Cliff Dew, producer, President of Jumping Frog Entertainment USA (JFE), announced today that acclaimed New Zealand artist Ivan Clarke’s Lonely Dog character brand (LD) is now one year into production of a multimedia immersive event.
This ground-breaking event is being produced in collaboration with Centrica (Italy), leaders in creating art immersive experiences that have drawn huge crowds throughout Europe and Asia.
Exodo Animation Studios is a traditional animation studio based in Guadalajara, Mexico. It will be producing both 2D and 3D CGI animation content for the Lonely Dog production where viewers will get glimpses of the strange and wonderful world of Alveridge where Lonely Dog resides.
Geoff Pearlman is producing original music for the production, based on lyrics featured in the Lonely Dog novel.
The Lonely Dog Immersive Experience (LDIE) will feature brilliant storytelling, dazzling visuals and captivating music, reflecting a style that celebrates the nostalgia of the 1950s. The line-up of production partners creating LONELY DOG draws on an international talent-base from Italy, UK, USA, Mexico and New Zealand.
Animated paintings are being combined with 3D CGI animation, traditional 2D animation and scored with original music. The entire production will then be presented to the public as an immersive cinematic event, featuring 360-degree projection and sound that will literally envelop the audience.
Cliff Dew says, “Lonely Dog’s world will captivate viewers by matching original music with a compelling story, presented in an immersive environment. The production features Exodo’s animation as well as Centrica’s exclusive techniques that animate actual artworks. Centrica has already succeeded in bringing to life art from the famous Uffizi collection in Italy, including those of Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. With LONELY DOG, what caught our eye was the treasure trove of art and music, tied to a compelling fantasy story. All of these elements can be mingled together and, utilizing state-of-the-art technologies, transformed into an enchanting immersive experience.”
Centrica’s proprietary technology is a frame-by-frame animation technique that makes paintings come alive with motion. This process, which first scans the artworks in Gigapixel resolution and then animates them, retains the textures of the paint, brushstrokes, and canvas, and imbues the backgrounds and characters within the canvas with motion.
Marco Cappellini, CEO of Centrica & VirtuItaly, adds, “We are immensely proud of our work on the Lonely Dog Immersive Experience. We are employing technology, creativity and know-how previously used mainly on classical Renaissance art to the creative horizon of the LDIE. Our unique ability to create gigapixel images and then creatively use them in an immersive environment, will provide significant added value to the production.” Marco continues, “Art has universal appeal. I think that there is a universal need to feed our souls with art, whether it is classical or contemporary, especially in this difficult period. Therefore, we are also partnering with JFE and LD to offer our Immersive Renaissance Experience as a complementary Exhibition travelling with the Lonely Dog Immersive Event.”
Exodo is exclusively responsible for morphing the characters of Lonely Dog, who previously existed only in still images, into lifelike, animated creatures. Regarding this canvas-to-CGI translation, Paco Navarro, Co-Founder & Biz Dev Manager for Exodo, relates, “From an Animation standpoint, Lonely Dog offers a terrific opportunity to display the noble qualities of the animation medium and presents an exciting challenge: bringing these unique characters and settings from the canvas to a 3D space. A diverse array of artists has been working on capturing the magic of Alveridge and translating it into a 3D world, where endless possibilities await our heroes as they take the audience on the adventure of a lifetime.”
“Here at Exodo Animation, the excitement surrounding this project is palpable. From Concept Art to Production, every department has welcomed Lonely Dog with open arms and unflagging enthusiasm, working tirelessly with Cliff to infuse the world of Lonely Dog and all its inhabitants with the fascinating feel of Ivan’s paintings.”
Geoff Pearlman is an independent artist, producer, songwriter and guitarist, and is music director for the LDIE.
Based in LA, Geoff was the key player alongside Jakob Dylan on the Greenwich Films/BMG records’ Echo in the Canyon film documentary. The film celebrates the explosion of popular music that came out of LA’s Laurel Canyon in the mid-60s as folk went electric. Produced and directed by Andrew Slater, the film features interviews and musical appearances by Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Steven Stills, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Brain Wilson, Norah Jones, Neil Young, Beck, Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Regina Spektor and more, performing songs by the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, the Mommas and Poppas and others. As part of the Echo in the Canyon band, Geoff is featured both in the film and on its accompanying soundtrack playing 12-string and 6-string electric guitar.
“Music is the central theme and driving force behind the story of Lonely Dog. Working on this project has been fulfilling in so many ways. It has also presented unique song-writing challenges, including writing many songs around pre-existing lyrics from the novel, and finding the right voice for each particular character,” says Geoff. “Lonely’s songs carry his story and drive his narrative. Their importance to the project cannot be overstated. Fleshing them out from words on a page was particularly rewarding, and I am extremely excited about the results. I also feel that we REALLY hit a homerun voicing the characters.”
In addition to actualizing the songs from the novel, Geoff is also scoring the LDIE and has recently completed the Lonely Dog Audio book, narrated by master storyteller, Steve McCurdy, in his lyrical Irish voice – the Audio has snatches of over a dozen original Lonely Dog songs.
Christopher Palmer-Jeffery is an award-winning producer who produced and directed the much-acclaimed HM Queen’s Golden Jubilee concert in 2002, and also produced and directed memorial concerts for The Queen Mother and HRH Princess Diana in 2003 and 2004 respectively, all hosted at the Royal Albert Hall
