VFX Retrofitting Star Trek Into Darkness


Like Skyfall, Star Trek Into Darkness is a hybrid of the old and the new in completing its rite of passage reboot. Except that J.J. Abrams has the advantage of time travel, which he introduced in the first movie, for creating a parallel universe that allows him to

The Academy Tackles Storytelling in the Digital Age


Tech and storytelling converged during a fascinating series of discussions at the Academy on May 15 about Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, and Star Trek Into Darkness, hosted by screenwriter John August. After showing a funny collage of clips about ditching cell phones and

Chris Wedge Gets Epic


Epic is not only Blue Sky's best movie but also director Chris Wedge's most personal, too: a swashbuckling, samurai action/adventure that takes place in a lush, microscopic forest world. It beautifully translates N.C. Wyeth for Alice in Wonderland meets The Adventures

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stop-motion

SIGGRAPH Previews Production Sessions

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Education, Events, Festivals, Movies, Oscar, Shorts, stop-motion, Tech, Trailers, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

The tech behind Pacific Rim, Frozen, Monsters University, and Oz the Great and Powerful will be on display at SIGGRAPH 2013. Held this year in Anaheim on July 21-25, the production sessions are part of the Computer Animation Festival. Read more

Ray Harryhausen Passes Away

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in Animation, Below the Line, Clips, Movies, Oscar, Shorts, stop-motion, Tech, VFX | Leave a comment

Stop-motion and VFX pioneer Ray Harryhausen passed away Tuesday in London at the age of 92, according to an announcement on the official Facebook page of The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation. The multi-award winner best-known for The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and Clash of the Titans, became a cultural legend and an inspiration to every filmmaker that has worked in animation and live-action VFX movies for the last half century, (including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Tim Burton, Phil Tippett, Nick Park, and John Lasseter). Read more

IBM Makes Atomic-Size Stop-Motion Short

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in Animation, Movies, Shorts, stop-motion, Tech | 2 Comments

IBM Research entered the Guinness Book of World Records with the tiniest stop-motion movie ever made (45 nanometers x 25 nanometers) about an atomic boy having fun playing with a single atom. Read more

Jerry Beck Launches Animation Scoop

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Blu-ray, Books, performance capture, Shorts, stop-motion, Tech, Videogames | Leave a comment

Animation historian Jerry Beck (formerly co-owner of Cartoon Brew) has launched Animation Scoop, which will be part of the Indiewire blog network, where I will serve as contributing editor, writing about animated features with interviews and behind the scenes pieces. Read more

Tippett Announces Layoffs

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Movies, Oscar, stop-motion, Tech, VFX, Virtual Production | 1 Comment

In a further sign of the turbulent VFX times, 30-year-old Tippett Studio (Ted) has laid off 40% of its work force Friday, according  to The Hollywood Reporter, with the possibility of more pink slips to come. Read more

ParaNorman Auction for Children

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, stop-motion, Tech, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

Variety – The Children’s Charity of Southern California is hosting the online auction of two props used in the Oscar-nominated ParaNorman from Laika and Focus Features through March 4. Read more

Meet the Animated Oscar Shorts Nominees

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Clips, Movies, Oscar, Shorts, stop-motion, Tech, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

On the eve of the Academy Awards on Sunday, here are my exclusive interviews with Minkyu Lee (Adam and Dog), PES (Fresh Guacamole), Tim Reckart (Head over Heels), David Silverman (Maggie Simpson in: The Longest Daycare), and John Kahrs (Paperman).  View a few of the shorts below. Read more

Watch Complete Head over Heels Short

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in Animation, Annies, Clips, Movies, Oscar, Shorts, stop-motion, Tech | Leave a comment

Fresh from his Annie win last week for best student film, Timothy Reckart’s stop-motion Oscar contender, Head over Heels, is now available online. It joins Paperman, Adam and Dog, and Fresh Guacamole. Meanwhile, Maggie Simpson in: The Longest Daycare is back in theaters this weekend in 3-D with Life of Pi. Read more

Selick Revives Stop-Motion Shadow King

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Movies, stop-motion, Tech, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

Henry Selick’s next stop-motion feature, The Shadow King, is well into pre-production after being shut down by Disney. Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) is producing with Sara Serata, and K5 International will be handling world sales and pitching potential buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin next week. Read more

Laika Announces Steampunk Boxtrolls for 2014

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Movies, Oscar, stop-motion, Tech, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

Laika and Focus Features will follow-up the Oscar-nominated ParaNorman with The Boxtrolls (Oct. 17, 2014), a stop-motion/3-D adaptation of Alan Snow’s steampunk novel, Here Be Monsters, directed by Anthony Stacchi (Open Season) and Graham Annable (story artist on Coraline and ParaNorman), and produced by David Ichioka and Laika president/CEO/lead artist Travis Knight. Read more

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