Animation studio Bent Image Lab–with a body of work spanning commercials, music videos and shorts–is making its first foray into long-form fare, co-producing Jingle All The Way, a stop motion animated TV special for Hallmark Channel. Directed by Bent partner Chel White, Jingle All The Way, part of Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas” programming block, is slated to air Friday, November 25 (7 p.m. ET/PT, 6C). Based on an original Hallmark Gift storybook, the show was produced by Bent exec producer Tsui Ling Toomer, with exec producers including Bent partner Ray Di Carlo, Hallmark Properties’ Jodi Schade, Diana Larson Stuart and Shawn McClaren, and Hallmark Channel’s Chad Harris.
The story is about a sweet Husky pup who is in need of a home. At a Christmas tree farm, he meets a boy named Andrew who gives him the name of Jingle since he loves the sound of jingle bells. The two instantly connect, but Andrew is unable to keep Jingle and drives away with his family. Jingle embarks on a journey to find his friend and along the way meets up with a wise cardinal, a determined dog catcher and a jolly man in a red suit who help him on his journey.
This marks the first time Hallmark has brought one of its original storybook characters to life on TV. Jingle, a Hallmark interactive plush dog, is sold with its own storybook in Hallmark stores. When the story is read aloud (either by a real person or via a narrator from the Jingle interactive app) the Jingle plush dog reacts, barking and singing as Jingle does in the story. “The ability for a parent or loved one to sit down and read this book [to kids] and have the dog respond to their voice–that was a great idea,” said Harris who is Hallmark’s sr. VP of integrated marketing and new media. “It’s a magical personal experience and we started thinking–wouldn’t it be amazing if we could bring this story to television?”
Produced in stop motion, the production also relied on Bent’s CGI/Visual FX department. Bent’s CG supervisor Fred Ruff explained, “Production shot all the buildings that the [puppets] interact with on stage and we added atmospheric nuance and the set extensions. Our post department can take a street that is only 12 feet long and make it look 40 to 50 feet long.”
The production was able to utilize position point rendering passes to help with various compositing effects in Nuke.
“What we are doing is actually using layers of data pixels instead of color pixels,” added Ruff. “So instead of rending RGB for Red, Green and Blue we are actually storing X, Y and Z locations per pixel–when we composite, we work with that layer data in 3D space and this gives us a lot more control.” In a scene where Jingle sees the town of Pineville for the first time, the crew needed a creative solution to turning the town’s lights on at different moments. “We worked with our composite team to figure out how each light location would be handled, and when in the sequence to bring each area of lighting on,” said Ruff. “We were able to do that really quickly in composite instead of trying to animate it in fully realized CG and re-render it every time.”
Bent’s extensive experience in stop motion animation, CG acumen and comprehensive “under one roof” approach to production allowed them to finish in roughly 25 weeks.
“Today stop motion has the benefit of using both older analog and modern digital technology,” said director White.
“The goal is to keep the wonderful hand-made quality but augment it in ways that accentuate the beauty.”
Method extends its creative reach Method Studios has been growing both geographically, by adding facilities in Vancouver, Sydney and Melbourne to its existing locations in Santa Monica, Calif., N.Y. and London, and by increasing the breadth of its service offerings.
Formerly known primarily as a commercial visual effects house, in 2011 Method completed VFX on more than 20 feature titles and added cinematics, motion graphics and design services to its toolbox, as well as a concept team in London, providing work and expertise ranging from sketch ideas to fully executed concepts.
Dan Glass, Method Studios’ executive VP/sr. visual effects supervisor, reported the recent launch of Method Design. Located within Method facilities in Santa Monica, Atlanta and Australia, Method Design is a natural adjunct to its core visual effects work. Method Design focuses on design, motion graphics, title sequences, animation, 2D and 3D motion media design, and other services in commercial and feature markets.
Rok!t Studio, also a Deluxe business whose recent credits include the main title sequence for Captain America: The First Avenger, and its talented artists are now part of Method Design and located within Method’s Santa Monica facility.
“By adding to our core visual effects services and aligning with sister facilities such as Company 3 for color grading,” noted Glass, “we offer our clients collaborative and best-of-breed creative solutions throughout the entire production process.”
Curious expansion Curious Pictures has been busy over the last few months retooling its visual effects department, expanding its commercials roster, producing some out-of-the box work, venturing into mobile innovation technology like augmented reality and even launching a film production and distribution company, according to Jan Korbelin, managing partner of Curious.
The visual effects department has expanded into Europe with the addition of a 50-person studio that will complement all elements of visual effects work being done in the Curious New York studios. Thanks to its expanded firepower in Europe, Curious will be able to respond creatively and financially to the changing needs of the market.
Curious has also added award winning commercial director Randy Roberts to its roster.
Roberts brings a breadth of experience with live action and visual effects that make him the perfect addition to the Curious talent ensemble. Roberts is currently shooting a three spot live action/visual effects package for a New York City advertising agency.
In addition to world-class visual effects, Curious Pictures got back to basics doing a full hour episode for the SyFy Network show Eureka. Using anime, Looney Tunes style graphics, photo-real CGI and stop-motion, the show is a homage to the various forms that animation has taken over the last 50 years. The Christmas-themed show is scheduled to air in December.
On the film side, Curious just launched a new affiliate film distribution company at AFM, Cargo Entertainment, to distribute, finance and produce feature films in the $8MM to $35MM range. The first film for Cargo is an action thriller to be produced in Puerto Rico.
On the mobile and interactive front, Curious Pictures has been expanding in the area of augmented reality. The technology is heavily mobile friendly (smartphones, tablets) and allows for the interactive integration of animation and 3D into the physical world, effectively creating a multimedia bridge with endless possibilities.
LOOK up north LOOK Effects, under the aegis of president Mark Driscoll, has opened a production facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, complementing its studios in L.A. and N.Y. The Vancouver studio’s first project will be Summit Entertainment’s Warm Bodies.
Digital effects supervisor Mat Krentz will manage the new facility. The Canadian native has worked with LOOK on a handful of projects since 2006. He brings to the Vancouver office almost a decade of visual effects experience, initially as a compositor and most recently as digital supervisor on the recently released Tower Heist.
For over 14 years, LOOK Effects has implemented and handled digital-effects solutions for feature film, episodic television and special venue projects. LOOK’s feature film credits include Captain America, Fast 5, Limitless, Black Swan, The King’s Speech and Step Up 3D. TV credits include The Finder, Harry’s Law, Bones, the Emmy-nominated effects for Life After People, and all of the effects for the final season of Lost.
Ntropic inks Zourntos According to Jim Riche, who came aboard Ntropic as executive producer over the summer (SHOOTonline, 8/17), the VFX house will be adding to its New York office capabilities by bringing on creative director/sr. Flame/Inferno artist Steve Zourntos effective Dec. 1. Zourntos has been at such shops as Click 3X, Crossroads/89/Headlight, and most recently Manic. He will collaborate closely with Ntropic creative director/founder Nate Robinson as well as such talent as Andrew Sinagra, MB Emigh and Marshall Plante.
Ntropic opened its Manhattan office in late summer to complement its full-service operations in Santa Monica (where Riche is based) and in San Francisco.
A Bank of New York Mellon commercial, “House of Cards,” was the first project to tap into all three Ntropic studios with edit and color completed in New York City, computer-generated imagery in Santa Monica, and then original music and final compositing in San Francisco.
Gravity rises Karin Levinson, VP of features and TV who launched Gravity’s L.A. operation last year, and Yuval Levy, recently promoted to VFX supervisor, have overseen Gravity’s VFX contributions on four major feature film releases. Most recently, Gravity produced more than 200 VFX shots as the lead effects house on Universal Pictures action comedy Tower Heist for director Brett Ratner and VFX supervisor Mark Russell, according to Gravity CEO/chief creative officer Zviah Eldar.
Additionally, Gravity produced more than 130 visual effects shots for Warner Bros.’ Crazy Stupid Love, more than 350 visual effects shots for Warner Bros.’ comedy Arthur, and served as lead visual effects house on Universal Pictures’ romantic thriller The Adjustment Bureau.
New York-based Bob Samuel, Gravity’s chief marketing officer/executive producer who heads the commercials division, has seen a dozen spots come through the shop in the past three months, including the direction and production of fully animated :30s promoting Hasbros new Battleship LIVE and Monopoly LIVE electronic board games, working directly with agency Uproar! Samuel has also been building Gravity’s talent pool, hiring Alex Postelnicu as creative director.
And Gravity’s digital division, headed by chief digital officer Win Peniston, has over the past nine months partnered with Recyclebank to design and produce multiple projects, including the “Green Your Home” and “Green Your Vacation” microsites, as well as numerous “Learn-and-Earn” modules with such Recyclebank partners as Dove, Suave, Nestle Purina, Tide, Cascade, Pampers and Kashi. Gravity Digital is also working with Recyclebank to develop more game modules for its own brand, as well as additional brand partners.
Stereoscopic Rockettes Reel FX, which maintains studios in Santa Monica and Dallas, delivered seven-and-a-half minutes of stereoscopic CG content for “Humbugged: Rockettes to the Rescue,” a unique featured attraction within the “2011 Radio City Christmas Spectacular–The Rockettes’ Magical Journey,” which opened last week (11/11).
The Reel FX content is featured on a massive 3D LED wall on stage during the show. Reel FX producer Greg Lyons, digital supervisor Glo Minaya and sr. visual effects supervisor Augusto Schillaci worked closely with “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” show director and choreographer Linda Haberman and MSG Entertaiment’s senior vice president of productions Larry Sedwick from the conceptual and pre-pro stages through to the final dress rehearsals.
The goal was to achieve seamless integration between the stereoscopic imagery and live-action performers while providing audiences with a new entertainment experience.
Leviathan diversification Chicago-based studio Leviathan–which started a little more than a year ago and was primarily focused on visual effects and animation for TV commercials, broadcast design and the like–has diversified into the experiential realm.
Leveraging its visual effects and CGI capabilities in new ways, the company’s work for musical artist Amon Tobin’s ISAM Live Tour (the two last shows are scheduled for Nov. 23 and 24 in London) has generated mainstream media coverage as well as interest from major ad agencies, according to partner/executive producer Chad Hutson.
For example, Leviathan recently presented at the Leo Burnett “Leovation” innovation event.
The studio has also just been invited to present at Autodesk University, which will take place at the end of November in Las Vegas.
Every show on the Amon Tobin ISAM Live tour has sold out, and the show was nominated for “Best Live Act” in the 2011 Association of Independent Music (AIM) Awards.
Mr. Wonderful New York-based motion design and effects studio Mr. Wonderful, a Northern Lights VFX/animation partner, has as its newest family partner Bodega, a bicoastal production house representing directorial talent, thus enabling Mr. Wonderful to enter into working relationships with advertising agencies as a directing collective while also being able to service Bodega’s varied projects from a design, animation and/or visual effects perspective.
“This arrangement allows us to leverage the best of what we have to offer, and extend that expertise via whichever capacity the client wants,” related Damien Henderson, Mr. Wonderful’s exec producer.
Calabash goes Thermo Scientific Perhaps best known for its track record of animation work for several iconic brand characters for General Mills (the Trix rabbit, the Lucky Charms leprechaun), Chicago-based Calabash Animation has extended its creative reach with several recent longer form projects, including the viral ad “More Than A Freezer” for Thermo Scientific which centers on a bacterial love story set to the Boston rock classic “More Than A Feeling.”
Calabash was also, according to EP Sean Henry, behind several animation sequences seen in the basketball documentary On The Shoulder of Giants, produced by NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as well as an online film for Eternal Descent, a virtual band created by musician/writer of the Eternal Descent comic book Llexi Leon.
Steele’s graphic performance For 3net Steele Studios, the Culver City, Calif.-based studio headed by co-founders Jo and Jerry Steele, has wrapped a massive on air stereo 3D graphics package for 3net, the joint venture 24/7 3D TV network from Sony, Discovery and IMAX.
Designed, created, composited and delivered by Jerry Steele and his team, the 3D graphics components consist of more than 60 elements and include main logo opens, IDs, promotional and sponsored elements, interstitials, promo opens and closes, and assorted other transitional and supplemental pieces.
