Branagh's VFX Journey with 'Thor'
Director Kenneth Branagh talks VFX and 3-D for his first Marvel superhero movie.
Interviews
Rebooting 'The Looney Tunes Show'
Bugs, Daffy, Porky and the gang are back sitcom-style.
A More Animated 'Hoodwinked Too!'
This time Arc Prods. takes on the Hoodwinked sequel.
The Lyrical Lines of Tsvika Oren
Tsvika Oren has been deeply involved in animation for the better part of 30 years - creating, teaching, writing, judging, jurying…
Lasseter Talks 'Cars 2'
The Pixar/Disney chief creative officer discusses his return to directing.
Saldanha Goes to 'Rio'
The Blue Sky director discusses his most personal animated adventure.
Sneak Peek at 'DC Universe Online' With Chris Cao
DC Universe Online, which launched in January for the PC and PS3, presented some unique development challenges. MMOs are notoriously difficult to create, but Sony Online Entertainment and Everquest veteran Chris Cao rose to the challenge. The game director of DC Universe Online talked to us about the game’s launch and what’s next.
Frenzer Foreman Animation Forum (podcast) x 22
Special Guests: Michael Markman / Sheila Sofian & David Fain
The sounds of chewing, the sounds of music, the sounds of talking. Episode 22 of the Frenzer Foreman Animation Forum. Featuring: Joel, Alan, Sam Olschan, Computer, Guests, Alan's Cat, Beef Jerky, Sinatra, Elvis, Plucky Duck, Animated Documentaries, and Ricky Gervais. Enjoy.
Talking 'Portal 2' With Valve Software’s Erik Wolpaw
When it comes to video games, Valve Software was one of the early game studios to emphasize the importance of interactive narrative in shooters like Half-Life. Storytelling remains an integral part of all of Valve’s games. And Erik Wolpaw is one of the top writers at the Seattle game studio. Gabe Newell hired Wolpaw at Valve, where he’s worked on the story and dialogue for games like Portal 1, Left 4 Dead and now Portal 2. Wolpaw talks about the creation of Valve’s much-anticipated Portal 2, which ships in April, in this exclusive interview.
Hal Hanlin Talks 'Rift'
Rift, the new PC MMO, launched on March 1 in the United States and days later in Europe and Australia. The game debuts on a crest of positive buzz garnered through a slew of well-received beta events. But launching a successful online game is as much about follow-through as it is about first impressions. Trion Worlds design producer Hal Hanlin talks about his company’s philosophies on keeping customers happy, leveraging technologies and, of course, making great games.
Zack Snyder Talks 'Sucker Punch' and 'Superman'
The acclaimed director of the latest mind-bender discusses his first original movie as well as his vision for The Man of Steel.
Peter Molyneux Talks 'Fable III' and Commitment to PC Gaming
By Scott Steinberg
Hardwicke Talks 'Red Riding Hood'
The Red Riding Hood director discusses VFX and werewolves.
Mars Needs Wells
The Mars Needs Moms director tells us why performance capture was such a good fit.
Ric Viers, The Master of Sound Effects
Ric Viers not only creates vast libraries of sound effects, he also shares his knowledge with anyone who wants to create their own sounds.
Verbinski Talks 'Rango'
After tackling Pirates, Gore Verbinski tells us what it was like going on his first animated adventure with Johnny Depp and ILM.
The Oscars: Getting Personal with 'Let's Pollute'
The director of Let's Pollute talks about combining entertainment with an environmental message.
The Oscars: Exploring 'Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage'
Bastien Dubois tells us about his personal journey making Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage.
The Oscars: Finding 'The Lost Thing'
The Lost Thing's co-directors discuss the challenges of adapting a poetic book dedicated to overcoming apathy.
The Oscars: Chasing 'The Gruffalo'
The Gruffalo's co-director discusses the challenges of transcending a beloved tale.
The Oscars: Ralston Talks 'Alice in Wonderland'
Sony's acclaimed supervisor discusses going down the rabbit hole once again along with the other nominees.
Capcom’s Jun Takeuchi Gets Emotional
Garrett Romaine recently caught up with Jun Takeuchi (and his interpreter) of Japanese gaming company Capcom to discuss his start in gaming and his thoughts on the industry’s future.
Atomic Fiction Fuses with the Future
Find out what the ImageMovers refugees have in mind for a successful startup.
Independent’s Day: The Reality of Indie Game Development
Interactive entertainment’s answer to art-house films is indie game development. Titles like Minecraft, Recettear and World of Goo have captured a legion of forward-thinking fans’ and bedroom coders’ imaginations alike. But despite consistently raising the bar for innovation and creativity, life left of the keyboard isn’t all fun and games. Dave Gilbert, founder of indie adventure-game studio Wadjet Eye Games (The Blackwell Legacy , Puzzle Bots ), explains the indie life to Scott Steinberg.
The Oscars: Trojansky Talks 'Hereafter'
Scanline's founder and vfx supervisor discusses the new mindset for working with Clint Eastwood.
Pages
Frenzer Foreman Animation Forum (podcast) x 23
Special Guests: RISD Senior Animation Students 2011
Live, from the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating senior animation students take over the show and grill the very Alan Foreman and Joel Frenzer on their animation information. Topics: jobs in animation immediately after school, maintaining your own art practice while working in the studio, secrets of FFAF podcast production, beatboxing, general fears, and the rapture. Refereed by RISD Animation Professor All-Stars, Amy Kravitz and Bryan Papciak.
An Interview with Marc Petit, Senior VP of Autodesk M&E
Marc Petit, Senior Vice President of Autodesk’s Media & Entertainment division, talks about how studios are meeting the challenges of economic uncertainty and workforce globalization and how his company plans to meet future need for technology tools, including adoption of Open Source standards.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson Talks 'Kung Fu Panda 2'
The first-time director gets a hold of Po for a bigger and more intimate adventure.
An Interview with Animation Director Bill Kroyer
Bill Kroyer, animation director, teacher and one of the board of governors of the Motion Picture Academy, shares his thoughts on the original Tron, where it broke new ground and what impact it had on the computer animation field. He also talks about the new digital animation program at Chapman as well as some of the political issues animation faces within the Motion Picture Academy.
An Interview with VES Chairman Jeff Okun
Jeff Okun is not afraid to speak honestly about subjects the make some uncomfortable, nor take positions that might rub some people the wrong way. The bottom line is that everyone working in film and television today knows fundamental change is afoot in how shows are financed and produced and that the visual effects industry has taken a tremendous beating the last few years, especially in California. The question is what to do about it.
War Production: Chatting With Frank Pearce of Blizzard
At GDC, Arti Gupta chatted with Blizzard Entertainment’s Frank Pearce about the latest World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm, as well as integrating mobile phone applications to support the experience of their core games and developing for fans new and old alike.
Protecting the Planet in 'Mia and the Migoo'
Jacques-Rémy Girerd discusses the making of his latest animated feature.
Branagh's VFX Journey with 'Thor'
Director Kenneth Branagh talks VFX and 3-D for his first Marvel superhero movie.
Rebooting 'The Looney Tunes Show'
Bugs, Daffy, Porky and the gang are back sitcom-style.
A More Animated 'Hoodwinked Too!'
This time Arc Prods. takes on the Hoodwinked sequel.
The Lyrical Lines of Tsvika Oren
Tsvika Oren has been deeply involved in animation for the better part of 30 years - creating, teaching, writing, judging, jurying…
Lasseter Talks 'Cars 2'
The Pixar/Disney chief creative officer discusses his return to directing.
Saldanha Goes to 'Rio'
The Blue Sky director discusses his most personal animated adventure.
Sneak Peek at 'DC Universe Online' With Chris Cao
DC Universe Online, which launched in January for the PC and PS3, presented some unique development challenges. MMOs are notoriously difficult to create, but Sony Online Entertainment and Everquest veteran Chris Cao rose to the challenge. The game director of DC Universe Online talked to us about the game’s launch and what’s next.
Frenzer Foreman Animation Forum (podcast) x 22
Special Guests: Michael Markman / Sheila Sofian & David Fain
The sounds of chewing, the sounds of music, the sounds of talking. Episode 22 of the Frenzer Foreman Animation Forum. Featuring: Joel, Alan, Sam Olschan, Computer, Guests, Alan's Cat, Beef Jerky, Sinatra, Elvis, Plucky Duck, Animated Documentaries, and Ricky Gervais. Enjoy.
Talking 'Portal 2' With Valve Software’s Erik Wolpaw
When it comes to video games, Valve Software was one of the early game studios to emphasize the importance of interactive narrative in shooters like Half-Life. Storytelling remains an integral part of all of Valve’s games. And Erik Wolpaw is one of the top writers at the Seattle game studio. Gabe Newell hired Wolpaw at Valve, where he’s worked on the story and dialogue for games like Portal 1, Left 4 Dead and now Portal 2. Wolpaw talks about the creation of Valve’s much-anticipated Portal 2, which ships in April, in this exclusive interview.
Hal Hanlin Talks 'Rift'
Rift, the new PC MMO, launched on March 1 in the United States and days later in Europe and Australia. The game debuts on a crest of positive buzz garnered through a slew of well-received beta events. But launching a successful online game is as much about follow-through as it is about first impressions. Trion Worlds design producer Hal Hanlin talks about his company’s philosophies on keeping customers happy, leveraging technologies and, of course, making great games.
Zack Snyder Talks 'Sucker Punch' and 'Superman'
The acclaimed director of the latest mind-bender discusses his first original movie as well as his vision for The Man of Steel.
Peter Molyneux Talks 'Fable III' and Commitment to PC Gaming
By Scott Steinberg
Hardwicke Talks 'Red Riding Hood'
The Red Riding Hood director discusses VFX and werewolves.
Mars Needs Wells
The Mars Needs Moms director tells us why performance capture was such a good fit.
Ric Viers, The Master of Sound Effects
Ric Viers not only creates vast libraries of sound effects, he also shares his knowledge with anyone who wants to create their own sounds.
Verbinski Talks 'Rango'
After tackling Pirates, Gore Verbinski tells us what it was like going on his first animated adventure with Johnny Depp and ILM.
The Oscars: Getting Personal with 'Let's Pollute'
The director of Let's Pollute talks about combining entertainment with an environmental message.
The Oscars: Exploring 'Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage'
Bastien Dubois tells us about his personal journey making Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage.
