When it came to conjuring the badass Moon Beast for the climactic battle in “Kubo and the Two Strings” (now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Universal), Laika designed an exotic combination of Japanese dragon, bioluminescent sea creature and creepy prehistoric fish.
“It’s as if Smaug was made of the raging firmament,” Laika president and “Kubo” director Travis Knight told IndieWire.
Read More: ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Clip: Inside The Costume Design of Laika’s Stop-Motion Animated Film
The hard part, though, was making all of these elements coalesce, so Laika experimented with its first all-3D printed puppet. This breakthrough was achieved through greater collaboration between Rapid Prototyping, Rigging, and VFX departments.
“The 3½ foot-long creature is made up of nearly 900 individual parts, with a gooseneck armature inside, like you’d find in a table lamp or a microphone stand,” said Knight, who earned a best director Annie nomination for “Kubo.
“It’s as if Smaug was made of the raging firmament,” Laika president and “Kubo” director Travis Knight told IndieWire.
Read More: ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Clip: Inside The Costume Design of Laika’s Stop-Motion Animated Film
The hard part, though, was making all of these elements coalesce, so Laika experimented with its first all-3D printed puppet. This breakthrough was achieved through greater collaboration between Rapid Prototyping, Rigging, and VFX departments.
“The 3½ foot-long creature is made up of nearly 900 individual parts, with a gooseneck armature inside, like you’d find in a table lamp or a microphone stand,” said Knight, who earned a best director Annie nomination for “Kubo.
- 11/30/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Yay! One of my favorite animated films of 2014 topped the recently announced 2014 Annie Awards honoring excellence in the field of animation. Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi's "The Boxtrolls" received 12 nominations including Best Animated Feature. The winners will be announced at a black tie ceremony on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at UCLA.s Royce Hall. For more information on the Annie Awards, click here.
Here's the full list of nominees for the 2015 Annie Awards
Production Categories
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6 - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Cheatin' - Plymptoons Studio
How to Train Your Dragon 2 - DreamWorks Animation
Song of the Sea - Gkids/Cartoon Saloon
The Book of Life - Reel FX
The Boxtrolls - Focus Features/Laika
The Lego Movie -Warner Bros. Pictures
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya - Gkids/Studio Ghibli
Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey - Voyager Pictures LLC
Dawn of the...
Here's the full list of nominees for the 2015 Annie Awards
Production Categories
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6 - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Cheatin' - Plymptoons Studio
How to Train Your Dragon 2 - DreamWorks Animation
Song of the Sea - Gkids/Cartoon Saloon
The Book of Life - Reel FX
The Boxtrolls - Focus Features/Laika
The Lego Movie -Warner Bros. Pictures
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya - Gkids/Studio Ghibli
Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey - Voyager Pictures LLC
Dawn of the...
- 12/1/2014
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Big Hero 6, Cheatin’, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Song Of The Sea, The Book Of Life, The Boxtrolls, The Lego Movie and The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya have been nominated in the top category for the International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood’s 42nd annual Annie Awards. The Annies cover 36 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Special Production, Commercials, Short Subjects and Outstanding Individual Achievements. The winners will be announced January 31 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Here’s the full list of noms:
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Cheatin’
Plymptoons Studio
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Song of the Sea
Gkids/Cartoon Saloon
The Book of Life
Reel FX
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
The Lego Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Gkids/Studio Ghibli
Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Voyager...
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Cheatin’
Plymptoons Studio
How to Train Your Dragon 2
DreamWorks Animation
Song of the Sea
Gkids/Cartoon Saloon
The Book of Life
Reel FX
The Boxtrolls
Focus Features/Laika
The Lego Movie
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Gkids/Studio Ghibli
Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Voyager...
- 12/1/2014
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline
The Visual Effects Society has announced the nominees for their 11th Annual Ves Awards. From film to animation to television to commercials and video games, the Ves Awards honor the outstanding visual effects artistry.
"Life of Pi's" Ang Lee will be honored with the Visionary Award. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, February 5, at the Beverly Hilton.
Here's the complete list of nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Joe Letteri
Eileen Moran
Eric Saindon
Kevin L. Sherwood
Prometheus
Paul Butterworth
Charley Henley
Allen Maris
Richard Stammers
Life of Pi
Thomas Fisher
Susan Macleod
Guillaume Rocheron
Bill Westenhofer
The Avengers
Susan Pickett
Janek Sirrs
Jeff White
Guy Williams
Battleship
Grady Cofer
Pablo Helman
Jeanie King
Glen Mcintosh
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
Rust and Bone
Béatrice Bauwens...
"Life of Pi's" Ang Lee will be honored with the Visionary Award. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, February 5, at the Beverly Hilton.
Here's the complete list of nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Joe Letteri
Eileen Moran
Eric Saindon
Kevin L. Sherwood
Prometheus
Paul Butterworth
Charley Henley
Allen Maris
Richard Stammers
Life of Pi
Thomas Fisher
Susan Macleod
Guillaume Rocheron
Bill Westenhofer
The Avengers
Susan Pickett
Janek Sirrs
Jeff White
Guy Williams
Battleship
Grady Cofer
Pablo Helman
Jeanie King
Glen Mcintosh
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
Rust and Bone
Béatrice Bauwens...
- 1/8/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Fuel VFX has received two award nominations from the Visual Effects Society.
The.peer-voted accolade for the company's work on Ridley Scott.s Prometheus follows the near-collapse of the VFX house, which was saved in October 2012 when Animal Logic acquired its assets.
Fuel co-founder Paul Butterworth was nominated for .Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture. for Prometheus (alongside non-Fuel nominations Charley Henley, Allen Maris and Richard Stammers).
The Fuel team of Xavier Bourque, Sam Cole, Simone Riginell and Denis Scolan - representing the hard work of all 16 compositors who worked on the film at the company - were nominated for Prometheus (Engineers & the Orrery) in the "Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture" category.
Fuel has also provided effects on a number of Marvel films including Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Fuel continues to run from its Newtown, Sydney-based offices where Animal Logic...
The.peer-voted accolade for the company's work on Ridley Scott.s Prometheus follows the near-collapse of the VFX house, which was saved in October 2012 when Animal Logic acquired its assets.
Fuel co-founder Paul Butterworth was nominated for .Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture. for Prometheus (alongside non-Fuel nominations Charley Henley, Allen Maris and Richard Stammers).
The Fuel team of Xavier Bourque, Sam Cole, Simone Riginell and Denis Scolan - representing the hard work of all 16 compositors who worked on the film at the company - were nominated for Prometheus (Engineers & the Orrery) in the "Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture" category.
Fuel has also provided effects on a number of Marvel films including Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Fuel continues to run from its Newtown, Sydney-based offices where Animal Logic...
- 1/8/2013
- by Brendan Swift
- IF.com.au
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