June 10, 2023
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Animation

Animation  / Production
Reel FX Creates ‘The Monkey King’, a New Animated Comedy for Netflix | Summer 2023
Reel FX Posted On May 2, 2023


SNEAK PEEK: Netflix just dropped a still from our next film, The Monkey King!

Meet Lin, voiced by Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, and the one and only Monkey King, voiced by Jimmy O. Yang! And follow their fantastical journey this summer 2023, The Monkey King is an action-packed family comedy that follows a charismatic Monkey and his magical fighting Stick on an epic quest for victory over 100 demons, an eccentric Dragon King, and Monkey’s greatest foe of all — his own ego! Along the way, a young village girl challenges his self-centered attitude and shows him that even the smallest pebble can have a big effect on the world.

Directed by Anthony Stacchi (The Boxtrolls), produced by Peilin Chou, executive produced by Stephen Chow.  Starring Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie and BD Wong


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Animation  / Production
Brazen Animation Releases New Reel | Take a Look!
Brazen Animation Posted On March 28, 2023



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Animation  / Production
Brazen Animation Adds Key Industry Veterans for Upcoming Growth
Brazen Animation Posted On August 31, 2022


Brazen Animation, a leading animation studio for the creation of feature film, series, game cinematic, and multiplatform content, announced three senior hires have been brought onboard to help lead the production of the studio’s expanding slate of projects. Marc Matthews came onboard as the new VP of Production and Operations leading the studio into their next steps of growth. Chris Osbrink and Greg Rizzi have joined the team as Creative Directors setting a new standard for the studio’s services.

“Marc, Chris, and Greg are going to be great catalysts to continue to push our studio to the next level,” said Brazen Animation CEO and Chief Creative, Bryan Engram. “Adding these key leaders aligns with our mission of continued growth and innovation. Their combined experiences add a new perspective to set a new standard for our animated storytelling.”

As the new VP of Production and Operations for Brazen Animation, Marc Matthews has worked in feature animation and production for the last 15 years. He spent time with Reel FX Animation working on animated feature films such as Freebirds and Book of Life, then onto Animal Logic in Vancouver where he led production for The Lego Movie 2 and DC League of Super-Pets for Warner Bros. His production career started in production finance, expanded into content development and producing, and finally into the Head of Production role, overseeing a studio with over 300 staff and artists producing multiple feature films and other ancillary content.

Chris Osbrink joined Brazen as a Creative Director. Previously, Osbrink has written, directed or produced for Netflix, Universal, Warner Bros, Riot, Comedy Central, Shadow Machine, Lionsgate, and MTV. He has sold multiple features, served as the showrunner for premier animation companies, and collaborated with some of the best artistic talent in the business. His latest pilot was produced by SyFy in 2021. He recently worked as a writer/director for Blur Studios where he created AAA game trailers for Elder Scrolls, Division, PUBG, Fable, and League of Legends.

Greg Rizzi also jumped onboard as an Associate Creative Director this year. He most recently came from Blur where, as Animation Supervisor, he led animation on large cinematic projects including League of Legends: Wild Rift and Valorant. Rizzi’s career began in 2003 when he was hired as a previs artist for Star Wars, Episode III. Along with his fellow Lucasfilm co-workers, he became one of the founding members of The Third Floor previs studio. His prior experience includes stints at Electronic Arts, Reel FX, Lucasfilm Animation, Blue Sky Studios, and Disney Feature Animation.

“Throughout our studio’s growth over the years, it has been a core focus to implement systems and processes to allow our artists to flourish. Our hiring of new senior talent reflects a pursuit for innovative minds that want to propel Brazen to scale. Brazen’s collective talent is undeniable and this will be shown in our upcoming partnerships along with internal projects the studio is pushing out in the next 12-24 months,” said Ryan Iltis, President and CBDO of Brazen Animation.

 

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Animation  / Production
‘Super Giant Robot Brothers!’: Watch Exclusive First Look Trailer For Reel FX ‘s Ani Series For Netflix
Reel FX Posted On June 14, 2022


As part of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Reel FX has debuted a first look trailer for their animated series Super Giant Robot Brothers! The 10-episode series will have it’s Netflix debut on August 4, 2022.

Super Giant Robot Brothers! is a 3D animated action-comedy series, directed by Mark Andrews (Brave), following two robot brothers, Shiny and Thunder. They are tasked with fighting off the invading Kaiju, but it would be a lot easier if their sibling rivalry didn’t get in the way. Reel FX developed and produced this Netflix animated series, created by Executive Producers Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres. Showrunner Tommy Blacha, Andrews, and Reel FX’s Jared Mass and Steve O’Brien are also executive producers. Producers are Paul Fleschner, Adam Maier, and Emmanuel Laurent.

The animated series is the first of its kind to be completely rendered in a video game engine. Utilizing the Unreal Game Engine, Reel FX combines live-action filming techniques with traditional animation tools to visualize the animation in real-time. Reel FX Animation will be showcasing this process at three events being held this week at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

Today, Unreal Engine is hosting “The Animation Fellowship,” which will demonstrate how their game engine’s real-time technology is changing the animation industry. Reel FX will be taking over the Epic Games booth at Mifa on Wednesday, where they will be hosting live, real-time demonstrations of the virtual production techniques used in Super Giant Robot Brothers! These events culminate in an Annecy panel called “Epic Games Presents: Animating in Unreal,” where panelists Elizabeth Ito (City of Ghosts), Mark Andrews (Super Giant Robot Brothers!), Brad Lewis (How To Train Your Dragon: Hidden World), and Adam Valdez (Prehistoric Planet) will discuss their approach to using Unreal Engine for animation.

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Animation  / Production
Brazen Animation Releases Their 2022 Reel
Brazen Animation Posted On February 2, 2022


Brazen Animation has recently released their 2022 reel with fantastic traditional 2D animation for Warner Brothers as well as innovative 3D animation for Universal, TNT, Marvel, Progressive Insurance…and more. Additionally, the Brazen team collaborated with Epic Games on multiple cinematic projects using the Unreal Engine, the world’s most open and advanced real-time 3D creation tool offering powerful, real-time rendering.

Check it out their reel…


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Animation  / Production
Netflix And Reel FX Tease ‘Super Giant Robot Brothers!’, An Animated Series Made With Unreal Engine
AdChat DFW Posted On January 31, 2022


Netflix has released footage of Super Giant Robot Brothers!, its first animated series to use Epic Games’ Unreal Engine throughout the production.

Developed and produced at Dallas-based Reel FX (Rumble, The Book of Life), the ten-episode action-comedy series follows two giant robots who discover they are brothers while defending the world against invading kaiju. It will launch on the streamer this year.

Unreal Engine has released a behind-the-scenes featurette, which features the clip from the show at the end. Watch the video.

Super Giant Robot Brothers! is directed by Mark Andrews, who won an Oscar as a director on Pixar’s Brave. It is created by executive producers Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres. Showrunner Tommy Blacha is also an executive producer, as are Jared Mass and Steve O’Brien from Reel FX Originals.

Some years ago, Andrews had an epiphany: “There’s got to be a way to get that real-time flavor of making the movie in live action and the control that I have in animation, and put them together.” This led him to try virtual production, and specifically the real-time tools offered by Unreal.

Virtual production, the set of techniques that allows filmmakers to visualize and adjust synthetic elements throughout production, is increasingly used in vfx and cg animation. In the featurette, the Super Giant Robot Brothers! crew  explains how this worked in practice on their show.

Once the cg assets were created, Andrews directed a live-action shoot that was rendered in real-time animation in Unreal. The team could figure out staging and blocking in detail, by experimenting on set and seeing immediately how this translated to animated visuals. The shoot also allowed for a good deal of improvisation with the cast; the script was continually tweaked along the way.

The actors’ motion-captured performances result in hours of animated footage, which were refined into blueprints for the episodes during editing. “I get all the context of camera moves, of editing language — and that’s all solved before it goes off to your traditional animated process,” says Andrews.

The animators worked from the mo-cap footage, choosing how much of it to incorporate into the final performances. “When you’re animating stuff [traditionally], you construct all that fake stuff: every hand gesture, every head movement — all this incredible tedious stuff,” says showrunner Tommy Blacha. “And this solves a lot of that.”

Unreal Engine, alongside game engine Unity, is driving much of the real-time rendering revolution in the industry. Epic has been awarding generous grants to hundreds of projects that use Unreal, including animation productions.

While Andrews is an animation veteran, the producers believe Unreal opens up animation production to a wider range of filmmakers. “These innovations make animation production more accessible to the live-action filmmaker, allowing them to use their existing toolset and vocabulary to readily direct animated film and television content, and even hire a live action crew for production and editing,” reads a press release.

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Animation  / Production
Reel FX New Animated Movie “Back to the Outback” Scheduled for December 10th Release
AdChat DFW Posted On November 17, 2021


ReelFX releases their latest animation project, “Back to the Outback”, scheduled to release on Netflix December 10th. It’s about a group of Australia’s deadliest animals feeling sick and tired of being locked up in a reptile house for humans to stare at them like they’re monsters, so they all decide to make a break for it and escape the zoo to live freely in the Australian Outback. The leader of the group is a poisonous snake with a heart of gold named Maddie, who joins forces with a Thorny Devil lizard named Zoe, a hairy spider named Frank, and a sensitive scorpion named Nigel. All seem to go according to plan, until an adorable yet annoying Koala named Pretty Boy insists on tagging along. The animals do their best to escape to the Outback, all the while the zookeeper Chaz and his mini-me are hot on the trail.

“Back to the Outback” boasts a pretty impressive voice cast featuring Isla Fisher, Tim Minchin, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce, Miranda Tapsell, Angus Imrie, Keith Urban, Jacki Weaver, Rachel House, Celeste Barber, and Wayne Knight.

Daniela Mazzucato produces, and Weed Road Pictures’ Akiva Goldsman and Greg Lessans, who developed the story with Cripps, are executive producers.

Music will come from Rupert Gregson-Williams (Aquaman) and songs will be by Tim Minchin (Broadway’s Matilda). Animation and imagery will come from ReelFX.

Said director Knight: “I have always been touched by stories of hidden beauty. Maddie is both uniquely beauty and beast, and to get to present that message in comedy is the icing on the cake.”

Added writer-director Harry Cripps: “Growing up in Australia, I spent a lot of time in the Blue Mountains which has many different types of snakes and spiders, and I always preferred them to the cute cuddly animals, so it’s such a treat to make a film where the heroes are these poisonous but beautiful little creatures. This film is a love letter to Australia’s incredibly diverse and unique wildlife.”


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Animation  / Production
It’s Official | Hurst Digital’s Branding Promos for Studio Movie Grill and Cinergy Films are Now Playing in Theaters
Hurst Digital Posted On July 6, 2021



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Animation  / Production
ATK PLN Creates Fun Video for Claritin® | “The Outsideologist Project” Encourages Children To Spend Time Outdoors
ATK PLN Posted On May 13, 2021


Claritin®, the #1 doctor recommended allergy OTC brand, announced the launch of The Outsideologist Project, a new, multi-year initiative aimed at encouraging children to spend more time outdoors. A new survey commissioned by the brand found that 57 percent of parents admit while they encourage their kids to play outside frequently, half (49 percent) report that their kids find the outdoors boring. To get kids excited about the outdoors, The Outsideologist Project will arm parents with resources and inspiration, including a series of expert-guided activities curated by the project’s Advisory Board, made up of experts in the fields of plants, animals, weather, space and nature photography. Also joining the brand in its mission is multi-Platinum entertainer, outdoor enthusiast and parent of three, new Claritin® spokesperson Thomas Rhett.

Dallas-based ATK PLN created the fun video that animated the process that kids go through to go from inside-the-house-boredom to using their imaginations.  Starting with a tree that knocks on the window showing kids playing video games and it proceeds to entice the kids outdoors with multiple activities to do. Fun nature facts are learned along the way and the two minute video ends with the Claritin CTA to get more kids outside.

“Whether we’re on the lake, out for a hike or meeting up with friends, my wife Lauren and I prioritize spending time outdoors together with our three daughters,” said Thomas Rhett. “Time outside is critical for our health and wellbeing, and I look forward to helping other families foster a deeper appreciation for the outdoors.”

Though the wellness benefits of time outdoors are plenty, the new Claritin® survey1 of parents of children aged 5 to 13 revealed that parents think their child could only keep themselves occupied with unstructured play outside for 32 minutes before boredom sets in. According to respondents, this could be in part due to a lack of imagination and increased access to technology. In fact, one in two parents worry their kids don’t have the same level of imagination that they did in their own youth, and 70 percent say if they had the same level of technology their kids have today, they would have spent less time outdoors than they did.

To kindle the same spark their parents felt when enjoying time outdoors, The Outsideologist Project will inspire families to #GetOutside by giving them access to engaging and educational tips and activities. Developed by The Outsideologist Project’s Advisory Board, the expert-guided curriculum will be accessible on Instagram (@OutsideologistProject) and Facebook.com/OutsideologistProject. Each member of the Advisory Board will also host an interactive livestream on Instagram (@OutsideologistProject), with dates and times to be announced on the platform. 

  • ‘Plants’ hosted by author and environmental scientist, Summer Rayne Oakes (@homesteadbrooklyn)
  • ‘Weather’ hosted by Tevin Wooten (@tevinwooten), Emmy-Award winning weather reporter and Certified Broadcast Meteorologist for The Weather Channel
  • ‘Space’ hosted by Emily Calandrelli (@thespacegal), Emmy-nominated host and executive producer of “Xploration Outer Space,” and host and co-Executive Producer of “Emily’s Wonder Lab”
  • ‘Animals’ hosted by Jawnie Payne (@zookeeperjawnie), a Nashville-based zookeeper
  • ‘Nature Photography’ hosted by wildlife photographer Joel Sartore (@joelsartore)

Each livestream will be available for on-demand viewing on both Instagram and Facebook following its initial airing.

“Our survey revealed that kids are happy after playing outside, but the challenge parents face is having the tools to motivate their kids to get outdoors for play time and keep them engaged,” said Catherine Vennat, a spokesperson for Claritin®. “That is why Claritin® launched The Outsideologist Project – to help families across the country instill in their kids a lifelong love of the outdoors and better everyday health.”

For additional information about The Outsideologist Project or Claritin®, visit www.Claritin.com and our social channels. Families can also check out the official Outsideologist Project music video on YouTube for more outdoor inspiration.

About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

About Thomas Rhett
With a centered focus and renewed clarity, 8x ACM Award winner and 2020 “Entertainer of the Year,” Thomas Rhett began teasing songs as they were written on social media over the past year, receiving a frenzy of positive feedback from fans. With that, his upcoming fifth studio double album COUNTRY AGAIN: SIDE A (April 30, The Valory Music Co.) began to take shape. Lead single “What’s Your Country Song” marks Thomas Rhett’s 17th career No. One single and 11th consecutive No. One – the longest active streak in the format. As “few singers have played a larger role in defining the sound of country music over the past half-dozen years” (Rolling Stone), Thomas Rhett’s four previous studio albums have spawned nearly 10 BILLION total career streams while he’s received two CMA Triple Play awards for penning three No. One songs within a 12-month period, adding to his collection of trophies from the Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music, Billboard Music Awards, CMT Music Awards and more. “At the top of his musical game” (Winnipeg Free Press), the in-demand superstar will mark his return to the road on his THE CENTER POINT ROAD TOUR beginning in August. For more information, visit www.thomasrhett.com. 


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Animation  / Production
charlieuniformtango Uses Character Animation Integrated Into Live Action for Gas South
charlieuniformtango Posted On January 12, 2021


The charlieuniformtango FX/CG team did the character animation integrated into live action to create one :30 and two :15’s for The Richards Group client Gas South. The campaign’s fun spots bring “Mr. Meter” to life to introduce Gas South’s simple, no deposit, OnePrice plan™ with the tag line “The Difference is Good™.”

Starting with an original character concept from the agency, tango used Photoshop to fully design all aspects of the two animated meter characters, as well as any props. After looking at a number of actual gas meters and other pipe fittings and appliances for bits and parts that could be used and compiling them in Photoshop to try out different combinations of items tango created Mr. Meter and the other older model meter featured.

Now to make the meters move and express themselves. For Mr. Meter specifically, tango wanted to have a character that moved as though it was truly made out of real-world pipe fittings. Because of this, great care was taken to make sure the joints and limbs were built in a way that would look natural when animated. Different types of metal were referenced to make Mr. Meter look not too clean, but clean enough to be at the breakfast table, eyes need to look metallic but real. The tango creative team brought the digital puppets to life within three weeks.

On set, specific 360-degree cameras were used to capture a reference of real-world lighting for every shot (HDRI). Stand in character cutouts were used to mimic how the placement of the CG characters would interfere and interact with the lighting of other items on set. Shadows and reflections to anything the characters interacted with such as the table and teapot were added. This scale model, along with accurately matching the placement and focal length of the onset cameras was critical to matching the live action footage.

Compositing the final product is where all the pieces finally get fitted together. In this stage the tango team took the final renders in the form of several layers and combined them with the graded footage. The table was layered over the CG characters and then the characters’ reflections and shadows were put on top of the live action objects. The team worked very closely with Shane and The Richards Group team throughout this step to polish off every aspect of the combined parts and turn it into the final product magically bringing Mr. Meter and old style meter to life delivering a compelling and entertaining message for Gas South.

Credits:
GAS SOUTH / THE RICHARDS GROUP
Jeremy Bartel – Director
Meredith Machial – Executive Producer
Michael Wagner – Senior Producer
Editor – Dean Pelton
Edit Assist – Matt Pittman
Audio Engineer – Jake Kluge
Color – Filmworkers – Matt McClain
Online/VFX – Allen Robbins
3D – Connor Adams/Julia Bacak
CD/Writer: Mike Bales
CD/Art Director: Shane Altman
Art Director: Gaelle Gachelin
Broadcast Producer: Bridget Fontenot
Brand Management/Principal: Trent Walters
Brand Management: Amy Rodgers
Business Manager: Sara Sax
Animators: Ricardo Orellana/Glen Victor/W. Scott Simmons/Nick Johnnides

About charlieuniformtango
Founded in 1995 by Lola Lott, principal/CEO, and Jack Waldrip, senior editor, the company has become an industry leader. charlieuniformtango serves as a single source production solution. The company directs, produces, shoots, edits, scores, mixes, animates, designs, and provides color services, FX, and finishing for commercials, short films, documentaries, music videos, and digital content for clients worldwide. Headquarters in Dallas, Texas with a full-service studio in Austin. charlieuniformtango.com


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