Animax Entertainment: October 2005

Our third project with the AFI Digital Content Lab drew to a close this past week. This time around we helped concept and create a virtual pet / avatar of sorts for interactive television. While there have been a number of virtual pets out there, there hasn't been much movement on the iTV front with one. With Zodiac Gaming as the project team client, we came up with the start of a great concept that looks to be developed further into an actual prototype. Stay tuned.

A Photos-Magorical Evening

Here are some of the photos from our 4th Anniversary party. More to follow...

A Girl's Best Friend

Listen up! Intermix's Grab.com Jewel Miner game just went live and ANIMAX had a hand in it. Play away - there is a free version and a pay to download version of the game available.

The Eyes Have It

Animax just finished animating a video and creating an activity book for the American Optometric Association and Visual Eyes. The production was a hybrid animation and live-action video with kids interacting with animated cartoon characters. Wise Eyes and Spex help the kids better understand their eyes and how to properly care for them. The live-action sequences were shot on green screen. We produced the character animation in Flash which was integrated with 3D sequences highlighting the different components of the eye and then the whole production was composited together to make the 20 minute video. Keep your eyes open for it soon.

Oh What A Night

We had a great time last night at Animax's 4th Anniversary at The Museum of Jurassic Technology, seeing and mingling with all the folks that make us who we are. Got to see past, current and (hopefully) future clients, partners, staff and more. It was the first time we've run an event like that and we're ecstatic it came off as well as it did. Photographs will follow. We're still looking for winners of the raffle: 32, 91, 88, 16, 72, 4....

Gonna Party Like it's 2001!

That's right - tonight Animax celebrates its 4th anniversary with current and past employees, clients, press, partners and folks we'd like to get to know better.

The Sky is Falling!

Run for your lives! The sky is falling! The end is near! Actually, it just means that Disney's Chicken Little is in theaters November 4th. Animax, in particular, our ECD Dave Thomas and our team of writers, consulted on the script in the early stages of the film's development. We're very anxious to see how it turned out as this is Disney's first big push into Pixar territory with lush 3D animation.

ANIMAX at MAX

Animax is heading to lovely, beautiful, Disney fortified Anaheim, California from October 16-19 to attend Macromedia's MAX 2005 conference at the Anaheim Convention Center. If you're interested in meeting up with us, email us at (info AT animaxent.com)

We're also going to be at Mini-Max here in Los Angeles just prior to the main conference. It's an event put on by the LA Flash User Group. See you there.

Paranoid about G4

The Paranoid makes his TV debut on G4. The short will air on G4 in the Happy Tree Friends & Friends show. Tune your TV, Tivo, DVR, VCR, satellite uplink, rabbit ears, stolen cable box to G4 tomorrow night 10/12 at Midnight EST and 9pm PST. The Paranoid's character was conceived of by Dave Thomas and the short itself was animated in Flash by Animax's Director of Animation, Al Rosson.

You can also read a story Animation Magazine wrote about it.

Jurassic Technology Party

Launched towards the end of 2001, a time fraught with doom and gloom, Animax was born and started to make the world a brighter and more googly-eyed place. In celebration of our 4th Anniversary we're inviting current and past employees, current and prior clients, paparazzi and the non-stalker variety press, along with folks we think would like to celebrate with us to an event dubbed: "A Phantasmagorical Evening of Incongruity." We don't know what that means either, but it sure does sound highfalutin. Since we do a lot of so-called new media and interactive work for clients like Disney, ESPN, AOL, etc., we thought what better place to celebrate than The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City.

If you want to join us and you haven't gotten an invite yet, email four@animaxent.com.

Waaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

Well, let's just say Murphy's Law is still alive and well. While the second season of Off-Mikes is sitting and waiting in the digital can, the launch didn't happen Tuesday as planned due to some glitch. ANIMAX was told that ESPN is going to de-glitch the system next week so that on Tuesday, October 11th (right after Columbus Day) you'll be able to tune in.

And if you didn't catch it, there was an article in Cold Hard Flash about it - thanks Aaron.