Tag Archives: Sony

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Keika Yamaguchi

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Keika Yamaguchi. I am a Children’s Book Illustrator and Freelance illustrator.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I wish I had a fun story to tell, but none of the jobs that I had before getting into animation were crazy.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
While I was an art intern at Walt Disney Imagineering, I worked closely with the producers illustrating the very first concepts for the kids room for the New Disney Cruise Ship, and Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Trading Card Game at Walt Disney World. I was blown away when I found out that the project is now real and the public can interact with them. I treasure the time I was working there to this day. I am also grateful to have been able to illustrate childrens’ books such as Sick of Being Sick, the big golden book for Wreck it Ralph, and The Tale of the Gingerbread Man. To see kids engaged in books that I worked on is a magical moment to me!

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from a small town near Glendale, California. My first work I have done for Continue reading

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Seth Kearsley

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What would you say has been your primary job in animation?
I’ve mostly been a Director in my career.  I was lucky enough to start Directing really young.  I was 23 when I got my first job as Producer/Director of Mummies Alive.  I’ve been fortunate enough to remain as a Director pretty steadily since then.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I mostly worked in construction with my Dad but I did work as the assistant to the ice cream maker at Swenson’s when I was 13.  That was an awesome job and I ate a lot of cheap ice cream.  Still, to this day, I make some pretty good ice cream.  I delivered pizzas for Domino’s for a while in college and worked the graveyard shift at a toy factory.

How did you become interested in animation?
In 9th grade, I was in an art class and the first assignment was just to do Continue reading

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Mike Blum

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Mike Blum and I am a director, producer, writer and owner of two boutique production companies, Pipsqueak Films and Blumayan Films. Pipsqueak Films works on animated content of all sorts and Blumayan Films produces live action features.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I waited tables while being a ski bum after college. I couldn’t ski more than 5 feet without falling at the start of the season but was cruising black diamonds by the end. Never did learn to wait tables all that well…And when I was in junior high and high school I worked at this crazy nut, candy, coffee store called The Head Nut. Come to think of it, slinging nuts and candy is a lot like turning the crank in production — head down and scoop away!

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
My favorite projects are the ones I’ve had the biggest hand in seeing through creatively. So, even though I worked on nearly a dozen features with world class artists and technical people while at Disney Feature Animation, none gave me the same satisfaction as working on my first shorts, Oil & Vinegar and The Zit.  And while a lot of my colleagues gave me funny looks when I told them I was leaving Disney to direct a series about a pair of talking testicles, The Adventures of Baxter & McGuire (for Comedy Central), got me nominated for an Emmy and took me to great festivals like Sundance and Annecy. And I worked with the amazing showrunners Michael Weithorn and Nick Bakay.  But my favorite project so far is the one I just completed, Samurai! Daycare. It’s a 10 part, Flash animated web series I did for the new YouTube channel, Shut Up! Cartoons. It’s the first property I sold that made it all the way to series and it was great fun to showrun my own creation.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’ll answer these 2 questions together…. I was a huge fan of Bugs Bunny growing up. I know, I know I have such unusual tastes. But I really never had any classic artistic skills and grew up so far removed from “the industry” in the Philadelphia ‘burbs, it never occurred to me in at least a conscious way that it could be a career. I did, however, Continue reading

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Rachel Anchors

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What is your name and your current occupation? 
Hello I am Rachel Anchors and I am a Character Animator.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? 
I wouldn’t call the jobs I did before animation crazy. I was a freelance artist doing some illustration. I worked some restaurant jobs and barista jobs. I worked as a rental agent. As soon as I graduated college I was doing only animation and animation related jobs.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I am proud to have worked on Arthur Christmas with Sony Imageworks. I got to work with some pretty inspirational people, push myself as an animator, and experience what it was like to work on a big production.

 
How did you become interested in animation?
I became interested in animation at a very early age. I always drew and made up illustrated stories. I watching, “Lady and the Tramp,” and, “Robin Hood,” repeatedly as a child. There was something about the way Continue reading

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Steve Hoogendyk

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What is your name and your current occupation? 
My name is Steve Hoogendyk and my current occupation is Creative Director at Geeta Games. We are a small indie game studio working on our first animated adventure game “Lilly Looking Through.”

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
One summer, in my teens, I got a job as an usher at a local movie theater. I thought this would be a great way to break into film and work my way up to lead projectionist. I quickly learned that the job of projectionist was the most coveted of all job, and had at least a 3 years waiting list. My best memories are cleaning up vomit in a dark sold out theater, while the movie continued to play (I guess the show must go on). Ushering an understandingly frazzled older couple out of “Menace II Society” (they thought they were going to see “Denise the Menace”, which was actually playing next door). Seeing “Jurassic Park” (which I probably saw at least 10 times that summer). As the summer ended, I was pretty sure being an usher was NOT the best way to break into the movie business.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Walt Disney’s “Bolt”, It was my first animated feature film, and the animation team was amazing.  “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, as well as Animation Director, Pete Nash gave the animators incredible freedom to create highly stylized animation. This project was just a complete joy to work on.  “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”  I am a big fan of author C.S. Lewis , plus this was the first film I got to work on, so it holds a special place for me.  “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”  My wife and I got to live in London for a year. Plus, during the first part of the project, we worked at Leavesden Studios where they have most of the practical sets. During lunch, we would walk around and take in the wonderful sets. The craftsmanship put into the Hogwarts Castle miniature was breathtaking, and sitting in Dumbledore’s actual chair was kind of magical.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
I had always been interested in animation, acting, special effects, video games and computers. However, the summer I saw Jurassic Park, and then just a few years later Continue reading

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Sony Pictures Animation unveils slate

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MUMBAI: In a move signaling an expansion of its output and increased year-round production across multiple platforms, Sony Pictures Animation has announced its slate through 2018 which includes five theatrical features, three television series and one direct-to-video movie. Sony Pictures Animation’s slate includes a mix of originals and franchises, some previously announced, each with its own style and tone, underscoring the studio’s pledge to develop projects aimed both inside and outside of the Sony Pictures Animation family brand intended for traditional, as well as online, distribution platforms.

Sony Pictures Animation president Kristine Belson said, “We are meaningfully stepping up our level of production, while creating an environment that fosters the best talent. Our goal is to enlarge our presence in the animation landscape with a uniquely diverse slate, and our strategy to get there is to let artists drive the movies creatively.” Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman said, “I could not be more proud of the way Kristine Belson has rebuilt Sony Pictures Animation into the boldest home for animation in the industry.”

Theatrical Features
‘Smurfs: The Lost Village’, a fully-animated comedy that delivers a fresh new take on the blue creatures, hits theatres on 7 April 2017. The voice cast includes Demi Lovato as Smurfette, Jack McBrayer as Clumsy, Joe Manganiello as Hefty, Danny Pudi as Brainy, and Rainn Wilson as Gargamel, with Mandy Patinkin as Papa. ‘

Emojimovie: Express Yourself’ will offer a comic take on the secret world of our phones and the beloved characters that have become daily necessities in global interpersonal communication. The feature is targeting an August 2017 theatrical release.

‘The Star’ (working title) is scheduled for an 8 December 2017 theatrical release. A small but brave donkey and his animal friends become the unsung heroes of the greatest story ever told, the first Christmas. Sony Pictures Animation produces the movie in association with The Jim Henson Company.

‘Hotel Transylvania 3’, a follow-up to Sony Pictures Animation’s highest grossing film in the US and the biggest opening ever for a US September release, is scheduled to hit theaters on 21 September 2018.
Director Genndy Tartakovsky, who returns to helm this brand new adventure, says, “I thought I was done exploring the world of ‘Hotel Transylvania’ after the first two films, but while I was away from the franchise finishing my TV show ‘Samurai Jack’, an idea sparked that I got really excited about and made it irresistible to return and helm myself this third adventure.” Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez and Andy Samberg will be returning as the voices of Dracula, his vampire daughter Mavis, and her human husband Johnny.

Also, from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the geniuses behind ‘The Lego Movie’, comes an animated ‘Spider-Man’ feature slated for theatrical release on 21 December 2018.

Animated Series
A brand new animated television series, ‘Ghostbusters: Ecto Force’, will further expand the ‘Ghostbusters’ cinematic universe and focus on a new generation of Ghostbusters in the year 2050 who capture ghosts around the world with help from local teams—and some very cool gear! The younger-skewing Sony Pictures Animation project is being creatively spearheaded by Ivan Reitman and his production company Ghost Corps. It is is eyeing an early 2018 debut.

‘Hotel Transylvania’ will also have a TV show. It is targeted for a 2017 airdate. The animated television series, produced in partnership with Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, will focus on the teenage years of Mavis, Dracula’s daughter, and her friends. It will be airing on the Disney Channel worldwide.

Another movie that will make the transition to TV is ‘Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs’. It is slated for its television series incarnation airdate in 2017. The 2D animated small-screen series will expand on the adventures of the computer-animated feature films and will air on Cartoon Network in the US and Turner channels across EMEA, APAC and Latin American markets.

Direct-to-video
‘Surf’s Up 2: Wavemania’ will debut on home entertainment in the Spring of 2017. Directed by Henry Yu and produced by Michelle Wong, the follow-up to the 2007 Oscar nominee will hit the shores in time for the 10-year anniversary of the franchise. The project is in partnership with WWE Studios and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The voice cast includes WWE Superstars John Cena, The Undertaker, Triple H, Diva Paige and Mr. McMahon as an infamous big wave riding crew of penguins known as The Hang 5 which Cody Maverick convinces to let him join on their journey to a mysterious surf spot where legend has it they will find the biggest waves in the world.

Read more at: http://www.televisionpost.com/television/sony-pictures-animation-unveils-slate/ | TelevisionPost.com