Monthly Archives: June 2016

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Piper – First Look – Official Disney Pixar

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In Piper, “a hungry sandpiper hatchling discovers that finding food without mom’s help isn’t so easy.” What I love about this short film is that it takes the best of Pixar’s character-based animation and blends it with the narrow depth of field, with the almost photo-real cinematography emulating macro photography.

Barillaro has been with Pixar for some time, acting as a supervising animator on Wall-E, Brave and The Incredibles. Piperis his directorial debut, and I hope we see more from him. I also hope that Disney Consumer Products Group doesn’t drop the ball again and not make some cute plushes based on this animated short, as I’m sure they’d sell well in Disney stores worldwide. Pixar and Disney’s animated shorts always seem to get the shaft from the merchandising departments.

The score for the short was composed by Adrian Belew, who is best known for his work as a guitarist and vocalist of the progressive rock group King Crimson. His songs have appeared in a bunch of movies and television shows, but this is his first attempt at composing an original score. This came about as Barillaro used Belew’s compositions as temp music while he was developing the short film. Finding Dory director/Pixar brain trust member Andrew Stanton knew the musician and made the introduction.

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Cartoon Network Takes Viewer Engagement to the Next Level with “Mighty Magiswords”

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mighty-magiswords-cartoon-network

A HUGE congratulations to Kyle A. Carrozza who’s digital show just got greenlit for a full series on Cartoon Network! Incidentally we interviewed Kyle a few years ago. More details below…

Cartoon Network Takes Viewer Engagement to the Next Level with “Mighty Magiswords”

Multi-Platform World Allows Fans to Watch, Play and Collect

Cartoon Network, recently named one of the most innovative media companies by Fast Company, continues to redefine content and the fan experience with the evolution of its latest franchise, Mighty Magiswords.

Debuting last year on the Cartoon Network Anything micro-network as a 15-second interactive series, this comedy adventure about a brother and sister team of warriors will now be a full-length linear series launching this fall as part of a connected content ecosystem, giving fans deeper engagement across platforms with the characters and their quest for swords.

Concurrent with the upcoming TV series production, almost 400 pieces of platform-specific original content have been custom developed, including shorts, vlogs, web and mobile games, and interactive narrative content – and all will be enhanced with proprietary technology allowing fans to participate in the world and collect their favorite swords.

“Mighty Magiswords has been an incredible journey, starting as a simple interactive digital product and organically developing into a true multi-story world,” said Chief Content Officer, Rob Sorcher. “Expect Magiswords to continue expansion in tech and content, with new ways for the audience to participate, contribute, play, watch and collect.”

Cartoon Network will begin to introduce the expanded concept to fans this summer through a series of character-driven shorts, a web game and on-air spots.

Created by Kyle A. Carrozza and produced at Cartoon Network Studios in Los Angeles, Mighty Magiswords debuts this fall and will join Cartoon Network’s already powerful slate of hit programming including Adventure Time, The Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans Go!, We Bare Bears, Clarence, Regular Show, The Amazing World of Gumball and Steven Universe.

About Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network is Turner’s #1 U.S. ad-supported cable network with kids 6-11. Seen in 192 countries and over 370 million homes, it is an industry leader with a global offering of the best in award-winning animated entertainment for kids and families, known for putting its fans at the center of everything by applying creative thinking and innovation across multiple platforms. Home to the original hit series Adventure Time, Steven Universe, We Bare Bears and The Amazing World of Gumball, Cartoon Network also takes its responsibilities to its audience seriously by addressing issues affecting families with the Stop Bullying: Speak Up campaign and by promoting education and creative development through its commitment to STEAM enterprises and an integral involvement in Computer Science for All, the White House initiative empowering young people to generate skills to thrive in our digital world.

Cartoon Network is part of Turner, a Time Warner company that creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult multi-platform content for consumers around the world. Turner brands and businesses include CNN/U.S., HLN, CNN International and CNN.com, TBS, TNT, TCM, truTV, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Adult Swim, Turner Sports, Bleacher Report, iStreamPlanet and ELEAGUE.

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Lego Ghostbusters

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The Ghostbusters girl power remake will be hitting the big screen next month, but the folks over at Digital Wizards Studios decided to pull out all the stops with their homage to the Ghostbusters franchise. Literally all the stops, because they used actual LEGOS and stop motion animation to film the five minute long clip that includes tons of cameos. Ever wondered how the Lego version of The Simpsons family would handle the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man? Well, it’s in this epic clip that also has just about every other licensed character in the LEGO Universe. Seriously, you’ll need to watch it multiple times to pick up on everything.

If you’re thinking this video is completely superior to the amateur stop motion animated films you may have filmed in your youth, you’re totally right. Production of this short clip wasn’t easy nor was it cheap. Digital Wizards Studios spent over $100,000 on LEGO bricks and Minifigures. They also used the five most expensive LEGO products produced (Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Cafe Corner, Green Grocer and Mr. Gold) and in one scene over 120 unique Minifigures were used. So how long did it take? From start to finish the project took 2000 hours over the course of 5 months. Even though it’s less than five minutes, the watchability on this is so good it’ll hold you over until the feature length live action film comes out July 15.

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Disney’s Moana Teaser Trailer

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Dwayne Johnson stars as demi-god Moana in Disney’s new animated film Moana, that is slated for a Thanksgiving release this year.

The official trailer of Walt Disney Studios’ latest animation film Moana is here and it features the voice of global superstar Dwayne Johnson in the role of Maui, a legendary demi-god. Moana is an animated 3D-musical-adventure-fantasy film based on South Pacific folklore. The film also features the voice of Auli’i Cravalho in the titular role of Moana. The film features computer-generated animation as well as traditional animation. Maui’s tattoos, in the film, as you will see in the trailer, are hand-drawn and traditionally animated. This is the second time that the Furious 7 actor will provide voice for an animated film. His earlier animated venture was the moderately successful Planet 51.

Moana is set to release on November 23 this year, during Thanksgiving.

 

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Corey McDaniel

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Corey McDaniel – Lead Animator at Titmouse in Vancouver.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I used to work at a seafood restaurant on the weekends around my senior year in high school. Because of this, I do not eat seafood any more. I also interned at a training facility for a Honda manufacturing plant while taking some college classes. Because of this, I do not eat Hondas any more.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I got to work on an original series called Gundarr with my buddy Ted Wilson for a couple years, funded by Mondo Media. It was a total blast. We basically got paid to write, animate & voice whatever we wanted. I’m also super excited to be animating on Breadwinners for Titmouse. I love cartoons that aren’t ashamed of the fact that they’re cartoons, & Breadwinners definitely fits that mold. I’m currently working with two talented British chaps on a game I came up with called Cloudface. Together we form the unstoppable team FUTUREBEARD. Making a game is hard work, but it’s been very eye opening and super fun!

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
My dad was in the ARMY, so I grew up Texas, Colorado, Germany & Alabama. I went to JSU in Alabama for 4 years & got out of there with a BFA in Graphic Design, but I didn’t want to live in Alabama, so I started hunting around for animation schools. My first try was Cal-Arts, but Continue reading