Plenty to write about, but lately blogging has been displaced by doing. 
During the past 30 days I’ve spent time in Yokohama and Guangshan in the midst of my ongoing producing and consulting work. The Animation Options website has been updated with the latest happenings (at least those I’m free to talk about), and I hope to address some topics of interest here soon. 
Kevin Geiger
BEIJING
It was with sadness that I read today of the passing of Roy Disney.
The word “legend” is frequently used when speaking of the Disney clan, but what I’ll always remember about Roy is the personal. As a relatively young CG artist working the “Fantasia” sequel in 1995, it was a remarkable experience to have Roy suddenly pop into my office one day as I was modeling 3D characters for the film’s “Steadfast Tin Soldier” sequence. The shock of seeing the spitting image of Walt standing in my doorway was eased by Roy’s disarming, “Hello there, young fella! What are you working on?” Sitting next to Roy for 5 minutes, showing him my work (and silently praying to God that he wouldn’t hate it as the production coordinators paced nervously in the hallway) was indescribable. I’ll never forget Roy’s kindness, his gentle humor and his encouragement.
Roy truly cared for The Walt Disney Company as only a Disney could. His family touch will be truly missed.
R.I.P. Roy!
Animation Options has you covered from stem to stern at SIGGRAPH 2009 in Yokohama, with courses ranging from story development to production efficiencies…
Making its Japanese premiere is “What’s Your Story?”, a condensed version of the popular three-day story development course, Wednesday, December 16th from 9:00am-12:45pm:
What’s your story? Can you explain it in a sentence? If the central idea of your film is not clear to you, how can it be to your audience? Does your story pass the “who cares” test? And do you know that story is NOT king, but character IS?
This course examines the nuts and bolts of feature film storytelling in a straightforward, accessible manner for everyone seeking to improve the resonance of their movies on the international animation market. The way to the audience’s wallet is through the heart. Is your story stuck in the head?
The course explores story loglines, genres, hooks, and twists with an eye towards a compelling stage for an appealing hero. The story-outline section addresses the foundation of a strong and flexible story “spine” and then assembles the full skeleton. In the story-boarding section, the course reviews the process for laying out an entire feature film from beginning to end by applying tried-and-true structural beats. The course concludes with an interactive audience brainstorming session and a pitch of the resulting story by presenter Kevin Geiger.
Returning to SIGGRAPH Asia by special request is “Keeping Your Money On The Screen & Off The Floor”, Saturday, December 19th from 2:15pm-6:00pm:
The global animation industry is as competitive as ever, with merciless markets, unforgiving audiences and miniscule profit margins. Yet independent and major productions alike seem content to burn through money (and people) as though they have resources to spare. Amazingly, this waste is not only pervasive, it is accepted. Not only is this irresponsible, it is unsustainable. It is also easily addressed through clear-minded assessment and informed action.
This course squarely addresses common production motivations and pitfalls. It examines the human factors and organizational considerations that are the foundation of all production (dys)function. It proceeds to cover workflow considerations and strategies, the establishment (and erosion) of balance, common heuristic assumptions and errors, and the importance of clarity and adaptation within the studio environment. A series of “Golden Rules” for production segues into the characteristics of a balanced pipeline and an overview of a flexible and robust nonlinear production pipeline. Finally, asset management is reviewed with an eye towards organization, flexibility, and transparency.
The presentation concludes with a micro/macro view on the production paradigm and synergistic orchestration of these parts into a practical yet transcendent whole.
See you in Japan!
My apologies for the dramatic reduction in blogging. The past couple of months have been a mad rush of activity, compounded by my participation in two events: the Jilin International Animation, Comics & Games Forum in September, and the 1st Zhengzhou International Animation Forum in October. And now the American Film Market in November. :-)
You can read all about the goings-on in Jilin and Zhengzhou on the Animation Options press page, including video of me trying to keep up with a young monk onstage at Shaolin Temple. ;-)
Part 2 of AWNtv’s fmx/09 interview with Magic Dumpling’s VP of Development Wen Feng and President Kevin Geiger, on the subject of Chinese animation, the global marketplace, and their upcoming animated feature film “Road to Home”.
Part 1 of AWNtv’s fmx/09 interview with Magic Dumpling’s VP of Development Wen Feng and President Kevin Geiger, on the subject of Chinese animation, the global marketplace, and their upcoming animated feature film “Road to Home”.
The days of theaters full of Poindexters are numbered as Alioscopy USA, a 3D visualization technology provider, will showcase autostereoscopic 3D content playing on a proprietary HD LCD display at IBC 2009 in Amsterdam, September 11-15, 2009.
Autostereoscopy is a technique for displaying three-dimensional images that can be viewed without glasses or other headgear. Depth perception is produced on a display using lenticular lenses or parallax barriers. The displays can have multiple viewing zones, allowing many users to watch the stereoscopic image at the same time. Other displays use eye tracking systems to automatically adjust the stereo pairs to follow viewers’ eyes as they move their heads. Although eyestrain and headaches are still a side effect of extended viewing exposure, the autostereoscopic market is taking flight - driven by the resurgence of stereoscopic films and the emerging stereoscopic broadcast market
A wide range of players are in the game with Alioscopy, including 3Dicon, Apple, Dimension Technologies, Fraunhofer HHI, Hitachi, Holografika , i-Art, Miracube, NewSight, Philips, SeeFront, SeeReal Technologies, Sharp, Spatial View, Tridelity, VisuMotion and Zero Creative. Philips has released the first 3D HDTV, with a 2160p resolution of 3840×2160 pixels and 46 viewing angles, while Hitachi has released the first 3D mobile phone for the Japanese market.
The Japanese get all the cool stuff first!
Been remiss in my blog posts and wondering what to jump back in with. “Delgo” suing “Avatar” over the definition of ugly? Nah. How about Disney buying Marvel! Now THAT’S big. Looks like Steve Jobs didn’t completely clean them out.
DISNEY TO BUY MARVEL FOR $4 BILLION
Deal requires antitrust review
LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co. says it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the Disney family.
Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters.
Disney said Monday that Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own.
It said the boards of Disney and Marvel have both approved the transaction, but it requires an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.
“The Incredibles 2″ is going to be AWESOME!
Friend and colleague Blake Snyder passed away suddenly this past Tuesday. Those of us who had the privilege of knowing Blake will miss his good humor, his empathy, and his passionate dedication to his craft.
Blake was a nice guy in a tough business, and our thoughts go out to his family.
Kevin Geiger
SCRIBE BLAKE SNYDER DIES AT 51
Best known for ‘Save the Cat!’ books on screenwritingBy Jay A. Fernandez
The Hollywood ReporterAug 6, 2009, 03:21 PM ET
Screenwriter and author Blake Snyder died Tuesday morning from cardiac arrest. He was 51 years old.Snyder co-wrote the screenplays for the Universal comedy “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot” (1992) and the Disney family film “Blank Check” (1994). But he became most well-known as a screenwriting teacher whose bestselling books “Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need” (2005) and “Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Every Story Ever Told” (2007) encouraged a host of aspiring writers, producers and development executives to see the patterns in all successful movies.
“I often recommend Blake’s books to aspiring screenwriters because they are by far the most useful and most readable books on screenwriting I’ve ever come across,” said screenwriter Karen Lutz (”The Ugly Truth”). “He truly loved movies and was able to break down the structure of them in a way I’d never seen done before and in a way that completely made sense to beginner and pro alike.”
Snyder’s screenplay proselytizing led to his hosting seminars and workshops around the world — New York, London, San Francisco, Vancouver, Barcelona, Beijing — that showcased his folksy, enthusiastic boosterism for screenwriting and his love of film in general.
Repped by Andy Cohen of Grade A Entertainment, Snyder continued to write and sell specs throughout his 20-year career.
A third book, “Save the Cat! Strikes Back: More Trouble for Screenwriters to Get Into… And Out of,” is set for publication in October.
“There was no one more gifted in the art of story structure than Blake Snyder,” said longtime friend and screenwriter Tracey Jackson (”Confessions of a Shopaholic”). “He could tell you in two minutes why something didn’t work and in another three how to fix it. And unlike many with a great gift, he was not miserly. He felt it was his calling to help others help themselves and took great pride when those he helped found success. He made all those he met feel special and encouraged them all in their dreams.”
A Beverly Hills resident, Snyder graduated from Georgetown University and went on to teach at Chapman, UCLA, Vanderbilt and the Beijing Film Academy.
He is survived by his mother, Florence Snyder of Santa Barbara; his sister, Sally Maher of Santa Ynez; and a niece and nephew.
A memorial service is being planned.
Animation Options President & CEO Kevin Geiger will conduct “dual core” presentations at SIGGRAPH 2009 in Yokohama, ranging from story development to production efficiencies.
Making its Japanese premiere is “What’s Your Story?”, a condensed version of the popular three-day story development course, Wednesday, December 16th from 8:30am-12:15pm:
What’s your story? Can you explain it in a sentence? If the central idea of your film is not clear to you, how can it be to your audience? Does your story pass the “who cares” test? And do you know that story is NOT king, but character IS?
This course examines the nuts and bolts of feature film storytelling in a straightforward, accessible manner for everyone seeking to improve the resonance of their movies on the international animation market. The way to the audience’s wallet is through the heart. Is your story stuck in the head?
The course explores story loglines, genres, hooks, and twists with an eye towards a compelling stage for an appealing hero. The story-outline section addresses the foundation of a strong and flexible story “spine” and then assembles the full skeleton. In the story-boarding section, the course reviews the process for laying out an entire feature film from beginning to end by applying tried-and-true structural beats. The course concludes with an interactive audience brainstorming session and a pitch of the resulting story by presenter Kevin Geiger.
Returning to SIGGRAPH Asia by special request is “Keeping Your Money On The Screen & Off The Floor”, Saturday, December 19th from 1:45pm-5:30pm:
The global animation industry is as competitive as ever, with merciless markets, unforgiving audiences and miniscule profit margins. Yet independent and major productions alike seem content to burn through money (and people) as though they have resources to spare. Amazingly, this waste is not only pervasive, it is accepted. Not only is this irresponsible, it is unsustainable. It is also easily addressed through clear-minded assessment and informed action.
This course squarely addresses common production motivations and pitfalls. It examines the human factors and organizational considerations that are the foundation of all production (dys)function. It proceeds to cover workflow considerations and strategies, the establishment (and erosion) of balance, common heuristic assumptions and errors, and the importance of clarity and adaptation within the studio environment. A series of “Golden Rules” for production segues into the characteristics of a balanced pipeline and an overview of a flexible and robust nonlinear production pipeline. Finally, asset management is reviewed with an eye towards organization, flexibility, and transparency.
The presentation concludes with a micro/macro view on the production paradigm and synergistic orchestration of these parts into a practical yet transcendent whole.
See you in Japan!
