Blue Sky Studios
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary of 20th Century Fox[1] |
|---|---|
| Industry | CGI animation Motion pictures |
| Founded | February 1987 |
| Founder | Chris Wedge V. Gopalakrishnan |
| Headquarters | Greenwich, Connecticut, USA |
Key people | Carlos Saldanha Chris Wedge |
| Products | CGI animated films |
| Owner | News Corporation |
| Parent | 20th Century Fox |
| Website | www |
Blue Sky Studios is an American CGI-animation studio which specializes in high-resolution, computer-generated character animation and rendering. It is owned by 20th Century Fox and located in Greenwich, Connecticut. In addition to their feature-length animated films, including the Ice Age series, Robots (2005), Horton Hears a Who! (2008), and Rio (2011), Blue Sky has worked on many high-profile films, primarily in the integration of live-action with computer-generated animation.
History
1987–1997
Blue Sky was founded in February 1987 by Chris Wedge, Carl Ludwig and four other artists and technicians who had previously worked on the Disney film Tron while employed at MAGI/Synthavision.[2] Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, the studio concentrated on the production of television commercials and visual effects for film. Some of the more memorable commercials that Blue Sky worked on during this time period were a Chock Full O' Nuts spot with a talking coffee bean, and an intro for a Nickelodeon block called Nicktoons that featured the show's mascot, Nick Boy, realized as human-shaped orange goo. Using their proprietary animation pipeline, the studio produced over 200 spots for clients such as Chrysler, M&M/Mars, General Foods, Texaco, and the United States Marines.[3]
1997–present
In August 1997, 20th Century Fox's Los Angeles-based effects company, VIFX, acquired Blue Sky Studios to form Blue Sky|VIFX.[4] The new company produced visual effects for films such as The X-Files, Blade, Armageddon, Titanic and Alien Resurrection.[5] In 1998, Chris Wedge realized long unfulfilled dreams and produced the Academy Awarded animated short film, Bunny.
Due to the f/x market crash, Fox decided to leave visual effects business. In 1999, they sold VIFX to Rhythm & Hues Studios,[6] and considered selling Blue Sky next. At the time, the studio got the opportunity with the Ice Age script to turn it into a comedy. In 2002, Ice Age was released to a great critical and commercial success. The film got a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and established Blue Sky as the third studio, after Pixar and DreamWorks, to launch a successful CGI franchise.[7]
As of Monday, January 5, 2009, the studio moved from White Plains, New York to Greenwich, Connecticut.[8]
Technology
The studio is notable for its proprietary Renderer CGI Studio, a rendering software system like Pixar's RenderMan. Initially developed by Eugene Troubetzkoy, Carl Ludwig, Tom Bisogno and Michael Ferraro,[3] CGI Studio was notable for its use of ray tracing as opposed to REYES-like scanline rendering prevalent throughout the CG industry.
Filmography
Feature films
Released films
| # | Title | Release date | Budget | Gross | RT | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ice Age | March 15, 2002 | $59,000,000 | $383,257,136 | 77% | 7.4 |
| 2 | Robots | March 11, 2005 | $75,000,000 | $260,718,330 | 64% | 6.4 |
| 3 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | March 31, 2006 | $80,000,000 | $655,388,158 | 57% | 6.9 |
| 4 | Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! | March 14, 2008 | $85,000,000 | $297,138,014 | 79% | 7.2 |
| 5 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | July 1, 2009 | $90,000,000 | $886,686,817 | 45% | 7.1 |
| 6 | Rio | April 15, 2011 | $90,000,000 | $484,635,760 | 72% | 7.2 |
Upcoming films
| Title | Release date | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Age: Continental Drift | July 13, 2012 | [9] |
| Leafmen | May 24, 2013 | [10][11] |
| Rio 2 | March 2014 | [12] |
Films in development
| Title | Ref(s) |
|---|---|
| Spore | [13] |
| The Story of Ferdinand | [14] |
| Mutts | [15][16] |
TV specials
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas | November 24, 2011 |
Short films
| # | Title | Release Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bunny | 1998 | Academy Award winner |
| 2 | Gone Nutty | November 26, 2002 | Academy Award nominee |
| 3 | Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty | September 27, 2005 | |
| 4 | No Time for Nuts | November 21, 2006 | Academy Award nominee |
| 5 | Surviving Sid | December 9, 2008 | |
| 6 | Scrat's Continental Crack-up | (Part 1) December 25, 2010 (Part 2) November 16, 2011 |
Commercials
- Braun "The Last Word" (1992)
- Nicktoons "Show Open" (1993)
- Chock Full O'Nuts "Complements" (1993)
- Nestlé "Cookie Jar" (1993)
- Pepsi "Swingers" (1996)
- Rayovac "Fierce Creatures/Super Stomper" (1997)
- Target "Toys" (1998)
Contributions
- Square One Television (1987) – "Mathman" segments
- Joe's Apartment (1996) – dancing and singing cockroaches
- Alien Resurrection (1997) – the aliens
- A Simple Wish (1997) – numerous characters and special effects
- Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) – several alien creatures
- Jesus' Son (1999) – sacred heart, "liquid" glass, and screaming cotton ball effects
- Fight Club (1999) – the "sliding" penguin
- The Sopranos (2000) – the "talking fish" in the episode Funhouse
- Titan A.E. (2000) – 3D animation: creation of the new world
See also
References
- ^ "Company Info of Blue Sky Studios". Blue Sky Studios. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Dumas, Timothy (2010-10). "Animation Domination". Greenwich Magazine. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Ohmer, Susan (1997-05-01). "Ray Tracers: Blue Sky Studios". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2006-09-29.
- ^ Blue Sky/VIFX via Business Wire (1997-08-27). "VIFX and Blue Sky Studios Combine to Create Visual Effects Powerhouse; Company to be Known as Blue Sky/VIFX". AllBusiness.com. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ VFX HQ. "Blue Sky/VIFX". VFX HQ. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
- ^ The Hollywood Reporter (1999-03-03). "Rhythm & Hues Rounds Up Vifx". AllBusiness.com. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ Fritz, Ben (2008-05-02). "Fox animation soars under Blue Sky". Variety. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ Strike, Joe (2009-01-28). "Checking Out Blue Sky's New Connecticut Studio". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (2010-05-05). "Fox sets 3D 'Ice Age' sequel". Variety. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- ^ McNary, Dave (July 29, 2011). ""Leafmen," "Turbo" set for 2013 debut". Variety. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ "Leafmen". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ "Sergio Mendes says a 'Rio' sequel 'looks like it's going to happen'". Inside Movies. January 25, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ Graser, Marc (2009-10-01). "EA sets up 'Spore' at Fox". Variety. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- ^ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (2011-02-18). "Fox, Ice Age Director Bullish on The Story of Ferdinand". New York. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ Kit, Borys (July 22, 2011). "'Mutts' Comic Strip Headed to Big Screen From 20th Century Fox (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ Millero, Ralph (November 2, 2011). "Ralph Millero's Photos". Facebook. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
