Shilo McClean's eagerly awaited book 'Digital Storytelling: the narrative power of visual effects in film' is out at last. Published by MIT press this weighty volume is an informed and practical extension of Shilo's earlier work in the area. Her first book 'So what's this all about then?' is a rare and valuable guide for [...]
Seems like the whole Australian animation and film industries breathed a huge sigh of relief when Happy Feet opened in the US taking $40 million US in its opening weekend. And there was follow on box office success during Thankgiving meaning the film was on par with what Madagascar achieved this time last year (a [...]
While we’re on animation, an article in Animation World Magazine (AWN) offers some interesting perspectives on where animation execs see the future of the business. Needless to say, it’s distribution via portable media, vodcasts and broadband portals that are providing new opportunities for small independents to break into the market. This is a quote from [...]
Kids just love watching animation, in fact they can’t get enough of the quality stuff. And ‘kids’ are getting older – I remember going to the video shop one night and my 5 year old and 9 year old were swapping Spongebob jokes with the teenagers behind the counter. Seems to be the mark of [...]
There has been some controversial discussions about the future of cinema on AFTRS blogs. This followed a cheeky session we ran at our annual staff curriculum review which posed a hypothetical 2012 scenario where Sydney had only two working cinemas. We asked everyone to posit a purpose for a media school operating in this environment. [...]
How do you open horizons for filmmakers by the many new opportunities opened up by interactive media? This is an evangelistic mission we've set ourselves and so far we can report significantly more success with documentary makers and TV producers than die-hard drama directors. The value of extending the documentary experience by providing access to [...]