Find out how Double Negative created a battle sequence between skeletons and invisible creatures in Tim Burton's latest film.
The post ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’ Goes For the Harryhausen Touch appeared first on Cartoon Brew.
The two companies combine staffs into a worldwide workforce numbering over 525 artists.
Today, it's all about the letter "D" and I'm thrilled to profile Double Negative! The adventure continues and I'm over the moon to host The Muffin Commando Squad's fearless leader, C. Lee McKenzie.
Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Hutchinson McQueen is a big time loser. Trapped in a dysfunctional family, his one thought is escape, but everything he does to get away lands him in trouble.
Shackled by poor reading skills, he squeaks through classes with his talent for eavesdropping and memorizing what he hears. When he shoplifts and lands in juvenile detention, the court sentences him to a county youth program. There he meets the priest and Maggie, a retired teacher. They’re determined to set Hutch on a path leading away from trouble. Hutch is determined not to cooperate.
It isn’t until he’s facing serious charges that he confronts the truth—his own bad choices are trapping him. When he's offered the freedom he craves, all he has to do is take it.
Rave Review:
I could tell within pages that this book was pure genius and it only became more apparent the deeper I was pulled into the story. I devoured it as quickly as I could… and now it’s over! :( I wish there was some way that it could be a series, just so I could have more! I have already been perusing the author’s other works, debating over which one to read next.
The best part about this book was the progression, not just of the characters, but of the writing style. It literally shifts throughout the book as Hutch grows and changes. Hutch is an easy character to root for, but only because we can see the truth of who he is from the beginning. I can easily imagine how hard it would be for anyone on the outside to get to know him, or even to give him a chance.
The secondary characters are just as amazing as Hutch, and the tenuous connections between them all in the beginning strengthen throughout the story. Nyla is probably my favorite, with her soft spoken demeanor and low self esteem. I wanted to protect and encourage her. Along with all the other misguided miscreants!
I was pleasantly surprised when this book didn’t degrade into swears, as many teens often have a tendency to fall back on that kind of language. Maybe that makes it not quite believable, since it’s not realistic to think that these kids never swear. BUT it made this book more approachable for parents, and allowed the writing style to shine.
I can’t recommend this book enough.
~ Reviewed by ltg584’s (Amazon)
Purchase Double Negative:
About C. Lee McKenzie:
I’m a native Californian who grew up in a lot of different places; then landed in the Santa Cruz Mountains where I live with my family. I write most of the time, garden, hike and do yoga a lot. I travel whenever I can. Last year I got to Amsterdam, Barbados and Burma. Next year is still in the planning stages, but Ireland and Cuba are on my list.
In my writing, I take on modern issues that today's teens face in their daily lives. My first young adult novel, Sliding on the Edge, which dealt with cutting and suicide was published in 2009. My second, titled The Princess of Las Pulgas, dealing with a family who loses everything and must rebuild their lives came out in 2010. Double Negative (2014) was my third young adult novel. Researching it turned me into a literacy advocate. My fourth YA, Sudden Secrets came out in December 2014.
When I really want to have fun, I write middle grade books. Alligators Overhead was my first published book for readers age 8-12, and the sequel, The Great Time Lock Disaster, is now out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Best wishes,Donna M. McDineMulti Award-winning Children's Author
Ignite curiosity in your child through reading!Connect with Donna McDine on Google+
A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewPowder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewHockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewThe Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist
Disney's 'Big Hero 6' and 'Feast' both won Oscars tonight.
While the Academy still hasn't released a shortlist for the visual effects category, we identify the frontrunners in this year's Oscar race.
There are big developments in the UK animation industry in the wake of a much-heralded tax break received by the British animation industry that went into effect last year. Sarah Smith, the former creative director of features at Aardman Animations, is setting up a studio named Locksmith Animation. She bills it as the UK’s "first high-end CGI feature animation studio," and it is focused on creating a long-term slate of films for worldwide distribution.
I still haven’t seen Andrew Stanton’s John Carter, but that didn’t lessen (and perhaps enhanced) my enjoyment of this nifty character animation reel put together by Emanuele Pavarotti, who worked on the film at Double Negative. Pavarotti has organized the reel nicely to give a sense of how his scenes progressed from video reference to blocking to final animation, and finally, FX/cloth/compositing passes. He even drops in comments throughout the reel to explain how certain shots evolved. Emanuele has recently been working at Blue Sky Studios on Epic and the forthcoming Rio 2.
David Carkeet, author of From Away, will appear at these upcoming events:
April 7 (Wednesday), New England Independent Booksellers Association meeting, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine
April 8 (Thursday), 7:00 p.m., Phoenix Books, Essex Shoppes and Cinema, 21 Essex Way, Essex, Vermont
April 17 (Saturday), 11:00 a.m., Kingdom Books, 283 East Village Road, Waterford, Vermont
April 24 (Saturday), Tables of Content (authors' dinner), Rutland Free Library, Rutland, Vermont; information at http://www.rutlandfree.org/.
April 26 (Monday), 7:00 p.m., discussion of Double Negative with Bear Pond Books Mystery Book Group, 77 Main St., Montpelier, Vermont
Margot Harrison of Seven Days reviews David Carkeet's From Away in the current issue: " From Away is one of those books you’ll like a lot or not at all by the time you’ve finished the first paragraph. If you like it, as I did, Middlesex author David Carkeet's novel will make you laugh. Repeatedly. Not for nothing does it come with an approving blurb from quirky-mystery king Carl Hiaasen, or another — from Publishers Weekly — that likens it to the Coen brothers’ movie Fargo. It’s a good comparison, because From Away is a lumpy but well-spiced gumbo of local color, serious drama and silliness. Like the Coen brothers, Carkeet is less interested in plots than in people and the stupid things they do: His protagonist deserves to stand beside the Dude in The Big Lebowski as a fellow with a knack for changing the tone of every situation he lands in. While From Away isn’t flawless, it’s an original, unlike anything else in its genre."