Promote Yourself: Animated Short “Snip” by Adam Koenig

Here’s a cute lil animated short called “Snip” directed by Adam Koenig. I love when people are able to tell stories without words.

You can learn more about the film via the links below!

https://www.snipshortfilm.com/

Created by: Adam Koenig https://adamkoenig.website/
Jeb Cozby https://jebcozby.com/
Preet Uppal https://preetuppal.com/
Steven Jones https://www.jonessc.com
Diony Lopez http://dionylopez.com/
Music by Carlos Eiene https://www.insaneintherainmusic.com/

Luma Creates Dynamic CG Vulture for Spider-Man: Homecoming

Luma Creates Dynamic CG Vulture for Spider-Man: Homecoming

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Award-winning creative studio Luma teamed up with Director Jon Watts and VFX Supervisor Janek Sirrs to deliver stunning visual effects work for eleven sequences in Spider-Man: Homecoming, which is being praised as the best Spider-Man movie to date.

Marvel’s fun new take on the friendliest superhero around features a standout villain that audiences can truly empathise with: the Vulture is a regular, street-level guy who turns to illegal activities to take care of his family. Luma worked on key sequences featuring the cunning Vulture, many of which required creating and animating an impressive and weighty CG Vulture wing-suit that goes toe-to-toe with a speedy Spider-Man.

PERFECTING THE VULTURE LANDING
In the beginning of the film, Adrian Toomes builds his alien technology empire after being fired from his previous blue-collar job. Eight years later, his guns are bigger and badder, he’s naturally grown greedier and his mechanical wing-suit is the size of a small airplane. He makes his first grand entrance into the lab as the ceiling door opens up, he spreads his wings and swoops onto his platform in a hard landing and smugly boasts that “business is good!”

It was up to the Luma crew to create this epic landing scene, which required a full CG Vulture and landing platform with articulated arms. Luma used Vulture’s geometry from two other vendors on the show and incorporated that into their pipeline. “We were aiming to tie the suit and the warehouse into the same world to make it feel industrial and real, but also not as refined of a suit as Iron Man’s. The mood and contrasting raw metals of the wings helped bring Vulture’s suit into the same world as the set”, says CG Supervisor Andrew Zink.

Animators then brought the domineering Vulture to life, which proved to be a complicated thing: he is a dynamic tank that hovers over the ground, his two turbines are controlled by exoskeleton arms which act as the sole propulsors, so the amount of RPMs and the angles in which they lean creates a push and pull effect. Animators also had to consider his unique wing shape, flight trajectory and predatory poses to perfect his flight and fast landing.

THE ICONIC VULTURE GRAB
A rookie Spider-Man discovers Vulture’s henchmen selling alien technology to a wanting criminal and chases after their van as he runs through backyards, unapologetically destroying everything in his path (the scene is a parody of the famous Ferris Bueller’s Day Off “The Race Home”). Vulture saves his henchmen as he violently swoops in and grabs Spider-Man in the same way a real vulture would grab its prey. He rapidly ascends into the sky travelling at a whopping 208 mph before dropping him into a lake.

To create this completely virtual sequence, “animators began blocking with simplistic Google Maps photography and drone photography to work out the aesthetics of what the surroundings would look like”, recalled VFX Supervisor Kevin Souls. For Vulture’s character, animators tackled the challenge of animating the hefty wing-suit that, while also making sure it was dynamic enough to fight with a swift and speedy Spider-Man. “We like to ground our characters in real world physics, so our animators use a variety of Luma created tools to track speed, gravity and archs—it’s easier to bend the rules once you understand them,” explains Animation Supervisor Raphael A. Pimentel.

DAMAGE CONTROL
Luma worked on the first fight battle between Vulture and Spider-Man, where Spider-Man interrupts Vulture from stealing supplies from the Damage Control truck. Initially tasked with enhancing the sequence, Luma realized early on that it would be easier to recreate the sequence in full CG in order to add camera moves and to work with the portal (the alien technology that allows Vulture to travel through the roof of the truck). Since this was a close-up and constrained fight, animators had to ensure that Spider-Man looked weighty and in control, while also ensuring that the Vulture build was dynamic enough to fight with him.

Luma didn’t just create a stunning villain for Spider-Man: Homecoming, the studio’s varied scope of work in this action-packed blockbuster also included creating and animating a full CG Spider-Man for various sequences, the disintegration effect on Bryce’s character, the ATM sequence, and the Crime Fighting sequence where a rookie Spider-Man head outs into the city attempting to stop petty crime.

“This is definitely the proudest I’ve been of the crew that I work with. The passion and hard work they put into this film really shows the kind of talented people we have at Luma and how much care about the artistry of their work they have”, says VFX Supervisor Brendan Seals.

Luma is currently working on Marvel’s Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok and Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time.

CREDITS:

Director:  Jon Watts
Creative VFX Studio:  Luma Pictures
VFX Supervisor:  Janek Sirrs
VFX Supervisor:  Brendan Seals
VFX Supervisor:  Kevin Souls
CG Supervisor:  Andrew Zink
CG Supervisor: Alexandre Cancado
Animation Supervisor:  Raphael A. Pimentel

In Sequence Kickstarter

https://vimeo.com/215271871

In Sequence is a new animated film from Brooklyn based artist George de Moura. The animation is executed in a fairly wonky style reminiscent of artists such as Mike Judge, Priit Parn, and Igor Kovalyov but at times utilizes a form of rotoscoping to increase the realism of the character movements and pacing. The film is part way through a crowdfunding campaign to help cover the expenses to complete the film. Professional actors will be used in the creation of the footage and audio that will be used as the foundation of the project. I hope that you can help make this project come to life by contributing or sharing through your networks.

Kickstarter – http://kck.st/2qv0QHE

Website – http://georgedemoura.com

GROUNDBREAKING ANIME “GHOST IN THE SHELL” RETURNS TO THEATERS FOR LIMITED ENGAGEMENT FEBRUARY 7 – 8, 2017

GROUNDBREAKING ANIME “GHOST IN THE SHELL” RETURNS TO THEATERS FOR LIMITED ENGAGEMENT FEBRUARY 7 – 8, 2017

Mamoru Oshii Classic to Screen in 110 U.S. Theaters

Santa Monica, Calif., – January 9, 2017 —The “Ghost in the Shell” franchise has been entertaining audiences for more than 25 years and this February, Lionsgate and Funimation Films are partnering together to bring the 1995, groundbreaking anime film back to theaters for a two-day limited theatrical engagement.  The original “Ghost in the Shell” movie from acclaimed director Mamoru Oshii, will return to the big screen on February 7 – 8, 2017 in 110 theaters across the United States. Moviegoers will be able to enjoy both the original Japanese version with subtitles as well as the English dub of the film. Each will be available on separate days of the engagement, beginning first with the subtitled version.  Tickets are available beginning today and can be pre-purchased via the official movie website at funimationfilms.com/ghostintheshell.

Viewed as ahead of its time when it premiered in 1995, “Ghost in The Shell” quickly turned into a pop culture phenomenon and the inspiration for future mainstream movies. The movie became the first anime film to rank #1 on Billboard in video sales, which currently total more than 1.5 million copies across the franchise. With the release of “Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie” in 2016 and a new live action version of “Ghost in the Shell” set to release at the end of March, there has been a huge resurgence in fan interest for the franchise worldwide.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Lionsgate to bring the original ‘Ghost in the Shell’ movie back to U.S. theaters,” said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and founder of Funimation. “’Ghost in the Shell’ is truly a seminal work in anime cinema and it helped firmly establish a market for the genre with U.S. movie audiences.”

“’Ghost in the Shell’ is an iconic property and it is great that fans will be able to watch it on the big screen for the first time in 20 years,’ said Kevin Carney, VP Marketing Lionsgate. “Many fans will be seeing the movie in a theater for the first time and Funimation has been a terrific partner to help make this possible.”

Lionsgate will be releasing a new, deluxe collector’s edition of the remastered original on Blu-Ray with Digital HD.  This new edition will feature steelbook packaging and Mondo artwork and will be available in retail outlets beginning March 7, 2017.

Synopsis
2029 – A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of “The Puppet Master,” a mysterious and threatening computer virus capable of infiltrating human hosts. Together, with her fellow agents from Section 9, they embark on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity.

For more information on “Ghost in the Shell” visitfunimationfilms.com/ghostintheshell

About Funimation Films
Funimation Films, the theatrical division of Funimation Entertainment, acquires both anime and live action movies from prominent international filmmakers that appeal to the interests and passion of all types of fans and distributes them throughout North America. The division was launched in December 2014 following the box office success of “Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods” that same year. Funimation Films released “Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’” a year later and which became #9 highest-grossing anime movie in North America.  Funimation Entertainment is a subsidiary of Group 1200 Media, a fully integrated, next-generation, independent entertainment studio based in Dallas. For more information on Funimation Films, visit funimationfilms.com.
About Lionsgate
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) is a vertically integrated next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, premium pay television networks, home entertainment, global distribution and sales, interactive ventures and games and location-based entertainment.


With the acquisition of Starz, Lionsgate adds to its portfolio of businesses the flagship STARZ premium pay network serving nearly 25 million subscribers and the STARZ ENCORE platform with over 31 million subscribers.  The combined company will operate five over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and the Starz app delivering content directly to consumers.

The Company’s feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, the Now You See Me and John Wickseries, the Golden Globe-nominated La La Land, Hacksaw Ridge and Hell or High Water (in partnership with CBS Films), Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, Roadside Attractions’ critically-acclaimed Manchester by the Sea, Codeblack Films’concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion Films’ Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

One of the largest independent television businesses in the world, Lionsgate’s slate of premium quality series encompasses nearly 90 shows on more than 40 different networks.  These include the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, the fan favorite Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the acclaimed drama The Royals, the acclaimed Casual, the breakout success Greenleaf and hit Starz series including Outlander, Black Sails, Survivor’s Remorse and Power, the second highest-rated premium pay television series of 2016.

Lionsgate’s home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates.  Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of more than 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment and Starz brands are synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.  www.lionsgate.com