Behind Nickelodeon cartoons such as The Penguins of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda: Legend of Awesomeness is a team of animators who just happen to be based out of New Zealand. We look inside Oktobor Animation (formerly Omnilab-owned visual effects house Oktobor) and talk to head of production Rob DiFiglia and managing director Bruce Everett about New Zealand’s blossoming digital creative scene.
…as Fiona Woolley swaps postage for precision German engineering, Insight Creative hires a new strat man, Matt Shirtcliffe reprises a South African role, 3rdeye gets Pearced, Nicky Dunn swaps TV for shoes and Oktobor finds a new friend in Radiate Sound.
Special Group and Salt Interactive’s ‘Orcon Business Banner’ was a hit with the StopPress punters when it launched and it also tickled the fancy of the judges of the Digital Craft section. Oktobor, which recently announced it would be moving out of the advertising sandpit to concentrate on its new cash cow animation, also picked up gold in Digital Craft for Shihad’s ‘Sleepeater’, which was a fitting way for a production house that has performed very well at Axis over the years to say farewell.
Oktobor’s managing director Bruce Everett told Stuff in September last year that the company’s commitment to advertising was still deep, despite the fact it was steadily being transformed into “visual effects, animation and digital creative convergence studio”. Well, the connection to advertising wasn’t that deep, obviously, because Everett has announced that Oktobor won’t be offering TVC and VFX services to the advertising and commercials market on a day-to-day basis anymore and will instead shift resources across to the relatively recently christened but obviously very successful animation arm, Oktobor Animation.
Another week in marcomms land, another round of new hires, smooth industry moves and media swapsies.
Wellywood has its WETA, and Auckland may soon have something to match, after the launch of what is slated as New Zealand’s biggest purpose built computer generated (CG) animation studio, Oktobor Animation.
A television campaign that was created for the University of Florida Health System, UF & Shands, by Auckland visualdigianimation studio Oktobor and directed by Tracey Rowe from Robber’s Dog has taken out a Best of Show nod at the 2010 Aster Awards, an annual US contest that recognises excellence in healthcare marketing and advertising.
It’s news Stinky Jim, but maybe not quite as you know it.
Unless you’re scared of large, uninterrupted blocks of text, why would you read a story about one boring thing, when you could read a story that deals with a whole range of exciting things? That’s right, you wouldn’t. Or would you?
The Don (not the delicious Japanese meal, but the funny-haired American business tycoon), is currently gracing a range of New Zealand media channels to promote the New Zealand Lotteries Commission’s latest Big Wednesday prize. And everyone wants to know how much he got paid.
Visual effects and animation studio Oktobor has appointed Bruce Everett as its new general manager. And his first task? Announcing a few more appointments, of course.