Sunday, November 30, 2008

DVD Review: WALL-E

WALL-E DVD

This is one of the DVDs I bought recently. Straight off, I'll like to say that it's awesome. It's much better than the previous Ratatouille DVD.

I hesitated importing it in from Amazon since there's little difference. Amazon's version has an extra disc which contains the digital file that can be transferred onto portable media players.

Disc 1 contains extras like a complementary new short called "BURN-E". BURN-E is the robot that was trapped outside of the spaceship while trying to fix a broken bulb.

There's also Presto, an animated short about a magician and his hungry rabbit. I can tell that there's great storyboarding and the story itself is very entertaining.

Also included is a behind the scenes look into creating sound for the movie with Sound Designer Ben Burtt.

Lastly, all Pixar fans will love to know that audio commentary — this time with Director Andrew Stanton — is back. This is the part where Pixar and Disney pissed everybody off when they left it out on Ratatouille.

Disc 2 contains many bonus materials.

There's The Pixar Story by Leslie Iwerks. It's an hour and a half documentary that talks about the history of Pixar. It starts right from before Pixar's existence to the bought-over of Pixar by Disney. It's a wonderful documentary. This DVD is slightly more expensive because of the inclusion of this documentary.

The Pixar Story essentially the video version of the book To Infinity and Beyond, which I happen to have also.

And then there are multiple Making-of videos looking at how different parts of the movie was made.

There is also a clip on character testing, which put WALL-E into different situation and see how it reacts to them.

Finally, there are some deleted scenes, which contains storyboard reels and actual 3D rendered footage that were dropped. Both contains optional audio commentary from Andrew Stanton.

I really love the movie, the story and all the stuff packed into the two discs.

This DVD is highly recommended for everyone.

When prices for Blu-ray players come down further, I'll definitely be getting the Blu-ray version to watch it in HD.

You can check out more reviews on Amazon.com.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Book Review: Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars

This is a hardcover book with a dust jacket. The book is well bind and sturdy. The paper stock is low gloss and of high quality. This is a well constructed book.

The focus of this book is on the costumes for Star Wars Episode I, II and III. The amazing variety of costumes were designed by Trisha Biggar, the costume designer for Star Wars prequel trilogy.

There are more than 300 photos included. The texture of the materials and exquisite details of the designs are shown clearly with many close up photos. All the costumes are captioned by the costume department and some by the actors — Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman and others.

There are little stories on the creating the costumes, from the inspiration, designing, sourcing to execution. It's like a making-of book that focuses on costume development.

The costumes are split into different categories, and respective chapters:
  1. Jedi vs Sith
  2. Royalty
  3. Military Wear
  4. The Galactic Senate
  5. Slaves, Rogues & Bounty Hunters
  6. Padme's Journey
This book has the depth, and provides an intriguing read.



Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars

Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars

Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars

Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars

Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars

Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars

Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars

Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars

Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars

Visit the link beside to read more reviews on Amazon. If you buy from the link, I get a little commission that helps me get more art books for review.

Country-specific Amazon links for this book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.fr | Amazon.de

Check out other books reviewed on this blog, with pictures:
Art book list | Design book list

Book Review: Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

This book is an invaluable resource for any production designer. It talks about how to go about setting the style and look for animation.

This is a very practical book. While it talks on the production design process, it provides tons of examples from Disney's archive to support design concepts. There are many useful lessons, such as film analysis, visual development and research, camera rules, composition, staging and others.

There are also dedicated chapters to films where Hans Bacher talks specifically on how production design was done.

I bought this book primarily for the art but I've realised that there's more to all the art displayed. Many of the storyboards, while lacking details are visually strong because of the composition.

Every example included in the book serves to emphasis design concepts. The clear and simple explanation provides another perspective into looking at storyboards, into understanding what the scene means and how it contributes to the story.

This book is well worth the money, actually not just to production designers, but for every artist. The lessons taught are universal and can be applied in different fields if it's related to art.

Let me end with a quote from Andrea Deja, the Supervising Animator of Walt Disney Studios:

When it comes to color, composition and design, Hans is in a class by himself. Look through the pages of Dream Worlds and be inspired by Han's high standards and his art. It is a feast for the eyes.


Here's the list of chapters:
  • Film Analysis
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Visual Development and Research
  • Aladdin
  • Inspiration
  • Camera Rules
  • The Lion King
  • Composition
  • Hercules
  • Staging and Formats
  • Mulan
  • Rhythm and Style Variety
  • Lilo and Stitch
  • Value and Color
  • Brother Bear
  • Unfinished Disney Projects
  • Own Projects
  • The Masters — Bambi



Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation

Visit the link beside to read more reviews on Amazon. If you buy from the link, I get a little commission that helps me get more art books for review.

Country-specific Amazon links for this book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.fr | Amazon.de

Check out other books reviewed on this blog, with pictures:
Art book list | Design book list

Luke Skywalker from Sideshow Collectibles

Here are some photos of Luke Skywalker from Sideshow Collectibles

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker from Sideshow Collectibles is available on sale at Amazon.com. You can check out more details on Amazon.

Do note that prices vary with each reseller so be sure to compare prices before purchasing.

Aayla Secura from Sideshow

Here are some photos of Aayla Secura from Sideshow Collectibles.

Aayla Secura from Sideshows Collectibles

Aayla Secura from Sideshows Collectibles

Aayla Secura from Sideshows Collectibles

Aayla Secura from Sideshows Collectibles

Aayla Secura from Sideshows Collectibles

Aayla Secura from Sideshows Collectibles

Aayla Secura from Sideshows Collectibles

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Indiana Jones From Sideshow Collectibles

Some photos of Indiana Jones from Sideshow Collectibles.

Thanks to Kelvin Chan for providing Indy for the photo shoot.

Indiana Jones Model from Sideshow

Indiana Jones Model from Sideshow

Indiana Jones Model from Sideshow

Indiana Jones Model from Sideshow

Indiana Jones Model from Sideshow

Indiana Jones Model from Sideshow

Indiana Jones Model from Sideshow

This model is available for sale on Amazon. You can check out more details at Amazon.com.

Prices vary wildly even among resellers. Do look around the Internet to compare prices before purchasing.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Iron Man Statue from Kotobukiya

This is the Iron Man Statue from Kotobukiya.

It has a great pose and the build is strong and sturdy. The level of mechanical detail is very high. The colours from the metallic paint reproduced very well. The statue is made from cold-cast porcelain and has a very satisfying weight to it.

There are lights in the eyes, arms and chest, which can be turned on with those AA batteries.

Iron Man: Fine Art Statue 1/6 Scale

Iron Man: Fine Art Statue 1/6 Scale

Iron Man: Fine Art Statue 1/6 Scale

Iron Man: Fine Art Statue 1/6 Scale

Iron Man: Fine Art Statue 1/6 Scale

Iron Man: Fine Art Statue 1/6 Scale

Iron Man: Fine Art Statue 1/6 Scale

Iron Man: Fine Art Statue 1/6 Scale

This Iron Man statue is available for sale on Amazon. You can check out more details on Amazon.com.

Prices vary wildly even for different resellers on Amazon. Be sure to check out the prices, and for the correct Iron Man edition, before purchasing.