'Not all is black or white'

Given that our next feature film centers around a zebra called, Khumba, we were chuffed to find out that the The World for All Foundation has chosen the African Zebra as a symbol of reconciliation in South Africa's peaceful transition from apartheid into a democratic, multicultural society. As part of their Zebra Campaign, sculptures of all shapes, sizes and colours are now springing up all over Cape Town! Pin It

Zambezia goes to Hollywood!

“Everyone contributed to some awesome new moments and jokes that weren't in the script. I love my job!” – Wayne Thornley (Director)

Photo (left to right): Todd Edwards, Wayne Thornley, Jim Cummings, Stuart Forrest, Ned Lott.

Zambezia director, Wayne Thornley and producer, Stuart Forrest spent a whirlwind week in Hollywood with our US voice and casting director Ned Lott, drinking Starbucks coffee, recording voices, drinking Starbucks coffee with our sales agent, drinking Starbucks coffee….well, you get the picture. But they did put that coffee buzzzz to good use and returned home with voice recordings of all our major characters in the bag!

Todd Edwards (co-writer/director of Hoodwinked) who did a comedy pass on the script along with his brother Cory, was also in the recording studio so it was great to have another set of ears in the mix.

Photo: Jeremy Suarez as 'Kai'.

Photo: 'Like father, like son' - Jeremy Suarez and Phil Lamarr

Jeremy Suarez who starred as Koda in Disney’s ‘Brother Bear’ delivered a great performance playing the part of our hero Kai. We are thrilled to also have on board the extremely talented and experienced Jim Cummings voice the role of Budzo. Jim has a host of movies under his belt – most recently as the Cajun firefly, Ray in ‘The Princess and the Frog’. Phil Lamarr whose voice acting skills have landed him roles in ‘Futurama’ and ‘Family Guy’ to name a few, voiced Kai's father, Tendai.

Photo: Jim Cummings transforms into the diabolical 'Budzo'.

Indonesian-born actress, Tania Gunadi who is the voice of a cute, weaver called Tini and British actor, David Shaughnessy who plays the part of Morton, a scavenging Marabou stork, both delivered fantastic performances.

Photo: Tania Gunadi as 'Tini'....how can you resist that smile?

Photo: David Shaughnessy as 'Morton', the scavenging Marabou stork.

Last but not least we recorded the larger-than-life, Jenifer Lewis who was Flo in ‘Cars’ and Madame Odie in ‘The Princess and The Frog’. And she is perfect for the role of Gogo, the loony old stork who comes crashing into Kai’s world!

 Photo: Jenifer Lewis as the irrepressible 'Gogo'! Pin It

Local animation goes global!

For most South Africans, 2010 is a landmark year because for the first time in soccer history, an African country is hosting the World Cup. But for those of us working in and building the South African animation industry, we hope that 2010 will also be remembered as the year that local animation entered the world stage. For the first time in the history of SA’s animation industry, a collection of local work will be presented to an international audience at the Animu Mundi festival in Brazil.

As representatives of Animation SA, Triggerfish has been responsible for selecting and putting the local program together. This collection of animation from South Africa is the first of its kind and highlights the growth of this fledgling industry which is producing a variety of cutting-edge and commercial work from music videos and short films, to advertisements and 3D feature films.

In addition to Triggerfish's stop-frame clip Chicken Soccer, this compilation of quirky music videos, diverse short films, and cutting-edge commercials showcases some of South Africa's finest animation and features the diversity in style and aesthetic of our home-grown industry. From the work of internationally acclaimed artist William Kentridge, to Mike Scott's wacky music video for jazz-electro duo Goldfish to Jacquie Trowell's reflective, Golden Bear-nominated 'Beyond Freedom', as well as the multiple award-winning Public Service Announcement, 'The Rubbish Monster' by Braam Jordaan. Pin It

Meet.....the CG Generalist (Ivan van der Heever)

Before Ivan joined Triggerfish to work on Zambezia, he studied at The Animation School. As a CG generalist, he is our Can-Do-Man who, in his own words, “does a bit of everything”. Gaming got him interested in CG at a young age and since then he has continued to be inspired by animation and movies. Ivan says that the animated character he most identifies with is Billy from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy because there is a lot more to him even though he may seem absent minded and random at times.

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Meet.....the Technical Director (Sandy Sutherland)

“I guess I identify most with Wily E. Coyote from Road Runner as so many times plans have backfired on me!!”

Before Sandy joined the Zambezia team to head up the Technical and Rigging Department, he was the Lead Technical Director at Blackginger so it’s been a fantastic to have someone with his experience and knowledge on board. His department also doubles as the Effects team which means that in addition to dealing with the crucial issue of feathers, Sandy is also at the helm of the crew that will be creating all the water, rain and clouds in the film. Sandy studied Computer Science in Edinburgh and, as a dedicated H.O.D, aspires to be effective in providing his team of animators with the tools to perform at their best. “Most of my influences are the big animated/effects movies and the one I found most inspirational recently was 'How to Train your Dragon'.

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Wat sê julle mense?

Last week Triggerfish gave a presentation on the process of animation to the members of MENSA South Africa.  MENSA is an international society that provides a forum for intellectual exchange among members and this was part of a talk that takes place every month. 

rough concept sketch by Allan Cameron 

Anthony, creative producer and partner of Triggerfish spoke about what it takes to get an idea from concept to screen as well as the (many) processes involved in bringing 3D characters to life. 

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Beat the Beak

The Zambezia team came 'beak-to-beak' in this week's 'Beat the Beak' competition. It wasn't pretty....but there was no doubt that Hayley was the deserving winner.

Matt is a carnivorous bird of some sort - he searches for his victim....

...and finds one. Nikki just stands by while Andrew is devoured.

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Meet.....the Triggerfish All-Star (Remi)

“Seeing the final modelled character come to life is a feeling like no other”.

Remi first joined the Triggerfish team as an intern in 2006 and after 6 months it was clear that we could never let him leave.  He is our resident all-rounder with a talent for character design, storyboarding, animation, modelling and texturing which means he often gets pulled in different directions amongst the various departments.  Remi did a one-year course in 3D modelling and animation at Prestige Academy and it’s been inspiring to see him develop to his full potential over the last five years he has been with the studio. He finds the process of storyboarding a script particularly exciting as well as the challenges that come with character design.  Animation classics from Walt Disney to the Warner Brothers’ Looney tunes have been influential on his work with his favourite character being Donald Duck. “Sometimes I can be really clumsy and really put my foot in it. Often I walk away from a Donald Duck cartoon with a great sense of happiness. I feel that I want people to feel the same happiness and satisfaction after being in my presence.”

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Meet.........the Lighting Artist (Kenosi Modise)

“I love Kung-fuuuuuuu!”

Kenosi originally studied Fine Arts at the Vaal University of Technology before being snapped up by a government-funded internship with Anamazing in Johannesburg. He started out working in animation but quickly moved on to texturing and lighting which he felt more comfortable with. Before joining the Triggerfish team, Kenosi worked at Clockwork Zoo. Disney classics like 'Jungle Book' and 'Pinocchio' are among his early influences with Pixar being his inspiration for 3D animated films. The character he identifies with most is Po from 'Kung-fu Panda'.

Check out his showreel here Pin It

School's Out

The 3rd year students from The Animation School recently had some time off from their studies in order to visit the Triggerfish studios where many of the School's past pupils are employed.

Just remember, you're going to need more than a great showreel to get into Triggerfish - we are protected by ADT, after all :) 

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Meet.......the surface artist, animator (Greg Murray)

“Travelling is usually when I feel most alive and independent....this then hopefully translates into confidence, spontaneity and inspiration!”

Greg has managed to squeeze in a number of Triggerfish projects in between surf trips to Indonesia, visiting his girlfriend in Holland and ...uh, making a bench before joining the crew working on Zambezia. He started off doing texturing but he is now part of the animation team. His small-town upbringing has had a lasting influence on him and he is particularly inspired by traditional photography and people who are honest. What he enjoys most about working in the animation industry is learning about the subtleties of movement because, for Greg, they evoke a "feeling" in the viewer, instead of being exclusively visual. Greg says that if Bill Murray in "The Life Aquatic" was an animated character he would like to identify with him, but he thinks he’s usually more of a "Shaggy" from Scooby Doo.

Check out his photography and showreel! Pin It

Farewell Laurence Mitchell

Last night, members of the Cape Town Film and Animation industries bid their farewells to Laurence Mitchell who has been a champion of our industry during his time at the Cape Film Commission.

Caricature by Daniel Clarke

To Laurence Mitchell who has tirelessly promoted the animation industry in the Western Cape and helped ensure that Cape Town is the animation capital of Southern Africa - thank you!! Your continued support and belief in us at Triggerfish and your constant enthusiasm for our work has been an inspiration to us all.   

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