Animation World Network
Animation World Network
Animation World Network – the largest animation and visual effects-related publishing group on the In
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  • Autodesk Adds Golaem Crowd Tools to Media & Entertainment Collection
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    Autodesk has added the Golaem plug-in in the latest release of its Design & Make software for Media & Entertainment Collection, to simplify the process of creating large-scale crowd scenes.Crowd simulation has long been a challenge, and our mission has always been to make it accessible to all, said Nicolas Chaverou, Golaem co-founder and principal technical product manager at Autodesk. Now, as part of Autodesks M&E Collection, were thrilled that Golaem is in the hands of more studios and can empower more artists to create stunning, large-scale scenes with ease.Golaems Layout tool allows studios to adjust and customize characters directly in the Maya viewport without altering simulations, while the built-in procedural animation engine helps control multiple characters at once. Once the simulation is set up in Maya, it can be transferred to 3ds Max, Houdini, Unreal, or Katana using Golaems dedicated plug-ins.Meet the new M&E Collection with Autodesk Golaem:Major industry formats are supported, including OpenUSD. The Autodesk Media & Entertainment Collection allows running Arnold on up to 5 machines, making crowd rendering faster and more cost-efficient.Were breaking down long-standing technical barriers to get artists into the creative zone faster, said Ben Fischler, Autodesks director of product management for content creation. With new crowd simulation, AI-powered tools, and Flow-connected workflows, our latest updates help you reach that last 80% - where the real fun begins, and you can focus on making your shot work for the story.Flow Animating in Context integrates surrounding shots from Flow Production Tracking (formerly ShotGrid) directly into Mayas timeline, and allows users to switch between different pipeline steps. The latest updates to Maya and 3ds Max also include hundreds of enhancements and fixes, including:Modeling improvements The powerful Volume Booleans tool is now available in Maya and 3ds Max, creating a more unified Boolean engine between the two tools. This update makes it easier to explore freeform shapes and build complex organic forms from simple primitives.Liquids Bifrost's new liquid simulation feature is now available directly within the Bifrost graph. The new FLIP solver offers adaptive resolution for efficient computation, particle-based foam, and improved velocity estimation. You can also emit and blend colored liquids. It is perfect for large-scale, non-viscous fluids.OpenUSD enhancements Improvements continue across both Maya and 3ds Max OpenUSD, with added support for axis and scale adjustments in Maya and recently, an Attribute Editor in 3ds Max. A long-requested feature, Light Linking, is also now available in both tools, giving you greater control over rendering.OpenPBR integration OpenPBR is now the default shading option in both Maya and 3ds Max, bringing enhanced artistic controls, more accurate material representation across tools and improved interchange with other software.Source: Autodesk Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Maxon Announces Major Maxon One Suite Update
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    Maxon has announced a significant update to the Maxon One product suite, with hundreds of new features and capabilities across its tools, including ZBrush for desktop and iPad, Red Giant, Maxon Studio, Cinema 4D, Redshift, and Cineware.One of Maxon's key goals is to enable artists to create wherever they are, said David McGavran. The new Maxon release is yet another step toward a future where creative potential knows no limits. From the groundbreaking ZBrush digital sculpting capabilities on an iPad to the expanded Maxon Studio and new tools for DaVinci Resolve, we are empowering artists everywhere to push the boundaries with the freedom to bring their creative visions to life literally anywhere.ZBrush for iPad features expanded toolsets and seamless desktop integration. Highlights include:ZModeler tool is now available on iPad with a new UI. The desktop version received new presets, improved Insert Edge Loop snapping controls, and an enhanced selection mode.Nanomesh is now supported on iPad.UV Master offers a one-click solution for unwrapping 3D models, and enables seamless use of Surface Noise, Texture Maps, IMM brushes with UVs, and displacement mapping for sculpting and texturing.Seamless workflow between ZBrush and Cinema 4D.Maxon expands its support for DaVinci Resolve, allowing editors and colorists to enhance and stylize projects. Highlights include:Real Lens Flares: Create authentic light flares based on real-world lens properties.Optical Glow: Adds a smooth, cinematic glow effect, perfect for neon signs, sci-fi visuals, and polished aesthetic enhancements.Magic Bullet Looks: Apply professional-grade color correction and filmic styles.Universe Toolkit: A collection of video effects, creative transitions, and stylized elements such as VHS and Bokeh.Maxon Studio Designer features curated templates to create fully customizable motion graphics and visuals in Adobe After Effects. Highlights include:100+ New Maxon Studio Capsules, created by artist Andy Needham.New Vertical Templates for social video include pre-built layouts optimized for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.Cinema 4D delivers new spline tools and enhanced simulation capabilities for motion graphics. Highlights include:Spline Modifiers from Rocket Lasso: Generate and manipulate splines with advanced animation capabilities, ideal for motion graphics and typography.Unified Simulation & Particles Enhancements: Refined physics-based effects and improved particle systems for greater realism and efficiency.Maxon continues to expand Redshifts versatility with key updates that enhance rendering workflows across multiple applications. Highlights include:Redshift OpenPBR support expands compatibility with industry-standard OpenPBR materials.Material graph baking for Cinema 4D Viewport enhances material previews.In Houdini, per-point attributes are now interpolated into smooth gradients on hair curves.In both Houdini and Maya, the USD procedural enables pipeline assets to be easily instanced, now with support for USD overrides.Automatic conversion of Vray and Corona materials in 3ds Max.Extended Redshift support enables high-quality concept renders directly from ZBrush.Cineware for Unreal enables seamless transfer to Unreal Engine, now with complete support for rigged and animated characters. Highlights include:Bring Cinema 4D scenes into Unreal Engine with a streamlined workflow.Import assets, materials, lighting, and animations with fewer steps.Transfer fully rigged characters and skeletal animations smoothly.Craft immersive game environments and cinematic sequences with minimal setup time.NAB 2025 attendees can see a special preview of Maxon Studio Create Page, a new tool that enables broadcasters and brands to develop custom, brand-specific templates for seamless enterprise-wide motion graphics workflows. Visitors to the Maxon booth can also get an exclusive sneak peek at Liquid Simulations, an upcoming feature set to bring realistic fluid dynamics to Cinema 4D.Listed updates are now available to Maxon One subscribers.Source: Maxon Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Adobe Announces Premiere Pro, After Effects Releases
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    Adobe has launched Generative Extend in Premiere Pro, which uses AI to instantly generate and expand the length of video and audio clips. Powered by the Firefly Video Model and safe for commercial use, Generative extend allows editors to extend video in 4K and in landscape and vertical orientation, along with audio clips. To promote transparency around AI-generated content, Content Credentials, which act like a nutrition label for digital media, are attached to Generative Extend outputs.Were so excited to see how the Premiere Pro community uses Generative Extend in 4K and AI-powered Media Intelligence to create stories that capture our imaginations, said Ashley Still, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media at Adobe. By harnessing the power of Firefly and our advanced AI capabilities, we're transforming the video editing experience and enabling our customers to focus on what matters most to them telling vivid, compelling stories."Adobes new Firefly-powered video tools like Generative Extend have been transformative for our creative and post-production workflows, said Justin Barnes, Executive Creative Director & Partner, Versus Creative Studio. They seamlessly integrate into our existing pipeline, allowing us to rapidly experiment, iterate, and develop creative ideas faster than ever. The ability to automate time-consuming tasks has unlocked all new efficiencies and given back time to the creative process, allowing us to further push the limits of storytelling.Also newly launched is the AI-powered Media Intelligence, which quickly finds specific clip content such as objects, locations, camera angles, or metadata like shoot date or camera type. Im really excited by the AI products that Adobe is developing for filmmakers especially new features like Media Intelligence, which helps me get to the edit that much faster, said Ernie Gilbert, filmmaker and editor. As an editor, its my job to stay on top of new technologies that help give us more time to focus on the creative process with my collaborators down the pipeline. These tools will help remove some of the tedium of the process, allowing us to focus on whats ultimately going to affect the audience most.Additional upgrades in Premiere Pro include AI-powered Caption Translation, which automates the work of generating multilingual captions. Premiere Color Management transforms raw and log footage from nearly every camera into HDR and SDR the moment clips are imported.Adobe also introduced a new version of After Effects with a high-performance preview playback engine, new 3D motion design tools, and HDR monitoring. New Frame.io V4 upgrades include expanded storage and text document review tools, transcription generation (beta), watermarking, and access groups (beta) for enterprise customers.Adobes latest releases in Premiere Pro and After Effects are generally available. Premiere Pro will offer complimentary generations with Generative Extend for a limited time. Transcription and Access Groups features are available in Frame.io V4 beta; all other Frame.io features are generally available. The new updates to Adobe video and collaboration tools, and more, will be on display at the 2025 NAB Show in Las Vegas from April 6-9 at Booth SL2210.Source: Adobe Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Digital Domain Gets Symbiotic for Venom: The Last Dance
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    If you ever wondered what the home world of the symbiotes in the Venom cinematic franchise looks like, then watch Venom: The Last Dance. Marvel and Sony Pictures final instalment in their Symbiote trilogy, starring Tom Hardy and directed by Kelly Marcel, showcases Klyntar and the imprisoned symbiote creator Knull. Hired to create the artificial planet in the Andromeda Galaxy that appears in the opening and post-credit scenes - a total of 36 shots - was Digital Domain. The leading VFX studio produced the constantly moving, eerie organic setting from scratch as well as monstrous creatures known as Xenophages that crawl through the dark realm. The environment is literally made of symbiotes and its dark, states Scott Edelstein, VFX Supervisor, Digital Domain. We had many conversations early on with John Moffatt and Aharon Bourland, the client-side visual effects supervisors. How do you make the lighting interesting but not make it like Knull is in the spotlight at the center of this world? You still have to see all of these creepy creatures crawling around inside of this goo, and everything is black. What helped at the end of the day was the amount and layering of atmosphere we were about to put in out into infinity because this world is huge. But being able to light it mostly with the atmosphere allows you to backlight things and create this creepy world that is dark. You get senses of movement that are going on around you. But, you dont exactly know what it is until the camera moves and a little bit of atmosphere blows through and now you can see its a Xenophage crawling and Knull is in the background.Given that Klyntar is not a static environment, it had to be treated as a character. We worked well with the effects department so that means we did some animation and sent it over to the effects department and they did all of the moving stuff, remarks Ellen Hoffmann, Animation Supervisor, Digital Domain. Then it came back to us, and we changed it little bit so that the composition worked. The world building was based on the look of the previous films, artwork, and comic books. It was about understanding what form the symbiote takes when stretching out and doing cool things, notes Edelstein. Then we took that on a much bigger scale so you could get a sense that youre using the same visual language to understand that these are symbiotes. Then in terms of the atmosphere, we looked at a lot of dark environments like swamps and warzones at night. The environment was supposed to be very wet. You have this spec on everything. But how do you see? For a lot of those things, you have this low-lying fog. In war you have the smoke and ash blowing through. We added blowing ash in a scene that allowed us to build layers. Where did the atmosphere come from? Its this hot moist environment that has been there for hundreds of thousands of years. In the film, Knull is presented as a primordial deity in human form. Knull was interesting because he mainly has his face down, Hoffmann says. We had to figure out how are we going to do dialogue with a mouth that is not closing. In the dark lighting, how much will we see of his face to make him seem alive? Because people are so trained at looking at faces. Its important to always get a tiny movement somewhere, like a hairline or forehead motion. Hes trapped and tired but also angry. That has to show in his face at a certain point. It was interesting to animate. We got a good base with Masquerade3 [Digital Domains proprietary facial capture technology] and Tom Hardy. There were good reference videos where we checked out what Tom was doing with his face. We could use that. Additionally, we could amp up stuff or do one more motion on the forehead. Also, with the dark lighting, how much do we see and how do we keep him alive? Even little hand twitches emphasize that he is trying to get out.Complicating the animation process was the inability to do big expressions or actions. Without Knull doing a whole lot, he has to tell this huge story with his face and little body movements, observes Edelstein. In order to add all of these tiny pieces, you have to understand his personality.Central to getting Knulls desired facial performance was Masquerade3 and Tom Hardy. We got mocap data from him and then it went through Masquerade3, Hoffmann remarks. We added the open mouth shape and trained the data with the idea to have an extra shape in it. Then we got mocap back and could go for all of the shots right away. The data was amazing. Hardy plays Eddie Brock, Venom and Knull. It was interesting to work with Tom because he has a great understanding of the characters, observes Edelstein. Watching him go back and forth between them in real-time was cool. Tom would have conversations with the director, Kelly Marcel, about what the motivation behind things would be. They both have such a deep understanding of the characters. Knull is a very understated character. But whether its Tom portraying him or the animators working to express deep emotion through subtle performance, it speaks volumes about Toms skill as an actor and the animators talent in bringing that nuance to life. For the Xenophages, a rig had already been developed by other vendors. We looked at a lot of animal references for the Xenophages to figure out how they would move, states Hoffmann. The first thing that came into my head was hyenas because when fighting, they have an erratic path motion and there is a hierarchy between them. Theyre always nagging and hissing at each other. There is one Xenophage who is like the boss, and there is communication between them. The main thing is when Knull is talking, theyre totally quiet and are looking and listening. We got in some slow movements in combination with ones that are fast and erratic. There were sudden direction changes to make them dangerous, so you dont know what happens in the next second. Edelstein also notes that nothing is more believable than reality. Having something to reference as an underlying structure, like a rig and muscle system that create the micro expressions and movements of the face; simulating skin sliding over muscles; or loose skin and fat jiggling around; those all add extra layers of reality to these things, she remarks. You get into the issue of it looking CG when things are too perfect, and it doesnt have all of those little mistakes. The Xenophages are blind, so we had to put cataracts over their eyes, so you dont get to see them moving around or focusing on things. How do you see into their soul? Such much of it is how they move, interact with each other, and giving them a personality. Some shots contained more than 30 Xenophages. We tried really hard to crash the render farm! laughs Edelstein. Imagine this world, which requires a superheavy water simulation and on top of it, you add atmosphere and 30 CG animals going out to the background. The Xenophages had a typical creature rig. We did try to figure out what parts of the face are mobile and stiff, explains Hoffmann. It was a mix of a dog and spider rig. We animated some stuff going around Knull to pull him back onto his chair; that was a rig which we could move around and hold him. Knull is being held down on his throne by gooey tendrils made of symbiotes that have tar flowing across them. Animation had to animate Knull and his restraints, while effects had to simulate flowing tar on top of that, notes Edelstein. It was a back and forth between animation and effects until they got it working and then off to lighting.Knull tasks the Xenophages to find the orb shaped Codex, which he must possess to finally free himself from his prison. We had ideas of what the Codex could be, but the design was based on some artwork, states Edelstein. One of the most complex shots we had on the whole show was when the camera flies close to the Codex and shows the way its created. If a host dies, the symbiote can bring them back, and when that happens, their life forces comingle and that creates a Codex. Whenever the symbiote is in its true form, the Xenophage can see the Codex inside them. The camera is almost skimming the surface of the Codex like a planet and theres this cool effects simulation inside of all this energy coming together. Then that whole energy is moving through space and this microenvironment. The tentacles come out and reach for the sword that Knull has and that is what releases him. Its a long shot that is all CG, done from scratch, with very little previous direction other than talking to the client.Most visual effects people prefer to use practical plates whenever possible as a starting point. You can extend things and add stuff, but if you have something shot on camera, then youre always going to be starting with something real, remarks Edelstein. In this case where were starting from nothing, its hard to create a fully CG world with fully CG characters and have it all look photoreal, so people get the sense its real and not get taken out of the film. Helping make the fully CG world look believable was the use of darkness to assist with the depth. What was nice was that even though it was a superheavy environment, at some point, everything falls off into darkness, or theres a buildup of atmosphere so dense you cant see beyond, states Edelstein. At that point, it can essentially become a 2D matte painting. Or in this case, we rendered the foreground on a single frame, blew that up bigger, and pushed it way in the back on cards. That did help. As the atmosphere is moving through you get pockets where you see through and that builds the depth.Knull eventually escapes and causes Klyntar to go up in flames. Whats good about the environment is that its entirely made of an effects simulation, Edelstein shares. At some point when the Codex and sword come together and Knulls prison is broken, the entire environment freezes. All of that liquid tar that is alive becomes a hard surface, almost like obsidian. That is basically taking the effects simulation, freezing it on a frame, and since its all still happening within the same effects environment, shattering it and making those giant pieces fall. But what was nice about was that when youre talking about things being effects friendly, it was effects making it for themselves to start with. Going from darkness to a bright fireball was a completely different thing that required considerable planning. According to Edelstein, For all these shaders that are seen in black 95% of the time, what do they look like when you light them up with fire? That was a whole other development process we had to go through with different lighting environments and effects simulations. As these things are breaking, dust gets kicked up and tiny bits fall into the tar. So, they create splashes. All sorts of things like that happen to add different layers of reality. Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer best known for composing in-depth filmmaker and movie profiles for VFX Voice, Animation Magazine, and British Cinematographer.
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  • Walt Disney Studios Delivers Big at CinemaCon 2025
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    The Walt Disney Studios attended CinemaCon 2025 in force this week to reveal exclusive first looks and gen-up excitement for its upcoming theatrical release slate. Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, took the stage at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace to welcome attendees and speak about the cinematic events. Andrew Cripps, head of theatrical distribution, kicked off the Studios 2025 presentation with a montage of footage from the upcoming Lilo & Stitch live-action reimagining. The studio also released a brand-new clip and poster from the film.With a dazzling grid light show, Jared Leto and Jeff Bridges chatted about Disneys TRON: Ares and showed an extended trailer. Elle Fanning, star of 20th Century Studios Predator: Badlands, joined Cripps onstage and screened a first look at the trailer for the upcoming film, which opens in theaters November 7.Up next, stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hannah John-Kamen and Wyatt Russell surprised attendees with footage from Marvel Studios Thunderbolts*, which opens in U.S. theaters on May 2. Kevin Feige, in a taped greeting, then introduced footage that transported attendees through time to the 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world of Marvel Studios upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which opens in theaters July 25.Zoe Saldaa took the stage to talk about her role as Aunt Olga in Disney and Pixars Elio. Fans enjoyed six minutes of 3D-footage from the upcoming film, which hits theaters June 20. Ke Huy Quan was up next and shared two clips and first-look visuals from Disney Animations Zootopia 2. Quan, who voices Gary DeSnake, a venomous-but-lovable pit viper, revealed that Quinta Brunson will play therapist Dr. Fuzzby, an adorable quokka who lends a paw to detectives Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman). Zootopia 2 releases in theaters November 26.Alan Bergman returned to the stage to present director James Cameron via a taped message for Avatar: Fire and Ash, which opens exclusively in theaters December 19. Saldaa returned to the stage to introduce a sneak peek at the film.Source: The Walt Disney Studios Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • DC Studios Drops Huge Superman Sneak Peek
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    After all the rumors, conjecture, peeks and furtive glances, and a very brief trailer last December, we finally get a much more extensive look at the new man of steel, his fortress of solitude, a bit more of Lois Lane, Lex Luthor and some great laughs with superpup Krypto! It all looks fresh, funny, and dare we say super! An all-new Superman soars into theaters July 11, 2025 (July 9 internationally).Guardians of the Galaxy creator and DC Studios co-president James Gunn himself is at the helm of a brand-new DC Universe, and all eyes are fixed on how hell handle the studios flagship, iconic superhero Now we have our first serious reveal with a bloodied hero, a bevy of new faces led by the Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Kelex, Metamorpho and of course, an exuberant, excitable and not always obedient superpup!This is DC Studios first feature film for the big screen, featuring Gunns take on this seminal character of DC lore which we hope channels the directors unique blend of humor, action, and bravado.The film stars David Corenswet (Twisters, Hollywood) in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult (the X-Men movies, Juror #2) as Lex Luthor. The film also stars Edi Gathegi (For All Mankind), Anthony Carrigan (Barry, Gotham), Nathan Fillion (the Guardians of the Galaxy films, The Suicide Squad), Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus), Skyler Gisondo (Licorice Pizza, Booksmart), Sara Sampaio (At Midnight), Mara Gabriela de Fara (The Moodys), Wendell Pierce (Selma, Tom Clancys Jack Ryan), Alan Tudyk (Andor), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Bird Box) and Neva Howell (Greedy People).DC Studios heads Peter Safran and Gunn produce. Gunn also wrote the screenplay. Nikolas Korda, Chantal Nong Vo and Lars Winther executive produce.Stephane Ceretti serves as the production VFX supervisor, leading VFX teams from Clear Angle Studios, Day for Nite, Framestore, ILM, and Wt FX. Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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  • RADiCAL Announces RADiCAL 4.0 Update
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    RADiCAL, which specializes in AI-powered motion capture and real-time 3D content creation, has launched RADiCAL 4.0. The update to their signature toolset comes with improvements to motion realism, a virtual cinematography tool, mobile optimization, and a new flexible subscription plan.RADiCAL 4.0 isnt just an upgrade its a major expansion of our toolset, said CEO Gavan Gravesen. With our most advanced AI yet, were delivering greater realism, enhanced cinematography, and more creative possibilities for end-to-end 3D content creation. Now, creators can access it all in real time, collaboratively - directly through the web.At the core of RADiCAL 4.0 is its latest AI model, built to understand human motion; the footlock feature aims to ensure more natural, grounded movement.Our latest AI model has been trained to understand the concept of footlock deeper than ever before, said CTO Matteo Giuberti. This has been and will continue to be a top priority for us. Achieving high-quality footlock is one of the most time-consuming and crucial tasks for 3D character animators, as sharp and organic footlock is an essential trait of believable human motion.RADiCAL also offers RADiCAL VCam, a virtual camera allowing filmmakers to pilot their shots inside of their RADiCAL scenes using a mobile device or tablet (iOS & Android). RADiCAL VCam gives full control over virtual cinematography with industry-standard sensor size, crop factor, and lens configurations, plus a custom depth-of-field simulation that mirrors real-world camera setups. Released in Beta, additional functionality will be added to RADiCAL VCam.RADiCAL 4.0 also introduces mobile optimization to access, review, and share RADiCAL projects on the go.To make RADiCAL accessible for all use cases, users can now subscribe with a monthly payment plan, eliminating the upfront annual commitment.RADiCAL 4.0 is available now. Visit RADiCAL for a free account.Source: RADiCAL Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Adobe Announces Premiere Pro, Media Encoder Updates
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    Adobe has just announced updates to Adobe Premiere Pro (beta) and Adobe Media Encoder, including PC support for 4:2:2 video color editing. The 4:2:2 color format retains nearly as much color information as 4:4:4, while greatly reducing file size and improving color grading and chroma keying.Adobe Premiere Pros beta works within professional video-production workflows for:Increased Color Accuracy: 10-bit 4:2:2 retains more color information compared with 8-bit 4:2:0, leading to more accurate color representation and better color grading results.More Flexibility: The extra color data allows for more nuanced adjustments and color corrections.Improved Keying: 4:2:2 enables cleaner, more accurate extraction of the subject from the background, as well as cleaner edges of small keyed objects like hair.Smaller File Sizes: Compared with 4:4:4, 4:2:2 reduces file sizes for an optimal balance between quality and storage. In addition, new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 laptops, built on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, accelerate 4:2:2 and advanced AI-powered features across video-editing workflows.GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs paired with Microsoft Windows 11 come with GPU-powered decode acceleration in HEVC and H.264 10-bit 4:2:2 formats. GPU-powered decode enables faster-than-real-time playback without stuttering, the ability to work with original camera media instead of proxies, smoother timeline responsiveness and reduced CPU load. RTX 50 Series 4:2:2 hardware can decode up to six 4K 60 frames-per-second video sources on an RTX 5090-enabled studio PC, enabling smooth multi-camera video-editing workflows on Adobe Premiere Pro.Adobe delivers a number of AI features for idea generation, enabling streamlined processes, improved productivity, and opportunities to explore new artistic avenues. For example, Adobe Media Intelligence, a feature in Premiere Pro (beta) and After Effects (beta), uses AI to analyze footage and apply semantic tags to clips. This lets users more easily and quickly find specific footage by describing its content, including objects, locations, camera angles and even transcribed spoken words.In addition, the Enhance Speech feature in Premiere Pro (beta) improves the quality of recorded speech by filtering out unwanted noise.Adobe will participate in the Creator Lab at NAB 2025, offering hands-on training for editors. Attendees to the 30-minute section can try out Puget Systems laptops equipped with GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPUs to experience blazing-fast performance and demo new generative AI features.Visit Adobes Premiere Pro page to download a free trial of the beta and explore the AI-powered features across the Adobe Creative Cloud and Substance 3D apps.Source: NVIDIA Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Lionsgate Confirms John Wick 5 in Development
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    Its about time! Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson confirmed at CinemaCon this week that John Wick: Chapter 5 is officially in development. Franchise star Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski will return for the upcoming feature.Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee will produce for Thunder Road alongside Stahelski and Reeves.Keanu, Chad, Basil and Erica would not return unless they had something truly phenomenal and fresh to say with these characters and this world, Fogelson said. We cant wait for audiences to see where the journey takes us next.Its so important to get this story right and give Johns story the proper next step, added Iwanyk and Lee in a joint statement. Its exciting to take the first step on that road.In other exciting John Wick news, a Caine spin-offstarring Donnie Yen and an animated prequel from director Shannon Tindle (Ultraman: Rising) were also announced by Fogelson. Quite a day for the chair.Additionally, Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas as an assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma, hits theaters June 5. Watch the trailer here. The film, directed by Len Wiseman, written by Shay Hatten, based on characters created by Derek Kolstad, and produced by Iwanyk, Lee, and Stahelski, will be released on June 6, 2025. Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Donnie Yen to Reprise John Wick Role in Caine Spin-off
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    Lionsgate has just announced production will begin next year in Hong Kong on an untitled John Wickspin-off feature film centered around the character of blind-assassin Caine. Action star Donnie Yen will reprise his John Wick: Chapter 4 role as the sunglass-wearing badass.Though story details have not been revealed, the film will continue Caines Wick 4 story arc that saw him freed from his obligations to the High Table.The new film was developed as part of Chad Stahelskis recently announced deal with Lionsgate overseeing the expansion of the John Wick universe. Thunder Roads Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee (John Wick: Chapters 1 through 4, Ballerina, Monkey Man) will produce, alongside Stahelski (John Wick: Chapter 3Parabellum, Day Shift, John Wick: Chapter 4, Ballerina), who produces through his 87Eleven Entertainment production banner.Robert Askins, a Tony nominee for his play Hand to God and a veteran of Netflixs The Umbrella Academy and AMCs The Son, is writing the screenplay.Lionsgate also just announced thatShannon Tindle, writer / director of last years Netflix hit,Ultraman: Rising, is on board to direct an untitled animatedJohn Wickprequel feature. Franchise star Keanu Reeves reportedly will voice the lead character.Stahelski is also involved with the project; Vanessa Taylor (The Shape of Water,Hillbilly Elegy) is writing the script.From the moment Donnie Yen appeared on screen in John Wick: Chapter 4, he captivated audiences and created an authentic, emotional connection that left an indelible mark and had fans asking for more, said Adam Fogelson, chair, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. The John Wick universe that Chad, Basil, and Erica have built offers a tapestry of fascinating characters brought to life by the most extraordinary performers, and were excited to have one of the worlds biggest superstars on board to continue this journey.Working on John Wick: Chapter 4 was an extraordinary experience, said Yen. The reason these films resonate so deeply is because, like myself, Chad, Basil, and Erica push themselves to create action, fights, and stunts that are not only thrilling, inventive and artistic, but also expressive of character, story, and emotion. Caine is an incredible character with a haunted past, and I am excited to return to the role.Our next dive into theJohn Wickuniverse,Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas as an assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma, hits theaters June 5. Watch the trailerhere. The film, directed by Len Wiseman, written by Shay Hatten, based on characters created by Derek Kolstad, and produced by Iwanyk, Lee, and Stahelski, will be released on June 6, 2025.Yen is represented by Independent Artist Group and by Peco Ng at Bullet Films. Robert Askins is represented by WME and Grandview.Source: Lionsgate Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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  • Sydney Sweeney to Star in Gundam?
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    Salacious starlet Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate, Eden) is in final talks to star in the upcoming live action Gundam feature from Legendary and Bandai Namco Filmworks, Deadline has confirmed. All casting details are under wraps.Jim Mickle (Sweet Tooth) has replaced both Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island) as director and Brian K. Vaughn (Y: The Last Man) as writer.The Gundam series is set in the futuristic Universal Century, where independent human colonies fight space battles with the greater population of Earth via giant robots called Mobile Suits. The series launched an entire genre of mecha anime, which is still widely popular today.While the new films plot has not been revealed, there are over 40 years of materials to choose from: Yoshiyuki Tominos Mobile Suit Gundam first premiered as a TV series in 1979, which birthed an entire franchise.Mickle will produce with partner Linda Moran under their Nightshade banner. Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • HBO Starts Production on House of The Dragon Season 3
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    HBO has just announced that production has begun on Season 3 of House of The Dragon. Based on George R.R. Martins book, Fire & Blood, the series is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen.Tommy Flanagan joins the Season 3 cast as Ser Roderick Dustin, while Dan Fogler will star as Ser Torrhen Manderly. Previously announced new season cast members include James Norton as Ormund Hightower.Returning cast members include Matt Smith, Emma DArcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, Matthew Needham, Tom Bennett, Kieran Bew, Kurt Egyiawan, Freddie Fox, Clinton Liberty, Gayle Rankin, and Abubakar Salim.Directors for Season 3 are Clare Kilner, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Andrij Parekh, and Loni Peristere.Season 3 credits include Co-Creator/Showrunner/Executive Producer, Ryan Condal; Co-Creator/Executive Producer, George R.R. Martin; Executive Producers Sara Hess, Melissa Bernstein, Kevin de la Noy, Vince Gerardis, David Hancock, and Philippa Goslett.Season 2 VFX houses included BUF, Frame by Frame, FutureWorks Media, Incessant Rain Studios, Lux Machina Consulting, Midas VFX, MPC, MR. X, NVIZ, Outpost VFX, Pixomondo, The Third Floor, Weta FX, and Vast. No word yet on the new season.Source: HBO Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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  • Coyote vs. Acme Saved - Ketchup Entertainment Makes it Official
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    Audiences may soon here Beep Beep at a local cinema, as distributor Ketchup Entertaiment has just acquired Coyote vs. Acme, the ill-fated live-action/3DCG hybrid film that was shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2023 for a tax write-off, much to the anger of Hollywood and Looney Tunes fans, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As reported 10 days ago, Ketchup was in talks to pick up the film reportedly for close to $50 million. Terms of the final deal were not announced.In a statement made today, Gareth West, CEO of Ketchup Entertainment, said, Were thrilled to have made a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to bring this film to audiences worldwide.Coyote vs. Acmeis a perfect blend of nostalgia and modern storytelling, capturing the essence of the beloved Looney Tunes characters while introducing them to a new generation. We believe it will resonate with both longtime fans and newcomers alike.Coyote vs. Acme is directed by Dave Green, with a screenplay by Samy Burch, James Gunn, and Jeremy Slater. Based on Ian Fraziers 1990 humor article Coyote v. Acme, the flick was adapted for the big screen by Burch. Mixing courtroom procedural and zany comedic elements, the story centers on a down-and-out billboard lawyer who decides to represent Wile. E. Coyote in his lawsuit against ACME Corporation over its defective products.John Cena (Peacemaker) stars alongside Lana Condor (To All the Boys Ive Loved Before), Will Forte (Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken), P.J. Byrne (Gen V), and others.The VFX were created by BUF, DNEG, Double Negative, Firebrand VFX, Framestore, Jellyfish Pictures, and Warner Brothers, with George Murphy acting as visual effects supervisor.Ketchup recently distributed Warner Bros. Discoverys The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, which opened in theaters March 14. Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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  • Halon Entertainment Launches New Glasgow Studio
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    Leading visualization company Halon Entertainment is expanding its international footprint by opening a new state-of-the-art studio in Glasgow, Scotland. The new studio is backed by a 28 million investment in talent over the next three years with a plan to create up to 250 jobs. In addition, the company is also making an investment in its Los Angelese headquarters.With production happening across the globe, expanding our full-service studios on both sides of the Atlantic allows us to better support our clients with world-class services and top-tier talent, no matter where projects take them, said Chris Ferriter, President of Halon Entertainment. Our new Scotland studio strengthens our ability to collaborate seamlessly across time zones and deliver exceptional work to even more productions worldwide.The expansion is designed to increase opportunities for Halons clients and its growing global team. The additional resources, talent pipelines, and cross-continental infrastructure will help the company to take on more ambitious work across film, television, and interactive media.Founded in 2003, Halon is a pioneer in real-time visualization, virtual production, and cinematic animation for both the film and gaming industries. The studio has contributed to numerous high-profile projects in recent years including The Batman, The Planet of the Apes franchise, and the upcoming Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning and Warner Bros.' The Minecraft Movie. Halon also continues to produce game cinematics for Epic Games global sensation Fortnite, and immersive live-event and visualization and animation for advertisements. According to the company, Halons decision to establish a presence in Glasgow was driven by the citys vibrant tech ecosystem, rich creative talent pool, and world-renowned academic institutions. The move has been supported by Scottish Enterprise, Scotlands national economic development agency, and Screen Scotland.Glasgow offers us access to an incredible network of artists, engineers, and creative thinkers, added Ferriter. Were excited to grow alongside this community, bringing Halons global perspective and technology-driven approach to a thriving local industry.Crosshaven Partners acted as location advisor to Halon on the Glasgow expansion.Source: Halon Entertainment Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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  • Marvel Studios Announces Avengers: Doomsday Cast
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    Production has begun on Marvel Studios Avengers: Doomsday, set to hit theaters May 1, 2026. In a multi-hour global livestream, Marvel revealed several of the films all-star cast, teasing the return of some familiar heroes. The band is getting back together at last!The Avengers: Doomsday cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Kelsey Grammer, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Joseph Quinn, David Harbour, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Channing Tatum, and Pedro Pascal. Robert Downey Jr. will return to the franchise as Victor von Doom.Anthony and Joe Russo have returned to direct Doomsday, as well as Avengers: Secret Wars.Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a lifelong dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made, the Russos said in a statement last year. Were thrilled to collaborate once again with [Kevin Feige, Louis DEsposito], and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves.Check out the Doomsday production announcement now:Source: The Walt Disney Company Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Rodeo FX Acquires Mikros Animation
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    Leading VFX company Rodeo FX, known for its work on HBOs Game of Thrones, Netflixs Stranger Things, Denis Villeneuves Dune Part 1 & 2, and Prime Videos The Rings of Power has acquiredMikros Animation, the animation studio behind PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Orion and the Dark, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem that was just recently shut down as part of the collapse of Technicolor Group late last month.The acquisition includes all of Mikros Animations operations, as well as Technicolor Canadas equipment. Operations reportedly continued uninterrupted following the recent shutdown of other companies within the Technicolor group. According to Rodeo FX, This strategic expansion aligns with Rodeo FXs ongoing global growth, following the establishment of its fifth international office in Paris in 2023. It also underscores the studios economic stability and resilience as the visual effects industry navigates post-pandemic shifts and recent disruptions caused by Hollywood labor strikes.Though now part of the Rodeo FX network, Mikros Animation will retain its brand identity, maintain its projects and production pipeline, and most of its creative, technical and leadership team. The animation studio is currently working on several high-profile titles, including the upcoming third instalment of the PAW Patrol film franchise, directed by Cal Brunker. The company just confirmed to AWN that the vast majority of the recent headcount remains in both Canada and in France.This is a deeply meaningful moment for me and for all of us at Rodeo FX, says Sebastien Moreau, Founder & CEO of Rodeo FX. Welcoming Mikros Animation into our creative family isnt just about growth, its about aligning with people who share our values, our passion for storytelling, and our belief in the magic of animation. Together, were building something that goes beyond business: a creative home where artists can dream bigger, push further, and inspire the world.Mikros, which was acquired by Technicolor in 2015, has worked on 17 feature-length animated films and numerous series for studios including Paramount Animation, Netflix, and DreamWorks Animation, producing nearly 300 hours of programming broadcast in over 180 countries on networks such as Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, TF1, and France TV.Mikros Animation and Rodeo FX have always shared a mutual respect and admiration, says Julien Meesters, newly appointed President of Mikros Animation. This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for us. Joining the Rodeo FX family opens new doors for us to explore broader animation horizons and to continually reinvent ourselves. Over the years, we've built incredible stories alongside our partners. Now, we're embracing new challenges and evolving landscapes to ensure Mikros Animation remains a leading home for filmmakers.Rodeo FX has become one of the leading studios within the industry; its work on Dune: Part One and Part Two both earning Academy Awards for Outstanding Visual Effects. The studio also received three nominations at the Visual Effects Society Awards for its contributions to Expats, The Rings of Power Season 2, and Dune: Prophecy.Source: Rodeo FX Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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  • Scott Ross Shares Lessons Learned, Reclaims his Place in VFX History with New Book
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    Yet another shockwave just hit the visual effects industry as Jellyfish Pictures ceased global operations, on the heels of Scanline VFX shutting down its German facilities and Technicolor shuttering its global operations and entering bankruptcy proceedings. Not surprised by this economic turmoil is Scott Ross, who experienced firsthand the inequity of the Hollywood studio system as the general manager of Industrial Light & Magic from 1988-1992 and co-founder of Digital Domain, where he worked from 1993-2006.The lessons he learned provide the narrative spine for Upstart: The Digital Film Revolution Managing the Unmanageable, written by Ross and Joanne OBrien-Levin and published by Native Book Publishing. In thinking about writing a book, Ross considered the memoir Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide and assistant to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. I found that I was more interested in how Cassidy Hutchison became a Trump supporter than her personal story, states Ross, who decided to seek out a ghostwriter. It was going to take a lot of time and energy to actually write the book, so I looked at Ed Catmulls book Creativity, Inc.which did quite well, and he had a ghostwriter. I asked a friend in Arizona if he knew anybody who was a good ghostwriter. I ended up having a conversation with Joanne OBrien-Levin and we clicked.Originally, Ross looked for a traditional publisher but found he needed an agent. All of the agents came back with the same comment, which was memoirs dont sell unless your last name is Obama or Trump, he remarks. It needs to be rewritten as a business book. I hired an editor who told me, You need to have 15 principles that are business oriented that resonate with all kinds of business people. Each one of those principles becomes a chapter and you write to that. After thinking about it a lot, I revisited why I should write the book and said, If the journey has lessons to be taught that are business, creative, and entrepreneurial, while at the same time is wrapped around things of interest and famous like Titanic and Lucasfilm, thats the story which needs to be told. I fired the editor and realized that I would never be accepted by a traditional publisher. I pinged about 15 self-publishing organizations and ultimately decided on Native Book Publishing.The books title dates back to 1994 when questions arose as to whether Digital Domain would go out of business. Employees were given T-shirts with the word upstart on the front. Ross laughs, What a perfect name for the book because it describes me as a person as well as the company and the attitude we had.Watch AWN / VFXWorld's 2-part interview with Ross at FMX 2015:Ross research involved talking to numerous people as well as referencing a personal blog that essentially served as a journal. There are things that I spoke to people about and they would say, I dont remember it happening that way, states Ross. And we would talk about it. The book didnt change my opinion of what happened; I put down on paper how I viewed things now that Im an old guy. At the time I was fighting wars, not battles. There was a lot of anger, and I was hurt. That pain of being written out of history and pushed out of the way has subsided. Now in my 70s, I can look back and say, Im grateful for some of the things that happened. In fact, I would not be where I am in my life had not those things happened. Ross anger and hurt stem from his feelings he was not properly acknowledged in the Lucasfilm and Imagine Entertainment documentary miniseries, Light & Magic, for his contributions in transforming ILM, with praise instead focused on his protg, Jim Morris. It has also been painful to him that James Cameron and Stan Winston took full credit for the establishment of Digital Domain while Ross hardly gets mentioned, despite being the primary force behind the VFX companys founding as well as running day-to-day operations. A constant joy throughout the emotional rollercoaster has been music. The saxophone is Ross instrument of choice. Its still a big part of my life, not only playing and practicing, but listening. The lesson I learned from music is that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Thats the same for a career business. Ross goes on to share that advertising executive Jay Chiat was a mentor. An important part of being a leader is not going in front of your team and talk about things in a corp speak way thats not transparent, he says. You need to tell the truth, be open about it all, and instill courage, excitement and a larger mission than what your employees might think that theyre on. Thats what I learned from Jay Chiat.He then notes that the three pillars for a business are finance, technology and culture, adding, Finance people are generally brake pedals. Theyll tell you, Theres not enough money. Come back with a better budget. Creative people are generally gas pedals. They want to go faster, have better software, and more time. If its not good enough theyll continue to work on it. You need a leader who understands how to use the brake, step on the gas, and drive the car. When theres an accident up ahead, he or she knows to slow the car down. But when theres an open road, put the pedal to the metal. Those kinds of people are generally rare.Core principles Ross believes in include looking for opportunities in problems, allowing for mistakes, and giving power away. Theres that scene in Apollo 13 when Gene Kranz, played by Ed Harris, realizes that there is a severe problem with the capsule in space, throws a box on table, tosses stuff into it, and states, This is what youve got to work with. Now fix it, Ross states. Often times, when people are faced with critical decisions and the sky seems like its falling, they dont look for possible solutions let alone a new way of doing things. You have to recognize that the sky is falling, be honest with your people, and say, Lets all get together and figure out how were going to fix this. The tolerance for mistakes, however, depends on the financial state of the company. Apple can make big mistakes and not suffer from it. But if youre Digital Domain, where your revenue is $65 million a year and your profit margin is three percent, you cant afford big mistakes. Adding that micromanagement is counterproductive, Ross shares, Giving power away is the most important one. Youve heard it hundreds of times from people in business, which is, I hire people who are smarter than I am and let them run with it because theyre better at it than I could ever be. Even if youre the smartest visual effects producer in the world you cant manage six shows and do them well.As Ross sees it, the billion-dollar question is how to unite the fractured visual effects industry to achieve a financially sustainable business partnership with Hollywood studios. Unfortunately, I tried for 25 to 30 years [to establish a trade association] and was not successful at it, he says. In the mid to late 1980s, there were only four or five shops that were doing cinematic visual effects and the shop that I was running [ILM] probably had 75 percent market share. We had profit margins anywhere between three to seven percent, which is not enough to do much of anything. The reason it was never a really profitable business was there were only five or six clients; they talked to each other and had a trade association. The studios understood that the business model that was in place at that point and until this day was beneficial to them. As there were more visual effects companies coming online, there was a studio executive who was quoted as saying, I dont feel like Im doing my job unless I put a visual effects company out of business.Visual effects companies bear the entire responsibility for delivering final sequences on projects where determining every element needed on-screen is often a moving target throughout the production. Ive never heard a movie director say, I want my visual effects to look exactly like that last movie you did, remarks Ross. No. Every film is a new invention. And they want it faster. Even precise instructions change. When I started Digital Domain and was working with James Cameron, we realized that one of the biggest problems in the visual effects pipeline was that the director never had any relationship with the men and women actually creating the effects. Its an impossibility. We tried it. The reason why its impossible is the director is a general out in the field fighting this war on the Eastern Front and your troops are sequestered underground. The only time that he has to go see them is when theyre delivering shots and says, That sucks. [That happens] even if the directions are precise. Ive always felt that an international trade association was the only way to address the business model, notes Ross. It has nothing to do with price fixing. Its to do with how businesses charge [for their services]. Diversity makes visual effects companies less financially vulnerable. Commercials divisions were established at ILM and Digital Domain where we were doing adverts around the world. We started location-based entertainment activities where we would do theme park rides. Had we not looked at those opportunities and figured out a way to utilize the skills of the men and women already in the studio, and bolted on a marketing and client service team that had expertise in a specific area, we probably would have been out of business.Ross also says that fiscal sustainability can be achieved through owning intellectual property. If we look at any of the visual effects/CGI companies that actually made it and had value, almost every single one produced their own IP in the animation world, whether it was Blue Sky Studios, Pixar or Pacific Data Images. They were similar in many ways to Digital Domain and ILM but decided to become animation studios. Then they wound-up, and this is the magic, having a distribution deal or being acquired by a major studio. With the financing and distribution, they transitioned from being a service company into creating their own IP. In the beginning Hollywood studios had their own effects departments. As recently as 2022, Netflix purchased Scanline VFX while Sony Pictures Entertainment bought Pixomondo. Were still in the cycle of studios acquiring visual effects companies, but we might have seen the first crack in the wall where Netflix closed Scanline VFX in Germany, observes Ross. A studio realizes how important visual effects and animation are and ends up acquiring or starting its own effort. The studio runs it for a couple of years and discovers, There is no money in this. Let the outside guys lose the money. Then video game technology comes around, like Unity and Epic Games; those companies think, Maybe our big area of growth is in the movie business. Unity spent ridiculous amounts of money on acquiring Wts software group only to find out, What the hell are we going to do with it? This cycle keeps on going. Of course, compounding recent VFX industry upheavals has been the expansive growth of AI, which Ross acknowledges will fundamentally change society for better and worse. AI is going to do incredible things in lots of different areas that will help humanity, he believes. But if we limit the scope to media and entertainment, its going to have a major impact. Look at the reactions, where unions are stipulating that you cant recreate the voices of actors. Look at the guardrails theyre trying to put in place.As the studios continue applying pressure to produce good work done faster and cheaper, the use of AI will significantly eliminate visual effects jobs, which Ross says are 80 percent of the overhead. The majority of visual effects workers are not visual effects artists, he explains. Theyre at best putting the arms on the Venus de Milo. Theyre not creating the Venus do Milo out of pure granite. The faster and cheaper mode has forced people to do things that arent always feasible [such as setting up facilities in countries with a lower cost of living], and with the new technology of AI and machine learning, then generative AI and agent AI, most of those tasks [roto, paint and compositing] in my opinion will become obsolete.However, according to Ross, AI will not democratize filmmaking in that there is one fundamental element that will remain elusive. I have not yet seen an example of an AI film where I went, Wow. I care about these characters and want to learn more about them, he concludes. Its pulling my heartstrings, making me laugh and cry. What I have seen is amazing production value, and production value is a whole lot easier, particularly with the toolsets that are available today, than actually creating great stories.You can purchase Upstart: The Digital Film Revolution Managing the Unmanageable at Amazon.com. Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer best known for composing in-depth filmmaker and movie profiles for VFX Voice, Animation Magazine, and British Cinematographer.
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  • Ruh Roh! Live-Action Scooby-Doo Series Coming to Netflix
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    Zoinks! Netflix has just announced an all-new eight-episode live-action Scooby-Doo series, based on the Hanna-Barbera characters, that will uncover how everyones favorite mystery-solving gang, and their beloved dog, first teamed up to crack the haunting case that started it all. AWN first reported on the possible show development early last year.The show is billed as a modern reimagining of the iconic mystery-solving group of teens and their very special dog. During their final summer at camp, old friends Shaggy and Daphne get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma, and the strange, but ever so handsome new kid, Freddy, they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets.Ruh Roh!Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg (via Midnight Radio)serve as showrunners, writers, and executive producers. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman (via Berlanti Productions and its overall deal with Warner Bros. Television), Andr Nemec and Jeff Pinkner (via Midnight Radio) also serve as executive producers. From Warner Bros. Television. No word yet on casting or expected release date.Regarding the announcement, Berlanti said, One of my first and favorite jobs in Hollywood was sitting with Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera while they signed animation cells. Josh and Scott and everyone at Midnight Radio have crafted a story that captures their amazing spirits and their genius creation. We are grateful to them and everyone at Warners and Netflix for the partnership in helping bring this iteration of Scooby-Doo to life!Clancy Collins White, President, Creative Affairs, Warner Bros. Television, added, Were thrilled to collaborate with our longstanding partners at Berlanti Productions and with Midnight Radio to bring the legendary Scooby-Doo franchise to a live-action series for the first time. Its no mystery why audiences continue to love these iconic characters after more than a half century. Were excited for a new generation to discover Mystery Inc. And were grateful to our partners at Netflix for the opportunity.Source: Netflix Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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  • Union VFX Shares The Tattooist of Auschwitz VFX Breakdown Reel
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    Union VFX has shared with AWN and VFXWorld some of their powerful and poignant digital environment visual effects work on the Peacock and Sky eight-part series, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Their work was recently nominated for a VES Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode.The show tells the extraordinary true story of Lali Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew sent to Auschwitz in 1942. Forced to work as a tattooist, he meets Gita, a fellow prisoner, and their love blossoms amidst unimaginable horrors. Decades later, Lali recounts his story to writer Heather Morris, reflecting on the courage, love, and survival that defined his life.The studio notes that they were honored to collaborate with an incredible team to bring this poignant series to life. Working closely with Synchronicity Films, Alan Church, Simon Giles, Claire Mundell, and colleagues at Untold Studios, the Union VFX team played a key role in realizing the harrowing yet hopeful story. Their work ranged from the intricate digital reconstruction of Auschwitz-Birkenau to atmospheric effects like fire, ash, and weather.Tali Shalom-Ezer directs. Claire Mundell executive produces through her company Synchronicity Films. The show is produced in association with Sky Studios and All3Media International. The series is a co-production for Sky and Peacock. Jacquelin Perske serves as executive producer and lead writer alongside episode writers Evan Placey (Associate Producer) and Gabbie Asher. Serena Thompson executive produces for Sky Studios.The series is now streaming on NOW in the UK and Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Peacock in the US, and Stan in Australia.Source: Union VFX Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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  • How Lighting FX Influenced Visual Storytelling in The Manhattan Alien Abduction
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    Linda Napolitano was your everyday New York housewife. That was until she claimed to have been abducted by aliens from her second-floor apartment in 1989 a story she still believes to be true to this day. Netflixs three-part docuseries The Manhattan Alien Abduction follows this tale, featuring Lindas firsthand accounts and fantastical recreations of her experience.Leading the series production was Story Films Director Dan Vernon, who wanted to tap into 80s retrofuturism within the narrative. The Manhattan Alien Abduction was the perfect opportunity to evoke old sci-fi movie flavor, he says. And for this, I wanted to add subtle nuances in post to enhance its authenticity. Lux Aeterna was brought on to help pull the look together, meticulously crafting paranormal and archival-looking scenes.Here's the trailer:Blending VFX and videographyA major focus of ours was perfecting the lighting, explains Rob Hifle, Creative Director of Lux Aeterna. The shots we worked on included a lot of dynamic assets, such as curtains moving, so it was crucial to make sure we made it look lifelike in line with Dans vision. The first step to achieve this was to reference the series principal photography.DoP Tim Cragg was the studio's main point of reference; his Cooke lenses created flare, chromatic fall off, and a specific bokeh. I wanted to use a docu-drama interview style while speaking to those involved, he says. The lighting, color, and tone were all very important to keep in mind. To achieve an 80s comic-book style, Cragg shot using an LUT to bring out the cyans, reds, and yellows in the scenes.It was from these shots that Lux Aeterna started to build its visual effects. The team worked carefully to replicate the bold colors and hyper-realistic lighting style, ensuring their creations blended seamlessly with the rest of the series. We needed to make our work as subtle as possible, explains Tav Flett, VFX Supervisor. This not only made it lifelike but also ensured consistency with the shows aesthetic and Tims unique shot style.Lux Aeterna captured references on-set through a combination of lens grids, and bokeh and flare characteristics. These were used to create an optical gizmo that matched the Cooke lens characteristics at every focal length. Presets were then created based on this enabling the team to recreate dynamic lens flares for integrations with CG elements and retaining the pivotal 80s sci-fi aesthetic. Referencing 80s cinemaIn addition to the principal photography, Lux Aeterna drew inspiration from classic 80s films. Vernon provided the team with a series of movies he was inspired by, from Ghostbusters to Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. The VFX studio took these bold, contemporary lighting styles and applied them to the series.To integrate the neon colors commonly used by directors like Spielberg and Kubrick, Lux Aeterna adopted cloud tank visuals licensed from artist Chris Parks. This was a traditional technique used in films at the time, continues Flett. Combining it with a modern production process made for a truly unique lighting set-up.Shining a light on the UFOEvery aspect of The Manhattan Alien Abduction was thoroughly researched to align with both the directors vision and accounts from the people who experienced it. This was no different when the team created their largest asset: the spaceship used in the abduction. We used descriptions from Bud Hopkins, an American UFOlogist who interviewed eyewitnesses of paranormal events, says Flett. The amount of material we had to base our UFO on really helped us create a well-rounded CG asset.After various iterations, the team decided on a classic, retro UFO shape, which was highly detailed thanks to the combination of references. The next challenge was for Lux Aeterna to light it in a convincing and hyper-realistic way, making an older concept fit for modern-day viewers.Flett and his team used light groups when rendering the spaceship to maximize integration control within the composites streamlining the process by rendering a single set of global AOVs. These were subtracted from specific light groups to control material properties in compositing, reducing the number of render layers required. To enhance efficiency, the team wrapped this approach into the gizmo for the benefit of the compositing team.Building a convincing spaceship was an incredibly careful process, he continues. We used multiple AOVs to perfect the look, making sure the lights shone down in a sci-fi-esque, intimidating way. The end product was highly realistic with cloud visuals layered in the back, but with all the retrofuturistic inspirations from the 1980s.The Manhattan Alien Abduction turns Linda Napolitanos story into a visually striking, culturally rich docuseries. Using a combination of retro SFX, modern VFX, and a variety of references, the Lux Aeterna team was able to create a lighting style that perfectly matched the tale.
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  • Disney+ Drops Doctor Who Season 2 Trailer
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    Disney+ has released a new trailer for Doctor Who Season 2, which showcases the Doctor and his companion Belinda Chandra as they adventure across time and space.In Season 2, the Doctor and Belinda face great dangers, bigger enemies, and wilder terrors than ever before on their way back to Earth.Ncuti Gatwa stars as the Doctor, alongside Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday. Previously announced guest cast includes Rose Ayling-Ellis, Christopher Chung, Rylan Clark, Alan Cumming, Anita Dobson, Freddie Fox, Michelle Greenidge, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruth Madeley, Jemma Redgrave, and Susan Twist.Russell T Davies serves as showrunner, executive producer, and writer. Joel Collins, Phil Collinson, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter also executive produce.The series is produced by Bad Wolf, with BBC Studios for Disney Branded Television, BBC One, and BBC iPlayer.Doctor Who Season 2 premieres April 12 on Disney+ where available, and exclusively on the BBC and BBC iPlayer in the UK. New episodes will premiere weekly.Check out the trailer now:Source: Disney+ Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Chaos Launches Chaos Arena Virtual Production Tool
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    Chaos has launched Chaos Arena, a new virtual production tool that allows artists to bypass game engines and use their normal pipeline to put ray-traced 3D content on LED walls in a matter of minutes. Arena aims to deliver fully path-traced quality renders in real-time, accurately capturing lighting and seamlessly blending virtual environments with physical sets.Virtual production has been transformative, but the current process is full of crashes and rebuilds that can cost studios thousands of dollars per minute, said Christopher Nichols, Director of Special Projects at the Chaos Innovation Lab. Arena will not only let artists use the same assets from pre to post, but adds in a level of real-time path tracing and stability that wasnt possible before today. This is exactly what Hollywood needs to rein in budgets and kick off the next big wave of independent filmmaking.Arena was designed to help studios quickly move their 3D scenes from popular tools like Maya, Houdini, Blender and 3DS Max onto LED screens, without a game engine. Artists can build their assets, bring a V-Ray scene file into Chaos Arena, and start their virtual shoots. Chaos is also working on USD and MaterialX support, to allow artists to bring in assets or shaders from outside of the Chaos ecosystem.Arena is powered by Chaos Vantage, one of the first path tracers to support NVIDIAs DLSS 4 ray reconstruction/upscaling technology, a suite of neural rendering tools designed to boost FPS and image quality. By implementing DLSS 4s new denoiser algorithm (built on a new AI transformer model) users can enjoy a noticeable improvement in the visual fidelity of wires, hairs and interior scenes without upgrading their current RTX cards. This boost ensures that even after denoising and/or upscaling, users will see perfect anti-aliasing of objects and textures as fine as 1 to 2 pixels.Virtual production is reaping the benefits of the latest wave of technological advancement, added James Blevins, co-founder of MESH and former post-production supervisor on The Mandalorian. Arenas utilization of DLSS 4 has given me and my productions the opportunity to get great environmental work to the wall as quickly as possible. It really feels like a tool thats enabling the art department.Arena is available now and priced on a daily or annual rate. Arena can also be tested in a trial format that includes a watermark.Source: Chaos Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Bill Kroyer Talks His New Book, Mr. InBetween: My Life in the Middle of the Animation Revolution
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    Bill Kroyer has spent his career at the crossroads of tradition and technology. As a Disney-trained animator, director of FernGully: The Last Rainforest, and a pioneer of CG animation with Tron, Kroyer has been at the forefront of one of the most transformative periods in animation history. Now, in his new book, Mr. InBetween: My Life in the Middle of the Animation Revolution, he reflects on a career that straddled two vastly different eras of filmmaking. A purchase link with discount code, MRIB25, for both the paperback and eBook can be found on his website, https://www.mrinbetween.org.Its called Mr. InBetween because not only did I start out doing in-betweens, which people dont really do anymore, but my career ended up being in between the two great eras of animation, Kroyer explains. There was the hand-drawn era, and then the computer era. And I was right in the middle.Kroyers career began in 1975 at Disney at a time when the new guard of animation greats like John Musker, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter, and Henry Selick (to name a few) had begun their careers at the studio. Kroyer muses that back then, the tools and techniques of animation had remained unchanged for over 70 years. An animator from Snow White or the old Fleischer Studios in the 1930s could have sat down at my desk at Disney and gone right to work, he recalls. From 1915 to 1985, no one changed anything. Then, all of a sudden, in 10 years, we went from never using computers to Toy Story. That was the symbol of the new age.The shift from hand-drawn animation to digital tools transformed the industry - not only in terms of technology but also in how individual artistry was perceived. Back then, you could instantly tell a Milt Kahl scene from a Freddie Moore scene, a Bill Tytla scene, or a Frank Thomas scene, Kroyer notes. You could tell a Chuck Jones short from a Bob Clampett short just by the drawing style. The individual skill was amazing. But with CG, everything started to look more uniform. The computer has leveled the playing field, and its getting harder to identify specific animators by their style.Which gets to one of the reasons why Kroyer wrote Mr. InBetween: My Life in the Middle of the Animation Revolution. The purity of the hand-drawn world is a civilization gone with the wind, he shares. I want people to get a little sense of what that was like before it all changed with the transition to computers, which has been one of the most impactful transitions in the history of art. Remember, animated films are the only films where 100% of what you see on-screen is created by someone. So, our medium was more impacted by the computer than any other. And I happened to be right there at the very, very beginning. With Tron, I stumbled into this thing that nobody had ever done before. And I got hooked on it very early. I was exposed to every step along that transition. And I just thought it would be interesting for people to read about that. Not as a history book, with names, dates, and events, but from my personal experience. As he details, one of the defining moments of Kroyers career came with Tron, the groundbreaking 1982 film that introduced the world to CGI in a live-action setting. But at the time, no one - not even the filmmakers - fully understood how it would work. It was a fluke Tron ever got made, Kroyer admits. Its one of those happy accidents of history. Disneys live-action films like The Apple Dumpling Gang (1979) werent doing well at the box office. So, they brought in this young executive, Tom Wilhite, who was looking to energize the division. Steve Lisberger (writer/director of Tron) came up with this crazy idea for a video game movie. And the only person in town even interested was Tom Wilhite.When we sold Tron to Disney in 1980, the tools to make it didnt even exist yet, he adds. You look at some of the sample reels from the studios that made the film, they were terrible. We jumped off the cliff and built our wings on the way down.Each day on the production meant breaking new ground. Almost every single day, I was doing something for the first time in history, he says. Whether defining a scene, figuring out how to animate movement, or integrating CGI with live action - nobody had done it before.Kroyer also describesTronas a one take movie. We hardly ever got a chance to do retakes because of how much work was involved. Now, of course, you look at a visual effects shot, its the 143rdversion of that shot.Take a look at the original Tron trailer:Even Hollywoods top visual effects artists were baffled. When Richard Taylor (the films VFX supervisor) presented Tron at the Academys visual effects bakeoff, there wasnt a single question, Kroyer recalls. These were the greatest VFX artists in the world, and they had never seen anything like it. They later told us, We think you guys cheated because you used computers - and we dont understand computers.He laughs when noting that there was more computing time in one frame of Tron: Legacy (2010) than in the entire original Tron film. Its similar to how the Apollo program sent astronauts to the moon using a computer with less power than in your watch. That's kind of how we made movies in the old days. It's almost hard to get your head around.Despite its lasting impact, Tron struggled at the box office. We knew we had accomplished something historic, he says. It was absolutely a joyous feeling to have created such a monumental thing, which is why its failure at the box office was so confusing and devastating. But it came out during one of the greatest summers ever - E.T., Blade Runner, Star Trek II. Audiences like technology, but at the end of the day, they respond to story and character more than anything.Today, Tron remains one of the most visually distinct films ever made. If you pull a single frame from Tron, people immediately recognize it, Kroyer says. How many films can you say that about? After Tron, Kroyer was fascinated by computer animation but frustrated by its limitations. Determined to merge the expressive power of hand-drawn animation with digital tools, he launched Kroyer Films and created Technological Threat, a 1988 Oscar-nominated short that blended 2D and 3D animation.That film was the moment when the two worlds met - hand-drawn and CG, neither able to fully replace the other, he explains. Its still a defining moment in animation history. Kroyer continues, One point I make in my book is that animation is one of the only forms of filmmaking where one person can sit in a room and create an entire movie that will entertain an audience. The individual animator still has that ability. I describe a situation when I was nominated for an Oscar (for Technological Threat). I was with the other nominees. Who was I sitting between? Cordell Barker on one side, who literally did his entire film, The Cat Came Back, by himself in his apartment, and on the other side, John Lasseter, who did Tin Toy at Pixar in 3D. Im in the middle. And my film combined hand-drawn animation and computers, what hadn't been done before. So, it was such an oddly metaphorical gathering. Cordell, in a lot of ways, represented the thing that all of us animators love the most. And that was the ability to sit there by yourself in a room and make a movie. What a great, powerful thing that is. And people are still doing it. Its wonderful.He continued his hybrid approach with the animated feature film, FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), which used 40,000 frames of computer imagery, title sequences for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and the Coca-Cola polar bear commercials, which marked a symbolic moment in animations evolution.The bear had to slap and splash the water in one of the Coca-Cola commercials, but at the time, CG couldnt do water effects, Kroyer says. The client demanded it. So, we had a 2D animator hand-draw the splash on paper, then composited it into the CG animation. That was one of the last times hand-drawn animation was used like that in a CG film.By the time he joined Rhythm & Hues, it was clear that CG had won the battle. Traditional 2D animation was still being done, but the industry had shifted, he acknowledges.Beyond filmmaking, Kroyer spent years teaching young animators at Chapman University and through the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. But making the transition from director to teacher wasnt easy.One of the biggest lessons I learned was that being a good teacher is completely different from being a director, he says. Students dont always do the work or show up, and you cant treat them like a production crew. You have to be a coach, a guide - even a psychologist at times. Looking back, Kroyer values the friendships he forged throughout his career. The people I met - whether big-name directors or PAs - were what made this career special. Ive kept those friendships for 45 years, and Im prouder of that than anything I did on screen.As artificial intelligence and new technologies reshape animation yet again, Kroyer sees parallels to past industry disruptions.From the very beginning, people asked, Is this technology good? Will it replace artists? he says. I hope my book gives people a reference point to see that these debates arent new. At the end of the day, no technology is inherently evil - its about how we use it.And, he argues, artists will always find a way to make something meaningful. Give an artist a pencil, and theyll draw something. Give them sophisticated tools, and theyll create something extraordinary.For those eager to explore Kroyers personal journey through animation history, his book Mr. InBetween is available now. You can find a purchase link and discount code, MRIB25, for both the paperback and eBook on his website, https://www.mrinbetween.org. Published by CRC Press. Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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  • Matt Owens Steps Down from One Piece Live-Action Series
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    Matt Owens, co-showrunner of Netflixs One Piece, recently took to Instagram to reveal he has stepped down from the series to focus on his mental health.The last 6 years working on the live action One Piece have been a life changing journey, Owens wrote. A dream come true. Its also been A LOT. So Im stepping off the Going Merry to take a break and focus on myself and my mental health. Thank you so much to Oda, Shueisha, Tomorrow Studios, Netflix, and the entire cast and crew for your trust, partnership, and hard work. For now Im gonna take a breath, do some therapy, try and rank up in Marvel Rivals, and come back refreshed for the new adventures that await. Thanks to everyone who has supported me. See you real soon!Owens developed the series alongside co-showrunner Steven Maeda, who stepped down from his role ahead of production for Season 2. Joe Tracz will lead the series following both departures. Maeda will remain an executive producer.One Piece Season 2 stars newcomers Sendhil Ramamurthy, Katey Sagal, Mark Harelik, Daniel Lasker, Camrus Johnson, Jazzara Jaslyn, David Dastmalchian, Werner Coetser, Brendan Murray, Clive Russell, Callum Kerr, Julia Rehwald, Rob Colletti, and Ty Keogh. Returning cast includes Iaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy; Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro; Emily Rudd as Nami; Jacob Romero as Usopp; and Taz Skylar as Sanji.The live-action pirate adventure is created in partnership with Shueisha and produced by Tomorrow Studios and Netflix. Matt Owens and Steven Maeda are writers, executive producers, and showrunners. Oda, Marty Adelstein, and Becky Clements also executive produce.For Season 1, Victor Scalise served as production VFX supervisor; Scott Ramsey served as VFX producer, with VFX handled by Barnstorm VFX, CoSA VFX, Eyeline Studios, Framestore, Goodbye Kansas Studios, Incessant Rain, Ingenuity Studios, NetFX, Refuge, Rising Sun Pictures, and Scanline VFX. Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Lucasfilm Drops Andor Season 2 Trailer #2
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    Indeed, they are building a weapon the second and final season of Lucasfilms critically acclaimed Rogue One prequel, Andor, will hit Disney+ on April 22 after some serious delay. Originally slated to premiere August 2024, the show was pushed to last November, then until this spring. The season will unfold as four 3-episode chapters.Diego Luna returns as Cassian Andor, joined by cast members Stellan Skarsgrd, Genevieve OReilly, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu, Elizabeth Dulau, and Alan Tudyk, with Ben Mendelsohn and Forest Whitaker.The series was created by Tony Gilroy, who also serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna, Luke Hull and John Gilroy. Tony Gilroy wrote the first three episodes, with Beau Willimon writing episodes 4-6, Dan Gilroy penning episodes 7-9 and Tom Bissell putting pen to paper for episodes 10-12. The directors for the series are Ariel Kleiman (Eps. 1-6), Janus Metz (Eps. 7-9) and Alonso Ruizpalacios (Eps. 10-12).VFX studios on Season 2 include Clear Angle Studios, ILM, ILM Stagecraft, Scanline VFX, and Soho VFX.Source: Disney+ Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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  • Ketchup Entertainment in Talks to Save Coyote vs. Acme
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    What a looney twist! Coyote vs. Acme, the ill-fated live-action/3DCG hybrid film that was shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2023 for a tax write-off, may soon be bought and distributed by Ketchup Entertainment. While negotiations are still in progress, the deal is reportedly near $50 million.Coyote vs. Acme is directed by Dave Green, with a screenplay by Samy Burch, James Gunn, and Jeremy Slater. Based on Ian Fraziers 1990 humor article Coyote v. Acme, the flick was adapted for the big screen by Burch. Mixing courtroom procedural and zany comedic elements, the story centers on a down-and-out billboard lawyer who decides to represent Wile. E. Coyote in his lawsuit against ACME Corporation over its defective products.John Cena (Peacemaker) stars alongside Lana Condor (To All the Boys Ive Loved Before), Will Forte (Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken), P.J. Byrne (Gen V), and others.The VFX were created by BUF, DNEG, Double Negative, Firebrand VFX, Framestore, Jellyfish Pictures, and Warner Brothers, with George Murphy acting as visual effects supervisor.Ketchup recently distributed Warner Bros. Discoverys The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, which opened in theaters March 14. Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • FMX 2025 Program Now Online
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    The FMX 2025program isnow online. Lists of participating speakers and companies have also been published. The event runs May 6-9 in Stuttgart, May 10 June 10 on-demand.Production supervisor Kevin Baillie and Metaphysic VFX supervisor Jo Plaete will host an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how artist-empowering AI transformed Robert Zemeckis film Here. This session explores how AI-enabled de-aging technology preserved the performances of Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany, and Kelly Reilly, seamlessly spanning decades.Baillie and Plaete will break down the real-time face-swapping system that allowed actors and directors to see de-aged performances instantly on set, as well as the AI-driven post-production techniques that allowed Zemeckis to leap over the uncanny valley. They will also discuss AIs broader impact on digital environments, body reconstruction, and enhancing prosthetics for aged characters. This session is part of the VFX for Features track. A devastating deluge hits the world in the Oscar-winning animated feature, Flow. Since the animals don't talk, non-verbal communication plays a decisive role: body language and the animals' natural sounds. In his FMX presentation, animation supervisor Thibaut Delahaye will explain how he approached his part of the feat, focusing on animating quadrupeds. The session is part of the Feature Animation track.Sound designer Gurwal Loc Dallas will elaborate on how sound can convey emotions to help immerse viewers in a film without dialogue. The session is part of the Sound Design track, curated by Nami Strack.Florian Gellinger, co-founder and executive producer, RISE | Visual Effects Studios, looks at the history of our vocabulary and compares it to other industries. How are these industries perceived in the public compared to what we do? How are the companies in our industry marketing themselves? This session is part of the Managing Change track, curated by Imke Fehrmann. Platige Image Producer Marina Borokhova and Lead Previs Artist Dominik Wawrzyniak will take an in-depth look at the pre-production process of the "Crossfire" episode of Prime Videos Secret Level animated anthology series. They will cover everythingfrom storyboarding to motion capture, editing and previs. This session is part of the Animated Seriestrack.How does it feel to have a body? How do we want it to feel? Raman Djafari's presentation will provide insight into his process and thoughts as a director of animated music videos and short films, as well as his practice as an illustrator. This session is part of the News track, curated by Shelley Page.Source: FMX 2025 Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • DNEG Gets the VFX Credits on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
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    When George Lucas came up with the concept for Star Wars, he was inspired by his inner child who loved watching Saturday matinee adventure serials. So, its appropriate that Christopher Ford and Jon Watts channeled a Goonies-vibe into the franchise with LucasfilmsStar Wars: Skeleton Crew.Now streaming on Disney+, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew follows the journey of four kids who make a discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined. The live-action series stars Jude Law as the mysterious Jod Na Nawood.Brought on to oversee the digital wizardry was Production VFX Supervisor John Knoll as well as an alliance of visual effects vendors that included DNEG, who provided 150 shots across three episodes involving futuristic currency (gold credits), destroyed cities, security droids, atmospherics, and the elephantine principal character Neel.I grew-up watching Star Wars, Goonies, and Amblin; all those films were given to us as key references for Skeleton Crew, states Chris McLaughlin, VFX Supervisor, DNEG. It was exciting to be brought into that world. Some of the practical techniques from Lucas original trilogy were utilized. John Knoll was driving the visual effects to the point that I believe he had his own motion control rig and shot some the spaceship miniatures himself, McLaughlin continues. John comes from that mindset and was very clear about achieving the filmic look. The way that our work was critiqued, it was about something that was filmic and photographic. There was a lot of discussion about contrast ratio and how light was defocused correctly. As we went through the project, John shared shots from ILM and Hybride, so we could visually see what was going on in the rest of the show and match the look. My favorite shot of ours is the spaceship landing on At Achrann in Episode 104, remarks McLaughlin. It comes out of this fog into a dusty environment. The engines are gunning with smoke and sparks flying into the camera. At Achrann is populated with villages that have been ravaged by war. There were some on-set pieces of destroyed buildings that we had to model and match, he adds, noting that the buildings construction had to be kept in mind. But then we built up a kit of destroyed building pieces and scattered that around. It was mostly a CG environment. We considered, is it reenforced concrete and steel beams? As for the texture, you have to give it a story of how it got destroyed. Was it a bomb that went off? Is there an area that looks burned because that is where the explosion impacted? They discover what is clearly a school that is destroyed and if you look at that you can make out exactly where all the missiles hit. You get an idea of what has gone on there. Atmospherics were an important component. We added a lot of rolling mist and volumetrics, McLaughlin says. A lot of that is simulated and constantly moving. It gives a lot of texture and is a lighting tool. We had a library of clouds with different simulations that we would scatter throughout the scene. Another major series environment is the Mint, which can be found in Episodes 107 and 108. According to McLaughlin, The Mint can be broken down into three main areas. The spaceship lands on this grassy knoll, which opens up. They are actually on top of a lift platform that starts to move down under the ground. We had to build that massive spaceship lift shaft. As theyre going down, they see on one side the credit maker, which is a massive machine that makes the currency which the galaxy uses. They stop at the bottom, come out, and go into one of 1,130 vaults filled with stacks and stacks of these credits, which were key props. The moment when Jod Na Nawood walks up to a pile of credits, picks one out, and that pile starts to crumble, falls apart, and flows through his hand, all of those credits were completely CG. There were also a few little set pieces like the ramp that came down from the spaceship and the grounds of the platform. But pretty much everything there was bluescreen. We had to fill a lot in with CG. Extensive work went into conveying a sense of scale for the vaults. The door was heavy and made of thick, solid steel, adds McLaughlin. The space inside there was cavernous and dusty. We looked at numerous references of huge spaces. The Boeing Everett Factory was a key reference for us. Par for the Star Wars course, there is no shortage of alien species and droids. In Episode 104, the army walking through has these four-legged horse-like creatures with them called eopies, states McLaughlin. That asset came from ILM. We had a few of those marching through and then also the security droids in Episode 107. What was cool about the security droids was on-set in a lot of shots they have a full-size security droid manned by puppeteers standing behind them. When the puppeteer walks, the foot and leg movement of the droid matches their movement; their arms and head were operated by rods. In animation, we had to match their awkward, shuffling style of walking. In several of our shots there are three or four droids. One of them is real, so you have a perfect reference to match. You know when its right. You have to give them a little bit of life and ambient movement even when theyre standing and guarding. You cant have them completely static. The majority of the shots with Neel were accomplished practically. That is a young actor with an animatronic elephant head that is puppeteered by people offscreen, reveals McLaughlin. There is a little panel on the front that he can see out of, which we took out on every shot where you could see it. That was a straightforward job. But when he had to do things like run down a spaceship ramp, he couldnt see that well. For his safety, we would take it off and completely replace the head in CG. We had to match the animatronic completely. ILM was leading on that asset, so we ingested their asset and had to match their textures and shaders, McLaughlin continues. We tracked the actor tightly around the neck and shoulders so that we got a good lock on the head. We made sure the animation rig had the same capabilities as the animatronic. No more, no less. We had a lot of reference to match that performance. Then the color matching was tricky. Its a complex mixture of colors. Its blue but also has grey and pink. Noting that certain facial nuances were digitally enhanced, McLaughlin concludes, We ran a skin and hair simulation to give us deformation and get some swinging of the ears and trunk. But we couldnt go over the top because then your shots start to stand out. We couldnt make them look too perfect! And in the end, you would struggle to tell what shots are CG or just the animatronic. Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer best known for composing in-depth filmmaker and movie profiles for VFX Voice, Animation Magazine, and British Cinematographer.
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  • Envato, KitBash3D Form 3D Assets Partnership
    www.awn.com
    Creative assets platform Envato has partnered with KitBash3D, a premium 3D assets company, to offer four of its 3D model kits (City Streets, Manhattan, City Cars, Storefronts) exclusively for subscribers on the Envato website.With the growing popularity of 3D design, the one-stop creative assets platform aims to allow creatives to download high-quality 3D models, templates, and renders seamlessly. Since the asset category launched late last year, nearly one quarter of Envato subscribers have downloaded 3D assets.In a landscape where 3D design drives innovation, Envato is committed to providing our users with the highest caliber assets, said Envato CMO Noelle Kim. Our collaboration with KitBash3D delivers precisely that. These assets aren't just models; they're production-grade elements designed for film and gaming, renowned for their realism. The unique ability to download complementary kits allows creatives to construct entire, interconnected worlds, significantly elevating the quality and efficiency of their productions.The four model kits include:Manhattan - Bring New York City to life with everything from skyscrapers, to museums, to local pizzerias, inspired by the iconic streets of Manhattan itself.City Streets - Transform streets into living, breathing spaces with this bold collection of buildings and unique details like fire hydrants, park benches, and other.Storefronts - What city is complete without some retail spaces? Add in a Mini-Mart, burger joint, fashion boutiques, cafes, and others.Essentials - Choose from a selection of real life vehicles to add that touch of authenticity, including your everyday sedan, midsize SUV, and city transit bus. Source: Envato Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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  • Rookie Awards 2025 Announces Call For Entries Date
    www.awn.com
    The Rookie Awards 2025 will be open for entries starting April 7. Now in its 15th year, the global competition offers an opportunity for aspiring artists in creative industries to gain exposure and connect with industry leaders. Entries close June 20, with finalists announced July 31 and winners announced August 20.Students, recent graduates, and emerging talents can showcase their work to over 120 industry professionals, compete for prizes, and get noticed by key studios.In its newest edition, the event boasts increased studio engagement; an extended competition timeline; structured guidelines for each category; new entry limits; and a resource hub with submission guides, tips from past winners, and FAQs.Check out the teaser for the competition now:Source: The Rookie Awards Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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