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Items of interest to Christian animators plus animation-related requests from Christians
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School Celebrates Class Completion
The 2010 School of Cartooning and Animation for Missions (SoCAM) has released their graduation video. The short recap of the 6-month school was shown at the SoCAM Graduation Ceremony of students Myra, Sebastian, and Jono on 15 December in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The original soundtrack was created by Jono, "with help from our director, Calvin Conkey." The school, led by Dave Hudson, covered traditional 2D and 3D digital animation as well as cartooning, comics, and cross cultural communication. Another SoCAM is being planned for 2011.
Source: SoCAM FB page
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Animal Animation Arriving in April
The creators of the animated Christmas film Once Upon A Stable are producing a sequel, The Lion of Judah, planned for an April 2011 release. The film relates the story of a lamb named Judah and his stable friends as they "try to avoid the sacrificial altar the week preceding the crucifixion of Christ." Voice actors include Christian singer Sandi Patty as a "motherly cow" named Esmay and Ernest Borgnine playing a "pedantic rat" called Slink.
Sources: Dave Hudson and the Lion of Judah FB page |
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Anime Initiative Activated
Let's Love Japan in Virginia USA has launched their Mobile Site Initiative project in Japan with 3 animations about Christmas. The Sugoku Fushigi na Kurisumasu anime stories "share the Gospel of Jesus in a Japanese way" using mobile phones as the primary delivery tool. Flyers announcing the animations have been hand-distributed throughout Japan, and web advertising is underway to reach Japanese people as well. The Japanese are considered to be "one of the least reached people groups." The animations will be airing on CGNTV Japan from 21-23 December at 9:10 PM.
Sources: Let's Love Japan website and FB page |
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Please e-mail us at
to submit News & Needs items. Thank you!
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Filmmaker Contest Open to Animators
Christian Filmmakers will be holding a Holiday Contest on December 10, 2010, and once again animators are welcome to enter. Although no one has entered a fully animated video to a Christian Filmmakers contest before, "several people have talked about entering an animated story" this time, reports Contest Administrator Nathaniel Bluedorn. Animators from around the world would have 48 hours to produce a 4-minute story and upload their video to YouTube. Animation and rendering must occur during the 48-hour contest timeline, but pre-production work may be done beforehand. There is a $25 entry fee, and cash prizes will be awarded. "This time we're introducing an Amateur Entry category, with a $5 entry fee and the opportunity to get input from the judges," Bluedorn adds. The contest also has a Facebook Events page.
Source: Nathaniel Bluedorn |
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Bible Study Stocking Stuffer
The fastest-selling new children's brand in the Christian Booksellers Association is "an in-depth look at biblical history." Phil Vischer's What's in the Bible? introduces young viewers to "infectious songs, laugh-out-loud humor, puppets, animation, and more ... to clearly and accurately communicate the truths of the Bible." Vischer says, "What's in the Bible? answers questions we're never too young or old to ask. 'Who wrote this book?' 'Can we trust it?' And most important, 'What difference does it make?'" The first 4 DVDs of an eventual 13-part series are already available and make "the perfect stocking stuffer for parents or grandparents to give this Christmas." Tyndale Senior Marketing Manager Cheryl Kerwin adds, "Not only are the kids laughing and learning – the parents love it. It's like the old Bugs Bunny cartoons: Phil's humor delights adults and kids, and vice versa." Vischer co-created the 60-million-selling DVD VeggieTales series.
Source: Tyndale House PR
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Big Idea Restructures Studio
VeggieTales co-creator and VP of Development Mike Nawrocki has been appointed to Executive VP of Big Idea Entertainment Studios the company announced at the end of October. In his new role, Nawrocki will "give oversight and leadership" to all Big Idea productions. As co-creator of VeggieTales and voice of Larry The Cucumber, Nawrocki has been "part of the pulse" of Big Idea since its inception in 1993. In addition, Big Idea Entertainment has retained the services of Mark Steele of Steelehouse Productions to the newly created role of Chief of Creative Affairs. Steele will contribute to the creative development process behind the VeggieTales series.
Source: CBA News
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Background Help Still Needed
Let's Love Japan still needs a little more volunteer help with background art – "which doesn't necessarily need to look like Anime style to work" – for their Mobile Site Initiative. The mission of Let's Love Japan is to share God's love with the people of Japan through high quality animation and video productions. The first animated stories are scheduled to launch next month.
Contact: Tim Ingle, Chairman, at
Posted: 13 November 2010
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Please e-mail us at
to submit News & Needs items. Thank you!
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Prayer Needed for Aussie Animator
Well-known Australian animator Ian Harrowell suffered a stroke a short while ago. Harrowell was Animation Director/Senior Animator with Walt Disney Animation Australia for 17 years. In 2006 he helped form Moving Word Pictures Limited and the Heroes Christian Children Foundation. He was a presenter at the 1st ANIMAX35 Christian Animation Conference in Sydney in 2007. More recently Harrowell and his team had done some short Christian-themed animations for Logosdor. Reportedly Harrowell is "doing much better now, hasn't lost his sense of humour, speech is pretty much back to normal and is still playing guitar in church ... but still suffering from headaches and getting back up to speed with reading, writing and drawing."
Source: Phil Watson
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"Anime" Animatic for Latino Audience
NEXT Inc., the organization behind the Manga Messiah graphic novel series, has released a new Spanish-language animatic. It is running on Enlace, a TBN Latin American network, as part of an outreach this month. The animatic was directed by Joshua Ginter of Seeworthy Media in Chicago USA. The producer was Jeff Holder of Flyover Projects in California USA. NEXT, based in Washington State USA, had been discussing the possible production of an animatic when Enlace approached them needing animation for an evangelistic effort. NEXT decided this was the right opportunity "since there would be a very large built-in audience right up front," Ginter reports. The 28.5 minute animatic was assembled from artwork and script created by Japanese manga-ka Kozumi ("Kelly") Shinozawa for the Manga Metamorphosis graphic novel. A 5-minute clip can be viewed on NEXT's website.
Sources: Jeff Holder, Joshua Ginter, Roald Lidal
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Overbey Offers ABC Alternative
Christian Comics Pioneer Taylor Overbey is developing an interactive cartoon called The Bible and the ABC's. The main character in his new Flash cartoon sings a Christian-themed ABC song that children can memorize. Children can also click on the different letters as they appear – such as "A is for Adam, the first man" – and see another cartoon scene that illustrates the lyrical text. When his cartoon is finished Overbey will release it on CD along with a book of Bible lessons. "I am making this cartoon because I want my 18-month-old daughter to be able to learn about the Bible while she learns her ABC's," Overbey writes. "I also want your children and grandchildren to have the same choice."
Source: Taylor Overbey
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Freeware and Tutorial Recommendations
The new ministry initiative Mobile Advance wants to help missionaries find viable ways to use animation in their outreach. They need:
1) Recommendations on any freeware programs or websites that allow for the simplified creation of animations that could be used in video shorts, and
2) Recommendations on web tutorials that would help a novice to get a good start in animation.
Contact: Keith at
Posted: 5 October 2010
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Please e-mail us at
to submit News & Needs items. Thank you!
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Update on Hohnstadt's Top Toon
Two months ago Cedric Hohnstadt's animated Gospel tract Are You A Good Person? went live on YouTube. The cartoon, produced for the ministry of Living Waters, has now passed the 100,000 views landmark. "I am totally blown away by these numbers and by the overall positive feedback I've received," the character designer/illustrator writes on his blog. "It’s very rewarding to see that it has gone this far, and I’m grateful to everyone who has taken the time out of their busy lives to watch my little cartoon." Individuals and churches are encouraged to embed the cartoon on their websites. The animation is about 5 minutes long with a 1-minute promo at the end added by Living Waters.
Sources: Cedric Hohnstadt's blog and Twitter updates
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Moms Choose Bible DVD Series
The annual Mom’s Choice Awards® (MCA) have named What’s in the Bible? among the best in "family-friendly media, products, and services." The first 3 DVDs in this series by VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer – In the Beginning, Let My People Go!, and Wanderin’ in the Desert – are MCA Gold Recipients. The MCA awards program helps parents, educators, librarians, and retailers select materials for children and families. Vischer’s 13-part DVD series is produced by Jellyfish Labs and Tyndale Kids. The 4th DVD, Battle for the Promised Land!, explores the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. It will be available in October.
Sources: ECPA's Rush to Press, Christian Retailing magazine
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SoCAM Student Showreel Short
After studying Adobe Flash for two weeks under instructor Dave Hudson, students Myra, Sebastian, and Jono at the School of Cartooning and Animation for Missions (SoCAM) produced a "Lecture Phase Showreel" of their animation projects. The Showreel contains "short snippets of larger projects" on which the students have been working. The school has been held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, since July and has included sessions on comics, manga, and media strategy as well as animation.
Source: SoCAM Facebook page
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Cartoon Characters Bungle in the Jungle
Thomas Nelson is releasing Adventures in Booga Booga Land - Volume 1 with animated cartoons based on the Parables of Jesus. Marty the monkey and Gerard the giraffe "bungle their way thru the paradise of Booga Booga Land inadvertently learning lessons that Jesus taught many years ago." Volume 1 features 3 parables: "So This is Booga," based on the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard from Matthew 20:1-16; "Marty’s Sandcastle," based on the Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders from Luke 6:47-49; and "No Light In This Lighthouse," based on the Parable of the Lamp Under the Bowl from Matthew 5:14-16. Nelson also has new Gigi and Read and Share DVDs coming out in October.
Sources: Christian Retailing magazine, Thomas Nelson website
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Vischer Unveils Cartoon Curriculum
This November a new curriculum based on Phil Vischer's What’s in the Bible? series is coming out and will feature "Sunday School Lady, Buck Denver, Clive & Ian, and the whole What’s in the Bible? crew." The first DVD will debut 15 November and DVDs 2-4 will be ready in January 2011. Each DVD will feature 4 weeks of lessons and will be available physically or digitally. Listed curriculum highlights include "videos, music and more from Phil Vischer, Bible literacy, comprehensive & chronological, flexible format, mobile access for leaders, family interaction." Videos include educational cartoon clips on subjects such as Redemption produced by contributing animator Cedric Hohnstadt. In addition, 2 new What's in the Bible? DVDs will be out soon: The 4th DVD, Battle for the Promised Land, will be released on 20 October and the 5th, Israel Gets a King, in February 2011.
Sources: 'What's in the Bible?' website and Twitter postings
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Swindoll Series Arrives in 2011
A brand-new DVD Series of Paws & Tales cartoons will be released next year by Tyndale House Publishers in partnership with Insight for Living and Providential Pictures. The Bible-based animated series for children ages 4–8 is based on the same-name radio series which grew out of the bestselling book Paw Paw Chuck’s Big Ideas in the Bible by Christian author and pastor Charles Swindoll. "I am continually amazed at the impact a simple, carefully worded story can have on young lives," says Swindoll. "Our hope and prayer is that every episode of Paws & Tales will provide families with more opportunities to discuss the really important things in life." The first of 13 DVDs will be coming out in February 2011.
Source: ECPA's Rush to Press e-newsletter
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Series Seeks to Spread Word
Based in the Isle of Man, UK, Executive Producers David and Alison Dorricott have worked with professional animators to produce Friends and Heroes since 2004. Their 3 series of animated adventure movies, for children aged 6-10, tell stories from the Old and New Testaments and have been translated into 10 major world languages. Recently the Dorricotts have been writing to pastors, asking for help in spreading the word about their cartoons to parents and those working with children. "Most people make decisions in their childhood and teenage years that lead them to walk the path of Faith – or to reject it," they write. "Where we live, in the British Isles, only 5% of children are reached by churches – and few know the Bible stories which provided the foundations for our own decisions to follow the Christian faith." They have now established a distribution base in the USA with dedicated staff.
Sources: David and Alison Dorricott, Friends & Heroes website
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Please e-mail us at
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New Toon is Tops on Tube
Freelance character designer and illustrator Cedric Hohnstadt has written, designed, produced, and edited an animated Gospel tract entitled Are You A Good Person? for the ministry of Living Waters. The cartoon is loosely based on a tract Hohnstadt illustrated for Living Waters in 2006, and both are adapted from Ray Comfort’s best-selling book Hell’s Best Kept Secret. The animated short had 10,000 views on YouTube before it was even officially announced and almost 50,000 views within 3 weeks. "Of all the hundreds of projects I've worked on to date, this one was the most personal for me and also one of which I am most proud," Hohnstadt writes. The animation is also embedded on LivingWaters.com and Cedric's Blog-o-rama.
Sources: Cedric Hohnstadt's blog and Twitter updates
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Creating a Christmas Cartoon
Australian animator Phil Watson is working with the Bible Society of New South Wales to produce a short cartoon animation of the Christmas story. The video will be shown on YouTube and also given away as a free download. The animation is narrated using straight Bible text. "The aim is to simply tell the Bible story in a modern and engaging way without any denominational bias – apart from an Australian angle!" writes Watson. There is a short teaser trailer on the Cartoon Bible YouTube channel. The animation has been created to be easily translatable into other languages. Watson adds, "I hope to work towards creating a whole animated Gospel which will inspire the YouTube generation to 'read' the Bible and fall in love with Jesus."
Source: Phil Watson
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Joke Generates Big (Bad) Bang
VeggieTales co-creator Phil Vischer has come under fire for a joking reference to the "big bang theory" in the first video of his 13-part What's in the Bible? DVD series from Tyndale House. Tyndale received written complaints from "a few fans" and at least one Christian bookstore saying the reference to the theory was "anti-Christian" and could "cause confusion" among kids. Vischer has attempted to address the concerns through his blog and direct contact with some critics. "The Bible is always correct in what it says. We - as humans - are sometimes incorrect in our interpretations of what it means," Vischer writes. "Let's agree on the facts, and agree that it's okay sometimes to disagree on how we interpret those facts." Lorena Allen, manager of Harvest Bookstore in Illinois USA, says, "I understand his response, but ... it is not 'in the Bible' and is not theologically a neutral subject."
Sources: July issue of Christian Retailing, PhilVischer.com
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Background Artist Needed
The mission of Let's Love Japan is to share God's love with the people of Japan through high quality animation and video productions. They are in need of a volunteer background artist for their Mobile Site Initiative.
Contact: Tim Ingle, Chairman, at
Posted: 8 July 2010
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Veggies Target Niche Audiences
Big Idea is releasing the "first-ever VeggieTales episode just for girls" this month. Mike Nawrocki, co-creator of VeggieTales and now vice president of creative development, says the idea for Sweetpea Beauty—A Girl After God's Own Heart came about when Big Idea General Manager Leslie Ferrell suggested making "a show about inner beauty." Nawrocki admits "it's not the first thing a development team of three guys would think of. But we embraced the challenge ... being fathers of daughters ourselves." Big Idea is working on other targeted episodes including one in partnership with World Vision on "a lesson in serving others."
Source: Christian Retailing magazine
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Salem Acquires tangle.com and GodTube.com
Salem Web Network, the online division of Salem Communications, "the leading radio broadcaster, Internet content provider and publisher focusing on Christian and Conservative opinion media," has acquired Christian content and community websites tangle.com and GodTube.com. Tangle, "the leading Christian niche social networking website," and GodTube, "the leading Christian video website," join Salem’s portfolio of faith and family-themed content sites which includes Crosswalk.com and Christianity.com. "We are excited about adding these sites and combined audience to our network," says Tom Perrault, Sr VP of Salem Web. "We have plans to aggressively grow both over the next several years."
Source: ECPA's Rush to Press newsletter
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Please e-mail us at
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Network Displays Double Standard
Just weeks after Comedy Central executives censored a program because of its depiction of Muhammad, the network announced it has a new cartoon series in development that mocks Christianity. Entitled "JC", the show will depict Jesus living in contemporary New York City trying to "escape his father’s enormous shadow." According to Comedy Central, God is an "all-powerful yet apathetic father [who] would rather be playing video games than listening to JC recount his life in the city." Comedy Central calls it "a playful take on religion," but the Media Research Center is launching a citizen petition to protest the cable network's obvious double standard.
Sources: Media Research Center, Comedy Central website
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New Superbook Images on FB
New "behind the scenes" art, storyboards, and visual effects breakdowns are on display at the Superbook Facebook page. The latest material includes both storyboards and color scripts for Superbook Episode 101 "Creation," color scripts for Episode 104 "Exodus," and special effects & compositing for Episode 106 "A Giant Adventure." Season 1 of the new 3D animation series is currently in production in Beijing, China.
Source: Superbook's FB page
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More on Vischer and What's in the Bible?
Storyteller Phil Vischer will welcome attendees at the Sunday evening "Pacesetter" event at this year’s International Christian Retail Show in St. Louis, MO USA. With a background in computer animation, Vischer created VeggieTales in 1990 to teach kids Christian values, starting a new era of films for children. Vischer's latest creation, the What’s in the Bible? DVD series, is a response to the growing trend of Bible illiteracy in the church today. Social media has been an integral part of the launch with a website, blog with a video, Twitter page and Facebook page introducing the new series.
Source: CBA Industry Briefs |
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New Bible-Based Virtual World Launched
Three organizations, the Canadian Bible Society (CBS), Simpleville Music and Tyndale House Publishers, have partnered to produce YAHERO, a new "massive multiplayer online game (MMOG) that is Bible based and supportive of a Christian worldview." CBS National Director, Ted Seres says, "The Canadian Bible Society is thrilled to have initiated this ground-breaking project ... The YAHERO website allows kids to become engaged with God’s Word while having incredible fun!" The site does not promote a particular denominational viewpoint and is "solely committed to inspiring a love for Scripture and instilling a high level of Biblical literacy."
Source: Canadian Bible Society's 'Word at Work' magazine |
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Video Contest Open to Animators
The Christian Filmmakers 36-Hour Contest will be held April 23-25, and animators are welcome to enter. Animators from around the world will have 36 hours to produce a 3-minute story on video and upload it to YouTube. Judges will score entries on Story, Cinematography, Sound, Performance and Editing. "Animation and rendering have to happen during the contest deadline, but all kinds of pre-production can happen beforehand [such as] character design, etc.," reports Nathaniel Bluedorn, the Christian Filmmakers.org site administrator. There will be cash prizes for the first and second place winners.
Source: Nathaniel Bluedorn |
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Korean Animators Open Storybox
TOC Creative Inc. in Korea has produced The Storybox Bible, a 3D animated Christian musical DVD for children 4 to 6 years old. The cartoons feature Paul, a little boy who is a "real troublemaker" and who lives with his grandmother in Ham City since his missionary parents died in a plane crash. More information about the series is available online in English and Korean.
Source: toccreative on Twitter |
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Vischer Unveils "VeggieTales Version 2"
VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer, owner of Jellyfish Labs, was interviewed in the March 2010 issue of Christian Retailing about his new What's in the Bible? DVD series from Tyndale House. "I think VeggieTales did a good job teaching individual Bible stories and Christian values," says Vischer. "What we're trying to do now, though, is connect all those dots to show kids the big picture ... I think it's the next step after VeggieTales – sort of 'VeggieTales v2.' " Vischer is also involving Focus on the Family, Awana, Moody and others in his new efforts. "Sixty-five percent of our kids are walking away from church as soon as they graduate from high school," he notes. "This is a crisis. We all need to work together to develop and promote solutions."
Source: Christian Retailing magazine |
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Multi-Production Animation Deal for Big Idea
Tennessee USA based Big Idea has entered into a multi-production relationship with animation studio Entrenched Inc., with the two companies agreeing to collaborate on new VeggieTales content, including DVDs. The animation will be completed by Entrenched's sister company, Hawaii Animation Studios (HAS). Previously, HAS played a part in the production of Big Idea and Universal Studio's 2008 theatrical release VeggieTales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything as well as the animated 3-2-1 Penguins! series.
Source: Christian Retailing website |
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Production Begins on New Superbook Series
Animation work will begin this week in China on the new Superbook series. 12 new episodes are being produced in Beijing while 13 more scripts are currently in development. Season 1 is expected to be completed by June 2011 for a fall 2011 series launch. The next 13 episodes of the new series will go into production around that time. The first 13 episodes of the original anime-style Superbook series are being re-mastered currently and will be released on DVD eventually. In the meantime the original cartoons can be viewed everyday from 12:30pm-1:30pm (East coast time in the USA) on CBN Live.
Source: Superbook's Facebook Fan Page |
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Pray for People in Visual Media
Mumbai, India based Galilean International has announced that Sunday 14 March 2010 will be Visual Media Communications Sunday to emphasize the "importance and power of visual media products such as films, videos and television/satellite programs for the communication of the Gospel in this information age." Visual Media Communications Sunday has been observed on the second Sunday of March every year since 1992 according to the organizers. The day is similar in concept to Internet Evangelism Day.
Source: The Internet Evangelism Day team |
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Asian Animation School Offers Update
There is a new extended promo video online for the School of Cartooning and Animation for Missions. The school will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 5 July to 18 December 2010. The class schedule includes traditional 2D and 3D digital animation as well as sessions on cartooning, manga, comics, cross cultural communication, and media strategy issues.
Sources: CITSCAM's Twitter updates and website |
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Francisco's First Fido Film is a Favorite
Artist/writer/musician Wendy Francisco, wife of singer/songwriter Don Francisco, has created her first animation entitled "GoD and DoG". She posted the video in early August 2009 after recording the song and doing the animation about a week before. The video received a million views in its first 40 days. "I had never tried to animate other than making flip books when I was a kid...now I am addicted," says Francisco. "I can hardly wait to start the next one." Currently she is working on a book version of "GoD and DoG" for a gift/childrens book publisher.
Sources: Wendy Francisco, GoD and DoG website |
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More Veggies on DVD
Another new VeggieTales cartoon will be released by Big Idea through Christian stores in February and the general market in March. Pistachio - The Little Boy That Woodn't is "an all-new family adventure featuring a helpful lesson in listening to your parents." A parody of the story of Pinocchio, Pistachio features the lonely toymaker Gelato in the small town of Bologna-Salami. "Everyone knows the story of Pinocchio ... but Pistachio has a clever VeggieTales twist ... emphasizing the father-son relationship and the strength of family," says Big Idea.
Sources: Christian Retailing, Big Idea website |
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Archives: 2010
