Showing posts with label animation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animation. Show all posts

Friday, May 22, 2020

Episode 51: Well, Isn't that Special - Effects

our guest Webster Colcord with "friends" at Tippett Studios
All of the amazing fantasy and science fiction films that we love, with their spaceships and ray guns, monsters and aliens, couldn't exist without the talents and hard work of special effects artists. For this episode, the Planet 8 crew is joined by special effects artist and animator Webster Colcord! Webster is an industry veteran, getting his start at the Vinton Studios, doing claymation on the California Raisins. He has gone on to work on a wide range of projects, including James and the Giant Peach, Deadpool, Ted, Superman Returns, The Host, and many other genre films. Webster currently works with legendary effects artist Phil Tippett at Tippett Studios. 


We'll talk with Webster about his career, and learn about what it was like to do claymation, hear about the early days of CG effects, the beginnings of Pixar, and more! We had a lot of fun just talking with Webster and getting a lot of behind the scenes stories about different films and how some amazing effects were done -and what went wrong with a few movies! (We're looking at you Scorpion King...)



If you've ever wondered about how some of the special effects you've seen in films were made, or what it's like working in the special effects field, this is the episode for you!


For this episode, Recon Officer Karen has the Sensor Sweep and looks at a new book from author Marc Cushman. It's a continuation of his excellent These are The Voyages series, the first three volumes of which covered the first three seasons of the original Star Trek. This volume, entitled These are the Voyages: Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek in the 1970s  Volume 1 (1970 -1975). Cushman covers the years between the end of the original series up through the animated series (but prior to the first film). It includes info on the sci-fi TV films Roddenberry made, like Questor Tapes and Genesis II as well. One big surprise -Roddenberry was working on the script for a Tarzan film which never materialized! If you're a Star Trek buff, you'll want this book.

That's all for this go-round. We hope you enjoyed our look at special effects with our friend Webster. As always, we want to hear your thoughts. Leave them below in the comments, or hit us up in our social media spots:
Thanks for listening!


Sunday, September 22, 2019

Episode 35: Grab Your Cereal, It's Cartoon Time!




Hey kids! Get up, grab your cereal bowl, and join the Planet 8 crew to watch your favorite Saturday morning cartoons! We'll reminisce today about not only our favorite cartoons, but those wonderful sugary cereals as well.




Bob gives us the low down on Jonny Quest, the classic Hanna Barbera 1960s action adventure cartoon series. He'll talk about the characters, episodes, voice talent, and more. If you love Jonny Quest, you won't want to miss this.




Karen looks at a non-Saturday morning cartoon: Justice League and Justice League Unlimited that ran on the Cartoon Network originally. She describes the set up for the show, how it changed when they went to Justice League Unlimited,  and the crew discusses what they loved about this iconic super-hero animated series.



To wrap it up, Larry covers the sometimes-forgotten Star Trek series: Star Trek The Animated Series. Running in 1973 and 1974, the 22 episodes continued the original series five year voyage. We'll discuss the voice acting -by most of the original cast -and some of the more interesting stories.



Let us know some of your favorite cartoons. What kept you glued to the tube as a youngster?

For our Sensor Sweep, Larry shares a book called Star Trek: The Guide to the Animated Series by Aaron Harvey and Rich Schepis. The book is full of photos of the script pages,sketches,  interviews with the writers, and just tons of information about the planning and development of the series. The Commander highly recommends it!



Also - don't miss our big Planet 8 Listeners Appreciation Party! We'll be podcasting live at the 7 Stars Bar and Grill at 398 S. Bascom Ave, San Jose, California on October 20th starting at 1 pm. There will be a live DJ, prizes, food, and more! Come by and celebrate with the Planet 8 crew. We'd love to meet you and say thanks for listening!