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.

While Rhino has always been known for its work in VFX and CG-oriented design and animation, the addition of Gravity’s resources has been a huge complement, adding more design depth and stylistic vision to their creative arsenal, and opening up unique opportunities for a variety of new media ventures, larger-scale pitches and projects, and global campaigns. Solidifying their position as a design and effects force across four screens, Rhino has doubled in size, with the talent, partnerships, and resources to deliver VFX, character animation, brand building, content creation, and digital solutions to the world’s top brands, agencies, and entertainment companies.

With Gravity’s locations in both Tel Aviv and Toronto coupled with Rhino’s New York and Connecticut studios, the company has diversified their offerings and greatly expanded their capabilities. All completely technologically linked, the union creates an international brigade of the industry’s leading artists. Rhino’s vast internal bandwidth and worldwide presence enable them to take on a variety of projects, for any client, anywhere.

Commenting on the re-brand, Zviah Eldar, CEO North America, explains, “A year ago, we saw a great opportunity in aligning Gravity and rhinofx, leveraging our locations around the world and combining the advertising and film experience with online and mobile media expertise. Each of our offices is linked creatively and technically, strengthening our commitment to expand our services to agencies, film studios, and brands across all platforms. Now, Rhino delivers much more than visual effects and the name change will help reflect these capabilities.”

In addition to this broader, diversified creative approach, Rhino is launching a branding package including a new identity, website, and materials to better reflect this vision. The studio has done an expansive build-out of two entire floors at their New York City location, bringing their artists and producers together to create a more open and collaborative environment.

Supporting this evolution, Rhino recently undertook a mobile and alternative media project, collaborating with GS New Media, Inc. and Sun Microsystems, Inc. to build a state of the art virtual world for a global children’s television brand The Saddle Club. The interactive experience, which lets young girls celebrate friendship, adventure, and horses, was built on the Project Darkstar platform, the breakthrough open source online game platform invented by Sun.

Expanding on their vision for mobile content, Eldar notes, “We have combined years of mobile experience with design and creative talent to position ourselves at the forefront of the changing worlds of both online and mobile content development. Our artists and production teams can deliver the high-quality rich graphics, animation, and 3D that are quickly arriving for these emerging channels.”

In addition to The Saddle Club, the Rhino team is also looking at expanding on Gravity’s prior mobile content hit, Gemma, which was one of the first mobisode series ever released. The project, done with Orange Israel mobile, was picked up for both online and television distribution.

Managing Director Rick Wagonheim comments, “The relationship with the multiple offices has afforded a larger creative bandwidth, access to more ideas, and an ability to work with artists from different backgrounds and disciplines. This has contributed a different perspective, with a wider range of talent working under the guidance of Rhino’s New York based creative directors. It’s very similar to the global agency model. When an agency is pitching new business or developing new campaigns for an existing client, they use multiple offices and multiple creative teams under the guidance of a worldwide creative director orchestrating the teams to flush out the best solutions, the smartest concepts, and the most promising creative. We’re doing the same thing on a smaller scale. We’ve expanded our creative prowess and that directly benefits the client with better results coming from more options.”

Rhino’s most recent work includes campaigns for Verizon, Cadillac, Chrylser, Subway and Oreo.

Wagonheim notes, “The Subway project is indicative of a growing trend, with clients approaching studios seeking one-stop solutions that combine shooting, editing, and effects-all under one roof. With Subway, Vico truly led the entire project-working as both Director and Creative Director. This happened after the agency initially approached us to do the effects. After presenting Vico’s vision, it became clear that the effects determined how the live action had to be shot to tell the complete story.” Wagonheim continues, “We’re going to see more of this trend moving forward-where we will need to do the entire project to get both the most creative and most efficient output. In addition to Rhino’s talent directing the live action, the relationship with Gravity also affords access to international directors when appropriate.”

The re-branding also comes on the heels of several major feature films projects completed in their new Connecticut-based film location. For the latest film, The Weinstein Company’s The Reader, nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Director and Best Picture, the team worked closely with noted director Stephen Daldry to add a distinct sense of reality to the historical piece.

Commenting on the evolution of their film effects business, COO/EP Camille Geier explains, “The film medium is a constant collaboration with the director, because they really are the client and we work together to see the project all the way through. This is opposed to spots, where most directors are off to the next shoot, requesting quick-times to see the progress. It’s a very different experience when the client is the director.”

As the VFX provider for DreamWorks’ supernatural romantic comedy Ghost Town, as well as supplying intricate effects for Revolution Studios’ Perfect Stranger and Weinstein Company’s Nanny Diaries, Rhino solidified its position as one of the east coast’s leading animation and VFX studios.

“Our feature business has grown very nicely, even with the Writer’s strike, our feature revenue increased in ‘08 over the prior year, and we are already reading more scripts than in the beginning of 2008,” continued Geier.

Rhino is currently finishing work on I Love You Phillip Morris, a dark comedy starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival as part of the Premieres category. In the four years since Geier joined the company to help build the feature film side of the business, Rhino has built a considerable body of work, including multiple turns as a film’s sole VFX provider, utilizing significant new bandwidth, new space, and additional resources to become a know feature effects entity.

Breaking away from just traditional projects, the company also revisited their work for Radio City Music Hall, expanding and updating the 12-minute 3D virtual tour of NYC, and aligning the visuals, angles and timing to coincide impeccably with the huge portable screens of the traveling nationwide live stage performance.

Rhino’s recent projects represent this new level of diversity, from the surreal animation spots for Verizon to the recreation of Post War Germany for The Reader to the highly acclaimed long-form tour of New York City for The Christmas Spectacular.

Eldar continues, “We are excited about being able to deliver more dimensions and more creative solutions to our clients-we are already doing some really amazing work that is truly integrated across media channels and screens.”

The trend will continue in 2009, as the team finalizes works for several major P&G products, launches The Saddle Club, and with the upcoming release of I Love You Phillip Morris. With their own updated capabilities now carefully incorporated into their brand identity, the company stands to tighten their hold on the top of content creation for the design and VFX industry, and further establish themselves as the universal provider of multi-platform media, design, and effects.

About Rhino:
Rhino is an award winning animation and visual effects studio with a global vision and worldwide network of talent, partnerships and resources. As they have grown and become more diverse, so have their projects for the world’s top brands, agencies and entertainment companies. The company’s principals and artists have also led the industry’s exploration into the boundless potential of branded digital content. By cultivating extensive relationships with key brands, advertising agencies, and film/TV studios, Rhino utilizes its creative directors and artists to develop and execute powerful branded entertainment to build both identity and awareness.

www.rhinofx.tv

‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ – is a follow up to the 2007 ‘Transformers’ and once more features the character Sam Witwicky who has now learnt the truth about the ancient origins of The Transformers. The Decepticons are intent on the capture of Witwicky as they need him for information.

Michael Bay returns to the helm for the sequel to the highly successful big-screen adaptation of the Transformers toy line for DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures.

Much of the original cast returns for the second installment, including Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and John Turturro, with Rainn Wilson joining in the fun as a college professor.

‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ is due for release in June 2009.

CREDITS
Directed by: Michael Bay
Produced by: Steven Spielberg (executive), Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto & Don Murphy
Written by: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman & Ehren Kruger
Music by: Steve Jablonsky[1]
Cinematography by: Ben Seresin
Editing by: Roger Barton
Distributed by: DreamWorks & Paramount Pictures

CAST & CHARACTERS
Shia LaBeouf – Sam Witwicky
Megan Fox – Mikaela Banes
Josh Duhamel – Captain William Lennox
Tyrese Gibson – Robert Epps
John Turturro – Agent Reggie Simmons
Matthew Marsden – Graham
Ramon Rodriguez – Leo
Kevin Dunn – Ron Witwicky
Julie White – Judy Witwicky
Rainn Wilson – College Professor
Isabel Lucas – Alice
America Olivo – Frisbee Girl
Tyree Gibson – USAF Tech Sergeant Epps
Peter Cullen – Optimus Prime
Darius McCrary – Jazz
Samantha Smith – Sarah Lennox
Kevin Dunn – Ron Witwicky
Mark Ryan – Bumblebee
Peter Jason – Ceo
Robert Foxworth – Ratchet
Charles Adler – Starscream
Michael Papajohn – Cal
Jonathon Trent – Fasbinder
Jess Harnell – Ironhide/Barricade
Alex Fernandez – Lt. Colonel Cetas
John Benjamin Hickey : Galloway
Walker Howard : Sharsky
John Nielson – Captain Wilder
James Harvey Ward – Sonarman

RELATED LINKS
www.dreamworksstudios.com

www.transformersmovie.com

Rhinofx was enlisted to do extensive effects work on the film, delivering the realistic feel of the changing backdrop of the country and the destruction still evident throughout the region. The historic drama is the product of Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Daldry, known for the acclaimed work on both Billy Elliot and The Hours. The film opened in limited release on December 10th, and has been extremely well-received, already claiming one Golden Globe and several award nominations.

Extending their longstanding relationship, Weinstein and Daldry recruited Rhino to help rebuild the devastation that plagued Germany in the 1950s.

VFX Supervisor Jim Rider explains, “Stephen wanted to make every detail and setting as realistic as possible. Because Germany has evolved so much since 1955, we were called in to recreate the country and time, and really enhance the sense of accuracy and authenticity. It was definitely a challenge, but the results add another layer of depth and credibility to the storyline.”

The footage, shot on location in Germany, was modified to reflect the postwar restoration period. Transforming and deconstructing the modern landscape, the Rhinofx team used effects work to bomb out and board up buildings, blow holes in roofs, and leave ruins reminiscent of the war-torn country.

When California girl Susan Murphy is unwittingly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall. Alerted to the threat of this new monster, the military jumps into action and Susan is captured and secreted away to a covert government compound.

There, she is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a group of other monsters: the brilliant insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D.; half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and a 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus.

Their confinement is cut short, however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country. In a moment of desperation, The President is persuaded by General W.R. Monger to enlist the motley crew of Monsters to combat the Alien Robot and save the world from imminent destruction.

The cast of ‘Monsters vs Aliens’ includes: Ocar Winner Reese Witherspoon as Susan Murphy aka Ginomica; Golden Globe winner Hugh Laurie as Dr. Cockroach Ph.D; Will Arnett as The Missing Link; Seth Rogen as B.O.B; Rainn Wilson as Gallaxhar; Emmy Winner Stephen Colbert as The President of the United States; Golden Globe winner Kiefer Sutherland as General W.R. Monger; and Paul Rudd as Susan’s boyfriend Derek.

‘Monsters Vs. Aliens’ is directed by Rob Letterman (Shark Tale) and Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2), produced by Lisa Stewart and co-produced by Jill Hooper and Latifa Ouaou.

The film marks the theatrical debut of DreamWorks Animation’s Ultimate 3-D, the studio’s proprietary production process of authoring its animated films in 3-D from start to finish. ‘Monsters Vs. Aliens’ is due for release 27 March 2009.

About DreamWorks Animation SKG
DreamWorks Animation is principally devoted to developing and producing computer generated, or CG, animated feature films. With world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced CG filmmaking technology and techniques, DreamWorks Animation makes high quality CG animated films meant for a broad movie-going audience. The Company has theatrically released a total of fifteen animated feature films including Antz, Shrek, Shrek 2, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over
the Hedge, Shrek the Third and Bee Movie.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Picutures Corporation is a unit of Viacom. a global entertainment company that produces and distributes filmed entertainment through the Paramount Motion Picutre Group. PHE is responsible for the worldwide sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment products on behalf of various parties including: Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS, PBS and Hasbro, and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment.

(Article by: CGnews.com)