Frames Per Second Magazine

SIGGRAPH 08, Stereoscopic3D and Computer Animation Festival can be overwhelming!

2008-08-14T01:08:00.025-04:00

Film festival venues can be overwhelming and conference venues can be overwhelming, but when you combine them... well, the experience hovers somewhat above the horizon. That said, here are some tidbits:

1. Much discussion, several panels, and two full days of screenings of stereoscopic (3D) films, commercials, sports events, games and scientific visualizations on the first day of the conference. 3D is the agenda for 21st-century digital releases. I took in the two-hour screening of 3D clips and then heard fine artist and installation/performance artist Catherine Owens speak about collaborating with Bono on the 3D film of U2's concert in Buenos Aires. She spoke convincingly about "experimental" exploration and commitment to "idea" in relationship to her personal art, as well as in relationship to her directorial debut of the film U2 3D.

2. The Computer Animation Festival is programmed into seven two-hour screenings that most often repeat the commercials, trailers, and synopses of film titles submitted. For example, Rhythm and Hues showcased effects scenes of the polar bears in "The Golden Compass" and that is screened alongside the commercial from Bridgestone Tires many have seen of the squirrel running onto the highway to retrieve a nut as a car swerves to miss killing him. The festival is screening two impressive studio shorts worth mentioning here: Pixar Studios' Presto and Disney Studios' Glago's Guest. If you've seen WALL-E you've seen Presto before the feature screens.

3) A wonderful Tribute To Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas happened today with Tom Sito moderating a panel that included Frank Thomas' son, Theodore Thomas, documentary filmmaker, as well as a group of celebrity animators who had worked with the two of them in a mentor relationship. All of them delightfully shared their experiences with Frank and Ollie and were very well received. More on this later.

A closing note in case you don't want to wait: you may go online to read about all the sessions at SIGGRAPH 08 and can listen to them on DVD. All panels and discussions have been recorded are available for purchase.

I have constantly forgotten the number one rule for attending film festivals and conferences: find a place to sit, eat well and if you do this, thinking might follow! That said, I will return to report more soon, in spite of the L.A. smog my allergies are swimming in...

Brian C Speaks With His Hands

2008-08-05T18:37:00.000-04:00

To an origami purist, cutting or tearing paper is like an old-school Catholic eating fish on Fridays; at best, it's frowned upon, and at worst someone thinks you're going to hell. Which is why it's all the more remarkable that Brian Chan makes his origami masterpieces like the Totoro nekobus above from just one sheet of uncut paper. Once you've finished checking out his nekobus gallery, you can also marvel at his paper WALL-E posed to recreate shots from the Pixar film, or watch the video below of him folding the sad-eyed robot.

[Thanks again to the Nausicaa.net Hayao Miyazaki mailing list.]

Short Takes: Ponyo in Venice, Ghibli Animation Process, Gatchaman CGI, Keanu is Cowboy Bebop, Monsters Inc. 2?, More Harryhausen on Blu-ray!

2008-08-01T14:26:00.008-04:00

- Studio Ghibli's Ponyo will screen at the 65th Venice International Film Festival (taking place at Venice Lido from August 27th to September 6th) along with Mamoru Oshii's The Sky Crawlers. Hayao Miyazaki will be in attendance and commented, "Lido is very beautiful place. I'm glad that I can walk there again." Via Ghibli Wiki

- Goro Miyazaki talks in depth about layout and the Studio Ghibli production process. Via Ghibli World

- CG images from the new Gatchaman movie with animation produced by Imagi are up at the felix ip。蟻速畫行 blog.

- WTF?! Is Keanu Reeves really going to end up playing Spike Spiegel in the upcoming live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop? Do I care? Via FirstShowing.net

- Is Pixar going to slap us with a sequel to Monsters Inc? Pete Doctor is playing coy but we think it's gonna happen. Straight to video anyone? Via MTV Movies Blog

- More high-def Harryhausen!!!! Sony is eyeing an October 7th release date for the 1958, stop-motion animation/live-action classic, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad on Blu-ray and standard DVD. Via HighDef Digest.com

New Images from Pixar's 'Up'

2008-08-01T13:50:00.004-04:00

The Pixar Blog has posted 5 new images from the upcoming film, Up. If you don't work for Pixar and didn't attend the San Diego Comic Con, chances are you haven't seen these yet. Click on over to view them all in giant, decent-res glory!

Link: The Pixar Blog

Previously on fps:
Up Sneak Peek

Disney: Blu-ray Sale at Amazon.com! (Updated)

2008-08-01T13:19:00.004-04:00

Disney: Blu-ray Sale at Amazon.com!

It appears that Amazon.com is ready to blow out some Disney and Pixar Blu-ray discs! In addition to a slew of live action titles, the online retailer is offering these animated films at a discount:

- Not only was this one of the best animated films to come out in ages, but it's also one of the most incredible Blu-ray discs you'll ever pick up. With reference quality video and audio and a veritable smorgasbord of extras, the Ratatouille Blu-ray disc is a must own! And at 40% off how can you resist the chance to show off your gear and prove to your spouse that you truly did need the high-def upgrade to your living room!

- While Cars didn't bowl me over the way other Pixar films have (What's with the shitty character design, Lasseter?) it's a solid effort that's fit for the whole family. The quality of the Blu-ray disc, on the other hand, is beyond reproach. Once again Disney has crafted a near perfect sensory experience, hampered only by some hinky menu design. Want to show off your system? The Cars Blu-ray will most certainly get the job done.

- This is an incredible collection of short animated films and we should count ourselves among the fortunate that Disney was kind enough to master a Blu-ray disc that affords them the finest, most vibrant and detailed presentation to date. While the overall quality is over the top, you'll notice that the older shorts, transfered from a film source (as opposed to the digital-to-digital transfers Pixar is known for) suffer slightly from softer, less-than-perfect video and uneven audio. I'm not grousing. I'm just saying...

Find more animated films like Meet the Robinsons and Dinosaur at the Disney Blu-ray Sale page.

Disney Animation: The Princess and the Frog Trailer

2008-07-30T13:30:00.005-04:00

Disney isn't giving us a whole lot of insight into their upcoming film, The Princess and the Frog (directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, directors of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin) with this new trailer. But I don't care. This looks beautiful. Thank the lord for Ed Catmull, John Lasseter and the return of Disney's 2D animation division. 2009 can't come soon enough!

Watch the trailer in other formats: The Princess and the Frog

SDCC 08: Up Sneak Peek

2008-07-30T00:04:00.004-04:00

Amid Amidi of Cartoon Brew and Harry McCracken of Harry-Go-Round have both commented on the San Diego Comic Con preview of footage from Up and Bolt. Take a look at this teaser for Up.

Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

Short Takes: Speed Racer DVD, Black Panther Animated, Sony's 3-D Digital Feature, Live-Action/Animation Hybrid, Animation Secrets of Wall-E

2008-07-15T19:08:00.006-04:00

- The classic Speed Racer animated series will finally be available as a box set on October 7th from Lionsgate. There is a mysterious 6th disc included in the collection which we're hoping will contain the bonus features sorely lacking on the individual DVDs. Via tvshowsondvd.com

- BET Networks and Marvel Animation have announced the impending arrival of a Black Panther animated series. A sneak preview will be screened at the San Diego Comic Con on July 26th. Via marketwatch.com

- Sony Pictures Animation is preparing to release it's premiere stereoscopic 3-D digital effort: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Via hollywoodreporter.com

- Live-action/animation hybrid, Go Girl has been greenlit for Canadian animation channel, Teletoon. Casting will take place via a Facebook events page and YouTube submissions. Via vfxworld.com

- Directing animator, Angus Lane shares insight into the animation process behind the film, Wall-E. via ign.com

Ghibli by Pixar: Totoro Forest Project

2008-07-11T01:42:00.007-04:00

fps blogger Matt Forsythe joins some of the worlds greatest illustrators and animators in contributing art to the Totoro Forest Project: an international charity effort to preserve Sayama Forest, also known as Totoro Forest.

"Over 200 top international artists from animation, illustration, and comics are donating artwork especially created for this cause. On september 6th 2008 Pixar Animation Studios will be hosting an art auction event featuring all these fantastic pieces of art. All the proceeds of this fundraiser will benefit the Totoro Forest Foundation. On top of the auction we are producing a wonderful art book of the auction pieces and we’ve also managed to secure an exhibition at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco."

Visit Matt's blog to view his wonderful contribution to the project.

Read Enrico Casarosa's blog to learn more about how he, Dice Tsutsumi, Ronnie Del Carmen, and Yukino Pang at Pixar plan to save the forest.

Via Drawn.ca

Ratatouille DVD and Blu-ray Biggest Sellers in UK

2008-07-11T00:07:00.005-04:00

Well, what do you know? Looks like Britain loves Pixar more than Keira Knightley after all. Variety is reporting that despite the recent economic downturn, Her Majesty's loyal subjects have been shelling out for home entertainment discs in record amounts, with Ratatouille trouncing Atonement as the biggest seller to date.

“History has shown that in times of economic hardship, consumers find even more value in home entertainment when the leisure pound is stretched as it is,” commented Lavinia Carey, director general, BVA.

“As video is one of the most cost-effective forms of entertainment we would expect to see continued volume growth in our market as consumers tighten their belts in response to increasing economic uncertainty,” she added.

It seems, according to the article that the Blu-ray format has a lot to do with the recent gains in the market, citing a 506% growth, year to date.

via Variety.com

WALL-E

2008-06-27T10:37:00.003-04:00

I hate it—I mean, really hate it—that whenever an animated feature is reviewed, writers feel compelled to mention whether or not kids would like it. It's a testament to the fact that, regardless of what the individual writers, editors or publishers feel, the public at large still can't process the idea that adults might want to watch animated features for themselves.

Past responses to this prejudice have included making films that are most definitely not for children, making films that are mainly for kids but include nod-and-wink throwaway gags for adults, and making films that kids and adults can enjoy equally. These have worked to varying degrees, but they all carry with them a fairly standard idea of what children will watch and enjoy.

WALL-E is a bit different in this regard, because it expands the idea of what kids will find entertaining. When Cast Away was released eight years ago, a big deal was made of the fact that there was no dialogue for almost half the movie (in the literal sense; Tom Hanks's character did speak, but no one answered). A similar fuss is being made over the lack of dialogue in WALL-E, but the unspoken question is, will kids be able to sit still for a 103-minute film where the main characters rarely speak?

From the reactions of the kids in the audience (especially the ones in the row right behind me) on Wednesday night, the answer is yes. And in the same way that Tom Hanks's acting was credited for making the dialogue-free parts of Cast Away so compelling, the Pixar animators must be given props for the remarkable acting in WALL-E.

With one exception, none of the many robot characters in the movie can truly speak, and the two that do (WALL-E and EVE) pretty much only say their names, each other's names, and the word "directive." That means that every robot character has to rely on rigid bodies and eyes (or eye surrogates) to communicate and express emotion. Interestingly, WALL-E himself is among the least flexible of the movie's robots; he has treads instead of feet, a pair of rigid mechanical viewfinders instead of an eye-mimicking LED display, and unbendable arms with three flat "fingers" at the end.

In sum, the movie has to be carried by characters that can't speak and are all limited compared to human bodies, and the main character is in some ways the most limited. And it works, thanks to Pixar's careful application of animation's twin traditions of pantomime and bringing inanimate objects to life. There are several references in WALL-E to A113, an in-joke that refers to CalArts's old character animation classroom. In few other films is that gag as relevant as it is in WALL-E; the movie is such an accomplished expression of the pre-digital yet universal art of conveying emotion and story purely through movement that when human characters show up and start talking, they seem clumsy and inelegant in comparison.

So, yes, kids will like WALL-E, as will adults. And we have the art of animation to thank for that.

New Wall-E Trailer Online

2008-03-13T19:34:00.005-04:00

The new Wall-E teaser trailer went up yesterday, and it's a good one. Oh, it doesn't tell us any more about the story than the previous teasers, but it does give us a little more about the title character's personality. (I still think the sad-eyes design is a bit of a cheat, but we'll see how it works out.) In fact, about a third of the QuickTime video has Wall-E interacting with Luxo, Jr. in front of the Pixar logo before there are any movie clips.

I haven't loved all of the Pixar trailers in the past, but when they get it right, it's perfect. remember the Toy Story teaser with Buzz "falling with style?" It told you everything you needed to know about the characters and set up Woody's animosity toward Buzz, didn't give away any plot points, and had you wanting to see the movie for reasons beyond the novelty of a feature-length CG film. I've never confirmed if Pixar cuts their own trailers, but I strongly suspect it; if more studios did that, I probably wouldn't spend the first fifteen minutes at the movies figuring out where to put my popcorn.

Ratatouille, Peter and the Wolf Take Oscars

2008-02-24T21:08:00.009-05:00

Brad Bird accepted the Academy Award 25 minutes ago for Best Animated Feature Film for Ratatouille. In his acceptance speech, Bird thanked Pixar, Disney, John Lasseter, Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull, Brad Lewis, Jan Pinkava, and Dick Cook. Ratatouille edged out Surf's Up and Persepolis to win the Oscar.

Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Peter and the Wolf, beating out I Met the Walrus, Madame Tutli-Putli, Même les Pigeons vont au Paradis and My Love.

The Nominees Are...

2008-01-22T22:54:00.000-05:00

Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 2008 Oscar nominees. For all the concern of Beowulf getting a spot, the worry was for naught. The shorts are diverse, in technique, storytelling and geography.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, France)
Ratatouille (Brad Bird, US)
Surf's Up (Ash Brannon and Chris Buck, US)

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Even Pigeons Go To Heaven (Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse, France) entire short
I Met The Walrus (Josh Raskin, Canada) clip
Madame Tutli-Putli (Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski, Canada) clip
My Love (Alexander Petrov, Russia) clip
Peter and The Wolf (Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman, UK) clip

Popeye in New York

2008-01-09T23:48:00.001-05:00

In New York and have some free time Thursday afternoon? Head over to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to see fully restored versions of the three Popeye Color Specials by Fleischer Studios: Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor, Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves, and Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp.

The screening is part of Still Moving, a film series focusing on MoMA's media collection. January's schedule pays special attention to animation. Other screenings include Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, A Bug's Life, and Studio Ghibli's My Neighbors the Yamadas.

Tuesday's WALL-E Trailer

2007-12-19T01:42:00.000-05:00

The latest WALL-E trailer has been posted on MySpace.

Don't forget to visit the Buy N Large website, based on the film's fictional company.

Did I mention I love robots? I love robots.

Pixar Short Films Collection Vol. 1

2007-11-19T17:04:00.000-05:00

Review by Noell Wolfgram Evans

The recent release of The Pixar Short Film Collection Vol. 1 shows the studio's utter mastery of the animated form. Watching these pieces must be what it would have been like to watch Babe Ruth in his prime—you understood what he was doing but it was difficult to comprehend how he was doing it so well. All that you could do was sit back and enjoy. And that's really all that you can, and should, do with this short film set.

Read the review

Upcoming Releases: October 2007 to October 2008

2007-10-07T22:50:00.000-04:00

Do You Smell a Rat?

2007-07-20T13:17:00.000-04:00

Back in the bad old days of VHS, a company called Good Times would routinely release cheap (as in inexpensive, and as in shoddy) knockoffs of Disney features while they were still in the cinema. Animation fans theorized that harried parents would remember the name Pocahontas from all the advertising, spot it near the grocery checkout, and snap it up, relieved that they were able to preserve their kids' pop-culture cred so easily.

I have no idea if Good Times is still in business, but their spiritual successor, the ironically named Inspired Corporation, is tackling Pixar's works with gusto. On the heels of Little Cars 2, itself a sequel to the knockoff Little Cars, comes Ratatoing, which I spotted in Hollywood@Home, a home-video trade mag (coincidentally co-founded by longtime occasional fps contributor Marc Elias). Click the graphic at left to see the ad in all its horror. I love how shameless they are compared to Good Times; check the enticing copy on the right: "Inspired by Disney's upcoming hit Ratatouille," and "Capitalize on the huge buzz stirred from Disney."

The Art of Ratatouille

2007-07-19T19:38:00.001-04:00

Review by Mark Mayerson

While Pixar is one of the most advanced computer animation facilities in existence, before they bring their programming smarts and processing power to bear, they start with the art.

The Art of Ratatouille concentrates on displaying that art. The book is full of drawings, paintings and sculptures showing how the characters and sets evolved before the nuts and bolts of computer animation were applied.

Read the review

Ratatouille

2007-06-29T00:46:00.001-04:00

Review by Terrence Briggs

Ratatouille is Pixar's best film since Toy Story.

It may lack the rapid-fire whimsy of Toy Story's dialogue, but it tells a more nuanced and imaginative story than Toy Story 2, with fewer softball cultural references. As in Iron Giant and The Incredibles, Brad Bird grounds the characters with largely believable dialogue, and goes through amazing pains to legitimize its many narrative conceits. It's drop-dead gorgeous, almost the equal of Finding Nemo, with more elaborately choreographed action.

Read the review

Two Contests for the Price of One

2007-06-18T23:47:00.000-04:00

It's rare that we run more than one contest at a time, but sometimes we're just bursting with giveaway goodness. We're giving two winners a two full passes each for next week's Platform International Animation Festival, and another two winners are getting a copy The Art of Ratatouille, which features 160 pages of art and text (text? No, really, we get it for the pictures) about the making of Pixar's latest feature. You can enter the Platform contest here and the Art of Ratatouille contest here. The contests close 1t 11:59 p.m. on June 22 and June 29, respectively.

Short Takes: Pixar's Up, Astro Boy, Bollywood Nights, Oh Canada, Thundercats

2007-06-12T09:56:00.000-04:00

Pixar has announced that their 2009 feature will be titled Up, making it the most concisely titled animated feature ever, at least until Shane Acker's 9 comes out. According to Variety, the movie will be about "a 70-year-old man who teams with a wilderness ranger to fight beasts and villains." That's just vague enough that I went straight to Up helmer Pete Docter and asked if he could provide even a little more detail at this early date. For instance, is the movie set in the past, present or future? "It's set in the present," he said, "But I'm not supposed to say much more than has already been printed—other than it's going to be really cool!" Hopefully he'll be more forthcoming before the movie's June 12, 2009 debut.

The Mouse goes to Bollywood: In an effort to crack the Indian market, Disney is teaming up with Yash Raj Films to co-produce Bollywood-style animated features, voiced by Bollywood stars. It's a step up from, say, pitching Mulan to Chinese audiences, but it'd be really cool if Disney set up an exchange program between the Indian studio and Feature Animation in the States. It's a small world, after all.

You know we're gleefully anticipating Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution, but gnash our teeth mightily while waiting for its September release date. Happily, we can get a taste when author Frederik L. Schodt chats with KQED's Michael Krasny next Tuesday, between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time. (If you miss it, you can download the archived podcast a bit later.) Oh, did I mention it's a call-in show? You can phone in with questions during the show at 415-863-2476 or 1-866-SF-FORUM (866-733-6786; toll free).

I had no idea there was such a thing as the Canadian Skills Competition, let alone that the thirteenth instalment happened last last week. And imagine my surprise at discovering that the "Olympic-style competitions that test the skills of young people at secondary and post-secondary levels in trade and technology areas" include animation! Specifically, there are two team events titled 3D Character Computer Animation and 2D Character Computer Animation. Congratulations to the winners, but of course I'm a little irked that animation is being considered a technology skill more than an artistic one.

I'm not a huge fan of '80s TV, and frankly the thought of another He-Man and the Masters of the Universe movie bewilders me. (The Transformers movie, less so. The smart money has long known to bet on robot smackdowns.) But it's now been confirmed that Warner will be making the Thundercats movie as a CGI feature. Okay, they've got a cool logo and all, but... why? I know, I know, there's a fan base. But... why?