Mittwoch, 6. März 2013

DAILY BLOG CARTOON MOVIE LYON 2013 No 1

Ernest & Celestine

Its again this time of the year. Again over 700 animated people come together from all over Europe and also the rest of the world to talk feature film. Animated feature film. From March 6th to 8th lovely Lyon in southern France, not so far from Annecy (the world´s animation capital in every June) hosts Cartoon Movie, the gathering of producers, television people, distributors, investors. They will pitch and reject, buy and bargain, talk and eat, discuss and listen, agree and disagree. 56 different animated projects will be pitched in various stages of development. 22 in concept phase, 16 in development, 9 actually in production and 9 completed films
20 european countries are involved in those projects, again France is the leading nation with 17 projects, Scandinavia is coming up with 10 projects, Germany is part of 5 projects, Spain 4, United Kingdom 3, Poland 3. Belgium, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands will present 2 projects each.
Big names will be present at Lyon, that is big names in animationland: Sylvain Chomet presents his next film "Swing Popa Swing", a prequel to his famous Triplettes of Belleville, Patrice Leconte pitches his second animted feature film "Music". Enzo D´Alo screenes his finished film "Pinocchio" and also Jean Francois Laguionie, who last made the lovely and critically well received  "The Painting", steps forward with his his new project "Louise in the Winter".
Sylvain Chomet´s Swing Popa Swing
I myself am looking forward to finally see the Cesar-nominated "Ernest & Celestine", which is based on the the much beloved children´s books and directed by Benjamin Renner. Copenhagen Bombay, who have produced the great "Great Bear" presents two new ideas: "Beyond Beyond" and "Get Santa"
Upfront to Cartoon Movie there is the second edition of Cartoon Games, a plattform, where video game companies can meet animation producers. Cartoon Movie opens itself to the normal, animation loving people of Lyon with the festival "On Cartoon dan le Grand Lyon", organized by the network of cinems, GRAC.
I will try to cover the event as best as I can, this means certain information overload tommorrow morning.And the information will not stop to flow until Friday evening!  At the moment, sitting in a fast TGV-Train heading towards Lyon, I am trying to set up a timetable, which always turns out to be futile. On paper, its always tricky to choose the project, there are always two projects being pitched against each other in different places.  The final decision where to go will be made during the so called croissant shows during the next two days, where the whole group of cartoon movie will watch the different trailers. Depending of this visual eye-candy, I will made my final decision where to attend. Tonight the events starts with a welcome cocktail, where you can start networking your way around 700 people, that means you will need a lot of cards or else to make yourself known to all this people. Around 19.30 the opening film will be screened, this year its "Tad, the Lost Explorer" from Spain, following that there will be the Welcome Dinner starting around 21:45 o`Clock. Again Networking! And something to eat too!

Tommorrow the real work starts. From 9:00 to 10:00 there will be the first croissant show, followed by the first pitching session.  2x 4 sessions will be held, so you can as one person just attend 4 sessions, this means  I will attend 3 long pitches where the producers have time to talk around twenty minutes about one project - and there is also one session where six projects are presented in a ten minutes each format - so it will be 9 different projects for me in the morning. Afterwards Lunch and Coffee - Details about that tommorrow! In the afternoon there will be 2x 4 long pitches, then I will probably skip the short pitches (depending of the croissant show) and have a good look at the screening of "Ernest and Celestine". And maybe I risk a quick look afterwards at the screening of the german feature "Raven the little rascal".  As I have seen the german version already, "Kleiner Rabe Socke", I think I will not be there for the whole movie, but nothing against a second opinion. More about the condition of german animated fature films hopefully later on. Because "Ritter Rost" will be presented here as will be Der MondmannAfter that a free evening awaits me... meaning I will sit down with all the new information and type something into the computer to put it on the blog! For you to read! And same procedure on Friday - Croissant shows and pitchings, Lunch, Croissant Shows and Pitchings.... All day long. But there will be also the Farewell Party and my departure from Lyon. It will be all in all just sixty hours, but they will be as always pretty intense!

 As I will not attend Cartoon Games, I will give  you a quick overlook about this event, which is hosted from 9:00 until 18:30 today. Organized in collaboration with the Imaginove Cluster the event tries to create artistic and commercial synergies between animation and games. In over 700 speed dating sessions, one-to-one meetings of 15 minutes, the companies can establish a first contact. Three  companies presented keynotes in the morning: Joelle Caroline from UBISOFT talking about "Building Synergies between games and animated features", Mikko Pöllä, Creative Director, Rovio Entertainment talked about "ANGRY BIRDS A Multimedia Brand". And Visual Designer Victor Antonov from Arkane Studios gave an insight into "Building a city called Dunwall"
Molly Monster from Germany!

Here is the list of the participating game companies:
Belgium: Belle Productions
Finland: Rovio Entertainment
France: 3 Singes Production - 3DDUO- Arkane Studios - Artefacts Studio- Audiogamers - Avant-Gout Studios - Bento Studios - BiP Media - Eents for Games -  Iboo Interactive - Iconik - L´Effet Papillon Production - Novamotion - OUAT Entertainment - Rendal Studio - Succubus Interactive - Ubisoft - Whumpe  Entertainment
Germany: Affare - Digital TreasureEntertainment - Experimental Game - Macromedia University of Applied Studies - satisfactory - Saxonia Media - Studio Fizbin
Spain: Abylight Casual Brothers - Evil Mind Entertainment - Immersive Interactive - Moonbite Games - Mutant Games - Osom Videogames - Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team - Unkasoft Advergaming

Montag, 4. März 2013

Cartoon Movie 2013, where projects come to life

European co-production forum - Animated features
6-8 March 2013 - Lyon (Rhône-Alpes, France)

CARTOON MOVIE 2012
Cartoon Movie is neither a fair nor a festival, but rather a co-production forum for European animated feature films.
For two intense days, European producers have the opportunity to pitch their animation project in order to speed up financing, find cross-border partners and interest international distributors and sales agents.
  • over 700 participants from 40 countries
  • 200 buyers including 120 distributors
  • 56 projects to be pitched in 4 categories (concept, development, production and completed films)
  • A convivial atmosphere ideal for networking (Opening night, Croissant & Coffee Shows, Farewell dinner, buffet lunches…)
  • Cartoon Games: keynotes & matchmaking sessions between gaming and animation companies

Freitag, 1. März 2013

Pressemeldung FMX 2013

FMX 2012
FMX 2013 - Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia April 23-26, Stuttgart, Germany
Newsletter #6 - February 2013
Fresh off the red carpet! Oscar-award winning Brave comes to FMX as well as other Pixar highlights. They accompany VFX highlights such as Life of Pi, Cloud Computing experts, top-notch companies and talent scouts. Want to join in on creativity and innovation? Be our guest: The FMX ticket shop is now online!

ArrowPixar's genius: "The Blue Umbrella" and "Brave"

The 3D animated comedy Monster's University, the prequel to 2001's Monsters, Inc., is released this summer on June 20th. The highly anticipated movie is set to be preceded by the Disney Pixar short The Blue Umbrella. Two months before the actual release date, Director and Script-Writer Saschka Unseld, who successfully completed his studies at the Institute of Animation at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in 2004 and started working at Pixar in Emeryville in 2008, presents the short film at FMX. Unseld sheds light on the original idea behind the love story between two umbrellas in the pouring rain in a making-of presentation from both an artistic and a technical perspective. Furthermore, Unseld's Pixar colleague Christophe Hery discusses Lighting & Rendering questions in The Blue Umbrella as well as other movies, while Production Manager Joshua Hollander plans to give an overview of the technical, production and creative processes behind Pixar's stereoscopic releases. Furthermore, Alexander Nehls, Character TD at Pixar, dedicates his presentation to simulation in Brave, recent winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

 Arrow Bright and light: Cloud Computing

The Cloud is here. Jon Peddie, digital media pioneer and Jon Peddie Research (JPR) founder, presents a keynote for the Cloud Computing series curated by NVIDIA ARC's Ludwig von Reiche and demonstrates how devices for immersive and augmented reality experiences in different environments offer new visionary perspectives for design and communication. Peddie is supported by JPR Vice President Kathleen Maher who also presents a talk on "Managing and Making Entertainment" that illustrates the advantages and challenges involved in the creation of digital content in the Cloud. Time to look into the Clouds.


Arrow Top-notch companies at Marketplace plus Workshops

Interactivity, innovation, inspiration - the FMX Forum assembles top-notch companies in 2013. Check out a few special treats when Ncam and Solid Anim, whose technologies were both applied in Scorsese's Hugo, show their real time camera tracking technologies at the Marketplace. What's more, outstanding studios and companies offer Workshops to deliver practical information, among them Adobe, Next Limit Technologies, Side Effects and Shotgun. Shotgun discusses patterns that they experience in their collaboration with VFX studios with regard to pipelines, tools and current production challenges. In additional Workshops, Maxon concentrates on Cinema 4D and the possible connections to other programs such as Adobe After Effects and Imagineer Systems focuses on their Mocha Pro software which was distinguished with a Technical Academy Award. Last but not least: Autodesk invites visitors to get an inside seat at their four-day Company Suite. Dive into the latest technologies!

Arrow Scouting talent - Recruiting Hub and Fast Forward Education

Are they looking for you? Industry heavyweights such as Framestore, Method Studios, MPC, Pixomondo, Crytek as well as regional CG specialists such as eder Medien Management scout creative talent at the Recruiting Hub. Moreover, FMX goes fast and furious and extends its Education Section even further: "Fast Forward Education" is a brand-new type of presentation where schools present outstanding projects. Ten out of twenty international schools on the School Campus from as far away as New Zealand have already booked their high-speed presentations. Be inspired by this educational tour de force!
Pixel


Arrow Innovation across the globe

Fasten your seat belts, FMX is traveling abroad! Hosted by Max Hoefferer, General Secretary of the IG Computergrafik, the track on Austria features You get me - Walt Disney Record's full-CG music video by Producer and Lead Animator Kris Staber (Arx Anima) and "Microworlds" - an overview of animated microscopic images by Reinhold Fragner (Industrial Motion Art Filmproduktion GmbH) among many other talks. Here's to Turkey! Curated by Digital Colorist and ColorMeUp! academy founder Andreas Brueckl, the Turkey track comprises presentations by 3D Animator & Director Murat Izzet Arslan, Post-Producer Cenk Koksal (both 1000 Volt) and Anima Instanbul's Director and Partner Mehmet Kurtulus. Shifting its gaze to Canada, William Cheng - set designer for Total Recall, Resident Evil 4: After Life and the highly-anticipated Guillermo del Toro movie Pacific Rim - curates a program on Toronto, supported by the Ontario International Marketing Centre Munich. This track includes presentations by Bill Skolnik, Executive Director/CEO of DGC Ontario, and Randy McLean, Acting Film Commissioner at the City of Toronto Film Commission. Discover mighty places.

ArrowFree job position at the renowned Institute of Animation

Looking for a job that combines creativity with organization? The Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, which organizes FMX, is looking for a Head of Production and Study
. Go ahead and apply!

Pressemeldung Stuttgart Animationsfilmfestival 2013


Das Event-Dreiergestirn der internationalen Animationsbranche

Stuttgart – Im April wird Stuttgart zum Nabel der Animationsfilmwelt! Das 20. Internationale Trickfilm-Festival (ITFS) und die FMX – Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia präsentieren alle kulturellen, wirtschaftlichen und wissenschaftlichen Aspekte der Animation. Zudem veranstalten das ITFS und die FMX den Animation Production Day, der als Businessplattform die internationale Animationsindustrie zusammenbringt. Den Besuchern bietet die Partnerschaft der drei Veranstaltungen durch die zeitliche und räumliche Parallelität einen gewaltigen Vorteil.

Das ITFS ist zusammen mit der FMX und dem APD das größte und eines der weltweit bedeutendsten Events für den Animationsfilm. Vom 23. bis 28. April 2013 werden ca. 1.000 der besten Trickfilme zu sehen sein, die die ganze Bandbreite des Genres repräsentieren. Trickfilmfans und Branchenmitglieder aus der ganzen Welt können die aktuellsten und besten Animationsfilme sowie ein umfangreiches Rahmenprogramm bestaunen. Im Zentrum des Festivals stehen der künstlerische Animationsfilm und die Förderung junger Talente. Das Trickfilm-Festival erprobt die Zukunft des Animationsfilms und lotet die Schnittstellen zwischen Animation, Computerspielen, Architektur, zeitgenössischer Kunst und Echtzeitmedien aus. Im Rahmen der Wettbewerbe werden Preisgelder in Höhe von über 62.000 Euro vergeben.
www.itfs.de

FMX - Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia (23. bis 26. April 2013)
Die FMX ist Europas einflussreichste Konferenz für digitales Entertainment und als Treffpunkt der Fachwelt die ideale Ergänzung zum Publikumsfestival ITFS. Branchenexperten aus aller Welt diskutieren in Präsentationen und Workshops aktuelle Produktionsfragen, Technologien und Distributionsmodelle. Zum Programm zählen Animationsfilme wie Pixars "The Blue Umbrella" und "Merida", VFX-Highlights wie "The Hobbit" und "Life of Pi" und spannende Themen wie Virtual Production, Lighting & Rendering und Concept Design. Auf dem Marketplace demonstrieren Hardware- und Software-Anbieter ihre Produkte, im Recruiting Hub halten Top-Firmen Ausschau nach Talenten, und auf dem kostenfrei zugänglichen School Campus zeigen über 20 internationale Hochschulen ihre besten Projekte.
www.fmx.de

Animation Production Day (25. und 26. April 2013)

Der APD findet wie die FMX im Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart statt. Er ist eine Businessplattform für die internationale Animationsindustrie. International tätige Produktionsfirmen wurden eingeladen, Projekte einzureichen, für die sie Koproduktions-, Finanzierungs- und Vertriebspartner suchen. 30 Projekte aus 11 Ländern aus den Bereichen Spielfilm, Serie, Games und Transmedia wurden für die Teilnahme am APD 2013 ausgewählt. Der APD bringt Produzenten, Dienstleister, Vertriebe, Verleiher, Publisher, Sender, Banken und Equity-Investoren in effizienten One-to-one Meetings zusammen. Die Konferenz "Financing & Brands" ergänzt das Programm. Case-Studies und ein hochkarätig besetztes Panel zeichnen Wege auf, wie den aktuellen Herausforderungen der Branche zu begegnen ist. Investoren können sich noch bis zum 04. März für den APD registrieren.
www.animationproductionday.de