis Dugan-directed The Shaggy Dog starring Scott Weinger, Ed Begley Jr., and James Cromwell. Before that, there was 1987's The Return of The Shaggy Dog, a sequel to the original co-written by Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby) and featuring Gary Kroeger and Cindy Morgan (Tron). These two made-for-TV outings probably won't see the light of DVD or American airwaves anytime soon, but know that they do exist and that Disney chooses to release endless compilations of cartoon shorts and random TV show episodes instead.
Posted by dschnee at 7:27 AM
July 24, 2006
Enchanted
Today I started on one of Tippett's newest shows, Disney's Enchanted! We will be responsible for all of the VFX work, side from the traditionally drawn 2D animated portion of the film handled by Baxter Animation. Some of the work involves creatures, some furry, some feathered, some that crawl, and much, much, Much More cool and fun magical sorts of things... Production has recently returned from shooting in New York, and we welcome back our VFX Soup, Tom Schlesney! (Son of the Mask and The Shaggy Dog) I'm excited, as is the rest of the crew to be working on another of his shows. Lots more info below, read up!
Synopsis:
Giselle (Amy Adams), a beautiful princess, is banished by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn't operate on a "happily ever after" basis, Giselle is adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) who has come to her aid – even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince (James Marsden) back home – she wonders if a storybook view of romance could survive in the real world.
Enchanted Movie Links
-Jim Hill's discussion of Enchanted history... --"Enchanted's Long Long Journey to the Big Screen" -James Baxter Animation (company creating the 2d animation portion of the show) -IMDB.Enchanted(2007) -Wikipedia.Enchanted -Enchanted Disney Informer NOTEs (all the news tid bits, and pictures!) -playbill.Enchanted (Idina Menzel to Star in Disney Movie Musical "Enchanted" by Menken and Schwartz) -Q and A with Stephen Schwartz about EnchantedQ and A with Stephen Schwartz about Enchanted1) What kind of animation will be used to create the fairy tale world scenes?
2-D. It is a tribute to the classic Disney look of SNOW WHITE and CINDERELLA.
2) What kinds of songs will be in the film?
As of now, it looks as if there will be six songs. I don't want to give anything away by describing them, but in some instances they have some fun with classic Disney models.
3) Has Stephen Schwartz replaced Glenn Slater as the lyricist?
No. Glenn (who is an extremely talented, smart, and witty lyricist and entirely capable of doing a brilliant job on ENCHANTED) is working with Alan on several other projects, hence the confusion. At one time, perhaps, it was discussed that he and Alan would do a song for ENCHANTED -- before it was to be a more heavily "musicalized" project -- but once Alan was brought on for the
present movie, I came with him.Another Q and A
1) What attracted you to this project?
I have long wanted to do a live-action movie musical. ENCHANTED is a very clever concept that allows characters to sing within the world of the film, which is often difficult to achieve. Plus I thought the screenplay they sent me to read was, well, enchanting.
2) When did you learn you were going to be reunited with Alan Menken? What was it like after ten years to work with him again? Yes, I've read you both enjoy a good friendship, but has much changed after a decade long hiatus in terms of working together?
It was Alan who first told me Disney wanted me to do the project with him, so I knew at the outset. Our working relationship remains a very good one -- the fact that we are such good friends makes it very easy to collaborate, plus
of course the fact that we have high regard for one another's work.3) Were there behind-the-scenes cameras filming you for the film's DVD? If so, does it ever feel awkward always having a camera on you when trying to work? Have you been interviewed yet for the DVD?
Not so far.
Posted by dschnee at 8:55 PM
July 14, 2006
Married & Honeymooned!
Yeap, I did it, we did it, I'm now a married man to my beautiful wife Rebecca Schnee! That sounds so weird... and she is now Mrs. Schnee to her 3rd Grade students, Fantastic! - The official announcment below:
The wedding was a huge success, everyone had a wonderful time, no major mishaps, just lots of fun, dancing, singing, laughter, and good times. Thank you to all our friends and family for making it such a memorable day for us.
We honeymooned in Kauai, and we both had an amazing time there, lots of exploring on the entire island, snorkleing, hiking, and of course relaxing on the beach and by the pool...
(more pictures coming soon)
Posted by dschnee at 6:23 PM
July 9, 2006
'Pirates' Friday: est. $55.5 million
Good Swashbucklin' Grief! I didn't go see Pirates 2: Dead Man's Chest on Friday, I missed a showing with some friends on Saturday, but I will see it this afternoon though!(Sunday) But over at Box Office Mojo.com they have the Friday est. of $55.5 million!!! This would be about $5.5 million more than the current single day record held by Revenge of the Sith @ $$50,013,859
I'm going to catch it later today and help contribute to the opening weekend results that are currently estimated to exceed Spider Man's top rank of $114,844,116... this is interesting because if you watch HBOs Entourage, at the start of the current 3rd season, Vince Chase stars in James Cameron's Auquaman and storyline wraps around the opening weekend results and if it will beat out Spiderman for the top spot...
Huge letters spread across two pages in the publication declared that the new James Cameron film "Aquaman," starring Vincent Chase, was the "biggest box office splash in history," racking up an astounding $116 million in its opening weekend, The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
What the as did not mention is that "Aquaman" is a movie in the HBO fictional universe of "Entourage," which follows the travails of Chase, as played by Adrian Grenier, a young star who is flanked at all times by his brother and two childhood friends.
Chump Change, the Pirates 2 weekend booty is estimated to be $132,028,000, Land Ho!
Posted by dschnee at 9:09 AM
July 4, 2006
The Shaggy Dog on DVD
By the time those silly blockbusters fade out of the theatres in July, It will be prime time to pick up your copy of the silliest movie of 2006, Look for Disney's The Shaggy Dog bites on DVD August 1rst!
Comedian Tim Allen unleashes all the outrageous fun in this doggone hilarious update of Disney's comedy classic! The adventures begin when workaholic Dave Douglas (Allen) is accidentally transformed into a lovable dog. Now as Dave digs to uncover the mystery, this overworked dad wants nothing more than to stop fetching ... and get back to fathering. But before he does, he's about to discover that being man's best friend gives him a curious insight into what it takes to be a great dad! The tail-wagging fun continues with bonus features to howl about including bone-tickling bloopers, deleted scenes, and a special bark-along bone-us feature dogs will love! Rated PG. Available to own August 1, 2006.
Bonus Features:* 1. Deleted Scenes
* 2. Bone-Ticling Bloopers
* 3. Bark-Along Bone-us Feature For Dogs
* 4. Includes full screen (1.33:1) version
* 5. Music video: "Woof There It Is"
Posted by dschnee at 1:27 PM
June 30, 2006
Pirates: Stronger than Kryptonite?
Superman vs. Jack Sparrow: Who will win?
Gamblers Place Bets On Pirates 2
-now I won't be seeing Superman until the 11th as I'm waiting for a VES Screening over @ Pixar, but I will be seeing Dead Man's Chest on the 7th!!! So matey's my prediction is in order that I will be seeing these flicks, Yaooorrrr winner is Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest.
(prnewswire.com) According to the latest betting trends from Sportsbook.com, bettors are expecting Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest to eclipse Superman Returns, the season's first major release, at the box office. More than 97% of bets have been wagered on Pirates 2 to gross more than $90 million during its opening weekend, compared to just over 23% of bets wagered on Superman Returns, opening today, to earn more than $89.5 million during its opening weekend.
The first Pirates movie grossed more than $305 million in the U.S. and today, industry experts are predicting even higher box office returns for the sequel.
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAYIn Superman Returns, the Man of Steel faces Lex Luthor, world peril and Kryptonite.
But his biggest challenge may come from Johnny Depp.
That's because Hollywood is still waiting to crown its big-screen king of summer. And with earlier contenders falling by the wayside, the industry buzz is whether Superman, which opened Wednesday, or Depp's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest will be the box-office titan of the season, and probably the year. Pirates cost an estimated $200 million to produce; Superman cost $250 million.Early money is on the swashbuckler.
Thus far, no film has dominated summer. Though several movies came out of the gate quickly, including The Da Vinci Code and X-Men: The Last Stand, none has approached $300 million, the gold standard for a summer smash.
Last summer, Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith racked up $380 million and was the biggest movie of the year. The year before that, it was Shrek 2 with $441 million.
"It's been a very blah summer so far," says Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo. "There's no Shrek, no Star Wars, no Finding Nemo. We need something to invigorate audiences."
His bet is on Pirates, out July 7. Gray says the first Pirates, which made $305 million in 2003, built an appetite unrivaled by any other movie.
Gray says ticket sales for the sequel should surpass the original, "and it could very well be the biggest movie of 2006. It's the only one that really stands out."
Early tracking has been so strong that some analysts say it could challenge Spider-Man's record $114.8 million opening in 2002.
"Pirates has become a cultural phenomenon for a young generation," says Chad Hartigan, a box office analyst for the industry-tracking firm Reelsource.
The bow in Superman's quiver, Hartigan says, may be the July Fourth holiday. "He's iconic, all-American and people are off work and out of school. If the movie gets good word of mouth, it could surprise everyone."
Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations says that the race could be a tortoise-and-hare matchup. He expects Superman to be buoyed over the long haul by strong reviews, while Pirates will open quickly out of the gates.
Dergarabedian says each could ultimately claim bragging rights. "Superman is so iconic worldwide, he could be the biggest hit internationally, while Pirates may be the biggest movie in the U.S."
And he says Hollywood executives are relieved to be having this argument over the one last year. "Last summer, we were talking about when the box office slump would end. This is a lot more fun debate."
-USATODAY.com
Posted by dschnee at 3:11 PM
June 29, 2006
Tippett Studio chooses the cineSpace
CGSociety CGNews
Tippett Studio chooses the cineSpace suite for color management.
29 June 2006
Rising Sun Research, a developer of innovative solutions for dynamic media industries, announced today that Tippett Studio has chosen cineSpace for facility-wide color management. The cineSpace color management suite enables end-to-end pipeline calibration across multiple platforms and applications.
The complexity of calibration requirements at Tippett Studio demanded a flexible and adaptable solution, making cineSpace a natural fit. Artists in all departments - animation, match move, compositing, color correction and more - can now view their material with full confidence that they are seeing an accurate representation of the final result.
"We run a wide variety of applications on Linux, Windows and Mac OS X platforms," explains Matt Tomlinson, Digital Imaging Supervisor at Tippett Studio. "The cineSpace suite was the right choice for us to use in conjunction with Shake, Photoshop and Maya, and even with tools we developed in-house. And having the capability to create custom profiles to match our film outs is a huge advantage. No other solution comes close in terms of solving our calibration issues."
The final decision came after a long period of collaboration between Rising Sun Research and Tippett Studio. "We've been working closely with Matt and the rest of the Tippett Studio team over the past two years," states Jeremy Pollard, VP of Sales at Rising Sun Research. "Our aim is to provide the tools that ensure consistency throughout their entire pipeline, making it simple for artists and supervisors alike."
cineSpace v2.1 is available immediately from Rising Sun Research and authorised resellers and runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and IRIX platforms.
Related Links
Tippett Studio
Rising Sun Research
Posted by dschnee at 10:52 AM
June 26, 2006
Pirates 2 Opens at Disneyland
Last weekend, Disneyland LA hosted the premier of Dead Man's Chest as well as the newly, revamped, Johnny Deep'afied version of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. One of my good friends and fellow compositor down in LA was there for the festivities...
"We got there at 6am only to find a line reaching the mid point between the two parks disneyland and california adventure. And all the lines were open, so there were a lot of folks. We decided to ride whatever we could and not line up all day, everyone was lining up for the red carpet and the rides were virtually empty even the popular ones.anyway...we went to lineup around 2ish with the red
carpet slated to start around 6pm....we found booths
lined up on the opposite side of the crowds. Each
booth had a company tag name...i found mtv, vh1, and
cnn...decided to wait next to them. (niiice)MTV was the money spot the guys there told us we were
at the right spot...all the stars would be coming by
for a chit chat....and when it started they were
right, we were right in front of the action...all in all it was fun...especially cuz i got to work
on the movie..yeaaaa!About the ride...the media was able to ride it and the
cnn guy told us that some changes included barbosa
replacing the pirate in the ship scene as you exit the
tunnel in the ride, capn' jack himself, and a wall of
mist with the ghostly davy jones projected as guests
passed in the pirate boats." - Thanks Zach!
Sweet-As! He could pretty much touch all the stars that came through the booth, and snapped off pictures of Christian Slater, James Cameron, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Dennis Rodman (why were you there?), Tia Carrere, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Mackenzie Crook & Lee Arenberg (the 2 funny pirates), to name a few...and
Jerry Bruckheimer, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, and of course the man: Johnny Deep. The pictures were great, he was right there.
Here is some new Media!
'Pirates' premiere was a swashbuckling good time (USAToday article)
Jack Sparrow in Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean (LaughingPlace.com A Disney promotional clip showing the new Pirates of the Caribbean Ride)
Movie-Inspired Pirates Reopens at Disneyland (VFXWorld / News.Wire)
Set & Locations Special Featurette (quicktime)
See Also: themoviebox.net has a slew of TV Spots, one of which has one of my shots, this time my final comp in there not an ILM temp.
TV Spot #3
Dead Man's Chest @ themoviebox.net - Trailers/Clips
Posted by dschnee at 6:10 AM
June 24, 2006
Starship Troopers 3
I'm a bit late on this news, but it sounds like Sony will be doing Starship Troopers 3. There will be something around 28 new bugs, and 300-400 vfx shots. Tippett Studio will not be doing the vfx for the Troopers 3, instead I think it's going to be done by a chinese vfx house for dirt cheap. This pretty much stinks... I know the st2crew @ Tippett would love to work on the 3rd, more bugs, blood, and schwap! ahh well, It will be most interesting to see how this one turns out.
Here are some tid-bits of info: mostly a lot of the same, but the main themes are Ed Neumeier writing/directing and original cast rumors with Casper Van Dien's returning his role of Johnny Rico, also that the storyline will be closer to the original. If you want to filter more of this, continue reading below:
Starship Troopers 2 internet quote of the year:
"Starship Troopers 2 is on sale at Big Lots on VHS for $2. I guess if Casper is going to be in the 3rd, I should see the second so I know what's going on. Is the second one even worth $2? Rolling Eyes Has anyone here seen it?" -Jamison
Neumeier directing Troopers 3? -cincity200.comSo is there really any hope for a third battle against the bugs? Seems like there might be. -SFX.co.uk
"After shoving out a direct-to-dvd sequel, the folks behind Starship Troopers are now looking to of the cult hit. However, this time they want to go back to where it all began and, not only create a film much like the first, but also use some of the original talent. Yes folks, Casper Van Dien said he's involved and will be reprising the role of Johnny Rico. Killer awesome! Not for nothing Casper, but upon your return to the alien planet, perhaps you should try and find the acting career you accidentally left there the last time." -cinematical.com
"A second sequel to Paul Verhoeven’s “Starship Troopers” (1997) is in the works over at Sony, says Cincity2000, via Dark Horizons.
Ed Neumeier will return to the typewriter to punch out the script, which, I’m guessing, will head straight to DVD – just as the first sequel, “Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation” did. According to the site, the film will have even more of a connection to the first film though, with some cast members from the original film returning to the fold for “Troopers 3”.
Casper Van Dien mentioned via his official site that he is involved, reprising his role as Johnny Rico.
Says the actor, “The script is along the same line as the first. It is Awesome”. He adds that Rico would now be a General in the film.
Good stuff." moviehole.net
Posted by dschnee at 8:10 AM
June 15, 2006
The Escape Clause
So this past week I've been working on a couple shots on The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause... I'm pretty much just helping out on a few shots for the next 2 weeks. I haven't seen The Santa Clause, or The Santa Clause 2, and having said that, I can't say that I'm going to see The Santa Clause 3 either, :) hehe. Yes, another Tim Allen movie! what?!?
quickly... This November It's Clause VS. Frost - Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is back as Santa Clause in this hilarious new adventure, The Santa Clause 3 The Escape Clause, juggeling family and mischievous Jack Frost (Martin Short) ...whew!
disney.go.com/santa3
IMDB - Santa Clause 3Posted by dschnee at 9:01 PM
Bullock's! No on Constantine 2?
Sandra Bullock advised her Lake House co-star Keanu Reeves to forgo any sequel to his supernatural thriller film Constantine in front of a roomful of reporters. During a press conference to promote their upcoming time-travel romantic movie, Bullock said with surprising candor: "No, no to sequels! Don't do Constantine 2" after Reeves was asked if he is doing a sequel. "Look, you never called to say, 'Don't do it.' You never called," she added, referring to her ill-fated sequel Speed 2, in which Reeves declined to appear.
Reeves turned down the sequel to the 1994 blockbuster hit Speed, which first paired Bullock with Reeves, and it bombed. Bullock teamed up with Jason Patric for Speed 2: Cruise Control. "Yeah, Keanu was smart then," she said. "He had good people surrounding him at the time going, 'Don't do it. Don't get on a boat going 10 knots, which looks like it's pretty much standing still.'"
As far as a sequel to Constantine, which was based on the dark comic book Hellblazer, Reeves said, "It's kind of [up] in the air. Maybe. Maybe. I would like to, but I don't know if the producers want to do it." Reeves added that it's a long story why the sequel is being delayed. "We have to figure it out," he said. "I don't know."
Bullock said, "If you do a sequel, you should have him quit smoking."
Reeves retorted, "He did in the first one, if you saw it."
(scifi.com)Posted by dschnee at 8:08 PM
June 14, 2006
Super Cinefex #106
The folks @ CINEFEX have updated the breakdown for issue #106 along with the cover of Superman in flight. The issue covers X-Men:The Last Stand, Poseidon, The Da Vinci Code, V for Vendetta, and of course Superman Returns... now you won't find any of our work in these shows, but there is some very cool work going on in these films and I just wanted to post some quick links if you want to learn more about it. (Click HERE for More)
Interesting Fact:
Tippett Studio, at one time was awarded the vfx work for the sequence that takes place at the end of Superman Returns (Red Sun). What happend, is after the ending of was re-written, Warner Bros. decided to put that chunk of work back out for bids... and, yeah... we didn't get that bit back in our hands. So it will be interesting to see how that all turned out. (in the trailer: think of the airplane screaming toward the earth, toward a baseball stadium, perhaps?)So, Superman Returns hasn't been released just yet, but early reviews sound good.
As for X-Men: The Last Stand, Framestore, MPC, Weta Digital, and Hydraulx did some fantastic work, and below are a number of articles on that work. The work that Weta did was impressive, the Bobby/Pyro Fight, Car-B-Queue, and the Phoenix/Alcatraz battle (Wolverine charging up towards Phoenix) was the bulk of their work.
Another impressive chunk of work was from the 'young' Professor X and Magneto during the introduction of the film. Lola VFX, a branch from Hydraulx handled the task of taking 25 years off of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. This was done entirely in 2D! Digital Cosmetic Makeover! - Great fxguide.com Article
Articles to vfx.geek.out on:
X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men : Extreme Makeover
X-Men: The Last VFX StandPoseidon
Wipe out: 'Poseidon' Fluid Simulations and VFX at ILM
VFXTalk Meets the VFX Masters Behind Poseidon
Water, Water, Everywhere...
Poseidon: Making a Big CG SplashThe Da Vinci Code
Would DaVinci Have Been Compositor or Animator?
Secret History
Cracking Da Vinci Code’s Crafty VFXV for Vendetta
V for Vendetta and VFXPosted by dschnee at 7:05 AM
June 7, 2006
New Charlotte's Web Trailer
I'm back on Charlotte's Web to finish up one of my shots that went back into animation. This is so the animator can make the shot 'more funny' :) that I'll slightly enhance with some 2d element work.
UPDATED! with the slick quicktime version, head on over to apple.com:
Apple - Trailers - Charlotte's WebOnto the new trailer via Nick.com: (in crappy .swf format at the moment)
~enjoy
"The Rat Rules!"Posted by dschnee at 10:43 PM
June 2, 2006
Bill Kovacs (1948-2006)
I was shocked and truly sad to hear about the loss of Bill Kovacs, who passed away over the Memorial Day weekend. Bill Kovacs was one of my instructors during my last year at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. He was a brilliant man full of excitement, excitement towards any advances in our industry, the latest technology, the physics, and artistry that allow us to create anything that we can imagine. His passsion for learning and new technologies was facinating and inspiring. Even though I only had him as an instructor for a short time, he has definatley made an impact on me, and part of who he was continues to inspire me today...
To learn about who Bill Kovacs was, please visit the sites below:
Dave Yost started a Wikipedia page for Bill. It is coming along
nicely, but perhaps you can contribute to it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_KovacsAlso, there is a page where friends are leaving tributes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Bill_Kovacsplease continue reading below about Bill Kovacs...
Wavefront founder dies at 56 (PDF)
Bill was a gentle and generous soul. He graced all of us with his
insights, his humor and his own unique genius, His legacy includes 3
wonderful children and an enduring contribution to the world of computer
graphics. His friendship will be missed by us all. He touched my heart
and helped me become a better person for it. I am saddened by my loss,
but like many, I choose to celebrate Bill's life and hope you will join
me and his family this Sunday.With abiding respect,
Larry Barels
---
Wavefront founder dies at age 56
THOMAS SCHULTZ, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
BILL KOVACS: 1949-2006
June 2, 2006 12:00 AMBill Kovacs, a pioneer in computer animation who cofounded the software company Wavefront Technologies in
Santa Barbara in the early 1980s and later won an Oscar for science and engineering contributions to motion
pictures, has died. He was 56.Mr. Kovacs, formerly of Santa Barbara, was found Tuesday following a stroke brought on by a cerebral
hemorrhage suffered in his sleep at his home in Camarillo. His legacy graces films from "Tron" to "Jurassic Park" and "Toy Story," and the thousands of television shows and advertisements that today rely on computer-generated imagery. "He was a brilliant man, I mean totally creative, the absent-minded professor type, a lot of brain power," said his longtime domestic partner, Kathy Salyer."His love of learning and exploration was contagious." Larry Barels, who co-founded Wavefront with Mark Sylvester and Mr. Kovacs in 1984, said Thursday that Mr. Kovacs was the first person to realize and harness the power of computers to create theatrics.
Mr. Kovacs served as Wavefront's chief technical officer until leaving when the company went public in 1994.
---
When Bill Kovacs was earning degrees in architecture, first from Carnegie Mellon and then from Yale University's Graduate School, he couldn't have imagined that he would ultimately build something so revolutionary. Kovacs, among just a handful of technical visionaries, would help lay the foundations on which the modern medium of computer graphics would be built.
Kovacs began his career as an Associate with the architectural giant Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and collaborated on the firm's computer-aided design system. But Kovacs was also an art lover, and was drawn to the artists who were using computers in motion picture production. Working first at the seminal Hollywood studio Robert Abel & Associates, and later at his own company Wavefront Technologies, Kovacs led the technical teams that produced scores of award-winning productions and software products. These images profoundly changed how moving pictures were made, and Kovacs was recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a Technical Achievement Award in 1998. The reverberations from these breakthroughs continue to this day. Wavefront Technologies, after being sold to computer manufacturer SGI for 138 million dollars, was merged with Alias Research and the eventual result has been software that makes the majority of digital effects in modern movies.
Kovacs has personally experienced all facets of the CG industry, having earned Clio Awards for his television commercial work as well as creating images for the landmark computer-generated movie "Tron." He has been a consultant to game manufacturer Electronic Arts and the Hollywood digital production company RezN8, and is also a founding partner of the software company Instant Effects. Kovacs also shares his knowledge with students, and he's lectured at UCLA in Los Angeles and at San Francisco's Academy of Art College, where he's served on the Presidential Advisory Board. As a key player in the invention of computer graphics, Bill Kovacs enjoys a reputation of the first rank.
Posted by dschnee at 9:17 PM
Curse the Dead Man's Chest!
It's now official, as of yesterday(6/1), Our work on Pirates of the Caribbean 2:Dead Man's Chest is over! Which means it's time for some damn good rum so that we may forget that curse of a show... :)
Pirates 2 New Tease'aaarrrrr! 3
In related pirates 2 news:
VFXWorld's article Water, Water, Everywhere... 'discussing what ILM + Stanford did with fluid sims. GEEK OUT Below:ILM & Stanford Advance Hybrid Fluid Sim
Halfway around the world, another team of researchers has been developing its own fluid simulation process for use on large fluid motion projects such as Poseidon and Dead Man’s Chest, this summer’s sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean. There are several differences between the two systems. Unlike Flowline, this particular system doesn’t have a name. Also, it is a result of collaboration between researchers at Stanford University’s computer science department and ILM rather than the efforts of a single company. Finally, it is not a stand-alone system that can be integrated with other 3D software such as Maya or 3ds Max.Ron Fedkiw, a professor of computer science at Stanford, who splits his time between his research lab in Palo Alto and ILM in San Francisco, explains: “We put together a hybrid thing here through ILM’s proprietary Zeno pipeline. We haven’t named it anything. It’s got three pieces basically. There’s a PhysBAM engine at Stanford (University), which is like a core math engine. It stands for Physics Based Modeling. There’s a Zeno interface, which is like an equivalent to Maya that the artists use. And we connected those two together with an engine that was created by the R&D group here at ILM.”
A little more than a year ago, Fedkiw and his researchers still had not figured out a way to improve upon the methods used to simulate oceanic effects in Perfect Storm. Then came the breakthrough. “It used to be that you had two choices for fluid action,” suggests Fedkiw. “One was the way they did Perfect Storm. Because you could use a lot of computers or multi-processors but you had to use inferior algorythms. The algorithms, themselves, weren’t the favorite algorithms. The other way of doing it was the way I had done it in the past was to use the best possible algorithms, but you could only use a single processor. So, for years it has been this battle. Use one processor and these really nifty algorithms to give you really good results. Or use a whole font of processors and the algorithms are much more crude. And in the end, they’re pretty much even. The big breakthrough this year is that we figured out a way of how to take those nifty algorithms, the best possible ones, and actually get them into multiple processors. So what has changed is that we can run with like 20 or 30 processors using the real standout algorithms that up to now could only run on one.”
Cliff Plumer, Lucasfilm cto, likes the time saving efficiency of this new method. “The process that Ron was talking about that we had for Poseidon was much more integrated in comparison to what we had done in the past on things like Perfect Storm, where there were a lot more layers and elements that went into those shots from the early fluid dynamics stuff that we did years ago to particles to even live-action elements. So, now we’re able to create more interaction between the fluids, or in this case the water, and the ship than the way we did in the past.”All those layers and elements had to first be created and then composited together, but not so with Poseidon, as Fedkiw notes, “The whole ship is CG. A big chunk of the ocean is CG, and we do it all with one integrated simulation as opposed to layering all the elements...”
Because the entire system is self-contained in-house, the artists at ILM had access to the source for Poseidon and Dead Man’s Chest. “We can do whatever we want with it,” states Fedkiw. “We’re not handcuffed like you would be with something like a Maya. We’re able to create an environment for the artist, where they can actually set up multiple processors. So, it’s just like doing something in say Maya except that it’s a little more customized. I can set up a fluid shot, pick a domain, pick a chunk of the ocean to simulate, bring in your ship and different elements and bodies, life boats or whatever you want to interact with the simulation, and ours places all that and then picks a number of processors to run it on.”“Plus there are more controls on the simulation now,” notes Plumer. “Getting back to something like Perfect Storm, your basic run on simulation back then could take days. It would be a tough process to integrate because whatever the result of the simulation was if it worked, great! If it didn’t, you were back to the drawing board. So there was a lot more trial and error back then. But now we’ve built more controls into the system so we can get a quicker response and integrate it much quicker.”
Fedkiw agrees. “Using this (Zeno) interface, you can introduce particle controls, Soft Body and Rigid Body controls, and all kinds of things into the fluid itself. You can run lower resolution simulations first and see how they look and then upgrade them and run them overnight afterward.”A simulation that they can now set up and run overnight, as little as a year ago, would’ve taken them nine or 10 months on a single processor to complete. Fedkiw says that the best way to describe this Zeno interface is to imagine “Maya on steroids.”
Through the Zeno interface, Fedkiw hopes to develop fluids to the point where many more artists can use them. “Poseidon was a large show with lots and lots of water shots all the way through it. So we had to train a whole lot of people to use it. I think on Perfect Storm, there were one or possibly two people that could use the software. Even on Terminator 3, we had three or four people that could run a fluid shot for it. But now there are lots of people who can do that. That’s because of the way the Zeno interface works. We’re able to customize it.”
Posted by dschnee at 2:43 PM
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Posted by dschnee at 9:15 AM
May 31, 2006
How much "Pirates" is too much "Pirates" ?
Head on over to Jim Hill Media for this article below:
Though it's still a month or more 'til "Dead Man's Chest" opens in theaters nationwide, Jim Hill's got all sorts of info about all of the other "Pirates" -related projects that the Walt Disney Company currently has waiting in the wings. Would you believe "Pirates" comic books, "Pirates" junior novelizations as well as an online multi-player "Pirates" game? And -- even though they haven't yet finished filming "Pirates III" -- there's already lots of serious talk at the studio about "Pirates IV." Jim now shares all of his nautical news
I have to admit - given that no one (outside of the folks who are currently working 'round the clock to finish up "Dead Man's Chest" 's over-1500 FX shots) has actually seen the finished version of "Pirates of the Caribbean II" - that it seems kind of odd to now be talking about what may lie out beyond "Pirates III."
But let's remember that the key word in the phrase "show business" is "business," folks. And given that Walt Disney Studios has spent the past 20 years trying to develop its very own viable film franchise (Remember "Dick Tracy"? Or - better yet - "The Rocketeer"? Or "V.I. Warshawski"? Or "Judge Dredd"?) … Well, now that the Mouse has "Pirates," Disney's going to do everything it can to insure that all that pirate gold continues to roll into the company coffers for years yet to come.
Don't believe me? Then let's talk about "Pirates IV." I know, I know. Gore Verbinski hasn't even finished filming "At World's End" (I.E. The tentative title for the third installment in the series) yet. And - to be honest - everyone at the studio is kind of pirated-out at the moment. Which is why (strictly as a change of pace) many people at Disney are now looking forward to the production of that other Jerry Bruckheimer sequel, "National Treasure II."
But even so, the folks in the studio's strategic planning office are already looking out over the horizon (I.E. Toward 2010 & 2011). And they're wondering if - three to four years after the third "Pirates" picture finally hits theaters - if audiences might then be ready for yet another film starring Captain Jack Sparrow.
Of course, the real key here will be whether or not Disney can successfully persuade Johnny Depp to once again put on his pirate gear. Given that Johnny's soon to be in for one hell of a payday (Once "Pirates II" & "III" recover their full production & marketing costs [Rumored to be upwards of $600 million], Depp, Verbinksi & several other key members of the "Pirates" cast & production team will reportedly split 25% of those sequels' earnings. Which could eventually add up to tens of millions of dollars for Johnny), this Academy Award nominee will never have to work again.
But what's working in Disney's favor here is that Depp seems to genuinely enjoy playing Captain Jack Sparrow. In a recent Time Magazine article, Johnny was quoted as saying:
"I truly love the character and I didn't feel I'd had enough of him in the first (film)."
Which is why Depp ultimately agreed to get his teeth capped again and then play Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates II" & "III."
Mind you, just because Johnny enjoys playing Captain Jack doesn't automatically mean that he's a lock for "Pirates IV." But Bruckheimer is optimistic enough about this film series continuing that he's allegedly having the sets for "Pirates II" & "III" stored. With the hope that - in three or four years' time - Jerry will then be able to haul these props & costumes out again. So that Gore & Johnny will then have something familiar to work with as they begin production of the fourth film.
Of course, in the meantime, it's up to the Walt Disney Company to keep the "Pirates" franchise fresh. To make sure that the public stays interested & emotionally invested in these colorful characters. So that they then stay evergreen.
Which explains why expensive new Audio Animatronic versions of Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbarossa are now being folded into both the Disneyland & Walt Disney World versions of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme park attraction. But how many of you know about the new "Jack Sparrow" junior novelizations …
That Disney Press has recently begun producing? Which detail Jack's career prior to captaining the Black Pearl. Back when Sparrow was just a teenage stowaway trying to make a name for himself in pirating circles.
These softcover books are designed to keep preteens interested in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film franchise. As is the "Pirates" comic that regularly appears in "Disney Adventure" & "Disney Comics" magazines.
Of course, to keep teenagers interested in this new Disney brand, the Mouse had to mount something much more elaborate: Pirates of the Caribbean Online. Where - quoting this website's advertising slogan now - "The most notorious pirate in the Caribbean … is you."
Though this ambitious & massive multiplayer game isn't actually expected to go live 'til 2007, Pirates of the Caribbean Online is already generating huge buzz. The very idea that you'll be soon able to create your very own captain character, then assemble a crew and go off in search of treasure & adventure. Where you'll then have to battle other players on their own ships with sword & cannon … Well, that has gamers just chomping at the bit to be selected as one of the beta testers for this new online game.
Speaking of which, Disney's Virtual Reality Studio is already recruiting beta testers. So if you want to be among the first to experience the online approximation of Captain Jack Sparrow's world, you might want to drop by www.DisneyPirates.com today and register.
Anyway, Disney hopes that this online game - with its clever mix of swashbuckling daring-do & teen-friendly scares (Check out this cool concept sketch for an undead pirate) Plus the comic books & the junior novelizations & the theme park rides will help keep the "Pirates" film franchise alive. At least until Mr. Depp decides whether or not he's ready to commit to doing "Pirates IV."
But what do you folks think? Is Disney really over-thinking this? Should the studio have waited to see if audiences actually embraced "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" before commiting all of these other "Pirates" sequels & spin-offs? Or was "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" already a big enough success to warrant this sort of ambitious investment in a brand-new franchise for the Walt Disney Company?
More importantly, were Johnny Depp to actually agree to appear in "Pirates IV," do you think that you'll still be still interested in seeing a new "Pirates of the Caribbean" film in five year's time?
Your thoughts?
-JimHillMedia - How much "Pirates" is too much "Pirates" ?
Posted by dschnee at 9:50 AM
May 30, 2006
Spiderwick begins filming in August
The success of Montreal-based CG houses working on Frank Miller's Spartan war epic 300, has prompted Paramount to land Roger Corman-alumnus, writer/producer John Sayles to set up shop for the Spiderwick Chronicles at Mel's Cite du Cinema studio, in Montreal.
Spiderwick will begin shooting in August for 16 weeks, budgeted at $110-million, based on the bestselling books by Tony DiTerlizzi/Holly Black and adapted for the big screen by Sayles.
The film is to be directed by Mark Waters, whose previous films include Mean Girls and Freaky Friday.
The books tell the story of three young siblings who enter a magical world.
The studio will also be hosting another US film, a new 3-D film version of sci-fi classic Journey to the Centre of the Earth starring Brendan Fraser and produced by Walden Media of Chronicles of Narnia fame.
Journey, budgeted at $40 million, will be distributed by New Line, with a June 30 start date.
from SNEAKPEEK.CA
...spiderwick.comPosted by dschnee at 11:59 PM
May 26, 2006
Pirates 2 all wrapped up?
well for Tippett at least it looks that way, our last chance to tidy up our shots was tonight, and we have everything out the door for ILM, but come Tuesday I'm sure a few shots will swing back across the bay for some more good compositing lovin'. The sequence we have been working on has been pretty brutal in terms of edges... I've definately never found myself paint fixing on so many shots before this show, which involves a lot of detailed FG elements, actors/pirates, and orlando bloom's (Will Turner) frizzy hair moving quickly with lots of motion blur over an uneven, over expoused sky, and this all adds up to worlds of pain trying to pull keys and generate mattes procedurally, this only gets you so far, then it's Paint-Fix Time! Joy!
The past 2 months working on Pirates of the Caribbean 2 have pretty much flown by, especially the last 3 some odd weeks... putting in some quality 'overtime' hours, that which I haven't done for some time... well, since I was working in New Zealand on Kong.
We still have a solid month before the most entertaining movie of the year comes out to a theater near you... In the mean time here are some fantastic pirates links:
~enjoy!Talk Like A Pirate Day
Pirate Gear
Pirates of the Caribbean Fan Site
Standard Operating Procedure for Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean
Fun Facts of Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean
PiratesInfo.com
And, Is it Still Possible to Find Pirate's Gold?
Undercover PiratePosted by dschnee at 9:16 PM
May 25, 2006
Melts in your Eyes!
June 2006 ANIMATION MAGAZINE www.animationmagazine.netTippett Studio creates warm and fuzzy chocolate characters for Milka commercials.
by Barbara RobertsonWhy is chocolate so sweet and delicious? Because it’s made by cute marmots in the Austrian Alps. Ifyou didn’t know that, you haven’t been watching the Milka spots created by Tippett Studio for Frankfurt’s gilvy & Matherand its client, Kraft Foods. In a series of four 30-second spots directed by Frank Petzold, the crews at Tippett have mastered the art of chocolate delivery via marmot. Their marmot has transported the chocolate while riding on the back of a bear that slides down the mountain past a young couple on a hayride. He has flown in while hanging onto the feet of an eagle. He has hidden chocolate bunnies for Easter, and in a spot that will air at Christmas, placed chocolate Santas near a cabin door.
“It was a lot of fun working on these commercials because the characters were so happy—happy animals creating happy chocolate and finding great ways to deliver it,” says Will Groebe, lead animator. “But it’s very difficult, technical work. They’re always wearing a lot of stuff—hats and sacks of chocolate that they’re interacting with, and they’re interacting with each other. It wasn’t just ‘Bang out the animation.’ It was ‘Whoa! There’s a lot of stuff going on.’ Some shots have four characters. And, they’re furred.” Groebe helped design the animals, which needed to look real but also warm, fuzzy and cartoony, by painting on photographs in PhotoShop. Eyes grew bigger, the eagle’s serious expression changed into a smile, the bear’s teeth shrank and the marmot’s paws became hands.
Even so, the client continued to adjust the balance between realism and cartoon. Thus, knowing that the client might ask for shape changes even after the models were built, the team decided to add controls within the rigging that could scale facial features and body parts. An animator could grow limbs, broaden smiles, shrink ears and widen eyes interactively with the director, get approval on the look, and then give the other animators the new standard character. “By making it possible to do small adjustments in animation land, we didn’t have to send the characters all the way back to modeling and re-rigging,” says character setup Jeremie Talbot. “The rig allowed the animators to jiggle the model in ways they couldn’t with blend shapes.”
For the props and accessories, the modelers created separate pieces that easily attached to the characters because they incorporated the model parts. The marmot’s backpack, for example, which at tached to its spine and shoulders, had the marmot’s spine and shoulder modeled into it. The parts didn’t replace those already built into the character; the mirrored parts were constrained to the base model. “We had nodes in the backpack that attached to nodes in the character so the backpack would be attached directly,” says Talbot. “If the character moved his shoulder, the shoulder in the backpack would also move.” Similarly, when the backpack needed to move with the marmot’s hips, the riggers would attach it using the same technique. In addition, the animators could adjust the thickness and width of the backpack straps.
The backpack wasn’t the only plug and play prop; the crew also created flight helmet with floppy leather straps, a winter hat with earpieces, an investigator’s cap, a scarf for the bear and pouches filled with additional props: chocolate bars and bunnies. “Because we created all the props separately, the director could say that he wanted more chocolate in the backpack, which was often the case,” says Talbot, “and an animator could add as much as he wanted.” Animators could render the scenes without fur on the animals to check the animation and then hand the scenes to TDs (technical directors) who would add fur and lights. “Sometimes, once we’d see the fur, we’d see actions we didn’t see before,” Groebe says, “and we’d have to fix the animation.”
Tippett uses the proprietary fur tool called Furocious. In Maya, the TDs see guide hairs that they shape into a hairstyle. To control the characteristics of the fur—how scraggly it is, the color, how the colors change over the length of the fur and so forth—they used painted texture maps and parameters. As the fur tool runs, it applies these attributes to the thousands of hairs interpolated from the guide hairs that coat the character.
Lighting the fur was particularly critical and Tippett tested its global illumination (GI) toolset for the first time on these characters. On location, they took bracketed fisheye photographs of the environments and used them to build high definition range diffuse environment maps. “If a character is walking across a green meadow, we want the parts near the green to reflect the color in a broad, diffuse way,” says lead technical director Charles Rose. “Before, we did that using lights under the ground. We’d dial a color in and have it fall off as it got higher on a character. But those lights always come from specific positions and even though you may not be able to verbalize what looks wrong, you know it doesn’t look right.” With GI, the TDs apply diffuse light using data gathered by bouncing digital light rays into the entire environment. The lighters also used RenderMan’s deep shadows for the fur, which cause the light to fall off as it moves through the pelt. Calculating the specular light to high light the fur properly was a special challenge. Too much specular and the bear looked oily and the marmot looked sweaty. “If you want characters to look warm and fuzzy, you need the right specular,” says Rose. “It’s not hard to know where to place lights to get highlights on a hard shiny sur face, but because fur is just curves that simulate pieces of cylindrical hair, placing lights to get the specular right is not alwaysi ntuitive.” To test light placement, they would sometimes fly lights in a big circle around a character over a few hundred frames. Rather than simply using Maya’s dynamics on the guide hairs to make the fur look like it was blowing in the wind, the TDs baked out the dynamics pass and used it to generate animated texture maps that affected the entire body of hair. “It’s a slow and iterative process, but we got a better effect,” says Rose.
Animators did all the animation by hand except for such environmental effects as, in the first spot, particle-driven flower bits and pieces of grass tossed up as the bear slid downhill. “We didn’t have time to set up rigs for effects-driven animation,” Groebe says. On a larger show, we’d definitely want help, but because it’s such a fast turnaround, we were able to do some testing on our character rigs and the fur tool. There are a lot of really nice things that come up for short shows. We could do big, happy facial expressions and go overboard a bit on the animation, which we don’t always get to do. It was fun stuff.” Ssssssweeeet, indeed.
Barbara Robertson is an award-winning journalist who specializes in visual effects and computer animation. If you have any cool tips for her, you can e-mail her at brobertson@animationmagazine.net.
Posted by dschnee at 11:13 AM
May 24, 2006
VES 2006 Fact Sheet
more ves stuph...
FACT SHEET - DOWNLOAD THE PDF HERE
WHAT:
Festival Of Visual Effects 2006 – Now in its 8th year, the Visual Effects Society once more presents a three-day extravaganza for the VFX community and its next generation. Summer blockbusters such as “Superman Returns,” “Cars,” and television fan favorite “Smallville” will all be the subjects of presentations. The Festival will also include speakers, workshops and panel discussions to showcase cutting-edge technological advances, historical achievements, strategic planning and forecasting for the future of visual effects in film, television, and animation. New elements added this year include a showcase of international, experimental, animated and student film works and the “Festival Courtyard” featuring VFX and entertainment industry vendors, special displays, raffles and the Hospitality Tent (see attached Program Descriptions for more details).WHERE:
The Egyptian Theatre, featuring The Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre (616 seats) and the Steven Spielberg Theatre (78 seats) is located between Las Palmas and McCadden, just east of Highland Avenue in Hollywood.WHEN:
Thursday, July 6th – Saturday, July 8th (See Program Descriptions attached for times.)WHO:
Academy Award winners Dennis Muren, John Myhre, Robert Skotak, and Mark Stetson and 50+ internationally acclaimed entertainment veterans will enlighten the estimated 3,000+ attendees, comprised of working VFX professionals (60%), VFX/film students (30%) and program fans (10%).HOW:
Purchase sponsorships ($2,500 and up) and program book ads ($1,000 and up) by calling 310-822-9181 (See Sponsorship & Ad Opportunities for more details.)Purchase passes and tickets at www.visualeffectssociety.com as follows:
$200 – Master Festival Pass including the bonus shows ($295+ value)
$150 – VES Member Master Festival Pass
$100 – Student Master Festival Pass including the bonus shows (requires school ID)
$20 – Individual Program Tickets (After Wednesday, June 7th)
For more information, visit www.visualeffectssociety.com or call 310-822-9181.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
All programs, descriptions and speakers are tentative and subject to change without notice. Visit www.visualeffectssociety.com for the latest Festival and VES news.
Egyptian Theatre Courtyard Activities
Festival Courtyard - All three days
The Egyptian Theatre Courtyard will be transformed into the “Festival Courtyard” featuring VFX and entertainment industry vendors, special displays, raffles and the Hospitality Tent.
Steven Spielberg Theatre Activities
A Showcase of International, Experimental, Animated and Student Film Works - All three days, schedule TBA
The Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre Activities
THURSDAY, JULY 6TH 2006
Virtual vs. Real Sets: Combining Production Design with Visual Effects / 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Some branches of visual effects are direct offshoots from the Art Department. From the earliest Norman Dawn matte paintings and the first movie miniatures, effects artists realized those visions of the Production Designer that were too difficult to shoot on location (if they existed at all), or were too large in scale, or too expensive or impractical to build. Our panel of distinguished production designers will discuss and demonstrate the evolving, overlapping (and occasionally conflicting) relationship between designers and effects artists in their own films and in movies generally. Panelists: Jim Bissel, Jack DeGovia, Rick Heinrichs, Alex McDowell, Alan Munro, John Myhre, and Jeanine Oppewall – all Production Designers.
VFX Without Borders: A Look Around the World at International Effects / 2:30 – 4:00 pm
Visual effects are an international art form. All around the world artists are not only harnessing the power of state-of-the-art digital technologies but embracing the time-honored techniques of miniatures, puppetry and painting while creating dynamic effects for their local markets -- be it film, broadcast, music videos, commercials or games. As The Visual Effects Society exists to serve and celebrate the global scope of visual effects, the festival will feature a panel of international practitioners who will discuss the challenges, unique perspectives and techniques that individual markets engender. Samples of their work and from other international artists and effects facilities will be screened with an emphasis on local market production.
Looking Ahead at the Future of Visual Effects Tools / 5:00 – 6:30 pm
What’s on your technology radar? From hardware to software, this panel will dive into expected (and maybe not so expected) changes in visual effects tools over the next five years. Hear from some of the leading technologists on issues like pipeline management of multi-vendor data, environmental tools and changes in end format. This program is a must for the VFX professional who wants to stay ahead of the curve.
FRIDAY, JULY 7TH 2006
Invisible Effects: “The Da Vinci Code” & “Casanova” / 12:00 – 1:30 pm
How does a filmmaker capture a location that is inaccessible or one that hasn't existed for hundreds, even thousands of years? Invisible effects in films have been around for as long as filmmakers' have had imagination. And now with digital technologies, it's often hard for even seasoned veterans to decipher what is real and what is not. This panel will take an in-depth look at two recent films that have recreated eras and locales not accessible to their filmmakers. Many of “The Da Vinci Code's” historical and contemporary locales were innovatively re-created by 'invisible' wizards from the United Kingdom and 'Casanova's' romantic time period set in Venice created its own series of challenges for its artists. Join us in going 'behind-the-scenes' of the latest in state-of-the-art seamless effects.
The Challenges of Creating “X-Men The Last Stand” / 2:30 - 4:00 pm
The VFX team on the latest X-Men franchise discusses the challenges of working on a tight schedule and with various VFX houses on three different continents. Panelists: John Bruno, VFX Supervisor; John “DJ” Des Jardin, VFX Supervisor; Ian Hunter, VFX Supervisor, New Deal Studios; and Kurt William, VFX producer
“Poseidon” – A World Turned Upside Down / 5:00 – 6:30 pm
More than thirty years after it was fashionable to be seen in a disaster film, Warner Bros. returns this summer to a world turned upside down with Wolfgang Peterson's “Poseidon”. Following the tradition of casting a who's who of actors in the film, Visual Effects Supervisor Boyd Shermis turned to multiple sources on two continents (including ILM, Moving Picture Company, CIS, and Giant Killer Robots) to produce over 500 shots. Bring your snorkel and swim fins as we go off the deep end with the summer's biggest disaster film.
A Look Back at “Aliens” – 20 Years Later / 7 :30 - 9:00 pm
"Is this gonna’ be a stand up fight or a bug hunt?" In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the release of the science fiction action classic “Aliens,” this retrospective panel will look back at the ground breaking visual effects and animatronic creations for the James Cameron sequel to Ridley Scott's “Alien.” The unique look and style of the film's creations are even more astonishing when you consider the limited budget and resources the artists were given. Undaunted, Cameron's team created some of the most startling imagery seen in a genre film in the last 20 years. The visual effects team, headed by Robert and Dennis Skotak and creature supervisor Stan Winston received an Academy Award for their work on the film in 1987. Panelists: Alec Gillis, Creature Fabricator, Stan Winston Studio; Shane Mahan, Shop Foreman, Stan Winston Studio; Pat McClung, VFX Miniature Supervisor; Dennis Skotak, VFX Co-Supervisor and DP; and Robert Skotak, VFX Supervisor
SATURDAY, JULY 8TH 2006
Creating Life One Frame at a Time: The Art of VFX Animation / 10:00 -11:30 am
Digital techniques have overtaken the roles once played by cell and stop motion animation as visual effects tools, though they continue to flourish as filmmaking techniques. To a lesser degree, animated digital models have supplanted traditional miniatures. An all-star panel of prominent animators and effects supervisors with decades of experience on both sides of the digital revolution will talk about their own work then and now, and the sometimes unexpected consequences. A special demonstration will complement the discussion. Panelists: Steve Chiodo, Randy Cook, and Dennis Muren, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, ILM
Life in the Fast Lane: The Animated World of “Cars” / 12:30 - 2:00 pm
After taking moviegoers magically into the realm of toys, bugs, monsters, fish and superheros, the masterful storytellers and technical wizards at Pixar Animation Studios and director John Lasseter hit the road with a fast-paced comedy adventure set inside the world of cars. Come hear how the team blended together plenty of humor, action, heartfelt drama, and amazing new technical feats.
Creating Super Effects on a TV Budget: It’s a Big Job at “Smallville” / 3:00 - 4:30 pm
With over 100 episodes aired over 5 seasons, the Warner Bros. television series “Smallville” has achieved a remarkably mature status for an episodic drama based on the teenage adventures of Clark Kent, before he assumes the alter ego of Superman. During the past four seasons, Entity FX created the visual effects that in a large part drive the show. Join the producers of “Smallville” and the staff of Entity as they explain and demonstrate what makes visual effects production of a weekly network series a unique challenge The panel will focus on how the Entity team spurred a creative evolution by developing a strategy to achieve economic production and how that strategy helped to overcome the artistic, budgetary and time limitations common to television production. Panelists: Mat Beck, Kymber Lim, Ken Horton, John Wash – all from Entity FX
Bringing a Super Hero Back to Life: “Superman Returns” / 5:30- 7:00 pm
Academy Award Winning VFX Supervisor Mark Stetson and his VFX team will discuss how they used modern techniques to bring this cultural icon back to life. With multiple VFX vendors and budgetary concerns the challenges included not only how to make a man fly again but how to create a movie that will soar above this year’s summer blockbuster competition. Panelist: Mark Stetson, VFX Supervisor
Special Advance Screening of “Monster House”/ 8:00 pm – For Pass and Invitation Holders Only
The team behind “The Polar Express” have created another hybrid animated thrill-ride utilizing performance capture techniques about three kids who battle a mysterious house. Directed by Gil Kenan, the film is produced by Zemeckis's ImageMovers and Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment with animation by Sony Pictures Imageworks. The voice cast includes Steve Buscemi, Nick Cannon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kevin James, Jason Lee, Catherine O'Hara, Kathleen Turner, and Fred Willard.
Posted by dschnee at 5:59 PM
May 23, 2006
2006 Festival of Visual Effects
The 2006 Festival of Visual Effects has been set for July 6 - 8, 2006 at the famed Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California
Dag'nabbit, since I'm getting hitched the following week, I won't get to head on down to LA for this years festivities... but I'm sure I'll hear about it from other folks able to attend, should be a solid festival. Details are below from Visual Effects Society
Summer blockbusters such as Superman Returns and Poseidon; Cars, the latest animated feature from Pixar; and television fan favorite Smallville will all be the subjects of presentations at the 2006 Festival of Visual Effects. Panels, special screenings and other events are in the planning phase and a full line-up of activities and participants is expected to be announced by May 15.
The 2006 Festival of Visual Effects will be open to the public. Information on buying festival passes or tickets to individual events will soon be available on this website or by contacting the VES office at (310) 822-9181 or info@visualeffectssociety.com.
Thursday July 6th 2006
1-Visual Effects and Production Design 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm
Not Just a Can of Blue or Green Paint (Yet): Production Design and Visual Effects or To Build or Not to Build: Production Design and Visual Effects or Is the Building of Sets Virtually Extinct? Production Design and Visual Effects.
Some branches of visual effects are direct offshoots from the Art Department. From the earliest Norman Dawn matte paintings and the first movie miniatures, effects artists realized those visions of the Production Designer that were too difficult to shoot on location (if they existed at all) , or were too large in scale, or too expensive or impractical to build. Our panel of distinguished production designers will discuss and demonstrate the evolving, overlapping (and occasionally conflicting) relationship between designers and effects artists in their own films and in movies generally.
2- International Visual Effects 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Visual effects are an international art form because imagination is a global trait. All around the world, artists are not only harnessing the power of state-of-the-art digital technologies, but embracing the time-honored techniques of miniatures, puppetry and painting and creating dynamic effects for their local markets -- be it film, broadcast, music videos, commercials or games. The Visual Effects Society exists to serve and celebrate visual effects from around the world, and as such, will feature a panel of international practitioners, and will invite international artists and effects facilities to submit samples of their work. The emphasis will be on local (i.e. national) work and exploring the challenges, unique perspectives and techniques that individual markets engender.
3- Technology 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
This panel will take a look at what is expected to change in the technology landscape in the next five years.
4- Kick Off Party 7:00 pm – 10 pm - Pass Holders and Invitation Only
Friday July 7th, 2006
5- Invisible Effects 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm
How does a filmmaker capture a location that is inaccessible or one that hasn't existed for hundreds/thousands of years?
Invisible effects in films have been around for as long as filmmakers' have had imagination. And now with digital technologies, it's often hard for even seasoned veterans to decipher what is real and what is not. This panel will take an in-depth look at two recent films that have recreated eras and locales not accessible to their filmmakers. Many of 'The Da Vinci Code's' historical and contemporary locales were innovatively re-created by 'invisible' wizards from the UK and 'Casanova's' romantic time period set in Venice created its own series of challenges for its artists. Join us in examining a 'behind-the-scenes' of the latest in state-of-the-art seamless effects.
6- X-Men The Last Stand 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
The VFX team on the latest X-Men franchise discuss the challenges of working on a tight schedule and the various vfx houses in three different continents.
7- Poseidon 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
More than thirty years after it was fashionable to be seen in a disaster film, Warner Bros. will return this summer to a world turned upside down with Wolfgang Peterson's POSEIDON. Following the tradition of casting a who's who of actors in the film, Visual Effects Supervisor Boyd Shermis turned to multiple sources on two continents including ILM, Motion Picture Company, CIS, and Giant Killer Robots to produce over 500 shots. Bring your snorkel and swim fins as we go off the deep end with the summer's biggest disaster (....film, that is).
8- Aliens Retrospective 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
"Is this gonna be a stand up fight or a bug hunt?" - ALIENS 20th Anniversary Retrospective.
In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the release of the science fiction action classic ALIENS, this retrospective panel will look back at the ground breaking visual effects and animatronic creations for the James Cameron sequel to Ridley Scott's ALIEN.
The unique look and style of the film's creations are even more astonishing when you consider the limited budget and resources the artists were given. Undaunted, Cameron's team created some of the most startling imagery seen in a genre film in the last 20 years. The visual effects team, headed by Robert and Dennis Skotak and creature supervisor Stan Winston (all James Cameron alumni) received an Academy Award for their work on the film in 1987.
Saturday July 8th 2006
9- Animation and Visual Effects 10:00 am -11:30 am
Creating Life One Frame at a Time: The Art of VFX Animation
Digital techniques have overtaken the roles once played by cell and stop motion animation as visual effects tools, though they continue to flourish as film-making techniques. To a lesser degree, animated digital models have supplanted traditional miniatures. An all-star panel of prominent animators and effects supervisors with decades of experience on both sides of the digital revolution will talk about their own work then and now, and the sometimes-unexpected consequences. A special demonstration will complement the discussion.
10- Cars 12:30 pm- 2:00 pm
The animators and story tellers from Pixar Animation unravel how they created the animation for their latest opus.
11- Smallville 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
With over 100 episodes aired over 5 seasons, the Warner Bros. television series, Smallville, has achieved a remarkably mature status for an episodic drama based on the teenage adventures of Clark Kent, before he assumes the alter ego of Superman. During the past four seasons, Entity FX created the visual effects that in a large part drive the show. Join the producers of Smallville and the staff of Entity, as they explore what makes visual effects production of a weekly network series a unique challenge and show how it is done. The panel will focus on how the Entity team developed a strategy to achieve economic production, and spur creative evolution during its long-term work on the show, and how that strategy helped to overcome the artistic, budgetary and time limitations common to television production.
12- Superman Returns 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Academy Award Winning VFX Supervisor Mark Stetson and his vfx team discuss the 1000 plus shots in the latest Superman saga.
Posted by dschnee at 7:13 PM
May 18, 2006
VFX Compositors Group Map
I was looking around on Amazon.com, I see this 'plog' message, and it's from Ron Brinkmann, it takes me to his profile page where he links to this Frappr!? group map that contains members of people who read/own his book The Art and Science of Digital Compositing
. Seeing how cool this Frappr thing is I decided to make a group map that other compositors in the industry can add themselves to, and here it is below: So far it's just me and Aruna(but growing), but if your a fellow comper working in the industry or a student, by all means;
Add yourself!.Scour the Earth for other Compositors!!! (also a great map of vfx/anim studios, 35 studios so far... keep adding to it)
See Also: VFX Comp Map - vfxcomp.meyemind.com
Posted by dschnee at 3:00 PM
Digital Air - Visual Effects Techniques
I stumbled upon this Digital Air site over on digg.com, what is? "Digital Air produces visual effects worldwide and develops, licenses, and sells imaging technologies for use in visual effects production." Ok what? Just head on over to: http://www.digitalair.com/techniques
As they have recently put up a fantastic spread of in camera(s) examples/techniques covering: Frozen Moment, Long Exposure, Live Action, Multiple Exposure, Stop Start, Open Flash, Slow Motion, Flash Trail, Time Ramp, Light Painting, Space Ramp, Motion Distortion, Time Blur, Match Cut, Space Blur, Universal Capture.
Each page contains examples, equipment used, and a bit about the process involved in creating them, truly great stuff.
-From the News section over on Digital Air
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We've recently published detailed descriptions (with examples) of a variety of visual effects techniques that can only be created using Digital Air's technologies:http://www.digitalair.com/techniques
If you're a tech-head you'll love this. Check it out and help us get it out there by emailing the link to a friend!
The examples include TV commercials directed by some of the great directors we've worked with in the past couple of years - including Vaughn Arnell, Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry, and Rupert Sanders among others.
On the business side we've just recently had another patent grant in nine European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Ten years in the making, this patent is our broadest yet and covers both film and digital camera array systems and processes.
Posted by dschnee at 9:09 AM
May 16, 2006
Michael Bay buys Digital Domain...
Some very interesting news surfaced yesterday as Aruna had mentioned to me that he was going to a big company wide meeting, not sure what about... and after a couple hours broke the news that Digita Domain was bought by Michael Bay and the private investment firm Wyndcrest Holdings, of which Michael Bay is one of the Principals, along with ex-Miami Dolphin superstar quarterback Dan Marino, whew. I'm definitely curious how much a company like Digital Domain goes for... There was a Wall Street Journal article on the acquisition this past Friday about it, but you need to be a subscriber to read it...
Anyhow, head on over to Aruna's digital gypsy VFX blog for the details...
It's Huge - Today we had a special presentation at Digital Domain,
and
More News - Bay master of Domain in special-effects stunnerPosted by dschnee at 9:16 AM
May 10, 2006
The Spiderwick Chronicles
--- wait, why am I posting news on this cool series of fantastical children's books? well it's being made into a movie... and well we(Tippett) were just awarded the show! along with ILM... The Spiderwick Chronicles! more details to follow, the people involved and such, :) --- spiderwick.imdb - spiderwick.official - spiderwick.books
onto the news...
Spiderwick Director Wants Twins, Not More VFX
Twins wanted: Mark Waters is looking for twin boys ages 9 to 11 to star in his next feature film. Waters, who directed "Mean Girls" and the new "Freaky Friday," begins production on "The Spiderwick Chronicles" in August, but first he's got to find a couple of kid stars.
"If you call the top talent agencies in New York and Los Angeles looking for twins, you may get only two or three submissions," Waters says on a recent visit to San Francisco to meet with visual-effects wizard Dennis Muren of ILM about possibly creating special effects for the fantasy adventure. "That's why in a situation like 'The Parent Trap,' they said, 'OK, let's just use Lindsay Lohan and we'll duplicate her.' But there are so many other special effects in this movie I couldn't deal with the complication of trying to double the actor."
Waters is steering twins with talent to www.SpiderwickCasting.com for details. He is convinced that, somewhere among the videotapes that arrive by the June 2 deadline, he'll find two boys who can carry his film -- no experience required.
"At that age," he says, "if kids are outgoing and charming and personable, they already have the skills for good acting, as opposed to kids who have been doing commercials their whole lives -- they just have a bunch of bad habits. I'd rather start clean with somebody, so I think it's a benefit to be going with unknowns on this one."
Posted by dschnee at 7:38 AM
May 1, 2006
Pirates of the Caribbean 2 Trailer 2
not much to say, this new trailer speaks for itself... and I'm totally excited to go see this movie, just pure entertainment with tons of great pirates booty.
One of the shots I'm working on is in this trailer, the pirates along with orlando bloom's character are swinging toward a canyon inside a ball shaped cage made of bones and skulls bound with leather and such, they reach for some vines and can't quite grab hold and swing back down over the casm... but the version in the trailer I don't think I touched, something ILM must have did a wireRemoval pass on and threw it in there.
"Aye Mate, check out the official pirates trailer, click here"
un_official links~
pirates2.trailer2
pirates2.trailer2.streamPosted by dschnee at 10:40 PM
April 19, 2006
2006 VES - VFX Festival
Looks like this years Festival is set for July 7th to the 9th @ the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, niiice. The lineup has yet to be locked in but presentations on Superman Returns, Poseidon, and Cars are said to be covered. But the interesting bit is the retrospective look at the effects of James Cameron’s Aliens... even though a retrospective look at the effects of Ridley Scott's Alien would really seal the deal for me, bring along H.R. Giger, that would rule.
"This year’s Festival boasts a new location as well as the expected stellar line up of cutting edge panels and screenings. Located in the heart of Hollywood, the historic Egyptian Theater provides the perfect environment for the ever-growing festival with two state-of-the-art screens and the unique Egyptian courtyard for our Festival party. Tentatively scheduled panel subjects include character animation, art direction and VFX, post mortems on the summer’s biggest VFX films as well as a retrospective look at the effects of James Cameron’s Aliens (1986). Tickets and more information will be available soon. If you would like to get involved in the festival, contact the VES office."
nabbed from the VES Spring Newsletter
The 2006 Festival of Visual Effects has been set for July 7-9, 2006 at the famed Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California.
"We are thrilled to be presenting our eighth annual Festival at the Egyptian for the first time," said Visual Effects Society (VES) exec director Eric Roth. "Each year the Festival has grown in scope and number of attendees. This venue shows how much the VES has expanded as well as the visual effects industry's continually increasing influence on the business of films, animation, games and television."
The Egyptian Theatre is a major Hollywood landmark of historical significance. Originally built in 1922 for impresario Sid Grauman, it was restored and renovated by the American Cinematheque, which now operates the state-of-the-art showcase Lloyd E. Rigler theatre with 650 seats and the Steven Spielberg theatre with 83 seats. The 2006 Festival of Visual Effects will utilize both theatres during the course of this year's festival activities.
There will be presentations on such highly anticipated summer movies as SUPERMAN RETURNS, POSEIDON and CARS, in addition to such TV fare as SMALLVILLE. Panels, special screenings and other events are in the planning phase and a full line-up of activities and participants is expected to be announced by May 15.
Posted by dschnee at 7:45 AM
April 18, 2006
Siggraph 2006, Boston
In just a few months here Siggraph B0ST0N6 will take place in Boston, Massachusettes, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition - July 30th to August 3rd
It hasn't been this far outside of the golden state since 2000, when it was held in New Orleans. I've never been to Boston, and it'll be a great excuse to get over there for siggraph this year. I'm looking forward to seeing a new city, catching up with some friends, and doing just a bit of geeking out.
The Computer Animation Festival 'Best of Show' have been announced along with the lineup for the Electronic Theater, which will have a couple of bits on Kong:
King Kong: "VFX Breakdown"
New Zealand
Director: Joe Letteri
Weta Digital LtdKing Kong: "In a New York Minute"
New Zealand
Director: Chris White
Weta Digital Ltd.Posted by dschnee at 11:07 PM
April 9, 2006
Server switched + demo reels back online
Everything 'meyemind' has been switched over to a new server, which means all of my reels are back online, cool stuph, including my show reel for King Kong
You can see all 3+ months of 7day 100+ hour weeks breeze by in less than 2 minutes, it's fantastic fun! ohh geez, all that work for that little bit? :( So click on the link below to see the final composited shots rip'd from the dvd, this is pretty much the entire bulk of the work I did, I think there were 2-3 shots that didn't make it into the final cut, but that's all folks, enjoy.
KING KONG [9.4mb] [QT H.264 codec]
details on the shots can be found over in the Comp Department - King KongAnd speaking of Kong... the damn dvd did 6.5 million in sales the first week of release, Universal boasts it's the largest six-day performance in Universal Studios history... thats insane. check out the press release here
See Also: movieweb.com's Interview: Effects Wizard Joe Letteri Talks King Kong
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Press Release Source: Universal Studios Home EntertainmentBox-Office Blockbuster 'King Kong' Roars on DVD
Monday April 3, 11:49 am ET
Mega Hit Amasses a King-Sized $100 Million in Consumer Spending The Largest First Six-Day Sell-Through on DVD in Universal Studios History
Film Continues Its Record-Breaking Success as Universal Pictures' Fourth-Highest Grossing Film of All TimeUNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- "King Kong" ascended to extraordinary heights in its first six days in release, selling more than 6.5 million DVDs, the largest six-day performance in Universal Studios history. Fans snatched the blockbuster adventure film off shelves, generating $100 million in consumer spending for the Universal Studios Home Entertainment release.
The spectacular first-week DVD sales continue "King Kong's" astonishing commercial success as the studio's fourth-highest grossing film in the studio's 94-year history. To date, the film has amassed approximately $550 million in ticket sales worldwide, following on the heels of "Jurassic Park," "E.T." and "The Lost World: Jurassic Park."
"Hands down, Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' ranks as one of Universal's biggest and most successful cinematic triumphs of all time," said Craig Kornblau, President, Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "Home entertainment consumers recognize the singular-event status of this spectacular breakthrough motion picture which has been further bolstered by the film's stunning technical achievements including its Oscar® win for best visual effects."
The latest larger-than-life spectacle from visionary filmmaker Peter Jackson (the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy), "King Kong" enthralled audiences and critics alike, garnering three Oscars® at the 2006 Academy Awards® and appearing on countless "Best Movies of the Year" lists.
Both the original theatrical version and the Special Collectors Edition two-disc set of the "King Kong" DVD boast collectible package artwork specially created by WETA Digital Ltd., the production company behind the film's impressive Oscar®-winning visual effects. The DVD release of "King Kong" was supported by unparalleled cross-promotional opportunities with an array of prominent partners including Papa John's Pizza, Glad, Hostess, Orville Redenbacher's® Gourmet® Microwave Popcorn, Kellogg's, Nestle, Toshiba, Chase and Kodak EasyShare.
"King Kong" recounts the eternal tale of beauty and the beast, with a script by three-time Academy Award® winner Jackson and his longtime collaborators and fellow Oscar® winners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. Oscar® nominee Naomi Watts ("21 Grams"), Jack Black ("School of Rock"), Oscar® winner Adrien Brody ("The Pianist"), Colin Hanks ("Orange County") and Andy Serkis (the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy) headline this must-see spectacular, with a cast of mind-boggling, mythical creatures and an arsenal of spectacular visual innovations backing them up.
The Special Collector's Edition DVD features an exclusive glimpse of the creation of "King Kong's" two unique worlds -- Skull Island, a land forgotten by time, where the actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and the giant, savage ape known as King Kong forge their tragic bond, and 1930's New York City, a different, but not less perilous, kind of jungle. Other extras include almost three hours of exclusive behind the scenes footage with director Jackson, as he finalizes every aspect of post production on this groundbreaking film. The single disc version is available at $29.98 SRP and the two-disc Special Edition is priced at $30.98 SRP.
For artwork or screeners, please log on to our Web site at www.ushepublicity.com or fax your request to Universal Studios Home Entertainment Publicity at (818) 866-0226.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi Universal.
CONTACTS
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Vivian Mayer
Senior Vice President, Publicity
(818) 777-3594Lea Porteneuve
Vice President, Publicity
(818) 777-1391Evan Fong
Executive Director, Publicity
(818) 777-5540Meghan Gamber
Manager, Print Publicity
(818) 777-0546www.kingkongmovie.com
Posted by dschnee at 10:51 PM
April 7, 2006
Ray Harryhausen visits the Studio
Yes, Happy Friday Indeed! stop-motion legend Ray Harryhausen came to Tippett Studio today part of his book tour for The Art of Ray Harryhausen. He had lunch in one of our screening rooms with some premium Tippett folks, and afterward held a signing of books and posters for the crew. He came by last year signing Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life, but I couldn't make it that day, but did have my book signed!
This time around I was here for the signing, but didn'thave him sign his book, instead a co-comper found a hi-rez Clash of the Titans poster online. It had some fold marks and other blemeshes in it, but he cleaned it up nicely and had a couple 11x17" premium matte finish posters printed up. So I had this puppy signed. When It was my turn, I presented it in front of Mr. Harryhausen, and he asked me where I got it... (this was after my co-comper had already had his signed) "ahhh...you know...found it on the internet, had it printed up" eek... ;) Anyhow, a picture was taken of him actually signing my poster below.
It was truly an honor and a rare treat to be graced by one of our industries most influential artist, special effects living legend, stop-motion icon, Ray Harryhausen.
Posted by dschnee at 2:52 PM
meyemind.com upgrade + down time
I'm in the process of switching servers and upgrading to a much better hosting plan, so the site could be down for a day or so...
Posted by dschnee at 9:47 AM
April 4, 2006
Effects To Bark About
A nice spread covering Tip's work on Shaggy!
"To create the mutant lab animals, the filmmakers turned to Tippett Studios, known for its character animation. There, 46 creative artists worked on 110 shots, which including transitions shots as Allen turns into a dog, a DNA sequence, and a surfing sheepdog as well as the lab animals."
"“Our goals were to take a realistic approach to animals that were genetically engineered to have dog traits,” says James Brown, lead animator. “They used the real animals when they could, and used ours when the animals needed to push the cages or bark.” The mice and rats bark, chase their tails, and act like dogs; the rabbits do the same thing. “At one point, the rabbits are in a car sticking their heads out the window with their ears flapping,” says Schelesny. “The king cobra has a shaggy sheep dog tail that it wags. It’s supposed to act cute rather than as a cobra.”"
Check out the article over on the CGSociety Production Focus: Effects To Bark About.
Posted by dschnee at 9:58 AM
April 3, 2006
Charlotte's Web Trailer
I caught this trailer a couple times on Nickelodeon around the Kids Choice Awards this past Saturday. It's good, and exciting to see, I think this is going to do well, especially with Dakota Fanning in it. Templeton the Rat looked great! They were a bit shy about showing Charlotte though... I still don't think they have locked down the 'look' of Charlotte the spider yet... This show doesn't come out until December though... there is still time, :)
UPDATE Watch the CH Trailer HERE!
old...Still waiting for the trailer to hit the online sites, but until then you can watch it on
iTunes via Nick: Nickelodeon Movies PodcastPosted by dschnee at 11:23 AM
March 29, 2006
Dead Man's Chest
"We have just been awarded some 911 work on "PIRATES 2" through our good friends at ILM!!"
-Tippett StudioEnough Said. Time to start counting some Pirate's Booty, Aye! I'm damn excited to get to comp on this pirate ship, Yaaar!
Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest THE TRAILER
Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest @ IMDB
Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest @ CINEFEX
Official Site http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/pirates/
Posted by dschnee at 1:43 PM
March 28, 2006
King Kong is Out on DVD Today!
Excited! but Dissapointed...
DVD Features:
Disc 1 >>>
* The Volkswagen Toureg & King Kong
I remember when we started working on this, and many peoples were upset due to throwing this extra work in right smack in crunch time to finish the main vfx work for the show, it was during the Rampage sequence
* Wish You Were Here
This is a damn trailer? lame, just lame.Disc 2 >>>
* Special Introduction by Peter Jackson
cool.
* Post-Production Diaries: Director Peter Jackson takes you on an unforgettable journey revealing virtually every aspect of post-production with nearly three hours of exclusive behind the scenes footage.
Basically the only thing different from these diaries and the ones released when the film hit theatres is the additional 2 diaries for the world and Wellington premieres, and it's a bit easier to navigate to areas of the diaries. But I'm really dissapointed that there were not any additional vfx related diaries, covering comp and td especially, the dvd crew came through our dept a number of times, but I have yet to find anything on the dvd showing that.
* Kong's New York, 1933 - 1930s New York comes alive in this fascinating piece that explores vaudeville, the skyscraper boom, the construction of the Empire State building and more.
Interesting.
* Skull Island: A Natural History - Travel to treacherous Skull Island with Peter Jackson and his crew
I caught this on Sci-Fi last week and it's cool way of showing the story behind skull island, and it's inhabitants, a 'real' life documentary, but not for real.So that's it??? No deleted scenes? No 4 hour director's cut? There were several vfx sequences cut from the film, I would have loved to see them make it into this 2 Disc special edition.
- King Kong 2-Disc @ amazon.com
Posted by dschnee at 1:28 AM
March 27, 2006
Back from Vacation, -minus Aruna
After the final push for Charlotte's Web ending a few weeks ago, I took a couple of weeks off which synced up my fiance, who also had her 2 week break from teaching. Time was spent mainly running around taking care of those things in life I never seem to have time for, not much R+R but it was still nice.
So I'm back to work today, but things are a bit slow at the moment, and something is missing around here... Aruna has up rooted from his 3 year tour at Tippett to sunnier skies and smog down in L.A. working @ DD, for Flags of our Fathers. Check out his blog entry 'The End' for the details. So god damnit go work on a cool WW2 project, learn Nuke, but get your ass back up here, sooner or later! ;)Posted by dschnee at 3:47 PM
March 24, 2006
Download King Kong! via LOVEFiLM
This is pretty cool, I'm curious what the quality will be like... but download-to-own movies!, the time is now... well in the UK, through LOVEFiLM (The Netflix of the UK)
"Exclusively to LOVEFiLM, you can be amongst the first to download King Kong to own on April 10th. In our unique offering you'll get to download a copy of the movie to your PC, plus an additional copy for your handheld device PLUS we'll post you a copy of Kong on DVD."
Uni U.K. bows download arm with 'Kong' bid
LONDON -- Universal Pictures U.K., the British arm of NBC Universal's home entertainment division Universal Pictures International, said Thursday that it will use Peter Jackson's "King Kong" to launch a groundbreaking new broadband movie distribution service with U.K. rentals-by-post operator LOVEFiLM.
According to UPI president Peter Smith, the service -- dubbed DTO or download-to-own -- will debut April 10 with a choice of 35 films day-and-date with their DVD releases and will offer a triple play to tempt consumers. Uni's top home video executive in the U.S. said the U.K. initiative is a harbinger of things to come in other regions in the near future.
In the U.K., at a price of £19.99 ($35) for such new releases as "King Kong" or "Nanny McPhee," buyers will get two Windows Media Player downloads -- one for their PC and one for their portable device -- and a copy of the single-disc DVD sent to them by mail. Catalog titles will be offered at £9.99 ($17) or £14.99 ($26) depending on the film, but there is no model yet for a download-only sale, Smith said.
Describing it as a "revolutionary" initiative, he added that conditions now are right for film downloads. Computer penetration stands at 70% of U.K. homes, while broadband has reached 37% and is, according to analysts Screen Digest, set to top 60% (17 million homes) by 2008.
"The growth in broadband offers us a tremendous new distribution platform," Smith said. "It will be a tremendous growth engine for our business."
He declined to put a figure on the number of downloads that the service will achieve in its first year but said he believes it offers the potential to provide "sales like we have never seen before."
Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, said Thursday the U.K. broadband movie distribution service is a model for what will one day be prevalent everywhere.
"I see it happening in the United States very, very quickly," he said. "This is not a test, it's happening. That is the future. People are going to be able to buy our movies online, and they're going to be able to dowload them and send them to portables and play them on their PCs."
Changing consumer habits are the driving force behind the U.K. venture, according to Universal Pictures U.K. chairman Eddie Cunningham.
"Consumers are becoming more demanding, they want higher-quality products, they want those products to be more accessible," Cunningham said. "In our case, they want them anytime, anywhere. The days of just DVDs, which play on a television screen, are moving on. People want to be able to consume films on portable devices on train journeys and so on."
Cunningham said research revealed that consumers still wanted a DVD copy. "It was a bit surprising to us, but people are saying that at this stage of the game, they would still like to receive a physical copy as well."
Revenue will be split under the current DVD model, with Universal charging a standard wholesale price for each sale rather than any form of revenue sharing, Cunningham said.
UPI said it is keen to expand the model to other territories as soon as the infrastructure is in place. The U.K. service also will be available via www.aol.co.uk -- which has a rental download service provided by LOVEFiLM, a unit of digital cinema provider Arts Alliance Media.
LOVEFiLM CEO Mark Livingstone said an average movie will take about 40 minutes to an hour to download in a 2MB broadband household, but that wait is expected to shrink rapidly.
"The important thing to note is that 2MB is going to become 4MB, 8MB, 16MB, 24MB, etc. We think it is no more than 12-18 months to the time when you will put the kettle on, get the kids ready to watch a great movie and you will be ready to go," Livingstone said. "We are really at the point when this technology has become a reality, which is why we are so excited about it."
The deal is nonexclusive, and Cunningham said that Universal is open to similar propositions with other retailers and platforms like Apple's iTunes.
Livingstone also said he was keen to offer the service to Apple users but the chance to do so would depend on technological solutions from Microsoft and Apple. The move in part reflects the desire among rights-holders to more fully exploit their content libraries.
"On DVD at the moment, because of the limitations of shelf space, we make about 800 titles available out of a library, which has about 6,500 films in it," Smith said. "This is a really exciting opportunity to make them available in due course."
Thomas K. Arnold in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Posted by dschnee at 4:49 PM
March 22, 2006
Circle 7 Closed
It's only 20% of the 168 artists, but this is still shitty.
Disney Closes Unit Devoted to Pixar Sequels
With the firm's planned acquisition of Steve Jobs' studio, the division is no longer needed. Thirty-two are laid off.
The first casualty of Walt Disney Co.'s acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios came Monday when the Burbank entertainment giant shuttered a computer animation unit created to make sequels to such Pixar hits as "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo."
Thirty-two employees, or nearly 20% of the 168 artists, production managers and support staff, were told they would lose their jobs effective May 26.
The remaining 136 will be absorbed into Disney's feature animation division and redeployed to work on such productions as "Meet the Robinsons," "Rapunzel" and "American Dog."
Vignone???!???
In a statement, Disney confirmed Monday's developments with The Times and said it would help laid-off employees find new work. At least half a dozen or more hired to work on "Toy Story 3" were foreigners working in the U.S. on visas.
Workers should find themselves in demand, with computer animation enjoying a boom. Studios such as DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures are poised to release a slew of digitally animated movies this year.
Dubbed "Circle 7" after the Glendale street where the unit sits, the sequels operation was quietly set up last year by former Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner at a time when Disney's lucrative partnership with Pixar was strained and in danger of dissolving. Rivals derided the attempt to replicate Pixar's unique creativity, nicknaming the operation "Pixaren't."
Disney had the right to make Pixar sequels under its previous distribution agreement. But its decision to move ahead irked Pixar executives, who worried that a botched effort would hurt their company's reputation.
All of that changed in January, when Disney agreed to buy Pixar for $7.4 billion. Disney CEO Bob Iger and Pixar Chairman Steve Jobs pledged that any Pixar sequels would be produced at Pixar's Emeryville, Calif., headquarters using artists who worked on the originals.
In addition, Disney's core animation operation will now be run by Pixar creative director John Lasseter — who directed "Toy Story" and whose next film, "Cars," is due out this summer — and Pixar President Ed Catmull.
Disney declined to comment about the future status of Circle 7 chief Andrew Millstein, who announced the layoffs to his staff at a noon meeting.
But it is believed that he will look for another job within Disney. Millstein, who once ran Disney's now-defunct Florida animation studio, has worked at Disney for nine years.
Also unclear is what will become of the multimillion-dollar computer animation facility in Glendale, although it is likely the company would use it for future productions.
Posted by dschnee at 9:43 PM
March 21, 2006
Cinefex #105 includes Shaggy Dog Overview
I have yet to see the spread in April's issue, but it's damn cool know that they have done so, Cinefex continues to report and support Tippett's movies, even if they are a bit silly and not vfxBlockbusters.
"Visual effects supervisor Stephen Rosenbaum expounds on the efforts of Tippett Studio and CIS Hollywood to sell the comic premise of a man morphing into a dog in this remake of the Disney comedy classic, The Shaggy Dog."
Fantastic choice for the cover! Seeing this thing the trailer had me completely intrigued, the look, feel, and lighting of this underwater creature is beautiful, one of my favorite bits in the film. (as were the dragons, but dragons are always damn cool)
as posted over @ cinefex.com
Posted by dschnee at 11:29 AM
March 16, 2006
Crew Screening of The Shaggy Dog
Tonight was Tippett Studio's crew screening of Disney's The Shaggy Dog! I was excited to bring my cousin Mellissa and my pops to the show this time around. Now I asked my cousin (who is 14), if she would have gone to see it had she not came tonight... and she honestly told me yes, that her and a few of her friends were planning to go see it. I thought that was great!
What typically happens before the lights dim to darkness and we enjoy the show, is the VFX Supervisor gets down in front and says a few words about the work we did and such, but Tom Schelesny is off in New York working on set for Disney's 'Enchanted'. So our Comp Lead, Alan Boucek and back for a special visit former Tippett CG Supervisor Matt Robbinson delighted us with a brief overview of work completed on Shaggy Dog, and they both went into a round robbin of thanking departments, and even giving shout out's to most all of the individuals involved in bringing our work to the silver screen. Sadly, comp was pretty much left out, but all is good and everyone else was recognized, well almost everyone:
Alan (at the screening last night, after his and MMR's speeches): "We forgot Roto!"
Kane: "We're used to it! F@%# off!"As for the movie... a few heart warming craft cheesey macaroni moments aside, this was a damn fun flick to watch, if your here to watch The Shaggy Dog, I think you enjoyed it, I mean your watching another re-make, and it is a man, freaking Tim Allen, who changes back and forth into a sheep-dog for frog-dog's sake! But Tim Allen does do a fine funny job with the physical comedy and if you own a dog especially the stuff is funny.
The effects... hmmmm, well there was some brutal stuff, but 98% of it wasn't ours, cough, (long shots of shaggy dog surfing) cough*
Anyhow a good time, and it was cool to see something different as the credits rolled, apart from the white text over black screen.
Posted by dschnee at 7:45 PM
March 12, 2006
Tippett Studios Barks Up VFX
So here we go, some more Shaggy Dog VFX to go with the release this past Friday, Also as of this past Friday I'm all finished up with my help on Charlotte's Web (Phase 1), I say phase 1, because it looks as if there will be a phase 2 with some additional sequences, it seems they need more funny, so there will be some more shots to come... So VFXWorld.com interviewed our kick ass VFX Soup on Shaggy Dog, Tom Schelesny, it's a nice spread, and it covers a number of the more complicated shots that were started and finished up while I was in New Zealand working on Kong. Shaggy Surfing, the DNA sequences, and a couple of Shaggy Transforming shots, I peaked at the final shots after I got back, and they all turned out great, and you can go see them in the cinema now!
Tippett Studios created many animals for the film, including mutants such as a King Cobra with a dog’s tail, rabbits that bark and meditate, lab rats that acted like dogs and a “frog dog.” (This shot above was one of the shots I composited, cool shot to work on with sweet rabbit-dog animation and a snake-dog slithering his way up through the sun-roof) anyhow check out the article below:
The Shaggy Dog: Tippett Studios Barks Up VFX
Tara DiLullo talks with Tippett Studios’ Tom Schelesny about the transformation vfx that transpire in Disney’s The Shaggy Dog.
It’s been 47 years since Disney first turned a story about an average guy that miraculously changes into a shepdog into a big screen hit. Now almost 50 years later, the House of Mouse is contemporizing their family classic, The Shaggy Dog, with funny man Tim Allen following in the paw prints of Fred MacMurray, as a family guy transformed into a furry alter ego. Technology has come a long way since the high concept, low-tech original, so it makes sense that the new Shaggy Dog is much more cutting edge and illustrative of the actual human-to-canine transformation process. Under the supervision of visual effects supervisor Stephen Rosenbaum, several vendors worked on the film with the 3D character work going to the highly respected Tippett Studios. Tom Schelesny was the Tippett-based visual effects supervisor and he details how he and his team tackled the upgrades to the concept of the film.
“Our involvement with the project was based more on the fact that we, and I, had done this style of work in the past,” Schelesny details about why Tippett was awarded the film. “There is a subtlety required for comedy, which in a way goes beyond just the technical requirements of creating a computer graphic image. It’s a subtlety that’s not really present in let’s say a horror movie. In a horror movie, something that is intended to be frightening may be unintentionally funny, and that’s OK. But if you are working on a comedy and something that you intended to be funny turns out to not be funny, it’s usually not an option,” he chuckles. “So their interest in us had very much to do with our comedy work in the past, including the sequel to The Mask, The Son of the Mask, so my sensibilities were already working in that area.”
“This is not one of your classic visual effects films, in that the main characters in it are not computer graphic characters,” he continues. “The main character is Tim Allen. It wasn’t one of those situations where we had to augment anything he was doing. He is a very talented physical actor. In fact, it was quite surprising when we got out there, they’d roll the camera and he would just turn it on. It gave us a huge confidence in the project because it wasn’t like they were going to solve any problems in the show with just throwing visual effects at it. Clearly a lot of the responsibility fell to Mr. Allen and he is actually very funny. So the kinds of things that we needed to do, which go against our general visual effects m.o., was to not to mug for the camera for every shot. Generally, we mug for the camera to show everybody that they are getting their money’s worth in terms of a visual effects character. But for the computer graphics characters in this show the comedy was in their situation. They weren’t juggling plates; instead it was a King Cobra that has the tail of a shaggy dog. With that came different challenges, like does he act like a King Cobra or something else? Our main impetuous on the show was to come up with a supporting cast to support Tim’s performance.”
Detailing exactly what Tippett brought to the table, Schelesny explains, “We did about 110 shots. We weren’t the only vendor, but we did all the 3D animation and characters. We had about 50 artists at our studio working on it for about a year. We modeled and animated using Maya. We created 12 computer-generated characters.” Giving some context as to how they were integrated into the film, he details, “At one point in the show, we find ourselves in a lab and there are all these animals that were being experimented on with this ‘shaggy dog’ virus, which are very, very small, green, furry dog-shaped cells, that swim through your bloodstream. They were using that to try and find the fountain of youth, because the original shaggy dog was from Tibet, it’s not Tim Allen at all. The Tibetan dog is very old and the evil scientists got onto this thing to find out what makes this dog live so long via this virus, so they can find a fountain of youth and be trillionaires. So they had all these failed experiments and the things we did were a King Cobra with a sheep dog’s tail in CGI. We did four rabbits that bark like dogs and sit in lotus position and meditate. We also did six lab rats, which would bark, chase their tales and sit up and beg. The last mutated animal was something called the ‘frog dog,’ which had the body of a bullfrog and the head of a bulldog. It was very disturbing,” he chuckles.
Technology has come a long way since the original Fred MacMurray film, so the new Shaggy Dog is much more cutting edge. All images © 2006 Disney Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.
“As for Tim Allen, who is bitten by the Tibetan and is infected with this virus and ends up in this lab and he transforms into a dog, which is where all the funny stuff comes from,” he continues. “He starts behaving like a dog, so we did a shot in an elevator where he begins panting like a dog and this giant tongue extension comes out of his mouth. In the lab, Allen is in a form of a sheep dog and they have all these voiceovers and images of the dog and he’s saying he should meditate to help him transform back into Tim Allen. They show all of our animals meditating and then there is an extreme close up of the dog’s face, which is 90% computer graphics and all the rest is CG fun. When the sheep dog opens his eyes, we reveal Tim Allen’s eyeballs and the hairs begin to retract into the skin and reveal Tim Allen’s skin underneath. They did not want to have Teen Wolf, with Tim Allen’s face and a bunch of funny hairs sticking out of it. So we took the effect about half way through, but we took our time so you would see the bone structure shifting and hairs that are discreetly receding into his face.”
Describing the other work they did on the film, he adds, “We had to build a cat for limited shots, a furred cat, and we also did two huge fully CG shots. We went into the project not even assigned to these shots, where we fly into Tim Allen’s body amongst these red blood cells and show these ‘shaggy’ virus cells. We had all these pictures on the wall of what red blood cells look like and tried to find what audiences would accept. We flew into a wound on Allen’s hand, which was a photographic plate and transitioned into a CG wound and flew through the blood stream and take a red blood cell and rip it open showing shaggy dogs cells swimming on the inside and then we’d fly out of his mouth at the end. It would hook up two photographic plates together with this huge 15-second shots. We did two and the other was inside his heart. Those were really tough shots mostly because we had to self-art direct it and pitch it back to the director. He was busy editing the film so we took the bull by the horns and presenting work to them saying here is what we wish to do.”
The Shaggy Dog offered plenty of other creative challenges for the team, including ways to handle the dog to human transition sequences. Schelesny says the one he was most satisfied with occurred at the end of the movie. “Allen visits his wife and there is one big shot on these courthouse steps where the camera is on a profile of his wife and the dog has its front paws on her shoulders and the camera tracks around her back and goes all the way around to the profile on the far side. As the camera begins passing behind her, the hairs retract into the paws and fingers extend into full human length and grab into her shoulder and he transforms into Tim Allen. On the first side, we see the dog’s face and then on the far side, using her head as a wipe, we see Tim Allen.”
Tippett’s biggest challenge was making the dog surf. Not only did the digital artists have to make the dog hang 10, but also simulating the dog’s long, flowing hair was a hurdle.
As for the biggest production hurdle for Tippett, Schelesny says it was a sequence that closed the film: another surprise addition to their workload. “The intention was for it to be entirely photographic with simple composites. At the end of the movie, [Allen’s family] go to Hawaii and in the far distance, surfers are on the waves and you see out in the ocean a shaggy dog surfing. The first two shots were done by CIS, where they composited a very small greenscreen element of a dog standing on its hind legs and they tracked that one on a surfboard. We then tracked our surfboard under their dog in those two shots and then we got the third shot — the payoff everyone wanted to see. The camera is inside of the wave as it is breaking and there is a completely computer graphic shaggy dog with his long hair flapping in the wind, shooting the curl right past the camera. We had a background plate given to us from production, which was stock photography of a surfer shooting the curl right past us. We painted out that surfer and we had to build this shaggy dog.
“Simulating the hair, which was very long, was a huge technical challenge! The new frontier of fur is how to do long hair and how to style long hair and in the case of the shaggy dog, it has to flow in the breeze and react to his motion. It was a huge simulation to figure out and halfway working through that shot we weren’t sure if it was even renderable. We started painting the dog like he was totally wet with clumpy fur and it was very uninteresting and unrecognizable. I called production and the visual effects supervisor Steven Rosenbaum and told him it did not look like the dog people had been staring at for 90 minutes, so we needed the license to make it look like the dry dog and find areas where to make his fur clumpy. We found a halfway in between look where he still looked wet. The background plate was also shot in slow motion, but they didn’t want the dog in slow motion. We had to find a halfway slow motion speed for the dog’s performance so our CG water around the surfboard was allowed to be in slow motion, the body was partly in slow motion, but the fur was almost in realtime!” he sighs. “We do have a proprietary hair tool we use at Tippett and we had to modify it for extremely long hairs. It was an R&D project built into a project, which we typically don’t want to do but it always ends up that way. It was a fairly significant move forward for us. Our fur tool allows us to bridge from Maya into RenderMan, where the hairs themselves are grown. We do a final composite using Shake. It was the single hardest shot of the show.”
Tara DiLullo is an east coast-based writer whose articles have appeared in publications such as SCI-FI Magazine, Dreamwatch and ScreenTalk, as well as the websites atnzone.com and ritzfilmbill.com.
Posted by dschnee at 5:59 PM
March 5, 2006
Winner: Visual Effects - KING KONG
Can you hear me pounding my chest in celebration? Wow, So I got to work on an Oscar Award Winning VFX Film, amazing! King Kong took home the Oscar for Achievement in Visual Effects tonight at the 78th Annual Academy Award tonight.
Ben Stiller presented the category in a full on greenscreen gimp suit, that was great! and there were many'a green & blue screen gimps in Kong. You can see part of Stiller's presentation and performance here.
See Also:
Acceptence Speech
Back Stage Press Room InterviewKING KONG
Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard TaylorFILM SYNOPSIS
Struggling vaudevillian Ann Darrow embarks on a sea voyage to a mysterious island, where director Carl Denham hopes to film a jungle adventure. There they encounter dinosaurs, gigantic insects, and the terrifying Kong, a gargantuan gorilla whose ferocity is soon overcome by his love for the beautiful Ann.
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Thank you. This is tremendous. For those of us who aren't actors it's really a thrill to be able to create a character and a performance like Kong. But I've got to say we had a great actor working with us the whole time to show us how it's done. I've got to thank Andy Serkis for really giving us the heart of Kong, thank you. Peter Jackson, Peter, thank you for continuing to surprise us, and delight us, guide us, and for making films that we all love. Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens thank you for giving us this incredible story, to our producers Carol Cunningham, Jan Blenkin, Eileen Moran, Annette Wullens thank you for keeping it all together. To everyone at WETA, just a fantastic group of artists, we loved working with you, thanks for your dedication and to all of our friends at Universal, thank you for making it all happen.
SPECIAL ONLINE THANKS
Brian Van't Hul:
It's an honor to thank the academy on behalf of the hundreds of artists and technicians that were required to create the visual effects of King Kong. The process of bringing to life the character of Kong and the environments of Skull Island and New York was spread over so many production and post production departments that it becomes impossible to single out a handful of individuals that should solely be accredited for its success. I hope that this award will help each and every person working on Kong recognize not only how important the success of their role was but also recognize how important the passion for what they were doing helped inspire those around them on a daily basis. It's been my own personal reward to have had the opportunity to be part of the amazing crews of Big Primate, Weta workshop and Weta Digital.A small and hopelessly incomplete list of those who personally inspired me by their hard work, friendship and support includes Annette Wullems, Nic Marrison, Caro Cunningham, Jan Blenkin, Malcolm Angell, Marion Davies, Jeremy Bennet, Gus Hunter, Andrew Lesnie, Alex Funke, Richard Bluck, Stan Alley, Lee Bramwell, Alex Kramer, everyone in the Weta Digital Camera Department past and present, John Baster, Alistair Maher, Paul Van Omen, Moritz Wassman, Dave Brown, Steve Ingram, Geoff Curtis, Scott and Sven Harens, Matt Aitken, Dan Lemmon, Jon Allitt, Emma Harre, Mark Lewis, Nick Booth, Erik Winquist, Eric Saindon, Greg Butler, Matt Holmes, Belindalee Hope, Randy Cook, Christian Rivers, Eric Leighton, Grant Major, Ed Mulhullan, Mike Heffernan, Joe Bleakly, Victoria Sullivan, Steve Bayliss, Tony Keddy, Huw Griffiths, Danny Williams, John Cavill, Glenn Anderson, Gayle Munro, Joe Lewis, John Sheils, Jamie Selkirk, Jabez Olssen, Jenny Vial, Andy Buckley, Mike Hayden, Ants Farrell, Warwick Peace, Gino Acevedo, Kirk Maxwell, Rodney Cook, Brigitte York, Ben Snow, Scott Anderson, George Murphy and everyone who made the effort to put part of themselves into the tireless work they did. This award ultimately is theirs.
Also a special, personal thanks to my parents, Barbara and Arthur Van't Hul for their constant encouragement over the years, family, friends and teachers who continue to remind me that learning, creating and sharing is an essential part of daily life, and most importantly, my wife Trish who continues to be my strength.
Last but not least I'd like to thank Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor who constantly challenge and inspire everyone on the crew to reach beyond what we think we're capable of and who created not only an amazing world on the screen but also one to work in each and every day.
Joe Letteri:
Happy Birthday Mom Jill Letteri.Christian Rivers:
Animation and Motion Picture Department at Weta Digital. Also Andy Serkis, Eric Leighton, Atsushi Sato.Richard Taylor:
Weta
John Baster
Ben Wooten
Weta Workshop, guys that have gone the distance again and all the families of the technicians at Weta.F/X Giants Celebrate Kong Oscar
(Scifi) The Oscar-winning visual-effects team for King Kong
celebrated Kong actor Andy Serkis and said the award was a "celebration of
the geeks in the world, which is a good thing," in remarks backstage at the
78th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 5. Joe Letteri won his
fourth Oscar, along with Christian Rivers, Brian Van't Hul and Richard
Taylor, for their work in Peter Jackson's Kong remake."What's great about it is it's sort of like an incredible variety, because
every time you have to do something, you have to immerse yourself in it,"
Letteri said. "For Kong, we have to learn the history of New York. We have
to learn all about gorillas in the wild, learn about the history of the film
itself. You sort of take all that and you get to do it in as big a way as
possible."Letteri has won three Oscars in the past for visual effects for The Lord of
the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,
as well as a special technical award for Return of the King. He was
nominated last year but did not win for I, Robot.Taylor, who also worked on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe, won four past Oscars for costume design and makeup for Return
of the King and visual effects and makeup for The Lord of the Rings: The
Fellowship of the Ring. This is the first nomination and win for both Rivers
and Van't Hul.Rivers credited the whole project to director Jackson's vision. "In 10
years, I think we will see Peter's directors cut on DVD," he added.The New Zealand F/X business continues to thrive. "We are working on a small
splatter movie at the moment called Black Sheep, right down to our Brain
Dead days," Rivers said. "But the industry is sound, because there's an
amazing community of film makers in New Zealand that want to keep making an
incredible product."Letteri gushed about Serkis, who provided the movements of King Kong's title
great ape. "It's an amazing, you know, asset to have, because what an actor
brings to it is years of training in their craft in kind of understanding
spontaneously how to react to a given situation," he said. "And just having
someone to work with and talk that through. Andy did a lot of Kong, but he
couldn't do all of it. A lot of it came back to us to figure out on our own,
but because Andy set the blueprints for it, we knew what he was thinking and
how he might carry that through that gave us the character. ... This is the
first time a digital character has risen to a level of performance that's
got an audience to a point that they cry, that they can empathize with this
character, that means cinema digital cinema has a bright future. ... But
it's all relative to the performances of the actors around them. If Naomi
[Watts] hadn't given such a performance, Kong would have been nothing. So
it's an amazing amalgam of traditional and modern-day techniques."Posted by dschnee at 6:24 PM
February 27, 2006
Dogged Effects
spotted and snatched from Millimeter:
The visual effects chain for Disney's The Shaggy Dog — a remake of the 1959 film about a man who turns into a dog — relied heavily on techniques designed to improve efficiency and the ability to collaborate remotely. The film has about 300 digital effects shots, mainly involving the manipulation of real and CG animals through a variety of digital stunts, the creation of mutant animal creatures, and extreme use of CG fur on the title character. Visual effects supervisor Stephen Rosenbaum arranged for most of the 3D animal and fur work to be done at Tippett Studios, Berkeley, Calif., with compositing handled by CIS Hollywood and matte paintings done at Christov Effects, Burbank, Calif.
That last statement makes it sound as if we sent out shots to CIS for final compositing, As far as I recall, we comped all our own shots so this wasn't the case, anyhow:
In particular, Rosenbaum says the production's ability to perform preliminary color correction work on effects plates inside a digital intermediate suite at Technicolor Digital Intermediates (TDI), Burbank, where the final DI was also conducted, made a huge impact on efficiency.
“It was an idealized scenario in terms of starting the [color correction process for the plates] on the front end with [DP] Gabriel Beristain,” Rosenbaum explains. “He had a camera assistant shoot digital stills while he shot the movie, and on set, with a [then-Beta version of] Kodak's Look Manager System and a calibrated monitor, Gabriel would color-time the stills, establishing a lighting and color palette for every scene. This allowed us to focus earlier on developing the look of our CG elements to better match his photography. Then, in post, I would take those color-timed stills to TDI, where our DI colorist, Jill Bogdanowicz, would take the metadata from those digital stills out of Look Manager and do a preliminary color pass on each of the effects plates. That exact color-timing reference would then be passed to my vendors, and they could apply it to all scans and plates without having to do any significant color correction themselves. Then, when composites came back to Jill for the final DI, while it wasn't 100 percent plug-and-play, per se, it was pretty darn close, and she only had to do nominal adjustments to fit the effects shots with the non-effects shots.”
From Rosenbaum's point of view, this approach is superior to the notion of periodically generating color-timed film clips in a laboratory for reference purposes where visual effects plates are concerned.
“The DP onward hands off the digital metadata, and that maintains a consistent, exact representation of what he wants, rather than a physical film clip, which is subject to the variances of the particular lab bath used on a particular day,” he says. “Over the years, one gripe I had was the fact that color-timed film clips often did not look consistent because of lab variances, and confusion could follow about which one represented the intended look of the sequence. Using digital metadata, there is no variation. That is a significant benefit for us.”
Still, as with any significant visual effects project, Rosenbaum, his vendors, Beristain, and director Brian Robbins had to frequently conference on not only color issues, but all aspects of the digital effects shots. Rosenbaum says the production's solution for accomplishing that with many of the participants routinely in different locations was to use the cineSync remote collaboration system from Rising Sun Research. “It has probably made me give up satellite transmission systems forever,” he says.
“Essentially, we would upload a QuickTime file, usually at 1k resolution, in the new H.264 codec — a small file but without tons of compression,” he says. “Then, everyone could download it and work on the same synchronized file during a session. We can play it between multiple computers in different locations, and we can all use a mouse pointer and mark up the sequence and interact in a direct way with the vendors.”
-------
The Shaggy Dog
First Look: A behind-the-scenes peek at Tim Allen's remake of the Disney canine flick.Starring: Tim Allen, Kristin Davis, Danny Glover, Craig Kilborn, Robert Downey Jr
Directed by: Brian Robbins
Release Date: March 10, 2006 (Disney)Supported by a wire rig, Tim Allen scrambles on all fours into an alley in pursuit of an orange tabby. In a moment, the human star of Disney’s remake of 1959’s The Shaggy Dogwill morph into a pooch. “There are six trained dogs, an animatronic dog that’s unbelievable, and CGI dogs,” Allen says, with authority. “It’ll all be seamless to you, the viewer.”
Birds & Animals Unlimited, which also trained owls for Harry Potter, schooled Shaggy’s dogs, all bearded collies, in everything from typing to fetching bouquets. “You always end up with a hero dog who’s really going to do about ninety percent of the movie, and for us, his name is Coal,” says trainer Mark Forbes.
Coal let Stan Winston Studio, the Oscar-winning animatronics team behind Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park, take a dental cast of his muzzle in order to build an accurate robot. The animatronic Coal had a coat of angora, yak, and human hair, as well as silicone skin, a fiberglass skeleton, and 28 model-airplane motors crammed into his head and body to help simulate the tail wagging, tongue panting, and ear twitching characteristic of man’s high-energy best friend. “We fill in the gaps,” says puppeteer Paul Mejias. “For instance, there’s a scene where the dog’s trying to spell ‘I’m Dad’ with Scrabble pieces. Coal can move stuff around with his paws, but to spell something out, it’s not gonna happen.”
While Coal and his doppelgänger may have a long Hollywood career ahead, at least one shaggy dog is slated for early retirement. “Our video engineer has already claimed one of the dogs, Knight,” Forbes says. “She’s number six, just a running dog, but she’s probably the best pet out of all of them. She could take or leave the movie business.”
—Cristy Lytal, Premiere MagazinePosted by dschnee at 10:00 AM
February 20, 2006
2 Weeks Left for Tempelton
Not Really Wisdom of the Week:
(but a true fact)
"The name of the mouse in Charlotte's Web was "Templeton". The author of the book was E.B. White who was a Fiji (Phi Gamma Delta). He named the mouse after one of the founders of the fraternity (John Templeton McCarty). Pretty Cool insight."Less than 2 weeks remain, and around 50 or so shots, to wrap up work on Charlotte's Web (phase one?)... 3 shots remain on my plate along with a handful of other comp fixes to other shots (WTF Ari?!?), all targets shall be met and delivered. cheers.
Whats Next? stay tooned...
ohh and on a creepy related note, do a google image search for: templeton mouse and check out pages 1 through 7...
Posted by dschnee at 9:40 PM
February 19, 2006
Achievement In Special Visual Effects
The gorilla pounds out another VFX award... nice!
This year's Orange British Academy Film Awards were held on Sunday 19 February 2006 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. The full list of nominees is here, with winners in bold.
Achievement In Special Visual Effects
BATMAN BEGINS - Janek Sirrs/Dan Glass/Chris Corbould/Paul Franklin
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - Nick Davis/Jon Thum/Chas Jarrett/Joss Williams
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE - Dean Wright/Bill Westenhofer/Jim Berney/Scott Farrar
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE - Jim Mitchell/John Richardson/Tim Webber/Tim Alexander
KING KONG - Joe Letteri/Christian Rivers/Brian Van't Hul/Richard Taylor- © British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Posted by dschnee at 9:00 PM
February 16, 2006
VES Announces 2005 Winners
Last night, The Visual Effects Society had it's anual black tie event Honoring... JOHN LASSETER with the Georges Méliès Award For Pioneering and Artistic Excellence.
Quickly, Kong Captures 3 VES Awards,
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture
King Kong
Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture
King Kong-Kong
Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Motion Picture
King Kong-New York Dawn Attack
and in Comperland,
Outstanding Compositing in a Motion Picture
War of the Worlds
Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program, Commercial, or Music Video
EmpireHere is the complete list of winners... VISUAL EFFECTS SOCIETY ANNOUNCES WINNERS AT THE 4TH ANNUAL VES AWARDS
Here is an older link for the 2005 VES nominations for Outstanding Compositing in a Motion Picture and Broadcast Program
Los Angeles, February 16, 2006 – The VES Awards were given out last night during the Visual Effects Society’s (VES) fourth annual gala event at the Hollywood Palladium. The sold-out event attracted more than eight hundred celebrities, visual effects and animation artists, dozens of nominees and members of the film, television and games industries.
“The extraordinary breadth and diversity of the awards were matched only by the extraordinary talent displayed in the room last night,” said Eric Roth, Executive Director of the VES. “It was an eye-popping, visual effects treat equivalent to a triple ice cream sundae with a dozen exotic toppings capped off with the biggest cherry ever.”
Los Angeles, February 9, 2006 - Actress Bonnie Hunt will be a presenter at the fourth annual Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards, it was announced today by VES Executive Director Eric Roth, who also announced that the Award Show is now sold out. Hunt will be joining Katherine Helmond, Cheech Marin, Edie McLurg, Craig T. Nelson and John Ratzenberger at the Hollywood Palladium on February 15th for the annual gathering of visual effects and animation professionals. The VES recognizes artistic and technical achievements with twenty awards spread across the areas of visual effects and animation in film, television, computer gaming and special venue large format offerings.
This group of actors will be part of the tribute to Pixar's John Lasseter, who collects the VES Georges Méliès Award for Artistic Excellence at this year's event. This award recognizes artists whose contributions to the filmmaking industry have advanced the craft of visual effects. Hunt, McLurg, Nelson and Ratzenberger have worked previously with Lasseter on movies from famed Pixar Animation Studios. Helmond and Marin join Hunt and Ratzenberger in Pixar's upcoming release, the Lasseter-directed "Cars."
One of Hollywood's youngest organizations, the VES was formed in 1997 in response to the explosive growth in the visual effects industry. It is a professional, honorary society, dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of visual effects and to improving the welfare of its members by providing professional enrichment and education, fostering community, and promoting industry recognition. The VES is the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of entertainment from film, television and commercials to music videos and games. Comprised of a diverse group of about 1,300 global members, the VES strives to enrich and educate its own members and members of the entertainment community at large through a multitude of domestic and international events, screenings and programs.
PIXAR TRIBUTE STEALS VES AWARDS SHOW
(variety) "King Kong" and "War of the Worlds" were the big winners at
the fourth annual VES Awards Wednesday as each pic walked away with three
awards and at least one top honor. But an emotional tribute to Pixar toon
titan John Lasseter stole the show.Lasseter was saluted with the Visual Effects Society's George Melies
lifetime achievement award. He was hailed for melding computer science with
the principles of traditional animation to create the foundation for today's
visual effects and CG-animation industries."King Kong" garnered top honors for visual effects in an f/x-driven picture, and snagged kudos for animated character in a live-action pic.In accepting the top award, "Kong" visual-effects supervisor Joe Letteri
saluted Lasseter, saying, "All the principles of animation you were
preaching years ago, some of us were listening."Pic also drew the created environment nod for its high-altitude depiction of
New York at dawn.But "War of the Worlds" grabbed honors for the year's best single visual
effect, the "Fleeing the Neighborhood" sequence, as well as awards for its
models-and-miniatures work and compositing."Kong's" rivals for top honors, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe," "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" and
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" were shut out."Kingdom of Heaven" took the supporting visual effects kudos.
On the TV side, TNT's "Into the West" won two awards, while HBO's "Rome"
drew the prize for visual effects in a series.The tributes to Lasseter included digs at Disney, which rebuffed his efforts
to launch computer animation at the Mouse House some 25 years ago.Presenter John Ratzenberger quipped that the day he saw the news that Pixar
would be taking over Disney animation, "I also saw a little item that Walt
Disney had stopped spinning in his grave."Lasseter, in his acceptance speech, recalled going to work in 1980 at
Disney, "the place I'd wanted to work all my life," only to find "they'd
reached a plateau."Recognizing huge potential in the work being done on "Tron," he worked on a
demo to show what computer animation could do."It fell on deaf eyes," he said.
Lasseter was careful not to disclose any plans as animation topperfor the
Mouse once the purchase of Pixar is complete, saying only that he is
"looking forward to working with the pioneering artists" there again.Lasseter's tale hit a nerve among the assembled visual effects pros, many of
whom were disgruntled ex-Disney animators.Fellow Pixar vet Ed Catmull, who also goes with Lasseter to Disney, will
receive a sci-tech award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
on Saturday.Pixar's Jim Morris received a special honor, the VES board of directors
Award. Morris is a longtime Lucasfilm vet who left to join Pixar in 2004.Morris managed Lucasfilm's transition into digital production and was
saluted for being a linchpin of the VES during its founding and early
growth.Posted by dschnee at 7:19 AM
February 13, 2006
Kong DVD Cover Art
I like it.
See the artwork kong size here
DVD Release Date: March 28, 2006
Pre Order: King Kong (2005) 2-Disc Special Edition
DVD Features:
* Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
* Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
* The Volkswagen Toureg & King Kong
* Wish You Were Here
* Introduction by Peter Jackson
* Post-Production Diaries: Director Peter Jackson takes you on an unforgettable journey revealing virtually every aspect of post-production.
* Nearly three hours of exclusive behind-the-scenes footage!
* Kong's New York, 1933
* Skull Island with Peter Jackson and his crew
Posted by dschnee at 9:24 PM
February 10, 2006
Shaggy Dog is up @ Apple Trailers
Get your trailers here, freshly popped trailers here, for low res, high res, tiny for your iPod, and in HD!?! ohh boy! Posted by dschnee at 9:01 PM
February 9, 2006
Mantastic 2006
Over the past month I've been involved in a company sponsored event, Mantastic 2006, a beard growing contest among 35 of us at the studio. 8 Mantastic Styles, The Amish(backstreetboys), The Amish Goatee(cult classic), The Lemmy(motorhead), The Neanderthal(uhhgg, food good, fire bad), The Selleck(fruity), The Muttonchops(what I got), The Handlebars(hulkamania), and The Neckbeard(nasty)!
We start off clean shaven, and through the luck of the draw we have a style chosen for us that we have to wear for One full month... and.
Through the magic of space and time this past Monday was week #4 of our check in, so you can see the progression from man to mantastic. Many have entered few will win, actually I didn't for my style, but I lost to a worthy apponent (I was robbed!) in the Muttonchop division, dude looks like a sabre-tooth tiger with his gray patches down the sides of his cheek. anyhow...
To catch up on the entire adventure that is Mantastic 2006 visit:
http://mantastic2006.blogspot.com/
Here is my progression... you ain't got Mutton on my Chops!
Posted by dschnee at 5:24 PM
February 4, 2006
Shaggy Dog Super Bowl Spot
Super Bowl TV Spot:
QuickTime, Hi-Res
QuickTime, Lo-ResL00K for it during gameday superbowl sunday - Seahawks vs. Steelers!
Watch Tim Allen "..drop the Hamma' on Gramma'.." -Chris Berman ESPN
Here is what the folks over at I Watch Stuff!.com had to say about this super shaggy spot...
When America demands more Shaggy Dog, Walt Disney delivers. Over at ComingSoon.net they've got not only The Shaggy Dog trailer, but the new Super Bowl spot as well. The TV spot seems a little contrived, giving the movie a play-by-play like the football game, but the trailer answers a lot of questions.
My favorite part is where it zooms in to the cellular level, showing the Shaggy Dog cells merge with the Tim Allen cells. The whole time before this I was thinking, "Seems like a great concept, a man turning into a shaggy dog, but I'm just not sure it's scientifically feasible." Then that shot came on and it totally sold me. Dog bites a guy, transfers Shaggy Dog cells, they latch onto the human cells, creates a man-dog-- it all makes sense. And here I was worried they wouldn't explain what was going on. Plus, he chases a cat! Like how dogs do! You don't need science to tell you that's funny.
Posted by dschnee at 8:43 AM
February 2, 2006
Jackson deserved nomination for Kong,
says Weta chief...
The Weta Digital team made such a perfect job of creating digital doubles and realistic settings for King Kong that they nearly cheated themselves out of their Oscar nomination for visual effects.
The monster movie, by Wellington director Peter Jackson, received four nominations in the technical categories of art direction, sound mixing, sound editing and visual effects, it was announced last night.
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which was shot in New Zealand, directed by Andrew Adamson, was nominated for sound mixing, make-up and visual effects.
Weta Digital chief Joe Letteri, whose team brought the great ape to life and created a virtual New York of 90,358 buildings, and an entire island ecosystem, said he was "pretty excited and relieved" with the nominations.
Last week the filmmakers attended the "bake off" of short-listed films in Los Angeles to present their work to the Academy and discuss it before the members voted.
Mr Letteri said the presentation was "not so much lobbying" as actually pointing out where the special effects appeared.
"Visual effects has got to the point where even those of us who work in it find it hard to tell what was done real and what was done as visual effects after the fact."
With dinosaurs and giant gorillas, people do not usually have much difficulty separating fact from fiction, he told NZPA.
"But with the digital doubles for people, and the environments, it's must harder to spot."
Many people had wanted to know where they had shot the jungle scenes, he laughed.
"We were just in the parking lot of Stone St studios - we never left!"
While the four technical nominations were a great honour - especially considering the "incredible" competition - he admitted he was slightly disappointed that the film was not up for any of the major awards.
Advertisement
AdvertisementJackson's Return of the King - the final in The Lord of the Rings trilogy - won Best Film, Best Director and a host of other Oscars last year.
"In a perfect world we would have liked to have seen the film itself and Peter (Jackson) recognised for what he brought to the screen - so that's a bit of a disappointment," he said.
"It's hard to say what the mood of the Academy is.
"They have tended to have gone for more serious films this year, more political topics seem to be order of the day."
-source stuff.co.nz
Posted by dschnee at 2:02 PM
January 31, 2006
Best Visual Effects Oscar Nominations
for the 78th Academy Awards...
Achievement in visual effects:
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” (Buena Vista)
Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney and Scott Farrar
“King Kong” (Universal)
Joe Letteri, Brian Van’t Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor
“War of the Worlds” (Paramount and DreamWorks)
Dennis Muren, Pablo Helman, Randy Dutra and Daniel Sudickmy thoughts on this soon... ok, so as a shock to me Episode III did not make the short list, but this is a good thing. The amount of work in EPIII is jaw dropping and it looked amazing, but I thought it would be another ILM show because I knew War of the Worlds would make it in there as well. Anyhow, it it's going to be beast vs beast vs alien, and this year was a tough decision from the long list, there were so many great films for vfx, seamless and grand spectacles.
If it's seamless overall War of the Worlds should get it, but Kong's vfx shot count and the accomplishment of King Kong (the silverback gorilla) by itself deserves the gold, let alone the numerous other visual effect sequences, but not all of it was seamless by far... same can be said for Narnia, there was some good work and some rough work. Aslan the Lion looked damn fine indeed, but the look of the beavers was a bit dodgy, even though the animation was grrreat! The work Weta Workshop did was fantastic, but overall It did well in the box office but I don't see it winning the golden man, I can't say Kong vs WotW are 2 vfx films from different worlds both achievments in their own right but it's gotta be KONG!
check out the complete list of nominees...
VARIETY PONDERS BEST VFX OSCAR
(variety) This year's visual effects nominations prove the Academy
can be a coldhearted place.It was the last chance to honor "Star Wars," the franchise that all but
invented the modern visual effects blockbuster and helped create the modern
vfx industry. But the effects branch put sentiment aside and went with "The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," "King Kong" and
"War of the Worlds."This year, it seems, the branch favored films in which vfx make an emotional
contribution to the story, particularly with CG characters such as Kong and
the lion Aslan. Without such a character, "War of the Worlds" may be at a
disadvantage, even though it emerged from the summer blockbuster season with
the most buzz for its vfx work.The clip reel shown to the effects branch at the "bake-off" was stunning,
and its alien tripods are terrifying. The choice to stick close to the
hero's point of view makes them even more disturbing."Narnia" boasts some remarkably lifelike animal animation, from the lion
Aslan to the talking beavers and wolves to its fantasy beasts. The ability
of those animals to hold the screen opposite live actors weighs in its
favor."King Kong," though, boasts the CG performance of the year. Its eponymous
star combines facial performance capture (by thesp Andy Serkis) and detailed
hand animation. Kong holds his own as an actual character opposite Naomi
Watts and can bring a tear to all but the flintiest hearts. That's likely to
impress the general membership.When it comes down to the final tally, the finer points of vfx technology
don't matter much. With many Academy members watching the movies on DVD, and
with relatively few of them possessing an educated eye for vfx, it's more
important whether the general membership likes the movie.There's no obvious favorite among these three. "Narnia" is the biggest hit,
but there's grumbling that its vfx were uneven. "Kong" is too long and
didn't quite catch fire. The "War of the Worlds" story fizzles, and Tom
Cruise has become a distraction.The race will come down to whether the Acad cries for Kong. Every tear shed
tips the scales his way. If their eyes are dry, "Narnia" could win on sheer
likability.The Chronicles of Narnia
Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney and Scott FarrarOscar pedigree: Farrar, "Cocoon" win (1985)
Current kudos: Broadcast Crix (family film win), BAFTA (noms), VES (noms)
Why it'll win: "Narnia" is the biggest hit and most likable nominee.
Why it won't: It contains very uneven vfx work, with many weak shots.King Kong Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard TaylorOscar pedigree: Taylor, 4 Oscars; Letteri, 2 Oscars
Current kudos: Visual Effects Society (noms), BAFTA (noms), Toronto Crix
(special award for Andy Serkis)
Why it'll win: This remake has more and better dinosaurs than "Jurassic
Park," a gorgeous New York and that heartbreaking ape.
Why it won't: This remake is too long and not quite the hit it was supposed
to be.War of the Worlds
Dennis Muren, Pablo Helman, Randal M. Dutra and Daniel SudickOscar pedigree: Muren, 7 Oscars
Current kudos: VES (noms)
Why it'll win: Terrifying f/x are used in creative, unusual ways.
Why it won't: The vfx are better than the movie, which lacks passionate
supporters.Posted by dschnee at 8:13 AM
January 24, 2006
Disney to Acquire Pixar
Pixar went for $7.4 billion buzz lightyears! geeez.
see also:
Toy Story 3 is no longer being made by the Circle 7 crew at Walt Disney Feature Animation... and if it will be, it will be done by Pixar."With this transaction, we welcome and embrace Pixar's unique culture, which for two decades, has fostered some of the most innovative and successful films in history. The talented Pixar team has delivered outstanding animation coupled with compelling stories and enduring characters that have captivated audiences of all ages worldwide and redefined the genre by setting a new standard of excellence," Iger said. "The addition of Pixar significantly enhances Disney animation, which is a critical creative engine for driving growth across our businesses. This investment significantly advances our strategic priorities, which include - first and foremost - delivering high-quality, compelling creative content to consumers, the application of new technology and global expansion to drive long-term shareholder value."
see also: Disney buying Pixar for $7.4 billion from the hollywood reporter.com
Disney to Acquire Pixar
Long-time Creative Partners Form New Worldwide Leader in Quality Family Entertainment
--
Ed Catmull Named President of the Combined Pixar and Disney Animation Studios and John Lasseter Named Chief Creative Officer; Steve Jobs to Join Disney's Board of Directors
--
Disney Increases Stock Repurchase AuthorizationBurbank, CA and Emeryville, CA (January 24, 2006) – Furthering its strategy of delivering outstanding creative content, Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), announced today that Disney has agreed to acquire computer animation leader Pixar (NASDAQ: PIXR) in an all-stock transaction, expected to be completed by this summer. Under terms of the agreement, 2.3 Disney shares will be issued for each Pixar share. Based on Pixar's fully diluted shares outstanding, the transaction value is $7.4 billion ($6.3 billion net of Pixar's cash of just over $1 billion).*
This acquisition combines Pixar's preeminent creative and technological resources with Disney's unparalleled portfolio of world-class family entertainment, characters, theme parks and other franchises, resulting in vast potential for new landmark creative output and technological innovation that can fuel future growth across Disney's businesses. Garnering an impressive 20 Academy Awards, Pixar's creative team and global box office success have made it a leader in quality family entertainment through incomparable storytelling abilities, creative vision and innovative technical artistry.
"With this transaction, we welcome and embrace Pixar's unique culture, which for two decades, has fostered some of the most innovative and successful films in history. The talented Pixar team has delivered outstanding animation coupled with compelling stories and enduring characters that have captivated audiences of all ages worldwide and redefined the genre by setting a new standard of excellence," Iger said. "The addition of Pixar significantly enhances Disney animation, which is a critical creative engine for driving growth across our businesses. This investment significantly advances our strategic priorities, which include - first and foremost - delivering high-quality, compelling creative content to consumers, the application of new technology and global expansion to drive long-term shareholder value."
Pixar President Ed Catmull will serve as President of the new Pixar and Disney animation studios, reporting to Iger and Dick Cook, Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. In addition, Pixar Executive Vice President John Lasseter will be Chief Creative Officer of the animation studios, as well as Principal Creative Advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering, where he will provide his expertise in the design of new attractions for Disney theme parks around the world, reporting directly to Iger. Pixar Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs will be appointed to Disney's Board of Directors as a non-independent member. With the addition of Jobs, 11 of Disney's 14 directors will be independent. Both Disney and Pixar animation units will retain their current operations and locations.
"Disney and Pixar can now collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders," said Jobs. "Now, everyone can focus on what is most important, creating innovative stories, characters and films that delight millions of people around the world."
"Pixar's culture of collaboration and innovation has its roots in Disney Animation. Our story and production processes are derivatives of the Walt Disney 'school' of animated filmmaking," said Dr. Catmull. "Just like the Disney classics, Pixar's films are made for family audiences the world over and, most importantly, for the child in everyone. We can think of nothing better for us than to continue to make great movies with Disney."
The acquisition brings to Disney the talented creative teams behind the tremendously popular original Pixar blockbusters, who will now be involved in the nurturing and future development of these properties, including potential feature animation sequels. Pixar's 20-year unrivaled creative track record includes the hits Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Disney will also have increased ability to fully capitalize on Pixar-created characters and franchises on high-growth digital platforms such as video games, broadband and wireless, as well as traditional media outlets, including theme parks, consumer products and live stage plays.
"For many of us at Pixar, it was the magic of Disney that influenced us to pursue our dreams of becoming animators, artists, storytellers and filmmakers," said Lasseter. "For 20 years we have created our films in the manner inspired by Walt Disney and the great Disney animators - great stories and characters in an environment made richer by technical advances. It is exciting to continue in this tradition with Disney, the studio that started it all."
"The wonderfully productive 15-year partnership that exists between Disney and Pixar provides a strong foundation that embodies our collective spirit of creativity and imagination," said Cook. "Under this new, strengthened animation unit, we expect to continue to grow and flourish."
Disney first entered into a feature film agreement with Pixar in 1991, resulting in the release of Toy Story, which was hailed as an instant classic upon its release in November 1995. In 1997, Disney extended its relationship with Pixar by entering into a co-production agreement, under which Pixar agreed to produce on an exclusive basis five original computer-animated feature films for distribution by Disney. Pixar is currently in production on the final film under that agreement, Cars, to be distributed by Disney on June 9.
The Boards of Directors of Disney and Pixar have approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antritrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, and other customary closing conditions. The agreement will require the approval of Pixar's shareholders. Jobs, who owns approximately 50.6% of the outstanding Pixar shares, has agreed to vote a number of shares equal to 40% of the outstanding shares in favor of the transaction.
The Disney Board was advised by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Bear, Stearns & Co. The Pixar Board was advised by Credit Suisse.
Separately, the Disney Board approved the repurchase of approximately 225 million additional shares, bringing the Company's total available authorization to 400 million shares. Since August 2004 through the end of December 2005, Disney has invested nearly $4 billion to purchase nearly 155 million shares. Disney anticipates further significant share repurchases going forward, reflecting Disney's continued commitment to returning value to shareholders over time.
* Based on Disney's closing share price of $25.52 as of 1/23/06.
About The Walt Disney Company:
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with four business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment and consumer products. Disney is a Dow 30 company, had annual revenues of nearly $32 billion in its most recent fiscal year, and a market capitalization of approximately $50 billion as of January 23, 2006.
Investor Conference Call:
An investor conference call will take place at approximately 2:15 p.m. PT / 5:15 p.m. ET today, January 24, 2006. To listen to the Webcast, turn your browser to www.disney.com/investors/presentations or http://corporate.pixar.com.
If you cannot participate in the live Webcast, re-plays will be available for domestic callers at (888) 286-8010 (PIN 56666399) and for international callers at (617) 801-6888 (PIN 56666399), or at www.disney.com/investors/presentations until 4:00 p.m. PT on Tuesday, February 7, 2006. An .mp3 version of this Webcast replay will also be available approximately 24 hours after the Webcast concludes at www.disney.com/investors/presentations.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are made on the basis of the views and assumptions of the management of The Walt Disney Company and Pixar regarding future events and business performance as of the time the statements are made and they do not undertake any obligation to update these statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Such differences may result from legal or regulatory proceedings or other factors that affect the timing or ability to complete the transactions contemplated herein, actions taken by either of the companies, including restructuring or strategic initiatives (including capital investments or asset acquisitions or dispositions), as well as from developments beyond the companies' control, including: adverse weather conditions or natural disasters; health concerns; international, political or military developments; technological developments; and changes in domestic and global economic conditions, competitive conditions and consumer preferences. Such developments may affect assumptions regarding the operations of the businesses of The Walt Disney Company and Pixar separately or as combined entities including, among other things, the timing of the transaction, the performance of the companies' theatrical and home entertainment releases, expenses of providing medical and pension benefits, and demand for products and performance of some or all company businesses either directly or through their impact on those who distribute our products. Additional factors that may affect results are set forth in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of The Walt Disney Company for the year ended October 1, 2005 under the heading "Item 1A—Risk Factors" and in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Pixar for the quarter ended October 1, 2005 under the heading "Risk Factors" section of Part I, Item 2.
For Additional Information:
This material is not a substitute for the prospectus/proxy statement Disney and Pixar will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are urged to read the prospectus/proxy statement which will contain important information, including detailed risk factors, when it becomes available. The prospectus/proxy statement and other documents which will be filed by Disney and Pixar with the Securities and Exchange Commission will be available free of charge at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, or by directing a request when such a filing is made to The Walt Disney Company, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521-9722, Attention: Shareholder Services or by directing a request when such a filing is made to Pixar, 1200 Park Avenue, Emeryville, CA 94608.
Pixar, its directors, and certain of its executive officers may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transactions. Information about the directors and executive officers of Pixar and their ownership of Pixar stock is set forth in the proxy statement for Pixar's 2005 annual meeting of shareholders. Investors may obtain additional information regarding the interests of such participants by reading the prospectus/proxy statement when it becomes available.
Contacts:
The Walt Disney Company
Zenia Mucha – 818-560-5300
David Caouette – 818-560-8543
Michelle Bergman – 818-560-8231Pixar
Katie Cotton – 408-974-7269
Nils Erdmann – 510-752-3374-------
Disney buying Pixar for $7.4 billion
By Paul Bond
The Walt Disney Co. will pay $7.4 billion in stock to acquire Pixar Animation Studios, the companies said Tuesday.The deal has Steve Jobs, the new-media maverick who is CEO of Pixar and Apple Computer, becoming the 14th member of Disney's board of directors.
The transaction, expected to close in the summer after the release of "Cars" -- the final movie under a previous partnership between Disney and Pixar -- creates a new animation studio headed by Pixar president Ed Catmull.
Pixar executive vp John Lasseter, considered the creative force behind Pixar and its unbroken string of hit computer-graphics animated films, becomes -- appropriately enough -- chief creative officer of the new studio and principal creative adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering.
At Imagineering, Lasseter is expected to help create more attractions based on Pixar characters for Disney's many theme parks, along the lines of the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride that opened last year at Disneyland in Anaheim.
Catmull will report to Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook, while Lasseter reports to Disney CEO Robert Iger. It wasn't clear Tuesday what role Walt Disney Feature Animation president David Stainton will play.
Also unclear is the fate of the Disney animated feature slate, though Iger and Jobs said that so far nothing has changed in that regard: Disney is on track to release one animated film per year and so is Pixar.
Disney is expected to maintain the two units -- the Disney group based in Burbank and the Pixar group based in Emeryville, Calif. -- as separate production facilities.
Analyst Richard Greenfield of Pali Research suspected that a primary reason for Disney being anxious to acquire Pixar was because its own slate is weak, suggesting that Disney ultimately will shuttle such productions as "American Dog," "Meet the Robinsons" and "Rapunzel Unbraided."
Disney has distributed all six of Pixar's films -- beginning with "Toy Story" in 1995 -- and they have earned a whopping $3.2 billion in worldwide boxoffice.
Meanwhile, Disney, which pioneered the feature-length animated movie with the 1937 release of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and dominated the category for six decades, lately has struggled when it strayed from Pixar co-productions. Pixar racked up $1.46 billion domestically with its six movies, about four times more than Disney's past half-dozen, which includes the CG-animated "Chicken Little" and five 2-D productions, including "Home on the Range" and "Brother Bear."
Disney's lucrative relationship with Pixar, though, might have come to an end had Iger not made it a priority to hammer out a new agreement, something previous Disney CEO Michael Eisner had been unable to achieve because his relationship with Jobs had become contentious.
Rather than strike a new distribution deal that would have been far more advantageous to Pixar than Disney's previous arrangement had been, Iger and company instead chose to buy the firm.
Wall Street, though, had been anticipating such a move for several weeks, and investors had bid shares of Pixar higher, so that in the end Disney is paying just a small premium -- about 4% -- to Pixar shareholders.
The agreement has Disney issuing 2.3 of its shares for each Pixar share, putting about a $7.4 billion price tag on Pixar, though the company has a little more than $1 billion in cash on its books that will go to Disney. Disney shares closed Tuesday at $25.99, making the value of each Pixar share $59.78. They closed trading Tuesday at $57.57.
In a twist, Eisner, who relinquished his CEO spot to Iger in September and surrendered his board seat shortly thereafter, now must watch as Jobs, his onetime nemesis, not only joins the Disney board but also becomes the company's largest individual shareholder.
Jobs first proclaimed two years ago that Pixar would entertain a partnership proposal from other studios in lieu of re-upping with Disney, presumably to strike the kind of deal Lucasfilm has with 20th Century Fox, whereby the vast bulk of profits related to the "Star Wars" franchise stay at Lucasfilm.
Ultimately, Jobs said during a conference call Tuesday, he decided it best not only to stay with Disney but also to become part of it in order to, among other things, relieve Pixar of burdens associated with being a publicly traded company -- burdens that now will fall on its parent, Disney, even as Pixar continues operating from its current production facilities in Northern California.
"Disney is the only company with animation in its DNA," Jobs said.
"Counting 'Cars,' we have seven children together," said Jobs, adding that Iger is an executive that he and others at Pixar "have grown to like a lot and trust."
Jobs and Iger both stressed that the combined Disney-Pixar will facilitate the making of sequels to selected films, though they said they have not decided on which titles. Disney had been working on "Toy Story 3" without Pixar, though Jobs said Tuesday that it is important that the same talent responsible for the original movies be involved in the sequels, suggesting perhaps that there are changes afoot with that production, which is set for a summer 2008 release.
Jobs' other job as head of Apple wasn't discussed Tuesday, though new-media analysts have been salivating at the thought that Jobs, whose iTunes and iPod revolutionized the music industry, has been catapulted into such a powerful spot in the entertainment world.
"It is critical that media companies gain a greater understanding of technology and the impact it may have on their businesses," Prudential Equity Group analyst Katherine Styponias said. "In our view, no company understands both technology and the consumer better than Apple."
Jobs started Pixar when he purchased the computer-graphics division of Lucasfilm for $10 million in 1986 and renamed the company. The company concentrated on short films and commercials until making "Toy Story" in 1995, the same year Pixar went public at a valuation of about $1 billion.
On Tuesday, Jobs credited Catmull with the idea of a fully CG feature film. "It took us 10 years, but we actually did it," he recalled.
Posted by dschnee at 12:47 PM
January 3, 2006
Caught in Charlotte's Web
Happy New Year!?!
So it's a new year and it's a new project, as of today I'm back with some great family type folks, back with Tippett folk working on Charlotte's Web!
It's good to be back working again, after having a month and a half off, I was getting a bit ancy, Charlotte's Web delivers the first week of March, and is now due to release in the cinema Christmas 2006, pushed back from it's Summer release date...
for more info try these:
Charlotte's Web Movie
Charlotte's Web on IMDB.comCast Overview, definatley some talent here:
Dakota Fanning .... Fern
Julia Roberts .... Charlotte (voice)
Oprah Winfrey .... Gussy (voice)
Steve Buscemi .... Templeton (voice)
Kathy Bates .... Bitsy (voice)
John Cleese .... Samuel (voice)
Thomas Haden Church .... Brooks (voice)
Robert Redford .... Ike (voice)
Cedric the Entertainer .... Golly (voice)
Jane Sibbett .... Joy (voice)
Jennifer Garner .... Susy (voice)
Reba McEntire .... Betsy (voice)
André Benjamin .... Elwyn (voice) (as André 3000)Posted by dschnee at 9:25 PM
