Author Archives: Laura

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Promote Yourself: B&T WOMEN IN MEDIA AWARDS

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TWO WINS FOR SLR PRODUCTIONS AT THIS YEAR’S
B&T WOMEN IN MEDIA AWARDS
Producer of the Year – Suzanne Ryan
Creative of the Year – Jo Boag
Creative of the Year finalist – Melanie Alexander
Sydney, Australia – Monday August 4 2014…
SLR Productions was the big winner at this year’s B&T Women in Media Awards held in Sydney,  Australia on Tuesday July 29 2014 winning two of the eleven prestigious categories.  SLR Productions’ CEO and Executive Producer, Suzanne Ryan was named the winner in the distinguished Producer of the Year category and the company’s Creative Director, Jo Boag was announced as Creative of the Year.
Head of Development and Writing at SLR Productions, Melanie Alexander, was named a finalist in the Creative of the Year category. With more than 100 entries this year, the B&T Women in Media Awards recognises exceptional women who have achieved success in the fields of creative, media, marketing, sales, digital and PR and celebrates their invaluable contribution to the industry through leadership and innovation.  CEO and Executive Producer of SLR Productions, Suzanne Ryan said, “I am incredibly honoured to be named as this year’s Producer of the Year at the B&T Women in Media Awards. This award
acknowledges the commitment we have at SLR Productions to create and produce entertaining, engaging and quality television for young global audiences. I would like to congratulate SLR Productions’ Creative Director, Jo Boag on her Creative of the Year award – Jo is dedicated to innovation and excellence in design and animation and is very deserving of this industry  recognition. Congratulations is also extended to Melanie Alexander, Head of Development and Writing for being selected as a finalist in the Creative of the Year category – Melanie is an instrumental part of the SLR Productions team and is driven to producing creative, compelling and evergreen stories that are loved by children across the world”. Creative Director of SLR Productions, Jo Boag said, “For Suzanne Ryan and I to win these industry awards and Melanie Alexander being named a finalist is a wonderful recognition of our work as children’s television producers. Working within a field of incredibly talented and innovative producers, writers, artists and musicians, I am honoured to contribute to the quality that the Australian industry is being internationally recognised for in this creative field”.
SLR PRODUCTIONS
SLR Productions is one of Australia’s leading Emmy and multi award winning children’s entertainment companies, specialising in the creative development and production of world-class media content. Established in 2002 by CEO, Suzanne Ryan, SLR is recognised for creating successful brands such as Action drama Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures, the internationally acclaimed preschool property, Guess How Much I Love You™, the hilarious cartoon series GASP!™ and the Emmy Award winning animated series I Got a
Rocketâ„¢. SLR’s passion is to make creative, adventurous, imaginative and exciting programmes for audiences worldwide. The company has produced more than 130 hours of content sold in more than 160 territories worldwide. With its highly experienced development and production divisions, SLR partners with major broadcasters, producers, distributors, publishers and creative both locally and internationally to create hit shows with a truly global reach.
www.slrproductions.com
For further media information:
Adele Feletto Publicity M: 61 2 413 489 292 E: adele@adelefelettopublicity.com.au

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Spotlight: Nassos Vakalis

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What is the film about and what led you to make it?

The film is 10-minute allegorical depiction of the sociopolitical situation in the world as we have been experiencing it over the years or to be more specific from the time man formed the first structured societies. It doesn’t try to give a political view but rather examines the effects of social injustice and the breakdown of power. It is titled “Dinner For Few”. During dinner, “the system” works like a well-oiled machine. It solely feeds the select few who eventually, foolishly consume all the resources while the rest survive on scraps from the table. Inevitably, when the supply is depleted, the struggle for what remains leads to catastrophic change. Sadly, the offspring of this profound transition turns out not to be a sign of hope, but the spitting image of the parents. “Dinner For Few” was inspired by the economic recession affecting South European countries like Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. I grew up in Greece, where part of my family and most of my friends still live. “Dinner For Few” not only reflects my deep concern of the social and economic developments during the crisis but also highlights the inevitable and cyclical nature of the human affairs throughout history.

Who worked on the film? (Writer? Director? Animators? Compositors? Voices?)

This has been one of my own personal projects. I came up with the idea as I was talking to a friend on the phone about the economic situation in Greece which has been deteriorating over the years. We talked about outdoor tavern cats stealing food from the table and that became the core idea around the film. I wrote the idea to a script adding some drama and details to emphasize the allegorical meaning of the story. I also directed the film and served as a lead artist. Soon after starting working on the models I found Eva Vomhoff from Germany who had a few pointers on the use of a specific plug-in. I showed her what I wanted to do and she quickly joined the team as the technical director and later as an animator in the film. Besides her excellent models and riggs she took it upon herself to animate most of the cats as well as the tiger that appears at the end of the film. This pretty much sums the people who worked at the technical and visual part of the film. Like my previous film I tried to stay away from dialogue. The main characters of the film are mainly pigs and cats so they do some “animal” sounds but there is nothing specific about them besides the tone of their voice which expresses their feelings at the particular scenes. So there was no need for actors to do voices. Besides myself and Eva there is a larger group of people who worked on the sound and music part of the film. I have asked Kostas Christides, a talented young music composer with credits in many Hollywood and Greek movies, to write an original music score. He composed something which was so effective that we end up going to Bratislava and recorded a 70 musician’s orchestra which we later mixed here in Los Angeles to finalize the music score of the film. I created a short video about his approach and the making of the music which you can view at youtube. While Kostas was working on the music I hired two very talented sound design artists from Greece Kostas Fylaktidis and Ioannis Giannakopoulos to work on the sound design of the film which they later mixed with Kostas’s music to a very effective surround sound track.

What technology was used in its creation?

In my effort to keep the budget under control the film uses off the shelf 3d animation software and plug-ins. Most of the programs we used are inexpensive and definitely not what most people will expect we used, but I think they programs worked pretty well and the outcome is effective. I started the work in Carrar3d a relatively inexpensive 3d application but later when Eva joined the team we moved our rigging and animation to Messiah studio. All the technical work was done there and after the animation approvals it was transferred via a MMD plug-in to Carrara3d for layout and rendering. The film employs a nontraditional CG rendering look. It uses flat graphic colors with dark outlines and hard shadows. This stylistic approach is more relevant to the theme of the story and is reminiscent to the hand drawn 2d animation style in comparison to the photo-realistic renderings we are used to see in many contemporary CG animations. The film’s finale includes a bloodshed sequence animated in a cut out graphic approach using only red and black silhouettes. In order to achieve the 2d look I created a simple pipeline that treats the animation and achieves the result. This treatment had two parts. One was the rendering look which is as mentioned earlier is flat, graphic and with an outline and the other was the animation itself. As far as the look a lot of effort was taken so the outline doesn’t look mechanical or generated by a 3d outliner. For this I created a special Photoshop action that flares the line to a thick and thin quality. This involved the vectorization of the line with a low tolerance path and then coloring it and rasterizing it. For the animation I found a way of adjusting the MDD files in Carrara3d by adding in-betweens almost in a 2d fashion. This took some of the smoothness out of the curves and made the movement more 2d like. Last but not least some water effects were done in Blender which is a free software.  All post work and composting was done in Adobe After Effects SC6 and the editing was done in Premier Pro.

How was it funded?

I funded the film with my own money. Initially I thought I could do a kickstarter campaign but soon I felt that this was possibly a waste of time and I wanted to put my efforts into the film rather than trying to finance it so I never started the campaign. In the beginning the film had little experiences anyway. My only other team member, Eva Vomhoff was volunteering her work and I only needed a new computer to handle the requirements of the film. I started the work on my Mac but a few months later I transferred everything to a PC environment so I needed a new PC with a good graphics card. Most of the cost went to the production of the music and sound design. This included the fee to book the orchestra, mixing the various orchestra takes and the final sound design and mix. There are some additional experiences on producing the final DCP prints, Blu-rays, DVD and submitting the film to festivals or doing promotions. The actual cost end up around 16.000 dollars though I’m sure some more expenses  will come up soon as the film needs more prints, promotions and advertisement.

What is the end result for the film? Series? festival? theatrical? Awards?

I hope to be able to send this film to as many festivals as I can. In reality there is not anything more someone can do with a short film. I also hope I will be able to submit it to the Academy for consideration. To do this I must win either a qualifying festival or do the required screenings at a Los Angeles cinema. There is some interest in Greece to see if the film can be placed before a feature and get a theatrical release there but is kind of early to think about that. When the film finishes the festival rounds I hope I can put it online or in one of the platforms people can download it for a small fee. For the moment though I would like to invite people to visit the Facebook page like it and share the trailer. This is a tremendous help for the film because it generates publicity.

 

http://www.dinnerforfew.com

https://www.facebook.com/DinnerForFew

 

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Mark Salisbury

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AbmuKkG03I&list=PL3C1D42F716AED6E9

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Mark Salisbury. I am currently the series director, animation producer and editor for Nickelodeon’s “Bubble Guppies”.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Well…lets see. In the early to mid 90’s I was the defensive back coach for Yale University, a resume specialist at Kinko’s, a caricature artist in Washington, DC, a bouncer, and a bartender
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
This is a tough question, because most every project I have done, I’ve completely sunk myself into. The TMNT shorts were great because they were the first real products to come out of the company I founded, Peach Nova Productions. There were 4 of us and we cranked those things out fast and still maintained a high quality of animation and design. I love 8 Bit design so the Mocap LLC show open I did was lots of fun.  Having my kids watch and enjoy the shows I make is really one of the best experiences I’ve had. So I need to put, Bubble Guppies, Little Bill, Mighty Bug 5 in there, as well as a couple of Nickelodeon pilots that never made it to air.  The Dr. Tran shorts were a lot of fun to animate as well.
How did you become interested in animation?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been making text books into flip books and once my family got a VCR I took to pausing Bugs Bunny shorts and tracing the TV, frame at a time.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m born and raised in Hallowell, Maine…high school in Cheshire, Conn. and I currently live in the suburbs of New York City. While I was a coach at Yale I decided to Continue reading

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Self Promote:BETWEEN FRAMES, THE ART OF BRAZILIAN ANIMATION

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BETWEEN FRAMES:  THE ART OF BRAZILIAN ANIMATION

A production by Ideograph.  Directed by Eduardo Calvet. Produced by Felipe Haurelhuk.  Brazil, 2013.
Almost centennial, Brazilian’s animation history brings such rich and exciting characters that its importance spreads all over our lives, and not only in Brazil. Cartoons like ‘Fishtronaut’ and ‘My Big Big Friend’ are beloved by children worldwide, in more than 80 countries. Advertising animations has also built its mark with several prizes through decades. And the amazing stories just go on and on. ‘Between Frames – The Art Of Brazilian Animation’ shows how Brazilian animation was built on the last 97 years, by the hands of their creators. The most memorable pieces of that art and immortal creations of all times were not forgot! Directed by Eduardo Calvet and produced by Felipe Haurelhuk, the movie’s international première in Palm Beach (USA) was just the beginning of a bright trajectory that includes the official selection for the legendary Annecy International Animated Film Festival, in France!
Throughout interviews, all the most important Brazilian animators may be see on the screen. Carlos Saldanha (‘Ice Age 2’ and ‘Rio’) talks about his experience on US since 1990’s. Mauricio de Sousa (‘Monica’s Gang’) explains how he could release movies as popular as Disney’s in Soth America! Andres Lieban (“My Big Big Friend”) and Célia Catunda (‘Fishtronaut’) explore the creation of theirs highly successful TV series. And Marcos Magalhães shows how Anima Mundi was created and became one of the world’s most important animation film festival.
The historical view is also there regarding the first fifty years, with its stories and difficulties. The very first Brazilian animation, for example, was ‘The Kaiser’ (1917), directed by Álvaro Marins. Unfortunately, the lack of preservation made the short movie lost forever. With a single picture of reference from a magazine, eight animators have recreated the movie nowadays! Each one of them used a different technique, which range from traditional 2D cartoons to light-painting. The final result is incredible: a brand new version of ‘The Kaiser’, built by mixed techniques and styles.
Some movies saved from total deterioration are also there: ‘The Adventures of Virgulino’ (1930) is a fine example. It’s director Luiz Sá had the dream of meeting Mr. Walt Disney on his trip to Brazil in 1940’s, but Brazilian federal government haven’t allowed it, so his movie was sold and never recovered until this documentary started to be produced. Only a digital frame-by-frame restoration was able to bring all the beauty of Sa’s work back.
All the strength of regional Brazilian production is there as well, like Chico Liberato’s work from Salvador and the influence of northeast cordel at his movies. Heroic work is the key to describe ‘Amazon Symphony’ (1951), directed by Anélio Latini Filho: the artist draw almost half million frames all by himself to complete the movie. Two decades later, Ypê Nakashima did the same to release the first feature-length animation film in color: ‘Piconzé’ (1971). In 1990’s, in one of the most difficult times for Brazilian cinema after EMBRAFILME closed its operations, the hard work of Otto Guerra to release a movie without any financial support. And Roberto Miller’s abstract work inspired by Norman MacLaren, wich gave us the first important international recognition.
Publicity has never been forgotten. With dozens of prizes since 1970’s, the most important and memorable pieces are registered in the documentary. Rare TV material and archive footage is available, including many award-winning creations. Finally, the production’s new boom, which releases not only for local market, but worldwide. Animation language is global!
Don’t miss this documentary! You’ll probably never have the chance to see Brazilian’s animation history again. This is, for sure, the first and most complete movie to bring all the most important pieces of it together in just 100 minutes of pure excitement and magic revelation. We promise that you’ll never watch Brazilian animation with the same eyes again!

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Promote Yourself: Spotify and Talenthouse invite animators to express what they’re #nowfeeling

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Spotify and Talenthouse invite animators to express what they’re #nowfeeling
Spotify is teaming up with Talenthouse, the world’s creative network, to invite animators to create artwork that shows how music can express a thousand words and emotions.

The new brief comes as the latest phase of Spotify’s #nowfeeling brand campaign, which launches today in the UK and takes a look at how music can inspire emotions, memories and relationships, and how a song can express how you’re #nowfeeling better than words.

Spotify and Talenthouse are issuing an open brief to all animators to design a vision that expresses how music connects us all, which links to an emotion or experience or an important person in their life and conveys how it makes them feel. It could be based upon real moments from their own past or something shared with a friend or loved one. The creative solution should engage 18-24 year-olds for whom music plays an important role in developing their identity, navigating life, and connecting with people around them.

Animators are encouraged to create their own original 15 second – 30 second film inspired by #NowFeeling and the 90 second films that Spotify has already created.

The winning artist will receive part of a prize pool of £5,000 and the opportunity to power-up their career as their design will be promoted across Spotify social channels, feature in a Spotify paid media campaign and have future work commissioned by Spotify.

The partnership, brokered by MediaVest, leverages Talenthouse and Spotify’s combined platforms and will offer an exceptional opportunity for the winning creative to have their work showcased and seen by a global audience.

The deadline for entries is 16 June 2014. For more details and to upload entries, filmmakers and animators click here [http://po.st/H6ROwM] and artists and designers click here [http://po.st/ZrU4eM].The judging panel which includes Jackie Jantos, VP, Creative and Brand Strategy, Spotify and Andrew Duff, co-founder of creative content marketing agency Stereo, will consider the entries between 16 June and 23 June 2014 and the winner will be announced on 27 June 2014. All phases close at 10am PST.

Nikki Lambert, Marketing Director, Europe, Spotify, said: “We’re thrilled to be teaming up with Talenthouse to connect with thousands of fantastic creatives around the world. We are really excited to see how the creative community responds to the brief, and we look forward to seeing some inspiring stories about the power of music in connecting us all.”

Talenthouse’s VP Global Partnerships Emma Trant said: “The #NowFeeling creative collaboration with Spotify represents a great opportunity for creatives to engage with a global brand and have their work showcased globally. This partnership is a really nice example of how global brands are using the Talenthouse network to discover and connect with emerging creatives, drive mass social interest and attract the right calibre of creatives.”

#NowFeeling

Media enquiries
Hayley Hayes
Hot Cherry PR
hayley@hotcherry.co.uk
+44(0) 7973 820 729

About Talenthouse www.talenthouse.com
Talenthouse is a global creative community that empowers artists of all types to earn money and recognition for their work. Artists can showcase their creative work and find opportunities to partner with major brands and celebrated artists. Brands can tap into the global creative community and their networks of friends and fans to discover new talent and be part of relevant conversations that transcend traditional interruptive marketing. Talenthouse was founded in 2009 with a mission to liberate all artists and since then has provided thousands of opportunities to millions of artists worldwide.

@talenthouse
www.facebook.com/talenthousefans

About Spotify:
Spotify is an award-winning digital music service that gives you on-demand access to over 20 million tracks.  Our dream is to make all the world’s music available instantly to everyone, wherever and whenever you want it.  Spotify makes it easier than ever to discover, manage and share music with your friends, while making sure that artists get a fair deal.
Spotify is now available in 56 markets globally with more than 24 million active users, and over 6 million paying subscribers.
Since its launch in Sweden in 2008, Spotify has driven more than US$1bn to rights holders. Spotify is now the second biggest source of digital music revenue for labels in Europe, and the biggest and most successful music streaming service of its kind globally.
* Number of tracks licensed globally. Catalogue size varies per market and can also change over time.

www.spotify.com

 

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Promote Yourself: FOURTH ANNUAL ANIME MIDWEST CONVENTION

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FOURTH ANNUAL ANIME MIDWEST CONVENTION JULY 4-6 WITH Q&A PANELS, COSPLAY CONTESTS AND MULTIPLE CONCERTS

 WHAT:                 Over 8,000 people are expected to attend the Fourth Annual Anime Midwest Convention, a three-day convention celebrating Japanese animation, video games, music and more. From Q&A panels with top actors and entertainers to video gaming tournaments and rave dances, Anime Midwest brings fans hundreds of events in celebration of Japanese culture.
Highlights from the event include:

 

  • Q&A Panels and Autograph Sessions with Anime Voice Actors and Entertainers
  • ConSweet: Providing unlimited free rice, ramen, and soda throughout the entire weekend
  • Maid Café
  • Exhibit Hall
  • Cosplay Contests
  • Video Gaming Tournaments
  • Rave Dances
  • Formal Fantasy Ball
  • Multiple Concerts
  • Fashion Shows

Register today to attend this highly anticipated event. For more information please visithttp://www.animemidwest.com/.

WHEN:                 10-4 a.m., July 4-6, 2014

 WHERE:               Hyatt Regency O’Hare; 9300 Bryn Mawr Ave, Rosemont, IL 60018 and Stephens Convention Center 9291 Bryn Mawr Ave Rosemont, IL 60018

COST:                    General 3-Day Pass: $50 online until June 30, $55 at the door

Platinum 3-Day Pass: $100 for the whole weekend, which includes easier and faster autographs, rave dance line jumping, formal fantasy ball line jumping, concert line jumping and an Anime Midwest t-shirt

1-Day Pass: $40

WHO:                 Anime Midwest is a three-day convention celebrating Japanese animation, video games, music and more, similar to other cons like anime central, aka ACEN. The convention runs from Friday morning through Sunday afternoon, and includes dozens of events such as a Cosplay costume contest (where participants wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea from a work of fiction) anime screenings, concerts and more.

MEDIA
CONTACTS:         Paramount Public Relations, Inc.
Jessica Prah, 312.953.3257, jessica@paramountpr.com
Elizabeth Lewis, 312.544.4190, elizabeth@paramountpr.com

Anime Midwest
Ryan Kopf, 224.333.1228, ryan@ryankopf.com