360 Google Spotlight Story: On Ice

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Shannon Tindle (Go Goo Go) and Google ATAP’s Spotlight Stories have released ON ICE to YouTube TODAY. “On Ice,” is viewable in the Google Spotlight Stories YouTube channel app on many Android devices, and also with Google Cardboard. We’ll also bring “On Ice” to the Google Spotlight Stories apps (on iOS and Android) soon.

ON ICE is about an over-the-top, sci-fi themed ice show and its star (a la Flash Gordon), who suddenly finds he has competition for the spotlight from an unlikely rival…a bear.

ON ICE was directed by Shannon Tindle, and created in collaboration with Evil Eye Pictures. There are hidden surprises, both audio and visual, that occur on stage and off, including one musical surprise that pays homage to Queen! Ice skating techniques are drawn from both accuracy and creative liberties – and you can also catch the highlights you missed on the MainStage on the Jumbotron, just look up!

Google Spotlight Stories is a new form of storytelling made specifically for mobile and VR. In these 360-degree, interactive stories, your phone becomes a window to a world all around you. The sensors on your phone allow the story to be interactive; when you move your phone to various scenes, you are able to unlock mini-stories within the story.

In addition to ON ICE, we’re bringing Justin Lin’s HELP to YouTube later this week as well. HELP was released last year on our Android and iOS app, is our first live action piece, and received a nomination for a Visual Media Experience Award at this year’s SXSW.

Funimation launches its all-in-one anime destination site

dragon-ball-super-episode-3

Engadget is posting that Funimation Entertainment announced today that its FunimationNow platform is now live.

The site, which we first saw back at CES, will make the studio’s expansive archive of shows — including DBZ, Attack on Titan and Assassination Classroom — available to subscribers without ads or viewing restrictions. The new service will initially be available on iOS, Android, Kindle and Windows 10 devices while support for PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Roku devices is expected by May.

Pricing for the service will be tiered. Free accounts will have to deal with ads and have access to a limited portion of the archives. For $5 a month, viewers will get full access to the entire HD library of shows but they’ll all be subtitled (which is how they’re best viewed anyway). The $8/month tier gives you everything from the lower tiers plus access to dubbed versions of shows and bonus content.

“Coda” by And Maps and Plans

A lost soul stumbles drunken through the city. In a park, Death finds him and shows him many things.

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Contact: hello@andmapsandplans.com

Director: Alan Holly – qlqn.ie
Producer: Ciaran Deeney – elzorrerofilms.ie
Writers: Alan Holly and Rory Byrne – rorybyrne.ie
Art direction & backgrounds: Ronan McMeel – ronanmcmeel.blogspot.ie
Music: Shane Holly – shaneholly.ie
Animation: Alan Holly, Rory Byrne and Eoghan Dalton – studiopowwow.com
Colouring and shadows: Eimhin McNamara – paperpanther.ie
Backrgounds: Áine McGuinness – ainemcguinness.ie
Starring: Brian Gleeson, Orla Fitgerald, Donie Ryan and Joseph Dermody
Music recording: Paul Finan
Voice recording: Tony Kiernan
Sound design: Michelle Fingleton
Sound editing: Andy Kirwan
Sound mixing: Garret Farrell – screenscene.ie
Musicians: Shane Holly, Aoife Dowdall, Katie O’Connor, Larissa O’Grady, Jenny Dowdall
Emma Scott: Production Executive for the Irish Film Board
Pauline McNamara: Executive Producer – RTE
Fionnuala Sweeney: Film Specialist – Arts Council
Jill McGregor: Schemes & Applications Co-ordinator for the Irish Film Board
Thanks to Sean McCarron & Jennifer Evans

Funded under the Irish FIlm Board’s Frameworks scheme
irishfilmboard.ie/funding_programmes/Frameworks/65

AWARDS

Shortlisted for the 87th Academy Awards
Nominated for the 42nd Annual Annie Awards

Great Animation Award – Mecal 17th Festival International of Short Film & Animation of Barcelona, Spain, Mar 2015
Bronze Statue for the third animation – 9th Tehran International Animation Festival, Iran, Mar 2015
Jury special mention – 6th Roanne animation film festival Ciné Court Animé, France, Mar 2015
Best Animated Film – Fargo Film Festival, Fargo, USA, Dec 2014
Young Peoples Jury – Marcin Prize for best short film for young people, at Inernational Young Audience Film Festival Ale Kino! PoznaÅ„, Poland, Dec 2014
International Special Jury Prize at Animpact Animation Festival 2014, Seoul, South Korea, Nov 2014
KuanDog Prize: International Short Film Special Mention at KDIAF, Taipei, Taiwan 2014
Jury’s Special Award at Cinanima 2014
Best Animation & Best of Fest at Aesthetica Short Film Fest 2014
Silver Hugo for Best Animated Short at 50th Chicago International Film Festival 2014
2nd Place for the Audience Choice Award at the 3rd Annual Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational, Baltimore 2014
Joint Best Irish Short Film prize with ‘The Ledge End of Phil’ at the Dublin Animation Film Festival 2014
Winner Best Short Animation at SXSW – Austin, USA 2014
Best Animation at Kino Fest – Bucharest, Romania 2014
Audience Choice SICAF – Seoul, South Korea 2014
Best in Show at Animation Block Party – New York 2014
Joint Best Animated Film Award with ‘Pandas’ at Kratkofil Plus – Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina 2014
Winner of the Anča Award, Fest Anča – Zilina, Slovakia 2014
Most Creative Short Award, Edinburgh Short Film Festival – Edinburgh, Scotland 2014
FICC Don Quijote Prize +Special Mention Best Animation, Galway Film Fleadh – Galway, Ireland 2013

Show off you Workspace!

My last post about Japanese artists showing off their workspaces got me to thinking it would be cool for animators around the world to do the same. So, if you’re interested in doing so, snap a pic of your workstation either at work or at home (or both) and email it to mike@animationinsider.com or link to it in the comments and I’ll gather them together and make one big post. Animators represent! As a start here’s mine:

Mike-Milo-workspace

#showoffyourworkspace

Christian Suarez

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Christian Suarez and right now I´m a freelance artist and a part-time art director at Levalo Studio (a little illustration studio in my city)

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Maybe the craziest was working as the security guy in a disco when I was younger.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
The useful ones, projects for several NGOs. I´ve tried to collaborate at least in one of them each year working on my free time.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
I´ve always loved cartoons since I was a child. And now lot of friends of mine are Continue reading