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Digital Media FX - The Power of Imagination

Digital Media FX Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 5 - May 15, 2001

Table of Contents:

(1) Welcome Message
(2) Tomb Raider Score Nightmares
(3) Final Fantasy Edited After Negative Screening Comments
(4) Shrek's Four Million Dollar Edit
(5) Top News Stories of the Past Two Weeks
(6) Digital Media FX Opens Shrek Movie Site

Welcome Message
Welcome to the fifth issue of the Digital Media FX (dFX) newsletter, covering the world of animation and visual effects. This newsletter is published on the 1st and 15th of each month with original animation/FX content, insider news, and sneak peeks at new dFX features.

This issue contains some interesting tidbits on Tomb Raider, Shrek and Final Fantasy along with a sneak peek at Jim Hill's newest column. Enjoy!. -- Joe Tracy

Tomb Raider Score Nightmares
(by digitalmediafx.com) One of the major battles surrounding June 15's Tomb Raider release didn't take place in the film - it took place behind the scenes.

Michael Kamen, who had been hired to produce the score for Tomb Raider, was let go at the last minute and replaced by Graeme Revell. Kamen is a well-known composer who produced scores for movies like X-Men, The Iron Giant, and all the Lethal Weapon movies to name a few. Insiders state that the change was, in part, due to poor communication between the directors/producers and Kamen over delivery times of test scores and delivery of feedback on the test scores.

Because Revell was just hired on a few weeks ago (late April), he has been given only 14 days to complete 100 minutes of music for Tomb Raider, including the orchestra recording sessions in London! With such little time, it is likely that some of the music will be synthesized.

In the past, Revell has helped score films like Titan A.E., Blow, Red Planet, and Spawn.

The Tomb Raider soundtrack, coming out June 5, will feature rock songs from various artists. According to Amazon.com, there will be two versions of the soundtrack sold - one with explicit lyrics and one without. There are no score selections on the soundtrack and it is unknown at this time if Revell's last minute score will ever be released on CD.

The visual effects in Tomb Raider were accomplished by The Mill, which won an Academy Award for "Best Visual Effects" with last year's Gladiator movie.

Paramount Pictures is cutting the distribution of Tomb Raider very close. Tomb Raider is one month away, without a score, and still pending a rating by the Motion Picture Association of America. The score must still be edited into the film and the film duplicated for over 2,500 theaters and mailed to theaters, arriving in time for the June 15 launch.

Final Fantasy Edited After Negative Screening Comments
(by digitalmediafx.com) Square Pictures has edited at least six segments in Act 3 of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within after a test screening three months ago brought some negative comments and criticism. Square Pictures assures, however, that the edits have in no way altered the plot of the film.

While Shrek is currently enjoying the media spotlight for its animation realism, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within will soon dominate the news for its photorealistic characters and for having one of the longest realistic kisses ever between two animated characters.

The premiere for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is scheduled for July 9, only two days prior to the July 11 nationwide release.

Shrek's Four Million Dollar Edit
(by digitalmediafx.com) A major decision had to be made during the production of Shrek that cost DreamWorks $4 million dollars - a move the company fully supported. The change was a request by Mike Myers to alter the voice he had already recorded for the character Shrek to a voice with a Scottish accent.

Myers told The New York Post that he was surprised when DreamWorks approved the request because DreamWorks had to throw out all the character animation of Shrek in order to match the revised soundtrack, costing the company about $4 million.

"Jeffrey Katzenberg told me that this had never been done before in the history of animation," Myers told the Post.

Top News Stories of the Past Two Weeks
(digitalmediafx.com) Digital Media FX is updated 365 days a year including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. If you don't visit daily you may have missed some important news. Here is a list of what we consider the top five news stories (in order of importance) of the past two weeks, including links to each story.

1. DreamWorks Announces New Animated Movie Productions

2. Cartoon Network Bans Select Bugs Bunny Cartoons!

3. Monsters, Inc. Testing Better than Toy Story in Screenings!

4. Radio Disney - "No Shrek Ads"

5. Museum to Auction Mickey Mouse Drawings on Saturday

Sneak Peek - Jim Hill's New Column
(by digitalmediafx.com) As a subscriber to the dFX Animation and FX newsletter, you are being granted advanced access to Jim Hill's newest column - "The Write Stuff".

You can access the article - 24 hours before it is announced on the Digital Media FX Website - by clicking here.

Thank you for being a part of the Digital Media FX team through your daily visits to www.digitalmediafx.com. I hope that you've enjoyed this third edition of the Digital Media FX newsletter and I look forward to providing you with continued coverage of the animation and visual effects industries.

Best Wishes,

Joe Tracy, Publisher
Digital Media FX - The Power of Imagination

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