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Victoria Davis's Recent Posts

Never Stop Evolving ANIMATIONWorld

President and Founder Paula Wallace Talks SCAD’s 45 Year Legacy and AnimationFest 2023

In the 45 years since 71 students made up the university’s first class, ‘Starship SCAD’ has grown to four locations, over 100 degree programs, more than 17,000 current students and 60,000 alumni, with more than 2,200 alone in the School of Animation and Motion… and a brand-new Midtown Atlanta expansion that includes a 700-seat theater, SCADshow, that will host the festival, running September 28-30.

Is it Hip to Be Square? ANIMATIONWorld

‘The Other Shape’: A Claustrophobic Story of Conformity and Freedom

First-time filmmaker Diego Guzman’s new 2D animated feature draws inspiration from Satoshi Kon and Masaaki Yuasa to tell the tale of citizens contorting their bodies by any means possible into square shapes to get into a Tetris-like cube heaven, until one man finds another shape inside him that’s the antithesis of their world.

Farm Fresh to Your Door ANIMATIONWorld

‘Big City Greens’ Creators Talk Season 4, Midwest Sensibilities, and 100th Episode Milestone

Brothers Shane and Chris Houghton’s Emmy Award-winning series, about a mischievous 10-year-old who moves from the farm to the big city with his out-of-place family, returns with new stories taken from their own lives growing up in rural Michigan before moving to LA… where people don’t respond to friendly waves; new season debuts September 23 on Disney Channel.

Striving for Accurate and Authentic Representation ANIMATIONWorld

‘Young Love’ Looks at Millennial Parents, Afro-Puffs, and Sun-Kissed Chicago Overpasses

Matthew A. Cherry’s new animated series, based on his Oscar-winning ‘Hair Love’ short, offers an honest, heartfelt, and comedic take on a millennial couple and their young daughter as they juggle careers, parenthood, social issues, and multi-generational dynamics while working to make a better life for themselves; show debuts September 21 on Max.

Technology ANIMATIONWorld

3Dconnexion Brings Ergonomics and Efficiency to Digital Content Creation

The company’s powerful, ergonomically designed SpaceMouse 3D, CadMouse, and Keyboard Pro are providing improved creative workflows and professional-grade comfort to artists in the animation and game industries. 

The Purrfect Quest Begins ANIMATIONWorld

Watch Next Talks ‘Dungeons & Kittens’ and the Magic of Non-Linear Storytelling

Philippe Alessandri, Clément De Ruyter and Sylvain Huchet discuss their serialized animated kids’ show – and tabletop game – filled with ‘meowgic’ and adventure, that follows four kittens banished from the ‘Kingdom of Cats’ who must learn to work together to find the treasure that will be their ticket home. 

Let Me Help You Explain ANIMATIONWorld

Quality Schnallity: Using ‘Crazy’ Animation to Break Down Big Ideas

The veteran animator has built a long, successful career using various 2D techniques to produce ‘explainer videos’ that help companies unpack their product’s messages in fun ways that aren’t boring.

I’ll Get to It Soon ANIMATIONWorld

‘The Inventor’: Leonardo da Vinci as Artist, Engineer, and Procrastinator

In Jim Capobianco and Pierre-Luc Granjon’s new stop-motion film, the iconic Renaissance man, who wrote grocery lists on his sketches, was insatiably curious and headstrong, so much more interesting than his usual depiction as an untouchable genius; the film hits U.S. theaters September 15. 

A Creative Force for Change ANIMATIONWorld

Saraswathi Buyyala Balgam: An ‘Unreal Engine’ Paving the Way for Women Creators

The former Rhythm & Hues and DreamWorks Animation senior exec switched gears and jumped headfirst into animated film and series development, creating her own shows while mentoring and collaborating with Epic Games and ASIFA India to start the Women Creators Program.

It’s Going to Get ‘Looney’ ANIMATIONWorld

‘Tiny Toons Looniversity’: Like Your College, But with More Anvils

Co-EPs / Co-showrunners Nate Cash and Erin Gibson’s revived ‘Tiny Toon Adventures’ series, set at Acme Looniversity, famed institution of higher hijinks learning, sports a visual facelift where the characters ‘move in a cool 3D way, but it's all hand-drawn;’ Season 1 debuts today, September 8 on Max, tomorrow on Cartoon Network.

Live Long and Prosper! ANIMATIONWorld

Casper Kelly Talks ‘Star Trek: very Short Treks’: A Funny Celebration of Humanity

The Adult Swim veteran discusses his use of slightly weird, experimental comedy on five new 2D shorts that honor ‘Star Trek: The Animated Series’ 50th anniversary, kicking off this Friday with ‘Skin a Cat.’ 

The Never-ending Fight Against Oppression ANIMATIONWorld

How ‘Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia’ Unknowingly Addressed Russia’s War Against Ukraine

For directors Julien Chheng and Jean-Christophe Rogers, an early WIP screening was interrupted by news of Russia’s attack; they quickly realized their film, about healing a broken, suppressed country, was more relevant and real than ever, giving them an even more heightened sense of purpose.

Gum-Gum Fun on the High Seas VFXWorld

‘One Piece’ VFX: A Stretchy and Dismembered Pirates’ Life for Luffy

Co-showrunner Steven Maeda and VFX supervisors Victor Scalise and Scott Ramsey took extra-special care crafting the live-action series adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s famed 106-volume manga and 20-season anime series, noting huge risks tackling the beloved property while mindful of the long list of failed anime-to-live-action efforts that preceded them. 

Hand-Drawn Games ANIMATIONWorld

Disney Illusion Island: An All-New, Hand-Drawn Game with 95-Year-Old Characters

Writer/creative director AJ Grand-Scrutton and animation director Eric Ciccone talk about Dlala Studios’ revival of one of Disney’s oldest character designs, building an entire 2D animated game world for Mickey & Friends that includes a new story and original orchestral score, recently launched exclusively on Nintendo Switch. 

New Paradigms in Kids’ Franchise Development ANIMATIONWorld

Invisible Universe: Dancing Dolls, Culinary Canines, and Celebrity Collaborations

Led by the Serena Williams-inspired Qai Qai, the internet-first animation studio has been steadily building seven different kids’ franchises, incubating first on social media before expanding the brands into film, TV, and games.

The Enduring Search for Funny ANIMATIONWorld

New Adult Swim SMALLS: Doting Sons, Hot Asses, and Precious Family Capsules

The latest crop of shorts in Dave Hughes’ innovative incubator of new talent and new ideas includes four episodes of Joe Cappa’s ‘HAHA You Clowns,’ Chloe Trost’s 2-part ‘Dohls,’ and Maggie Brennan’s ‘Agoraphilia.’

In-Passing Headline News

Remembering the Fabulous, Witty, and Norm-Breaking Paul Bush

The British experimental short filmmaker, known for his early scratch frame films ‘His Comedy’ and ‘The Albatross’ as well as his single frame works like ‘Five Minute Museum,’ was killed in a motorcycle accident in Wales last Thursday.

From ‘It’ Girl to Cult Leader ANIMATIONWorld

'Praise Petey' Creator Anna Drezen Unpacks Her Comedic, Depressing Cult Research Dive

The former ‘SNL’ head writer discusses the eye-opening development process behind her new animated series about an accidental leader of a small-town cult, and how a live-action showrunner moving to animation can send shudders down the production team’s spines; now streaming on Freeform and Hulu. 

Cowabunga ANIMATIONWorld

Jeff Rowe Talks ‘TMNT: Mutant Mayhem’ Teen Boy Tussles

Taking the four brothers back to their early years, the newest ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ film’s director and his team continually referred to how a teenage boy would handle the situation at hand - sometimes antsy, sometimes psyched, usually bored – in the Paramount Pictures 3DCG action-comedy hitting theaters today, August 2.

Diving into Real-Time Animation ANIMATIONWorld

‘The Last Dungeon’: SCAD Animation Studio’s ‘Unreal’ New Short

For Junior animation student Alexandra Young, jumping into Unreal Engine to direct the school’s latest animated film, having never worked in 3D, was at first like drinking water from a firehose; however, she and her team quickly and effectively embraced the powerful real-time animation platform to tell an epic fantasy story in ways they couldn’t have done otherwise.

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