Pixeldust Studios, an Emmy Award-winning digital animation and visual design company with studios in the Metro D.C. area and New York City, has produced original animations for National Geographic Channel’s upcoming mini-series event Untamed Americas. The show premieres June 10-11 on the National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo MUNDO.nnPixeldust Studios produced highly detailed animations depicting the geography and topography of the North and South American continents, as seen by the viewer from above. Based on detailed satellite imagery and extensive research of these continents, the work was designed to embellish the above-the-Earth photography shot by the show’s producers. nnnTo view some of this work online, click here.nnAshley Hoppin, Executive Producer of Untamed Americas for National Geographic Channels, said, “”Pixeldust’s stylistic aerials are both real and other-worldly. They make the viewer feel like he/she is flying up, down, and above the Americas, like Superman.” nn”The challenge for us on this massive project was how to best recreate the vast terrain of North and South America using reference materials from satellite data and maps while keeping it manageable in a 3d animation software,” states Ricardo Andrade, Founder/Executive Creative Director of Pixeldust Studios. “We wished to present a photorealistic look to the terrain on the Earth but didn’t want to create the look of traditional maps,” comments Andrade. “Instead, we spent a good deal of time ensuring that the true colors, and the densities of the colors and the terrain, ranging from clouds to snow capped mountaintops to ground landscape to oceans, would match the video plates that were shot. Our CGI work had to blend in seamlessly with the actual video footage that the producers brought to us.”nn”We used E-On’s Vue 10 software, which offered us billions of polygons, to depict the various elevations of the Earth’s terrain featured in this show,” adds Andrade. “We also incorporated Autodesk’s Maya 2013 software to create the camera moves as a viewer POV ‘fly-over,’ so there would be seamless transitions from the actual video plate projections, to our CGI terrain, and then back to the outgoing video plates.”nnSamar Shool, Pixeldust Studios’ Technical Director, oversaw the challenge of creating an accurate and seamless look. “We had to present high-altitude travel scenery over everything from Alaska to Patagonia, while depicting every mountain and every detail of the Earth’s actual terrain,” comments Shool. “Our goal was to recreate these details exactly, based on the satellite imagery and other materials. We delivered digital set extensions that were both technologically and artistically correct, matching the starting point and ending point using video plates that were shot on location. We took our ‘look and feel’ references, colors, tones, and densities, from the beautiful footage that was presented to us by the producers of this program.”nnIn other Pixeldust Studios news, the company has significantly updated much of its technology with the addition of E-On Software’s Vue 10 product and with Southpawtech’s Tactic creative management software, joining the company’s long existing Autodesk’s Maya 2013 product. Pixeldust has also integrated GameCaster True Virtual Cinematography product into its production mix to help produce natural and organic camera moves inside any 3D package. Also, a new 3D Stereo edit room has been added expanding their 3D Stereo suite of tools. In addition, Pixeldust continues to regularly increase and expand its overall render farm capacity. nnAbout Untamed AmericasnPremiering Sunday, June 10โMonday, June 11, at 9 p.m. ET/PT in the U.S. and globally this summer, the four-hour high-definition miniseries event marks the first U.S. simulcast on National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo Mundo. Narrated by Academy Award-nominated actor Josh Brolin, Untamed Americas reveals the grit and glory in the wild of North America, Central America and South America. Each hour explores some of the greatest wildlife spectacles, delicate dances, unbelievable endurance and against-the-odds survival in episodes dedicated to the continent’s Mountains, Deserts, Forests and Coasts. nnThe Untamed Americas team spent almost two years in the field, traveling thousands of miles from Alaska to Patagonia, to capture the extreme wildlife of the continent. To film the rare moments, Untamed Americas cameramen and producers rappelled down Peruvian cliffs in sea lion territory with bruised shins and battered heads; endured jellyfish stings in Monterey Bay, Calif.; slipped down mud paths and stumbled through dark, dense underbrush in the Ecuadorean cloud forest; faced subzero temperatures (-22°F) as well as extreme heat with 100 percent humidity; maneuvered through freak out-of-season hurricanes; grasped for breath in high altitudes; lost sleeping bags (and sleep!) in 80 mph winds in Chile; and were even stalked by a puma.nnFor more information, please visit: www.natgeotv.com/untamedamericasnnUntamed Americas is produced by National Geographic Television for National Geographic Channels. For National Geographic Television, series producer is Karen Bass, senior producer is Anne Tarrant and executive producer is Jonathan Halperin. For National Geographic Channels, executive producer is Ashley Hoppin, and executive vice president of programming is Michael Cascio.nnAbout Pixeldust Studios:nFounded in 2004, Pixeldust Studios is an Emmy Award-winning digital animation and visual design firm with studios in the Metro D.C. Area and New York City. Pixeldust Studios specializes in creating innovative motion graphics, animations and visual effects for television, film, new media and corporate clients. For more information, please visit www.pixeldust.tv or call 301-656-0050.
Dan Harary The Asbury PR Agency Beverly Hills, CA 310/859-1831 Contact Dan via email
Quirky New Campaign For The 2025 AMP Awards For Music & Sound From TiNY Promotes Call For Entries
A new creative campaign supporting entries for the 2025 AMP Awards for Music & Sound, created by TiNY, the boutique creative agency known for bold ideas and sharp execution, has launched, and itโs turning up everyoneโs ears. Thatโs because the campaignโs quirky social videos feature talking ears (among other body parts), hilariously highlighting the often overlooked role that sound and music play in media storytelling. The first round of creative includes the spots โDemo Loveโ and โSexy Ear.โ (Watch Below) The first round of creative dropped recently on social media, with additional spots set to roll out over the next few months, all leading up to the AMP Awards ceremony scheduled for May 21, 2025, at Sony Hall in New York City. Sponsored by the Association of Music Producers, the deadline for submitting entries to the AMP Awards is March 7, 2025. AMP members entering before the early bird deadline of January 31, 2025, will qualify for a 30 percent discount on all entries. For full details on entry fees, category descriptions, and rules, visit the AMP Awards entry portal here. Despite the obstacle of having virtually no budget, TiNY delivered a laugh-out-loud campaign for the ad industryโs only non-profit, juried competition for music and sound that captures attention thanks to its clever humor and creativity -- one that bills itself, tongue in cheek, as โthe loudest show in the industry.โ "The AMP Awards have always celebrated creativity in its... Read More