News Stories

Win tickets for Rocket the Reindeer 3D in London

11.2.2010

News Shopper (London, UK) is organising its Family Fun Day. To celebrate this special day of fun and activities on the malls on Sunday November 14, they are giving away six family tickets to a private viewing of Rocket the Reindeer, the 3D animated film to be shown at the Glades from November 8 until Christmas Eve. The competition is free and easy with a single question to answer.

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COMPETITION: Win exclusive film prize!

MEET Rocket the Reindeer and the Cheeky Snowman in our exclusive Family Fun Day Character Breakfast competition!

To celebrate this special day of fun and activities on the malls on Sunday November 14, we’re giving away six family tickets* to a private viewing of Rocket the Reindeer™, the sensational 3D animated, stereoscopic film to be shown at the Glades from November 8 until Christmas Eve.

You’ll also be given an exclusive opportunity to meet the stars of the film – Rocket and his friend the Cheeky Snowman.

The winners will be invited to the Debenhams restaurant at 10am on Sunday November 14 to enjoy a private breakfast and photo opportunities with Rocket the Reindeer™ and the Cheeky Snowman.

They will then lead the way to the Glades 12-metre tall magical castle for a private viewing of the film followed by a visit from Santa and free gift too!

To enter, answer the following question: How tall is the Glades magical castle?

A) 12 metres, B) one metre, C) 20 metres

Text your answer to 80360, starting with NSSNOW, leave a space and then put your answer, name, number, email and address.

Or send your entry on a postcard or a stuck-down envelope with your name, address and contact phone number to: Cheeky Snowman Competition, News Shopper, Mega House, Crest View Drive, Petts Wood, BR5 1BT.

Closing date: November 11

Winners will be notified by telephone on Friday November 12.

source 1: http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/leisure/8489775.COMPETITION__Win_exclusive_film_prize_/

and source 2: http://stereoscopynews.com/hotnews/3d-movies/3d-blockbusters/1024-win-tickets-for-rocket-the-reindeer-3d-in-london.html

First Full Tintin Pictures A look at Spielberg and Jackson’s epic

11.2.2010

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson have chosen Empire to reveal the first look at The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. Headed our way next October, the film adapts the enormously popular books by Hergé in performance-captured, 3D form.

see http://www.empireonline.com/magazine/ for more pictures.

Our exclusive and specially-Weta-created cover is a riff on the iconic image of Tintin (Jamie Bell) and his dog Snowy picked out by a spotlight as they are running. Then we have a couple of stills from the film, one showing you Andy Serkis’ Captain Haddock and another with Haddock and Tintin adrift at sea and signalling for help.

“With live action you’re going to have actors pretending to be Captain Haddock and Tintin,” says Peter Jackson. “You’d be casting people to look like them. It’s not really going to feel like the Tintin Hergé drew. It’s going to be somewhat different. With CGI we can bring Hergé’s world to life, keep the stylised caricatured faces, keep everything looking like Hergé’s artwork, but make it photo-real.”

So what can we expect from the story? Here’s what Spielberg told us. “The first part of the film, which is the most mysterious part, certainly owes much to not only film noir but the whole German Brechtian theatre — some of our night scenes and our action scenes are very contrasty. But at the same time the movie is a hell of an adventure.”

The film also stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Thompson and Thomson respectively (“When people first heard that bit of casting they thought that we’d gone barking mad,” says Jackson. Adds Spielberg, “The Thompson Twins can’t be clones of each other. Nick and Simon provided all the differences we needed to foil for each other. They have a wonderful moment in the movie where they start to have an argument about whose sidekick is whose.”) and Daniel Craig as Red Rackham. It also features Cary Elwes, Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook and Daniel Mays.

And for those of you thinking really far ahead, what has Jackson got planned for his Tintin adventure if and when the planned sequel happens? “One of my favourites is The Seven Crystal Balls, so that’s the one I’ve always been thinking of,” he says. “I also really like the Eastern European ones, the Balkan ones like King Ottokar’s Sceptre and The Calculus Affair. I think it’s a terrific setting for a thriller, the weird Balkan politics and the mysterious secret service agents. I think the Moon ones are terrific, but they’d be good for the third or fourth Tintin film, if we get that far. We want to keep his feet on the ground just a little bit longer.”

For much, much more from Spielberg, Jackson and their entire cast, pick up the new issue of Empire, on sale November 4. Or better still, order your copy online now!

For a full preview of this month’s issue – click here.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn will be out in the UK on October 26th 2011.

by Helen O’Hara

source: http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=29355

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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