Category

Adult Animation

Jan 11
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Channel Frederator Network Teams with UNOMi to Bring Animation Software to Schools

By 2D Lip-Sync, Adult Animation, Avatar Creator, Lip-Syncing Techniques, Technology

Following last year’s partnership between Channel Frederator Network — the largest social media agency for animation influencers — and UNOMi to bring its 2D and 3D lip syncing tool to the CFN platform and its members, the companies are teaming up for a new initiative that will put the software into the hands of animation students.

UNOMi is a software platform tool for animators and video game developers that leverages advanced, patent-pending voice recognition and motion-capture technology to automate a lot of the most time-consuming aspects of animation production.

The voice recognition software understands human speech in multiple languages, allowing animators to easily create the speech of multiple 2D and 3D animated characters and, for some, UNOMi gives them the ability to create content on a daily basis. UNOMi’s motion-capture software gives content creators the ability to easily track human movement within their home or studio, which eliminates the need to rent expensive studio space and equipment. Large-scale animation studios will be able to drastically reduce costs allowing them to create more content in a significantly shorter amount of time.

UNOMi will also be releasing an augmented reality and VR, 3D object plugin for Adobe software which will allow users to easily implement, create and animate 3D avatars and objects quickly and easily. Each UNOMi software will be intuitive, which will eliminate a learning curve for most users.

With the help of the Channel Frederator Network, UNOMi currently has a pilot trial program with the School of Visual Arts in New York. Students and teachers are currently testing the software and using the software on current projects. UNOMi has already gained interest from Georgia State University to add to their special effects and content creation division — once UNOMi launches its motion-capture technology, they will give Georgia State a trial license.

UNOMi is headed by CEO Obi Onyejekwe, an entrepreneur and product specialist with extensive experience building digital and entertainment companies. Onyejekwe previously raised over $900,000 for the revolutionary startup Nito Inc., which was acquired by AOL, and provided large commercial and multi-media marketing expertise to Fortune 500 companies including Spike, Nickelodeon and BET.

It’s been a pleasure working with Obi to get UNOMi’s software into schools!” commented Anira O’Bannon, Channel Frederator Network’s recently hired Community Manager. “We’re hoping to continue this trend of partnering with schools/universities, as well as extending the Frederator Digital hand as an additional resource.”

Kenny Ash, VP & GM of Frederator Digital, added, “We were very impressed with Obi’s story and the product itself. Our goal is to help the animation community in and out of social media, so this is the step in the direction we’ve been working to traverse to and aligns perfectly well with our brand promise.”

getunomi.com | channelfrederatornetwork.com

Jan 11
Love0

Pixel Pirate Studio Delivers a Slam Dunk with ‘KnuckTales’

By Adult Animation, Uncategorized

L.A.-based Pixel Pirate Studio’s new animated series KnuckTales features some of the most entertaining stories from some of the world’s best-loved basketball players, as told by Knuckleheads podcast hosts and NBA veterans Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson. The show is produced in collaboration with The Players’ Tribune, a news media platform founded by Derek Jeter which produces daily sports conversation and published first-person stories from professional athletes.

Ashly Robinson, Players’ Tribune’s Head of Original Development and Production, adds, “Storytelling is at the core of everything we do, and to see those stories come to life through our collaboration with Pixel Pirate Studio has been the best introduction into the animation space for The Players’ Tribune and the Knuckleheads franchise. KnuckTales features stories from some of the best basketball players in the world as told to Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles. Pixel Pirate successfully captured the vibe and energy that is authentic to the brand and, as a result, the series has been well received by the athlete community.”

According to Onyejekwe, Players’ Tribune reached out to Pixel Pirate to produce the animated show. He explains, “We started working on the show in December. It takes about six to eight weeks to produce an episode. It gets faster after pre-production is completed. We have produced three episodes so far with goals for more to come.”

Pixel Pirate, which has worked on projects such as Sugar and Toys, Akil the Fugitive Hunter and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, used its own lip sync app UNOMi (getunomi.com) to produce the animation. UNOMi allows users to load up to 14 mouth poses, audio and a script to its interface. “The intuitive app automates the lip syncing and allows users to download a PNG sequence with just one clip,” says Onyejekwe. “The app also allows you to do a batch render of multiple mouth poses and adjust the frame rate of your animation.”

Pixel Pirate Studio Producer Daniel Shoesmith says KnuckTales has been embraced by both basketball fans and professional athletes. “We’ve received many likes and comments by NBA players and fans. LeBron James was one of them. We’re also getting a lot of requests from fans for more episodes,” he notes. “I think this is a great opportunity to see amazing animated content featuring African-American stars in a new light. It’s also a new way for NBA fans to be engaged with the franchise.”

To date, the series has featured Nate Robinson, Eddy Curry and Michael Jordan. The series is directed by Onyejekwe and produced by Shoesmith. All episodes are featured on the Players’ Tribune website, Facebook and Instagram pages. The series is sponsored by AT&T. You can watch the first episode of KnuckTales here.