Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/49492
Bits & Pieces Payload soundtrack from Sonic Union N EW YORK — Sonic Union (www.sonicunion.com) mixed the soundtrack for a new Verizon spot (pic- tured) out of NY/Chicago-based agency Mcgarrybowen. Directed by Biscuit Filmworks' Noam Murro, the commer- cial promotes the Verizon Wireless Droid Razr and features a man on a dangerous high-speed mission to recover a hijacked box containing the new Motorola device. The :60 Payload was edited by Avi Oron of Bikini Edito- rial. Method in LA created VFX for the spot. Sonic Union's Steve Rosen worked closely with Machine Head sound designer Stephen Dewey to seamlessly create the audio envi- ronment that engulfs the audience. at a glance Austin, TX-based BOXX TECHNOLOGIES is now offering the 3DBoxx 4920 Xtreme workstation. The latest addition to the 3DBoxx Xtreme line, the liquid-cooled 4920 Xtreme features a second-genera- tion, six-core, 12-thread Intel Core i7 processor providing speeds of up to 4.5GHz. SSD caching allows for increased storage performance and faster access to media files, while additional DIMM sockets for quad- channel DDR3 SDRAM offers faster memory performance. Following the release of its Vue 10 Digital Nature solutions for CG pros, Beaverton, OR's E-ON SOFTWARE has made available its full line of Vue 10 products for 3D Artists: Vue 10 Pioneer and Theme-Packs, Vue 3D SuperHero, Vue 10 Frontier, Vue 10 Esprit, Vue 10 Studio and Vue 10 Complete. These tools provide artists with modular apps to create natural 3D digital nature scenery and landscapes. Melbourne's ILOURA ADVERTISING has hired Hamish Macdonald as its executive producer of advertising. As the former executive pro- ducer at XYZ Studios, MacDonald has produced a large number of TV commercials for local and international markets. In his new role, he will lead a revamped team that includes creative technology company Boff- swana and Flagstaff Studios, as well as broadened services in 2D and 3D VFX and animation, Smoke and color. He will also work closely with the Iloura Sydney Studio, specifically executive producer of commer- cials, Alastair Stephen. Scene from "Playboy TV Argentina" Image courtesy of Cinecolor Argentina. Veteran animation writer/director Kelly Asbury has joined Culver City's SONY PICTURES ANIMATION and is set to write Pooch Café for the studio. Asbury most recently directed and co-wrote Gnomeo and Juliet and was the co-director of Shrek 2. Asbury co-directed Spirit: Stal- lion of the Cimarron and, during his 27-year career in animation, has worked in a variety of creative capacities on many big name films, including Shrek, Toy Story, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. The world's first Digital Lab for VFX dailies. Optimized for DPX, OpenEXR & RAW Stack unlimited shot versions in a single timeline Full XML support and powerful database integration for effortless media loading Full automation of aspect ratio or frame offset correction Automatically set correct LUT based on file type Mac or PC: $4,995 Free trial offer at www.assimilateinc.com/trial Simon Ray, head of engineering, has added head of operations to his title, and Rebecca Adams was promoted to sales manager at GOLD- CREST POST LONDON. Ray spent five years at Strongroom, five years at The Pavement and has been head of engineering at Goldcrest since July 2009. He was the main engineering designer for the two new theatres at Lexington Street last year, and is now moving into a more operational technical role. Adams worked in events and promotions management before joining Goldcrest in 2008. She spent time on reception before moving into bookings and has now been appointed to this new role as sales manager. DIGITAL INGENUITY 10 Post • December 2011 www.postmagazine.com Aardman Animations (www.aardman.com) produced the 3D, CG feature Arthur Christmas for Sony Pictures Animation (www.sonypicturesanimation.com), which takes a look at Santa's mission to deliver all of his presents before Christmas morning. Santa's beard makes use of 22 different controllers. The studio used Maya for animation and its proprietary Katana for color, lighting and compositing. Nuke was also used for comp work. Maxon BodyPaint and Cinema4D were used for mattes and digital painting.