DreamWorks Animation’s “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken” (in theater’s now) is a different kind of undersea adventure.
The title character is a seemingly regular teenage girl living in the town of Oceanside (voiced by Lana Condor) who knows that her family is keeping something from her but doesn’t understand that she is actually the latest descendant in an underwater kraken kingdom. Thankfully, she reconnects with her grandmother (Jane Fonda) and together they unlock her kraken powers. Or maybe the right phrase is release the kraken.
And she’ll need it, as she’s got to do battle with a cute, popular girl who is also an evil mermaid. This leads to an unexpectedly epic kaiju battle between mermaid and kraken that is pretty amazing.
TheWrap spoke to director Kirk DeMicco, who helmed “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken” (with co-director Faryn Pearl), shortly before the movie’s splashy (get it?...
The title character is a seemingly regular teenage girl living in the town of Oceanside (voiced by Lana Condor) who knows that her family is keeping something from her but doesn’t understand that she is actually the latest descendant in an underwater kraken kingdom. Thankfully, she reconnects with her grandmother (Jane Fonda) and together they unlock her kraken powers. Or maybe the right phrase is release the kraken.
And she’ll need it, as she’s got to do battle with a cute, popular girl who is also an evil mermaid. This leads to an unexpectedly epic kaiju battle between mermaid and kraken that is pretty amazing.
TheWrap spoke to director Kirk DeMicco, who helmed “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken” (with co-director Faryn Pearl), shortly before the movie’s splashy (get it?...
- 7/8/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
In “The Hidden World,” DreamWorks’ bittersweet finale to its beloved “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless go their separate ways until humans and dragons can peacefully co-exist. But when Toothless attains his exalted status as king of the dragons, it was vital to convey the beauty and grandeur of their ancestral home, the Caldera, on a scale never before achieved at the studio.
Fortunately, DreamWorks rushed its new path-tracing renderer, MoonRay — which calculates light as it behaves in the real world — into production just in time to showcase the wondrous dragon lair. MoonRay stretched throughout the pipeline, resulting in more complex and subtle lighting possibilities, which is why “The Hidden World” became the studio’s crowning animated achievement.
“It was the first time that we were able to deliver a sequence as fully envisioned, without having to use a lot of matte painting and cheats...
Fortunately, DreamWorks rushed its new path-tracing renderer, MoonRay — which calculates light as it behaves in the real world — into production just in time to showcase the wondrous dragon lair. MoonRay stretched throughout the pipeline, resulting in more complex and subtle lighting possibilities, which is why “The Hidden World” became the studio’s crowning animated achievement.
“It was the first time that we were able to deliver a sequence as fully envisioned, without having to use a lot of matte painting and cheats...
- 12/4/2019
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Although Roger Deakins served as visual consultant throughout the “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy, it wasn’t until “The Hidden World” finale that DreamWorks Animation fully mastered his lessons in naturalism. This was due to a combination of artistic maturity and new rendering and surfacing tech breakthroughs at the studio.
“We’ve always shot these like live-action movies with a naturalistic sensibility, but DreamWorks struggled through the first two movies,” said VFX supervisor Dave Walvoord. “But with the help of a new ray tracing renderer, Moonray, and some new surfacing tools, we could think more like cinematographers.
Read More: ‘‘How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World’: Confronting the Politics of Hate
“Now, in our world, we could [calculate light as it behaves in the real world] and flag specific points, so it gave us a very direct translation, and all of the ideas that Roger was trying to do we could replicate with large area light sources and bounce light.
“We’ve always shot these like live-action movies with a naturalistic sensibility, but DreamWorks struggled through the first two movies,” said VFX supervisor Dave Walvoord. “But with the help of a new ray tracing renderer, Moonray, and some new surfacing tools, we could think more like cinematographers.
Read More: ‘‘How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World’: Confronting the Politics of Hate
“Now, in our world, we could [calculate light as it behaves in the real world] and flag specific points, so it gave us a very direct translation, and all of the ideas that Roger was trying to do we could replicate with large area light sources and bounce light.
- 3/1/2019
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Dean DeBlois always knew how he wanted to end his “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy, with a grownup Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) uttering author Cressida Cowell’s mysterious line, “There were dragons when I was a boy.” But getting there required a painful narrative course correction in explaining why humans and dragons could no longer peacefully co-exist.
Still, the end result in exploring the different paths to leadership for the Viking ruler and his faithful dragon pal, Toothless, concludes the DreamWorks franchise on a stirringly emotional note. In addition, “The Hidden World” displays a richness and beauty unmatched at the studio, making it an Oscar contender next season.
Read More: ‘How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World’ Review: A Visually Arresting Conclusion
“After several drafts of being quite loyal to the continuity of the first and second films, I set it aside and decided what threads I must keep...
Still, the end result in exploring the different paths to leadership for the Viking ruler and his faithful dragon pal, Toothless, concludes the DreamWorks franchise on a stirringly emotional note. In addition, “The Hidden World” displays a richness and beauty unmatched at the studio, making it an Oscar contender next season.
Read More: ‘How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World’ Review: A Visually Arresting Conclusion
“After several drafts of being quite loyal to the continuity of the first and second films, I set it aside and decided what threads I must keep...
- 2/20/2019
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The Visual Effects Society has announced the nominations for the 13th Annual Ves awards "the prestigious yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on-the-keys artists who bring this work to life."
Ves members selected the nominees and Laika's "The Boxtrolls," Disney's "Big Hero 6," and Fox's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" topped the nominations receiving 5 nods each.
The Visual Effects Society (Ves) is a global professional honorary society and the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, technologists, model makers, educators, studio executives, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers. Ves. almost 3,000 members in 33 countries worldwide contribute to all areas of entertainment . film, television, commercials, animation, music videos, games and new media. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the Ves has member Sections in Australia, Bay Area (CA), London,...
Ves members selected the nominees and Laika's "The Boxtrolls," Disney's "Big Hero 6," and Fox's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" topped the nominations receiving 5 nods each.
The Visual Effects Society (Ves) is a global professional honorary society and the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, technologists, model makers, educators, studio executives, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers. Ves. almost 3,000 members in 33 countries worldwide contribute to all areas of entertainment . film, television, commercials, animation, music videos, games and new media. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the Ves has member Sections in Australia, Bay Area (CA), London,...
- 1/14/2015
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The Visual Effects Society has announced the nominees for its 13th Annual Ves Awards, which recognize outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games. Among the nominees — Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Guardians of the Galaxy, Interstellar, Maleficent, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies and X-Men: Days Of Future Past – for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture. The awards will be held February 4 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. See the complete list below.
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Joe Letteri
Ryan Stafford
Matt Kutcher
Dan Lemmon
Hannah Blanchini
Guardians of the Galaxy
Stephane Ceretti
Susan Pickett
Jonathan Fawkner
Nicolas Aithadi
Paul Corbould
Interstellar
Paul Franklin
Kevin Elam
Ann Podlozny
Andrew Lockley
Scott Fisher
Maleficent
Carey Villegas...
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Joe Letteri
Ryan Stafford
Matt Kutcher
Dan Lemmon
Hannah Blanchini
Guardians of the Galaxy
Stephane Ceretti
Susan Pickett
Jonathan Fawkner
Nicolas Aithadi
Paul Corbould
Interstellar
Paul Franklin
Kevin Elam
Ann Podlozny
Andrew Lockley
Scott Fisher
Maleficent
Carey Villegas...
- 1/13/2015
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline
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