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“Meet Méline” – Teaser Trailer for New Animation Short

Moo2u — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 20:34:17 +0000

In an ordinary barn, of a quiet small town, a little girl will be faced with an extraordinary event… “Meet Meline” tells the story of a young girl who spends much of her time playing in a dusty old wooden out-shed at her grandparents home.

One day, whilst in the midst of her favourite past time of drawing, Méline suddenly finds herself face to face with an unknown furry creature. This short animated film follows a petite heroine called Méline as she makes a discovery of a lifetime …

“Meet Méline” is the brainchild and loving creation of 3D artists and creative directors Virginie Goyons and Sebastien Laban.

Initially the idea behind the project was to produce a 20 second clip that would provide a platform on which the two artists could develop and perfect their skills ….. two years later the piece has developed into a short animated film.

Goyons and Laban have recently completed a teaser trailer that gives a clear view of the character of Méline but keeps details of the plotline under wraps ….. ensuring we are intrigued to see more.
“Meet Méline” The Short Film and “Meet Méline” The Making of : are both due for release in 2009.

The making of “Meet Méline” has also lead to the production of a hard backed book and some beautiful, emotive poster artwork.

CREDITS: Written by: Virginie Goyons & Sebastien Laban
Animated by: Virginie Goyons & Sebastien Laban
Sounds by: Cedric Denooz
Music by: Guillaume ROUSSEL!

RELATED LINKS:
www.meetmeline.com

Meet Meline Blog on CG Society

Monster Debut for Animated Movie

Moo2u — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:49:33 +0000

Animated adventure Monsters vs. Aliens has scored the biggest US box office debut of the year so far with takings of $58.2m (£41m). The Dreamworks film, which sees classic movie monsters pitted against beings from outer space, beat ghost story The Haunting In Connecticut into second.

The animation, which features the voice of Reece Witherspoon, saw the weekend’s ticket sales up 39% compared to 2008. Cinema sales in 2009 are beating the recession, according to analysts.

3D success
“The recession offers a framework from which movies can do well for people looking to escape,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of Media By Numbers, which tracks US box office performance.

“But they have to want to escape to these movies. The appeal has to be there, and it clearly was for Monsters vs. Aliens,” he added.

The movie, which also features the voices of Kiefer Sutherland and Seth Rogan, has also been offered in 3D format which has proved popular.While the enhanced version was offered in only 28% of screens, it accounted for more than 55% of its box office revenues with a slightly more expensive ticket price.

Monsters vs. Aliens’ number one debut was way ahead of its nearest rival, The Haunting in Connecticut, which took $23m ($16.2m). Last week’s chart topper, Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage, slipped to number three on the chart.

US BOX OFFICE TOP FIVE
1 Monsters vs. Aliens – $58.2m
2 The Haunting in Connecticut – $23m
3 Knowing – $14.7m
4 I Love You, Man – $12.6m
5 Duplicity – $7.6m
Source: Media By Numbers

BBC Entertainment News 30 March 2009

Superfad Collaborates With MTV On Indebted Campaign

Moo2u — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:37:54 +0000

Animation has the powerful ability to make the abstract instantly personal and relatable. To inspire a call to action via www.indebted.com, a joint project between mtvU and the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Superfad has produced the second in a series of animated PSAs addressing the dangers of personal and government debt.

Indebted is a campaign directed at college students that aims to raise awareness about excessive debt and promote action to help stop the fiscal crisis in the U.S. With Indebted 2, Superfad helps illustrate what young people might expect from the future, a bleak picture if we don’t help turn back the hands of the national debt clock. This spot is the follow up to an earlier Superfad animated piece that focused on the pitfalls of personal debt.

“The main challenge we faced was walking the very fine line of making the spot desolate without being overwhelmingly depressing,” says Superfad Creative Director Adam Parry. “We worked remotely with Dax (MTV’s Director) from NY to our office in London. He is great with feedback and direction so it all ran very smoothly. We look forward to seeing where they take the campaign next but hope the need for additional spots diminishes as people heed the call to action.”

CREDITS
Client: mtvU & the Peter G. Peterson Foundation

Concept: MTV
Writer/Director: Dax Martinez-Vargas
Senior Director: Sophia Cranshaw

Animation Production: Superfad
Executive Producer: Stuart Robinson
Creative Director: Adam Parry

“Special Guest: The Journey” by Vinicius Costa

Moo2u — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:32:15 +0000

Special Guest, the multi-talented sibling of 1st Avenue Machine, recently summed up the company’s eclectic creative spirit with an 80-second stop-motion style animated film entitled “Special Guest: The Journey.”

The film is the debut for the studio’s newest addition, Director Vinicius Costa. In the studio’s tradition of having new directors create a film based on their idea of The Special Guest, Vinicius Costa created “Special Guest: The Journey” The film employs the metaphor of travel using a neatly-packed suitcase to reveal the company’s diverse and multi-faceted capabilities.

“I was visiting New York on business, and saw an interesting book on perfect packing,” says the Brazil-based Costa. “It occurred to me that just looking at someone’s luggage could tell you a lot about the owner’s personality. The idea stayed with me, and I started thinking of Special Guest as a suitcase full of unique techniques, options, and creative styles, all right there for the taking.”

Opening with a full-screen shot of neatly folded shirts and other apparel, “Special Guest: The Journey” widens out to reveal the scene on a t-shirt. A pair of arms reach forward to deftly fold the t-shirt and place it in a suitcase. As the camera pans to the left, the suitcase extends to reveal a wide variety of brightly patterned shirts.

The shot continues smoothly as the patterns begin to interact with one another. A chest pocket opens like a door before emitting a long blue ribbon which just as quickly becomes a roadway complete with moving cars. Surrounding patterns spring to life, revealing moving airplanes and trains, as cars attempt to park between the black keys on a keyboard. The scene changes to one of dimly illuminated space before changing utterly to reveal a doorknob.

“In keeping with the theme of luggage and travel, I started working with hotel elements,” says Costa. “I came up with a doorknob tag in the shape of a G, sort of like a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign. I knew I had an important symbol that would connect the video together.”

Drawing out from the doorknob, viewers are presented with a tiny person ready to enter a tiny doorway on the giant doorknob. As the door opens, the epic music swells and the camera drifts upwards to reveal a colorful, whimsical environment that seems equal parts Salvador Dali and Monty Python. Brilliantly colored, illustrative images combine with flying beds and pink jellyfish, and precede a cartoon-like rendering of the company name backed by rays of heavenly light puncturing clouds. No sooner is the scene complete than the camera pulls back to reveal a Special Guest t-shirt, which is duly folded and placed in a suitcase, bringing “Special Guest: The Journey” to a close.

“While in New York, I also saw the incredible Salvador Dali show at the Museum of Modern Art,” says Costa. “It blew me away and inspired me to combine my illustrative techniques with elements of surrealism. Back in Brazil, I enlisted the help of my colleagues at Studio Animatorio to put all of this together. It was a big challenge, because we used so many techniques and styles to create a very unusual scene. I wanted all the elements to be realistic in their interactions with each other, but I also wanted a playful feel. In the end, the film is so packed with details that it needs repeated viewings. Since it begins and ends with the same shot, I liked the feeling of it turning into an infinite loop, a symbol of Special Guest’s renewable talent.”

ABOUT SPECIALGUEST
Based in Manhattan, SpecialGuest is a new creative studio stemming from the talented minds of New York’s 1st Avenue Machine (www.1st-ave-machine.com ). SpecialGuest’s declared commitment is to create more tactile animation that is both funny and weird. SpecialGuest brings a light touch to a wide range of organic animation techniques and styles. More information may be found at www.specialguest.tv

RELATED LINKS
www.specialguest.tv
www.1stavemachine.com

Hatch Studios Create a Toblerone Christmas

Moo2u — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:40:16 +0000

Toblerone “Christmas” is a character spot campaign directed by Richard Rosenman of Hatch Studios Ltd. This endearing :15 tag features four stylized characters in an equally stylized Toblerone world where various objects throughout the environment appear to have the Toblerone bite taken out of them. The spot opens with a family driving through snow covered roads with a Christmas tree attached to the roof of their car. Two happy children and a dog sit on the back seat of the car.As the car makes it way through falling snow and a cheery Christmas landscape, the children notice large Toblerone bites taken from a roof top and then a garden gnome.

The final shot shows the Christmas tree perched on top of the family car also has a Toblerone bite mark. The spot was modeled and animated in 3dsmax 9, rendered with VRay SP2 and composited with Combustion 2009. The Toblerone “Christmas” concept was also used across an accompanying magazine print campaign.

About Hatch Studios
In June of 2006, Richard Rosenman and two partners opened the doors of Hatch Studios Ltd., a full-service animation and motion graphics production studio located in downtown Toronto, Canada. The Hatch Studios goal is to continue producing cutting-edge animation and motion graphics for print, broadcast and film.

About Richard Rosenman
Richard Rosenman has over 12 years of work experience in the national and international classical and computer animation industry. He has produced over 50 commercials for both film and broadcast, including many award winning projects. Richard Rosenman has extensive experience in all formats of animation including short form, long form, series, gaming, effects, web and film. Additional skills include live-action shoot supervising, computer graphics programming, art direction, storyboarding, conceptual design, character design, broadcast design, print and web development.

CREDITS
Director: Richard Rosenman
Exec. Producer: Randi Yaffa
Producer: Holly Nichols
Characters & Props design: Angelo Libutti
Environment / Props modeling: Stephane Goulet, Raden Slipicevic, Rowan Simpson
Character modeling: Wendy Rozycki, David Emirzian, Corey Hayes
Animation: Scott Guppy, Kevin Vriesinga
TD: Paul Neale, Mathieson Facer, Eric Harvey, Felipe Nogueira
Texture Assist: Chris Crozier
Texture, lighting, rendering & compositing: Brad Husband

(Article by: CGnews.com)