Eyes have it in owlish fantasy

This article is The Australian's report on the Australian-produced animated film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. It is written by Michael Bodey from The Australian.


The story begins with a background history of Animal Logic, the production studio, and its previous projects. It also describes the original books the movie was based on and the various voice talents in the cast. A few soundbites were taken from an interview with the film producer and co-founder of the studio, Zareh Nalbandian, with a mention of the box-office figures. Another interview subject was David Wenham, who voices one of the characters from the film. The two of them mostly quote and describe Zack Snyder, the director of the film, and while it may have been better to get a direct interview with Snyder himself, it's understandable since it's very difficult to secure an interview with him as he is busy working on another film at the moment.


The article then goes on to describe how the film is relatively dark and edgy for an animated film, how the Australian accents were no coincidence (it was to get government grants and made it easier for the actors to re-record their lines) and a brief summary of the plot, before concluding with an optimistic note on the budding Australian studio and a 'plug-line' for the film's release.


As a story, it is very successful in detailing the amount of effort and care that goes into producing a movie, and how it is difficult for startup studios such as Animal Logic to compete against stronger players in an already competitive industry. There were also unique insights into the financial funding, voice-acting and animation processes. As I've mentioned, it would be great if they had actually secured an interview with Snyder, but the two subjects were well-chosen and was more convenient for the reporter since they lived in Australia.


The site design is very clean and well-organised. Banner ads are few and non-obtrusive, and there's a Facebook 'Recommend' button at the top and various social networking 'favicons' at the bottom that allows the user to share the story. The Australian should be commended for its minimalist design.


However, it could do with greater user interactivity. The article is strangely absent of a main image, and it would be better if there was a screenshot gallery and an embedded video player for the trailers. There is also no Comments section for user feedback and opinions. It plays as a more high-class, 'top-down' approach serious journalistic site, but it sacrifices user interaction and multimedia content in the process.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/eyes-have-it-in-owlish-fantasy/story-e6frg8n6-1225931198803