Cycles (WDAS Short)

[Sotiris]

Bao has been added to the Disney Awards site but not Cycles. I guess it's probably not eligible since it hasn't premiered or been shown on a normal theatre screen, is that right?

When it comes to shorts, they don't need to be screened in commercial theaters like features do. To qualify they just need to be screened at AMPAS-approved film festivals. Cycles has only been screened so far at Siggraph, which is a tech conference, not a film festival, and at the New York Film Festival which is not included in the Academy's festival list. That's why it's ineligible.

[D82]

^Thanks for clearing it up for me. I got it mixed up with the rules for feature films. Could it be eligible for a nomination next year if it's screened at one of the film festivals approved by the Academy?

[Sotiris]

Could it be eligible for a nomination next year if it's screened at one of the film festivals approved by the Academy?

I believe so. It can become eligible at any time as long as two years haven't passed since its completion. Of course, getting screened at a qualifying film fest isn't the only way to secure eligibility. It can also qualify by being screened at a commercial theater in LA county for seven consecutive days.

[D82]

It can become eligible at any time as long as two years haven't passed since its completion. Of course, getting screened at a qualifying film fest isn't the only way to secure eligibility. It can also qualify by being screened at a commercial theater in LA county for seven consecutive days.

Thanks for answering my question! I didn't know all that before, it's really interesting. Of course, we don't know if the short is good or not, or if it has any chance of being nominated, but it would be great if Disney gave it an opportunity. Anyway, what I really want is that it gets released to the general public in some way and that it doesn't suffer the same fate as Glago's Guest.

[Sotiris]

Anyway, what I really want is that it gets released to the general public in some way and that it doesn't suffer the same fate as Glago's Guest.

I still don't understand why Glago's Guest was buried the way it was. It's not simply because they don't care about it or it's not on their radar like some other shorts that got a similar treatment such as Red Riding Hood Redux or Fun with Mr. Future. They're actively and intentionally hiding it from the public, evident in its peculiar omission from the WDAS shorts collection. The short doesn't appear to include anything controversial, so it's even more puzzling as to why they're so unwilling to release it.

[D82]

^Yes, it's really strange. I also wonder why they're hiding it from the public.

[Sotiris]

One studio that’s decided to stay out of the awards fray with its first VR short is Disney. Its “Cycles” follows a family over 60 years in their home. “Cycles” was pitched by lighting artist Jeff Gipson as a VR project from the outset. “The studio never said, ‘Hey, let’s make a VR short,’” “We didn’t have a pipeline set up to create it, so we kind of created it on the fly,” says Gipson, whose team created the film in just four months.

The film premiered a Siggraph and the studio has no plans as yet to offer a 2D version for awards consideration. “I think there’s a lot of excitement, seeing how audiences have connected with it,” Gipson says. “Now it’s raising the question, ‘What does it mean for the company?’ Even from the marketing standpoint, we’re all just figuring it out as we go. We’re on this road, breaking into this new frontier for the studio.”

Source: https://variety.com/2018/film/spotlight ... 203086747/

It’s kind of surreal, really, because of the history here at Disney and the kind of innovation we’ve done at the studio—even thinking back to Walt Disney himself. To carry on that tradition and to do something for the first time was just awesome. It was a challenge, to be sure, because we had to create a pipeline to actually make the film. For a feature film, we start with storyboarding, then we do our visual development and design the characters and the world, and then we have to create the 3D assets, the models, the textures, and the rigs that allow the animators to animate the actual characters. Then we have to light and render it. But the process for creating a virtual reality film is much different. We used a little bit of that existing process, but for the most part we had to figure out how to translate that workflow for real time, how to use a game engine to create a film.

Looking back, I don’t remember the hard parts; I just remember the good parts. Pitching the story, going through problem solving with the team, showing ‘Cycles’ to our executives and sharing their excitement about what virtual reality could mean for us and the studio… It was the first time I had directed at Disney Animation, so I had the extra pressure of I can’t believe I’m directing at this studio and wanting to do something really great, while balancing [the task of] figuring out how we actually do this. That’s what so great about this studio. The leadership gave us the space to solve those challenges and the trust to create what we wanted to do.

Source: https://news.ucdenver.edu/from-denver-t ... -frozen-2/

[Rumpelstiltskin]

About Glago's Guest, Wikipedia links to the following article that says the short wasn't a success amongst the test audience, so it was decided to replace it with John Lasseter's Tokyo Mater instead.

"Tokyo Mater" Replaced "Glago's Guest"

Disney Animation was originally going to place the Chris Williams short "Glago's Guest" before Bolt when it debuted in theatres.

However, the short was believed to have not tested well with audiences and so Bolt was on its own when it hit theatres on November 21st.

Except from the 2-D theatres it seems.

And while it would have been interesting to watch Cycles too, the trend at both Pixar and Disney these last years have been about some important life lessons and social realism and all that. I think I prefer shorts that don't take themselves too seriously, and focus on creative fun, old school stuff or interesting sci-fi concepts like in Glago's Guest (or is it interesting? Guess we will never know).

[D82]

One studio that’s decided to stay out of the awards fray with its first VR short is Disney. Its “Cycles” follows a family over 60 years in their home. “Cycles” was pitched by lighting artist Jeff Gipson as a VR project from the outset. “The studio never said, ‘Hey, let’s make a VR short,’” “We didn’t have a pipeline set up to create it, so we kind of created it on the fly,” says Gipson, whose team created the film in just four months.

The film premiered a Siggraph and the studio has no plans as yet to offer a 2D version for awards consideration. “I think there’s a lot of excitement, seeing how audiences have connected with it,” Gipson says. “Now it’s raising the question, ‘What does it mean for the company?’ Even from the marketing standpoint, we’re all just figuring it out as we go. We’re on this road, breaking into this new frontier for the studio.”

Source: https://variety.com/2018/film/spotlight ... 203086747/

I hope Disney offers a 2D version for awards consideration for next year's awards, or at least makes the short available to the public somehow.

About Glago's Guest, Wikipedia links to the following article that says the short wasn't a success amongst the test audience, so it was decided to replace it with John Lasseter's Tokyo Mater instead.

"Tokyo Mater" Replaced "Glago's Guest"

Disney Animation was originally going to place the Chris Williams short "Glago's Guest" before Bolt when it debuted in theatres.

However, the short was believed to have not tested well with audiences and so Bolt was on its own when it hit theatres on November 21st.

Thanks for the info, Rumpelstiltskin. I wonder why it didn't test well with audiences. Does it not have a happy ending, perhaps?

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Hard to say since nothing is known about the short. There are people who have seen it, and there are many who have made it. But somehow this information never reach the public. Perhaps Disney makes them sign a contract where they agree not to give anything from the short away.

(And I think it was supposed to be 3D-theatres, not 2D)

Pulling it just because the test audience didn't like it doesn't make sense. It is not a feature, it is a short shown before the actual movie. It's not like the audience will leave the theatre if they don't like the short, or warn others about it. I have never heard about anyone who lost interest in a feature because of some bad reputation regarding a short. I don't know if Glago's Guest is any good, but even the short teaser I have seen is a lot better then certain complete shorts, like the very boring Boundin' (I don't mean to insult those who made it or who like it, but it is really not my cup of tea).

[D82]

Pulling it just because the test audience didn't like it doesn't make sense. It is not a feature, it is a short shown before the actual movie. It's not like the audience will leave the theatre if they don't like the short, or warn others about it.

I agree. Well, it's also possible that the short was too scary for children or something like that. Then it would make more sense it was replaced.

[Sotiris]

Cycles has been nominated for three VES awards.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project

Age of Sail
Cycles
Dr. Grordbort's Invaders
God of War
Marvel's Spider-Man

Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project

Cycles; Rae
Lost in Space; Humanoid
Marvel's Spider-Man; Doc Ock
Nightflyers; All That We Have Found; Eris

Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

Cycles; The House
Lost in Space; Pilot; Impact Area
The Deuce; 42nd St
The Handmaid's Tale; June; Fenway Park
The Man in the High Castle; Reichsmarschall Ceremony

[D82]

I'm glad the short was nominated to something. Maybe that encourages Disney to submit it to next year's Oscars.

[Sotiris]

New poster spotted at the Sundance Film Festival.


Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/BtKQDHelCA5 ... ahmoviemom

[Sotiris]

The director of Cycles is making another VR short for WDAS which may feature pre-existing Disney characters.

Disney greenlights 'top secret' VR short film project
https://www.cnet.com/news/disney-has-gr ... ce-cycles/

[D82]

Nice poster. I wonder what pre-existing characters will be featured in the new VR short. Maybe Donald? Goofy and Mickey have had new shorts in recent years (How to Hook Up Your Home Theater and Get A Horse, respectively), but not Donald. Now, it could be his turn.