World-first animation hits Australia TV thanks to hi-tech Gold Coast artists
Published Friday, 09 November, 2007 at 04:09 PM
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry
The Honourable Desley Boyle
Families tuning into the first episode of Animalia this Sunday will be viewing the highest calibre animated television series ever produced anywhere in the world.
And it was produced right here in Queensland by Smart State animators, Regional Development and Industry Minister Desley Boyle says.
“Gold Coast visual effects firm Photon VFX animated 20 of the 40 half-hour Animalia 3D episodes which are debuting around Australia on Network Ten,” Ms Boyle said.
“Based on the 1986 Australian children’s book of the same name, the animated series is set in a surreal world of talking creatures, where an iguana called Iggy and a big green gorilla, G’bubu, join two kids to explore the Animalia realm.
“The animation in the series is a world-first for TV because the 3D animation is comparable to that used in movies.
“Photon was chosen to take on the lion’s share of this sophisticated and highly technical work and developed a strong base of artists and animators to complete the task.
“The success of Animalia, which is already airing in the UK, US and Canada, has positioned Photon as an Australian leader in 3D character animation.
“Congratulations to the talented Gold Coast team, who’ve worked over the past 18 months from their production house at Warner Roadshow Studios to help recreate the Animalia story for children around the world.”
The Queensland Government provided $1.8 million to help attract the production of Animalia in Queensland and the project is expected to have injected more than $20 million into the State’s economy.
Ms Boyle said in addition to animation, Photon’s Animalia work included scene lighting and digitally refining characters to bring them to life.
“Once initial computer models were designed, for example, Photon artists added surface texture, colour, lighting, expression and other detail – down to each hair or whisker,” she said.
Photon VFX operations manager Marcus Wells said the company currently employed 88 people, but had supported an additional 150 local artists during the production.
“Local and international producers are taking note of the robust animation pipeline and techniques that our crew used, and we’re currently being considered for a number of new animated projects, including feature films and television shows, as a result of our work,” Mr Wells said.
“Having the project under our belt has also helped us re-establish ourselves in New Zealand. We’ve set up a new company called Photon Animation Ltd in Auckland, which is currently producing an animated children's series called Goolash.”
Photon is due to finish work on the Animalia series in February 2008.
Since starting in 1991, the company has provided visual effects for a number of major productions such as Warner Bros’ Superman Returns and Sony/Columbia Pictures’ Anaconda.
Animalia is produced by Melbourne-based Burberry Productions with Lux Monkey and DoubleBase in association with Los Angeles-based PorchLight Entertainment.
It will be aired weekly on Network Ten on Sundays at 12pm. Visit www.animalia.tv.
Ends
Media contacts:
Minister Boyle: 3224 2004
Photon VFX, Marcus Wells, 07 5502 5129, marcus.wells@photonvfx.com
9 November 2007
And it was produced right here in Queensland by Smart State animators, Regional Development and Industry Minister Desley Boyle says.
“Gold Coast visual effects firm Photon VFX animated 20 of the 40 half-hour Animalia 3D episodes which are debuting around Australia on Network Ten,” Ms Boyle said.
“Based on the 1986 Australian children’s book of the same name, the animated series is set in a surreal world of talking creatures, where an iguana called Iggy and a big green gorilla, G’bubu, join two kids to explore the Animalia realm.
“The animation in the series is a world-first for TV because the 3D animation is comparable to that used in movies.
“Photon was chosen to take on the lion’s share of this sophisticated and highly technical work and developed a strong base of artists and animators to complete the task.
“The success of Animalia, which is already airing in the UK, US and Canada, has positioned Photon as an Australian leader in 3D character animation.
“Congratulations to the talented Gold Coast team, who’ve worked over the past 18 months from their production house at Warner Roadshow Studios to help recreate the Animalia story for children around the world.”
The Queensland Government provided $1.8 million to help attract the production of Animalia in Queensland and the project is expected to have injected more than $20 million into the State’s economy.
Ms Boyle said in addition to animation, Photon’s Animalia work included scene lighting and digitally refining characters to bring them to life.
“Once initial computer models were designed, for example, Photon artists added surface texture, colour, lighting, expression and other detail – down to each hair or whisker,” she said.
Photon VFX operations manager Marcus Wells said the company currently employed 88 people, but had supported an additional 150 local artists during the production.
“Local and international producers are taking note of the robust animation pipeline and techniques that our crew used, and we’re currently being considered for a number of new animated projects, including feature films and television shows, as a result of our work,” Mr Wells said.
“Having the project under our belt has also helped us re-establish ourselves in New Zealand. We’ve set up a new company called Photon Animation Ltd in Auckland, which is currently producing an animated children's series called Goolash.”
Photon is due to finish work on the Animalia series in February 2008.
Since starting in 1991, the company has provided visual effects for a number of major productions such as Warner Bros’ Superman Returns and Sony/Columbia Pictures’ Anaconda.
Animalia is produced by Melbourne-based Burberry Productions with Lux Monkey and DoubleBase in association with Los Angeles-based PorchLight Entertainment.
It will be aired weekly on Network Ten on Sundays at 12pm. Visit www.animalia.tv.
Ends
Media contacts:
Minister Boyle: 3224 2004
Photon VFX, Marcus Wells, 07 5502 5129, marcus.wells@photonvfx.com
9 November 2007