Computer Animated Epic... Delgo
POSTED BY: Poetic4U
UPDATED: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 19:17
VIEWED: 2439
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I just found out about this film browsing the net. I thought it was pretty bold... an independent flick devoid of any Hollywood-type influences. I kinda envy em, "Firefly" should've been left alone rather than... you know, I'm not even gonna go there.
Anyway, moving on, I was also checking out http://www.delgo.com my interest was piqued. It looks very beautiful and very unique. I was all... "whoa! it looks pretty." The whole thing looks great. I'm looking forward to checking it out.
Anyone else know about this film?
"Older men declare war, but it is the youth who must fight and die. And it is the youth who must inherit the tribulation, the sorrow, and the triumphs that are the aftermath of war"
- Herbert Clark Hoover
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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Here's an article from CNN about it:
Quote:
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Attention Shrek, Simba and Nemo. Meet your new computer-generated neighbors: Delgo, Kyla and Sedessa.
They are the product of a small Atlanta-based studio taking on Disney and Pixar with a full-length, animated feature due out in the spring of 2005.
Fathom Studios had been producing e-learning, Web and broadcast projects for several years when it began working on a computer-animated fantasy adventure called "Delgo" in 2000. The studio has not yet released a feature film. But it hopes to capture part of the more than half a billion dollars that animated movies took in at the box office last year, according to the Motion Picture Association.
The world of computer-generated imagery has completely changed how animated movies are created.
There's no longer a need for movie-makers to be physically based in Hollywood. And the artists and animators who once did the sketches and animation art cells have completely new tools. The 3-D modeling, animation and special effects software "Maya," from the veteran software company Alias, is now the tool of choice at Fathom.
"Delgo's" director Jason Maurer says the options of this computer-based project are endless.
"In this type of environment you have absolute control," says Maurer, who started in the business as an illustrator. "I can put my characters anyplace. I can put my cameras anyplace. I can choose any type of lens. I can have a thousand cameras if I want."
In fact, the technology in this field moves so quickly that equipment needed for certain tasks isn't even purchased until just before it will be used.
"We buy machines as we need them so we are always maintaining the fastest hardware possible," says Maurer.
With no track record in the field, Fathom managed to snag an eclectic and multigenerational cast of entertainers to voice the fantasy characters.
Freddie Prinze Jr. is Delgo, Jennifer Love Hewitt is his love interest Princess Kyla and Saturday Night Live's Chris Kattan plays Delgo's goofy sidekick, Filo.
Other stars include Val Kilmer, Michael Clarke Duncan, Anne Bancroft, Lou Gossett Jr., Malcolm McDowell, Eric Idle, Kelly Ripa, Burt Reynolds and Sally Kellerman.
'Every animator is a ham at heart'
While the main characters in the film have many human qualities, there are plenty of creatures born completely from the imaginations of the film's creators.
"The creatures are really interesting and fun from my perspective because I have to figure out how they move ... not like humans, not like creatures on earth, so you have fun with the flexibility," says Warren Grubb, visual effects supervisor.
"We went to the zoo and we took a lot of video of creatures," says Grubb, also known as the studio's "digital handyman." To illustrate the film's fauna, he showed off a "jomou," a roundish animal with feet like an elephant and a body like a snail.
Character animators use everything from mirrors to old movies to pictures of their dogs for inspiration to help bring the the "actors" to life.
Freddie Prinze Jr. will be the voice of the lead character Delgo.
"Every animator is a ham at heart," says Fathom animator Thomas Judd. While working on a particular scene, he often uses a webcam to tape himself performing an exaggerated rendition of the dialogue. He then uses the camera again for a close-up of his own lips to help sync the words to the characters' mouths.
Lighting and special effects add additional layers to the fantasy production.
When the animation is done, lighting supervisor Stephanie Cushing gets the computer files and "virtually" illuminates them. In some ways, she says, it's a lot easier than physically hauling lights and filters to a real-life set. But it also poses its own challenges.
"With real world lighting, like the sun, the light comes in, it bounces and scatters and creates ambient light. But with virtual light, it comes in and stops. We have to understand the physics of light enough to put bounce lights in to get that ambient fNOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I need to bump this. It was supposed to premier in 2005 but now it says August 2009, and boy does this look interesting. Great cast (though Burt Reynolds and Kelly Grippa? Not sure about that) but hell yeah to the rest. Anyone else think it looks interesting? I think more animation studios need to start doing this, Pixar can't monopolize this genre' forever.
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Actually, it came out in December, in limited-release with absolutely no publicity, and was immediately lauded as the worst flop in history because it came out in limited-release with absolutely no publicity (which meant that maybe 5 people went to see it, in the 13 theatres it played in). :(
Philo was pretty annoying, and the supporting characters were more interesting than the leads, but I thought it was an interesting setting and a half-decent film (I've certainly seen worse).
It was a good effort that showed promise, but without a Disney or Pixar-sized marketing juggernaught, it didn't stand a chance. It was like a single flea trying to take on Godzilla.
Independent animation will never be able to compete against the Big American Studios. Maybe a few decades ago, but not anymore --the playing field is too uneven. Better to focus on smaller projects and slowly build a reputation.
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