Belinda Blacklock Appointed As VP Of Animation At Modern Magic
Blacklock will be in charge of finding, developing, and producing animated productions for both film and tv.
Studios
Amuse Animation Opens Chinese Office With Distribution Vet Entin Liu At The Helm
The company is looking to scale up and better exploit its kids and family IPs on more and larger platforms.
Kyoto Animation Will Construct Two Memorials For Victims Of 2019 Arson Attack
The company plans to build a public memorial at its Kyoto headquarters and a private one in the suburb where the attack took place.
Pixar Dives Into The Tech Behind ‘Elemental’ In Newly Published Papers
The highly technical documents accompany upcoming Pixar talks which will take place at SIGGRAPH this August.
‘Pocoyo’ Producer Zinkia Is Looking To Sell Its Flagship Franchise
Zinkia executives will ask shareholders to approve a sale of ‘Pocoyo’ to French outfit Animaj Investment next month.
Sony Pictures Imageworks Sets Up Studio In Montreal, Will Create 150 New Jobs
Starting salary for animators, lighters, and compositors is US$22.50/hour.
Phil Rynda Joins Pokémon Company As Director Of Original Animation
Rynda is an artist-turned-executive who most recently served as director of creative leadership and development for original animation at Netflix.
Wildbrain Promotes Longtime Exec Josh Scherba To President And CEO
The company has also appointed chief marketing and brands officer Jim Fielding as its new strategic advisor to the CEO and board of directors.
Former Dreamworks Exec Bill Damaschke Confirmed As Head Of Warner Animation Group, Developing A New Feature Slate
The news of Damaschke’s official appointment came during WBD’s Q1 earnings call led by CEO David Zaslav.
Dreamworks Animation Lays Off 33 Employees As NBCUniversal Cuts Costs
Most of the cuts were made to technical roles such as production artist, technical director, and lighter/compositor.
Canada’s Nelvana And Japan’s Polygon Pictures Sign Development Deal For Kids’ Content
The companies will work together to bring IPs like ‘Bakugan,’ ‘Beyblade,’ and ‘Cardcaptor Sakura’ to a wider global audience.
‘I Lost My Body’ Studio Xilam Animation Tapped To Animate Zack Snyder’s Netflix Series ‘Twilight of the Gods’
Xilam will oversee the layout, color BG, animation, and compositing of the Norse Mythology show.
Disney Layoffs Hit Company’s Animation And Kids Businesses
Among those laid off last week were senior VP of current series Khaki Jones and two kids unit execs, Claire McCabe and Meghan de Boer.
Sega of America Workers Are Unionizing
The group wants more competitive pay and benefits, opportunities for advancement, and adequate staffing to end patterns of overwork.
Workers At Texas’ Powerhouse Animation Become First Group From A Right-To-Work State To Join The Animation Guild
This is the first time TAG is organizing a collective bargaining unit outside of L.A. County or New York.
Indian VFX Outfit Basilic Fly Studios Launches Lightrunner Studios In The U.K.
CEO Balakrishnan said, “Lightrunner Studio will explore and embrace the latest approaches of vfx workflows and processes laser-focused on AI and machine learning.”
Bomper Studio Makes Four-Day Work Week Permanent After Successful Six-Month Trial
The studio reported no drop in its output, no missed deadlines, and an increase in productivity, creativity, and worker happiness.
Mediawan Takes Majority Stake In ‘Undone,’ ‘Apollo 10 1/2’ Producer Submarine
Submarine joins Mediawan’s stable of companies which includes Method Animation, On Classics, Magical Society, and Elliot Studio.
Sega Agrees To Buy ‘Angry Birds’ Developer Rovio Entertainment For $706M
According to Sega, acquiring Rovio will accelerate the development of mobile-compatible and multi-platform versions of its IPs.
Jellyfish Pictures Joins Rapidly Growing List Of VFX/Animation Companies Setting Up Shop In India
Jellyfish is launching a new studio in Mumbai and expects to have 100 artists employed there by year’s end.
