Article Type: Interview

Short Films ANIMATIONWorld

Q&A: Réka Bucsi’s ‘Solar Walk’ Now Available Via Vimeo On Demand!

Following 70 festivals and 13 awards for her short film ‘Solar Walk,’ the award-winning independent animator talks about distribution and monetization.

MPC VFXWorld

How MPC Animated the High-Flying Elephant for Tim Burton’s ‘Dumbo’

From defying gravity to expressing emotion in a believable way, reality was key for animation supervisor Catherine Mullan and the team of artists at MPC.

Technology ANIMATIONWorld

How MoonRay Became the Hidden Superpower Behind ‘How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World’

DreamWorks Animation’s director of research and development, Robert Knaack, head of lighting Pablo Valle, and visual effects supervisor Dave Walvoord detail how the studio’s proprietary rendering tool helped power the breathtaking visuals in the culmination of the ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ franchise.

Tributes ANIMATIONWorld

Beautiful Maladies – The Uncanny World of Rosto

Ottawa Animation Festival artistic director Chris Robinson shares a previously unpublished 2015 Pimpcast interview with the iconic Dutch musician and director, who passed away at 50 on March 7.

Festivals ANIMATIONWorld

GLAS 2019: A Conversation with Einar Baldvin, Jeanette Bonds & Sean Buckelew

With the lofty goal of transforming the cultural understanding and language of animation as an artistic medium, in its fourth year the GLAS Animation Festival continues to grow, packed with special guests, more than 20 special programs, and a new Vimeo Staff Pick Award.

Framestore VFXWorld

Framestore Gets Into the Action for ‘Alita: Battle Angel’

From the floating city of Zalem and the vast Iron City to the massive crowd-filled Motorball stadium, Framestore delivers a broad range of visual effects for Robert Rodriguez’s action-packed dystopian feature.

Dreamworks Animation ANIMATIONWorld

Where Have All the Dragons Gone? Dean DeBlois Concludes His Spectacular Trilogy with ‘The Hidden World’

‘How To Train Your Dragon’ series writer and director Dean DeBlois reflects on his ten years with the beloved franchise, detailing how new technologies helped bring ‘The Hidden World’ to the screen.

Dreamworks Animation ANIMATIONWorld

How To Design an Infinite Number of Dragons in DreamWorks Animation’s ‘The Hidden World’

Head of character animation Simon Otto helps bring more than 65,000 fantastical dragons to life for one of the biggest sequences in the culmination of the studio’s ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ trilogy.

Oscars ANIMATIONWorld

Merging Hand-Drawn Tradition with CG Artistry for Mamoru Hosoda’s ‘Mirai’

The acclaimed director of ‘Wolf Children’ and ‘The Boy and the Beast’ paints an intimate portrait of a young boy’s vivid imagination and how it helps him accept the arrival of his baby sister in one of the last Japanese animated features to employ hand-drawn animation.

Brazil ANIMATIONWorld

Brazil’s ‘Tito and the Birds’ Takes Flight in North America

By Dan Sarto | Monday, January 28, 2019 at 7:02pm

Director Gustavo Steinberg and producer Daniel Greco tackle adult themes of political fear and media distortion in their critically acclaimed independent animated feature aimed at young audiences.

Dreamworks Animation ANIMATIONWorld

Designing the Spectacular Realm of the Dragons for DreamWorks Animation’s ‘The Hidden World’

From concept art to finished frames, production designer Pierre-Olivier Vincent brings a singular touch to the final film in the blockbuster ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ trilogy.

Feature VFX VFXWorld

Driving ‘Mortal Engines’: Weta Crafts a Dystopian World for Universal’s YA Adaptation

VFX supervisor Ken McGaugh and animation supervisor Dennis Yoo face the challenges of creating a steampunk-inflected dystopian world inhabited by giant, predator cities on wheels for Oscar-winning VFX artist-turned-director Christian Rivers’ feature adaptation.

Feature Film VFX VFXWorld

Travis Knight Takes Flight with ‘Bumblebee’ -- Part 2

In the second part of AWN’s two-part interview, the director of Paramount’s new ‘Transformers’ sci-fi action adventure discusses the magic behind a compelling and emotional digital character performance. 

Visual Effects VFXWorld

Water World: Delivering Blockbuster-Quality VFX for Warner Bros.’ ‘Aquaman’

VFX producer Kimberly Nelson LoCascio wrangles two VFX supervisors and multiple VFX houses to help deliver more than 2,300 visual effects shots for director James Wan’s take on the DC Comics super hero.

Marvel Studios VFXWorld

Capturing Thanos: How the Ultimate ‘Avengers’ Adversary Was Brought to Life

VFX supervisors Dan DeLeeuw and Kelly Port discuss the challenges of capturing the nuanced performance of Josh Brolin as the philosophical antagonist in ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’

Disney ANIMATIONWorld

Animated Characters Abound in ‘Mary Poppins Returns’

Annie-nominated character designer James Woods details the development of a host of characters for the animated sequences in the Disney sequel, including a new look for the iconic four penguins.

Sony Pictures Animation ANIMATIONWorld

Christina Steinberg Talks Risks and Rewards Making ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’

By Dan Sarto | Monday, December 17, 2018 at 7:54pm

The veteran producer shares insights on trusting her team of artists, producers and Phil Lord’s original vision in Sony Pictures Animation’s new hit animated adventure about an alternative, and highly stylized Spider-Man universe.

Aardman ANIMATIONWorld

Nick Park Stays True to His Early Style in ‘Early Man’

By Dan Sarto | Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 10:54am

Four-time Oscar winner maximizes more organic, stone-age look with targeted CG and no 3D printing on Aardman Animations’ Annie Award-nominated stop-motion feature.

Dreamworks Animation ANIMATIONWorld

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Bringing a 2D Touch to DreamWorks Animation Short ‘Bird Karma’

Dive into enlightenment with the first project to emerge from the studio’s newly-launched shorts program in AWN’s exclusive video and accompanying interview with director William Salazar.

Google Spotlight Stories ANIMATIONWorld

John Kahrs Enters the ‘Age of Sail’ with Cinematic New VR Short

Taking virtual reality onto the high seas, Oscar-winning director of Disney’s ‘Paperman’ delves into the making of Google Spotlight Stories’ longest, most visually complex virtual reality experience to date.

real-time graphics ANIMATIONWorld

Powered by Unity: How a Global Team of Artists Brought ‘Sonder’ To Life

Making its online debut as a Vimeo Staff Pick, Oscar-qualified short film ‘Sonder’ uses the power of real-time graphics inside the Unity game engine to achieve a distinctive 2D ‘toon-shaded visual style.

Framestore VFXWorld

Framestore Delivers Spectacular Character Effects for Disney’s ‘Christopher Robin’

Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Chris Lawrence and animation director Michael Eames oversee 727 VFX shots -- including 677 featuring creature animation -- for director Marc Forster’s heartwarming return to the Hundred Acre Wood.

Short Films ANIMATIONWorld

Within a Dream: Bringing Emotion To Trevor Jimenez’s ‘Weekends’

Oscar hopeful Trevor Jimenez breaks down a surreal dream sequence designed to evoke heightened emotions in his painterly short film ‘Weekends.’

Pixar ANIMATIONWorld

‘Incredibles 2’: How Pixar Story Artist Ted Mathot Brought the ‘Auntie Edna’ Mini-Movie To Life

Story artist-turned director Ted Mathot brings the iconic Edna E. Mode out of her comfort zone and into the spotlight in a new short film created for the home entertainment release of ‘Incredibles 2.’

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