Zemeckis Tries Marin, Weta's Gino & Kerner Optical's Danny Wagner...

Highest Grossing Tentpole Of 2007?

(canmag.com)                 You'd have to be an idiot if you didn't think that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix won't at least be one of the top three box office earners in 2007. Warner Bros could film monkeys mating for two hours, title it OotP, and still make huge earnings. I am not saying that the films are bad (far from actually), it is just that the fanbase around the franchise is so large -- like the world -- that multiple weeks of visitors are guaranteed.

MTV has recently played on this notion with their Top Ten Films of 2007 predictions. They gave Order of the Phoenix the number one spot while other films got ranked in such a way that it is damn near impossible to agree.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Takes Top for 2007

Here is the Top Ten list according to MTV:

10. Transformers
9. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
8. National Treasure: The Book of Secrets
7. Evan Almighty
6. The Golden Compass
5. Live Free or Die Hard
4. The Bourne Ultimatum
3. Spider-Man 3
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The Golden Age Of Animation Is Here

(thefirstpost.co.uk)      And the cartoon critters keep on coming.
Last month Flushed Away, this month Happy Feet. But just because every
other kiddy film is digital animation (albeit not up to the standard
set by Toy Story and Shrek) it doesn't mean the old techniques are
dead.
Japanese genius Hayao Miyazaki still uses traditional cel animation in
enchanting yarns like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, as did
Sylvain Chomet in the quirky, melancholy and virtually dialogue-free
Belleville Rendez-Vous.

Another traditional technique is stop motion, in which models are
fractionally moved between frames. You can see it in the original King
Kong, and in Ray Harryhausen's army of skeletons from Jason and the
Argonauts (right), as well as in the work of East European animators
such as Wladyslaw Starewicz, whose Tale of the Fox, complete with
stuffed animals, looks as sharp and witty now as it must have done in
1930, or the brilliant surrealist Jan Svankmajer, whose films include
a version of Alice in Wonderland (though I prefer his sinister
shorts).

But stop motion is still going strong: modern maestros include Nick
Park, of Wallace & Gromit fame, and Henry Sellick, director of The
Nightmare Before Christmas.
In short, we're living in a golden age of animation. The Simpsons and
South Park are proof that cartoon TV series are no longer just for
kids, while the internet is now providing budding animators with a
venue undreamt-of back in the days when public access was limited to
Looney Tunes or the latest Disney.

ILM Pirates Of The Caribbean Video Featurettes On-line
 
(iesb.net)                   Two new PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST featurettes!  These featurettes offer a rare glimpse into how the effects wizards at Industrial Light & Magic used groundbreaking Motion Capture Technology to create Davy Jones one of the most memorable movie villains in years!  

Image
The next installment of the beloved franchise, PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: AT WORLD\u2019S END, opens in theatres May 25, 2007!

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is a motion picture visual effects company, founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and owned by Lucasfilm Ltd. Lucas created the company when he discovered that the special effects department at Twentieth Century Fox was shut down after he was given the green light for his production of Star Wars. The studio originated in Van Nuys, California, later moved to San Rafael, California, and is now based at the Letterman Digital Arts Center in The Presidio of San Francisco in California.

As of 2005, ILM has received 14 Best Visual Effects Oscars and 20 additional nominations. It had also received 22 technical Oscars.

ILM has been considered by some to be one of the best visual effects studios in the world.

Take a look:  http://iesb.net/index.php?option=com_d4j_ezine&task=read&page=1&category=3&article=1556&Itemid=30

Sci-Tech Award Winners Announced

(hollywoodreporter.com)               The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday unveiled the 15 winners of its Scientific and Technical Academy Awards. They will be presented Feb. 10 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire.

Technical Achievement Awards, which carry Academy certificates, have been awarded to:

- Joshua Pines and Chris Kutcka of Technicolor Digital Intermediates for the design and development of the TDI process for creating archival separations from digital image data.

-Bill Feightner and Chris Edwards of E-Film for the design and development of the E-Film process for creating archival separations from digital image data.

-Albert Ridilla, Papken Shahbazian, Ronald Belknap and Jay McGarrigle for the design and development of the Hollywood Film Company Brumagic MPST Densitometer.

-Klemens Kehrer, Josef Handler, Thomas Smidek and Marc Shipman Mueller for the design and development of the Arriflex 235 Camera System.

-Florian Kainz for the design and engineering of OpenEXR, a software package implementing 16-bit, floating-point, high dynamic range image files.

-Walter Trauniger and Ernst Tschida for the design and engineering of the Arri WRC wireless remote lens control system.

-Christian Tschida and Martin Waitz of cmotion for the design and engineering of the cmotion Wireless Remote System.

-Peter Litwinowicz and Pierre Jasmin for the design and development of the RE: Vision Effects family of software tools for optical flow-based image manipulation.

Scientific and Engineering Awards, in the form of Academy plaques, have been awarded to:

-Phillip J. Feiner, Jim Houston, Denis Leconte and Chris Bushman of Pacific Title and Art Studio for the design and development of the Rosetta process for creating digital YCM archival masters for digital film restoration.

-Steve Sullivan, Colin Davidson, Max Chen and Francesco Callari for the design and development of the ILM Image-based Modeling System.

-Bill Collis, Simon Robinson, Ben Kent and Anil Kokaram for the design and development of the Furnace integrated suite of software tools that robustly utilizes temporal coherence for enhancing visual effects in motion picture sequences.

-Howard Preston and Mirko Kovacevic for the design and engineering of the Preston Cinema Systems FI+Z wireless remote system.

A special award, an award of commendation, has been set aside for Ioan Allen, J. Wayne Anderson, Mary Ann Anderson, Ted Costas, Paul R. Goldberg, Shawn Jones, Tom Kuhn, Alan Masson, Colin Mossman, Martin Richards, Frank Ricotta and Richard C. Sehlin for their contributions to the environmentally responsible industry conversion from silver-based to cyan dye analog soundtracks.

As previously announced, Richard Edlund will receive the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation for his "outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences."

Ray Feeny also is set to receive the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, an Oscar statuette, for his "technological contributions, which have brought credit to the motion picture industry."

Unlike other Academy Awards, achievements receiving Scientific and Technical Awards do not have to have been developed and introduced during 2006. "The achievement can be a device or a discovery, a formula or a method, but it must demonstrate a proven record of contributing significant value to the process of making motion pictures," awards administration director Rich Miller said.

Stunning 3-D Graphics To Make Vista Shine

(canada.com)           If seeing is believing, get ready for some
eye-popping graphics on this year's computer screens.

Graphics giants like Canadian company ATI, now merged with U.S.-based
AMD, and NVIDIA , along with software companies, have been flexing
their digital-processing muscles for the past year for a new level of
3-D realism in computing.

And not just computer gaming but everyday desktop computing, with a
fresh way to look at things, such as Microsoft's new Vista operating
system.

Windows' upcoming Vista will show computer graphics with new levels of
realism, from detailed face features with combined NVIDIA graphics
cards, top left, to real-time rain effects with ATI/AMD multiple
graphics cards, right, all generated during game play on home
computers.

Publicly available on Jan. 30, Vista will feature "Aero Glass" 3-D
graphic effects such as transparent folders in 3-D on the desktop and
multiple windows on free Microsoft Vista games.
Microsoft warns that older computers may not be able to handle the new
3-D graphics, so a quick visit to www.microsoft.com/Windowsvista/ for
computer hardware requirements might be on order if you don't plan to
buy a Vista-ready PC.

Much of the new 3-D graphics scene is based on Microsoft's DirectX 10
protocol, available only in Vista. It is basically software that is
licensed to game developers for allowing more realistic and efficient
3-D graphics effects on computer games.

Special computer 3-D effects like rain or smoke can cripple today's
computers, but DirectX 10 will allow previously unattainable effects
to be seen on home PCs.

Still, it takes massive computing power to create photo-realistic
effects on home computers.

AMD and NVIDIA graphics processor cards are more powerful than today's
CPU computer processors. As if that wasn't enough, they now work in
groups of two or more to create even more 3-D reality, live, as you
play.

AMD's CrossFire platform, for those willing to shell out another
several hundred bucks for a second graphics card in addition to a
special motherboard, uses the processing power of two cards to
calculate the millions of per-second computations showing what amounts
to a lot of invisible triangles shaping thousands of objects on your
screen.

Chat With Weta Prosthetics Wizard Gino Acevedo

(kongisking.net)                        Last year we tried something different on our Weta Forums, and invited Workshop Designer Daniel Falconer to blitz the forums. And it was so popular that we have invited Senior Prosthetics Supervisor and Visual Creature Effects Art Director, Gino Acevedo to do it this month.

Gino oversaw all the special makeup requirements that Weta Workshop provided for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This included hundreds and hundreds of noses, ears and feet as well as the countless full facial and full body make-up appliances for all of Middle-earth's non human inhabitants.

Seven of the nine leads in the films wore some form of prosthetic appliance- a huge undertaking to say the least! In addition, Gino oversaw the paint designs of all the films creatures, including Gollum, and was directly involved in bringing the many digital creatures and characters to life.

During King Kong Gino designed the prosthetic Skull Island Native make-ups with Dominie Till as well as art directing the film's creatures at Weta Digital.

Gino will be blitzing the forums on NZ Wed 24 & 31 January 2007. Around the world that is:

Melbourne, Australia: Wed 24 & 31 January
London, England: Tues 23 & 30 January
New York, USA: Tues 23 & 30 January
Tokyo, Japan: Wed 24 & 31 January
Paris, France: Tues 23 & 30 January

It's a good idea to spend some time in the forums before the blitz to search the topics and post your own questions, you can do that by logging onto wetanz-forums.com. You can check out Gino's bio and gallery here:  http://www.wetaworkshop.co.nz/about/crew/galleries/gino_acevedo

Kerner Optical Helps Outfit the Rose Parade

(starwars.com)                    Thanks to Kerner Optical modelmaker Danny Wagner, along with Erik Jensen, Victoria Lewis and Anna Bies, those attending the 2007 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. can see their favorite Star Wars characters in action.

In addition to the two magnificent floats with Ewoks and prequel queens, the Grambling State University marching band, and 200 stormtroopers from the 501st Legion, fans will also be entertained by dancing Twi'leks.

[ Heads or Tails: Outfitting the Rose Parade ] Wagner used his expertise from working on the Star Wars prequels to paint the new headpieces to be worn by dancers in the parade. "We all decided to use Polyfoam and latex skin because it would be more durable in the weather and the production of these pieces would be a lot faster to produce," Wagner says. "Since I have a strong creature background and applied the Twi'lek makeup before for the Star Wars films I knew the drill. I have special rubber cement paints made for each Twi'lek color: eight green, eight orange with red flames and one blue."

While Wagner painted the headpieces, the rest of the team handled equally important tasks. "Erik Jenson did a fantastic job seaming all those heads, which was a challenge because the castings were from an original mold that was old and produced heavy seams which was something we learned when we received it from the Lucasfilm Archives," Wagner says. "He made it work and the seams disappeared! Victoria Lewis was the casting specialist. She ran all those head appliances faster than you can say, 'I'm done!' Anna Bies was the costume designer on the head gear for all the Twi'leks. She figured out how to make this master pattern fit like a glove. She produced all these pieces in a very short time. Then I glued on all her headpiece accessories. We decided to glue the straps to the head gear and used Velcro to secure them tightly underneath the performer's chin."

Those attending the parade or watching closely on television might notice some slight differences in the parade attire from the costumes seen in the films. "The green Twi'leks are wearing a netted slave costume, close to what Oola was wearing in the Return of the Jedi," Wagner says. "The orange Ayy Vida character (from Episode II) is wearing a costume similar to tights that are colored the same as the makeup. The blue Twi'lek is Jedi Knight Aayla Secura. Her costume was mostly leather and some other fabrics. Aayla's Jedi costume had a sense of acrobatic flexibility, equipped with a separate bikini-style top that shared more of a handmade feel to it. And the bottom piece was skirt styled with a Kabuki blanket flaps in front and back. The accessories have a headband that wraps completely around the head and connects to a cover for the ear area similar to the Rebel Alliance helmets. The cover goes straight down and past the ear and wraps underneath the chin to match up with the other side. We designed these headpieces so they can be easily taken on and off without trouble."

[ Heads or Tails: Outfitting the Rose Parade ] In addition to the Twi'leks, Wagner and the team also created one of the Ewok costumes that will be seen on the Endor float for the parade. "The actor wearing the Wicket costume in the parade (Mikey Post) needed to be able to get into this costume fast and to move around with ease and be comfortable at the same time," Wagner says. "Anna Bies designed and built the entire body in a short amount of time including his head gear that was real leather. I sculpted and fabricated the face, hands and feet. I had the original Ewok mask on hand for reference so I could get exact measurements of Wicket's face and use the style and essence of the character to bring the face to life. After the sculptures were finished, I cast everything out of latex and Polyfoam, and painted it with special rubber cement paints, just as I did the Twi'lek head pieces. I used dental acrylic teeth and clear vaccu-formed domes for the eyes. Then I used some fur to glue on his face, hands and feet. I added a little crepe hair to highlight his hairstyle. After a little hair spray and acrylic medium we had a cute little Ewok."

Now that his work is finished, he's excited to see the characters perform at the parade. "The Star Wars family will be thrilled to see these characters perform beautifully for the first time in the Rose Bowl Parade," Wagner says. "This performance will be something to remember for thousands of people of all ages. I also wanted to thank Mark Anderson, Keith London and Don Bies for their continued support during this project."

News about the Rose Parade is spreading. Check out the coverage at USA Today, AP News and HGTV, and keep checking starwars.com for more stories.

Performance Capture House  "IM Digital"  To Open In Marin County

Source:     http://www.vfxdaily.com/labels/im%20digital.html

CG Animation A Losing Proposition For Lions Gate

(bloggingstocks.com)                Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, which has been a bright light in the otherwise dim movie industry recently, has found success making low budget movies aimed at the 20-30 year-old audience. Here is a list of some of their more notable recent releases, sorted by their estimated budgets. None of the movies has a rating milder than PG-13.

• Hostel ($4.5M est. budget / $47.3M gross)
• Diary of a Mad Black Woman ($5.5M est. budget / $50.3M gross)
• Crash ($6.5M est. budget / $54.5M gross, won Best Picture Oscar)
• Crank ($12M est. budget / $27.8M gross)
• Employee of the Month ($12M est. budget / $28.4M gross)
• Saw III ($12M est. budget / $80.1M gross)
• Hotel Rwanda ($17.5M est. budget / $23.4M gross, nominated for 3 Oscars)
• Lord of War ($42M est. budget / $24.1M gross)

From the above list, you can see Lions Gate's winning formula. All their successes have budgets under $20 million dollars, and most fit into three categories: Movies that push the limits of violence and gore (Hostel, Crank, Saw); low-brow adult-themed comedies (Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Employee of the Month); and edgy dramatic works that gain critical appreciation (Crash, Hotel Rwanda).

Now, here is the problem -- neither the movie the just released, Happily N'Ever After, nor the movie that is making noise today with its addition of Paula Abdul to its cast, Bratz, fits this formula.Happily N'Ever After, a computer-animated film that cost Lions Gate an estimated $47 million to make, only grossed $6.6 million in its opening weekend. Why did it cost Lions Gate so much to make a movie so similar to Hoodwinked, which only cost $15 million to make? And why is Lions Gate trying to make CGI children's movies in the first place? CGI whiz Pixar isn't making Hostel knock-offs, after all.

The other movie, Bratz, is in pre-production. It is described by IMDB as a "live-action adventure based on the popular line of dolls." There is no budget information available, so I won't comment on that. But even if this is a low budget movie, why is Lions Gate continuing to pursue the pre-pubescent market with a movie about a line of children's dolls?

These recent decisions on Lions Gate's part would leave me on the sidelines for the near future, as far as Lions Gate's stock is concerned, but all hope is not lost -- Lions Gate has Hostel: Part II in post-production and The Punisher 2 in pre-production.

CG Tests Tell Cameron To Pick Avatar Over Battle Angel

(ew.com)              James Cameron is finally following up that movie about the boat accident. His new project, Avatar, is an epic, 3-D sci-fi film about an ex-Marine on an inhospitable planet where humans can only survive by projecting their consciousness into genetically engineered bodies (a.k.a. ''avatars''). The people of earth want to exploit the planet's natural resources, of course, causing the inhabitants to revolt and a war to break out. The rub for the protagonist, named Jake (played by newcomer Sam Worthington), is that he's fallen in love with a native (Zoe Saldana), forcing him to choose a side in the battle. Fox has gone out on a limb, granting Cameron a whopping $195 million to tell the tale — but hey, what's a couple hundred mil for a guy who racked up 11 Oscars with his last full-length feature?

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: For a while now, you've been debating between two different projects: Avatar, which is an original screenplay that you wrote, and Battle Angel, adapted from a series of Japanese comics. So why pick Avatar?

JAMES CAMERON: Well, Battle Angel and Avatar were being developed at the same time. The thinking was that we'd be using similar technology to create either one or both of those films. It was little bit of a horse race there for a while to see which one was going to be done first. The way I pitched it to Fox was, ''We're doing both these films.'' The order is relatively arbitrary, because we're making an investment in a methodology and a technical infrastructure that could produce both. But I ultimately had to choose which one was going to be first, and I began to run into a bunch of script problems with Battle Angel, because I was synthesizing down these graphic novels. There are 10 of them. It was the kid in the candy store problem — too many good ideas and no story. So we went through five drafts and didn't solve them. So I switched to Avatar and we started developing that. Then, of course, a great script came in on Battle Angel! Which is a good problem to have, because I had two great projects, either one of which the studio would be happy to go ahead with. I would say it was August or September of 2005 we decided to push ahead with Avatar. Believe it or not, it was that long ago.

What was the deciding factor?

We did a test of the performance-capture techniques we wanted and needed to use to make this film — a live action, real-time, director-centric performance-capture process. In other words, as the actors perform, I'm able to see in the monitor not only what they might look like as their CG character, but in the CG environment we've created, and direct them accordingly. When we did the test, we chose Avatar, just because it seemed like the easiest one to get going for a test, for a lot of reasons.