Janimation

Janimation

Janimation logo
Type	Private company
Industry	Film Commercial Game Corporate
Founded	1993
Founder	Steve Gaconnier
Headquarters	Dallas, Texas, United States
Key people	Steve Gaconnier, CEO Mike Duffy, Executive Producer Greg Punchatz, Senior Creative Director
Products	Feature films Commercials In-Game Cinematics Corporate video/display/web
Services	CG Animation Visual Effects Motion Graphics Editorial Audio Live Action Interactive Design Print
Website	www.janimation.com

Janimation, Inc. is a production studio based in Dallas, Texas. It was co-founded in 1993 by CEO and Chief Creative Director, Stephen Gaconnier. A pioneer company, Janimation established itself in the early nineties when the digital animation and visual effects industry were both starting to emerge.

History

Steve Gaconnier and Jana Oleksinski co-founded Janimation in 1993. Throughout the late 1990s, Janimation received press for work done on animation in commercials for Universal Studios Florida. In 1998 Janimation produced its first HD cartoon short film, titled Life, which was directed by Steve Gaconnier.

In 2000, Steve Gaconnier became the sole owner of Janimation by purchasing Jana Oleksinski's stake in the company.

For Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams,^[1] Janimation's work on the movie's sea monster represented the company's first contribution to a feature film. The sea monster artwork was featured on the cover of both Production Reality and Post magazines and appeared in Avid's Softimage advertising at that time. The movie critic, Roger Ebert, gave his opinions on the special effects of the sea monster in his review of the movie.^[2] Janimation later re-teamed with Troublemaker Studios on their work for Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over in 2003.^[3]

Studio

Janimation, Dallas. This image shows what the former warehouse building used to look like before it was transformed and reconstructed into the functional turnkey animation production studio, Janimation.

In 2008, Janimation moved from its Exposition Ave. office into its new and expanded 22,000 sq. ft. studio on East Side Avenue, just north of Fair Park and east of Deep Ellum in Dallas. The studio consists of a 1250 sq. ft. sound stage with a 16-feet tall cyclorama. The studio also contains editorial, audio, and color correction production suites. The current office space was renovated from a run-down warehouse into a high-end production facility. The studio is a testament to the creative diversity of the Janimation team, as its overall design and architecture was headed by Steve Gaconnier and Janimation's artists.

Filmography

• Hugo (2011) - Visual Effects Company
• Green Lantern (2011) - Visual Effects Company
• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) - Visual Effects Company
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - Visual Effects Company
• The Visitor (2007) - Visual Effects Company^[4]

• The Ringer (2005) - Visual Effects Company^[5]
• Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) - Visual Effects Company^[6]
• Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002) - Visual Effects Company^[7]

Janimation on Internet Movie Database. ^[8]

Janimation and its artists^[9][10] have contributed visual effects for feature films or title sequences to the following films: Hugo, Green Lantern, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Legend of Santa Claus, Iron Man, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Visitor, The Ant Bully, Spy Kids 2 and Spy Kids 3D, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, The Ringer, Lilo & Stitch, The Lion King, Brother Bear, Ace Ventura, Olive, the Other Reindeer, Lonesome Dove, Coming to America, Nightmare on Elm Street, Monkeybone, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Aaagh! It's the Mr. Hell Show!, and all three Robocop films.

Gaming

In 2005, Janimation produced the award winning video game trailer to John Woo's Stranglehold. The Stranglehold trailer received praise at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

Janimation produces teasers, trailers, in-game cinematics, behind the scenes, and commercials for popular game titles.

Awards

• 2009 Addy’s, Mobius, Tele, and Clio Awards
• 2008 Lone Star Emmy for Media Project's "A Fair to Remember"^[11]
• Best of E3 for John Woo's Stranglehold trailer^[12]
• 2008 Online Media, Marketing & Advertising (OMMA) Award for "Best Video Appearing in a Banner"^[13][14]
• Big Kahuna Award for Best CG Commercial "Harrah's Closet Space"
• Featured work at AFI, Siggraph, AICP event

Cover art

• Selected for magazine cover art for
  • Screen Magazine (2x, including May 29, 2006)
  • Post Magazine (5x, including June 2012,^[15] April 2008,^[16] February 2004,^[17] and September 2002 ^[18])
  • Computer Graphics World (February 2004)
  • Boards Magazine
  • Millimeter (April 1997)
  • Production Reality

References

External links

• Janimation's official website