October in a nutshell


The “In a Nutshell” series is a monthly collection of linked tips, news, trailers and tutorials from around the web. It also contains the best posts from our Facebook and Twitter page in case you missed them there. Plus Talkback from Animator Island readers!

NEWS

Disney Buys Lucasfilm (including “Star Wars”) for $4 Billion

For many Star Wars fans the unthinkable has happened: Entertainment giant Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm and all the rights for Star Wars (see press release). They also announced the production of Star Wars episode 7 with a release in 2015. They hired Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) to write the script, which he already began before the buy out.

On a side note the deal also includes other companies owned by Lucasfilm like the VFX studio Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), which produced “Rango”. I am afraid they won’t be allowed to produce another feature in their very original realistic style because Disney already owns two animation facilities: Disney Animation and Pixar.

Also nice to be noticed is that Lucas is donating almost the full amount of the buyout to furthering education for kids in the US.

“The Goon” on Kickstarter – controversial but successful

After their “proof of concept” trailer a while ago, a lot of people have hoped for a full-length film to come true based on Eric Powell’s comic book series “The Goon.” Since The Goon world features zombies, aliens, robots, some crude humor and cartoony violence it’s nothing you would normally see in a classic animation movies, which probably made investors hesitate.

To finally take the project a step further Blur Studio was asking for $400,000 on kickstarter – but not to make the movie… yet. The money raised will be used to create a story reel in order to convince investors to come on board. The fact that they are fundraising on kickstarter is criticized by some for two main reasons: 1) The story reel won’t be made available for the backers, because investors wouldn’t like the movie to be out before it is even made. The backers support something that they might not even see. 2) Blur Studio and director David Finchers are rather established names in the film industry. Many private or smaller independent studios might be much more in need of crowdfunding support.

By now the project is successfully funded and made $441,900 in total. A new record for the animation category on kickstarter.

 

INSPIRATION

Paperman: technical making-of

Have you wondered how the amazing 2D look in the CG Disney short “Paperman” has been done? This little breakdown reveals a surprisingly complex process. “Paperman” will be shown in front of “Wreck-it-Ralph” and you can see the official Animator Island review right here!

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How much does animation cost?

This interactive graph enables you to explore and compare the budget of many animation films and series. Interesting… Check it out!

 

SHORT OF THE MONTH

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TRAILER

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FESTIVALS

For festival dates and information as well as a handy list of deadlines visit: http://www.animation-festivals.com

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dogma

Pretty soon Disney will own everything and still make less movies than they ever have.

isabelle

Can’t believe Disney bought out Lucas. I never thought he’d sell. Ever ever ever ever ever in a million years.

isabel

Thnks for the links!

Pattie K.

Do you think they’ll use that new Paperman tech for a full film? Except the black and white I would love to see it.

James D.

The Croods looks so stupid like they stole the girl from Brave and made her a caveman. I will not go see that.