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1/31/2014

Cosmo Kicks a Field Goal on Mars in support of the Denver Broncos Super Bowl 

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"United in Orange" on the Red Planet!

Our little pal Cosmonut, is a huge Denver Broncos fan, and sent this transmission from Mars, just in time for Super Bowl XLVIII this weekend. Gravity on Mars is roughly 1/3 of Earth's, which inspired our team at Worker Studio Animation in Colorado to ponder: if Cosmo can do this, what would the Broncos' longest field-goal record holder, Matt Prater, be able to do in that environment?

Worker Studio created this video as a piece of fan art to support our home team, and has no affiliation with the NFL or Denver Broncos organization.

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1/17/2014

Worker Studio's Barry Kooser: Top 5 Production Design Picks - #5

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Worker Studio's Chief Creative Officer, Barry Kooser was a background Artist and Supervisor for 11 years at Walt Disney Feature Animation, contributing to films such as as The Lion King, Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and Brother Bear, among others.  He also ventured his painterly eye as a Fine Artist, exhibiting his work in galleries around the country. We're lucky to have this master artist inform Worker Studio's production design. We asked Barry what the Top 5 Production Designs that influenced his career in filmmaking are. As you'll see his influences range from classic Disney films to some of the most gorgeous live action films of the past 35 years. This is the 5th and final post in the series. 

#5 TRON (1982) 
Production Designer: Dean Mitzner  
Art Direction:  John B. Mansbridge & Al Roelofs 

The summer of 1982 was a legendary time at the movies - Blade Runner, E.T., Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Pink Floyd The Wall, Poltergeist, Conan The Barbarian, The Thing, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan… and of course Disney's groundbreaking, TRON. Grandfather of the term CGI - Computer Generated Imagery, TRON was the first production to utilize effects and imagery generated by computers. There is only about 20 minutes of actual computer generated imagery in the film, which gives further testament to the production being able to blend this world of neon circuitry. 

Most of the film was shot in black & white, and production designer, Dean Mitzner covered the set in miles of black-flocked paper, giving the post-production process a non-reflective palette to work from. Taking this raw footage the team incorporated backlit animation, and scenes were processed on large format film, then painstakingly colored over (rotoscoped) to blend with the technological CGI look. While elements of the film may look dated today, it holds a production design quality that continues to influence our technologically driven culture. Barry was greatly influenced in how the film completely relocates its audience into another dimension, both visually and conceptually.

The clip above features the original lightcycle sequence from the 1982 film, which traverses the CGI world of TRON. This particular clip uses Daft Punk's music score from the TRON: Legacy (2010), but had better video quality than most clips of the scene online. The original production art stills from the 1982 film below show the live-action scenes designed and colored by production artists. 
TRON 1982 production art and design
Original Production Art from TRON 1982 Dean Mitzner Production Designer
TRON production art 1982

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1/11/2014

Worker Studio's Michael Hemschoot: Top 5 Animated Performances - Pick #5

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Worker Studio's Founder & CEO, Michael "Ffish" Hemschoot, is also our animation director, or Minister of Motion. We had Ffish pick five brilliant animated performances that influenced him creatively, and he responded with these unforgettable moments from master animators. It is these very animated performances that left an indelible influence on Ffish's youth, setting forth his own career in animation and filmmaking. This is #5 in a series of posts.

#5 Tony - Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955) from Animator John Lounsbery 

John Lounsbery Animating Tony Disney's Lady and the Tramp
A master of expressiveness in his characters, John Lounsbery was one of Disney's Nine Old Men - the formative animators that helped define the craft. One can surely see why in Tony (above), an essential role in one of Disney's most memorable scenes from Lady and the Tramp, or any animated feature at that. 

What we wouldn't give to find a full pencil test of Lounsbery's Tony going on to sing "Bella Notte" from this sequence. As Ffish pointed out, Lounsbery was one of the highest regarded draftsmen at Disney. Alas the original character sketches below will have to suffice for now. Additional to animating Tony and other secondary characters, Lounsbery was the animation director on Lady and the Tramp. 

Lounsbery left a legacy at Disney, animating and later directing at the studio from 1935 to his death in 1976. There's a certain affinity to Lounsbery for this Colorado animation studio, as the animator was raised in Colorado and graduated from the Art Institute of Denver. (Disney Legends) 

John Lounsbery Tony Disney Lady and the Tramp
Tony from Disney's Lady and the Tramp by Animator John Lousnbery

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1/5/2014

Worker Studio's Barry Kooser: Top 5 Production Design Picks - #4

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Worker Studio's Chief Creative Officer, Barry Kooser was a background Artist and Supervisor for 11 years at Walt Disney Feature Animation, contributing to films such as as The Lion King, Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and Brother Bear, among others.  He also ventured his painterly eye as a Fine Artist, exhibiting his work in galleries around the country. We're lucky to have this master artist inform Worker Studio's production design. We asked Barry what the Top 5 Production Designs that influenced his career in filmmaking are. As you'll see his influences range from classic Disney films to some of the most gorgeous live action films of the past 35 years. This is #4 in a series of posts. 
Ralph McQuarrie Stars Concept Art

#4 Star Wars (1977)
Production Illustrator: Ralph McQuarrie 
Production Designer: John Barry 
Art Direction: Leslie Dilley & Norman Reynolds 

Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art and Production Illustrator Star Wars
A film that inspired a generation of filmmakers, the original Star Wars trilogy was visually informed by the early concept art of Ralph McQuarrie. He was commissioned by George Lucas to illustrate scenes from the script, seen in the images above and below. While the film's production did have some of the best character designers and model makers creating this universe, it was McQuarrie's original concept art that substantially informed the trilogy's production design, from environments, intergalatic ships and even characters such as Darth Vader, Chewbacca , R2-D2 & C-3PO. 

Barry noted the ultra-realism in the matte paintings used as an artistic influence. As seen in McQuarrie's concept art of the Star Destroyers below, Barry also gave astute attention to how the size and scale of environments to the ships added to the immensity and vastness of space. It is with this masterful detail that McQuarrie's hand traversed the Star Wars universe through all the original trilogy as a concept artist and production illustrator. 

Ralph McQuarrie Star Wars Concept Art Influenced Barry Kooser at Worker Studio

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  • Home
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    • VFX
    • Bijou Theater
  • Originals
    • Cosmonut
    • Camping à la Bergman
    • Barnabus Sno
    • John Ross: American
  • ARcampfire