Posts Tagged ‘news’
Claymation – Bottled Water in Animation !
A Press Release from The WaterTechOnline.com website in support of bottled water have opted to use a claymation character to get their point (or should I say pint ) across.
- Claymation – Supporting Bottled Water
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) today posted its newest video, The Real Story of Bottled Water<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwV2JpFnxWM>, on its consumer-oriented YouTube channel, Bottled Water Matters, as a humorous retort/rebuttal to misleading claims made by anti-bottled water activists. Consumers are encouraged to view the entertaining rejoinder The Real Story of Bottled Water shown below.
“In the past few months, activists have made claims that the bottled water industry ‘manufactures demand’ for bottled water,” said Tom Lauria, IBWA Vice President of Communications. “But the truth is that demand for bottled water is ‘consumer driven,’ and our video illustrates this important difference by giving viewers insightful background information about the industry and the true reasons of bottled water’s widespread popularity.”
“I expect that this video will be an eye-opener for some people who may have only heard the false and inaccurate information being disseminated by activists,” he said.
Produced in-house, IBWA’s video uses claymation, a live stop-action technique, to tell The Real Story of Bottled Water. A talking 5-gallon water cooler bottle made from blue modeling clay — addresses the YouTube audience, giving them her side of the real story of bottled water.Facts are supported by using source credits throughout the video.
The video is among more than a dozen videos on the Bottled Water Matters YouTube channel aimed at addressing misinformation about the bottled water industry.
“Lucky for us, most people use common sense and can tell when they are being misled—or they check the facts out for themselves. A lot of information-spin on the theory of the so-called ‘manufactured demand’ can be easily researched and debunked,” Mr. Lauria said.“To save consumers time, we’re happy to do it for them.”
Some comments from viewers of the video…
I love Perrier, Mountain Valley and San Pellegrino in glass! But glass is heavy and that means a potentially larger carbon footprint when shipping. You mention “filter stations” as if something needs to be done to tap water to make it drinkable. With so much packaged in plastic, it’s odd you pick on the healthiest beverage around. BTW, PET doesn’t leech.
The argument Tap vs Bottled is ridiculous: Municipal water suppliers are allowed to distribute contaminated water, as long as they “inform” the public about the contamination. I get a letter twice a year letting me know that my tap water exceeds the EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels for Arsenic and Fluoride. If this water was in a bottle it would NOT be allowed to be distributed. Also some of the first responders in a crisis for disaster relief are the bottlers with small thanks from JQ Public!
Disney Recommendation for iKITMovie
We had a very pleasant surprise last week to find Disneys’ FamilyFun magazine recommend iKITMovie animation software!
Disneys' Familyfun - iKITMovie
It was Recommended by FamilyFun digital manager Samuel Mead and kids, Ruby, age 8, and Finn, 5 (plus cousins Cedar, 15, Silas, 11, Matia, 12, and Noah, 9) – Their tips were ..
Our Tips
Stop-motion animation programs are compatible with most digital video cameras and some digital still cameras (check before you download). I had to adjust my camera’s settings from HD to DV before beginning. For a more professional look, we set our camera on a tripod and shot against a flat, brightly lit sheet of white paper. To inspire my young animators, I showed them some of the many finished works posted online. The kids were particularly jazzed by a short called “Western Spaghetti” (eatpes.com).
Also we got an really nice article by Karin Piper author of “Charter Schools – The Ultimate Guide for Parents” about us on Examiner.com.
Karin is a speaker, school choice advocate and author of award winning Charter Schools: The Ultimate Handbook for Parents. Karin provides communications and tools necessary for parents to become informed decision makers in the expanding world of education options. She also works with various organizations in engaging with surrounding communities and creating dynamic relationships with families. Karin can be contacted through Karin@theeducationchoiceexpert.com or visit her website at charterschoolmom.com.
News- The Princess and The Frog
The first trailer for the Classic story the “The Princess and the Frog” and just been released on Youtube.
While I am more a fan of stop motion animation I have a soft spot for this story. It is an enduring favourite of mine since I was young. This version according to Disney’s Press releases for the movie takes a more modern look at the classic and extends it’s basic concept to examine what happened after the princess kissed the frog Prince. So in that sense it is loosely based on E.D. Baker’s version of The Frog Prince.
The movie will be in cinemas on December 24th, 2009. Disney describe it as an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans. The prince named Naveen from Maldonia has been turned in to a frog by a voodoo magician, Dr Facilier. The frog mistakes Tiana for a princess and asks for a kiss to break the spell.
The Princess and the Frog
As I mentioned the story surrounds a beautiful girl named Tiana and her interactions with a frog who wants to be human again. However after that fateful kiss ,Tiana finds herself turned in to a frog! In another twist the princess for the first time in history in this story .. is black (about time!).
The animators behind The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, the famous team of John Musker and Ron Clements return to the hand-drawn animation form in this movie. As a result it definitely has the look and feel of the original Disney animations.
The music is composed by Oscar®-winning composer Randy Newman. Worth a visit to the cinema for the nostalgia alone.
Stop Motion – New Installer
We have just completed development and testing of our new installer for all versions of iKITMovie Stop Motion software. Up to this we had been using straightforward setup executables for the three versions of iKITMovie. But this caused some issues for those using Vista. With the new MSI (Microsoft Installer) format, users of any windows operating system can install without having to use the “setup as administrator” option. Also the new format will allow us to give check for updates functionality to customers in future releases. Users will still need to have the administrator password, but this is normal for installing any software.
Also Cecil ( our mascot ) gets more exposure in the setup. He sure likes the limelight.
Cecil in the Limelight Again!
The MSI version of the Trial copy of our stop motion software also now allows trial users to test the export of their movie made in iKITMovie. This will allow the testing of export and upload to Youtube and so forth. There is a watermark on export to indicate it is a trial version but this will be removed on purchase of a full license.
NEWS Item – Stop Motion Software – New Free Trial
Following a number of requests by existing trial download users of stop motion software iKITMovie I would like to tell everyone that we will release a new free trial download on the 1st of September 2009.
Cecil
This new version of our stop motion software, version 1.6, will now include export functionality. This will allow trial users to export their movies in MP4 or WMV format. The exported movie will have a watermark however but this will be removed from the snapshots taken if a license is purchased. So you will not lose any projects you have created in the trial version.
This extended trial is to allow everyone to better experience this innovative stop motion software. As usual the first sound of every category in the sound fx library will also be accessible. You can also add your own sounds in MP3 or Wav format. Voice over can be added and exported in this new trial.
Note that there is a limit of 300 frames in the trial version. This will allow you to test you stop motion skills, while checking your webcamera and digital still image imports.
The new trial download is now smaller in size. Thanks to the msi format the install will run simply by double clicking on the file once downloaded.
We are planning a number of new and exciting features in future releases of iKITMovie Stop Motion software so stay tuned and come back and visit again.
Also if you have any questions we now have a handy contact us form. We will respond within 24 hours max.
Stop motion at Virginia’s largest County Fair
I was reading an article I came across today in InsideNova about a little boy getting quite a lot of recognitiion for his stop motion endeavours. It sure is great to see a child’s creativity being critically acclaimed. C. Pond Brothers IV is his name but he goes by “dweezildna”. His stop motion demonstration
StopMotion At Art Fair
took centre stage in the home arts building at the 60th Annual Prince William County Fair. It seems like he is truely hooked on stop motion, just look at all the movies he has made already and he is only 10 years old. Check out his YouTube channel and dont forget to subscribe http://www.youtube.com/dweezildna. Wonder how he came up with that name?
It says he attends Bennett elementary school. I must try and get in touch with them, they might like to get involved in our “Getting Schools Animating Initiative”. You’d never know ! Prince William County Schools had a very impressive Summer Art Enrichment Program this Summer. Maybe given the success of one of their students making stop motion movies they might consider including stop motion animation in their 2010 Program. Who Knows? I’ll give them a call….
