As the studio leading 360 VR animation, Baobab Studios creates films designed to inspire wonder. The team of top drawer animators is on a mission. They plan to inspire dreams while opening new visionary worlds filled with lovable characters and the chance to become part of their stories. Baobab Studios is VR innovation at its very best.
1. INVASION! is the top downloaded VR app
INVASION! won a 2017 Daytime Emmy for ”Outstanding Interactive”. INVASION! Stars Ethan Hawke, and it has won a significant amount of critical acknowledgement. So much, in fact, that it’s going to made into a Hollywood feature film. Roth Kirschenbaum Films will create the adaptation. They’re the folks known for Snow White and the Huntsman, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, and maleficent.
This hugely popular 360 VR animation short, starring its adorable bunny rabbit and a riot of oddly clumsy aliens, quickly captured fans. It’s hard to not like the aliens. Even though they gnash their teeth and use energy rays to rearrange their problems, they’re cute. So is the white bunny, whose huge black eyes say it all.
2. Baobab Studios has raised $31M from investors.
In truth, $25 million USD came from a second funding round, including Twentieth Century Fox, LDV Partners, Evolution Media Partners and their backers CAA and TPG, Youku Global Media Fund, and Shanghai Media Group. The first round, original investors included Samsung, Comcast Ventures, Horizons Ventures and HTC; all of which joined the newcomers on the second round.
3. ASTEROIDS! debuted at the Sundance Film Festival 2017.
It premiered at the prestigious film festival and was also a Cannes Film Festival selection. At the Unity Vision Conference, it won the award for Best VR Experience, too. The 360 VR stars Mac and Cheez, along with their robot pal Peas. The trio of aliens bumble their way through an adventure in outer space, encountering wild asteroids and silly space bugs.
4. Rainbow Crow is an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival 2017.
It also premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. It stars John Legend, Constance Wu, and Diego Luna. What makes Rainbow Crow different is its profuse use of brand new technologies and colorful artwork. The team has captured the beauty of traditional animation within the 360 VR world.
5. Rainbow Crow’s lead character is voiced by John Legend.
Directors said that Legend brought his musicality, dedication to long work hours, and his “cool and suave” voice. He’s said to have been constantly willing to work in the studio, aptly creating the dynamic and engaging voice of the lead. It’s difficult to act when the studio’s surroundings do not show the animated world. But, Legend was tireless, and the results show in the finished product.
The Baobab executive team includes stellar, industry experts:
- CEO Maureen Fan, collaborative leader
Fan is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard. She was vice president at Zynga, overseeing the FarmVille sequels and three game studios. She worked on Toy Story 3 with Pixar, and collaborated with directors Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi on “The Dam Keeper”.
- CCO Eric Darnell, masterful storyteller
Darnell is a 25-year-veteran directing computer animation. His directing and screenwriting skills most recently were evident in all of the four Madagascar films, and was the executive producer of The Penguins of Madagascar. He directed Antz for DreamWorks Animation. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and The California Institute of the Arts.
- CS Michael Hutchinson, artist and technician
Hutchinson was the technical lead at DreamWorks Animation. He holds dual degrees in character animation and computer science from Southern Adventist University
- CTO Larry Cutler, veteran narrative technologist
Cutler was technical director for Pixar’s Monsters Inc. and Toy Story 2, is a co-founder of DigiPro, and a judge for the Technical Achievement Awards of the Academy Awards. He’s worked as Global Head of Character Tech for DreamWorks Animation and Pixar Animation Studios as Technical Director for A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2. He’s a graduate of Stanford University, with undergraduate and master’s degrees in Computer Science.
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