Atheum's Way has been selected by the 2015 New York City Independent FIlm Festival. Last year "Black Raven" was also selected by this festival so we are proud to be screening there 2 years in a row. Maybe this time Atheum's Way will take it out.
The Barefoot Bandits /
If it seems like it's been quite from our end in recent times, It is because I have been working over the past year for an animation studio called "Mukpuddy" on a new animated TV Series called "The Barefoot Bandits". Check out their Facebook here
I am on the project as their lead compositor. There are 10 Episodes to do this season and we've just started the 4th and 5th episodes. Each episode ranges between 7 - 12 scenes and each scene can have anywhere between 5 - 40 shots. So a lot of composting to do and I am mainly working in After Effects. The team on board is a crack crew of hot shot flash animators who have been slugging it out with me and needless to say, it's looking pretty sweet. I'd say from my own knowledge of the NZ animation industry it will be one of the most dynamic and entertaining 2d animations to come out Aotearoa. As you can see in this accurate pie chart below, the show is mainly compromised of these elements...
Barefoot Bandits Ingredients
The show stars the voice talents of Temuera Morrison and Rhys Darby. It is a colorful family adventure series that follows the exploits of Kiwi kids on a small island. The little known island of Ngaro has long held many a mystery, though this fact has been largely unnoticed by the quiet townsfolk that call it home. That is until Tane, Fridge and Riley, who call themselves The Barefoot Bandits, take it upon themselves to investigate all the secrets the island has to offer.
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF RHYS AND TEMUEARA FLEXING THEIR VOICES
Tane, Fridge and Riley - the Barefoot Bandits.
Although primarily a 2d animation. We have been adding a lot of depth effects and camera moves usually reserved for 3d animation. There are a few 3d elements as well giving the show that zing of things to come. Join their Facebook page to follow the progress and keep an eye out for it in 2016. Its gonna be
Black Raven's Finale /
Black Raven has come to the end of its international festival circuit with Barcelona being its final screening. Over all Black Raven was screened at 16 international festivals, Winning Best Video at 4 of them, and gaining 5 other accolades. Thanks to State of Mind and our team once again for making this a reality, your hard work was a journey full of stories reflected by its festival success. Its been 2 years since its completion, its now time for our latest project Atheum's Way to take over with its first International screening being at Siggraph LA this august.
Deathgasm NZ Premier /
A Film I worked on last year as 2nd Unit Director is having its New Zealand Premier this Friday. Deathgasm is Written and Directed by Jason Howden - "Two metal heads unleash a satanic riff that opens the gates of hell in this blood-splattered, heavy shredding comedy-horror."
It was a pleasure working with this awesome crew and I am seriously looking forward to seeing it and posting a review here. It's already screened internationally having its premier at SXSW. Buy your tickets now and come join the Brutalness. http://www.nziff.co.nz/2015/auckland/deathgasm/
Here is one of my shots to lookout for (the whole sequence is mega fun).
The Mecha Genesis /
Some more characters towards my IP "The Mecha Genesis". Finished the line work on this trio of transhuman mecha-punks. Will experiment with colour and shading one day.
Atheum's Way Heads to Siggraph 2015 /
I am proud to announce that Atheum's Way has been selected to screen at the 2015 Siggraph conference in LA, arguably the largest animation festival on the planet. We were also selected to present as part of their "Dailies" segment - "Whereas most SIGGRAPH content is focused on new techniques for creating images, SIGGRAPH Dailies! is focused on the imagery itself and the stories of the artists who created it."
"The SIGGRAPH conference and exhibition is a five-day interdisciplinary educational experience including a three-day commercial exhibition that attracts hundreds of exhibitors from around the world. SIGGRAPH is widely recognized as the most prestigious forum for the publication of computer graphics research."
3d World features Oliver Hilbert /
3d World recently did a write up on Oliver Hilbert from the Media Design School, my face manage to sneak in there. Check his work out. Oliver and I have frequently collaborated on various projects some which you can view on our site.
I was Director of Photography on the short film "Escargore". Directed by Oliver HIlbert at the MDS. Looking forward to seeing this one.
Welcome to the new Sakowski Studios /
Sakowski Studios has had a much needed website update. With new content and a new cleaner layout that works across all devices. It's been a busy month, with attending the Canadian Film Festival in Vancouver, visiting Zoic Studios, presenting at Chromacon arts festival and finishing up the Making of Atheum's Way, I can finally move on to the next project!
Black Raven will soon be coming to the end of its festival circuit with a trail of awards behind it. Taking over from Black Raven will be Atheum's Way. After many hours of work I have launched our making of page. Click on the image to go to our new page.
What next? Well after spending some considerable time working on Atheum's Way I have decided that its time to focus on my own films. I have a short, high-concept Sci-Fi script that I have written titled "Black Box" which will be my next film project. On top of this I recently got the final ingredient I needed to write my first feature script. This script is part of my Mecha Genesis Saga and will probably take some time to develop, but the ingredients are there and the chef is working on it.
I also plan to complete my 100 characters. I'm up to 60 right now and will soon be making more, revising the story, and hopefully publishing some copies in the future. All in the mean time I have been working at Mukpuddy Animation compositing their new animated TV show and watching all the entires flow in from across the globe to our festival The Vision Feast.
Thanks to all those in the past few months who have helped me get this far; my parents, my patient girlfriend who waited as I said "this tweak will only take 10 minutes" a million times - Love you bae. To all the artists who have contributed to these recent projects, Troy, Linhan, Liam, Loic, Jesse and James, I thank you, as Sakowski Studios is not just me, It's a whole team of people helping helping manifest my visions; and there are plenty of vision to come.
Aleksander
