The Boxtrolls

     So, the marvelous new movie I and the many many talented folks I'm privileged to work with at Laika have been working laughable hours in order get a wonderful new movie called The Boxtrolls out into theaters by next September. It's really looking stunning and the new teaser trailer released today shows off not only the beautiful images the studio has created here but also some of the process...

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/theboxtrolls/

The next film we are all currently slaving away on has a new teaser trailer and a website... ch ch ch check it out:
http://www.theboxtrolls.com/

THR - 'ParaNorman' Makers Announce Production on 'The Boxtrolls'

The Hollywood Reporter published this article after the announcement of the next movie from Laika studios. Planned for release Oct 17th 2014, "The Boxtrolls" is an adaptation of Alan Snow's "Here Be Monsters" book. Click the link for the full deats...

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paranorman-makers-announce-production-boxtrolls-419169

ParaNorman was an incredible experience. Not only was I fortunate enough to work with friends and colleagues from previous shows again, but on this production Laika brought in so many new and amazingly talented individuals fresh into the industry. It's a bold move that I feel the best studios employ. It not only opens up a world of creative excitement and interest for those entering a new environment but it also expands the knowledge, outlook and creativity of those with a history within the industry.

I'm thrilled that ParaNorman has received the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature and in a year when so many films were put forward for consideration.  I'm not a purist when it comes to the medium, but my history in animation has been dominated by stop motion, so I'm also excited to see three of the five movies up for the award are stop motion films.

Best of luck to ParaNorman and congrats to directors Chris Butler and Sam Fell, and producers Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner.

Toots.

ParaNorman...and why it's important.

After the crew screening of the final cut for ParaNorman on Saturday many of my colleagues involved with the project have been praising and touting the movie socially both in blog posts and social networks, so I'm band wagon jumping a little and doing the same here. Although I did want to express another perspective as to why I think this movie is particularly special for the animation industry.

I have been a part of the animation industry now for fifteen years and have almost exclusively worked in stop motion as an animator. I am a proponent of the idea that the medium in which one creates a movie is a decision that should be based on the content of the story, the physical and budgetary constraints of the project and the creative decisions of the filmmakers to portray a look and style. Also, I feel that it is not a selling point, there are good movies and bad movies, in every medium.

Historically when a new medium is used in film it can draw attention solely because of its use. The clearest example in my lifetime has been the introduction of computer animation. When the first full length CG features were released the excitement, the hook, even for the lay audience, was that this was something never before seen. However the success and longevity of movies like Toy Story was due to them being very good stories well told.

After the initial "we pushed animation to a new level" thing passes with the second, third, fourth movies, that particular medium finds its true place and becomes what it really is, a technique with which to tell a story. There will always be incremental advances ("look how we can make hair more realistic")  and they will still be a part of the promotion of a project, but the best studios know that once a film is 30 seconds in that no longer matters to an audience.

Stop Motion has almost always been different, for some reason feature film makers working in this medium have often relegated themselves to the world of the specialist. There's a core market of movie goers that want stop motion for stop motions sake and due to this rarely has it lost its initial appeal, its hook. Albeit with a small audience, relatively.

It also seems that this core audience of stop motion purists have an attraction to the macabre, the gothic, and the theatrical. I want to make clear at this juncture that Tim Burton has made a few excellent movies.

There is of course another pool of stop motion movie goers, looking specifically for thumb prints in clay. Again the filmmakers involved have made considerable contributions to the entertainment industry.

With all of this in mind studios making stop motion features tend to push their projects in the direction of this audience. I will say there have been excellent examples to the contrary but not to my knowledge in the $50m+ budget realm.

Much of the promotion surrounding ParaNorman has had the usual focus on the technique, and it's fair that this core audience be catered to and expanded. However, leaving the theatre after watching the movie I was elated that the movie is simply a movie, and a really good one too. The stop motion medium is beautifully wielded, and the rapid prototype techniques are amazingly advanced and deserve credit, but when you watch the film all of that just slips away as you watch great characters go on a great adventure.

There is not a single point where you are brought out of the movie and reminded, "isn't it cool, you are watching little puppets". That I feel is where Laika has succeeded tremendously. This is a great big step in the right direction, it is not an attempt to become mainstream yet it is an example that not every stop motion film has to be "quirky".

ParaNorman manages to be unique without alienating anyone. I would hope that audiences seeing the movie will, within 30 seconds, forget they are watching stop motion, or animation of any kind, and laugh, shriek, giggle, weep, watching Norman go on this awesome adventure.

GO SEE IT!

Toots.

Paranorman Marketing Amps Up!

To coincide with the timing of the Comic Con panel discussion on friday, Laika along with focus features and Weiden and Kennedy have released a whole bunch of new marketing materials for the Paranorman movie out August 17th.

The paranorman.com site has had an overhaul and is now a complete interactive joy with tons of stuff to explore including video snippets, making of's and this amazing stop motion zombie lab where you can create your own stop motion animation right in the browser. Trust me, it's very cool.

Some very interesting posters have been popping up in NYC:

Here's a couple of the very awesome making of featurettes...





And here's the blog from the Comic Con panel discussion...

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Paranorman-Comic-Con-2012-Panel-Live-Blog-31885.html

Lego camera dolly, now ANDROID controlled.

Here's a video and a few images of the new Lego camera dolly. Still going to be adding pan to this one, but it works well as is for  slow dolly shots. I wanted something portable that I could throw on a flat surface do a very slow creeping dolly in, or parallel. The best thing about this dolly is I can control the speed of the servo motor with my android phone instead of programming everything in first.

 

Paranorman wraps up...

My work is done on The Paranorman movie Laika has been making for... well a long time. Tons of tremendous talent on the movie, many still plugging away in VFX and elsewhere to get things out to the theaters by August. It's a real cracker, a very funny, scary and emotional ride with a great group of characters to connect with... not to mention it's beautiful, really stunning. A marginally premature congratulations goes out to Messers Chris Butler and Sam Fell respectively for guiding the team in producing such a great piece of work. Also animation supervisor Brad Schiff for keeping our department on model, in character and off the streets.

Here's the trailer:

http://youtu.be/Gzjhej9pVuY

Andy Serkis to start in and direct Muybridge movie.

Freezing Time (2011)

Me with Teller

At the Rio

Wimmy wam wam wozzle!

...in vegas

View from the room

Steven Spielberg Says Animation Reaching 'Turning Point'

Steven Spielberg Says Animation Reaching 'Turning Point' at Dedication of USC's Katzenberg Center for Animation - The Hollywood Reporter

The adventures of tin tin trailer

Watch "The Adventures of Tintin Trailer 2011 HD" on YouTube

Doing some research on logline structure and I came across this little beauty:

"A talented landlord, a megalomaniac limo driver, and a cynical gas station attendant kidnap a ferret in a stadium."

Now that's a movie I'd pay to see.

"I want to be cremated, and I want my ashes blown in Uri Geller's eyes." James Randi

Everything I've done in film and animation I can trace back to seeing these images in school.

Muybridge exhibition in SF:
SFMOMA | Mobile Site | Exhibition | Helios

THE HOBBIT Start of Production [HD]

Videos Posted by Peter Jackson: THE HOBBIT Start of Production [HD]

My job just got twice as hard...

James Cameron Urges Industry to Use Faster Frame Rates - The Hollywood Reporter

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/james-cameron-urges-industry-use-173577

http://vimeo.com/15681533