Intel, Landau Launch Mass Animation

Intel Corp. today announced a new collaborative animation project to produce a computer-generated animated short film for theatrical release. Open to established and aspiring animators, the Mass Animation project will be produced and directed by Yair Landau, former vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and president of Sony Pictures Digital.

Intel is sponsoring the development and promotion of a Facebook page where animators will be able access a collaboration application built on the Facebook Platform. Starting this fall, artists around the world will be able to contribute by animating small pieces of a five-minute, professional-quality animated short film.

‘This is a great opportunity to bring together computer graphics with the creativity of both Hollywood and the Facebook community,’ says Michael Hoefflinger, general manager of Intel’s Partner Marketing Group. ‘The power of Intel high-performance processor technology makes it possible for content creators to design, animate and innovate.’

‘Mass Animation combines original computer-generated animated storytelling with social networking in a powerful, new way,’ adds Landau. ‘With such partners as Intel, Autodesk, Reel FX Ent., Aniboom and Facebook, we will reach so many talented animators who might not otherwise have access to this community of imagination and artistry. This project is the future of creative collaboration.’

The tools animators need to collaborate on this project will be provided. Participating animators will be able to download an evaluation version of Autodesk Maya Unlimited to layout and animate sections of the script. Reel FX Ent. animation studio will then use proprietary tools to convert the selected videos to final animation frames for posting and sharing on Facebook. Aniboom brings to the table experience in supporting a community of animators from more 70 countries around the world, as well as its content management infrastructure to help manage the community element of the project.

For more information and to sign up to receive a notice when collaboration begins, go to www.facebook.com/massanimation and become a fan of the page. People who are not yet Facebook members can also register at www.massanimation.com.