September 7th, 2010
Rhythm & Hues to don Producer‘s cap with Yogi Bear & Toad Trip

Oscar winning Visual Effects studio Rhythm & Hues with offices in LA, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kuala Lumpur has gotten into producing as one of its dedicated focuses. The first project in this new move of the studio, is Warner Bros’ 3D stereoscopic feature ‘Yogi Bear’, wherein the company holds equity stake in the movie along with catering the CG production for the same. The studio is also developing another live action cum CG feature ‘Toad Trip’ with Director Stephen Herek, producing partner Compass and writers Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson.

In an interview with AnimationXpress.com‘s Amrita Valecha and Chaitra Shetty, Rhythm & Hues’ President Film Lee Berger and Director of Development Venecia Duran talk about this new development, the latest with the projects currently in development and production and the strategy ahead... Read More

-Animationxpress

September 7th, 2010
Blind Hires Reelize Reps for Midwest

Santa Monica and NYC-based Blind has hired Reelize reps (Marci Miles and Julie Ford) to handle Midwest sales duties for the studio.

Julie have resumes that span advertising, film, and television and will bring a deep understanding of the industry to the table,” said Blind Managing Director/EP Dave Kleinman. “We’re excited to have them onboard as Blind continues to extend its creative reach.”

The Reelize signing comes at the height of a successful and much talked-about season for Blind: with Chris Do taking home a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation and the recent return of veteran Art Director Steve Pacheco, the studio is abound with excitement for upcoming projects and opportunities.... Read More

-AWN

June 14, 2010
Read how Rhythm & Hues, Weta, Digital Domain and Prime Focus came to the rescue of The A-Team.

For the Joe Carnahan-directed big screen version of The A-Team, James Price, the overall visual effects supervisor, recruited his own vfx A-Team comprised of Rhythm & Hues, Digital Domain, Weta Digital, Prime Focus, Hydraulx, Soho VFX and others. The mission: create the kind of mayhem associated with the popular '80s TV series -- only bring it up to date and make it explosive enough for the big screen.

Rhythm & Hues stepped in for the tank drop and Long Beach sequences. In the former, the A-Team tries to escape in a C130 being pursued by predator drones. Finally, one of the missiles hits and the plane explodes. But somehow the Team knew it was doomed and snuck into a tank that was in the cargo hold, so then it becomes a drop as the tank falls through space under parachute control with the predators still chasing them... Read More

-AWN

June 9, 2010
Visual effects shop leapfrogs into production

Two projects from the development slate of visual-effects studio Rhythm & Hues are moving toward production as the company moves away from being strictly a vendor and looks to become a producer.

Company has even jumped in as an equity partner on a studio feature. R&H, which was lead shop on the Oscar-winning vfx for "The Golden Compass," has an equity stake in Warner's 3D family pic "Yogi Bear" and will get a co-producer credit on the pic... Read More

-Variety

June 9, 2010
Rhythm & Hues Developing Two Features

Rhythm & Hues is close to moving two feature films from development into production, reports VARIETY.

The first project is TOAD TRIP, a live-action/animation hybrid, which will be directed by Stephen Herek (101 DALMATIANS). Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson penned the script. The project was acquired via turnaround from DreamWorks. Social Capital is co-funding the film. Tamasy, Martin Shore and Christopher Tuffin are producing with Johnson, Gordon Steel and R&H's film division president Lee Berger are executive producing.

Additionally, R&H has optioned TALES FROM THE FARM, a graphic novel from Jeff Lemire and script from John Carr. The live-action/animation hybrid will be pitched to actors and directors soon. Lemire will exec produce alongside producers Steven Gilder and Alec Chorches... Read More

-Variety

January 30, 2010
Rhythm & Hues & Brosta TV form creative IP partnership

Rhythm & Hues Studios and Brosta TV LLC, Tokyo have entered into a co-producing relationship with the goal of creating original intellectual properties for the global market. Both parties aim to conceive and produce cutting edge entertainment blending eastern and western cultures designed to appeal to audiences and consumers worldwide. The initial focus of the alliance is on the development of animated characters and ancillaries for mobile platforms, starting in early 2010, with potential for partnerships in other media, including books, manga (graphic novels), games and eventually films or TV series.

tacy Burstin, executive producer of Rhythm & Hues‘ Design division, shared, "We are very excited about the innovative content this relationship will produce and are confident about its international appeal on the world market. By combining the world-class talent within both R&H and Brosta TV, we will have the ability to create and tell unique stories and produce them through new technologies including mobile and social networks. Our relationship will also take advantage of new and emerging distribution methodologies as well as the traditional entertainment pipeline." ... Read More

-Animation Xpress

January 28, 2010
Hollywood vfx house gets into games Rhythm & Hues teaming with Japan's Brosta TV

Another Hollywood name is taking aim at the vidgame world.

Oscar-winning visual effects studio Rhythm & Hues Studios is teaming with Japan's Brosta TV to create new intellectual properties for the global gaming market. One of the first areas the partnership intends to focus on is the mobile game market.

The first products are expected to be introduced this spring and will blend eastern and western styles in an attempt to appeal to a global audience. ... Read More

- Home Media Magazine

October 13, 2008
Hulk Blu-ray Smashes Standard Def

The visual effects artists who brought The Incredible Hulk to life showed off some of their work to a select group of journalists invited to the Rhythm & Hues studio in Marina Del Rey, Calif. The Hulk DVD and Blu-ray Disc street Oct. 21, and the artists behind the film’s visual wonders were sensitive about its hi-def exhibition.

Visual effects producer and supervisor Kurt Williams said that fans could pick any frame from the Incredible Hulk Blu-ray Disc and observe top-quality images... Read More

- Home Media Magazine

September 11, 2007
The Kingdom

Shouldn't terrorism be treated as crime -- that is, as a civil rather than military matter? It's a question that's at the heart of the Iraq War debate, and it's one raised loudly and clearly by "The Kingdom," a realist thriller that mixes crowd-pleasing mayhem with provocative politics. Although burdened by far more procedure than plot, this Jamie Foxx vehicle -- which owes a great deal to the high-caliber style of its co-producer, Michael Mann -- is quietly jingoistic, in a way guaranteed to sell auds on the idea that what's truly American is about more than disputed foreign policy. Read More

- Variety.com

August 28, 2008
Mirror - Jeff Feuerzeig Anheuser Busch

Mirror Films director Jeff Feuerzeig recently wrapped the first spot in the latest campaign for client Anheuser Busch via Waylon Advertising. Focusing on the beer giant's 'green strategies,' as told by various employees, the spot Grain features manager Jerry Nolan and the tale of the brewing grain once they're through with it. Let's just say that there are some very happy dairy cows that benefit (who knew cows had happy hour, too?)
- SourceEcreative

August 1, 2008
Mummy Rises Against Batman

The O’Connells are back in action to take on a legion of the living dead and other CG beasties in Universal’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The heavily promoted, vfx-driven action-adventure entry is sure to lure moviegoers with the promise of dumb summer fun, but can it stop the box-office behemoth that is Warner Bros.’ The Dark Knight?

Brendan Fraser returns for another battle with resurrected evil and is joined this time by Maria Bello in the role played by Rachel Weiss in the first two films, as well as martial arts stars Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. This third installment is directed by Rob Cohen (Stealth, The Fast and the Furious), taking over for franchise helmer Stephen Sommers, who stayed on as producer. Rhythm & Hues and Digital Domain handled the dragon’s share of the visual effects work... Read More

- Animation Magazine

July 13, 2008
Radiohead and director James Frost make a video without cameras

Radiohead's latest video, for the track "House of Cards" from the In Rainbows album, uses real time 3D recording instead of cameras, utilizing highly technical structured light and Lidar laser-enhanced scanners to model lead singer Thom Yorke and provide an otherworldly narrative accompaniment to the song.

Blip Boutique creative director and Zoo director James Frost took us through the exceedingly complex, innovative process, which used on-set engineers and technology support instead of a film crew and required massive amounts of rendering and the sculpting of mountains of data in post--not to mention 64 lasers (on the Lidar system alone). Read on past our interview with Frost for behind-the-scenes footage and to visit the video's interactive component, hosted by Google in it's developer area, code.google.com. Radiohead is encouraging fans to use the 3D data of Yorke's head and make their own videos using the point cloud data and Processing. ... Read More

- Creativity

June 23, 2008
Ellen Wolff catches up with Michael Holzl, a Rhythm & Hues lead animator on The Incredible Hulk.

The Incredible Hulk, Marvel Pictures' new version of the comic book classic (now playing from Universal Pictures), has more than a couple of fresh twists. While we've seen versions of the character on both small and large screen (as recently as director Ang Lee's 2003 movie Hulk), this time there was a team of collaborators who brought a different take on the material. Notable among them was director Louis Letterier (best known for The Transporter films) and actor Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner/the Hulk. In this telling of the tale, when Banner mutates into a muscle-bound, raging green Hulk he meets his match in an equally muscle-bound villain called The Abomination -- a mutation of a character played by Tim Roth. Making two world-class actors transform into massive CG mutants was the assignment given to the animators at L.A.-based Rhythm & Hues... Read More

- VFX World

June 15, 2008
Making 2008's 'The Incredible Hulk' more than a shade better

WHEN Marvel and Universal studios decided to reboot the Hulk just a few years after director Ang Lee brought the mean, green comic-book creature to multiplexes, they quite literally went back to the drawing board. Director Louis Leterrier's $150-million "The Incredible Hulk" has involved not only a tonal overhaul -- specifically, scrapping Lee's psychodrama in favor of fugitive suspense recalling the Lou Ferrigno TV show -- but also, just as crucially, giving the character a complete visual makeover".

So while Edward Norton might be taking over as gamma-irradiated scientist Bruce Banner, he's actually only the second most prominent new face on the Hulkscape. The new man-monster, created by lead digital effects house Rhythm & Hues -- with a look markedly different from the '03 model designed by effects giant Industrial Light & Magic -- ranks first... Read More

- Los Angeles Times

May 16, 2008
ClickFire Media signed with Reelize

New York-based Click 3X and ClickFire Media recently signed the Reelize representation team to handle sales duties for the Midwest territory. Reps Marci Miles, Kristina Kovacevic, and Julie Ford aligned with the quickly growing Click companies based on shared standards and values, and they are already working collectively to change the creative landscape. Head of Sales Trevor King comments, "Marci, Kristina, and Julie will be great additions to the Click family, and we're pleased to work with a company of their depth and experience. Each has a great history in the industry and they are able to truly understand and communicate our goals and involvement across the evolving world of new media."... Read More

- SourceCreative.com

May 12, 2008
Chipmunks Return in 2010

When the first movie based on Ross Bagdasarian’s high-pitched trio of rodents made more than $358 million worldwide, a sequel became inevitable. Now Daily Variety reports that 20th Century Fox is planning to release Alvin and the Chipmunks II on March 19, 2010. The studio also set a date Feb. 27 as the release date for its adaptation of the Street Fighter video game series.

Starring Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl) as Dave Seville and three CG characters animated by Rhythm & Hues, Alvin and the Chipmunks was released on home video in late march and sold more than 2.6 million copies on the first day alone to become the year’s fastest selling home video title... Read More

- Animation Magazine

Aril 16, 2008
Global Mechanic And The NFB Of Canada Shoot Stop Motion Film

Design-based boutique production company Global Mechanic and the National Film Board of Canada are in production on a new animated film. VIVE LA ROSE is a five-minute short set to a soulful version of the song by the same name.

The incredible emotional tone of the song was GM creative director and owner Bruce Alcock's initial inspiration for the film. Sung by legendary Newfoundland folksinger Emile Benoit when he was 92, this heartfelt recording was Benoit's last. The visual treatment includes beautifully rendered paintings and found objects animated in stop motion.

The picturesque shores of the Avalon Peninsula act as the backdrop for a story of unrequited love. The film opens at dawn on a rocky beach, the camera moves up the beach and finds an abandoned shack. Once inside we see an old desk whose contents evoke memories of a time past. ... Read More

- AWN.com

March 27, 2008
India finds its Rhythm F/X shop opens facility in Hyderabad

Culver City-based vfx shop Rhythm & Hues, which won the 2008 Oscar as the lead effects shop on "The Golden Compass," has opened a facility in Hyderabad, India.

Some 100 of the 210 employees at R&H's Mumbai facility moved to the new location. The two facilities now sport a total of about 250 employees, and more expansion is planned.

R&H's India facilities are teaming with its California HQ on "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor."... Read More

- Veriety.com

March 17, 2008
In Animation, Indian skills are making a difference

While the supervisor of effects for the academy award-winning Ratatouille was a US-based Indian, a team in Mumbai can boast of its contribution to The Golden Compass. Such recognition of this expertise has brought to the fore an industry which, though still in its infancy, is making big inroads in entertainment.

The Mumbai wing of the LA-based Rhythm and Hues, which worked on the effects in The Golden Compass, is currently creating effects for the Incredible Hulk, The Mummy 3, Fast and the Furious 4, Land of the Lost, Cirque Du Freak and They Came from Upstairs, according to digital production manager AR Sheshaprasad.

Says Alpana Mishra, senior Vice-president, Motion pictures production, UTV, "Our big project at the moment is the two-film deal with Will Smith's production firm. One a live-action film, while the other would be an animated feature. But we are equally bullish about our domestic productions, Alibaba, Arjun and The Dream Blanket, which will have theatrical releases across the world by 2009 or 2010."... Read More

- Televisionpoint.com

March 15, 2008
Zack & J.C. Are at Home on losthighway

losthighwayfilms, has signed directing duo Zack & J.C. for exclusive US spot representation. The directors, whose standout work in branded entertainment, commercials, and music videos has garnered a slew of awards and accolades, come over from @radical.media.

"Obviously, Zack and J.C. have already had an impact within the industry, so any company would want this team on the roster," noted losthighwayfilms, Executive Producer Marc Rosenberg, who founded the company in 2006. "But beneath the buzz is the fact that these are substantive, patient directors with no attitude, real guys, fun guys, who put a premium on quality."

Zack & J.C. said that while they appreciated the initial development and exposure they received at @radical, they sought a more intimate, hands-on affiliation that would feel like home. "We were meeting with a lot of companies, and connected with Marc's approach and ethic immediately," said J.C. "The losthighwayfilms, model is really the way to go for the long haul."

February 6, 2008
J. Paul Peszko interviews the artists at Canadian firm Global Mechanic about their works and expansion into the U.S.

“We make art work” is not just a catchy slogan but represents the intrinsic core value that separates Global Mechanic from the typical commercial producer. In this age of specialization, where companies attempt to excel in one particular area of commercial production, be it animation or live-action, Global Mechanic stands apart as a production entity that can do it all — and apparently do it very well. By working in various media, they are able to blend techniques and styles with the goal of creating an emotional connection with their audience. Not tied down to one particular style of production, they feel comfortable using a range of techniques, including cel-drawn animation, 3D, CGI mixed-media, stop-motion/motion-control and live-action. Furthermore, commercial producers rarely venture into long-form or independent production. But, here again, Global Mechanic excels at both. Bucking this trend toward specialization has served the Vancouver-based firm especially well, and the blending of the two forms has set them apart from run-of-the-mill commercial producers. Nothing points this out better than Global Mechanic’s recent expansion, setting up a new U.S. office in Boston... Read More

- ANW.com

February 6, 2008
Digital water sends vfx sparks flying Fluid simulations shine even with no H2O

The tide has rolled in for computer scientists and digital artists working on fluid simulation, bringing with it a flood of recognition in this year's Academy Awards.

Long a task that challenged computer scientists and digital moviemakers, water simulation has made rapid advances in recent years, ramping up its 'wow!' factor through "The Day After Tomorrow," "Poseidon" and into this year's visual effects and animation nominees, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Surf's Up" and "The Golden Compass."

Bill Westenhofer, who supervised Rhythm & Hues' work on the effect, says overall supervisor Mike Fink had requested an organic look that other kinds of particle simulators couldn't create... Read More

- Variety.com

December 14, 2007
Rhythm & Hues was a natural for 3D-animating Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Ellen Wolff discovers how it met the "cute critter quotient" for this iconic project

Rhythm & Hues has become a digital Animal Farm with its animated virtual menageries. The studio created 500 CG shots for Alvin and the Chipmunks. All images At the LA-based visual effects shop Rhythm & Hues, the "cute critter quotient" runs pretty high. Following R&H's Oscar-winning visual effects in Babe, the studio has animated virtual menageries for Mousehunt, Charlotte's Web, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Golden Compass. The veteran animation team also has created fanciful animal characters for Scooby-Doo and Garfield, so when Garfield director Tim Hill took on Alvin and the Chipmunks for 20th Century Fox Animation (opening Dec. 14), R&H was a natural choice to create 500 CG shots that the show required. Todd Shifflett, who has worked on several of the shop's critter features, including Charlotte's Web and both of the Babe and Scooby-Doo movies, brought an experienced eye to the post of visual effects supervisor on Alvin and the Chipmunks. Read More

- vfxworld.com

December 11, 2007
Frame by Frame, Animation Moves to India

If you have a date to go to the movies with a child this week, chances are good that part of the movie you'll see was made in India. Both The Golden Compass and Alvin and the Chipmunks used digital animation that was created in Mumbai.

India is rapidly becoming a player in the global cultural marketplace, and animation is no exception. Los Angeles-based animation company Rhythm & Hues worked on the films from their Hollywood offices — and from the offices that they have opened in India. Employees stay in contact through daily video conferencing, bridging 12 time zones and 13,000 miles.

John Peskavich, sequence supervisor on The Golden Compass says that images are sent back and forth as revisions are made.

"It's tricky because you can't sit with the individual artist," Peskavich says. "But we can look at the shots together in real time."... Read More
- npr.org

October 25, 2007
Network toons translate over borders Foreign shops see jump in animation gigs

Perhaps the most unique example of how the Web is helping independent animators get discovered is the breakthrough of Tokyoplastic. Its website sparked the interest of advertising agency McCann-Erickson/San Francisco, which offered Tokyoplastic the chance to pitch ideas for a nine-spot Microsoft campaign. Of course, the agency had no idea that these artists weren't Japanese, recalls company co-founder Sam Lanyon Jones. "We were just two pasty English guys, so we thought about hiring sumo wrestlers and flying them to San Francisco. We'd pose as their translators."

Just a few years (and TV campaigns) later, London-based Jones says the success of Tokyoplastic "has been completely viral. We've gone from being two guys sitting in their bedrooms doing fun stuff to having relationships with Nicktoons, Disney and Cartoon Network. We're doing four short films right now, and we'd love to do animated features. One of the great things about the Internet is that if what you've done is really great, it will rise to the top." Read More

- Variety.com

October 25, 2007
We Visit: The Daemons of The Golden Compass

In the upcoming epic fantasy film The Golden Compass based upon the novel by Philip Pullman, humans in a parallel universe have souls that "live" outside their bodies as animal companions. When you are young, your "Daemon" or soul animal will morph into several critters depending upon your shifting moods and emotions. Once you are an adult, the Daemon will settle into a shape that will be your soulmate forever.

In Playa Vista, California, Rhythm and Hues, the effects studio which was Oscar-nominated for the first "Narnia" film, is busy creating and wrangling digital Daemons galore for the film. We got to visit the effects house and were treated to the recently-released trailer for the movie and got to watch some step-by-step demonstration footage showing how the adorable and awesome creatures were created as sketches and maquettes then realized from scratch in computer and blended seamlessly into the film's live action footage. Read More

- Teen Hollywood

October 19, 2007
Rhythm & Hues Shows Glimpse of Golden Compass

A sneak peek this week of Rhythm & Hues' work on THE GOLDEN COMPASS (opening Dec. 7 from New Line Cinema) –- the Los Angeles-based company's most extensive in its 20-year history -- provided a glimpse of the daemons: the animal-like creatures that are manifestations of people's souls in this parallel universe where children are kidnapped by a mysterious organization. The Chris Weitz-directed fantasy is based on Phillip Pullman's award-winning HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy.

Mike Fink is the overall visual effects supervisor, with Rhythm & Hues and Rhythm & Hues India contributing 800 shots and more than 500 artists combined. Other vendors include Framestore CFC, Cinesite, Rainmaker, Tippett Studio and Digital Domain.

VFX Supervisor Bill Westenhofer, Co-VFX Supervisor Raymond Chen and Animation Director Erik-Jan De Boer lead the Rhythm & Hues team... Read More

- VFX World

September 11, 2007
The Kingdom

Shouldn't terrorism be treated as crime -- that is, as a civil rather than military matter? It's a question that's at the heart of the Iraq War debate, and it's one raised loudly and clearly by "The Kingdom," a realist thriller that mixes crowd-pleasing mayhem with provocative politics. Although burdened by far more procedure than plot, this Jamie Foxx vehicle -- which owes a great deal to the high-caliber style of its co-producer, Michael Mann -- is quietly jingoistic, in a way guaranteed to sell auds on the idea that what's truly American is about more than disputed foreign policy.

It's unlikely that the Saudi Arabian tourist board will be putting its imprimatur on this Peter Berg-helmed thriller: The entire kingdom within "The Kingdom" is portrayed as a seething snake pit of insurgent cells, the country's legitimate authority holding on by its fingernails to any sense of civil order... Read More

- Variety.com

August 14, 2007
Tokyoplastic Inspirations

Among many other incredibly cool ventures, the talented duo that make up Tokyoplastic, Sam Lanyon Jones and Drew Cope, have been responsible for bringing to us a stunning range of stylised Japanese inspired toys that have since proved an incredible success selling out soon after release.

It all started with the creation of their flash animated masterpiece that is the Tokyoplastic website, which managed to push all boundaries of what was conceived visually possible through the web. Inspired by the work of Japanese artist Takeshi Murakami, as well as the clean, highly stylistic design adopted in Japan, Tokyoplastic created their trademark iconic Geisha character for the online audience.

It was on the back of the huge success that followed the launch of the Tokyoplastic website, which at its peak was receiving 140,000 hits a day, that Tokyoplastic teamed up with toy manufacturer, Flying Cat, to put their wonderful creations into the mould for a select few of us to own and enjoy... Read More
- tokyocube.com

August 14, 2007
Tokyoplastic & Motorola

Remember Motorola used to be the most boring phone manufacturer, with the dullest looking phones? Since a few recent phones, that seems over now, and here’s an example of what I believe to be the advertising of the future: Tokyoplastic creating a wonderful interactive 3D animated viral for Motorola
In a world where more and more audiovisually highly advanced, psychologically well constructed commercial messages are being sent to our brains through a growing number of different devices, many people get close to immune to these messages. Read More

- dwerf.wordpress.com