Animation Nation

What happens when an American record producer, one who produces records for the likes of Elton John and k.d. lang, sets out to produce a music driven animation project by teaming up with the Japanese animation house Studio 4°C, and crowd funds the project with Kickstarter?

If Greg Penny can pull this off, he'll show the world that even with anime, a variety of genres can be made that can excite animation audiences worldwide. Project:13 is a music driven animation project that debuts as a trilogy of three 5 minute music video / mini movies, driven by strong songs with global hit potential.

Greg Penny"s company, Siwa Productions is seeking public funding of $390,000 to complete the project. Interested contributors may pledge their backing through Kickstarter. The first four contributors to donate $5,000 each will be offered the opportunity to be animated as a cameo character in one of the Project: 13 episodes.

Please see these links for more info, as well as with the Forum topic.

Greg Penny's 'Project 13' Kickstarter campaign.

Project 13 artwork, photos and video.

Here's some promotional material to enjoy. Beautiful artwork and impressive animation. 

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A holiday near and dear to us all is Mother's Day. In the US it occurs on the second Sunday of May. This year on May 13 which is this weekend. Pixar has produced a sentimental video in honor of Mother's Day in the form of a trailer for its upcoming feature, "Brave" which will be released next month on June 22, 2012. In the meantime, we can enjoy yet another peak at this highly anticipated film. There's a topic on the Forums dedicated to Brave developing for some time now with plenty of content pertaining to the movie. You can access it at this link.

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Here's the tale of an extraordinary animated effort. A stop-motion feature film by Director Adam Ciolfi. Primarily a solo effort, this Herculean effort has taken 15 years to complete. Adam was responsible for the construction of every model and set, the animating of every shot, the editing of both picture and sound and he also composed and performed the film's score. 

Since it began screening at festivals in September 2011, the film has won numerous awards and continues to entertain audiences around the world. It won Best Animated Feature at the Toronto Independent Film Festival 2011, the Philadelphia International Film and Animation Festival 2011, Eugene International Film Festival 2011 and the Garden State Film Festival 2012. It also won the Special Jury Prize at the Canada International Film Festival.

For more info and to see a special making of promotional trailer for The Lady of Names, follow this link to the Forums. Here's a look at the film.

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Here's an animated treat to enjoy! Last year DreamWorks produced a couple of sequels to their 2010 hit film "How To Train Your Dragon". One was entitled  "Book of Dragons". It was released on November 15, 2011 on DVD and Blu-ray, along with "Gift of the Night Fury". Much of Book of Dragons is animated in refreshing 2D. It's presented here in its entirety, along with subtitles in Arabic. To see the entire Gift of the Night Fury click here.

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Well on its way to becoming the biggest motion picture blockbuster of all time, "The Avengers" are storming through world cinemas and shattering records. With the biggest opening weekend in history, the box office is booming thanks to this film. Disney stands to do very well as a result, since they own Marvel Comics. Long time ANer Greg Boone brought us the news of the success of the movie in this topic. Adrian Skynet Foster brought the first trailer to our attention last October, and I came along later with the one you're about to see.

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The sad news came out today that famed children's book author Maurice Sendak has passed away. He was 83 years old. Thanks to ANer hoofprints who brought this to the Forums earlier today.

Mr. Sendak was best known for his masterpiece "Where the Wild Things Are" first published in 1963. The book became a feature film in 2009. Gene Deitch animated an American-Czech co-production of the book in 1973, which would make a fine tribute to Maurice Sendak by showcasing the video here.

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Nope, it's not the Disney version that was in development. This is from WizartAnimation, a studio located in Moscow. Here's the a recently released English version of an animated film they're producing, Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen". Here's the film's site and this is where you can find Wizart's site in English.

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I met David Wolter when he was a student of mine at The Animation Academy in Burbank, California. He was very talented and I could see he had great promise in the work he was creating in the Character Design course he took. Later, he enrolled and was accepted at Cal Arts. The film he produced there is called 'Eyrie' and I'm happy to report that it's been nominated for a Student Academy Award in the Animation category sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The same group that handles the Oscars. You can see all the finalists for the 2012 Student Academy Awards here. Good luck David! Hope you bring it all home. Here's a look at Eyrie...

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I've heard about this and became aware of it when ArmyMan brought it to our attention today at this topic on the Forums. Turns out Amazon.com through a program called "AmazonStudios" is getting into the business of developing original programming. This is welcome news for everyone involved with and aspiring to develop creative content and underscores just how significant the move towards bringing original programming to the Internet is becoming.

Click here to learn more about AmazonStudios and see what's happening with the projects they're lining up. For info on their criteria for submissions and  how you can get involved in preparing for this new territory click here to access their site. Also check out the video below for a visual explanation of what AmazonStudios has in mind. It's from a year ago but still has pertinence towards the idea of developing original Web based programming.

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Here's something that's fun to watch and prophetic in nature. Take a trip back in time some 28 years ago to 1984 as Apple Computers recreates World War II and 1944 in a humorous internal marketing video intended for motivational purposes.

In January 1984, the Macintosh TV ad that aired during the Super Bowl caused a sensation. This was a follow up. Set as a tale of good vs. IBM, its budget was purportedly only $50,000. It was designed to fire up Apple's international sales force at a meeting in Hawaii that same year.

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