London ACM SIGGRAPH Events

If you are interested in VFX, computer graphics, or animation, you might want to head on over to London ACM SIGGRAPH  and become a member.  The team host awesome free events in London, including events with high-profile industry speakers, amazing tech wizards, and behind the scenes looks with awesome artists. Most of the tickets for the events are snapped up within an hour or less of release, so its worth becoming a member to take advantage of advance registration.

 

 

The Blog is Back

After a few years silence, the blog is back. I hope to be an active blogger now. I shall be blogging about anything that interests me, and I hope some of it will interest you too.

I haven’t had a chance to figure out how to archive my old stuff but if you have a look on my other pages, you can see some new posts mostly about me and what I do

The Pirates: A Plunderful Life & A Plunderful Film

Drop everything & dash out and see The Pirates in an Adventure with Scientists. Well, ok, it might not be out quite yet when you are reading this, but drop everything & see it when it is!

I went adventuring off to Sony Picture’s private screening room in London for a preview and what a treat it was! The Pirate’s author Gideon Defoe was there in person to introduce the film & to answer a few questions. When asked what the difference between writing a book & a film was, he replied when writing a book you can wear a bathrobe all day, but films are too collaborate so you actually have to get dressed! He was delightfully funny. So I admit, I was in a very good mood when the film started, but right from the start I knew that my good mood was going to continue.

I was struck immediately by the creativity & imagination of Defoe in devising the characters & story & also by Aardman & co for making the story come to life. The characters were engaging, charming & amusing and beautifully animated & the storyline was entertaining & even more importantly if there are to be any follow-ups, I was instantly attached to the characters & hooked into the Pirate world.  Just like JK Rowling has managed to create the Harry Potter characters & world that so many want to believe in, Defoe has created a charming Pirate world that I can’t wait to learn more about.  In fact, I am going to have to buy the book to soak up even more.

I don’t want to give too much away, but the storyline revolves around a slightly incompetent Pirate Captain who desperately wants to win Pirate of the Year Award this year. His quest sees him and his crew venturing to the foggy streets of Victorian London, ruled by Queen Victoria who hates pirates, but takes a liking to his parrot.

Aardman are masters of detail & each scene was filled with all sorts of finishing touches that enhanced the main action & goodness, the stop motion animation is amazing! The voice talent is excellent too. Perfectly cast & performed. Easily the best stop motion feature I’ve seen to date, plus now one of my favourite animated films too. It was also one of the best stereoscopic 3D viewings I have seen. The stereo 3D seemed to be just a natural part of the film, rather than annoying eyeball sucking in-your-face 3D. Having said that, I don’t think it really matters whether you see it in 3D or 2D. I think it will be just as great either way.

Huge thanks to Gideon Defoe, Den of Geek, & Sony Pictures (& my animator friend Tom Kloucek) for a great night. Its indeed a Plunderful life, & a Plunderful film.

At the Sony & Den of Geek preview of The Pirates