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Susan's Mashup February 3, 2012

Susan's Mashup February 3, 2012

Super Bowl approaches – do you have your snacks at the ready? Have you chosen your team? More importantly, have you set your DVR to record the commercials? 

This week’s mashup consists of some Super Bowl sneak peeks – we have a “Twilight”-like tailgating party for Audi courtesy of The Mill, takes 2 and 3 for VW and the “Star Wars” enterprise involving Man’s Best Friend, a couple of car spots steeped in fantasy complete with bikini-clad extras, the Coca-Cola polar bears (Giants v. Patriots) up their game and “The Avengers” trailer.

I remember when you actually had to wait for Game Day to see the spots! 

This year’s previews are kind of light on VFX  - I suspect everyone’s still rendering. 

Let us know which ones you liked – and we hope your team wins!

0 Comments Susan O'Neal

Posted by
Susan O'Neal
Fri 3 Feb 2012: 2:34pm

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California Film Production Incentives Bill in Works

California Film Production Incentives Bill in Works

I have been meaning to write about this for some days now, but I’ll admit to having been somewhat distracted by long haul flights and the ensuing jetlag over the last couple of weeks. Still, I hope you won’t hold it against me…

0 Comments Isabelle Duarte

Posted by
Isabelle Duarte
Fri 20 Jan 2012: 9:56am

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Susan's Weekly News Mashup: Friday 13 Jan 2012

Susan's Weekly News Mashup: Friday 13 Jan 2012

Here is a mashup of news for this week – there’s a cry for old school technology, a list of tips for you to be better prepared for dailies, a couple of reports from CES, a fun commercial for Mini Coopers based on a fan suggestion, a great trailer from Blur, and a rendition of a Dr Seuss story as told by those who attended Burning Man last year.

What’d I miss?

0 Comments Susan O'Neal

Posted by
Susan O'Neal
Sat 14 Jan 2012: 10:30am

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January's Free Tutorial: Exploring the Mechanics of Bird Locomotion (Part 2)

January's Free Tutorial: Exploring the Mechanics of Bird Locomotion (Part 2)

Escape’s animation tutor, Alex Williams takes us further into the exploration of the mechanics of bird locomotion. In the second session of this two-part tutorial, Alex further breaks down the apparently complex motion of animating a bird in flight into simple parts. He provides the pieces of the puzzle needed to:

0 Comments Joseph Kelly

Posted by
Joseph Kelly
Wed 4 Jan 2012: 10:20am

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Classes Off to a Booming Start in LA

Classes Off to a Booming Start in LA

In Rick’s compositing course, our students have already made great strides. They are currently working on Keying and Rotoscoping - finishing up the section of the course which deals with the core skills for a junior. Next, the students will start to work in ‘real world’ scenarios, which will help them to become problem solvers. They’ve completed work on the NUKE interface and are now focusing on the art of compositing, and the techniques to approaching problems. After the break they will be working on color correction, 3D in NUKE and CG compositing. They're all very excited to start shooting their own footage and putting together multi-pass composites.

4 Comments Joseph Kelly

Posted by
Joseph Kelly
Fri 16 Dec 2011: 7:25am

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12.4% Growth Expected in the Global Animation & Gaming Market

12.4% Growth Expected in the Global Animation & Gaming Market

According to a report recently published by Research & Market, the Global Animation & Gaming Market is expected to grow by 12.94% from 2011 and 2016, going from $122.20 billion in 2010 to $242.93 billion by 2016. North America remains the biggest segment of the industry, and represents about 42% of the overall share of the market.

0 Comments Isabelle Duarte

Posted by
Isabelle Duarte
Mon 5 Dec 2011: 7:49am

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Please Give Tintin a Chance

Please Give Tintin a Chance

The new Tintin movie is due out in the US on December 21 and I have decided it was time for me to write an impassioned plea - ahead of its release - to all my American followers so that they might give this wonderful and quirky European character a chance.

2 Comments Isabelle Duarte

Posted by
Isabelle Duarte
Thu 1 Dec 2011: 10:24am

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Golden Globe Animated Feature Contenders Posted…

Golden Globe Animated Feature Contenders Posted…

It’s one of those things—finding out who’s been nominated for a Golden Globe in the Animated Feature Category. Everyone has an opinion. This year offers up some interesting fare. The following made the list:

0 Comments Joseph Kelly

Posted by
Joseph Kelly
Thu 1 Dec 2011: 9:36am

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CG Whiz 2011 Has Closed for Entries:: Start Voting Now!

CG Whiz 2011 Has Closed for Entries:: Start Voting Now!

CG Whiz 2011 is now closed to new entrants, and it’s been an incredible third year for the competition. We’ve seen our highest-ever number of entries (almost 200!), including an impressive showing in the new Young Pros category. The standard this year has been higher than we’ve ever seen before, and it’s been amazing to see the amount of talent that’s out there in the world of digital creativity.

0 Comments Isabelle Duarte

Posted by
Isabelle Duarte
Sun 13 Nov 2011: 11:00am

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Susan's Weekly News Mashup: Friday 11 Nov 2011

Susan's Weekly News Mashup: Friday 11 Nov 2011

Wow – last week was so busy I didn’t even have time for my favorite pastime – surfing the ‘web for the unusual, the interesting. But just in time for Friday, here it is!

0 Comments Susan O'Neal

Posted by
Susan O'Neal
Fri 11 Nov 2011: 4:34pm

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November's Free Tutorial: Exploring the Mechanics of Bird Locomotion

November's Free Tutorial: Exploring the Mechanics of Bird Locomotion

Ever wonder how to make an animated bird fly? It does look complex - doesn’t it? Now is your chance to find out how to make that fluid motion of flight look real. Alex Williams, Escape Studio’s character animation instructor will walk you through the mechanics of bird locomotion in this two part tutorial.

6 Comments Joseph Kelly

Posted by
Joseph Kelly
Thu 10 Nov 2011: 3:43pm

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CG Whiz 2010 Winner Stu Schwartz’s Advice for Visual Effects Amateurs

Most new graduates are unsure what visual effects jobs are out there, what jobs they can apply for or even how to go about it. In fact, if you check out the US Bureau of Labor Statistics website you can read how CG grads “get their start in industry by running errands, moving objects on the set, controlling traffic, and helping with props. Production assistants and grips (stagehands) often work in this way.”

0 Comments Isabelle Duarte

Posted by
Isabelle Duarte
Tue 1 Nov 2011: 4:51am

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Google Doodle Celebrates Art Clokey's 90th birthday

Google Doodle Celebrates Art Clokey's 90th birthday

The creative people at Google have done it again - today you can interact with a doodle celebrating the work of Art Clokey on the event of his 90th birthday. The doodle was created by Clokey Productions Permavision Studios, and the lead animator worked under Art Clokey in the 80's. As you scroll across the letters beloved Clokey characters come to life - Gumby, Pokey, the Blockheads, etc.

0 Comments Susan O'Neal

Posted by
Susan O'Neal
Wed 12 Oct 2011: 11:58am

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Esc-Ape to the Movies!

Esc-Ape to the Movies!

Last week a few of the members from the Escape team took a group outing to see one of this summer’s biggest blockbusters, The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It’s a movie we had been discussing at the school quite a bit since the first sneak previews were released some months ago. Surprisingly, it felt like a movie that didn’t have a great deal of general hype and one that many people I spoke to had not considered. Among the three of us there was Tad, a seasoned planet of the Apes fan, Stu, a reasonable newbie to the franchise and budding CG artist, and myself, kind of somewhere in the middle. I think we can say it was a big success. Tad and Stu will be writing shortly to share their thoughts with you, but in the meantime, here is my take on it.

1 Comments Joseph Kelly

Posted by
Joseph Kelly
Thu 18 Aug 2011: 3:18pm

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3D For Normal People

3D For Normal People

Am I implying with the title of this blog post that experienced users of 3D tools are abnormal? Maybe. What makes them abnormal is they have to regularly deal with professional 3D software, which is extremely complex and difficult to master. "Normal" people don't have to worry about things like, well…normals.

3 Comments Tad Leckman

Posted by
Tad Leckman
Thu 14 Jul 2011: 10:43am

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Female Director Hits Big With Kung Fu Panda 2

Female Director Hits Big With Kung Fu Panda 2

Dom and I were having a chat in the office the other day about Kung Fu Panda 2 and the question came up, "who's directing?" After many blank faces and scratching of heads, a quick look at IMDB revealed that the director was Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Unsurprisingly, none of us had heard of Jennifer Yuh Nelson before, partly because this is her first major directing role, but also because she is the first female to direct a major animation movie.

0 Comments Joseph Kelly

Posted by
Joseph Kelly
Fri 10 Jun 2011: 7:24pm

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So When’s the 3D Bit?

So When’s the 3D Bit?

I’ve resisted blogging about anything related to stereoscopy for fear that the subject has been done to death. But as my two most recent visits to the cinema were to see Thor and Kung Fu Panda 2, both in 3D, I couldn’t help but comment on how it affected my viewing experience. As someone really looking forward to both movies, neither of them quite lived up to my expectations. Thor was certainly one of the better comic book movies of recent times, but I think I prefer my heroes to be a little more grounded in reality. Kung Fu Panda 2 really upped the stakes in terms of the quality of animation and visuals, but felt like it lacked the simplicity of the original.

3 Comments Joseph Kelly

Posted by
Joseph Kelly
Fri 3 Jun 2011: 2:03pm

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Brand New School Creates New Facebook Application

Brand New School Creates New Facebook Application

Our friend Jason Cohon from Brand New School has shared with us a Facebook application they have designed and created for Microsoft Outlook called “Creature Creator” for Seattle based agency, Cole & Weber United.

0 Comments Brent Hartman

Posted by
Brent Hartman
Wed 18 May 2011: 7:47pm

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Woody Woodpecker's Secret

Woody Woodpecker's Secret

Whether I liked him or not, I remember Woody Woodpecker as a staple in my Saturday morning cartoon lineup. But what I didn't realize is that I was getting a lesson in Modern Art.

0 Comments Joseph Kelly

Posted by
Joseph Kelly
Mon 18 Apr 2011: 9:26pm

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Animated Prologues: The Way of the Future, or Just Old Tricks?

Animated Prologues: The Way of the Future, or Just Old Tricks?

I recently stumbled upon a collection of 2D flash animations released just before Zach Snyder’s Suckerpunch which acted as introductions to the different worlds inhabited throughout the movie. I found them an interesting piece of additional media and they certainly sparked my interest. However, it wasn’t until I saw the new short for the Priest movie that I realized there could be something more significant to these animations, and I began researching into the idea of the ‘animated prologue’. 

1 Comments Joseph Kelly

Posted by
Joseph Kelly
Thu 14 Apr 2011: 12:30pm

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February’s Free Tutorial

Learning Dynamics in Maya