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Everyone was at Annecy this year, from Guillermo del Toro to the president of France.

The post Annecy 2016 Review: Rainy, Crowded, Star-Studded, And Unforgettable appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

"The studio is, in a way, the best thing we've ever done," says Aardman co-founder Peter Lord.

The post Peter Lord and David Sproxton Reflect On The 40th Anniversary of Aardman appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Acting instructor Ed Hooks explores the animated performances of this year's five feature animation nominees.

The post 2016 Oscar Nominations: Feature Animation Acting Analysis appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

"Special Delivery" is the most widely available short from Google's Spotlight Stories initiative thanks to a move to the YouTube 360 platform.

The post Aardman’s Interactive Short ‘Special Delivery’ Is Now Available on YouTube 360 appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

The surprise nominee is "Adama," a fresh and original mixed-media feature from France.

Aardman Animations, the venerable Bristol, UK-based animation studio, announced today that it has acquired a majority share in New York City animation commercial production studio Nathan Love.

The new company, which will be rebranded Aardman Nathan Love, will focus primarily on advertising work. It is Aardman’s first permanent production facility outside of the UK.

“Teaming up with an existing company gives us the opportunity to hit the ground running and a solid base from which to grow,” said David Sproxton, co-founder and executive chairman of Aardman. “This venture is not about sending work back to the UK. It’s about building a new business in New York for American agencies and we feel we can do this more effectively by being there.”

Here is the full launch video, of which snippets have been teased online for the past few weeks:

Nathan Love was founded by Joe Burrascano in 2007 and produces predominantly CG work for major corporations including Kellogg’s, Kraft, Baskin Robbins, Pepsi, NBC Universal, and Nickelodeon.

While Nathan Love will remain focused on advertising, Aardman executive producer of partner content Heather Wright hinted in today’s announcement that the studio may be used for other types of projects as well: “As the worlds of advertising and content become increasingly intertwined, this partnership will give us the opportunity to develop longer format and interactive projects in the US.”

The Aardman theatrical animation brand has become all but obsolete in the United States.

Aardman's adaptation of "Shaun the Sheep" is a critically acclaimed wonder. Will American audiences appreciate it?

How many Americans even know 'Shaun the Sheep' has a feature film coming out in less than a month?

The stop-motion director takes on his first feature film since 'Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'.

The film could be released in 2018 in time for the FIFA World Cup.

The film could be released in 2018 in time for the FIFA World Cup.

The stop-motion film will arrive in the U.S. in August.

The massive success of this non-Hollywood family film has its producers thinking franchise.

Director Darren Dubicki of Aardman Animations created this strikingly elegant mixed-media piece to celebrate Pink Floyd’s legendary album The Dark Side of the Moon.

The three-minute piece serves as a trailer/supplement to an original radio drama based on the album, written by playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, premiering on BBC Radio 2 on August 26th. Dubicki also created an extended film loop that will complement the audio experience online.

More details about the production from the official Aardman release:

Aardman director, Darren Dubicki saw the piece working as a film trailer and the team spent time absorbing the rich detail from both Pink Floyd’s music and Sir Tom Stoppard’s play. In doing so they developed a striking visual concept where images juxtapose with carefully considered lyrics and dialogue from the play encompassing the underlying themes of greed, conflict, consumption, humanity and the descent into madness…

Dubicki says, “What was fundamentally important to us was that we retained a consistent visual tone that echoed the imagery created over the years for the band. The intensely surreal and powerful artwork created by Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis has always had a strong distortion on reality. Their sense of space and twisted context make for some uncomfortably beautiful art. This tone has been consistent for decades and we wanted to honor this with our contemporary digital (and analogue) slant on the style.”

Created using a collage of digital imaging, CGI, studio-based effects and hand crafted elements the films were produced with depth and richness that reflects the classic tone of Pink Floyd’s art.

CREDITS
Client/Agency: BBC Radio 2
Producers: Rhian Roberts/ Rowan Collinson

Aardman Animations
Director: Darren Dubicki
Executive Producer: Heather Wright
Producer: Helen Argo
Production Assistant: Danny Gallagher
Production Co-ordinator: Louise Johnson

DOP: Mark Chamberlain
Camera Assistant: Joe Maxwell
Gaffer: Nat Sale
CG Modeling: Olly Skillman-Wilson
CG Modeling: David Klein
CG Modeling: Saul Freed
CG Animation: Mathew Rees
CG Animation: Rich Spence
CG Lighter: Andrew Lavery
Supervising Senior Compositor: Jim Lewis
Compositor: Spencer Cross
Compositor: Paule Quinton
After Effects Artist: Tom Readdy
Editor: Dan Hembury

Aardman’s latest feature The Pirates! Band of Misfits, directed by Peter Lord, debuted in second place in the US with an estimated $11.4 million. It’s Aardman’s weakest opening ever in the US. However, it was considered on a par with studio projections, and the film should end up with a respectable run, especially considering that no other animated films are set to be released in May.

For comparison, here’s how other Aardman features have opened in the US:

Chicken Run (2000): $17.5 million
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005): $16 million
Flushed Away (2006): $18.8 million
Arthur Christmas (2011): $12.1 million

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