*DKP gets Kyran, major U.S. assignment

Toronto’s Dan Krech Productions has added to its ranks animator Kyran Kelly, who joins dkp from Toronto-based Spin Productions. The shop was also recently awarded a contract from a major u.s. studio to produce all the 3D animation for an upcoming animated feature, a follow-up to a major animated feature being released this winter.

The Toronto company is also undertaking much of the technical work on the feature project, setting up the networks as well as a head-turning tracking system, which Dan Krech says figured prominently in being awarded the job.

dkp has been working on the all-cg feature The Nuttiest Nutcracker, a coproduction between dkp and Palo Alto, California-based Golden Films, as well as series including Alliance Atlantis’ Power Play, for which the shop employed its new Jaleo plus Discreet Logic Flame post system. dkp, which operates through its Infinity Optics open architecture system, purchased Jaleo last year and recently added Flame as a complement, and Krech says it’s proving to be a powerful combo.

*Houdini’s miracle-making package

For DreamWorks/skg’s Prince of Egypt, set for release Dec. 18, animators used Houdini to create several biblically proportioned key sequences, including the parting of the Red Sea. Houdini animation software was used to model and animate 3D elements and to interface to the rendering package used on the project. The feature uses a combination of 2D and 3D elements, which are blended in almost every scene.

DreamWorks technical director Doug Cooper says Houdini’s procedural animation approach was key in managing the difficult sequences, allowing animators to fully control the movement of a shape rather than being limited to key poses.

For the climactic Red Sea sequence, the mandate was for turbulent, explosive water, but with a stylized, painterly look, facilitated by Houdini’s procedural animation which allowed animators to control how textures flowed down the surface of the waves.

The package provided the necessary degree of control and flexibility to create the demanding seven-minute sequence, says DreamWorks technical director Dave Allen.

Sketches for the Red Sea scene outlined sharp, peaked waves and specific graphic shapes, a challenging look to accomplish with just dynamic simulation techniques. While there is typically a gap between surfaces and particles, Allen says Houdini allowed both to be treated in the same way, lending an added degree of control in animating the scene.

Animators also employed ‘curve sculpting’ – a technique developed for the project – to build organic shapes and allow more control over their movements at every level.

*Identicast makes tracks into L.A.

Controlling content piracy and keeping precise tabs on international licence contracts are big concerns for producers and distributors and two of the functions of the Identicast system from Toronto-based AudioTrack Corporation.

Following the launch of Identicast at mipcom, AudioTrack coo Ron Thomson says the product has generated interest among some of the major production and distribution players including Fox, Paramount and Columbia, with which AudioTrack has done some preliminary work, encoding and tracking shows on a pilot basis for the studios.

The company has also installed its Identicast encoder at l.a.’s 4MC, a post facility used by some of the major studios.

‘There is an acute need now for these people to gain accurate, automated verification information as to when, where and how their shows are being aired,’ says Thomson. ‘They can also then track that information against a licence deal to figure out exactly when they can go back into a market and resell.’

Customers receive daily Web-based reports on the comings and goings of programs, which allows them to query market, channel, date and time of broadcast of a program down to a particular episode.

The system also provides a contract administration function whereby a customer receives an automatic flag indicating the end of a particular licence period to maximize the commercial value of an inventory.

For producers who track ratings information, the system provides a daily, third-party, post-broadcast reconciliation, in addition to the broadcaster’s affidavit indicating when shows were aired.

AudioTrack has also been working with Alliance Atlantis on an initial basis as well as Montreal post facility Global Vision.

*NANBA to become NABA

A new name, a new director and two new member applications were on the rather large agenda for the North American National Broadcasters Association board and advisory council meeting, held in Mexico City late last month.

nanba’s board of directors agreed to give the association a new name – the North American Broadcasters Association. The name change (which is still subject to legal approval) will more closely reflect the association’s changing membership, which now includes specialties, dth providers, satellite companies and telecommunications companies, says secretary general Bill Roberts.

Alejandro Burillo Azcarraga, president of foreign affairs at Mexican broadcaster Televisa, joined nanba’s board, replacing Gaston Melo Medina.

Also in Mexico City, SatMex, a Mexican-based provider of satellite services, applied for affiliate member status while Fox News Network applied for membership in the association.

*Crater releases new animation package

Crater Software, based in Barcelona, Spain (with a North American office in Montreal) has released Version 1.1 of its ctp (Cartoon Television Program), a pc-based package for creation and post-production of animated programs.

Crater positions the software as an alternative to more specialized 2D animation software packages.

The software’s single interface allows animators to paint, edit, retouch and transfer information while blending animation layers and using different camera moves.

The program is touted to address the whole ‘post-paper’ animation process, from initial drawing to final editing.

Version 1.1 features include over 100 simultaneous layers of audio, animation and camera data, spline-based camera movements and adjustable scene output resolution. The package is priced at us$2,995.

Crater has also released CTP Educational, a teaching tool for animation students and educators, priced at us$995.

*Flame 6.0 ships out

Discreet Logic has begun shipping Flame Version 6.0, showcased at siggraph this summer. The new version features new project management tools, a new text module and film-specific tools to exploit the system’s resolution independence.

*Clarification

A Nov. 2 Network item referred to the Lynette Jennings Show as the first Canadian-broadcast show shot entirely with Panasonic DVCPro50 technology. The show, produced by Spring River Productions America, used 16mm film for two-thirds of production and the balance, shot in Atlanta, used DVCPro 50 cameras from The Shoot Shop in Toronto, with cutting, mixing and packaging done at Toronto’s Scene by Scene, film processing at The Lab and transfer at Premier Post.