Tag Archives: Dreamworks Animation

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DreamWorks Animation Revs Up Fast & Furious: Spy Racers Series and Announces New Original Series Kipo & the Age of Wonderbeasts

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DreamWorks Animation Revs Up Fast & Furious: Spy RacersSeries and  Announces New Original Series Kipo & the Age of Wonderbeasts
 
DWA TV Studio Focus Session Offers Work-in-Progress Previews During 
Annecy International Animated Film Festival
 

ANNECY, France – June 13, 2019 – Today, as part of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, DreamWorks Animation released the following:
 

  • A first look teaser and title reveal of its highly anticipated Netflix original series Fast & Furious: Spy Racers
  • An all new Netflix original series Kipo & the Age of Wonderbeasts from executive producers Radford Sechrist and Bill Wolkoff 
Fast & Furious: Spy Racers, coming soon to Netflix 

Fast & Furious: Spy Racers expands the high-octane action in all-new animated series as teenager Tony Toretto follows in the footsteps of his cousin Dom when he and his friends are recruited by a government agency to infiltrate an elite racing league serving as a front for a nefarious crime organization bent on world domination. Tim Hedrick (Voltron Legendary Defender) and Bret Haaland (All Hail King Julien) will serve as executive producers and showrunners. The series is also executive produced by Vin Diesel and Chris Morgan; and is slated to debut globally on Netflix later this year.
Watch the Fast & Furious: Spy Racers teaser.

Kipo & the Age of Wonderbeasts, coming to Netflix in 2020
After spending her entire life living in an underground burrow, a young girl named Kipo is thrust into an adventure on the surface of a fantastical post-apocalyptic Earth. She joins a ragtag group of survivors as they embark on a journey through a vibrant wonderland where everything trying to kill them is downright adorable. The series is executive produced and created by Radford Sechrist (How to Train Your Dragon 2) and executive produced and developed for TV by Bill Wolkoff (Once Upon a Time).

A short teaser features series star Karen Fukuhara (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) as the voice of “Kipo.” Watch Kipo & the Age of Wonderbeasts teaser.

The announcements were made during  the DreamWorks Animation TV Studio Focus presentation at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, which also included updates from the studio on the critically-acclaimed Netflix original series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, as well as the original series Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny for Prime Video. Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny is also competition in the TV Films category at the festival. Additionally executive producer Lane Lueras provided a sneak peek of the recently announced Netflix original series, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous debuting globally on Netflix in 2020.
 
About DWA
DreamWorks Animation (DWA), a division of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, within NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, is a global family entertainment company with feature film and television brands. The company’s deep portfolio of intellectual property is supported by a robust, worldwide consumer products practice, which includes licensing, and location-based entertainment venues around the world. DWA’s film heritage includes many of the world’s most beloved characters and franchises, including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Trolls and The Boss Baby, and have amassed more than $15 billion in global box office receipts. DreamWorks Animation’s television business has quickly become one of the world’s leading producers of high-quality, animated family programming, reaching consumers in more than 190 countries. Creating a diverse array of original content in a variety of formats and delivering deep, fully immersive worlds served up with compelling characters, the studio has garnered 25 Emmy® Awards since inception in 2013.

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Nassos Vakalis

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What is your name and your current occupation?
This is Nassos Vakalis and right now I’m a story artist at DreamWorks animation studios.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? 
I had very little working experience before starting at animation so I can say animation is the craziest job I ever had, or to be more specific some of the projects I worked on were just a bit too crazy!
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
From the 2d animation era I loved working on Spirit for DreamWorks. I did storyboards and some animation. The same time I worked on Joseph King of dreams for DreamWorks again. I boarded pretty much most of the film and animated a few scenes. It was lots of fun, I had to travel a lot to Canada to see work done in a few studios that were subcontracting part of the movie. From the 3d films I think Bee Movie and Puss in Boots are few of my favorite films I have worked on.
How did you become interested in animation? 
Since I was a small kid I loved watching cartoons so eventually I thought of Continue reading
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Jobs: Production Supervisor-DreamWorks Animation

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Dreamworks

Production Supervisor

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Company: DreamWorks Animation
Location Glendale, CA
Date Posted: August 28, 2015
Source: DreamWorks Animation

Scope of Position:
Manages the department schedule and day-to-day needs of the department in partnership with Department Head.  This person may manage multiple departments (i.e. Story/Editorial,  Character TD/Animation, Modeling/Surfacing, etc.)

Essential Job Responsibilities:
Schedule and Workflow

  • Manages the department schedule, tracks the man weeks and coordinates the day-to-day workflow.  Approves and manages overtime in their departments.
  • Develops and manages internal department schedules and staffing requirements.  Creates list of critical assumptions and highlights any vulnerabilities.
  • Works with APM, PM and/or AP to meet overall production scheduling and budget requirements and helps to ensure the department budget and scheduling are updated as changes are made to the film’s production flow and/or staffing profile.  Understands how changes may affect their department’s budget, scheduling and overtime.
  • Looks ahead to ensure that department’s weekly quotas, milestones & inventory expectations are met.  Strategizes with Department Head, upper management and possibly Production Supervisors from other departments to resolve any productivity and/or inventory issues.  Advises APM and/or PM of any potential problems or issues, particularly those impacting budget, offering solutions when possible.
  • Collaborates with Department Head of assigned department to ensure the complexity of work is consistent with department budget and schedule.  Strategizes with Department Head and upper management on how to resolve any complexity overages.
  • Collaborates with Department Head to cast assignments and issue deadlines to artists.
  • Collaborates with Department Head to develop and manage department workflow process.
  • Creates and maintains reports that clearly illustrate department and individual artist productivity.

Leadership

  • Primary production person within department.  Supervises and mentors Production Coordinators and Production Assistants for that department.
  • Partners with Department Head to coach, mentor and give performance feedback. Drives review process and delivers reviews.  Sets goals with their team and provides feedback against progress.
  • Partners with Department Head to manage conflict within the department and partners with Human Resources regarding disciplinary procedures.  Documents conflicts and provides progress updates to Human Resources.
  • May work with the Training Department to set up training for crew.
  • May be involved in the interviewing, hiring process and deal negotiations.
  • Supports and represents directives from the studio and/or production leadership.
  • Assists Studio Executives and Production Management with handling transitions.
  • Works with the Department Head on the creation of the Post-Mortem and wrap book materials for the department.

Morale and Communication

  • Responsible for maintaining department crew morale.
  • Represents Department in weekly production meetings.  Reports department progress and discusses solutions to any issues impeding the department.
  • Partners with the Department Head to manage, motivate and promote an environment conducive to achieving quotas and artistic achievements.
  • Performs regular check-ins with the crew (i.e. walk-arounds).
  • Attends Director approvals and helps to drive this meeting

Required Skills
Qualifications:

  • 5+ years of experience as a Production Coordinator.
  • Demonstrated ability to effectively foster relationships.
  • Ability to create and manage department specific production schedules.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to multitask in a fast-paced production environment.
  • Software requirements: Microsoft Word and Excel, Gmail and knowledge of production tracking databases such as Shotgun is preferred.

Required Experience
Qualifications:

  • 5+ years of experience as a Production Coordinator.
  • Demonstrated ability to effectively foster relationships.
  • Ability to create and manage department specific production schedules.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to multitask in a fast-paced production environment.
  • Software requirements: Microsoft Word and Excel, Gmail and knowledge of production tracking databases such as Shotgun is preferred.
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Jobs: Image Finaling Artist- DreamWorks

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Dreamworks

Image Finaling Artist

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Company: DreamWorks Animation Skg
Location: Glendale, CA
Date Posted: July 17, 2015
Source: DreamWorks Animation Skg 
Tracking Code
    TBD
Job Description
    
DreamWorks Animation is seeking an Image Finaling Artist.

Required Skills
    
Image Finaling Artists "polish" each shot as it leaves the lighting department. As an Image Finaling artist, you will be required to digitally alter frames using compositing techniques in Nuke. Artists also diagnose rendering issues with Nuke scripts that were created by other artists. They review each frame to ensure that there are no issues or problems. All Image Finaling artists take feedback from supervisors and artistic leads to correct or enhance footage. Image Finaling artists also address stereoscopic discrepancies which cannot be fixed by other departments. Photoshop is also used frequently by the artists to fix and enhance large resolution still images for use in commercial products and posters.

Required Experience
    
- Must be proficient with the latest versions of Nuke and Photoshop.
- Must be comfortable with exploring large Nuke scripts to troubleshoot and fix issues.
- Ability to track patches, rotoscope, digitally paint, color correct, and diagnose rendering issues in Nuke.
- Strong understanding of compositing.
- A minimum of one year work experience in a production environment.
- BA or equivalent experience
- Efficient and speedy work practices for quick turn-around time under deadline pressure.
- Please be highly motivated and passionate about your work and have a positive attitude.

Bonus:
- Professional stereoscopic experience.
- Ability to create motion graphics.
- Knowledge of 3D Animation Pipeline.
- Experience with working in CG environments.
- Traditional art skills which demonstrate an eye for light, shadow, composition, and color.
- UNIX or Linux operating system experience.
- Knowledge of Nuke''s 3D environment and tools.
- Programming or scripting experience.

Job Location
    Glendale, California, United States
Position Type
    Full-Time/Regular
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Jobs: DreamWorks Animation Entry Level Animation TA

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Dreamworks

Click here to apply for the Technical animator job.

This is an entry level position that performs specifically designated tasks for the Character teams to help facilitate the quality and fidelity of the character rigs going into Animation.  In addition they will troubleshoot software and shot specific issues as well as perform simple animation.  They will work closely between the Animation and Character TD departments and help to improve processes and workflow.

Required Skills

  • Execute first pass of quality control between Character departments by:
  • confirming joint placements are correct.
  • creating body and facial calisthenics animations (Rigging, CFX, Animation).
  • creating poses and simple animation (i.e. walk cycles) to test rigs.
  • creating shots for the Head of Character Animation and Animators as needed.
  • finding and remapping animation.
  • Verify consistency of tools and character rig features/controls within a show and among other shows:
    • switches, rotation order, mirroring, manipulators, pages, textures, parenting, post scaling, matching constraints etc.
    • character controls behavior is as expected
    • initial pose library is setup and setup free page templates as needed
  • Help monitor that character deformations are adhering to the show’s visual language and flag any issues to the Head of Character Animation.
  • Assist in building the characters’ Animation Interface.
  • Assist the Character TDs with creating and updating Animation Parts for each character.
  • Assist the Character TDs and Animators in making sure the Animation Parts are ordered (Master Page Order).
  • Evaluate upcoming sequences to flag potential technical issues such as new requirements on character rigs, complex character interactions, working with large environments, and other large-scale issues.
  • Follow-up with other departments while troubleshooting issues until a resolution is reached.
  • Test new software maps and/or features as needed (Premo and/or Rig).
  • Look at QA tests, movies and models and develop efficiencies for future character tests.
  • Work closely with Head of Character Animation, Animation Supervisors, Character TD Supervisors and Leads to determine quality level and criteria at handoff from Character TD to Animation.
  • Help communicate areas of concern or special features requested by Animators for each character. (i.e. spine movement or clavicle location).
  • Help communicate character rig features from other shows that can enhance the rigs within the assigned show. Also, communicate the new features being developed on the assigned show with other shows.
  • Help gather notes and feedback from Animators in order to complete rig wrecking.
  • Document new processes and procedures.
  • Attend relevant meetings, e.g. Monkeys:
    • Animation/Character TD Body Touch base
    • Animation/Character TD Face Touch base
    • Character Launch

Required Experience

  • Bachelors in Computer Graphics, Engineering or Art/Animation preferred.
  • A solid understanding of the principles of animation, body mechanics, and facial animation.
  • Proficient in 3D Character Animation, Character Rigging, and some basic knowledge of 3D Modeling.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • Problem solving and troubleshooting in a technical environment.
  • Experience with the unix/linux environment.
  • 2D graphics software knowledge (e.g. Gimp).
  • Production experience a plus.
  • Execute first pass of quality control between Character departments by:
  • confirming joint placements are correct.
  • creating body and facial calisthenics animations (Rigging, CFX, Animation).
  • creating poses and simple animation (i.e. walk cycles) to test rigs.
  • creating shots for the Head of Character Animation and Animators as needed.
  • finding and remapping animation.
  • Verify consistency of tools and character rig features/controls within a show and among other shows:
    • switches, rotation order, mirroring, manipulators, pages, textures, parenting, post scaling, matching constraints etc.
    • character controls behavior is as expected
    • initial pose library is setup and setup free page templates as needed
  • Help monitor that character deformations are adhering to the show’s visual language and flag any issues to the Head of Character Animation.
  • Assist in building the characters’ Animation Interface.
  • Assist the Character TDs with creating and updating Animation Parts for each character.
  • Assist the Character TDs and Animators in making sure the Animation Parts are ordered (Master Page Order).
  • Evaluate upcoming sequences to flag potential technical issues such as new requirements on character rigs, complex character interactions, working with large environments, and other large-scale issues.
  • Follow-up with other departments while troubleshooting issues until a resolution is reached.
  • Test new software maps and/or features as needed (Premo and/or Rig).
  • Look at QA tests, movies and models and develop efficiencies for future character tests.
  • Work closely with Head of Character Animation, Animation Supervisors, Character TD Supervisors and Leads to determine quality level and criteria at handoff from Character TD to Animation.
  • Help communicate areas of concern or special features requested by Animators for each character. (i.e. spine movement or clavicle location).
  • Help communicate character rig features from other shows that can enhance the rigs within the assigned show. Also, communicate the new features being developed on the assigned show with other shows.
  • Help gather notes and feedback from Animators in order to complete rig wrecking.
  • Document new processes and procedures.
  • Attend relevant meetings, e.g. Monkeys:
    • Animation/Character TD Body Touch base
    • Animation/Character TD Face Touch base
    • Character Launch
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Sneak peek at Kung Fu Panda 3

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USA Today has an article up giving us a sneak peek in DreamWork’s upcoming Kung Fu Panda 3.

For two Kung Fu Panda animated movies, portly Po has believed all his bear kin were in panda heaven. That he was the lone survivor.

But Kung Fu Panda 3 proves Po wrong. The new film (opening Jan. 29, 2016) is Panda-palooza.

“There is great joy,” says Jack Black, the voice of Po. “Lo and behold, there’s a secret panda village. There’s intense rejoicing as I am reunited with my people.”

Po has a chance run-in with his long-lost panda father Li (Bryan Cranston), who brings Po back to an enclave where the pandas have been living since a fierce panda attack alluded to in DreamWorks Animation’s 2011 hit Kung Fu Panda 2.

You can read the entire article here.