Congrats To LAIKA’s “Kubo And The Two Strings” On Three Annie Award Wins

Congratulations to LAIKA on their three Annie Award wins for “Kubo And The Two Strings“:

  • Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
    Nelson Lowry, Trevor Dalmer, August Hall, Ean McNamara
    KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
  • Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
    Jan Maas
    KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
    Laika
  • Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
    Christopher Murrie
    KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

We will all be watching the  2017 Academy Awards later this month as “Kubo” garnered two nominations for,  Animated Feature, and Visual Effects. Continue reading... “Congrats To LAIKA’s “Kubo And The Two Strings” On Three Annie Award Wins”

HouseSpecial Expanding Production Coordinator Roster

HouseSpecial is expanding our roster of production coordinator talent for upcoming CG and stop-motion productions. To be included in our production bullpen, submit your information via housespecial.com and select Future Positions. Experience in producing animation is always helpful.

Production Coordination: Principal Duties and Responsibilities

  • Tracks all project activity from preproduction through delivery of masters across CG, Stop-Motion and Mixed Media animation projects and Live Action shoots.
  • Maintains and updates crew lists.
  • Communicates scheduling information with freelance and staff artists, including specific instructions from directors and producers.
Continue reading... “HouseSpecial Expanding Production Coordinator Roster”

LAIKA’s “Kubo And The Two Strings” Receives Two Oscar Nominations!

The 2017 Academy Award nominations are out!  Among them are two nominations for  LAIKA‘s #OregonMade “Kubo And The Two Strings” –  Animated Feature, and Visual Effects!

Kubo” joined; “Moana”, “My Life as a Zucchini”, “The Red Turtle”, “Zootopia” in the Animated Feature category, and “Deepwater Horizon”, “Doctor Strange”, “Jungle Book” and  “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” in the Visual Effects category.  Should “Kubo” win each category, Travis Knight  and Arianne Sutner would accept for Best Animated Feature, and Steve Emerson ,Oliver Jones, Brian McLean,Brad Schiff would accept for Best Visual Effects. Continue reading... “LAIKA’s “Kubo And The Two Strings” Receives Two Oscar Nominations!”

HouseSpecial’s Stop-Motion Short Takes ‘Best Animated Film’ At Oregon Independent Film Festival

Aaron Sorenson, a Director at Portland animation studio HouseSpecial, received the award for Best Animated Film for the stop-motion short Jailbreak during the award ceremony at The Oregon Independent Film Festival (OIFF) held on September 24, 2016 in Portland’s Clinton Street Theater.

Jailbreak, shot in black and white, follows the daring escape of a desperate prisoner fleeing his nightmarish cell in pursuit of sweet punishment.  Written and directed by Sorenson, this short is a German Expressionist-inspired design mash-up of stop motion with a 2D design sensibility … and a decidedly adult twist. Continue reading... “HouseSpecial’s Stop-Motion Short Takes ‘Best Animated Film’ At Oregon Independent Film Festival”

Bent Image Lab Unveils Secret Augmented Reality Project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kihel3MIBpA

Portland, OR August 15, 2016: Bent Image Lab, announces their Augmented Reality platform, “youAR”TM, is coming out of stealth mode into alpha testing.

For the last three years, Bent has been developing youARTM along with computer vision technology and systems enabling multiuser, real-time, markerless AR content to be viewed with a single lens smartphone.

Along with the announcement, Bent released a demo video showcasing the use of its proprietary AR and computer vision technology; “NEXT LEVEL AR!!! Continue reading... “Bent Image Lab Unveils Secret Augmented Reality Project”

Got Content? Learn How To Create Business In The African Market.

Screen Shot 2016-04-19 at 9.19.38 AM

The U.S. is Making a Vast Impact in Africa’s TV Content Industry.
Learn How You Can Create Business in a Profitable Market.

The U.S. Commerce Department Presents a webinar with DISCOP Africa, the leading feature films, TV programs, adaptation rights and packaged TV channels trade show.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27TH
9:00AM – 10:00AM PDT // 12:00PM – 1:00PM EDT
Register here.

Experts from the television industry will discuss opportunities in the African market, to include co-production and partnerships, and how to engage with local start-ups, and international partners also working in the African TV sector. Continue reading... “Got Content? Learn How To Create Business In The African Market.”

HouseSpecial Brings CustomInk’s ‘Spokestopus’ To Life In Stopmotion

April 18, 2016 (PORTLAND, OR) Introducing Steve the Spokestopus. He’s a new animated super fan created by content production studio HouseSpecial for CustomInk, the leading provider of custom apparel and accessories for groups and communities. The multi-spot campaign is a collaboration with Los Angeles ad agency SUPERMOON (SUPERMOON.com) and debuts this month on broadcast and digital media platforms.

HouseSpecial’s Mark Gustafson (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Planters Mr. Peanut, Häagen-Dazs) helmed the spots and teamed with SUPERMOON’s Executive Creative Director and Partner David DeRoma to refine the initial scripts and develop the Steve character for animation. Continue reading... “HouseSpecial Brings CustomInk’s ‘Spokestopus’ To Life In Stopmotion”

AEPDX+3DPDX+VFX/PDX Reel Review And Alphabest! 4/18 @ A.R.T.

alphabestMonday, April 18th, 2016 / 6:30-10:00 / Buy Tickets Here

AEPDX, 3DPDX and VFX/PDX are joining forces to bring you a huge double event for Design Week Portland 2016.

Alphabest is an invitational collaborative show where local individuals or teams of talented animators & video artists make a creation (15 – 60 seconds long) based on a word that begins with a randomly assigned letter from the alphabet. The 26 created pieces will be assembled for an amazing presentation.

Reel Review 2016 will be a showcase of the best reels of local talent in motion, 3d and vfx.

Continue reading... “AEPDX+3DPDX+VFX/PDX Reel Review And Alphabest! 4/18 @ A.R.T.”

Hinge’s Kitty Litter Spot is the Cats Meow!

Avoid a cat-astrophe in the bathroom! In an original pitch spot called “Cat’s Meow: The Interruption,” Hinge’s creative team brings attention to a very real problem facing cats and their owners everywhere.

The concept was developed in-house and shot with Portland crew and talent. The animation and post team created and integrated a photo real CG cat into the live action plates — all with a dash of litter humor.

For more details, go to hingedigital.com

  Continue reading... “Hinge’s Kitty Litter Spot is the Cats Meow!”

Hinge Digital Launches New Character for Oroweat

Meet Healthfull! Sure he gets toasty, but the crew at Hinge Digital and Coyne PR loved collaborating on all 80 calories of their newest character. Check out the Healthfull Trailer from the makers of Arnold, Oroweat, and Brownberry Bread – in theaters and online now! ‪#‎LoveYourBread‬

And for concept art and behind the scenes images, visit Hinge Digital. Continue reading... “Hinge Digital Launches New Character for Oroweat”