With a late 5 o’clock screening at ICM, many of the nominees couldn’t make it to the Q&A. Peter and the Wolf producer Hugh Welchman, Madame Tutli-Putli producer Marcy Page and her exec producer David Verrall were able to meet the agents. I Met the Walrus director Josh Raskin and his producer Jerry Levitan arrived right after the agents left because they went to the old ICM address by mistake.

After the screening, the agents were very impressed with this year’s nominees. The questions covered many of the typical questions. David explained how the human eyes were done on the puppets in Madame Tutli-Putli. Marcy told them that the film took four years to complete, while Hugh said it took the same amount of time to make his film. When the agents cringed at the time it takes, tour host Ron Diamond said, “Animation is a painful process and this brings it to a new low.” Hugh added that he would have liked more time to finish Peter, but they had already sold out the Royal Albert Hall for the premiere and they wanted to continue working in the U.K., so they had to keep the debut date.

After a tiring week of screenings, Madame Tutli-Putli exec producer David Verrall reminds us where we are. © 2008 AWN Inc.

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For half of the Oscar Showcase tour crew, Friday morning was a chance for some free time to roam around Los Angeles. For the Canadian contingent, it was a time for celebration with their fellow Canadians at the Canadian consulate. The annual event celebrates the accomplishments of Oscar nominated Canadians and Canadian productions. Madame Tutli-Putli directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, I Met the Walrus director Josh Raskin, producer Jerry Levitan and illustrator James Braithwaite were all treated like royalty with many Canadian media outlets clamoring to get interviews with the filmmakers. The event also gave the nominees a chance to mingle with some stars. Julie Christie, Oscar nominee for the Canadian production Away from Her, was gracious enough to pose for pictures with whoever asked. Chris introduced himself to Oscar-winning director Norman Jewison, who warmly congratulated him on his nomination. Other celebs on hand included Juno director Jason Reitman, producer Ivan Reitman and director Arthur Hiller.

In between interviews I had a chance to catch up with some of the nominees. Chris and Maciek took Thursday off because they were beat, thinking it was best to save their energy for the weekend’s big events. I asked if they did anything special and he said that he just hung out with his girlfriend for the day. The tour is a grueling experience for everyone involved. Josh said he looks forward to getting the chance to go back home and relax, but is still keeping a positive outlook on the rare experience. James introduced me to his proud mother, who asked if her son had behaved himself along the way. From seeing this blog, she wondered just how much ping-pong they played for the past week. Apparently, Josh comes over to their house for Christmas dinner as their third son, and after eating, they play ping-pong on the dinning room table. Now that’s dedication to one’s sport. And an understanding mom.

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After a late screening in the Aidikoff Screening Room for the William Morris agents, the filmmakers had a chance to meet with a few of the agents. Like many people have said along the tour, the agents felt that this year is one of the strongest years for animated shorts in quite some time. Peter and the Wolf asked how an animation director or producer finds representation. Ken Freimann said that it depends on what the filmmaker wants. Based on their nominated work, he said it would be tough because it’s hard for them to sell less than mainstream projects to the studios. He added that their films prove what they can do, so coming to agents with projects worked out would be a great help in determining what an agent can do for an animator. Agent Danny Gabai, who represents many independent writer/directors, said that if you want to move into the mainstream then they could help, or they could help connect their projects with artists who could help getting the project made. Ken’s example was that if Tim Burton gets involved with a project, the studios would be more interested. For producers, Ken said that they would represent them on a project-to-project basis.

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With the Oscar Showcase beginning to slow down, Thursday marked our chance to see DreamWorks L.A. While the screening was taking place, John Tarnoff, the head of the DreamWorks’ “incubator” department, showed us around the facility. After seeing production art from Bee Movie, Kung-Fu Panda and Madagascar 2, we got to see some production art and CG characters from DreamWorks’ 2009 releases Monsters vs. Aliens and How to Train Your Dragon. Being that Monsters vs. Aliens is the studio’s first stereoscopic production and the release date was moved up to March, the production is in furious mode. In regards to the challenges of working in 3-D, John said that DreamWorks looks at stereoscopic as they do stereo sound – a subtle enrichment of the movie going experience. Though the release will not be in 3-D, a test was done using the opening action sequence from Kung-Fu Panda to discover the limits to which they could push the technology. David Verrall, the exec producer of Madame Tutli-Putli, who has a hand in every English language film produced at the NFB, said they have artists working on eight foot screens for stereoscopic productions so they can get a better idea of how the mind processes the images as they are working on them.

When it comes to development of stories, John said they have the entire story department brainstorming on the projects at the beginning then pare down the writers on each film. He added that usually the scribes will be the first on the project and can stay involved with the project as late as three months before release.

When it came to research on their films, karate demos were done for Kung-Fu Panda, and John said that one of the lead animators is a karate guru, making him the go-to guy for any questions. For Madagascar 2, a group of 25, including the producers, directors, art directors and department heads, took a trip to Africa where they went on photo safaris to help inform the design of the film. Peter and the Wolf producer Hugh Welchman asked if any of the staff got in any trouble while there, because while in Russia doing research on Peter, director Suzie Templeton was picked up by the police, thinking that she might be an eco-terrorist, for taking photos in the wrong spot. Lucky no such incidents happened in Africa for the DreamWorks crew. The look of Monsters vs. Aliens is very influenced by the work of Jack Davis and Mad Magazine, while How to Train Your Dragon is trying to stay true to the illustrations featured in the original young adult novel by Cressida Cowell.

Because some of the tour crew missed the screening at PDI/DreamWorks, we caught the clips from Madagascar 2 and Kung-Fu Panda a second time, in addition to the opening sequence from the latter film. Next up the filmmakers had a chance to see the “magic” conference room that I had told them about, which we weren’t able to see up in San Fran. An entire wall of the room is a screen, which is directly linked to the Northern California campus with no delay. John said that they often have parties in the room uniting the two studios clear across the state. Unlike Pixar and Disney who use different software, PDI/DreamWorks and DreamWorks in L.A. do share staff on projects with members working at both locations sometimes on the same film.

Peter and the Wolf producer Hugh Welchman returns a serve from tour host Ron Diamond. © 2008 AWN Inc.

With a bit of time remaining before the Q&A, the lure of more ping-pong was hard to resist. After hearing great praise about Hugh’s skills at Disney TV yesterday, Ron Diamond, the owner of Acme Filmworks and host of the tour, challenged the Peter and the Wolf director to a match. Though Hugh kept his title as the tour’s reigning table tennis champ, Ron gave him a run for his money. Next up James Braithwaite, illustrator on I Met the Walrus, demanded a rematch against Hugh for the honor of Canada. However, the game was interrupted when famed children’s book author and illustrator William Joyce walked out of a door close by and James and Walrus director Josh Raskin couldn’t pass up the chance to meet him.

The filmmakers answer questions from the DreamWorks employees. © 2008 AWN Inc.

The Q&A touched on some old and some new questions. With the directors not there, producer Marcy Page handled the #1 Madame Tutli-Putli question – how did you do the eyes? Next up Josh was asked what was his process in developing the look of his film, replying that he listened to the tape of producer Jerry Levitan’s interview with John Lennon hundreds of times, and played many games of ping-pong. The Peter and the Wolf producers Hugh Welchman and Alan Dewhurst where asked how they controlled the boiling effect that happens in stop-motion with furry characters. Hugh said that they used a great deal of digital clean-up, and Alan added that hairspray help a lot as well. Lola did the clean-up and few CG touches for the film. Because the print of Alexander Petrov’s My Love has no subtitles and is in Russian, Ron explained that the story follows a young man, who falls for a servant girl, but spurns her for the town beauty. But when he discovers that the beauty is not perfect, he falls into a fever and the servant girl promises to God that if he saves the boy she will become a nun. In the end, the boy lives and loses both his loves. “A very Russian story,” as Ron described it.

At DreamWorks lunch, Marcy catches up with animator Dave Burgess. © 2008 AWN Inc.

After the Q&A, we had lunch with some of the DreamWorks staff. We were joined by tour veteran Sharon Colman, who was nominated in 2006 for Badgered. She claims that the tour is responsible for why she is now working in the story department at DreamWorks. Hugh asked John Turnoff about their indie label Go Fish and John said that various people in the organization want to bring it back from its dormant state as a venue to release foreign produced animated features in the U.S. The lunch was also an opportunity for old colleagues to catch up. Marcy and David chatted with former NFB artist Dave Burgess and Hugh and Alan had worked with Rejean Bourdages, head of story on Shrek the Third, in the past.

After the lunch, the tour moved on to our next stop the William Morris agency. Check back for a peek at the Q&A and some photos.

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After a nice long break where some filmmakers, like Madame Tutli-Putli directors Maciek Szczerbowski and Chris Lavis, Peter and the Wolf director Suzie Templeton, and Even Pigeons Go To Heaven director Samuel Tourneux and Pigeons producer Simon Vanesse, had to run off to do interviews, the ones who were able to stay chatted with the inquisitive artists at Disney TV Animation. Many of the questions were similar to questions asked before, but new insights did emerge.

Because no one from Pigeons was there to answer the question on what was the inspiration behind the films, Peter and the Wolf producer Hugh Welchman answered the question on behalf of Sam and Simon, saying that Sam had created the characters and sets for a story he did not like and then had to form a new story around what he had already created. He also added that Sam had said in another Q&A that he wanted the film to “reek of France.” But Peter producer Alan Dewhurst said it was more like “smell of France.” As for Alexander Petrov’s My Love, Madame Tutli-Putli producer Marcy Page, who worked with Petrov on The Old Man in the Sea, said that it’s amazing to watch the filmmaker move paint around on glass with his fingers creating a Rembrandt with each frame. When asked how long the films took to make, Ron Diamond, the organizer of the Oscar Showcase tour, joked six weeks for the 20+ minute My Love.

A new question for the Peter and the Wolf team was how they came about designing and animating the animals. The main goal of the design was to not make them caricatures. Hugh said the duck was the toughest and the look they chose was based on how goofy the breed looked, which would help create instant sympathy for the doomed character. As for the crow, Hugh was reluctant to choose the iconic bird for all the negative connotations that it brings. However, a smaller bird would have been too difficult to create using puppets, so they decided to use the hooded crow, because it was a good balance between tone and practical production demands. As for the spoiled feline, Hugh said Suzie always envisioned it as a fat cat. When it came to the wolf, Hugh felt right from the start that Suzie would be able to make the forest hunter scary. She wanted it to look wild with its matted fur and intense blue eyes. She also insisted it be female, even including pups in one of the 17 versions of the script. Each puppet was created in silicone instead of latex, which will help preserve them over time, and the clothing was made out of silk and other common clothing materials. For the animation, she was specific with the animators about the movements, creating very details animatics for them to work off of.

At the Disney TV receptions, Alan Bodner (center left) poses with the I Met the Walrus filmmakers (l to r) James, Josh and producer/subject Jerry Levitan. © 2008 AWN Inc.

Following the Q&A, Disney TV hosted a reception for the filmmakers, where the studio artists had more opportunities to chat with the nominees. Alan Bodner, art director on The Iron Giant, took a break from working on Kim Possible to meet with the animators. I Met the Walrus director Josh Raskin and illustrator James Braithwaite were very pleased to meet artists who still work on paper. Dan Povenmire, the creator of Disney’s new series Phineas and Ferb, dropped by to visit as well, saying that earlier in the day he was impressed with the ping-pong playing skills of Hugh. As the studio heavyweight, Dan said it was nice to have a tough challenger, exchanging phone numbers with Hugh so they can play again.

The day finished up with the AWN/Acme Filmworks Oscar party where the filmmakers enjoyed good food, good company and good fun. Check back soon to see the pics from the event.

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The second day on the Oscar Showcase tour is a day at Disney with a screening for Walt Disney Feature Animation in the morning and Disney TV in the afternoon. Some miscommunication started the day and only the Madame Tutli-Putli team made it to Disney in time, thanks to exec producer David Verrall.

Our tour began looking at the shorts program, which produced the Oscar short listed film Goofy’s How to Hook Up Your Home Theater. Their next animated short Glago’s Guest, a 3D short, will premiere at Annecy this year and is now complete. Following that film will be the 2D short The Ballad of Nessie from Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers, the directors of Home Theater. Nessie has 75% of its shots sent to animation. The shorts program has four other shorts in development, including another Goofy short. Next up we saw production art, including storyboards, from Disney’s fall release Bolt. Closing our tour, we got a glimpse of top-secret production art from The Princess and the Frog, as well as heard the full premise, which we have been vowed to keep secret. The artwork paints lush sceneries from the New Orleans location that is influenced by the painterly look of Bambi, while the indoor locations are infused with the vibe of Lady and the Tramp.

The filmmakers are introduced to the Disney execs and artists at the Disney hosted lunch. © 2008 AWN Inc.

After introducing the filmmakers to the audience, we headed off to lunch with a group of artists and execs from Disney. At my table I was joined by tour members Madame Tutli-Putli producer Marcy Page, Acme Filmworks founder Ron Diamond, Ed Catmull, Walt Disney Animation Studios EVP Andrew Millstein, Meet the Robinsons’ producer Dorothy McKim, and the Home Theater directors. Ed and Andrew are readying about their trip to India to visit one of their vendors. The conversation moved to the expansion of animation in the region, especially China. Ed said he was reluctant to get into China, because of the government hoops that doing business there entails. Earlier in the day, we learned that Pixar and Disney do not share staff and Ed informed us that the proprietary software used at Pixar is not used in Burbank, where they use Maya. This is done because Maya has Autodesk support behind it, but the Mendie software at Pixar only has an in-house support staff. As the talk turned to the tour, Kevin confessed that one of the most disappointing things about not getting nominated for his short was missing out on staying at Skywalker Ranch.

Suzie Templeton fills the handprints of one of the 9 Old Men - Ollie Johnston. © 2008 AWN Inc.

After eating, I caught up with some of the other conversations going on in the room. Madame Tutli-Putli director Chris Lavis was talking with The Princess and the Frog co-director John Musker about his upcoming projects. Peter and the Wolf producer Hugh Welchman came over with his iPod and shared his ironically titled short, The Princess and the Frog, with John. Disney animator Andreas Deja was chatting with I Met the Walrus director Josh Raskin and Walrus illustrator James Braithwaite, talking about his work on Princess and the Frog. He is keeping to drawing on paper, fighting the move to computer tablets. He promised to take Josh and James to see the Disney art archive in Glendale the next time they are in town. Later Andreas struck up a conversation with Peter and the Wolf director Suzie Templeton about the sculpting of the puppets in her film. She said they auditioned the role to the artists at the Polish studio Se-Ma-For, where one woman instinctually understood what Suzie wanted even though they could not communicate verbally. Suzie added that the project really touched the artist, who said the film was the best collaborative artistic experience of her life. As thanks, the woman wants to sculpt Suzie. Another fact we learned is that Suzie’s mother is cousins with Disney legend Ollie Johnston, who Suzie has actually never met.

The nominees answer questions from the Disney crowd. © 2008 AWN Inc.

When it came to the Q&A the questions were the usual questions about how Madame Tutli-Putli was produced and how long each project took to make. With an hour gap before the screening, the group parted ways until the second Q&A. Some of us checked out the Disney archives, which features original art from Disney shorts like The Old Mill and costumes from films like The Rocketeer and 1001 Dalmatians.

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After the Q&A at 20th Century Fox, tour host Ron Diamond had to quickly move the nominees toward the road so that we could make the reception before the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences screening. With the event filled with press from all over the globe, the nominees were given the star treatment. On the way to the screening, I asked I Met the Walrus producer Jerry Levitan what went through his mind when he heard that his film was nominated. He said that is was surreal and knew that his life would be different from now on. With dozens of photographers clamoring to get his picture, I guess he was right. Walrus director Josh Raskin said his food was pulled away from him three times, as he was spirited away to another interview. During the reception, Madame Tutli-Putli producer Marcy Page was able to thank John Lasseter for his endorsement in getting her into the Academy. The Disney animation head said it was warranted and thanked her and fellow NFB exec David Verrall for continuing to fund short animation.

This year’s event sold out in 20 minutes. After the screening to the very receptive crowd, the night’s MC, L.A. Confidential director Curtis Hanson, asked the filmmakers some of the typical questions like how they made their films and what their influences where. Josh said John Lennon of course for his film animates to the voice of The Beatles star. Madame Tutli-Putli directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski credited Charlie Chaplin, while Peter and the Wolf director Suzie Templeton cited Bambi. Suzie’s producer Hugh Welchman, who brought the Peter puppet from the film to the event, said Night of the Hunter for its original use of magical realism. Even Pigeons Go to Heaven producer Simon Vanesse was influenced by 2001, which his director Samuel Tourneux, laughed and asked how Stanley Kubrick’s space epic influenced their CG film about a priest trying to sell an old man a machine that will take him to heaven. And Maciek added a nice new description of using stop-motion animation on his film. He called it a silver bullet. When hunting werewolves a silber bullet is good, but you don’t shot them all the time. Stop-motion is good for a surrealistic tale like Madame, but for just capturing the movement of women there are better ways of doing so.

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After screening at Sony, the next stop of the tour was 20th Century Fox. After Ron Diamond, publisher of AWN, introduced the filmmakers to the studios execs in the audience, the group took the chance to walk around the back lot and grab a couple of coffee.

Talking to Even Pigeons Go to Heaven producer Simon Vanesse, we learned that he began his career in IT. He mentioned that being one of the few producers who speaks English at BUF has helped him get on big American production. Most of the time he works as a visual effects producer, having worked on The Prestige. He’s currently working on Speed Racer. When asked about his tux for the Oscars, he said he did the “pretty girl thing” and called around Paris saying he was an Oscar nominee. When he went into the store it was closed, but they opened it especially for him, where he had the pick of the place for his Oscar attire. With the topic of tuxes in the air, Even Pigeons Go to Heaven director Sam Tourneux wondered whether he’ll look like a penguin if he wears a bowtie and Simon joked that he could just say he’s with the Surf’s Up team.

During the Q&A, Hutch Parker, President of Production at 20th Century Fox, gave the nominees great praise for the exceptional collective work of this year’s films. He added that the five nominated films show the vast wealth of style and story that animation covers. As usual, the questions tackled many of the same territory. But Fox Animation president Vanessa Morrison did ask what the directors are up to next. Madame Tutli-Putli director Chris Lavis said he and his co-director Maciek Szczerbowski where working on a new short and a feature project. I Met the Walrus director Josh Raskin said he’s currently working on music he creates by cutting together bits of musicians he likes. Peter and the Wolf director Suzie Templeton has just moved to Amsterdam and hopes to produce a feature next. And last, but not least, Sam is developing a feature based on some of the same element from his Oscar nominated short.

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The Los Angeles leg of the Oscar Showcase tour kicked off at Sony Pictures Animation. The group congregated in the lobby where I met the new members of our merry band — I Met the Walrus producer Jerry Levitan, Madame Tutli-Putli executive producer David Verrall and Even Pigeons Go to Heaven producer Simon Vanesse. Not joining us for the first two events of the day was Madame director Maciek Szczerbowski, whose lobster taco from the night before was not sitting well with him. Jerry laughed when Walrus director Josh Raskin revealed that he had been describing him as “a 14-year-old kid with balls of steel.” I leave Jerry’s response to your imagination, because Walrus illustrator James Braithwaite warned Jerry not to say things like that around the human mimeograph as he pointed to me. I like to think of myself as the unofficial stenographer of the animated Oscar nominees.

While the films were screening for the studio artists, we were treated to a backstage look at the making of Sony’s Oscar-nominated animated feature Surf’s Up. VFX supervisor Rob Bredow gave us a nice overview of creating the beautiful waves and mockumentary style of the film. For the waves, they were animated using rigging that allowed the animators to control the curl and break of the waves as they moved along a horizontal plane. Later, effects and lighting artists came in an added layer after layer of details such as stray and various color reflections, making lush realistic water. Peter and the Wolf producer Hugh Welchman asked how many people worked on the waves and Rob said that several different departments had a hand in their creation, but that it amounted to approximately 1/3 of the production crew.

James Williams shows Even Pigeons Go To Heaven director Samuel Tourneux the handheld camera used on Surf's Up. © 2008 AWN Inc.

Next up Rob showed us how they created the handheld documentary style. A system was devised using an old Sony camcorder the studio bought on eBay where the filmmakers could actually film the animation. Animators would animate the scene, but the camera angles and moves were recorded using the handheld camera like a live-action documentary DP would use. By using this technique, the animation was nearly 80% done before final framing was locked on the picture, which is very rare. Overall 85% of Surf’s Up was filmed using the handheld camera. Later we actually had a chance to use the camera used on the production, which was impressive and fun. Madame Tutli-Putli director Chris Lavis wondered whether having the ability to shoot hundreds of shots made choosing the right shot daunting. James C.J. Williams, layout supervisor on the film, said it was actually the opposite, because by using the camera they were able to scout the 3D sets and discover the best angles.

Surf's Up team - producer Chris Jenkins (l to r), and directors Ash Brannon and Chris Buck. © 2008 AWN Inc.

Actually, before we got our hands on this wonderful toy, Surf’s Up directors Ash Brannon and Chris Buck, along with producer Chris Jenkins, joined us. James asked whether the handheld camera created a lot of wasted animation, but Ash said the shots were pretty well thought out before hand so this wouldn’t happen. Also unique to the film was the group rehearsals and ad-libbing on the production. Many times the actors were interviewed in character, from which books of lines for each role where created to use when appropriate.

The nominees check out 3-D scenes. © 2008 AWN Inc.

After checking out the special camera, Kevin Field, production manager on 3-D projects, showed us some stereoscopic clips from Open Season and Beowulf. The challenge of Open Season was that it wasn’t originally meant to be in 3-D, so the crew had less than four months to transform the film. James asked if that caused a great need for recutting or reframing, however Kevin said that only minor reframing, when characters came close to the edge of the frame, was needed.

Right before the Q&A began, we were all given nice swag bags, which included the Surf’s Up DVD and the Art of Surf’s Up book. A second year in a row Sony has really gone way out to treat the nominees well. As for the questions after the screening, they ranged the usually questions about Jerry meeting John Lennon and what was the inspiration for the films.

Jerry Levitan (l) chats about John Lennon with Barry Weiss. © 2008 AWN Inc.

During lunch, Barry Weiss, SVP of Animation Production, warmly greeted the nominees. He mentioned that every couple years there’s a move to get rid of the shorts category and he and governors like John Lasseter fight the call, saying that shorts is where so many great filmmakers get their start. Barry was fascinated with Jerry’s story and how they decided what to include and cut from the 30-minute interview. Jerry told a story of bringing a copy of John Lennon’s album “Two Virgins,” where Lennon and Yoko Ono are naked on the cover, into the delicatessen where his mother worked. The owner told him to get that out of his store. Jerry then pointed to a pin-up calendar the man had on the wall and said what about that? The owner replied, “That’s art. That [referring to the album] is pornography.” Jerry told this story to Lennon, who laughed heartily over it. Josh said that was just one of the gems they couldn’t include in the film.

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Conversation was brief on the ride over to PDI/DreamWorks. With the tour winding down, I think we were all winding down as well. When we arrived at the studio, the screening was already in full swing. With a bit of down time, we mingled around the lobby and cafeteria, where the draw of more ping-pong was irresistible for I Met the Walrus‘ Josh and James, who said that ping-pong is needed for animation productions to work.

Chris (left) answers a question he's never been asked before about Madame Tutli-Putli. © 2008 AWN Inc.

With the screening more than 90 minutes, most of the packed theater needed to get back to work. However, those who stayed asked some questions that were never heard before. One audience member asked Madame Tutli-Putli directors Chris and Maciek what powered the train? Chris, impressed by a question that had nothing to do with eyes, said the inspiration for the train was to design a Chicago’s World Fair-like futuristic locomotive that was rundown. The train’s breathing has inspired by the strangely organic slow pulse of the LED light of computers’ power buttons. But along with the brand new question, eye questions cannot be denied. Chris explained that Laurie Maher provided the eyes for the title character, while he and Maciek were the eyes of the chess players. Suzie laughed when asked about taking on the difficult challenge of animating to music and then adding music to animation. She added that the orchestra members said that the live performance of the music with the film was the toughest performance they ever had. Hugh added that they re-commissioned a new version of the score, not to change the notes, but to create new emphasis for their version of the story.

DreamWorks artists Jason Schleifer (hat) talks with Hugh (l), while Rex Grignon (r) chats with Lucie Bloze, Suzie Templeton and Sam Tourneux. © 2008 AWN Inc.

After the Q&A, PDI/DreamWorks treated the group to lunch, but, because of our late arrival, filmmakers from the studio were not able to join us. Knowing that the nominees were there, we did have visits from Madagascar 2: The Crate Escape’s head of layout Noel Meyer and head of animation Rex Grignon, as well as Shrek the Third supervising animator Cassidy Curtis and animator Jason Schleifer, who are working one of the studio’s upcoming features. Rex and Jason, whose credits include Shrek the Third and the Lord of the Rings series, warmly introduced themselves to all the nominees, congratulating them on their nominations. Hearing that they would be in L.A. for the Oscars, Ron invited them to the Chocolate Oscars party next Saturday.

Maciek gives Oscar Showcase host Ron Diamond a hug before leaving for Berkley. © 2008 AWN Inc.

After lunch, Chris and Maciek and Josh and James needed to leave to make it back into San Fran to catch a train to Berkley and visit Tippett Studios. On Saturday, they’re joining a pub-crawl with Phil Tippett and artists from the studio. So with hugs and handshakes, Chris, Maciek, Josh and James bid us ado until we met again on the L.A. leg of our journey.

You can leave the Oscar Tour, but you cannot hide. © 2008 AWN Inc.

The rest of the crew stayed for a tour of the studio. First, we were treated to clips from DreamWorks’ 2008 releases Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar 2. The Kung Fu Panda clip was the introduction of Po, the Jack Black panda character, to the Furious Five and his less than successful introduction to kung fu training. For Madagascar 2, we saw the first images from the film we’ve ever seen. The clip, which introduces the returning characters to Africa, was a mix of animation at various stages ranging from finished shots to 2D storyboards to rough 3D animatics. Both clips featured some big laughs. After seeing the clips, the nominees were given the tour of production art from recent productions, highlighting the advances from Shrek 2 to Shrek the Third and showing us the detailed models of Shrek’s swamp hut and the Far Far Away palace. With security very tight, we were not able to see where the animators work, but I asked if we could visit the “magic” conference room. With the conference room where one whole wall is a video screen in use, we were able to visit the Halo room where three smaller screens are connected directly to DreamWorks in L.A. with no delay. Because the connection is on 24 hours a day, there is no wasted time fumbling with adjusting cameras and making sure the audio is working.

With that the San Fran leg of the tour came to a close. We said our goodbyes and wished each other well before joining up again for the busy week before the big night.

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