Computer Graphics World

Karen Moltenbrey CHIEF EDITOR karen@CGW.com August 2008 Editor'sNote T his month, an animation studio in Atlanta is celebrating the nationwide release of its first CG film, Delgo (see "Efficiency Experts," pg. 40), a true indie production from start to finish. In fact, this animated feature is atypical on a number of fronts, and that's what director Marc Adler intended. Delgo is independently created by Fathom Studios and independently distributed through various companies according to territories and channels. For instance, in the US, Fox is handling the DVD release, Freestyle the theatrical release, and Turner the cable release. That kind of independent spirit started at the doors of Fathom. Over the course of the production, more than 300 people worked on the film. Some were off-site, but only after spending months at the studio in Georgia to get a full understanding of the project, their coworkers, and the production pipeline. While the pipeline is based on Autodesk's Maya, there were a number of homegrown solutions as well, including what Adler, president/executive producer of Fathom Studios, and Warren Grubb, animation director/VFX supervisor, believe to be the cornerstone of the production process: Fathom's Storyline Web-based asset management system and collaboration tool. Fathom used Storyline to post digital dailies of the film online throughout pro- duction. "Most studios lock down their projects due to piracy issues and just add some behind-the-scenes information on the DVD. We were showing the mak- ing-of in the making," says Adler. This revolutionary revelation was well received: The site was getting a half-million visitors a month. Yet, as Adler discovered, there is such a thing as too much information. When some of the film's artists were being lured away by big studios impressed by the work they had posted, Adler had everyone use fake names based on Victorian parlance—for instance, Adler's moniker became Sublime Patron of Dreams, and Grubb's, Master Artisan of Ki- nematic Wonders. When the movie debuts, the end credits will connect the artists with their "stage" names. "A lot of them had a big following," notes Adler. As far as the film itself goes, Fathom was determined to make something dif- ferent, to distinguish itself. For instance, the movie is an action-adventure set in a fantasy world, the characters are not human, nor are they cute, furry animals. And, the color palette is darker, with pure blacks for shadows. "When we started, there was a formula in Hollywood: Take a known story, add talking animals, and make it a comedy. Delgo has none of that," says Adler. Risky? Absolutely. But it was a gamble he was willing to take. "I just don't see the point of doing the same thing that everyone else is doing. The film is different, and it feels different." "We wanted to create something that we would have enjoyed when we were kids. The Secret of NIMH, The Dark Crystal, The NeverEnding Story, those are movies that had an impact on our childhood," says Grubb. They also looked for something that had mass appeal—a universal story albeit shown in a unique way. "This is our first film, not just as a studio, but also as individuals, and we came in with a clean slate." Hopefully audiences will find this approach refreshing. Independent Minded The Magazine for Digital Content Professionals E D ITO R IA L KAREN MOLTENBREY Chief Editor karen@cgw.com • (603) 432-7568 36 East Nashua Road Windham, NH 03087 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Courtney Howard, Jenny Donelan, Audrey Doyle, Evan Marc Hirsch, George Maestri, Kathleen Maher, Martin McEachern, Stephen Porter, Barbara Robertson WILLIAM R. RITTWAGE Publisher, President and CEO, COP Communications SA LE S LISA BLACK National Sales Manager Classifieds • Education • Recruitment lisab@copcomm.com • (877) CGW-POST [249-7678] fax: (214) 260-1127 Editorial Office / LA Sales Office: 620 West Elk Avenue, Glendale, CA 91204 (800) 280-6446 P R O D U C TI O N KATH CUNNINGHAM Production Director kcunningham@cgw.com • (818) 291-1113 MICHAEL VIGGIANO Art Director mviggiano@copcomm.com CHRIS SALCIDO Account Representative csalcido@copprints.com • (818) 291-1144 Computer Graphics World Magazine is published by Computer Graphics World, a COP Communications company. Computer Graphics World does not verify any claims or other information appearing in any of the advertisements contained in the publication, and cannot take any responsibility for any losses or other damages incurred by readers in reliance on such content. Computer Graphics World cannot be held responsible for the safekeeping or return of unsolicited articles, manuscripts, photographs, illustrations or other materials. Address all subscription correspondence to: Computer Graphics World, 620 West Elk Ave, Glendale, CA 91204. Subscriptions are available free to qualified individuals within the United States. Non-qualified subscription rates: USA—$72 for 1 year, $98 for 2 years; Canadian subscriptions —$98 for 1 year and $136 for 2 years; all other countries—$150 for 1 year and $208 for 2 years. Digital subscriptions are available for $27 per year. Subscribers can also contact customer service by calling (800) 280 6446, opt 2 (publishing), opt 1 (subscriptions) or sending an email to csr@cgw.com. Change of address can be made online at http://www.omeda.com/cgw/ and click on customer service assistance. Postmaster: Send Address Changes to Computer Graphics World, P.O. Box 3551, Northbrook, IL 60065-3551 Please send customer service inquiries to 620 W. Elk Ave., Glendale, CA 91204 4 December 2008

• Cover