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Table of Contents MARCH 2001 VOL.5 NO.12 4 Editor’s Notebook What good is technology? 5 Letters: [email protected] TECHNOLOGY 6 The Technology Circle Over the past five years the changes in special effects technology for film and television have been monumental, causing large shifts and new issues for production companies and the soft- ware/hardware companies that service them. Bruce Manning outlines the issues and then sits down with Richard Taylor to discuss. Visit us online to see enlarged images and additional infor- mation on Richard’s work. 12 Low-Cost Solutions, High-End Results With today’s new software packages becoming more and more efficient for less and less money, one can definitely do more with less. John Edgar Park discusses the different software and hard- ware combos that can get you on the fast track to great looking CGI work. Go online to see detailed specs on Strata 3D and Hash Animation:Master online at: http://www.awn.com/mag/issue5.12/5.12pages/parkblurring.php3. 16 Making It To The Web Exporting your animation to Flash so that it plays smoothly and soundly over the Internet is get- ting more complicated with every new product crowing about its “Flash-export capability.” Mark Winstanley is here to make sense of it all for you. 2001 ADDITIONAL FEATURES 20 There Once Was A Man Called Pjotr Sapegin From Russia to his new home of Norway, Pjotr Sapegin is bringing his own twisted sense of humor to his re-worked fairy tales. Who is this man behind a salt controlling troll, a genital lov- ing cat and a rat seeking romance? Chris Robinson investigates. 30 The Challenges of the Big Screen Cartoon The innate pitfalls, and opportunities, in successfully adapting a television show to the big screen are many. With millions in profits going to those who achieve the magic combo, and straight-to- video relegation for those who fail, it is a tight rope more studios are trying to rush across. Gerard Raiti takes a look. 35 The Animation Pimp This month the Animation Pimp Chris Robinson takes on the U.S. job drain to Canada and reveals it is actually a two way street and has been for many a year… ARCH TELEVISION 37 Cartoons Aren’t Real! Ren and Stimpy In Review Have you ever thought that Ren and Stimpy’s popularity was based on their abstract representa- tion of our early ‘90s fears and anxieties regarding political uncertainty and the AIDS epidemic? M Well, Martin “Dr. Toon” Goodman has. 42 Ahoy! An Intelligent Children’s Show At Last! Tired of Teletubbies and need another bizarre pre-school fix? Well check out Consortium of Gentlemen’s Yoho Ahoy on the BBC. Soon you’ll know every word… Go online to see a QuickTime movie clip! © Animation World Network 2001. All rights reserved. No part of the periodical may be reproduced without the consent of Animation World Network. ANIMATIONWORLDMAGAZINE March20012 Table of Contents MARCH 2001 VOL.5 NO. 12 FILMS/VIDEOS 44 Fresh from the Festivals: February 2001’s Film Reviews Jon Hofferman joins us to review short films: The Dance of the Saracen Asparagus by Christophe Le Borgne, Maria Vasilkovsky’s Fur & Feathers, Run of the Mill by Borge Ring, Andreas Hykade’s Ring of Fire and Paul Fierlinger’s long-awaited Still Life with Animated Dogs. As always, visit us online to download and view a QuickTime movie clip from each movie! 47 New from Japan:Anime Film Reviews Fred Patten reviews the latest anime releases including: Outlaw Star, Cardcaptors, Cardcaptor Sakura, The Vision of Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop and Generator Gawl. 53 Supplemental Disney DVDs Surpass the Competition With the new Toy Story: The Ultimate Toy Box and Fantasia Anthology, Disney has clearly pulled ahead of the competition, putting together expansive bonus selections and features to showcase these great animated films. Gerard Raiti reports. EVENTS 56 The Scarves of Sundance Accepted into Sundance’s first online festival, Romanov creator Chris Lanier heads off to Hollywood, Utah as one of the few, the proud, the animators in a sea of live-action hype. A must read, featuring illustrations created by Chris Lanier! 67 Standing at the Crossroads Traveling all the way to la Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean, Jean Detheux discovers a 2001 remote location struggling to join the technology revolution and raising questions about our rampant globalization. 74 Toy Fair 2001:The Big Hits To Come Jacquie Kubin visted New York City’s Toy Fair and has a full report on the hot properties for 2001 and beyond. What’s going to be in your Happy Meal? Read on… NEWS 79 Animation World News Oscar nominations to Father & Daughter and Periwig-Maker, iFilm Secures $10 Million, Sega Ends Dreamcast, Interplay Nabs Matrix Gaming Rights, Australian Government Sets Out To Ban Political Web Game, AtomFilms Brings Content To Pay-Per-View and much more. 80 Next Issue’s Highlights 5 This Month’s Contributors ARCH Cover: Richard Taylor’s The Visitors shows alien “mother ships” revisiting the earth to uncover their eggs, which have been nesting under the cover of desert mountains. © Richard Taylor. M © Animation World Network 2001. All rights reserved. No part of the periodical may be reproduced without the consent of Animation World Network. ANIMATIONWORLDMAGAZINE March20013 Editor’s Notebook by Heather Kenyon What good is technology? where the "tech heads" have world, the same models can be empowered the artists by provid- used for the video game, televi- s we can read about in ing them with the correct tools sion series, packaging and then John Edgar Park’s "Low- that will enhance, and not encum- put onto the Web through clever ACost Solutions, High-End ber, their work. As effects tools interfaces and applications. Results," the advances in tehnolo- (software and hardware) become In this new world, we must gy are astounding and offering more and more complex, varied all, especially the artist, be savvy. new opportunities to the masses, and specific, the more important Case in point, Jean Detheux, an as we can see by Mark Winstanley’s are those in the know. Bruce artist who had to switch quite sud- "Making It To The Web." However, Manning clearly states in "The denly due to an allergy from using Richard Taylor is dead on when he Technology Circle" that all tools are organic materials to the computer. says, "Special effects are no value in possible need on a project…not Rather than being afraid of this in themselves or by themselves." just the latest and the best. While medium, intimidated, he has Sure, animation geeks like us will every software version might not grasped it wholeheartedly as a go to movies just for the effects be selling across the board any- new opportunity to speak in his and ogle at them with glee, but more, effects studios need to unique voice. In fact, in "Standing we know when the package they know about the tools that are at the Crossroads," he asks many are wrapped in is terrible. And so available in order to stay on top in pertinent questions not just to the does the general movie going a wildly competitive arena. inhabitants of la Réunion, but to all public. Technology is great, and Then there are those that of us. Regardless of which tools, technology will get us those eye- do it all. Those that are not only what technology, comes our way, popping effects better, faster and artists but also highly, highly we must always strive to master it, stronger, but they are of no use knowledgeable of what tools are in order to use it to speak, not only unless properly utilized to tell a at their disposal and how to get to the project, but about our- story or impart the desired emo- the most out of them. This is a selves. tion. new breed, a new multi-media Effects studios need a staff breed, that is going to become Until Next Time, that knows every plug-in and more, and more, apparent -- and Heather every version of the available tools. not only in the commercial realm. They are the unsung heroes who Chris Lanier and Andy Murdock provide the correct tools to the are two such artists with this artists. The artists in turn must use approach. Chris’ description of these tools to make us feel the Andy’s latest work, which he saw story. This is another tremendous at Sundance, is amazing! task: getting the timing just Across this issue from article so…making the character perform to article evolved this idea of using what becomes a classic gesture. It many tools to create one final is amazing to me the melding of product. In Jacquie Kubin’s discus- left-brain and right-brain people sion of the recent Toy Fair, she that go into each and every proj- states that properties with many ect. Somewhere in the middle approaches to the consumer are ground lies a wonderful turf, the winners. In this new digital ANIMATIONWORLDMAGAZINE March20014 [email protected] Colombia Is Animating Anime? ANIMATION WORLD NETWORK Thanks for Animation If you had told me that I’d 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 600 World Magazine. It is wonderfu1! be renting and buying anime Los Angeles, CA 90036 Phone : 323.634.3400 In my country it is very difficult to videos a few months ago, I would Fax : 323.634.3350 learn about the animation world have thought you were crazy but Email : [email protected] and you permit that.