Table of contents for Animago 2017 in Digital Production

Regular readers might be a tad confused right now, seeing as we’ve published the animago Special Issue before this year’s animago has taken place. But it’s no mistake and we’re not accidentally announcing the winners beforehand: instead, we just wanted to make some changes to the magazine’s concept and bring you more print-based information about the many events taking place at this year’s animago before things get underway on 7 and 8 September at the Gasteig in Munich In this DP Special Edition, you’ll find an overview of the nominees including information about all 33 projects in the eleven animago categories. As always, there is a wide range of VFX and animation work to admire, and it is truly amazing to see the leaps in quality that can occur in…

CG art is booming all over the globe. Today, there are 194 countries in the world, and 58 of them contributed to the animago AWARD. In preparation for this year’s event on 7 & 8 September, we created an overview of which countries will participate in the 2O17 animago AWARD. This year’s animago AWARD is taking place one month earlier than usual, which meant that we had to get in gear a bit faster than last year. In 2016, our 20th anniversary year, the Gasteig Centre in Munich proved itself a worthy venue, so we’re delighted that it will host the animago again this year. For more about the Gasteig, read the article “The Past and Future of the Gasteig Munich”. It contains an interview with Managing Director Max Wagner…

Thomas, you finished your studies at the SAE Institute in April. Looking back now, how did it all go? For one thing, I completed the SAE diploma, which means I got practical training in areas such as cinematography, lighting, editing, sound, computer tech, storytelling and 3D. At the same time, I finished my 24-month Bachelor programme, where I got a solid theoretical basis, including insights into economic factors and legal aspects, such as copyright, marketing, business plans and tips on how to write academic articles and give expert lectures. To my mind, this was an ingenious combination and an ideal preparation for a career in the media industry. I invested a lot of time and effort into my studies and tried to make as much as possible out of everything…

School Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg Directors Alexander Dietrich & Johannes Flick Country Germany Software Cinema 4D, ZBrush, Mudbox, After Effects, Premiere "Shine " Trailer www.animago.com/en/animago2017/ filmlinks >>> No. 1 Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg Homepage www.filmakademie.de Alexander Dietrich Homepage www.alexander-dietrich.net Johannes Flick on Vimeo www.vimeo.com/johannesflick Shine Really good ideas are usually the product of great environments. In the case of “Shine”, the makers had gathered for a brainstorming meeting in a beer garden when the idea for their project was born. The students saw the broken bulbs of the fairy lights hanging in the beer garden and mused about how the damage might have come about. Ultimately, they decided that there must be small apes that suck the light through their tails to make themselves shine, most likely to impress the girl of…

Studios Matte CG, Uson Studio, Apus Estudios Director Luis Uson Co-Director Andres Aguilar Country Ecuador Software ZBrush, Maya, V-Ray, After Effects, Nuke “Afterwork” Teaser www.animago.com/en/animago2017/filmlinks >>> No. 11 Matte CG Homepage matte.ec Usion Studio Homepage usonstudio.com Apus Estudio Homepage www.apusanimation.com Afterwork What would it be like if cartoon characters were real? Would they suffer from endless everyday work routines just like the rest of us? What would they do after work? Would they be happy? This short film explores that question and stems from director Luis Uson’s obsession with classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons and Warner Bros. comics. In 2015, he drew an embittered blue rabbit and showed it to his matte-CG colleague Andres Aguilar. Thus began the most ambitious project to date for the duo from Ecuador as well…

Studio Psyop Director Joe Ball 2D Animators Chris Anderson & Matthew Everton Client Citibank Country United States Software Maya, Houdini, Illustrator, Nuke Citigold “Adele” www.animago.com/en/animago2017/filmlinks >>> No. 15 Psyop Homepage www.psyop.com Adele Adele works hard to become Design Director at a big fashion label and collaborates with her financial advisor to create a long-term plan to achieve this goal. After a buyout causes a series of major changes in her life, Adele’s financial advisor once again supports her efforts to get ahead professionally. The animago jury was impressed by this ad’s flowing motion design, its harmonious brownand- yellow colour palette and its clever use of light to depict the transitions in Adele’s life. The eight-person team at Psyop worked for a total of eight weeks on the project.…

Studio DW Studio Creative Director David Wiffen Client Antlion Audio Country Wales Software Cinema 4D, V-Ray, After Effects „ModMic“ 5 Film www.animago.com/en/animago2017/filmlinks >>> No. 27 DW Studio dwstudio.co.uk Antlion Audio – ModMic 5 The new modular add-on microphone ModMic 5 has a wealth of new and innovative features: among others, it is fully customizable and has a studio-quality mode as well as a dual mic switch. The patented design makes it possible for users to connect the high-performance microphone to all forms of earphones. It was up to DW Studios to communicate all of these functions in a quick and understandable way in a spot for the client, Antlion Audio. The video was going to have to speak to a global online consumer base, so it had to…

United Kingdom „The crane technique“ by Sylwia Koloszewska 3ds Max, ZBrush Philippines „What Lies Beneath“ by Reynante M. Martinez Blender, Gimp Costa Rica „Little Chef“ by Jesús F. Calderón ZBrush, Maya United States „Buddha of 4: Wenshu“ by Te Hu ZBrush, Renderman, Maya Poland „Casino Heroes – New World“ by Ars Thanea 3ds Max, V-Ray Spain „The Cathedral“ by Berenice Del Valle Moran 3ds Max, V-Ray Switzerland Slow Food – Animal Pills 1“ by Pixelprinz ZBrush, Softimage, V-Ray Germany „Scavengers 3“ by Taylor James & Andy Glass 3ds Max Germany „Acid Fizz ‘86“ by Daniel Karner 3ds Max, V-Ray…

Günter Hagedorn animago AWARD This Hamburg-based programmer, graphic designer and photographer has been part of the team since the very first animago AWARD. He is responsible for managing the participants, heading up the jury meeting and carrying out the awards ceremony. What do you like about the CG industry? Even though CG artists are constantly in competition with one another in general, there’s nevertheless a collegial exchange of knowledge, tips, tricks and trends. People truly wish the best for each other, which is something I miss in other realms of life. Plus there’s always a sense of vibrant creativity. I think this is what generates the industry’s fun, charming and enigmatic nature – no matter how much hard work it involves. What is your all-time-favourite animation film? At the moment,…

VFX-Studio Rodeo FX VFX-Supervisors Tim Burke & Christian Manz Client Warner Bros. Country Canada Software Maya, Houdini, Nuke Rodeo FX VFX-Breakdown www.animago.com/en/animago2017/ filmlinks >>> Nr. 24 Rodeo FX Homepage www.rodeofx.com/en Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them The film “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is a spinoff of the “Harry Potter” universe. The plot is set in the 1920s, in the period when the young magician Newt Scamander wrote the animal lexicon of the same name that later became the standard school book at Harry’s school, Hogwarts. A number of studios were involved in creating this elaborate VFX spectacle with its many fantasy creatures. Rodeo supplied 126 VFX shots for the feature film, with the team taking roughly one year to create a number of the…

Beyond Good and Evil 2 Cinematic Trailer Studio Unit Image Game Developer Ubisoft Montpellier Country France Software 3ds Max, ZBrush, Maya, Houdini, V-Ray, ZBrush Trailer www.animago.com/en/animago2017/filmlinks >>> No. 05 Trailer Breakdown with Michel Ancel www.animago.com/en/animago2017/filmlinks >>> No. 06 Beyond Good and Evil 2 Homepage www.bgegame.com Unit Image Homepage www.unit-image.fr The “Beyond Good and Evil” game for PC and console came out in 2003. Ubisoft began working on the development of Part 2 in 2008, but due to the very high technical demands, the release failed to materialise. Many people didn’t believe the second part would ever come out, but when the announcement trailer was presented at the 2017 E3, all naysayers fell silent. The game is now scheduled for a 2018 release. Part 1 told the story of a…

School Ringling College of Art and Design Directors Beth David & Esteban Bravo Country United States Software Maya, Renderman, Nuke, Premiere “In a Heartbeat” Film www.animago.com/en/animago2017/filmlinks >>> No. 09 Ringling College of Art and Design www.ringling.edu In a Heartbeat Sherwin attends middle school and is extremely shy. He’s at that age where love and sexuality start to play a huge role in life. For some crazy reason, his heart jumps out of his body every time he sees Jonathan, the most popular boy at school. Initially, Sherwin chases down his heart and catches it every time it gets out; eventually, however, he owns up to his true feelings. But who wants to be outed by their own heart, which happens to have a cheeky mind of its own?…

Artist Frank ter Horst Country Netherlands Software Cinema 4D, After Effects, Final Cut Displacity The inspiration for “Displacity” came from a previous work by Frank ter Horst, in which he designed city models to sway to the well-known sounds of Johann Strauss’ Fledermaus overture. The original idea was to make it look like fun, but that didn’t really work in the actual implementation. It was only after the artist heard a violin concerto by Russian composer Alfred Schnittke that he knew the time had come for this type of project. With its militant and confrontational nature, the Schnittke piece provided the perfect sound for moving architecture. Frank created his film for “The One Minutes” (www.theoneminutes.org), an online platform that gives artists the oppo tunity to publish films that are one…

VFX-Studio Unit Image Agency BETC Production Frederic Genest / Partizan Post-production Royal Post Client Canal+ Country France Software 3ds Max, ZBrush, Maya, Houdini, V-Ray, After Effects, Nuke, Premiere, Final Cut „Canal Kitchen“ Spot www.animago.com/en/animago2017/filmlinks >>> No. 30 „Canal Kitchen“ Making-of www.animago.com/en/animago2017/filmlinks >>> No. 31 Unit Image Homepage www.unit-image.fr Canal Kitchen Exquisite cuisine requires the finest ingredients, much like successful TV entertainment, which is exactly what is being prepared in the bustling ‘Canal Kitchen’. However, instead of serving food, the chefs in this unusual kitchen are working with a different kind of ingredient: dinosaur eggs are cracked into a bowl, cartoon figures sautéed in a pan, entire football teams poured out onto plates and burning cities carried off on platters. The breathtaking ad was created to showcase the new selection…

School ESMA Team Alexandre Arpentinier, Mathieu Blanchys, Lola Grand, Tristan Lamarca, Thomas Lemaille, Jean-Charles Lusseau Country France Software Renderman, Maya, Houdini, Nuke, Premiere „Asteria“ Trailer www.animago.com/en/animago2017/filmlinks >>> No. 20 ESMA School www.esma-artistique.com Asteria In this short film, the student team from the ESMA in France ventured into that rare genre known as science-fictioncomedy. In this case, two astronauts go on a mission to conquer an unknown planet and end up facing a highly unusual and absurd situation that puts their professionalism to the test. The students had one year to complete the film, which they did in September 2016. The team started the project with a detailed synopsis that had been written by Alexandre Arpentinier the previous year. Some of the challenges they faced included giving the film…

After debuting in 2O16, the animago AWARD’s special "Architecture Visualization Prize" will be handed out again in 2O17. However, the organisers of the award – that is, the teams at Digital Production in cooperation with the Detail architecture magazine – have made one key change: seeing as they received such an overwhelming number of submissions last year, this year’s jury will limit the projects it considers for the prize to architectural visualization films. As in previous years, architectural CG pictures will continue to be accepted in the regular “Best Still” category. Now it’s time to take a look at the members of the jury who chose the three nominees for this year’s Architecture category. The recipient of the prize will be announced on 7th September at the animago AWARD ceremony…

The Gasteig Cultural Centre opened in 1985 and is one of the largest centres of its kind in Europe. Today, roughly 1.8 million people visit the Gasteig every year. The building boasts 80,000 square metres and 3,500 seats in five large event halls. The Gasteig is also home to leading cultural and educational facilities, including the Munich City Library, the municipal centre of further education, the University of Music and Performing Arts and the Munich Philharmonic. With more than 1,700 events each year, there’s no chance of getting bored at the Gasteig. The range of programmes is ex- tremely diverse and offers something for everyone, including glitz, glamour and exclusive film premieres at the Munich Filmfest and concerts by heavy metal bands like Apocalyptica in the Philharmonic Hall. Exhibitions like…

For the past 17 years, the animago AWARDs presentation has been flanked by an expert conference that itself is accompanied by a free-of-charge exhibition open to all. Among the companies displaying their latest products and developments this year in the foyer of the Gasteig are Maxon, NEC Display Solutions, PNY, Wacom and BenQ. Visitors can also gain direct access to Arri Media, Ignyte, nhb, present4D, Rise | Visual Effects Studios, Vogelsänger and Scanline VFX to screen show reels and talk about all their latest projects. Win, Win, Win Interactivity is the big thing at this year’s animago. At our Digital Production stand, we will be offering DP magazines and various rebate offers, but there will also be a VR scultping competition with Oculus Medium we’re organising in cooperation with Milkroom…