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Congleton Chronicle Celebrates Steven Lenton

The inimitable Congleton Chronicle has written a piece on Steven Lenton's new book deal with Children's Publishers Nosy Crow.

 

Introducing Beeld, Picasso's Newest Director!

 

They're bold, they're imaginative and they come from Brazil. Beeld Motion, the animation collective from Rio de Janeiro, join the Picasso family this month and bring with them an impressive portfolio of work for CocaCola, Telecine, Brazilian National Television and much more. We caught up with the gang to talk influences, the future and Brazil...

Picasso: Where in the world were you born/grew up?
Beeld: We were all born and grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two of us spent 3 years living and working in Barcelona, Spain, a really enriching experience that inevitably shifts the way you work.

P. How did you get into Animation? When did you know it was for you? 
B: As each one of the five partners has different backgrounds and work experiences, we got into animation in different ways. But we'd say it was mainly through broadcast design, architectural 3D graphics and animation series. 

P. Did you study film-making or animation? If so, where? 
B: Besides a graphic design degree and some animation free courses, most of our knowhow was attained during years of hard work in the market. 

P. How would you describe your style? How did it develop? 
B: We try to be versatile regarding animation techniques and graphic styles, and if we have a recognisable style it's happened unintentionally. Maybe it's emerged naturally as a result of the combination of different knowledges, personal tastes and abilities that coexist inside the studio. We wouldn't like to be defined by a particular style. 

P. What has been your biggest influence in your career? 
B: We'd say our biggest influences come from movies and games. 

P. Where do you see yourself in five years time? 
B: It's hard to say because we don't plan so far in advance. Instead we prefer to let the new opportunities guide us. It would be great to be recognised by our creativity and professionalism and of course, to keep learning and enhancing the quality of our work. 

P. What has been your favourite piece of work so far? 
B: Our favourite piece of work so far is the Telecine Rebrand project. In that specific case we could fully use our major strengths: the ability to create characters and universes, to produce audio and graphics simultaneously, and to develop a wide design system that guides the whole process. 

P.Are you excited to be joining Picasso? 
B: We are really excited to join Picasso and to stand side by side with so many talented directors and designers. 


Dir - Beeld
Picasso Pictures

NuFormer for BMW, Madrid

Those talented Dutch Kids over at NuFormer Netherlands have treated us to another amazing 3D Projection, this time for car-making giants BMW in Madrid, Spain. Check out the amazing production below, and more of their work here.



'On September 15, NuFormer Projection completed its third successful 3D video mapping in Madrid, Spain. The projection marked the launch of the new BMW Series 1. The lively Santa Ana square formed the centre stage of the action-packed projection, revealing the two new BMW models on the façade of the Teatro Español.

The hundreds of people that witnessed the festive event responded highly enthusiastic after having seen the fast-paced animation topped with spectacular sound effects. In between the screenings, the audience was given an active role by projecting their first reactions posted on social media platforms onto the theatre.' says NuFormer

Script production in collaboration with Posterscope, CARAT and SCFP. Storyboard and content production by NuFormer. Interactive content by third party. Technical production by CT Holland/JVR

Introducing Picasso's newest Director, niceshit!

niceshit, otherwise known as Silvia Casali, is the inimitable young Animator from Rimini, Italy who now lives in London to expand her already amazing portfolio after signing with Picasso. We caught up with the up and coming star to talk style, film and the future...

Picasso: So Silvia, how did you get into Animation? When did you know it was for you?
Silvia: During my third year of uni, when I realized that animation can turn an artwork into something way more special. Is nice watching your stuff taking life.

P: Did you study Animation originally?
S: No, I’ve studied communication design, that combines a wide range of subjects, from history of graphic and product design, to marketing, from interaction design to media languages...and so on. Anything but animation.

P: How would you describe your style? How did it develop?
S: I just try to design things as I would like them to be in real life. I tend to reproduce my own world’s idea, where everything is bold and nice, sweet and colorfull.

I guess that most of it comes from my passion for nintendo’s videogames when I was a kid.

I loved to spend entire afternoons projecting myself into supermario’s and Yoshi’s hyper pop worlds, listening to infinite loops of 8bit tunes. I’ve always extremely enjoyed the clean but bold aestetic of the landscapes and the twisted characters populating those worlds.

P: What's been the biggest influence in your career?
S: I could say that discovering 3D graphics has been one of the things that got me more involved, and that made me feel passionate for this job. I feel like it is a world that has always something to be discovered, its potential is huge and constantly expanding. I think that is a super powerful tool to shape what’s inside my head and create tasty things.

P: Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
S: Being a full time belly dancer.

P: What's your favourite piece of work?
S: The next one 

P: Are you excited to be joining Picasso?
S: Sure, as for all the things at their start, I’m a bit nervous...but all the premises are really exciting.


See NiceShit's showreel below:


Dir - Nice Shit
Picasso Pictures

Steven Lenton for Nosy Crow Publishers

The Advertising Producers Association Show 2011

So last night was the annual Advertising Producers Association Show at the glorious V&A Museum in London. All the best and brightest in the Production industry gathered for the events, decked in their finery and mingled and mused on affairs whilst canapes and alcohol circled the room. As with every year, the ever-hilarious Beauty Booth was installed, the results of which give us a snapshot of the night.

The BAA Archive

So it's that time again. Every two years the Animation community of Britain and beyond gather together for the British Animation Awards lead by the inimitable Jayne Pilling. March 15th 2012 will see the event come to London again and to celebrate we look back at the amazing archive of the Awards prizes, each designed by an industry great. Enjoy then a round up of our personal favourites below....

1996 - Tim Burton

1996 - David Stoten and Tim Watts

1998 - Graham Ralph

 2002 - Derek Hayes

 2006 - Mario Cavalli

2008 - Pjotr Sapegin

2010 - Luis Cook

2010 - Toshiharu Mizutani

A toast!

A big thanks to the talented ol' folks at Televisual Magazine for their nice little spread on Picasso Director Damian Gascoigne's short film MusoSoup.

It's been a bumper week for the Director and his film as it has been chosen to be in competition at the world famous Encounters Short Film Festival in Bristol this November.

Congratulations and Good Luck!