Thursday, April 19th, 2018 Posted by Jim Thacker

See hotly tipped short ‘One Small Step’ at Gnomon in May


TAIKO Studios, a new animation studio founded by a team of former Disney artists, will be hosting an exclusive screening of One Small Step, its hotly tipped debut short, at Gnomon on Saturday 5 May 2018.

The free two-hour event provides visitors to the school’s Hollywood campus with an early chance to see the short – currently doing the rounds of the animation festivals – and discover how it was created.

Discover how a team of former Disney artists created this charming animated short
Founded by former Disney character animator and Student Academy Award-winner Shaofu Zhang in 2017, TAIKO Studios aims to bridge eastern and western cultures, with offices in Los Angeles and Wuhan, China.

One Small Step, its first animated short, is similarly cross-cultural, following the story of Luna, a Chinese-American girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut.

During the Gnomon presentation, the film’s co-directors, Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas, CG supervisor Joy Johnson and head of pipeline Andrew Jennings will reveal how the animation was created.

The team will share TAIKO’s origin story, show how they created the look of the animation, set out the production pipeline from concept through to final, and will discuss how they scored the short.

Visitors will also have a chance to ask their own questions during the 30-minute Q&A that closes the event.

Free to attend, but register online in advance
The Making of “One Small Step” with TAIKO Studios takes place at Gnomon’s Hollywood campus from 1.00-3.30pm on Saturday 5 May 2018. Entry is free, but you’ll need to register online in advance.

Unlike many of Gnomon’s events, you will have to be there in person: the talk won’t be Livestreamed, since One Small Step is currently also screening on the animation festival circuit.

Read more about The Making of “One Small Step” with TAIKO Studios


Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by Gnomon – School of Visual Effects, Games and Animation.