Via Broadsheet.ie, “mathemusician” Vi Hart has found a problem with SpongeBob’s house, and it’s a fairly major one at that! Here’s her open letter to Nickelodeon addressing the problem:
Nickelodeon in Shocking Mathematical Blunder! Read More »
Much debate has taken place over the last few days in regards to the current status as future of Joe Murray’s Kaboing TV project. The site’s apparent failures include:
While all of these are valid points, they do tend to focus on the practical aspects of the site. In other words, things that can be changed relatively easily. New content is not hard to come across, site design can be improved and as for the original content, well that is something that can’t be helped once it is made, but it is hardly likely to pull the entire site down, especially if it is dedicated to showcasing a wide range of films.
No, there is one thing and one thing only that really caused Kaboing TV to stutter and that is community.
Yes, community is something that is still being figured out in the webosphere. Lots of social media “experts” will tout it, plenty of marketing folks will emphasise it in their presentations but “community” is still something that is spectacularly difficult to pin down.
First of all, is it viewers? Is it commentators? Is it creators? It is, in fact, all three.
Websites are the foundation of a successful community but their continued existence is dependent on the nature of the community as well as their level of involvement.
Let’s take for example, Cartoon Brew. It’s a website/blog that focuses on animation issues just the same as many others. So why do we keep it as our homepage and check it at least once a day? The answer is that Cartoon Brew has spawned a community with which we share a common interest (animation) but also because we have reasons to keep going back. If it isn’t for the exclusive news and videos, then it’s the comments or perhaps the comments on the comments.
If Cartoon Brew was lacking the surrounding community, then it would simply be another animation site on the web with nothing to differentiate it and it’s traffic would certainly reflect that.
So look at Kaboing TV in the same light. What was there to commend it outside of the site itself and the content? Very little I’m afraid. Kaboing TV sadly failed to grow a sustainable community that had people coming back regularly and interacting with each other.
Now of course, it’s hard to get a completely new site off the ground and Joe’s (quite logical) reasoning was that if he had some new shorts to go along with it, they would add something extra that would entice people to visit regularly at the beginning and hopefully spur the creation of the community.
Visitors are encouraged to comment, share and otherwise engage on the site, but that is the limit of what they could do. Content is curated (ostensibly to keep standards up) and favours the creator submitting their work. That’s great, but also assumes that there is a community ready and willing to devour the content. This wasn’t the case, and most people won’t put the cart before the horse.
What needed to happen was that the community would submit, approve and vote on new content themselves. The internet is full of examples where so-called crowd-sourcing has worked quite well in helping to build communities and websites. While it admittedly takes time for the numbers to grow, there is little sense in handicapping things from the start.
Kaboing TV is a fine idea and it is a concept that has promise. It’s just that someone was highly likely to fail with the first effort and unfortunately that someone was Joe Murray. The good news is that whoever chooses to follow him stands to learn from his mistakes and will hopefully create an animation site complete with a vibrant and active community to support and sustain it.
The Underlying Reason Why Kaboing TV Failed To Take Off Read More »
Mashups are often seen as being the internet generation’s creation, but the fact is, the concept has been around forever.
So it was quite amusing as I stumbled across this video. Created by Japanese animation studio Gainax, for a Japanese comic convention, DAICON IV, and blending a whole host of eastern and western influences (including ELO) into 5 minutes of animation.
East Meets West Meets ELO Read More »
The ReelGirl blog, written by Margot Magowan, recently featured a post that discusses Pixar’s upcoming film ‘Brave’ in the context of Pixar ‘firsts’; this case being their first lead female protagonist. Margot sums it up thusly:
Wow, a female hero is as rare and remarkable as a rat who can cook.
Which is basically the truth, strictly in terms of Pixar films.
Can this be held against Pixar? I’d say not. They’ve only released a relatively small number of films, and a good chunk of them were knocked out during just one lunch! It’s a natural progression that they would get around to doing a girl-centric film eventually. Besides, The Incredibles had an actual female hero in Elastigirl. OK, granted she wasn’t the lead, but she was effectively the co-lead and equal partner in the film.
I agree with Margot in that it is a tad unfair to be crowing about a film that is supposedly a ‘first’ and that also features something that should, and has, been a given in animated films for quite a while.
ReelGirl Sums Up What Pixar’s ‘Brave’ Really Signifies Read More »
Continuing out look at a series of magazine covers featuring the Disney princesses as created by the Petite Tiaras tumblelog, (previously parts 1, 2 and 3), we’re onto the final post.
Tiana in Vanity Fair
Yet another one by Conde Nast, Vanity Fair describes itself as:
…a cultural filter, igniting the global conversation about the people and ideas that matter most. With a dedication to journalistic excellence, brilliant photography, and powerful storytelling, Vanity Fair is the first choice and often the only choice for the world’s most influential and important audience. From print to the social stream, big screen to smartphone, Vanity Fair is the essential arbiter of our times.
So VF basically proclaims that it’s the best magazine in the world. End of story. Although is Tiana the right character to grace the cover?
Perhaps focusing in on the “igniting the conversation” part of the description, Tiana herself was stirring debate long before she made it to the big screen. Notable for being the first African-American “Disney Princess”, there was much debate about how the character would turn out, and whether it was simply corporate pandering for the sake of political correctness.
All that was dispersed when the film was released, and although it didn’t light the box office on fire, Tiana was praised as a character with much integrity.
Overall, it’s a B+
Rapunzel in Teen Vogue
Although we’ve already covered Vogue, Rapunzel gets a turn in Teen Vogue:
Influence Starts Here. This simple mandate sets Teen Vogue apart. Style-conscious girls everywhere know there’s only one source for relevant fashion, beauty, and entertainment news communicated in a sophisticated tone with the power of the Vogue brand.
Confused? It’s basically marketing speak for “hook ’em when they’re young”.
Compared to Snow White, Rapunzel makes a much more appropriate character for Vogue simply because she is much closer the typical teenager of today, and as a result fits right into Teen Vogue’s target demographic.
Right from the off, it’s clear that the pink is very apt, even if the film itself used lavender instead. All of the stories seem appropriate too.
Overall: A-
Megara in Marie Claire
This magazine bills itself as:
…a compelling media destination that combines provocative features and outstanding fashion to inspire every woman who wants to think smart and look amazing.
That’s probably a bit brief, but I did have to grab it from the Facebook page.
This is perhaps the blandest cover of the lot, but that’s because Megara a a character is quite unique from the others. She’s a bit of an anti-hero in many ways and that makes any “stories” that would be relevant to her not ideal to the front of a women’s magazine.
Other than that, I think style-wise, her own unique style is something that would probably better suited to Harper’s Bazaar or even Jalouse.
So point’s for effort, but ultimately, this cover gets a B- but only because Megara herself is a tricky character to place.
Grading the Disney Princess Magazine Covers Part 4 Read More »
My sinuses feel like they’ve been stuffed with whipped cream, so no usual post today.
But do be sure to read this article from the Hollywood Reporter, which details why DreamWorks Animation is the only studio to crack Forbes 100 Best Companies to work for; all while being independent to boot.
About a month ago I featured a short film by new Irish animation outfit Giant Creative, well since then, they’ve rolled out a whole slate of shorts. They’re a mix of films, tests and actual production work, and they’re all worth checking out.
Today though, I’m posting my favourites.
Caution, the one below contains nudity!
Giant Creative Starts Setting Out the Goods Read More »
Via: Technique
Lauren Payne at the Gergia Tech student newspaper “Technique” sums up the 3-D release of Beauty and the Beast and doesn’t pull a lot of punches with this quote:
The marriage of hand-drawn animation and computer-generated imagery seen in the iconic ballroom sequence undoubtedly stirs a pleasant sense of nostalgia, but it also serves as a reminder of the artistic experimentation that has more or less taken leave of Disney’s recent animated features—the fact that the Walt Disney Company has resurrected this piece of work for an additional run conjures an image of a has-been high school football star sipping whisky before a case of old trophies.
I can’t help but agree with her insofar that there is re-releasing a film on the big screen, and re-releasing a film and promoting it as a new release. Disney appears to be doing the latter with this film and the Lion King.
Why they couldn’t simply re-release them as 2-D and avoid the cost of “conversion” is beyond me.
Lauren Payne Calls A Spade A Spade Read More »
In the course of my day (i.e. before work. during lunch and after work) I come across an awful lot of articles, far more than can be discussed here on the blog, but that are nonetheless important and relevant to the animation community.
However, I’ve found that while there are plenty of places you can go to find the latest press releases (such as here, here and here), there is nowhere that offers a select list of news and feature articles that are essential reading for anyone with even a remote interest in the industry.
So it is with this in mind that I am pleased to announce the new Animation Anomaly Weekly News Digest; a comprehensive yet compact e-mail newsletter that delivers the most important stories of the week directly to your inbox free of charge!
You can read the debut edition here.
To sign up, simply fill in the form below or alternatively, click here!
PS. Your-email address won’t be used for anything besides the newsletter and communications regarding it.
Announcing The Animation Anomaly Weekly News Digest Read More »
On Tuesday, Letters of Note featured a letter from Douglas Adams to Disney executive David Vogel concerning Adams’ attempt to get his book Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy onto celluloid. While it isn’t related to animation, the letter does bring up some important points regarding communication between parties involved in a project.
Writes Adams:
….I don’t know if I’m right in thinking this, but I only have silence to go on, which is always a poor source of information. It seems to me that we can either slip into the traditional stereotypes — you’re the studio executive who has a million real-world problems to worry about, and I’m the writer who only cares about seeing his vision realised and hang the cost and consequences — or we can recognise that we both share the same goal, which is to make the most successful movie we possibly can.
How are your communication skills? Mine can always use a tune-up and it’s likely that yours do too. Collaborating on a project with a large number of people can result in problems and delays that might well be caused by poor communication.
Just something to ponder as you go about your work today 🙂
Important Lessons From Douglas Adams’ Letter To A Disney Executive Read More »
Continuing on with the series (after part 1 and part 2) of taking a look at the Disney princesses on the covers of various magazines as created by the Petite Tiaras tumblelog.
Jasmine on Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan describes itself as:
…the lifestylist and cheerleader for millions of fun, fearless females who want to be the best they can be in every area of their lives.
Cosmo edit inspires with information on relationships and romance, the best fashion and beauty, the latest on women’s health and wellbeing as well as what’s happening in pop culture and entertainment…and just about everything else that fun, fearless females want to know about.
Jasmine is one of the more powerful Disney characters and it is disappointing to see that this cover chooses to focus solely on her looks and sex appeal as opposed to the character behind it all.
While Jasmine is undoubtedly beautiful, she is also extremely intelligent and smart. It is difficult and indeed, incomprehensible that she would stoop to using her looks in the manner that this cover suggests.
Overall, this cover is a good fit for the magazine, but the character is a good fit for neither and as a result, this gets an F.
Pochahontas in Nylon
Unfortunately, I had to grab the description from Wikipedia:
Nylon is an American magazine that focuses on pop culture and fashion. Its coverage includes art, beauty, music, design, celebrities, technology and travel. Its name references New York and London.
On first glance this is a very apt use of the magazine as the tale of Pochahontas does straddle the old and new worlds (i.e. America and Britain).
On the flip side, the cover naturally can’t deal with the technology and music side of things, so it focuses on things like art, beauty and fashion. Although the skew towards these goes a wee bit against the character herself, the cover nonetheless does an OK job of representing the character.
Overall: B-
Mulan in Harper’s Bazaar 
Harper’s Bazaar (not to be confused with Harper’s Magazine) has the following mission statement (screenshot because it’s meant to be read this way):
So, does such a pompous mission statement fit for a princess like Mulan? I would say, yes. the cover is tastefully done and although there is a hint of sensationalism about it, it does not jump out at you as it does in some of the other covers we’ve looked at.
Overall: B
Don’t miss next week’s final installment when we look at Rapunzel, Tiana and Megara.
Grading The Disney Princess Magazine Covers Part 3 Read More »
