Animation Magazine May 2017

T H E B U S I N E S S , T E C H N O L O G Y & A R T O F A N I M AT I O N A N D V F X
May
2017 ™
Animation at
CANNES
My Entire High School
Sinking into the Sea
Archer Dreamland
PLUS
Blue-Zoo’s charming
preschool hit Digby Dragon
The feral VFX of Logan
Cars get smashed for

The Fate of the Furious
VFX bring new life to an anime classic
Ghost in
the Shell
$7.95 U.S.
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www.animationmagaz
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www.animationmagazine.net
animationmagaz
gazin
ine.net
ine 2 mayy 17
Volume 31, Issue 5, Number 270 May 2017
Frame-By-Frame Animation Magazine Turns 30
4 News and Notes 24 At the End of a Century
Catch up on the news posted online at Animation radically transformed on the big screen
www.animationmagazine.net since last issue. and small, with huge successes and more than
a few worthy but failed experiments marking the
6 Stuff We Love millennial transition.
Amazing art books, collectible figures and a very
special Bob’s Burgers deluxe album tug at our
heartstrings (and wallets). By Mercedes Milligan. Opportunities
7 May Planner 26 Autonomous Animator: Keep Your
Clients Forever
Getting clients is the hard part, so once you’ve got
Features some, you need to keep them. By Martin Grebing.
8 Growing a Flame
32
Indie Spark: A Space Tail makes the most of
its $15 million budget to entertain kids with a VFX and Tech
rousing CG space adventure. By Tom McLean.
28 Tech Reviews
10 A Big Payoff An expanded section this issue dives into
Disaster movie meets teenage cartoonists in CrazyTalk Animator 3, V-Ray 3.5.5., Flowbox
Dash Shaw’s hand-drawn feature My Entire and lots more. By Todd Sheridan Perry.
High School Sinking into the Sea. By Tom
McLean. 32 Hard Wired
An iconic anime gets a live-action update as
12 Serious Professional Development Scarlett Johansson steps into the Major’s shoes in
Cyber Group Studios’ Pierre Sissmann Ghost in the Shell. By Trevor Hogg.
outlines his strategy for growing the creative
and commercial scope of the company. By Tom 36 Crash Course
McLean. Amazing cars, exotic locales and refined VFX work
on a super tight schedule help The Fate of the
Furious raise the bar for the long-lived franchise.
TV By Karen Idelson.
14 A British Original 38 Down to Earth

Blue-Zoo unites ambitious CG animation with The genre-pushing storyline of Logan required
broad appeal for kids in its stylish hit preschool visual effects that created a gritty, realistic take on
series Digby Dragon. By Karen Yossman. a violent character and unforgiving world. By Karen
10
Idelson.
16 An Epic Flashback
Archer gets the film noir treatment as season Anime
eight diverts TV’s most vain spy and his eccentric
coterie to 1947 Los Angeles. By Tom McLean. 40 Insider Comedy
Arriving on Blu-ray, the irreverent Martian
18 Perfect Match Successor Nadesico gets funnier the more you
The show runners behind DreamWorks’ new know about the anime conventions its making fun
Spirit Riding Free series for Netflix bring a of. By Charles Solomon.
widescreen, Western look to new toon adventures
for a girl and her horse. By Tom McLean.
Home Entertainment
Spotlight: Cannes Film Festival 41 Making Waves
Studio Ghilbi’s little-seen Ocean Waves,
16
20 Toon Competition
Tangled: Before Ever After, Sailor Moon R:
A trio of hardy animated shorts score coveted
The Movie and a Monchhichi flashback head a
competition slots in the Cannes Film Festival,
youthful month for home entertainment.
the world’s most prestigious platform for motion
By Mercedes Milligan.
pictures. By Tom McLean.
22 Window of Opportunity
Animation Day in Cannes returns to give
On the Cover: Scarlett Johansson reimagines projects a platform at the esteemed festival.
the Major in Ghost in the Shell.
Cannes Edition: Redrover–ToonBox’s The
Nut Job 2, in theaters Aug. 18.
Licensing Expo Edition: Cyber Group
Studios’ Gigantosaurus.
may 17 1 www.animationmagazine.net
L ETTER FROM THE E DITOR
ANIMATION MAGAZINE
It’s all personal May 2017
Vol. 31, Issue 5, No. 270
[email protected]
diting Animation Magazine is a job that offers plenty of surprises,
President and Publisher: Jean Thoren
E and this issue is full of interesting and often personal connections.
Accounting: Jan Bayouth
Take this issue’s feature story on the new GKIDS release, My Entire
High School Sinking into the Sea. It’s directed by Dash Shaw, a noted
EDITORIAL
comic-book artist I recall interviewing about a decade ago about his [email protected]
innovative online comics work. I was relating this during a class I’m tak- Editor: Tom McLean
ing on creating comic books, only to have the instructor say that in his editor days he gave Multimedia Editor: Mercedes Milligan
Shaw some of his first comics work. Conversation then turned to the new Teen Titans: Webmaster: Steven Dietrich
The Judas Contract original animated movie (head to www.animationmagazine.net to read Asst. Webmaster: Matthew Keable
a chat about that one with director Sam Liu), adapting one of the all-time great comics Tech Reviews Editor: Todd Sheridan Perry
stories of the 1980s. My very positive evaluation of it got everyone in the room as excited Contributors: Trevor Hogg, Karen Idelson,
to see that movie as they are to check out Shaw’s indie delight. Martin Grebing, Charles Solomon,
Then there’s our feature on the Nick Jr. series, Digby Dragon, made by the fine folks at Karen Yossman
Blue-Zoo in London. It’s a series my 5-year-old daughter turned me on to, and I found the
animation to be so compelling, the stories so fun and the characters so charming that I ADVERTISING SALES
had to commission a feature on it. U.K.-based writer Karen Yossman — who recently be- [email protected]
came a mom — was eager to tackle the story and, I think, did a bang-up job. Sheri Shelton
Another writer, my longtime colleague and friend Karen Idelson, was just as eager to
delve into the visual effects of The Fate of the Furious, being a huge fan who’s seen ev- EVENTS
ery movie in the series multiple times. She also delved into the visual effects on Logan, a Director: Kim Derevlany
movie I found tremendously entertaining and thought-provoking. [email protected]
And then there’s our cover story on Ghost in the Shell. Putting this movie on the cover
was a no-brainer for me. Not only is it adapting a classic, much-loved and thoroughly CREATIVE
excellent anime, it’s doing so with all the panache modern visual effects can bring to it. [email protected]
Seeing an animated icon adapted in this fashion shows how much anime (and all anima- Art Director/Production Manager:
tion) is becoming an essential part of the global culture. Plus, it’s a real kick to see a new Susanne Rector
take on something as classic as Ghost in the Shell.
That passion extends beyond the creative, as we look at animation’s growing presence CIRCULATION
[email protected]
at Cannes by profiling the three shorts selected for the world’s most prestigious film
competition, and the excellent guerrilla efforts to promote animation at the festival by the
Circulation Director:
organizers of Animation Day in Cannes. On the business end, we get into global strategy
Jan Bayouth
with Pierre Sissmann of Cyber Group Studios — his insights are worth reading for anyone TO ADVERTISE:
working in the field. Phone: 818-883-2884
Fax: 818-883-3773
On the anniversary front, next issue is our 30th anniversary issue — and it’s going to be Email: [email protected]
big. Plus, we’ve got the World Animation Celebration returning in the fall at Sony Pictures Website: www.animationmagazine.net
Animation, our sixth annual World Animation and VFX Summit, and plenty more surprises List Rental
in store. Quantum List Marketing
(480) 860-6036
In all, it’s a bright, bright future and I can’t wait to see what it brings. ANIMATION MAGAZINE
(USPS 015-877/ISSN 1041-617X)
Until next issue,
Published monthly except for combined issues of April/May
Tom McLean August/September, by Animation Magazine
Editor 24943 Kit Carson Road
[email protected] Calabasas, CA 91302
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www.animationmagazine.net 2 may 17
F RAME -B Y -F RAME
News & Notes
Jedi Unleashed
Disney officially kicked off the countdown to Star Wars: The Last Jedi by releasing a trailer and poster for the Dec. 15 feature during Star
Wars Celebration, held April 13-16 in Orlando, Fla. Other news out of the show included a trailer for the fourth and final season of the Disney
XD animated series Star Wars Rebels as well as a micro-series of animated shorts called Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, which will debut
online in July and spotlight key characters including Rey, Jyn Erso, Sabine Wren, Princess Leia and Ahsoka Tano.
FESTS AND EVENTS SCHOOLS EVENTS

World Animation Celebration Reel FX, Moonbot Creatives Cartoons on the Bay 2017
Returns to Sony Lot in 2017 Launch Flight School Pulcinella Award Winners
A nimation Libation Studios and Animation

Magazine will again present The World
Animation Celebration in 2017. Hosted by
R eel FX studio’s VR/AR division and the
creative leadership of Moonbot Studios
have joined forces to form a new multiplatform
I talian animation confab Cartoons on the Bay
wrapped up its 2017 edition in Turin with the
Pucinella Awards gala, capping three days of
Sony Pictures Animation, the international ani- content studio, dubbed Flight School. screenings, master classes and networking.
mated short film festival will take place Sept. The operation is opening in Dallas with a This year’s event included a focus on Japa-
30 and Oct. 1 at the studio, located in Culver 30-odd person team of creatives, tech mas- nese animation.
City, Calif. ters and designers. The winners are:
The two-day event will showcase the best in Flight School’s first project will be the “mys- Best Preschool TV Series: YoYo (Rai Fic-
traditional, CG, digital, stop-motion, experi- terious and emotional” Manifest 99, an inter- tion, Show Lab, Grid Animation, Telegael; Ita-
mental and VR animation from fllmmakers and active narrative VR experience due out this ly/Ireland)
students around the world, which will be re- summer. Best Kids TV Series: OddBods (One An-
viewed by a panel of world-class professionals The new shop will be lead by Academy imation; Singapore)
as judges. Award-winning Chief Creative Officer, Bran- Best Teen TV Series: Ant Gets Married
In addition to the film program, attendees don Oldenburg (The Fantastic Flying Books (Animoon; Poland)
will be able to take in industry panels, guest of Mr. Morris Lessmore), and Emmy Best Interactive Media: The Legend of
speakers and artist demos, meet with recruit- Award-winning Executive Creative Director, Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo; Japan)
ers and school representatives, and partici- Limbert Fabian (Silent, The Scarecrow). Best Live Action/Hybrid TV Series: Big
pate in portfolio reviews. Flight School will be managed by CEO Kyle World of Little Worries (Vivement Lundi!;
Film submission and early-bird registration Clark (current co-CEO of Reel FX) and Execu- France)
information will be announced soon. tive Vice President, Lampton Enochs (former Best TV Pilot: Selfie (Savoir-Fer; France)
Bookmark WorldAnimationCelebration.com CEO of Moonbot). Best Short Film: Ariadne’s Thread. Direct-
for updates. ed by Claude Luyet (Studio GDS, Luyet; Swit-
zerland)
F RAME -B Y -F RAME
Best Animated Feature Film: Iqbal: Tale event as Adventure Time: Elements, starting
of a Fearless Child. Directed by Michel Fu- April 24. ... Netflix is financing America: The Mo-
zellier & Babak Payami (Gertie, 2d3D, Mont- tion Picture, an R-rated animated adventure
parnasse; Italy/France) through revisionist history. ... Adult Swim has
given the green light to two new action-driven an-
FESTS AND EVENTS imated series set to premiere later this year:
Apollo Gauntlet from MONDO’s animation stu-
Annecy Animation du Monde dio Six Point Harness and Mosaic; and Hot
Program Allies with Africa Streets from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios. ... Jo-
seph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is
T he vigorously developing African animation

industry has opened another international
avenue with the latest MIFA Animation du Monde
getting the animated feature treatment with the
help of Elton John. The movie will be released un-
der the STX Family label and is being produced
initiative. by John’s Rocket Pictures (Gnomeo & Juliet,
The program will promote “animation without Sherlock Gnomes) in association with Really
borders” with a first-ever pan-African pitching Useful Group. ... DreamWorks Animation has
competition, organized by the Annecy Interna- secured the rights to award-winning, internation-
tional Animated Film Festival & Market, the Afri- ally bestselling author Cressida Cowell’s upcom-
can Animation Network and DISCOP. ing fantasy novel series The Wizards of Once. ...
Dubbed “Annecy — MIFA Pitches Animation Disney has a title and date for Ralph Breaks
du Monde,” the African initiative will comprise two the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, coming to the-
semi-final rounds, coinciding with DISCOP Abi- aters March 9, 2018.
djan in Côte d’Ivoire (May 30-June 1) and DIS- One Sweet Bull
COP Johannesburg in South Africa (Oct. 25-27). Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox People
Both events will turn out six projects, with all 12 unveiled the first look at the upcoming an- Japanese powerhouse Production I.G promoted
competing in the Grand Finale at DISCOP Jo- imated feature adaptation of Ferdinand, Maki Terashima-Furuta to President of the
hannesburg for two finalist spots. The top two directed by Carlos Saldanha (Rio) and company. She previously served as Vice Presi-
project creators will receive automatic entry into due Dec. 15. The voice cast includes dent since founding Production I.G’s U.S. sub-
Animation du Monde 2018 at Annecy, including John Cena, Kate McKinnon and Gina Ro- sidiary in 1997. ... Design and media studio Su-
accommodation and MIFA accreditations. driguez. per 78 has added Pixar, Sony and Paramount
Projects can be registered for the first round at veteran Paul Washburn as Head of Production
DISCOP Abidjan through discopafrica.com 51) to develop and produce animated features and Producer. ... Bento Box Entertainment (Bob’s
through May 9. and series. ... ASIFA-Hollywood’s Animation Burgers, Legends of Chamberlain Heights) has
Educators Forum awarded its first Faculty tapped Ben Jones as its new Creative Director.
FESTS AND EVENTS Grants to Owen Klatte of the University of Wis- ...Visual effects house Zoic Studios has promot-
DreamWorks Earns 21 consin-Milwaukee and Dave Mauriello of Drexel ed Emmy-nominated VFX supervisor Jeffrey
University. ... The Portland Art Museum and its Baksinski to Creative Director. ... Gina Rodri-
Daytime Emmys Noms Northwest Film Center will present Animating guez, the Golden Globe-winning star of hit se-
Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAI- ries Jane the Virgin, has signed on to voice iconic
T he nominations are in for the 2017 Daytime

Emmy Awards, and DreamWorks Animation
has emerged as the top toon producer with 21
KA Oct. 14 through May 20, 2018. ... MONDO
has picked up exclusive, worldwide English-lan-
crook Carmen Sandiego in Netflix’s upcoming
animated reboot. ... Canadian studio Bron Anima-
guage television rights to the comics-inspired tion has signed Ricky Gervais (Special Corre-
nods. This includes seven for Guillermo del spondents, The Office, Derek) to narrate its ad-
animated series LastMan for its VRV channel in
Toro’s Trollhunters (the most of any animated aptation of The Willoughbys, based on Newberry
the U.S., and will follow up with launches in other
program), on top of the two Individual Achieve- Award-winning author Lois Lowry’s popular kids’
English-language territories. ... Nickelodeon will
ment awards already announced. book. ... Framestore has appointed Kate Phil-
be bringing back everyone’s favorite megaloma-
Amazon’s The Snowy Day and Lost in Oz both lips as Head of Production, Montreal. ... New
niacal alien with an all-new, 90-minute Invader
garnered five nominations, while the four-nod York and San Francisco-based content creation
Zim TV movie from original series creator Jhonen
club includes DWA’s All Hail King Julien, Dis- and production company BODEGA has
Vasquez. ... Annapurna TV is developing a new
ney’s LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adven- launched a new animation division under the
adult-targeted, CG-animated series titled Am-
tures and Amazon’s Tumble Leaf. leadership of executive producer Bill Hewes,
berville at Amazon Studios, for Amazon Prime
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences who brings over two decades of producing expe-
Video. Created by Chris McCoy and Conrad Ver-
will present the 44th Daytime Emmy Awards at rience spanning animation, live action, VFX and
non (Sausage Party), the dark comedy series is
the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on April 30. design to the post.
based on the “Mollisan Town” book series by Tim
Davys, published by HarperCollins. ... LAIKA has
In Brief named Striker Entertainment its worldwide li- Passings
U .S. film and TV producer Skydance Media
has launched an animation division and mul-
tiyear partnership with Madrid-based Ilion Ani-
censing agent, tasked with developing a global
program with best-in-class partners for its film
Joe Harris, the advertising artist who brought
to life the cereal-sneaking Trix Rabbit, and The
catalog. ... Finn and Jake’s return to the land of Underdog Show, died March 26 at his home in
mation Studios (Mortadelo & Filemon, Planet
Ooo will unfurl in an eight-part, four-night special Stamford, Conn. He was 89. [
F RAME -B Y -F RAME
Stuff We Love
READ ME: GET IN THE GROOVE:
The LEGO Batman Movie: The Bob’s Burgers Music Album Deluxe Box Set
The Making of the Movie [Sub Pop, $69; out May 12]
By Tracey Miller-Zarneke [DK, $24.99] Alriiight! Need a little spice in your life? Of course you do. So move
A comprehensive guide to the design and your buns and go pre-order
building of the minifigs, vehicles and bricktas- this 107-song collection from
tic world animated by Animal Logic. Loren Bouchard’s Emmy-win-
ning series, performed by
The Art of The Boss Baby voice stars H. Jon Benjamin,
By Ramin Zahed, preface by Tom McGrath, John Roberts, Dan Mintz,
foreword by Alec Baldwin, afterword by Marla Eugene Mirman and Kristen
Frazee [Insight Editions, $45] Schaal, as well as special
Take a chair on the board of Baby Corp. for a guests like Aziz Ansari, Sarah
lushly illustrated insider’s look at how the Silverman, Zach Galifianakis,
storybook tot got a feature promotion from Cyndi Lauper and Carly
DreamWorks. Simon. Plus! “Bob’s Buskers” versions from musical luminaries
St. Vincent, The National, Stephin Merritt and more.
The Art of Smurfs: The Lost Village The limited edition deluxe set includes three LPs plus a 7 -inch
By Tracey Miller-Zarneke, foreword by Veronique record on “condiment-colored” vinyl, a hardbound lyrics book,
Culliford [Cameron + Company, $45] sheet-music songbook, three original posters, stickers and a patch. If
Hundreds of storyboards, character designs and you’re working with a musician’s budget, opt for the standard version
concept pieces bring Peyo’s colorful characters (two CDs, three LPs and a 7-inch), the CD set or digital option. All
(and their new friends from Sony) to life. are available through megamart.subpop.com.
The Art of Ghost in the Shell

By David S. Cohen, foreword by Richard Taylor [Insight
Editions, $45] HEY, BIG SPENDER:
Besides the whitewashing controversy, Rupert Sanders’
adaptation created a jaw-dropping futuristic world of Zac Posen “Betty Boop” Dress & Gown
giant holograms, robotic geisha and insane bionics — [ZAC, $250 & $550]
pure digital artistry. Max Fleischer’s iconic cartoon flapper was
the inspiration for these vivacious frocks in
OTOMO: A Global Tribute to the Mind “Betty Boop Red” — painstakingly re-
Behind Akira searched and crafted by King Features,
[Kodansha Comics, $29.99] Fleischer Studios and Pantone. Both the
Originally assembled as an Angoulême comics flirty spring dress and knock-out gown
fest exclusive in 2015, this 168-page hardcover feature playful lipstick print details at the
featuring works by 80-plus illustrators and neckline, capturing Betty’s forever-young spirit. The line (available at
comickers (in full color!) has been reissued with a zacposen.com) launched at Valentine’s Day with a new cartoon
new cover by Katsuhiro Otomo in honor of Akira’s 35th anniversary. animated by Titmouse, which you can watch at bettyboop.com.
THE TOYBOX:
Funko — Rick and Morty Pocket Pop! Keychains Pop! Vinyl Figures [$9.99 ea.]
These are a couple gems from [$5.99 ea.] New characters: Weaponized
the line, which also includes Available in Rick, Rick, Weaponized Morty, Mr.
Mystery Minis ($3.99), plushes Morty and Mr. Meeseeks, Mr. Poopy Butthole,
($9.99), and 5-inch action Meeseeks Bird Person, Squanchy and
figures ($12.99, out in May). models. Snowball. [
--Mercedes Milligan
F RAME -B Y -F RAME
May Planner
1 The two-day Vision
VR/AR Summit kicks
9 Discover next-level
strategies at Cartoon
19 Ridley Scott’s
Alien: Covenant
off in L.A., while the Business in Belfast or hatches in theaters.
Golden Kuker-Sofia take in sun and screen-
Int’l Animation Film ings at Santiago’s
Festival begins a week Chilemonos animation festival.
of screenings in
Sofia, Bulgaria.
[visionsummit2017.
[cartoon-media.eu |
chilemonos.com] 22 & 23 Can’t-miss events
now open: Animex Int’l Festival of
com | 2017.anima- Animation & Computer Games (Middles-
tionfest-bg.eu] brough, U.K.), Broadcast
Asia (Singapore), Digital
10 Northwest Animation Festival

brings international gems to Portland, Ore.,
Hollywood — Spring
(L.A.), Licensing Expo
(Las Vegas) and MIP
2 Germany is the
place to be this
this week, with a second run May 19-21 in
Eugene, Ore. [nwanimationfest.com]
China (Hangzhou).
[animex.tees.ac.uk |
broadcast-asia.com |
week for the digitalhollywood.com | licensingexpo.com |
Stuttgart Int’l mip-china.com]
Animation
Festival, FMX and
Animation Production Day — all in the
same metro. [itfs.de | fmx.de |
animationproductionday.de]
Meanwhile, Trebon,
11 Beginning
today are Trolly-
26 Cap’n Jack faces a terrifying new foe
in Pirates of the
Czech Rep., hosts wood Animation Caribbean:
Visegrad Animation Festival in Trollhattan, Dead Men Tell
Forum and the AniFilm Sweden, and World No Tales.
Festival [visegradanima- VR Forum in
tion.com | anifilm.cz] Crans-Montana,
Switzerland.
[trollywoodanimation.se
|
worldvrforum.com]
29 Explore the digital frontiers of
animated content for three days in Barcelona
5 Baby Groot
returns with the
at Cartoon 360.
[cartoon-media.eu]
rest of the crew

in Marvel’s
Guardians of
the Galaxy,
17 The
stars come
30 The 8th annual VAFI Int’l Children &
Youth Animation Film Festival takes
Vol 2. out for the place in Varaždin, Croatia, this week.
The School of Visual Arts in NYC presents Festival [vafi.hr/en]
the Dusty Film & Animation Festival. de
[dusty.sva.edu] Cannes &
Marché
du Film in France. [festival-cannes.fr |
marchedufilm.com]
To get your company’s events and products listed in this monthly calendar, please e-mail [email protected].
F EATURES
Growing a Flame
Indie feature Spark: A Space Tail makes the most of its $15 million budget to entertain kids with a rousing
CG space adventure. By Tom McLean.
S
park: A Space Tail aspires to some-
thing few animated features these days
will admit to: It’s an animated movie
squarely aimed at entertaining children.
“There’s a sort of purity to animation,” says
the feature’s writer-director Aaron Woodley,
“where you’re really trying to lock into an emo-
tional narrative line for children … breaking
things down into that childlike mode of story-
telling and imagination, and that’s really what I
was trying to do.”
Released April 14 in the United
States via Open Road Films, the CG
animated sci-fi adventure movie is a
Canadian-Korean co-production be-
tween ToonBox Entertainment,
Redrover Co. Ltd., Shanghai Hoong-
man Technology Co. Ltd. and Gulfst-
ream Pictures. Double Dutch Inter- directed live-action “Creatively, there’s not a whole lot of differ-
national is handling the Canadian features and TV, giv- ence between making a live-action film, making
distribution as well as international ing him the kind of an animated film, making a stop-motion film or a
sales, excluding China and Korea. Aaron Woodley broad experience the CG film,” he says. “It was really trying to learn
The movie follows the story of co-production was how to harness these tools, these highly tech-
Spark (Jace Norman), a teenage monkey who seeking when they hired him in 2011. nological tools, to do that.”
lives in a galactic junkyard with his pals Vix “They had a script and it was loosely based Most of the work on the movie was done at
(Jessica Biel) and Chunk (Rob deLeeuw), and on Journey to the West, which is an ancient ToonBox’s studio in Toronto, with about 30
discovers his true identity to be the key to tak- Chinese text,” he says. Coming aboard to re- percent of the animation done in Korea, Wood-
ing back the planet Bana from the evil King write the script, Woodley stepped into the di- ley says.
Zhong (Alan C. Peterson). rector’s slot on what was his first experience Typical of the movie’s challenges was the
Woodley has a broad background that in- with CG animation. And with a budget of $15 need to animate a character named The Cap-
cludes stop-motion animation work on shorts million, there were plenty of challenges to tain before an actor was cast in the role. When
and the series Glenn Martin, DDS. He’s also overcome. Patrick Stewart took the role, he impressed
the entire crew by rising to the challenge of
Spark: A delivering a performance that synched up with
Space Tail the animation and was affecting and fresh.
follows the
template of a
“I thought possibly he would walk away
classic hero’s from the project, but he didn’t,” says Woodley.
journey. “Not only did he nail the synch — in one or two
takes maximum — but he actually made the
synch better, which I think is astounding.”
While the movie didn’t set the U.S. box of-
fice aflame in its opening frame, it is set for
theatrical release April 28 in Canada, with the
United Kingdom to follow — and Woodley says
he’s happy just getting the movie seen.
“It’s really just about hoping that people en-
joy the movie and have a good time at the the-
ater.” [
F EATURES
F EATURES
A Big Payoff
Disaster movie meets teenage cartoonists in Dash Shaw’s hand-drawn feature debut,
My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea. By Tom McLean.
I
t started as a bit of a joke in comic-book make a whole movie, it would just take doing room backgrounds.”
form, when cartoonist Dash Shaw created those drawings,’” he says. Shaw wrote and directed the feature, which
in 2009 a short story titled My Entire High He created the 2009 web series titled The tells the story of teenage Dash Shaw, whose
School Sinking into the Sea, which he’s now Unclothed Man in the 35th Century AD for IFC, regular life working on the school paper and
adapted into an animated feature that hit the- followed by a 2012 music video for Icelandic hanging with best friend, Assaf, is thrown into
aters April 14 via GKIDS following a success- rockers Sigur Ros. turmoil when his seaside school tumbles into
ful run on the festival circuit. For his first feature, Shaw says there was the ocean. Told with Shaw’s art hand-drawn
“When I was a teenager in the ’90s, the ma- something about the original comic story he on paper and scanned into a computer for an-
jority of alternative comics were autobio com- thought could be adapted to animation, partic- imation, the movie looks like nothing else out
ics,” says Shaw, best known for such titles as ularly the way it was colored like an abstract there as it follows young Dash and his friends’
BodyWorld, New School, Doctors and Bot- expressionist painting in the mode of Mark attempts to survive the disaster. It plays like a
tomless Belly Button. “Then on the opposite Rothko. “That felt like a funny way of visualiz- John Hughes movie crossed with Titanic or
end of that were the boy’s adventure superhe- ing teenage angst,” he says. “That the existen- The Towering Inferno, and has earned rave re-
ro comics. And so the joke of my comic short tial angst of those paintings would be paired views on the festival circuit.
story was that it was like a fake autobio comic with teenage angst felt appropriate and goofy.”
that had been thrown into a boy’s adventure It also seemed to be the most doable idea Cartoon Doppelgänger
comics setting.” he had for an animated feature. The movie version of Dash Shaw bears
Inspired by the simplicity of using applica- “This school movie had kind of a very simple some resemblance to the director in his teen
tions like Photoshop to create animated GIFs, video game structure,” he says. “I thought I years. “I was a nerdy teenager and I worked on
Shaw expanded from comics into animation. should start with things that feasibly I could do the school newspaper, so I had friends like the
“Once I saw that, I was like, ‘Oh, you can myself, like it’s not very hard to paint class- friends in this movie,” he says. But he says the
F EATURES
Shaw began work on the movie with his
All the images in Dash Shaw’s feature
My Entire High School Sinking into the
wife, animator Jane Samborski. “She really is
Sea were created on paper, and scanned the technical mind behind the movie,” he says.
into a computer for animation. All of the movie was drawn on 8½-by-11-
inch paper and animated using After Effects.
“There’s no lines that are made on the comput-
er,” says Shaw. “I storyboarded it in color mark-
ers and so there was a guide for the whole
movie and indications of how the color would
be and how everything would look.”
Shaw used the boards to divide up the labor
for each shot, with Samborski sometimes
drawing the underlying images and friends of
Shaw’s from the comics world contributing
things like painted backgrounds. Shaw inked
all the drawings himself before they were
scanned in the computer.
This way of working saved the project at one
point when about 10 minutes of the movie was
lost to a cut-and-paste error.
“But we still had all of the actual drawings,
so it only took us a couple of days to put it back
together,” Shaw says.
Finding the Voices

Unusual for most animated projects, Shaw
had about 80 percent of the animation done
before he began looking for actors. Knowing
nothing about that side of movie making, Shaw
contacted producers Kyle Martin and Craig
Zobel, whom he had met while they were all
fellows at the Sundance Institute in 2010.
“I saw that they were two people that had
made awesome movies relatively inexpensively
and they both happened to live in my neigh-
borhood when I lived in Brooklyn, and so I
asked them to help me produce the movie,”
says Shaw.
The producers suggested for the lead role
Jason Schwartzman, who Shaw had met years
ago and stayed in touch with. Shaw also had
met Lena Dunham at the Sundance labs and
Martin had produced her feature film Tiny Fur-
niture. With those names attached, and a
chunk of the movie to show, the rest of the
cast filled out with the likes of Maya Rudolph,
Reggie Watts and Susan Sarandon as the un-
forgettable Lunch Lady Lorraine.
Once the voices were recorded, the anima-
tion was adjusted to accommodate the actors’
character is only about half based on reality, Shaw also took inspiration from the works of performances. “The drawings were done, but
the other half on fantasy. “I’m not a jerk like the other comic-book artists who turned to anima- they would be changed to match what the ac-
guy in the movie,” he says with a laugh. “And I tion, such as Osamu Tezuka on the original tor came up with,” Shaw says.
feel like it’s more maybe a parody of autobio Astro Boy. “He wanted to compete with Dis- The film was full of new experiences for
stories or a parody of those kinds of Hollywood ney but the Japanese television companies Shaw, who says he’s enjoyed the process of
movie that are clearly the director’s fantasy.” didn’t give him enough money, so he created collaborating with actors, producers and an
Asked if he thinks viewers will confuse the limited animation and he relied on his skills as editor, and to see his movie play on the big
fictional Dash with the real one, Shaw says he a cartoonist to make cinema, and I always screen.
hopes not. “I feel like it’s really clearly a joke, thought that that was super awesome,” he “It was rad and I want to do it again,” he
but maybe I’m being optimistic,” he says. says. says. [
F EATURES
Serious
Professional Development
Cyber Group Studios’ CEO and chairman Pierre Sissmann outlines his three-pronged strategy
for growing the creative and commercial scope of the Paris-based company.
By Tom McLean.
M
any companies aspire to become chairman and CEO Pierre Sissmann outlined having a permanent presence in a market over
global animation studios, produc- his three-pronged strategy for growing the constant travel or telecommunications from a
ing work with a variety of tech- company: International expansion, artistic de- single base.
niques for diverse audiences on multiple plat- velopment and increasing production capacity. “It was obvious for us that we had to be in
forms. But few have been as steadily International Expansion the U.S.,” he says. “When you look at what we
successful in building such a business from Sissmann says the company has spent the intend to do the next couple of years, I would
scratch as Paris-based Cyber Group Studios, last five to seven years solidifying its interna- say we need to be establishing strong bases
which 12 years from its founding has opened tional distribution capacities and developing on other continents, to go from a French player
an office in Hollywood and implemented care- properties that would appeal to all continents. to an international player to becoming a global
fully weighed plans to grow in every way it can. The next step comes with establishing sub- player to becoming a regional player as well.”
And with at least eight shows in production sidiaries that are on the ground in major mar- That kind of presence does several things,
— among them Zou, Mirette Investigates, The kets. Cyber Group’s first subsidiary opened at Sissmann says: It enables the company to bet-
Pirates Next Door, Gigantosaurus, Sadie the start of 2017 in Los Angeles, headed up ter understand its clients, as well as global
Sparks, Taffy, Tom Sawyer, Mini-Ninjas and a by Richard Goldsmith, formerly a high-ranking and regional markets. It also will help the com-
handful of shows in development — Cyber executive at The Jim Henson Co. and Warner pany locate the creative talent needed to
Group’s plan is so far, so good. Bros. Entertainment. serve those markets.
Speaking recently from Paris, co-founder, Sissmann sees an important advantage in He cites as an example a co-production Cy-
Gigantosaurus
F EATURES
Mirette Investigates
ber Group is doing with a Brazilian company. in the pipeline to develop the company’s artis- “The only way to grow is to never be satis-
“It would be much easier if we were on the tic abilities in those techniques. fied with what you do or, if you are satisfied,
ground somewhere in Latin America than just “To create and execute in any kind of shape you want to do even better than that on the
going over Skype like people mostly do with or form is an absolute objective,” says Siss- next step,” says Sissmann.
co-productions,” he says. mann. “I don’t want us to be stopped by look- While Cyber Group is large for an indepen-
Goldsmith, for example, is charged with de- ing at a great idea and saying we don’t know dent company, it has to carefully manage its
veloping Cyber Group’s business in China how to do it.” budgets to ensure all its parts are working cor-
and Asia. rectly.
“I would like this “It’s a question of
company in five years ‘To create and execute in pace — not going too
from now to be on all fast and and also an-
continents with its any kind of shape or form is ticipating market
own imprint so that trends,” Sissmann
an absolute objective. I don’t
we could work locally, says. “Planning is criti-
regionally and globally want us to be stopped by cal because if you de-
with the best talents velop, let’s say, 25 to
on all continents,” Sis- looking at a great idea and 30 series and you pro-
smann says. duce only two, it
saying we don’t know how makes no sense. And
Artistic Devel- to do it.’ if you produce seven
opment series and you can’t
The second part of — Pierre Sissmann, CEO and Chairman, Cyber Group Studios. sell them to anyone ex-
Sissmann’s plans for cept to the commis-
Cyber Group is artistic development, which he sioning broadcasters, you’re dead.”
defines as growing the company’s ability to Growing Production Capacity That’s why careful management and bench-
execute any kind of material it wants to as well And that leads into the third prong of the marking everything the company does is im-
as it can. strategy, which is to increase production capa- portant to Sissmann, who says it minimizes the
For example, he says, when Cyber Group bilities so the studio can make the shows it number of mistakes. “Something I say to my
started, it began by making CG preschool wants to make when it wants to make them. staff all the time is we are bound to make mis-
shows, which were unusual then. Having With eight or nine series in production right takes,” he says. “And the one thing you should
found success in that arena, the company set now, Cyber Group’s production capabilities are do when you make mistakes is to remember
its sights on kids’ shows, and in the process very strong and held to a high standard. “We are the mistakes. They should be on the board as
added 2D animation capabilities to its palette. control freaks,” says Sissmann, a fact reflected big as your successes so you always remem-
Now, it’s got hybrid and stop-motion projects by the studios’ in-house production ethos. ber where you came from.” [
TV
A British Original
Blue-Zoo unites ambitious CG animation with broad appeal for kids in its stylish hit Nick Jr.
preschool series Digby Dragon. By Karen Yossman.
I
n an era defined by remakes and adapta- than ideal since the studio had recently de- spend vacations with her grandparents, and,
tions, getting an original series commis- cided to focus only on intellectual property de- with an ensemble cast that includes charac-
sioned is no easy feat, even one with a veloped in-house. But, Hyatt recalls, he soon ters such as Fizzy the Fairy and Grumpy Gob-
target demographic of ages 4 to 6. Which is “fell so in love with the character” he agreed to lin, evokes classic children’s stories such as
why when British animation studio Blue-Zoo take on the show anyway. Winnie the Pooh.
first pitched Nickelodeon’s London office with Nickelodeon was equally smitten and quick- In fact, that tubby little cubby, who last year
Digby Dragon, a preschool show about an an- ly snapped up Digby for the network’s pre- celebrated his 90th anniversary, was very
thropomorphic Scottish fire-breather and his school channel Nick Jr., on which it also airs in much an inspiration for the show during the
coterie of fantastical friends, they made sure the United States. “We were immediately tak- development process. “We wanted to have a
to emphasize the series’ blend of visual inno- en by Digby Dragon’s art style and, most im- brand that had longevity,” Hyatt says, revealing
vation coupled with old-school British charm portantly, the heart at the center of the series,” that his goal for Digby was to produce “really
to get the green light. says Alison Bakunowich, GM of Nickelodeon high-quality animation and make something
“It felt like a real heritage project,” Blue-Zoo U.K. & Ireland. “Digby Dragon is a strong Brit- that felt like it wouldn’t date that easily.”
co-founder Oli Hyatt says of the show, which ish property with lots of opportunity to develop
was conceived by author and illustrator Sally across platforms and into consumer products.” Quality Isn’t Cheap
Hunter, best known for the children’s book Hyatt agrees that a large part of the show’s However, high-quality animation means
Humphrey’s Corner. Hunter first approached appeal is down to its “unapologetic” British- higher production costs. To make the show fi-
Blue-Zoo in 2012 with a sketchbook full of ness. Digby is set in Applecross Wood, a real nancially viable, it had to have as broad an ap-
ideas for Digby, although the timing was less location in Scotland where Hunter used to peal as possible, which is why a decision was
TV
Blue-Zoo achieves a hand-crafted look in CG that
evokes the charm of stop-motion for Digby Dragon.
made to aim Digby at an older demographic between key poses. Crafting Every Frame
than originally planned (4- to 6-year-olds as “That was a style decision I made right at Instead of relying on key frames and break-
opposed to 3-year-olds). “If you start at 3, you the very beginning,” says Shaw. “We wanted downs, the animators ended up having to con-
can never go up,” Hyatt says. “If you start at 5, the show to have more of a hand-crafted and struct almost every individual key frame.
you can go down.” textural feel.” “Every single frame was pretty much crafted
Visually this involved redesigning the char- While initially that might have seemed like a to be a specific frame that we needed,” Tea
acters to look a little less cute and rotund than time-saver, in reality it threw up a series of tech- says. “So in that sense, what we thought would
those initially conceived by Hunter, and chang- nical challenges the team had to overcome. be an easier approach because there would be
ing the color palette from pastels to earthy “Things like camera moves suddenly be- fewer frames to animate actually proved to be
hues. Storywise, the writing more work.”
was also reworked to make But for Shaw, the hybrid-style
it more “aspirational” for pre- animation, which he felt comple-
schoolers, says series produc- mented the “hand-painted and
er and director Adam Shaw: “It hand-crafted environments and
was really working on the char- characters,” was integral to visu-
acter dynamics to increase the ally communicating the show’s
amount of drama and peril but themes of nature and the beauty
also to increase the comedy of the natural world, as well as
and the character interaction.” providing an opportunity to dem-
But it was the show’s unique onstrate his team’s skill.
visual style that proved a main “There’s a slightly differ-
selling point, with attendees ent approach in being able
at last year’s Brand Licensing to fully tell their story in their
Europe even enquiring if Digby key poses and not relying
was a feature rather than a television series. came an issue,” says animation director Matt upon any shortcuts you can make through
“It hasn’t got the shiny, flat CG feel of so Tea. “Because characters are moving every blending and in-betweens,” Shaw says. “It
many shows,” says Hyatt. Part of that is down other frame so, if you had a fluid camera, the really puts the emphasis on posing and tim-
to the stop-frame feel of the animation, which characters would almost kind of jitter across ing, which is what animation should be all
was achieved by eliminating soft movement in screen space.” about.” [
TV
An Epic Flashback
Archer gets the film noir treatment as season eight diverts TV’s most vain spy and his eccentric coterie
to 1947 Los Angeles. By Tom McLean.
K
eeping things fresh has never been a as he’s in a coma. Thompson: At the core of the show is
problem for Archer. Animag: What were the advantages to this Archer’s relationship with his mother, Mal-
Launched in 2009 on FX as a com- approach? lory, and typically she’s been at the head of
edy about a secret agent who works for his Thompson: It allowed for a great conse- this spy agency and Archer works for her. In
mother, the series’ success has allowed cre- quence to happen this, in 1947, it’s different but
ator Adam Reed and exec producer Matt at the end of season the same. Now Mallory is no
Thompson to make some daring diversions, seven and it allows longer Mallory. Her name is
most notably season five’s Archer Vice arc. for a singular sto- Mother and she is the head
But when the show’s eight-episode eighth ryline, which actually of basically a mob syndicate,
season debuted April 5 on FXX, the series takes place just over a criminal organization, and
took a radical turn. Retitled Archer Dreamland, eight to 10 days. she takes on Archer to help
the show has been reinvented in the vein of a This entire season of her do something. … So he’s
film noir set in 1947 Los Angeles. Archer is almost like still working for his mother,
We caught up with Thompson to talk about a Kiefer Sutherland but that relationship has
the new season. 24 reboot. Archer is changed. She’s changed.
Animag: Tell me about where the idea for just trying to inves- She’s kind of harder than
this season came from? tigate in 1947 the she had been in the past
Matt Thompson: It started off with how death of his partner, and she’s got to protect her
we wanted to end season seven, and it was Woodhouse, and criminal empire now and Ar-
one of my favorite endings we’ve ever had to a it’s really an extreme cher is no longer beholden to
season. We’re trying to fake you out and make departure for us. just do things because she is
you think: ‘Oh, Archer’s not going to be dead. We’re excited for his mother, he is only doing
Just this robot is going to be dead.’ But then people to see it not things under threat.
both of them appear to be dead. We just didn’t just because it’s go- Animag: Is this Archer
want to come back and say everything’s OK. ing to look like noth- native to 1947, or is he walk-
One of things that makes this cartoon different ing we’ve ever done ing around wondering where
is that the universe has consequences, so for before. everyone’s cell phones are?
everybody to come back from season seven Animag: How will Thompson: We decided
and all is well just didn’t feel right. So this en- the characters’ rela- that once we get into 1947,
tire season takes place inside of Archer’s head tionships change? we’re in 1947. It’s been the
TV
The crew of Archer Dreamland took

great pains to research film noir and
accurate costumes for the show, which is
set in 1947 Los Angeles.
biggest writing challenge for Adam, the simple

fact that the people don’t have easy access to
telephones.
Animag: Well you mentioned that you
think this is one of the best-looking seasons,
can you talk a little bit about getting the look
of 1947 L.A. right?
Thompson: We really went back and did
a lot of research, specifically film noir stuff,
things like The Maltese Falcon. We actu-
ally hired a costume designer for this season,
which we hadn’t done in seasons past. We’ve
had people on staff serve as our costume de-
signers on seasons past, but this season we
want it to be so accurate with the clothing that
people were wearing that we hired a costume
designer who had worked on the short lived
series Mob City.
But I think that the largest thing adding to
the different look for the season is the lighting,
the special attention that our staff had to take
in the compositing of all these scenes. If you son to animate? Animag: You have a complete season here
look at any of those scenes from The Maltese Thompson: It’s slowed it down greatly. We and a couple of more seasons ordered up
Falcon and all of that film noir stuff, it’s the way call our background characters that really have after this one. Do you have a plan for what
that the light comes through the blinds, it’s the nothing to do with the scene “drones,” and all you’re going to do to top this?
way light shines through. And because a lot of of our drones have been built up over six or Thompson: We do. We definitely have
these things are black and white, they’re us- seven seasons of the show so we could pop a plan, but I’m not wanting to talk about it
ing heavy contrast, and we really tried to pay people in the background. But now all those yet. But I will say that the ending to the sea-
a great deal of attention to how things were drones had to have new clothes, and that son is very dramatic. And the final episode
being lit. meant that our illustration department really of this season is astounding. Big, big things
Animag: How did making those changes had to draw much, much, much more heavily happen at the end of it. It feels almost over-
affect your pipeline? Was this a tougher sea- than in seasons past. whelming. [
TV
Perfect Match
The show runners behind DreamWorks’ new Spirit Riding Free series for Netflix bring a widescreen, Western look to
new toon adventures for a girl and her horse. By Tom McLean.
T
here’s no denying that meaningful bananas over, was really irresistible,” says Wal- lix, Spirit Riding Free tells the tale of a gutsy
bonds can be formed in an instant lington. 12-year-old girl named Lucky, who meets a re-
— love at first sight, a horse perfectly The writing appealed to veteran animation silient mustang named Spirit — the offspring
matched with its rider, or an artist bringing to writer, director and producer Jim Schumann. of the feature film version — when her family
life a story they’ve long dreamed of creating. He was working with DreamWorks Anima- settles out west in the 1890s. With her two
The latter two are particularly apropos in the tion TV on a project that didn’t come together new best friends — and their horses — by her
case of Spirit Riding Free, DreamWorks Ani- when he read Wallington’s pilot script. “It’s the side, Lucky explores a new world of freedom
mation Television’s new series based on the reason I took the gig,” he says. “I could see it. I and adventure.
studio’s 2002 feature Spirit: Stallion of the Ci- knew what it was going to look like. The char- The show features the voices of Amber
marron, and its show runners, Aury Wallington acters were genuine. The story was genuine. Montana (The Haunted Hathaways), Sydney
and Jim Schumann. It was exciting.” Park (Instant Mom) and Bailey Gambertoglio
“My whole life, I’ve been obsessed with Arriving with six episodes May 5 on Netf- (Bubble Guppies).
horse stories,” says Wallington, who launched
her TV writing career as a script coordinator
on HBO’s Sex and the City. “I certainly loved
the shows that I grew up with, which were
more of the Mork & Mindy, Facts of Life sort
of things, but I always dreamed about having
a show that encompassed those stories from
the books that I loved so much about adven-
ture and freedom.”
That opportunity finally came to pass for Wal-
lington, who’s also written for shows such as
Heroes and Gravity Falls, when a series based
on Spirit was on the table during a meeting with
DreamWorks Animation Television.
“It instantly caught me because the thought
of having a chance to tell that story, to make
Aury Wallington Jim Schumann
the show that 9-year-old me would have gone
TV
Set in 1890, Spirit Riding Free

explores the West through the
eyes of 12-year-old Lucky, her
horse and her friends.
Following ence,” says Wallington. “So we’re

Its Own Path trying to do a contemporary show
Wallington’s vision for the show in a historical setting and the look
was unusual for animation in sev- of the show helps give us this fla-
eral ways. The horses, for example, vor of the period, the Old West,
are not anthropomorphized either in with the long shadows, the faded-
their actions or via narration, as the out color in certain places and the
film did. There also are no magical vibrant colors in other places.”
or fantasy elements, and the stories As for the animation, which is
and characters are grounded in a being done by Technicolor in In-
very realistic and genuine way. dia, horses are a real challenge
This gave Schumann and the to get right. Schumann says they
show’s crew the chance to experi- pulled a lot of reference from the
ment with unusual looks and techniques. dard approach for TV a little to the right. “Most Spirit feature as well as other reference on
“Me and (art director) Ellen Jin were influ- CG shows have what’s called 12 noon lighting, how horses walk, gallop and run. The goal
enced by stuff that was coming out of Europe, where everything is above the head, and then was to ensure the horses’ personalities came
like the Netherlands,” he says. “We wanted the there’s supplementary lighting,” he says. “We through without doing anything that looks un-
show to be big. We wanted to shoot it like a put our our lighting at 2 o’clock, sort of like late real or takes the audience out of the realistic
Western — big and wide — and use the frame.” afternoon, so we get some really nice shadows.” elements.
That ambition was not lost on the crew, The look also led to a shading style and Wallington says it’s been fun to write for
which rose to the unusual challenges Spirit a cinematic look. “It’s not like a classic toon animation, which required a bit of a learning
Riding Free presented. shading, but more of a hybrid,” says Schumann. curve to understand what could and couldn’t
“When we started, we knew it was going “We also used a lot of 2D elements in the art- be done easily in CG.
to be a tough show, but everybody on this work and on the sets and stuff, so it gives us a “It didn’t feel different from writing live-ac-
show has bought in to what we’re trying to ac- really striking look to the show.” tion. This is the story I wanted to tell,” she says.
complish,” says Schumann. “There’s a level of “I’ve been lucky in having Jim and the rest of
commitment to this show that I haven’t expe- Grounded and Accessible the team, who are so on the ball.”
rienced a lot in other shows. On a lot of other The look also is designed to play to the Both are extremely proud of the results and
shows, it’s just a gig, but here everybody is strengths of the writing. “It’s set in 1890, but anxious to see how the show is received. “We
just so committed because we kind of know we didn’t want the period details to in any way probably wouldn’t have been able to make this
we’re doing something special.” weigh the show down or stand as a barrier show at any other studio,” says Schumann.
For the lighting, Schumann turned the stan- that would make it less accessible to the audi- “It’s been a really great experience.” [
S POTLIGHT
Toon Competition
A trio of hardy animated shorts score coveted competition slots in the Cannes Film Festival, the world’s
most prestigious platform for motion pictures. By Tom McLean.
T
he Cannes Film Festival is the most prestigious in the world and exemplifies in many ways the hierarchy of the overall global movie business.
Here, live action rules — directors, actors, cinematographers and their latest artistic works are greeted like royalty. And while animation is not
excluded from the festival in any way, the emphasis and majority of interest in the event clearly lies elsewhere, while animation producers
and fans prepare to congregate a month later in nearby Annecy for a festival dedicated to toons.
But animation’s presence has been growing in recent years. The competition for the 70th Cannes Film Festival, set to run May 17-28, includes
no animated features, but there are a trio of animated shorts — all made by women — that will be in the running in other areas: Pépé le Morse
(Grandpa Walrus), directed by Lucrèce Andreae, is in the short film competition, while two student animated films — Léa Krawczyk’s À Perdre
Haleine (Breathless) and Imge Özbilge’s Camouflage — grace the Cinéfondation section. Cristian Mungiu is presiding over the jury for both short
films and the Cinéfondation.
This year also sees the return of Animation Day in Cannes, an event independent of the festival that spotlights animated projects and presents
panels and networking opportunities.
Cannes Short Film Competition course, with painting and drawing. That’s why Cinéfondation
Pépé le Morse (Grandpa cinema is so rich and complete for me.” À Perdre Haleine
Walrus) Funded via typical French channels — re- (Breathless)
Directed by Lucrèce Andreae, France, 14’ gional funds, CNC funds, the Arte TV channel Directed by Léa Krawczyk, La Poudrière,
fund — the film took about a two and a half France, 4’
P roduced by Paris-based Caïmans Pro-

ductions and directed by 28-year-old Lu-
crèce Andreae, a native of Bordeaux, Pépé le
years to produce and required about 40 peo-
ple to make.
Production was mostly digital. Artists drew L éa Krawczyk always had a passion for
toons, but it took a while for her to decide
Morse tells a tale set on a cloudy beach where on Cintiq screens and animated with TVPaint, to become an animator. Too young out of high
a family mourns their recently-deceased, ec- while backgrounds were painted on paper. school to apply to Gobelins, the Paris native
centric grandfather. Landing a spot at the prestigious festival studied architecture. But in her fourth year,
Andreae explained to Animation Magazine was unexpected and will be the first public she audited an animation class and the power
shortly after the selection was announced the showing of the movie, which will next screen of the medium compelled her to take it up.
origins of the short and how it was made. at Annecy, Andreae says. After some prep, Krawczyk, now 27, studied
“I wanted to talk about the death, the loss “I didn’t think the film had a chance to be at la Poudrière in Valence, completing À Per-
of a relative, and also about the complex links selected because animation is not represent- dre Haleine as her graduation film. The short
that exist in a family,” says Andreae. “I did it ed much in Cannes usually,” she says “But is about a young cellist who, on the night of
in animation because drawing and the cinema we decided to apply because the dates were her concert, is overcome by her fears and
are my favorite tools. I love to play with time, perfect, and because it’s, of course, a very im- anguish. The concept came from Krawczyk’s
sound, music, light, rhythm, acting and, of portant and symbolic historical festival.” own experience with anxiety crises, which be-
Continued on page 22
Pépé le Morse (Grandpa Walrus)
À Perdre Haleine (Breathless)
A WARD S POTLIGHT
S POTLIGHT
Continued from page 20
Camouflage
gan for her just before starting at la Poudrière.
“They were short, but still, disturbing,” she
says. “It was such a deeply disturbing and strong
experience that I wanted to tell a story about
these peculiar emotions. And also, I must say,
understand what was happening to me.”
Preproduction took about five months, pro-
duction about three months and post about
three weeks, she says. Completed at the end of
June, la Poudrière submitted it — as it does all
its student films — to Cannes. The film also has
been selected to screen at Cinanima 2016 in
Espinho, Animateka 2016 in Ljubljana, le Carre-
four de l’Animation 2016 in Paris, Monstra 2017
in Lisbon, and the Animafest Zagreb 2017.
Krawczyk has finished a short adaptation of
Paul Éluard’s poem L’amoureuse (The Lover)
and is developing personal projects, a new an-
imation short and a book for preschool children.
Window of Opportunity
Camouflage
Directed by Imge Özbilge, KASK, Animation Day in Cannes returns to give projects a highly visible
Belgium, 6’ platform at the esteemed festival.
I mge Özbilge was inspired by something she

experienced in the increasingly polarized so-
ciety of Turkey to write Camouflage, which is
F inding a platform to promote animated projects in Cannes has not always been easy,
which is exactly why Bruno Chatelin of FilmFestivals.com and his partners decided
three years ago to stage Animation Day in Cannes.
about a forbidden friendship that blossoms in “There was potential that’s absolutely huge for promotion, but no one has ever cared
a city where East meets West. about or organized anything about animation,” says Chatelin, who has 30 years experience
“Populism is becoming dangerous all over attending the festival and market on the advertising, marketing and promotion sides of the
the world and that’s why I believe that we business for companies including Sony and 20th Century Fox. “It’s not only the No. 1 film
need to stay together even more and talk event with a great competition, it’s also a place where 5,000 media are attending, and they
about these issues,” she says. all are looking for nice things to write about and report. If you have a good story, a good
Though her travel-loving and artistic parents product, a good idea, then it can hit really worldwide.”
are from Istanbul, the 29-year-old Özbilge was Organized by Chatelin; Laurie Gordon, a filmmaker, animation producer and director of
born in Vienna and spent much of her life in the Animaze — Montreal International Animation Film Festival; and Martin I. Petrov, also di-
one city or the other. Her childhood love of art rector of the Montreal International Animation Film Festival and the Glasgow World of Film,
lead her to experiment with animation as one this year’s event will be held May 23 at the Grand Hotel Cannes.
of many forms of expression, and she studied The event includes a screening at the Palais des Festivals of submitted projects — ex-
animation at KASK in Belgium. cerpts, previews, works in progress, etc. — which is presented to buyers and select media.
“The reason why I told the story in animation This year’s screening is set for Palais B at 1:30 p.m. on May 23.
is the freedom you have with animation in cre- Networking opportunities are set for the Turkish Pavilion in the International Village, allow-
ating surreal imagery, which can create multiple ing reps for animation projects to meet, conduct demos and make deals.
meanings,” she says. The film takes the audi- Awards spotlighting important projects also will be presented as part of Animation Day
ence to a mysterious and surreal world inspired in Cannes. Among this year’s honors, will
by Ottoman miniatures and Hieronymus Bosch. be an accolade for the filmmakers behind
“I like to work with sublayers. They leave open the Oscar-nominated feature My Life as a
space for interpretation and therefore create a Zucchini, from the European Film Academy.
connection with the audience.” The Animation That Matters Award, present-
Production took about a year, with plenty ed last year to the feature Bilal, also will be
of advice from her KASK mentor Luc Degryse awarded.
and her sister and fellow artist, Sine Özbilge. Lastly, the event will include two panels:
The images begin as ink on paper, then One about the specifics of marketing anima-
were scanned into the computer using Photo- tion projects, and a focus on the making of
shop and animated with After Effects. My Life as a Zucchini.
Surprised by her acceptance into the Cinéfon- For more information on how to participate
dation, Özbilge next plans to gain some experience in Animation Day at Cannes, visit its website
in the animation industry and eventually wants to at animationdayincannes.com. [
co-direct an animated feature with her sister. [
S POTLIGHT
S PPO
POTLIGHT
POT
O T LIG
IGHHT
At the End o
Animation radically transformed on the big screen
few worthy-but-failed experiments
I
t was 1999, and the animation industry was enjoying itself like it was, in which the outspoken animator explains how he set out to remake cartoon
well, 1999. remakes with his reimagining of Yogi Bear.
It was also Animation Magazine’s 13th anniversary, and — never having Then, an atomic bomb of animation and VFX disruption arrived in May
been the sort to do things in conventional fashion — we celebrated this with the release of the still-controversial Star Wars: Episode I — The Phan-
oddball occasion with a “lucky” special edition. tom Menace. Fan reaction remains, at best, divided and, more commonly,
The year in animation was full of innovation, with TV debuts for such derisive of George Lucas’ return to a galaxy far, far away. But the film inar-
well-regarded series as Futurama, The PJs, SpongeBob SquarePants, guably carried on the franchise’s history of pushing the envelope for visual
Courage the Cowardly Dog, Dilbert, Home Movies and a little thing called effects, delivering the most-complex and just plain most digital effects ever
Family Guy. Many of these debuts graced a cover story on the growth of seen in a movie. Nearly quadrupling the number of effects shots seen in
animation on TV, a medium that also was seeing an explosion in the use of even the biggest tentpoles, Episode I set the stage for the digital VFX
visual effects. Other TV projects that graced the cover that year include explosion of the 21st century.
Warner Bros.’ Batman Beyond and the short-lived but still-remembered For animated features, it was a strong year for indie titles as The Iron
Mission Hill. Giant snuck out and won everywhere the hearts of fans (but not box office
The October 1999 issue featured one of the magazine’s coolest covers dollars), while South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut successfully brought
ever: a Ranger Smith image from John Kricfalusi that ran alongside a piece the insanity and hilarity of the TV series to the big screen with a surprisingly
www.an
www
.anima
imationma
magaz
gazine
ine.net 24 may 17
7
S PPO
POTLIGHT
POT
OTLIG
OTTL
LIG
GHHT
T
of a Century
n and small, with huge successes and more than a
s marking the millennial transition.
scatological yet satisfying musical. The year wrapped with a double dose Craig McCracken and his durable creation, The Powerpuff Girls, followed
of studios working at their peak, with Sony’s Stuart Little and Pixar’s Toy by a cover feature on Will Vinton Studios and its 25th anniversary.
Story 2 both serving up striking cover images. Summer brought Shrek into our lives, along with a huge financial boost
The final year of the 20th century, 2000 was a rougher year for animation. and much-needed creative momentum for DreamWorks. The industry
High-profile projects that made the cover of Animation Magazine only to prepped for the first Animated Feature Oscar race, wondering if it was
overpromise and underdeliver: God, the Devil and Bob, Disney’s Dino- going to stick around (it has — and how!). The first trophy went to Shrek.
saur, DreamWorks’ Road to El Dorado and The Adventures of Rocky & Fall brought with it the tragedy of the 9/11 terrorist attacks — a United
Bullwinkle. Traditional 2D animation took a big hit with the failure of Fox’s We Stand logo appeared on our covers in support.
much-hyped sci-fi epic Titan A.E. But all was redeemed by Aardman’s faith The year wrapped with Pixar releasing Monsters, Inc., an occasion
in stop-motion — and a good story — with the success of Chicken Run. marked with a clever cover featuring Mike Wazowski and Sully reading a
The magazine celebrated a more conventional milestone in 2001: its 15th copy of the magazine that had on its cover a photo of director Pete Docter
anniversary. In a bit of a throwback move, animators reappeared on the cov- and executive producer John Lasseter.
ers, starting with the always-awesome Chuck Jones, who stood in a hole at Check out more of the archives at www.animationmagazine.net, and feel
Vasquez Rocks north of Los Angeles to plug his Timberwolf web project. free to share your favorite memories of Animation Magazine by emailing us
Traditional animation was still going strong, with our 100th issue featuring at [email protected]. [
m 17
may 25 www.an
nima
m tionmagaz
azine
ine.n
ine net
O PPORTUNITIES Autonomous Animator
By Martin Grebing
Keep Your Clients Forever

T
he most expensive part of just about client requests more work from you, and, you must take this same approach with your
any business is getting a client in the moreover, when payment arrives. clients.
door. Countless advertising dollars, Additionally, reward your clients for contin- Another key to building a business relation-
marketing plans and massive amounts of time ued business in service and value. Give them ship is to always make your clients feel confi-
and effort are often required to land a single a modest discount on certain services. Offer dent and special when you are working to-
client. So, once acquired, it is of paramount them exclusive benefits that only they are qual- gether, as if they are the only client you have. If
importance to keep them forever. ified to receive. Make a total of all the special you happen to run late with a project, never
benefits, discounts and perks they receive and say it’s due to being busy with other projects.
Keep Doing send a formal report at the end of the year with After all, it’s your duty to only accept projects
What You’re Doing these totals. You must communicate and that you can commit to finishing on time and
Your client initially chose to work with
you for two reasons and two reasons
only: One, you have something they
want or need, and, two, they trusted you
enough to give you their business. If ei-
ther of these things were not present,
they would never have entered a trans-
action with you. Additionally, if either of
these things get dinged in the future, you
will more than likely lose the client. To
keep your clients, you must always deliv-
er, and always deliver the quality they are
expecting (and, for your peace of mind,
not much more). Contrary to the concept
of underpromising and overdelivering
that so many people claim to embrace,
this can be a very dangerous, slippery
slope. If you continuously overdeliver, your cli- quantify these benefits to the client, otherwise on budget in the first place. Failing to do this
ents will grow to expect this from you gratis, or they will go unnoticed and unappreciated. because you are working on something else is
without being grateful for your over achieve- unacceptable and will often result in losing cli-
ments on their behalf. The luster of going Develop Relationships, ent trust and more than likely the client, as
above and beyond without them asking can Not Projects well.
wear off quickly and turn into base expecta- The key to client longevity and loyalty is Think of a client as a tree. In the infancy
tions. Foot, meet gun. building relationships, not projects. Some of stage, it is fragile and requires a lot of nurtur-
the biggest business deals have been made ing. Over time, with continued care, each one
Show Appreciation on handshakes, not business plans or sales will grow tall and strong, provide shade for you
and Reward for Continued material. Focus on continuing to deliver value and even weather massive storms. Treat each
Business to your clients, not the mechanics of what you one as if it is unique and special, spend time
Recurrent business from existing clients is do, but how it will benefit them. Always offer to building relationships, consistently and per-
often the most profitable thing a business can help, never sell. Sales is for strangers, helping sistently add value and provide benefits, and
achieve. Therefore, when they come back, is for people with whom you have a relation- your clients will re-
make sure you show appreciation. Send a ship. For example, picture your best friend. main by your side for-
hand-written card, write a short but sincere Now, picture your best friend reading from a ever. [
email, send holiday gifts, make a quick phone focus group-tested script, giving you a formal
call, do any of a number of small gestures to let sales pitch on which movie to see. Doesn’t Martin Grebing is
the client know you are thinking of them and feel right, does it? It makes much more sense president of Funny-
are grateful for your relationship. for your best friend to say, “Hey, I saw this last bone Animation and
In a Pavlovian sense, you can get a lot of week — it’s awesome! I’m dying to see it again, can be reached via
mileage out of always responding with some- I think you’ll love it, let’s check it out.” If you www.funnyboneani-
thing positive, kind and grateful whenever your hope to build positive business relationships, mation.com.
O PPORTUNITIES
The World Animation and VFX

Summit, a three-day event in Marina
del Rey, Calif., is the premier
prestige networking event for
professionals working in animation
and VFX. Hosted by Animation
Magazine, the summit is held at the
California Yacht Club just before the
American Film Market.
TECHNOLOGY
BUSINESS ART
of ANIMATION
may 17
/summit 27 www.animationmagazine.net
VFX
Tech Reviews by Todd Sheridan Perry
pieces on the template, including ac- But not to rest on the golden laurels of
cessories like hats, jewelry, etc. awards, yet another version of V-Ray 3.5 has
Facial animation has been en- been pushed out for Max, with a Maya version
hanced with some key audio fea- hot on its tail.
tures, like scrubbing and text-to- The principal addition to 3.5 and a huge ren-
speech tools for syncing the audio to der-time saver is adaptive lights, which feels
phonemes. But with an added free- like the evolutionary next step from probabilis-
form deformation tool, you can add tic lights, which was in the last release. Instead
more movement into your original of choosing a specific number of lights that
sprites to put in some additional per- will “probably” affect the solution, V-Ray uses
sonality. The facial animation system the light cache (known from the global illumi-
has been expanded beyond human nation algorithms) to inform which lights to
faces to include animals, too. eliminate from the calculation without affecting
There are definitely more things to the end result. This may not help as much if
CrazyTalk Animator 3 find in the CrazyTalk Animator package, includ- you have, say, eight lights, but when you are
www.reallusion.com/crazytalk-animator ing drag-and-drop animation behaviors and getting into the hundreds of lights, the time
curves, customized FFDs for props, and ex- savings are dramatic.
S o, let’s talk about this CrazyTalk Anima-

tor 3.
In last issue’s discussion about Perception
pression-based animations. As well as the in-
tegration of 3D motion, including motion-cap-
ture data, as mentioned in conjunction with the
You now have interactive production render-
ing. “But isn’t that what V-Ray RT is for?” you
may ask. Sort of. IPR actually works in con-
Neuron, I mentioned that 3D motion-capture Perception Neuron junction with the the advanced renderer, while
data could be fed into CTA3 and be applied to But try it out for yourself, or ask clients like RT is a separate renderer altogether. RT must
2D characters through the bone deformation Jimmy Kimmel, HBO, and Keanu Reeves, for export the scene before it can start rendering
system. But that is certainly not the end of starters. while IPR accesses the scene directly, which
CTA3 functions. means it can start rendering almost immedi-
The bone-based skeletal system has quite a V-Ray 3.5.5 ately.
few applications in a number of different areas www.chaosgroup.com/vray/3ds-max Also, V-Ray 3.5 has established “resumable
within CTA3. The deforming capabilities allow rendering,” which, like it sounds, allows you to
you to attach bones to any imported image to
add subtle — or not-so-subtle — animation. Get
a scan of the Mona Lisa, extract her from the
T hese guys at Chaos Group. They just
seem to never rest. And all of this lack of
sleep has really come to fruition. I mean, not
pickup a render where it left off. Maybe your
ferret chewed through your power cable while
you were rendering. Once you’ve bought a
background, bring her into CTA3 and attach a only is V-Ray well loved around the world, but new cable, you would be able to restart the
series of bones, and then add a little head bob creator Vlado Koylazov received a Sci-Tech render from the point when Minky bit through.
to some music. plaque from the Academy of Motion Picture And it works in both bucket and progressive
This bone-driven approach allows you to Arts and Sciences, meaning Oscars folks render modes.
break up characters for more complex anima- loved it, too. Some third-party shaders have received a
tions, by breaking apart limbs and head from
body, and mask out the influences, so the arms
don’t affect the chest, for instance.
Then, these bone systems can be saved as
templates and you can swap out the charac-
ters, but use the same bone systems and
same animations between them. So maybe
you have five zombies. You can animate one
and use the bone setup and animation as at
least a foundation for the others. (You wouldn’t
want to use exactly the same animation be-
cause zombies are individuals, of course.)
Included in CTA3 is a library of human and
animal motions, which can be layered into the
timeline as sequences of animation that blend
into one another. You can then take sprites
that you’ve built that are components of your
character, and attach them to the correlating
VFX
nod. The alSurface that Arnold lovers cherish

has been adapted for V-Ray, primarily as a
complex skin shader. And MDL shaders from
the NVidia library have been incorporated, as
well as Forest Color support.
Furthermore, a ton of stuff has been pushed
to the GPU for faster processing, including
in-buffer lens effects, aerial perspective, V-Ray
clipper, directional area lights, stochastic
flakes, rounded corners, matte shadow, render
mask, irradiance maps, and on-demand
MIP-mapping. And they threw in a low GPU
thread priority for load balancing.
Everyone loves beautiful renders. But every- Additionally, the team at Chaos Group has about it from the mountain tops.
one loves them more when they’re faster! added some fancy forces to interact with both Flowbox looks and feels like Nuke, but using
the fluid fluids, and the water fluids. Path fol- pen strokes, rather than click-dragging, you
Phoenix FD 3.0 for Maya low does what it says it does. The fluids will get a freeform style of connecting and discon-
www.chaosgroup.com/phoenix-fd/maya follow a chosen spline or splines. Then there is necting nodes. But, the workflow feels com-
body force, which allows you to use a mesh to fortable, like your slippers. Among the familiar
A nd while we are on the topic of Chaos

Group — you know, and that technical
Oscar — they also have a fluid-solver called
determine the shape of the force.
Basically, Phoenix is a light form of RealFlow
or Houdini without the overhead — but also
roto tools, though, are some powerful ones
that could be potential game changers.
The first is the stroke mode, which essential-
Phoenix FD, and version 3.0 was recently re- without many of the bells and whistles. Chaos ly puts you into a freehand mode to trace an
leased for Maya. Group is firmly hitting the soft belly of the outline using your Wacom or whatnot. Or you
Originally something one would turn to for same market as FumeFX. can be laying points the old fashion way and
smoke and fire, 3.0 now has an actual fluid — switch over to stroke mode, and then back
as in water — flip solver, which is all the rage in Flowbox again. The completed stroke becomes a point-
Houdini and RealFlow. Phoenix has all that, flowbox.io based, controllable curve, whose density can
including the extra generated maps for creat- be adjusted. So now what do you do, you
ing foam on the surface of the water and wet So, I’m just gonna say it. Roto blows. Hon- can’t just go freestylin’ and draw curves all
maps for the geography it’s interacting with. estly. I’m just not a fan. over the place and expect clean, non-fluttery
But don’t forget about the original tried and But then there are those times where a tool rotoshapes. Or can you?
true fire and smoke. The solver has been up- comes along that makes you just a bit giddy The snap line feature understands the struc-
dated to handle finer detail resolutions. But because, like Tom Sawyer convincing his ture of the previously drawn stroke and kind of
even if you have all that, you still have to render friends that painting the fence is fun, some- projects onto the new stroke you’ve drawn on
those volumes — and so the volume rendering thing draws you closer to believing rotoscop- the new frame. The points move with an intelli-
has gotten a speed boost. ing is something that you don’t need to do as gence to try and ensure the fidelity of the sil-
“Setups for all that smoke and such can be punishment. houette.
time consuming,” you may say. And for the I listed Flowbox as a top tech to check out Now if that isn’t enough to draw you back
most part you are right. But quick preset but- for last year, but I’m only just getting to it now, into being a lover of rotoscoping, Flowbox has
tons have made it so you can get all that foun- mainly because this cracking group of upstarts an intelligent ripple edit, which means that
dation work out of the way, and you can get to had some features that they really wanted to changes made to a point on a curve will prop-
tweaking and making it super cool. get down before people started clamoring agate over all the key frames on that shape in
the sequence. But what other flavors of this
tool don’t have is an understanding of where
those shapes go when the overall rotoshape
rotates. Not so for this tool — the adjust points
follow the ripple in a more useful way.
But the Flowbox guys aren’t stopping there.
As more tools become available, it won’t be
surprising to see this evolve into a composit-
ing tool. In fact, Flowbox FX is already getting
some buzz.
But back in the rotoscoping world, one of
the forthcoming features is a workflow for real-
time collaboration in the same file, with multi-
ple artists working on different shapes for the
same roto. I have a few shots heading my way
right now that could use that kind of collabora-
tion.
VFX
A seemingly innocuous but deceivingly pow-

erful addition is the curve node. We are all famil-
iar with controlling colors and such with curves
in Photoshop or Nuke or any number of color
grading tools. And in SD6, you can drive color
corrections or gamma or whatnot with bezier
nodes on the curve. That’s the bread and butter
stuff though. Remember, in Substance Design-
er, you have other map parameters that can be
affected, like normals and height. By feeding the
curves into the height parameter, you are essen-
Ziva Dynamics acters are sort of living. But it’s the subtlety in tially defining the equivalent of a loft profile — the
www.zivadynamics.com the simulation that bring out the reality. curve defining the top surface of the geometry
For those people interested in 3D character the substance is attached to. Think of it like
W hile rotoscoping is just kind of tedious,

rigging on the other hand is hard.
Which is why I usually leave the rigging to the
animation, they should really be checking this
out to bring their characters up to the next level.
Look for an update pretty soon, as they were
wainscoting on a wall, or intricate Rococo etch-
ing — all without the extra geometry.
The text node is a similar and simple node
riggers — those special guys and gals who sim- kinda excited for me to see some new stuff. that allows you to add text to the substance
ple need to solve incredibly complex problems But, the review was slated for now, so I (duh!), driven by system or custom fonts, and
with a combination of guts, code and coffee. guess you all will just have to wait. fully tileable.
But how can we all benefit and ride on the Node can now be in 16-bit or 32-bit float,
shoulders of these giants of rigging? Well, taking advantage of high-dynamic ranges, al-
some people from Weta who helped with the Substance Designer 6.0 lowing for internal creation and editing of HDR
development of the character rigs in Avatar and www.allegorithmic.com environments for lighting.
the new Planet of the Apes movies think they And you can now bake out textures to 8K!
have something. You know, those smart guys!
Essentially, the team at Ziva Dynamics has
taken its experience and high-end degrees,
A llegorithmic has been going strong ever
since it came out of the gate with Sub-
stance Designer and Substance Painter. Tak-
But my favorite is the ability to shoot and pro-
cess your own surface textures. By taking a
sampling of your material with the lights at differ-
and niched down to provide a product for rec- ing the game and visual-effects industry by ent angles, you can, through Substance Design-
reating muscle, fascia, fat and skin simulations storm with its PBR approach to texture and er 6.0, extract proper normal, height and albedo
on characters. It’s the combination of all of shader design, as well as the intelligent work- maps — on top of the color, to get more precise
these that give recent CG characters their life- flow for the dynamic shaders that use the extra replication of real-world material. Something
like realism; the complexity of the entire ana- maps such as normals, height, occlusion, etc., pertinent to shader development both inside and
tomical system working together. to drive how the shader behaves. These are outside of the Substance Designer workflow.
Ziva used the concept of the finite element the “substances.” And Substance Designer is As I said earlier, a super strong release to an
method used in many if not most engineering where they are built. already super strong product. [
practices to analyze forces, fluid flows, etc. In Substance Designer 6.0, Allegorithmic
Discretization takes the form of a shape similar appears to have found room to make a power- Todd Sheridan Perry is a visual-effects
to the shape of a muscle. The shape is made ful piece of software just that much more pow- supervisor and digital artist who has
of tets, which kind of act like a cage around the erful. Among all kinds of preferences to make worked on features including The Lord of
geography of the muscle. Forces applied to user experience better, and some tweaks un- the Rings: The Two Towers, Speed Rac-
the tets are transferred to the model. der the hood to make things faster, there have er, 2012, Final Destination 5 and Aveng-
Mind you, the above paragraph hardly taps been a number of new nodes to play with in ers: Age of Ultron. You can reach him at
into the real math that goes into this stuff. your Substance script. [email protected].
You set up your character in Maya — yes, this
is a Maya plugin — from the inside out. The
skeleton is a controlled hierarchy with tradition-
al Maya controls. The muscles and tendons are
attached to the bones, the fascia and fat wrap
around those, the skin wraps around the fas-
cia, and the cloth wraps around the skin.
Anyway, it’s this collection of simulations,
responding not only to the movement of the
skeleton, but gravity and their own weight and
momentum, that provides the realism that ev-
eryone it looking for.
This technology used to be developed inter-
nally at large visual-effects facilities with R&D
money or hacked together in a pseudo-func-
tional way that got us believing that the char-
VFX
VFX
Hard Wired
An iconic anime gets a live-action update as Scarlett Johansson steps into the Major’s shoes
in Ghost in the Shell. By Trevor Hogg.
T
he live-action upgrade of Ghost in the supervise 1,200 visual-effects shots, of which together shooting clips that were around 400
Shell by filmmaker Rupert Sanders 996 were done by MPC. frames long,” says Bonami. “Then we had to
(Snow White and the Huntsman) stars “We had to build a city with all of these ‘solo- solve each image in photogrammetry to gener-
Scarlett Johansson (Under the Skin) as a gov- grams’ (solid holographic advertisements),” ate a three-dimensional model, which had the
ernment-sanctioned cyborg hunting an Internet says MPC Visual-Effects Supervisor Axel texture baked in. A pixelized-look was applied
terrorist who is hacking into the minds of the Bonami. “Other facilities worked on the graph- to every frame of the model that varied depend-
cyber-enhanced citizens of New Port City. ic design as we were constructing the city at ing on the quality of the advertisements. Once
Realizing that not everything could be cap- the same time.” we knew where the solograms were going to
tured practically, Sanders sought the Os- Sixty ads were created with some of them be put into the city, we did a secondary lighting
car-winning expertise of Guillaume Rocheron the size of a skyscraper. pass to incorporate the actual shot lighting.”
(Life of Pi) and John Dykstra (Star Wars) to “We had a rig with 80 video cameras synced Establishing shots that float above and
VFX
Making Major’s thermoptic suit work in live action

on Scarlett Johansson was one of the many
difficult VFX challenges on Ghost in the Shell.
through New Port City were dubbed ence. The prop muscles were too much
“ghost cams.” like clear plastic, so we added a Gummy
“Guillaume Rocheron used Google Bear feel to make them look more organ-
Maps to create a rough version of the ic.”
camera going through Hong Kong,” says
Bonami. “Originally, the idea was to have Anime Expectations
drone footage, but it didn’t work out be- Living up to the anime was another
cause of Hong Kong regulations. A team challenge, especially for some of the best-
spent nights going up onto rooftops and known scenes. “The shelling sequence is
taking photographic footage along the one of the most iconic sequences from
path the camera would travel.” the anime so there was no pressure at
Miniatures were made of monolithic all!” Bonami says with a laugh. “We want-
buildings that were turned into CG ver- ed to add a photorealistic look to it. Every-
sions. “We put in many 3D props,” says thing was shot with the skeleton prop,
Bonami. “Once everyone was happy with which was replaced with a CG version for
the camera move, Rupert and Guillaume camera moves and reframing. There are
decided where to put the storytelling still a few shots with the practical skele-
solograms. Then we could start putting in ton. We studied with Rupert the color bal-
the secondary ones as well as directing ance for the scene. When she comes out
crowds, cars, highways and street sig- of the white liquid, we used practical and
nage.” CG shots.”
Unlike the Major (Johansson), Kuze, The fluid simulations were complicated
played by Michael Pitt, is viewed to be a by having to match the live-action foot-
failed robotic experiment. age. “The previs gave us a good refer-
“Rupert had us strip the design down in ence, but we wanted to have skin scatter
order to see more of the internals, mus- and look slightly transparent as well as to
cles and skeleton, so to emphasize that get the right elevation towards camera, so
Kuze mirrors Scarlett’s character,” says that framing worked with all of the shots,”
Bonami. “Most of Michael Pitt was re- he says.
placed, but we kept his eyes, lips and the In another key sequence, Major leaps
subtleness of his expression.” off of a high-rise building. “We had great
Clockwork mechanisms are revealed reference of a stunt person wearing the
beneath the shell encasement. thermoptic suit jumping off of the roof,”
“We cheated the lighting of the skele- says Bonami, who had to make the invisi-
tons by adding some subtle rim lighting,” ble Major visible for the viewer. “The ther-
Bonami says. “Guillaume brought the moptic suit doesn’t always work well, so
skeleton prop (created by Weta Work- that is when the high-tech outfit reveals
shop) on set, so we had a lighting refer- how it works. However, you still have
VFX
Axel Bonami
something quite gracious selling

the idea that it’s a moving invisible
shape.”
Weta Workshop practically made
a thermoptic suit out of silicone, shots of a stunt person doing kicks and punch- troduce the fact that the Major is going to win
which was replaced with a CG version. “There es, which we used as our basis for the anima- because she’s smarter. Even though we want-
were too many unwanted folds or segments of tion. We used some of the water interaction ed to have all of this motion it was important
suit were bulging and creating some unflatter- coming from the fight and, on top of that, there that the tank still feel constrained.”
ing shapes,” says Bonami. “Also, we had to add were additional simulations for the limbs to cre- The Major hacks into the memory of robot
some iridescence. Then Rupert asked us to ate those water arcs. We had an animation geisha, resulting in an abstract scene where
make the suit even thinner so to have it as a blocking stage that utilized a rig of tubes to people are not recalled in their entirety and de-
second skin.” produce the positioning and physics of what teriorate over time.
we wanted the arc to do, which were passed “Guillaume knew where all of these charac-
Invisible Fighting on to the effects team to simulate.” ters would be sitting so they were specifically
Capturing Major in action was often tricky, A small gimbal section was made for the top lit for the environment.” Bonami says. “Ghost in
as in a courtyard fight that takes place in front of the spider tank to serve as an interactive el- the Shell was quite a challenge, as we wanted
of a CG cityscape and another in a shallow ement with Johansson. to make sure that everything was going to
pool of water. “The tank is remotely driven by Cutter (Peter work, look beautiful and please everyone. I am
“We knew that the Major was going to be Ferdinando), who is situated in a holographic personally looking forward to the shelling se-
mostly invisible,” says Bonami. “We did have control room,” says Bonami. “We wanted to in- quence because I like the beauty of it.” [
VFX
ANNECY
I NTE R NATIONAL
AN I MATION
FI LM FESTIVAL
WWW.AN N ECY.OR G
FESTIVAL M I FA
12—17 J U N E 13 —16 J U N E
Illustration: Ugo Bienvenu & Kevin Manach • Graphic design: Christian Debbane
pub_animation_magazine_annecy2017_212,7x276,2_gb.indd 1 08/03/2017 09:37:44

VFX
Crash Course
Amazing cars, exotic locales and refined VFX work on a super tight schedule help The Fate of the Furious raise
the bar for the long-lived franchise. By Karen Idelson.
Driving on Ice
K
nown for its distillation of stunts, car lift the paving off of the country’s roads.
crashes, visual effects and CG work, Both McIlwain and Wassel know their way While the film is populated with complex
the Fast & Furious franchise stands around the set on these franchises. They’ve VFX shots, one of the more difficult sequences
apart in its commitment to giving the audience been there for several films in the series and took place in Iceland, where much of the third
exactly what it wants in two-year intervals. they get that audiences will arrive hungry for act of the movie is staged. There, high-end
With a steady stream of exotic locations and something they haven’t seen before. cars had to be driven on ice as part of a series
A-list appearances, The Fate of the Furious Both supes aim to create visual effects that of chases that take Vin Diesel’s team to the
marks the eighth installment in a series in- read as realistic as they can by shooting and ends of the Earth. And on top of those shots,
clined to attract and maintain the sort of cult choreographing as much of the action in cam- there were also involved progressions with
following that makes just about each one of era as possible before adding or fixing things ice, snow and water, as the cars and a subma-
these films a guaranteed money maker. And in post. rine played a game of cat and mouse.
the visual effects in F8 don’t disappoint, “With every one of these films, we wreck all “All the different types of ice and snow made
thanks to visual effects supervisors Kelvin kinds of cars because recreating the physics it especially difficult,” says McIlwain. “Getting
McIlwain and Michael J. Wassel. of a car crash is incredibly difficult,” says Was- the look of them correct when there are differ-
Because of the tight production schedule, sel. “You’re talking about everything from the ent types of light on them and as a submarine
varied and far-flung location shoots and high angle at which the cars crash, to the speed is crashing through them or cars are driving
volume of visual effects shots, The Fate of the and the lighting, and the eye knows when across the snow and ice was incredibly hard.
Furious had two VFX supes overseeing all the something doesn’t feel right, so even if we in- We’ve all seen snow and ice, so you’re dealing
aspects of preproduction, production and post. tend to do it all digitally later, we want the infor- with those expectations, too.”
The film faced significant production challeng- mation we get by capturing it all on set be- While Wassel was on set in Iceland, he
es when it went to Cuba for the opening se- cause you need the lighting, the way the needed to create roads on the ice so the hero
quence, since it was one of the first films to pieces of the cars fall apart, everything.” cars could be driven for their beauty shots.
come into the nation once President Barack The supes both laud Spiro Razatos, sec- The window of time when the ice was hard
Obama re-established diplomatic relations with ond-unit director, for getting the kind of car enough and thick enough to hold the cars was
the country. In Iceland — where a large quantity footage that earned these films a reputation already narrow. The shoot also had to contend
of costly cars had to be shipped for a big se- for great chase sequences. Razatos is known with the kind of weather that could easily turn
quence — the production was sometimes shut as a master of filming high-speed chases that lethal for a crew moving large vehicles around
down because of winds so strong they literally show off the cars in all their glory. on the ice.
VFX
VFX artists combined footage of real cars dropping

with digital ones to create an exciting sequence
from The Fate of the Furious.
“Yeah, there were some days when we just ture of real cars being pushed out of the win- of actual hacking into car computer systems
realized the production was going to be shut dows of a building in addition to CG cars became part of the headlines, and now it
down because if we went outside in all of that based on the information gained by shooting seems almost prescient. Here the cars were
wind, it was going to be bad — very, very bad,” the real ones falling. both real and digital again and shot on the
says Wassel, a veteran of The Fast and the “There were some cars that were weighted streets of Cleveland without any of the A-list
Furious, Fast Five and Furious 7. to fall a certain way to get a specific look to the cast on set. Later on, the VFX team merged
fall, and there were others that we adjusted for the footage of the cars and the actors to bring
Window Shots other kinds of impacts,” says McIlwain. “A tre- together the edgy series of events.
Although not as exotic or unusual as Ice- mendous amount of thought and planning “It’s really all about imagining something fun
land, Cleveland played a significant role in F8 goes into destroying the cars, but not all of that will make it worthwhile for the people who
by subbing for New York, where filming is pret- them are just thrown away at the end, since it come to see these movies so they keep com-
ty difficult if you want to stage a high-speed makes more sense to recycle or reuse them ing back to see them when a new one is
chase with a half dozen high-powered cars. when you can, even if it means having to fix made,” says Wassel. [
Over the course of three weeks, crews used them up a bit after you’ve tossed them around.”
city streets and pushed cars out of windows In one of the more chilling scenes, Cipher, Karen Idelson is an entertainment tech-
for one of the more memorable sequences in the film’s cyber villain, unleashes a squad of nology writer whose dog wasn’t too hap-
the film. self-driving cars that have been hacked. The py about staying inside while she wrote
This time again, the secret sauce was a mix- filmmakers refined this plot point before fears this article.
VFX
Down to Earth
The genre-pushing storyline of Logan required visual effects that created a gritty, realistic take
on a violent character and unforgiving world. By Karen Idelson.
W
e’ve all gone to a superhero film oversaw about 1,100 visual-effects shots says Jarrett, who explains that the head of Jack-
looking for the kind of visual ef- done by houses such as Image Engine, Lola, man had to be altered to fit each stuntman. “We
fects that leave an audience Rising Sun, Soho VFX and an in-house team. had to match the dimensions of each stunt dou-
wide-eyed and open-mouthed, completely The story, created by Mangold and written by ble with the dimensions of Hugh’s head, which
stunned out of the ability to crunch down on the director along with Scott Frank (The Wol- is tricky because the smallest thing can make it
the popcorn floating around between your verine) and Michael Green (Green Lantern), look wrong to the audience when they’re watch-
teeth and tongue. But not every superhero leaned into the mythology of Jackman’s char- ing it, and then they’re suddenly not believing
takes this kind of glossy journey, and many acter while still taking it to a new place. That what’s happening.”
modern warriors appear on screen more often meant specific things to Jarrett. Visual-effects artists began compositing the
with a dirty face than a bright cape flapping in Logan is full of complex stunts done by a sequence on set to make sure all the elements
the wind. Enter Logan and the kinds of visual host of talented doubles, so Jarrett, who won a — both practical in-camera work and digital
effects that make us believe in his gritty, tor- VES Award for his work on Sherlock Holmes, items — were coming together in the way they
tured journey. knew replacing the heads of the stuntmen with had envisioned. That process went on for
In Hugh Jackman’s final take on Wolverine, the head of Jackman was going to take careful nearly 9 months, until the film was completed.
the character that launched him to stardom, planning and great technique. Two primary Through the course of the sequence, Jackman
we see more of the kinds of characters who stuntmen — Eddie Davenport and Daniel Ste- transitions from being mostly himself to stunt
lived in classic Westerns and Samurai films. vens — played Jackman’s characters. doubles to a fully digital version of himself
Despite his powers, Logan has turned in on through the combined work of the stunt ac-
himself and is unable to escape his fate. Assembling ‘Logan’s Run’ tors, visual-effects artists and dozens of other
With that in mind, visual-effects supervisor Near the end of the film, there are a series of artisans.
Chas Jarrett set about creating believable, shots where Logan is running through the for- The work was complicated since it was shot
earthy-looking images that fit in with the vision est to kill some attacking villains. Nicknamed on location without motion control and with
of director James Mangold, who also helmed “Logan’s run” during the production, the se- variable lighting and other uncontrollable ele-
The Wolverine in 2013. quence is a kind of masterclass on the use of ments in play for the cast and crew to handle.
Though there were mostly more subtle visu- stunts, digital claws, background replacement On screen, the entire sequence seems to flash
al effects in the film, along with the more and fixes, all of which are also peppered with by for Jarrett.
stand-out big effects shots, there was no CG blood and guts. “I remember seeing it all put together and
shortage of work for the effects teams. Jarrett “It was a big deal for us from the beginning,” how fast it passed by and I just thought, ‘Oh,
VFX
Dafne Keen, Hugh Jackman and direc-

tor James Mangold prepare for a scene
in Logan, above. At left, Jackman’s
Logan protects Keen’s X-23.
there goes six months of my life,’” says Jarrett, film for about 15 months, time and craft be- terms of action and storytelling,” says Jarrett.
with a laugh. came key. “Developing the scene where there was a
There were similar replacements done for Jarrett, who is also a veteran of Harry Potter chase to the train was just a really fun se-
the Laura character played by Dafne Keen and and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Sweeney Todd: quence to work on and Jim’s ideas about how
the stuntwomen who doubled her on screen. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, credits (Logan) shouldn’t just crash through the fence
Complex scans were done of Keen and each Mangold with giving the film its unique look and everything (Logan) does goes wrong and
stunt performer so that they could match the and imagining visual effects that worked with a he has to think of another way to do things,
images in action sequences so that they could pared-down — while still imaginative look — for that’s essentially every beat of the scene. He
become as believable as possible. As Logan. Mangold himself has mentioned the vi- always wanted to find a way to make it more
time-consuming as the process can be, you sual reference points of films such as The fun and more about the character.” [
can’t argue with the results. Early effects to do Wrestler and classic films such as Shane, The
facial, head and neck replacement done in Cowboys and The Gauntlet when designing Karen Idelson is an entertainment tech-
films like Titanic yielded mixed results at best. his approach to the story. nology writer and former visual-effects
Since then, the process has become more re- “I learned an awful lot from Jim (Mangold) in artist who lives in the South Bay.
fined and filmmakers have learned from past
attempts to create this illusion.
“What I found was that we’d solved most of
the technological issues, really,” says Jarrett.
“But what we really needed was lots and lots
of time to noodle with our shots because we’re
used to seeing faces and we know what they
should look like. And then, if you’re dealing
with Hugh’s face, then you’ve got all that bag-
gage on top of that as well, so you’re going to
have to spend time with lighting and other
things to bring the face to the point where it
looks real to the audience, and their precon-
ceived ideas about how Hugh should look play
into all of that.”
Time Management
Visual-effects artist often had to work
through the details, making subtle and even
unexpected tweaks that make the replace-
ments seamless. For Jarrett, who was on the
A NIME
Insider Comedy
Arriving on Blu-ray, the irreverent Martian Successor Nadesico gets funnier the more you know about the anime
conventions it’s making fun of. By Charles Solomon.
tack. He only recalls waking up on Earth. ings. When dashing Gekiganger pilot Ken
Martian Successor Nadesico: Rounding out the crew of this ship of foolish- complains that the week’s Nadesico episode is
The Complete Collection ness are sardonic science officer/child prodigy just a clip show, the inevitable half-pint side-
Nozomi: $64.99 (5 discs, Blu-ray)
Ruri Hoshino (Kira Vincent-Davis), dirty old man/ kick sniffs, “Don’t you know, they always do
W
mechanic Seiya Uribatake (John Swasey) and this in the middle of animated series, so new
hen Martian Successor Nadesico voice actress/communications officer Megumi viewers will know what’s happening!” Pilot Joe
debuted in 1996, some otaku felt Reinard (Jenni Strader), once the star of Natural scoffs, “I’ll bet the studio was running behind
dissed by its irreverent spoofing of Princess Magical Lychee, a spoof of Sailor Moon. schedule and they needed a quick filler epi-
fan culture and animated sci-fi series (especially Akito signs on to the Nadesico as a cook, but sode.”
Hideaki Anno’s epic Neon Genesis Evange- he’s drafted as a pilot for the Aestivalis, a Gun- The action and the vocal performances are
lion). But the satire was too good-natured and dam-style mechanical suit. Although he turns often pitched at a hysterical pace, so Nadesico
too funny for anyone to stay angry, and it quickly out to be an ace mecha pilot, Akito wants no is best watched an episode or two at time, or it
became a fan favorite in both Japan and the part of it — until he meets irrepressible Jiro Ya- can become wearying. Many threads of the plot
United States. Twenty years later, it’s still a text- mada (Brett Weaver),
book example of the take-no-prisoners insanity who’s adopted the more
at which anime often excels. dashing moniker of Gai
In 2195, the mysterious “Jovian Lizards” are Daigoji. (His real name is
attacking Earth after capturing Mars and the the Japanese equivalent
moon. Fed up with the inept United Space of Joe Smith.) Gai wor-
Force, Nergal Heavy Industries constructs a ships Gekiganger 3, a
battleship of unprecedented power, the Nadesi- hilarious send-up of old
co. Like many ships in science-fiction series, the giant robot series like
Nadesico boasts an impressive array of high- Gigantor and Voltron, Young Akito is drafted
tech weapons. But neither the U.S.S. Enterprise and uses the characters’ to pilot mecha suits as a
nor the Death Star offered vending machines heroism to inspire Akito member of the oddball
(with recycling bins for the empty cans), futons crew aboard the
to charge into battle. space vessel Nadesico.
and crew jackets.
To staff their state-of-the-art vessel, Nergal
are left hanging at the end of the last episode;
chooses “top people who may have slight per- Internal Loop Ruri suggests that some of them will be sorted
sonality problems” (to put it mildly). Command- Director Tatsuo Sat and his crew include
out “in the inevitable sequel.”
ing the Nadesico is scatter-brained Captain clips from Gekiganger that mimic the dis-
The storyline of Nadesico probably couldn’t
Yurika Misumaru (Jennifer K. Earhart), who nur- co-beat theme song, Xeroxed lines and hammy
have sustained a sequel, but Sat and many of
tures a passionate but unreciprocated crush on voice acting that typified the style. Akito be-
the original artists produced a follow-up theatri-
Akito Tenkawa (Spike Spencer, parodying his comes a rabid fan, and his “solid metal casting
cal feature subtitled Prince of Darkness in
performance as Shinji, the neurotic hero of limited edition collector’s Gekiganger 3” be-
1998. Sadly, Prince of Darkness lacks the irrev-
Evangelion). Akito was traumatized by the comes his most valued possession. The story
erent humor that made the series beloved.
slaughter he witnessed as a child on Mars when reaches rare heights of absurdity when charac-
That same year, the filmmakers released a
the Jovians attacked. He doesn’t remember how ters in Nadesico and Gekiganger 3 watch
30-minute Gekiganger 3 OVA, which is includ-
— or if — he teleported from Mars during the at- each other’s programs, pointing out shortcom-
ed in the Blu-ray set, but in Japanese only. Akito,
Yurika, Megumi and Ruri attend the opening of
the Gekiganger theatrical feature, which con-
sists of the clips from Nadesico plus new mate-
rial. This choppy sequence of short scenes
pushes the parody even further, poking fun at
every genre cliché from the super-special alloy
“Gekigangium” to the fallen hero’s inspirational
visit from beyond the grave.
Martian Successor Nadesico belongs in the
library of every anime fan, and the more the
viewer knows about Japanese animation, the
funnier it is. [
DVD S
Making Waves
Studio Ghilbi’s little-seen Ocean Waves, Tangled: Before Ever After, Sailor Moon R: The Movie and a
Monchhichi flashback head a youthful month for home entertainment. By Mercedes Milligan.
Ocean Waves cess Nine, Ranma ½, Maison Ikkoku), with their changing relationships.
[GKIDS, $19.99] leading a team of young Ghibli artists. The home release presents the film
B ack in December, GKIDS gave an-

ime enthusiasts a rare chance to
catch this undercirculated Studio Ghib-
Adapted from the best-selling novel
by Saeko Himuro, the story revolves
around Taku and Yutaka, whose friend-
in its original Japanese with English
subtitles, augmented with a “Looking
Back: A Staff Reunion” featurette that
li title by releasing a new 4K restoration ship is tested by the arrival of a beauti- gathers the creators 11 years on. The
in theaters. ful and moody transfer student named Blu-ray Combo Pack ($24.99) tacks on
Now, the 1993 TV movie can be Rikako. an exclusive storyboards feature.
yours to enjoy at your leisure. The poi- When Taku joins Rikako on a trip Ocean Waves is just as picturesque,
gnant story of teenage isolation was back to Tokyo, an eruption of rumors deep and complex as its namesake.
directed by Tomomi Mochizuki (Prin- force the three friends to come to terms [Release date: April 18]
Tangled: Before Ever After wide world. features the voices of Mandy Moore as
[Disney, $19.99] With the help of her true love, Eu- Rapunzel, Zachary Levi as Eugene,
A n all-new animated series follow-

ing Tangled’s Rapunzel has kicked
off on Disney Channel, and now you
gene, Pascal the chameleon and Maxi-
mus the horse, and a daring la-
dy-in-waiting named Cassandra,
Eden Espinosa as Cassandra, Julie
Bowen as Queen Arianna and Clancy
Brown as King Frederic. The movie also
can jump into the colorful 2D continua- Rapunzel postpones her wedding and boasts music from Alan Menken. The
tion with the introductory TV movie. royal duties to explore life beyond Co- DVD includes four animated “Tangled
Set between the film and the series, rona’s walls. Short Cuts”: Checkmate, Prison Bake,
the movie follows the “barefoot prin- Exec produced by Chris Sonnen- Make Me Smile and Hare Peace.
cess” as she sets out to experience the burg (Enchanted), Before Ever After [Release date: April 11]
Sailor Moon R: The Movie ring Stephanie Sheh (Usagi/Sailor agi and Chibiusa eavesdropping on a
[VIZ, $19.98] Moon), Robbie Daymond (Mamoru Chi- cafe conversation between Sailor Sen-
ba/Tuxedo Mask) and Ben Diskin (Fio- shi fans. The Blu-ray combo set
T oei Animation’s first feature in-

spired by Naoko Takeuchi’s classic
manga is returning to shelves, on the
re), the movie introduces a figure from
Mamoru’s past who returns with a well
meant but very dangerous gift, putting
($29.98) also includes voice cast inter-
views, the L.A. premiere event Q&A,
and more. Both versions feature uncut
heels of its North American theatrical the Earth in danger. English dub and original Japanese ver-
premiere … 20-plus years after its initial The standard edition DVD includes sions for the planet-powered experi-
Japanese debut. the original 1993 theatrical short Make ence of your choice.
Now with a fresh English dub star- Up! Sailor Guardians!, which finds Us- [Release date: April 18]
Monchhichis: Little Rascals and Richie Rich, and lins who live below. Luckily, Moncho
The Complete Series ticks all the 1980s toon boxes: Friend- (Robert Morse), Patchitt (Frank Welk-
[Warner, $24.99] ship, magic, arbitrary headbands, and a er), Tootoo (Ellen Berstell), Kyla (Laurel
T opping our totally retro wish list

this month is this print-to-order
Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection re-
theme song guaranteed to drive any
adult crazy.
In the series, the monkey-like Monch-
Page) and the rest are always able to
outwit their enemies with the help of
wise wizard Wizzar (Frank Nelson).
lease, with all 13 episodes of the 1983 hichis live peacefully in the treetop This is the perfect excuse to stay in
cartoon on two discs. community of Monchia, but they are your jammies all morning with a big
Based on the fad toys created by constantly under threat from the wick- bowl of cereal. Especially if you live in
Yoshiharu Washino, the show originally ed Horgg (voiced by screen legend Oregon or Colorado ...
aired on ABC as part of a combo with Sidney Miller) and his colony of Grump- [Release date: April 18]
Honorable Mentions:
Miraculous: Tales One Punch Man: Peanuts by Schulz: Pound Puppies: Rogue One:
of Ladybug & Cat Season 1 Go Team Go! Lucky Time A Star Wars Story
Noir - It’s Ladybug! April 25 [VIZ, LE BD $60] April 25 [Warner, $19] April 18 [Shout!, $13] April 4 | April 24 [Disney,
April 11 [Shout!, $15] DVD $18, BD $40 | LE BD
$59]
DVD S

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T H E B U S I N E S S , T E C H N O L O G Y & A R T O F A N I M AT I O N A N D V F X

The feral VFX of Logan

Cars get smashed for

VFX bring new life to an anime classic

14 A British Original 38 Down to Earth

QUOTE OF THE MONTH #PFCFFKVKQPCNOCKNKPIQHƂEGU

News & Notes

FESTS AND EVENTS SCHOOLS EVENTS

A nimation Libation Studios and Animation

T he vigorously developing African animation

T he nominations are in for the 2017 Daytime

The Art of Ghost in the Shell

10 Northwest Animation Festival

rest of the crew

Finding the Voices

The crew of Archer Dreamland took

biggest writing challenge for Adam, the simple

Set in 1890, Spirit Riding Free

Following ence,” says Wallington. “So we’re

P roduced by Paris-based Caïmans Pro-

À Perdre Haleine (Breathless)

I mge Özbilge was inspired by something she

Keep Your Clients Forever

The World Animation and VFX

Tech Reviews by Todd Sheridan Perry

S o, let’s talk about this CrazyTalk Anima-

nod. The alSurface that Arnold lovers cherish

A nd while we are on the topic of Chaos

A seemingly innocuous but deceivingly pow-

W hile rotoscoping is just kind of tedious,

Making Major’s thermoptic suit work in live action

something quite gracious selling

pub_animation_magazine_annecy2017_212,7x276,2_gb.indd 1 08/03/2017 09:37:44

VFX artists combined footage of real cars dropping

Dafne Keen, Hugh Jackman and direc-

B ack in December, GKIDS gave an-

A n all-new animated series follow-

T oei Animation’s ﬁrst feature in-

T opping our totally retro wish list

You might also like

QUOTE OF THE MONTH #PFCFFKVKQPCNOCKNKPIQHƂEGU