Laika - Guest Studio at Anim'est 2012

A stop-motion animated feature, with dolls and objects, filmed with stereoscopic cameras, requires a huge effort by a large team of animators, designers and technicians. From drawing and then manufacturing all objects to their 3D animation, the process is long and expensive - Just in the Coraline project were 450 people involved.

Mark Shapiro, the Head of Entertainment Brand Marketing of American studio LAIKA, will speak at Anim'est about the behind-the-scenes of such animations. He will present a making-of about hundreds of handmade items for ParaNorman, give details, accompanied by images from the film's lab and bring to Bucharest some animated dolls. Shapiro will also explain what kind of difficulties and risks such a production involves and the reasons why the studio has chosen to specialize in stop-motion animation.

Mark Shapiro manages the LAIKA brand since 2007 and has an extensive experience in communications, advertising, public relations and film production, working for companies such as Nike, Town & Country Magazine and Upper Deck.

The LAIKA studio in Portland, Oregon, is one of the major studios dedicated to stop-motion animated film. It has two divisions: Laika Entertainment, which produces feature films, and Laika / house for videos and commercials. The company owner is Phil Knight, Nike co-founder. In 2002 he purchased Will Vinton Studios, on the brink of bankruptcy, to invest in the production of feature films. A year later, director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) was joining the  creative team as a supervisor and in 2005, the studios reinvented themselves as LAIKA.

The first film released was the first great success - Coraline (2009), which will be projected at Anim'est as part of the flashback dedicated to LAIKA in the Guest Studio Section. At this point, the LAIKA animators are preparing a feature film whose title has not yet been announced and will be ready in 2014. The company bought the rights to adapt two fantasy novels: Wildwood by Colin Meloy, and Goblins by Philip Reeve.