Chinese Conference Connection to WC (July 11, 2010)

[ChrisReid]

A conference on Hollywood animation was recently held in China. A variety of American experts went to Asia to discuss techniques and production processes to help spark the industry in new regions. Global Times briefly covered the event and added an odd footnote. Apparently none other than Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts was on the list of presenters, and a handful of upset participants demanded a refund when he was unable to attend. Curiouser and curiouser...

Aron Warner, the producer of the Oscar-winning cartoon feature Shrek, led a team of Hollywood producers and designers to Beijing to talk about the success of Hollywood's animation industry. Only a quarter of the anticipated number of participants signed up for the three-day course, an outcome the organizer blames on the Chinese cartoon industry being too protected to invest in learning.

...

Some students requested a 1,000-yuan ($146.40) refund after learning scheduled participant Chris Roberts, producer of Lord of War and the Wing Commander series, was unable to attend because he couldn't secure a visa, according to Tuo.

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Original update published on July 11, 2010

 

[AD]

This is a really bizarre story. When I first found it, I had to re-read it a few times to make sure I was reading it right. You have to ask why in the world they would ask Chris Roberts to come half-way around the world to do a presentation on animation... It does seem like this conference was aimed at the saturday morning serials kind of animation as opposed to the CG work on his films like the WC movie or the creature effects in Outlander (which were done by Spin Productions).

 

[t.c.cgi]

Maybe it was the animation of WC1, 2 and Privateer they were interested in. With drawn animation being transformed into 2D CG, hearing some notes on one of the first entirely computer-driven, lip synched, talking-head animations may have been inspirational.