David Lebensfeld to Serve as President of Ingenuity Studios and Sister Company Ghost VFX
David Lebensfeld, founder and president of Ingenuity Studios, has assumed the additional role of president of Ingenuity’s sister company Ghost VFX. Together, both companies make up Streamland Media’s visual effects business. Streamland Media is also the parent company of post house Picture Shop, sound company Formosa Group and marketing unit Picture Head. Ghost VFX — which […]
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Walt Disney Pictures In-House VFX Workers Vote to Unionize Under IATSE
Visual effects workers at Walt Disney Pictures — the in-house VFX employees including data wranglers, witness camera operators, and other production staff — voted unanimously by a vote of 13-0 to unionize under IATSE in an election held by the National Labor Relations Board. “These workers’ collective action against the status quo represents a seismic shift in […]
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U2 Opens Las Vegas Sphere With a Dazzling Musical and Visual Odyssey Before 18,000 Fans
Given U2’s reputation for pushing technical and creative boundaries with its live concerts, it seemed fitting that the band opened the anticipated Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday with its most ambitious and transportive live show ever: an electrifying live performance and visual odyssey that unfolds on Sphere’s enveloping 160,000-square-foot wraparound interior LED display. Built […]
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Labor Relations Board Paves Way For Disney Animation Production Workers Unionization Election
IATSE and The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) announced on Wednesday that the National Labor Relations Board issued a direction of election that would allow production workers of Walt Disney Animation Studios to vote on whether to unionize under IATSE. According to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the decision means that full time […]
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Will ‘Wish’ Face a “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”-Type Conundrum?
Disney Animation might be wishing for a crystal ball as as it decides which song from their upcoming feature Wish to submit for Oscars consideration. The Oscars’ Nov. 1 deadline comes weeks ahead of the Nov. 22 release date for the film, voice starring Ariana DeBose as young protagonist Asha and Chris Pine as villainous […]
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‘Moana’ Producer Osnat Shurer Joins Baobab Studios
Osnat Shurer, an Oscar-nominated producer of Disney Animation’s Moana and Raya and the Last Dragon, has joined Baobab Studios as co-chief creative officer, alongside company founder and CCO Eric Darnell (Madagascar). Previously, Shurer served as Walt Disney Feature Animation’s vp development and as executive producer of the short films group at Pixar, where she produced […]
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The Las Vegas Venues Reinventing the Theatrical Experience
Roughly a mile from the Las Vegas Strip and off the 15 freeway is Area15, a massive experimental entertainment “district” that includes food, bars, tech-driven art installations and immersive experiences involving VR, projection mapping and all-enveloping sound. These can take visitors on a safari, for instance, or to space. Area15 is one of a number […]
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Disney Characters Assemble in ‘Once Upon a Studio’ Trailer
As Disney Animation celebrates its centennial, the studio released the trailer for its nostalgic Once Upon a Studio, an animated short that the filmmakers describe as a love letter to the studio, its artists and fans. During a press preview Thursday, Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee remembered the Zoom meeting during which writers-directors Dan Abraham […]
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Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Boy and the Heron’ to Open Animation Is Film Festival
Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron from Studio Ghibli will open the 6th edition of the Animation is Film Festival, which will run Oct. 18-22 in Hollywood. And the closing night will mark the Los Angeles premiere of Aardman’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. Presented by Netflix, Dawn of the Nugget will be […]
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The Las Vegas Sphere Is a “Mind-Boggling” Vision of the Future of Entertainment
An instantly iconic addition to Las Vegas’ skyline, Sphere is not only the world’s largest spherical structure but also a technological marvel whose innovations could offer a glimpse of entertainment’s future. The venue near The Venetian will make its long-anticipated debut Sept. 29 with a U2 residency, closely followed by the launch of the first movie […]
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How Will Editors Use AI? The Tech’s Role in Production and Post Scrutinized at IBC
With generative artificial intelligence, all traditional production workflows will be disrupted, said Marco Tempest, a director’s fellow at the MIT Media Lab, of this transformative tech and how it could be used well beyond engineering circles. “I think it’s the first time ever that we’ve been confronted with a technological wave that doesn’t require technologists […]
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Digital Domain Enters Into Partnership With PRG
Visual effects company Digital Domain has entered into a non-exclusive partnership with production tech and services provider PRG (Production Resource Group). Per the “co-brand” agreement, when required for certain projects, the two companies will offer their services as a sort of “one stop shop.” That might include areas such as virtual production, for which PRG […]
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