Considering that EVA creator Hideaki Anno has done live action before (the feature film Love and Pop), I think he should be the one to direct a live-action Evangelion (as much as the idea itself disgusts me). Also, how much control will GAINAX have over the script and casting?
I've had problems with that version of Opera as well. I recently redesigned my site, and had downloaded the program to test my pages. Although the JS didn't give me any problems, the tables (written in plain HTML) did. Usually it was the second row in the page's main table getting cut short in the middle of a page, and I'd have to resize the text to get all of it to show up (and this solution didn't work all the time, either).
I also tested my pages in the Windows versions of Mozilla and IE, and the Linux version of Phoenix-- none of these other browsers gave me any such problems.
Haven't you hung around these type of people before? The more obscure a product and the less people use it, the cooler you are.
Hell yes! It's just like with indie bands and fanzines. Speaking of Apple, they've made Snobbish Hipsterism into an industry! For example: remember when the iPod first came out? It was all the "hip" geeks who got 'em first.
There's some animation book (Chuck Amuck, methinks), where the author talks about animators falling asleep at their desks and waking up with pegbar indentations in their foreheads. Eventually, some of these animators started covering up the telltale marks with theatrical makeup.
Keyboards, fortunately, pose no such problem... not that I know, of course...
Good to see some recent news about Final Fantasy IX coming to the US!
As for its coming out for PC before PS2, yeah, that is really interesting... could it be because online games are more of a PC market than a console one (in the US, anyway... not sure about everywhere else)? I know I, for one, had been planning on getting the PC version over the PS2 one, should both ever make their way here to the States, if only because I wouldn't have to buy an adapter for my PS2:P
Re:Bring back the comics, too!
on
Sam & Max in 3D
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Steve Purcell always wrote his Sam & Max stories few and far between. I noticed that they got even more infrequent once he started working for LucasArts...
But yeah, a reissue of Surfin' The Highway (maybe with the one or two new Sam & Max one-pagers done since its initial publication) would rock.
Good point on that last paragraph. What most people tend to forget is that animation-- including kids shows-- is made by adults. Animators love and go nuts over things like Spongebob, mostly because they're brilliantly written and aren't dumbed down. If only more shows were like that...
There is technically competant animation coming out of Japan; thing is, you have to dig really hard to find it.
Here's two best bets: check out anything by Studio Ghibli (best animation salaries in Japan) or (nearly) anything by Production I.G. (second-best animation salaries in Japan, natch). Out of those studios' output, I'd suggest FLCL (excellent 2 1/2-D animation; it's also the most [if not the only] Warner Bros./Tex Avery-styled anime I've ever seen), Spirited Away, and My Neighbor Totoro (we studied the first Catbus scene from this film in one of my animation classes).
I find that I tend to watch anime how I watch any other animation: I follow certain directors and studios. I watch Hayao Miyazaki's films just as faithfully as I do Brad Bird's.
Good for them! The CBLDF is probably the one group with the most expertise in these kinds of issues (I've followed a few cases of theirs in the past, mostly via The Comics Journal), and I'm sure they'll lend some solid support to Penny Arcade.
I haven't seen the anime, though I love the manga! It's easily the smartest, funniest shoujo manga I've ever read!
I wouldn't be suprised if fansubs have been screened before at smaller anime fests, but I haven't heard of any official screenings; I don't believe anyone's aquired rights to the series English-language release yet...
I have the new issue of Wired sitting on my desk right now (I'm a subscriber), but I haven't read the Matrix article yet (call it "Fear of Spoilers"-- I'm happy that little disclaimer was included with the article). However, I have read the sidebar on Gaeta's film favorites, and noticed that in the listing for the two best known versions of Metropolis (the original Fritz Lang one and the anime by Rintaro), the latter is credited as being by the creator of Akira! Correct me if I'm wrong, but Katsuhiro Otomo directed Akira, and Rintaro wasn't even involved with that production.
These Matrix guys claim to be such anime geeks, then they mix up the names of two directors that most any hardcore otaku would know! It's a faux pas, sure, but a glaring one.
On a slightly unrelated note, the mix of films listed was quite enlightening. It's an eclectic (and rather telling) mix... from Kubrick's 2001 to Reggio's Koyannisqatsi and Powaaqatsi.
Amen to that! It's also more fun to hear your friends curse your name when you frag them at a crucial time. You just can't get that sort of experience online;)
Actually, the theatrical rerelease of Spirited Away has been in the works for a while now. Thing is, Disney didn't want to take as much of a risk as they did with Princess Mononoke and did the smart thing: a small, art-house release, allowing Spirited Away to rack up the well-deserved accolades (the Oscar being the cream of the critical crop). I have a feeling that many at Disney knew Miyazaki's film had the best chance of winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and you can bet that Disney's theatrical distribution division was counting on it;)
Heck, even the nomination helped. Look at Blue Sky. After Ice Age was nominated for an Academy Award, the CG house finalized a multi-picture deal with Fox (which includes films such as Robots and the Ice Age sequel).
I would like to extend my heartfelt congrats to Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, and everyone involved with the English-language adaptation of Spirited Away. Before the Oscars, I read much commentary that predicted that the Best Animated Feature category would be marred by studio politics (as it was last year, when Shrek won). Glad to see that this is not the case this year, and that the best film really did win.
Now I've gotta cross my fingers for Chicago to win the Best Live-Action Feature Oscar;) I'm also wondering which film will win (or has won?) Best Animated Short... I hope it's Das Rad (aka Rocks).
My boyfriend and I are constantly going at each over on which is better: analog or digital. The Oxberry camera is one of the reasons I like analog.
It's an animation camera and stand that has been in use for many years by animators. The Oxberries I've worked with weigh a couple of tons each, and the taller one is between nine and eleven feet high. They had digital counters, mechanical/electronic shutter releases, and completely mechanical registration controls. It is, without a doubt, the coolest machine I've ever used.
AFAIK, the Oxberry company is out of business, and the only production facilites in the US which still use this beast are schools and independant studios (like Bill Plympton's). Digital coloring for traditional animation is quickly becoming the standard in TV work, and has already replaced cels in feature films. Like many of my classmates at the time, I too could've used a computer to color my thesis film, but I went with the Oxberry.
Wanna know why? Oxberries don't crash! They don't corrupt your files, they don't freeze up on you, and (in most cases) shooting a cel on film is a LOT faster than scanning a drawing into a computer. While a few of my friends had huge scares over corrupt hard drives and Jaz disks, I just sweated over a mechanical camera, blared The Crystal Method (no headphones necessary-- since I wasn't in a computer lab!), and shot my film. Then I sent it off to the lab while my friends' renders were crashing.
I now do my work almost entirely on computers. How times have changed. Still, I'll always value my experiences with the Oxberry... it is as real and as hands-on a shooting process as you could get. I'd love to have one just to mess around with, but they're quite scarce, not to mention the fact that I don't have 15-foot ceilings;)
Another notable nomination in Animated Shorts is Koji Yamamura's Mt. Head, which I got the opportunity to see at last year's Ottawa Animation Festival. It's a really incredible piece.
I've seen all the nominated films except for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron-- but considering DreamWorks' track record with traditional animation, I'm sure I can overlook it without any repercussions.;) Still, I'd like to rent it just to see exactly why it got a nom.
Lilo and Stitch: This is the best and most unique film Disney Feature Animation has done in awhile, and Chris Sanders certainly deserves major props for bringing a Brad Bird-style approach to the usual slick and flowy style of Disney animation (Brad Bird, FYI, directed The Iron Giant, created Family Dog, and was a consultant for the early years of The Simpsons). The character animation for Stitch is easily THE BEST I've seen in any film this year (they wuz robbed in the Character Animation category for the Annie Awards), and the watercolor backgrounds, design, etc. was stunning. Major weakness: the flimsy climax and ending.
Ice Age: Instantly gets extra points for being the first feature animated film made ENTIRELY on the East Coast;) I am really, really happy for Blue Sky for their nomination and I hope it leads to better days for the NY animation industry. But enough of that... Exquisite timing worthy of Pixar, beautiful (and tactile) production design, an "okay" story broken up by some very funny and inspired bits. Major weakness: aforementioned "okay" story.
Spirited Away: The best film ever to come out of the House of Ghibli, and that's not saying much, as they're usual level of quality is as high as that of Pixar and Aardman (It DOES say a whole lot if you're not any one of these three studios, though ^_~). Gorgeous artwork, inspired fish-out-of-water/Alice in Wonderland-type story, overall character animation is humorous and believable. Overall, the best animated film I've seen all year. Oh yeah, and all those critics awards it's already one couldn't hurt;) Major weakness: the dreaded Anime Stigma (you know, the assumption that all anime is either about hentai tentacle rape monsters or Dragonball Z-type battles with cute characters somewhere in between), though this is becoming less of an issue with each passing year...
Treasure Planet: This is a beautiful film, but unfortunately, it's a typical John Musker/Ron Clements job, which means you've seen it all before... in the likes of The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, etc. The usual fluid Disney animation. Nice Jules Verne-esque background design, too-- and at least it was better than Atlantis. Major weaknesses: Didn't break any new ground in the art of animation, weak musical score.
So, here's the odds, if, like my office, you have an annual Oscar pool:
Lilo and Stitch-- 1:5
Ice Age-- 1:7
Spirited Away-- 1:2
Treasure Planet-- 1:30
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron-- again, haven't seen it, but I'd estimate 1:8
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Considering that EVA creator Hideaki Anno has done live action before (the feature film Love and Pop), I think he should be the one to direct a live-action Evangelion (as much as the idea itself disgusts me). Also, how much control will GAINAX have over the script and casting?
I also tested my pages in the Windows versions of Mozilla and IE, and the Linux version of Phoenix-- none of these other browsers gave me any such problems.
Hell yes! It's just like with indie bands and fanzines. Speaking of Apple, they've made Snobbish Hipsterism into an industry! For example: remember when the iPod first came out? It was all the "hip" geeks who got 'em first.
Keyboards, fortunately, pose no such problem... not that I know, of course...
Oops... I meant Final Fantasy XI ^_^;;;
As for its coming out for PC before PS2, yeah, that is really interesting... could it be because online games are more of a PC market than a console one (in the US, anyway... not sure about everywhere else)? I know I, for one, had been planning on getting the PC version over the PS2 one, should both ever make their way here to the States, if only because I wouldn't have to buy an adapter for my PS2 :P
But yeah, a reissue of Surfin' The Highway (maybe with the one or two new Sam & Max one-pagers done since its initial publication) would rock.
Well you did say "always" ;)
Are you sure about this? Maya has only been around since the late '90s; Pixar has been making films since the early '80s...
The fact that FF9 outranked FF Tactics in their listing is an indicator that something is seriously wrong...
Good point on that last paragraph. What most people tend to forget is that animation-- including kids shows-- is made by adults. Animators love and go nuts over things like Spongebob, mostly because they're brilliantly written and aren't dumbed down. If only more shows were like that...
Here's two best bets: check out anything by Studio Ghibli (best animation salaries in Japan) or (nearly) anything by Production I.G. (second-best animation salaries in Japan, natch). Out of those studios' output, I'd suggest FLCL (excellent 2 1/2-D animation; it's also the most [if not the only] Warner Bros./Tex Avery-styled anime I've ever seen), Spirited Away, and My Neighbor Totoro (we studied the first Catbus scene from this film in one of my animation classes).
I find that I tend to watch anime how I watch any other animation: I follow certain directors and studios. I watch Hayao Miyazaki's films just as faithfully as I do Brad Bird's.
Good for them! The CBLDF is probably the one group with the most expertise in these kinds of issues (I've followed a few cases of theirs in the past, mostly via The Comics Journal), and I'm sure they'll lend some solid support to Penny Arcade.
I wouldn't be suprised if fansubs have been screened before at smaller anime fests, but I haven't heard of any official screenings; I don't believe anyone's aquired rights to the series English-language release yet...
http://home.attbi.com/~bernhard36/honda-ad.html
Still, the wording in the article was a little... vague...
These Matrix guys claim to be such anime geeks, then they mix up the names of two directors that most any hardcore otaku would know! It's a faux pas, sure, but a glaring one.
On a slightly unrelated note, the mix of films listed was quite enlightening. It's an eclectic (and rather telling) mix... from Kubrick's 2001 to Reggio's Koyannisqatsi and Powaaqatsi.
Amen to that! It's also more fun to hear your friends curse your name when you frag them at a crucial time. You just can't get that sort of experience online ;)
Heck, even the nomination helped. Look at Blue Sky. After Ice Age was nominated for an Academy Award, the CG house finalized a multi-picture deal with Fox (which includes films such as Robots and the Ice Age sequel).
ARRGH! NOOO! Damn ChubbChubbs!!!
Now I've gotta cross my fingers for Chicago to win the Best Live-Action Feature Oscar ;) I'm also wondering which film will win (or has won?) Best Animated Short... I hope it's Das Rad (aka Rocks).
It's an animation camera and stand that has been in use for many years by animators. The Oxberries I've worked with weigh a couple of tons each, and the taller one is between nine and eleven feet high. They had digital counters, mechanical/electronic shutter releases, and completely mechanical registration controls. It is, without a doubt, the coolest machine I've ever used.
AFAIK, the Oxberry company is out of business, and the only production facilites in the US which still use this beast are schools and independant studios (like Bill Plympton's). Digital coloring for traditional animation is quickly becoming the standard in TV work, and has already replaced cels in feature films. Like many of my classmates at the time, I too could've used a computer to color my thesis film, but I went with the Oxberry.
Wanna know why? Oxberries don't crash! They don't corrupt your files, they don't freeze up on you, and (in most cases) shooting a cel on film is a LOT faster than scanning a drawing into a computer. While a few of my friends had huge scares over corrupt hard drives and Jaz disks, I just sweated over a mechanical camera, blared The Crystal Method (no headphones necessary-- since I wasn't in a computer lab!), and shot my film. Then I sent it off to the lab while my friends' renders were crashing.
I now do my work almost entirely on computers. How times have changed. Still, I'll always value my experiences with the Oxberry... it is as real and as hands-on a shooting process as you could get. I'd love to have one just to mess around with, but they're quite scarce, not to mention the fact that I don't have 15-foot ceilings ;)
I've noticed a few bugs as well, but those I don't mind so much. The (apparent) framerate, on the other hand...
Here's the artist's official website: Yamamura Animation
Lilo and Stitch: This is the best and most unique film Disney Feature Animation has done in awhile, and Chris Sanders certainly deserves major props for bringing a Brad Bird-style approach to the usual slick and flowy style of Disney animation (Brad Bird, FYI, directed The Iron Giant, created Family Dog, and was a consultant for the early years of The Simpsons). The character animation for Stitch is easily THE BEST I've seen in any film this year (they wuz robbed in the Character Animation category for the Annie Awards), and the watercolor backgrounds, design, etc. was stunning. Major weakness: the flimsy climax and ending.
Ice Age: Instantly gets extra points for being the first feature animated film made ENTIRELY on the East Coast ;) I am really, really happy for Blue Sky for their nomination and I hope it leads to better days for the NY animation industry. But enough of that... Exquisite timing worthy of Pixar, beautiful (and tactile) production design, an "okay" story broken up by some very funny and inspired bits. Major weakness: aforementioned "okay" story.
Spirited Away: The best film ever to come out of the House of Ghibli, and that's not saying much, as they're usual level of quality is as high as that of Pixar and Aardman (It DOES say a whole lot if you're not any one of these three studios, though ^_~). Gorgeous artwork, inspired fish-out-of-water/Alice in Wonderland-type story, overall character animation is humorous and believable. Overall, the best animated film I've seen all year. Oh yeah, and all those critics awards it's already one couldn't hurt ;) Major weakness: the dreaded Anime Stigma (you know, the assumption that all anime is either about hentai tentacle rape monsters or Dragonball Z-type battles with cute characters somewhere in between), though this is becoming less of an issue with each passing year...
Treasure Planet: This is a beautiful film, but unfortunately, it's a typical John Musker/Ron Clements job, which means you've seen it all before... in the likes of The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, etc. The usual fluid Disney animation. Nice Jules Verne-esque background design, too-- and at least it was better than Atlantis. Major weaknesses: Didn't break any new ground in the art of animation, weak musical score.
So, here's the odds, if, like my office, you have an annual Oscar pool:
Lilo and Stitch-- 1:5
Ice Age-- 1:7
Spirited Away-- 1:2
Treasure Planet-- 1:30
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron-- again, haven't seen it, but I'd estimate 1:8
Enjoy :)