Blue Sky Story Artist Nominated for Annie Award

Feature: Page (1) of 1 - 08/24/01

Blue Sky Story Artist Nominated for Annie Award By DMN Staff Writer

With a mission to corner the lucrative outer-world dry cleaning business, George Jefferson dons a Trekkie-inspired space suit and wings Louise, Florence, and the family into space, thus begins a 2D-animated spoof of the long-running TV show The Jeffersons for Nick-at-Nite.

The piece, created by writer/producer Adam Idelson, earned the promo team, which included Blue Sky Story Artist Dan Shefelman, an Annie Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in An Animated Special Project.

Styled after '70s cel-animated cartoons, "Weezie" and the cast trade insults, as the voiceover touts the all new animated spin-off Jeffersons? Starship. After an asteroid disaster wipes out the cast, however, the VO advises, Stick with the Original.

Shefelman, who directed and designed the spot with color designer Tom Daly, said the hardest thing about the spoof was making it look bad.

We wanted to parody old-style, low-budget cartooning by using very limited motion, and stiff poses. We really pushed it so that it fit the genre, even digitally adding film dirt and scratches to make it look old. But its low-tech look had some basis in reality. It was literally produced in a garage, Shefelman said laughing.

He and Daly worked on supped-up Macs in Shefelman?s converted studio, and although the animation looks like cel, it was digital animation that was scanned, inked and painted.

In addition to Shefelman, Daly and Idelson, the crew included Animator Matt Sheridan and Sound Engineer Jim Stauffer/Clack Studio. The Annie Awards are sponsored by ASIFA Hollywood. Jeffersons? Starship also won an ASIFA East Award along with Zoe?s Zoo an animated short by Yvette Kaplan who heads up Blue Sky?s Story Department.

The 28th annual Annie Awards will be held November 11 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, Calif. Blue Sky Studios, a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, is an Oscar® award-winning animation studio that specializes in superior computer generated character animation and effects for the motion picture, television and special venue industries.

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