Posted by Chris on 13 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: Announcements, Studio Work
Hey guys, check out a 2 minute trailer of our Coz/Effect animated short video on YouTube!
Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLgGDt-ArUM
Posted by Chris on 12 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: Studio Work
Volacci Corp. is a helpful resource for small- and medium-size businesses who want to understand how search engine marketing works and what it takes to implement it. Originally named SpryDev, the Moujaes Agency helped rename and rebrand the company into the new Volacci.
The name is derrived from the Latin word meaning “to fly,” reflecting the company’s mission to help its customers reach their revenue potentials through effective search engine marketing and optimization. We’re very proud of this project and are excited to see it live!
The new brand was unveiled on June 2, 2008, at a special event at Volacci’s offices. During the event, fine artist Megan VanGroll revealed a commissioned painting depicting the new logo for the company’s office. It was very flattering to see our brand work captured in a painting, that’s for sure!
Megan is available for commission work - please visit her website at www.meganvangroll.com to contact her. Thanks for the photos, Megan!
Posted by Chris on 10 May 2008 | Tagged as: Announcements
We’re very excited to announce the launch of Boomstar, Inc. - our new jointly-owned subsidiary. Boomstar operates offices and studios in North America and Asia.
Boomstar combines both companies’ production arms into a complete animated entertainment services and original content production company. Our studios specialize in high-end 2D & 3D animation, modeling, layout & design, rendering, visual effects, property development and entertainment marketing for television, film, video games and the web..
Our studios are equipped with the latest SGI platforms, high end workstations, editing studio and industry grade software like Maya, 3DS Max, US Animation, Animo, Macromedia, Adobe and other authoring and programming software.
Complementing our advanced infrastructure is the rich pool of talent including directors, artists, producers, writers, technicians, software professionals and other pros in related business areas: 2D/3D animation production, special effects and graphic solutions, print and comic content development and web-based solutions.
Boomstar USA is home to our character design, story development, post production, original series development and entertainment marketing teams. Our United States studio also serves as our operational headquarters.
Boomstar India is home to our primary production department, equipped with a comprehensive set-up of manpower and infrastructure to develop content for diverse media: film, TV, print or the web. Boomstar India houses leading edge software and hardware for developing 2D/3D animation, high-end special effects and computer graphics.
Visit Boomstar.com for more information or contact us today to learn more about how our high-end animation studios can provide unforgettable work for your project.
Posted by Chris on 01 May 2008 | Tagged as: Studio Work, Work In Progress
Yo guys - here’s some new behind-the-scenes art from our Coz/Effect animated short movie in progress. Above: near completed lighting models for Blitz. We’re still completing texturing work but should be completed in the next few days. Animation layout begins next week. Click here to expand the image.
There’s lots of work that goes into constructing an animated set. Here are audience sketches, complete with color palettes and textures that were inspired from the Coz/Effect comic itself. These characters will appear as part of a huge stadium crowd. Click here to expand the image.
In production design, we come up with the entire look and feel of the production. Above: A billboard concept that was sketched for the development of Coz/Effect’s rock-star scenery.
More to come!
Posted by Chris on 24 Apr 2008 | Tagged as: Studio Work, Work In Progress
Sorry for the radio silence on our Backstage Blog for the past couple of weeks! We’ve been busy finishing up large client projects and our own in-house project: the animated Coz/Effect video. If you’ve been keeping up with the sneak peeks, you know how much hard work we’ve been putting into this video.
Above is Coz’s final, un-rendered model. Coz took 5 rounds of modeling to get his hair to look right in 3D. We actually had to redesign it several times for it to make sense in the third dimension. Even in 3D, Coz’s ego shines through. 
Above: scans from a model sheet developed for our animators of Coz. For each character appearing in the movie, detailed model sheets and expression charts were developed to aid the animators in bringing the characters to life.
Modeling work for the stadium and stage that Coz and his band will be performing on in the video. This shot is from center stage.
Here’s an another shot of the stadium and concert set in progress.
Above: the final building set for the city model. These are un-rendered proofs developed for director approval.
Posted by Chris on 24 Apr 2008 | Tagged as: Studio Work
We’re excited to announce the launch new web projects for our star clients Aunty E & NadaMoo! this week. Both projects represent a significant overhaul for each of the companies’ web presences.
The new AuntyE.com features a scrolling Star Ticker newsbar, MP3 Player, full content management system and plenty of great content for kids who make up Aunty E’s fanbase. We’re completing the content uploads for the site during the next week and a half to round-out the entire development of the site.
The new NadaMoo.com showcases NadaMoo!’s new branding developed by our firm. We were tasked with creating a friendly, conversational site that captures NadaMoo!’s fun personality. The new site coincides with the release of NadaMoo!’s new packaging that was also developed by Moujaes.
Posted by Chris on 22 Mar 2008 | Tagged as: Studio Work, Work In Progress
Yo guys, our studio has been hard at work on our Coz/Effect animated short that’s due for completion by June. I’m excited to post a few little behind-the-scenes sneak peeks on the production work in progress. (above) Coz being swarmed by the paparazzi.
The short is a promo for the band - it follows them at a concert that gets trashed by super-evil-popstar J-Zel and his mammoth Concertron. It’s based on the current episode playing at SquirrelWorks.com. (above) Blitz, Coz and Skyler falling from the sky after getting launched off the stage.
Skyler, Blitz and Coz escaping the swirling blade of the Concertron.
Working closely with Digital Bee Studio who is handling the 3D component of the project, we’re working hard to capture the world of Coz/Effect from the hit web comic. (above) a wireframe mock-up of the primary set in progress. Most of the action takes place in the stadium at the bottom right and in the streets.
(above) J-Zel’s giant Concertron trashes the stadium and Coz/Effect’s concert.
More soon!
Posted by Chris on 10 Mar 2008 | Tagged as: News U Can Use
I think every kid has dreamed of a career in video games - I sure did when I was in school. Video gaming and interactive storytelling is an important and significant component of youth culture.
We do a lot of classroom speaking and we get a lot of questions about careers in the video game industry. Like any other creative industry - it’s highly competitive and difficult to enter. Lots of parents and teachers get questions from their kids about how they can enter the business.
Posted by Chris on 10 Mar 2008 | Tagged as: News U Can Use
Our friends over at MindOh! have launched a the MindOh! Blog. This blog is the collaborative effort of Beth Carls, Co-Founder & CEO of MindOH!, Amy Looper, Co-Founder, and Amy Strecker, Director of Community Content. They’re interested in innovative approaches to education, social networks, e-learning, social-emotional learning, and character education for young people
For over six years, Houston-based MindOH! has created character-based, online computer modules that teach kids problem-solving techniques, conflict resolution and communication skills, reinforcing universally held character traits such as respect and responsibility. In MindOh!’s view, character education, should be an integral part of all learning environments, particularly in light of increased incidents of school violence, bullying, cyberspace bullying and drop-out rates among today’s youth.
They’ve provided measured and proven evidence-based results such as:
So, check out their blog at http://www.mindoh.wordpress.com to keep up-to-date
Posted by Chris on 15 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Studio Work, Work In Progress
Leila & Eric in a story session in our storyboard conference room.
For the past month, we’ve been in pre-production for the first 3D-animated promo of our hit web comic series, Coz/Effect. Our studio has been hard at work preparing scripts, storyboards and 2D models that our partners at Digital Bee Studio will be turning into a fully animated short film.
Non-textured 3D Draft Model of Coz
It’s been a very interesting new experimental path for our flagship property. Coz/Effect was designed as primarily a 2D series, so thinking completely in 3D for it has opened some new opportunities and challenges that we hadn’t thought of before for the characters.
Coz & Skyler from “Coz/Effect” in their native hand-drawn style.
Eric suggests an idea for a new scene in the film.
Non-textured 3D Draft Model of Blitz
Chris reviews the path of the story and makes sure that characters stay “in character.”
We’re really excited about the film’s progress and are looking forward to moving into full production. We’ll fill you in with more updates as we progress.
