Producer Notes:

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I was totally taken by this production. The movement of the characters, the colors and unique compositing caught my eye as soon as I saw even the still images. This combination of 2D and 3D digital animation is what our labor of love and this art are all about. Kurt has used his varied experience as a special effects/artist/animator and several different software combinations to achieve this look and feel.

Sapphire has been a 4-year labor of love. Kurt's original ideas, sketches and animation for this project began four years ago. With the current software and hardware available, Kurt can finally bring this story to life the way he intended. I am glad that he has allowed DigitalAnimators.com to showcase it for you. Enjoy.

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The Artist/Animator
Kurt Wiley was born in 1950 and graduated from BSEE in 1978, and has an extensive history in the field of animation. Kurt's work experience includes work on The Good Samaritan (1989, AVA/ owned by Greg Maurice), which is believed to be one of the first cel based Macintosh animation projects. Kurt was also one of the first users of COSA/AE 1.0 beta for animation production in Australia, where it was used at Unlimited Energee on three series, a feature pilot, and a number of special projects.

He has worked on over 60 series episodes (including Aladdin for Walt Disney Television, Australia), interactive CD-ROMs, three broadcast television specials including Bugs Vs. Daffy for Warner Brothers, and three feature pilots. Given the recent contraction of the animation industry, he is now, save for Sapphire, creating effects and 3D for live action films and TV series, including Idle Hands, Lake Placid, Xena, Hercules, Any Given Sunday, The 6th Day, 13 Days, and three atomic documentaries from Visual Concept Entertainment.

In addition, Kurt was one of the first AE users (and Animation Stand) to create series animation for Walt Disney Television, Australia (an episode of the Aladdin series). Since his work in Australia, Kurt has worked on numerous live action TV shows and feature films. Recently he has been working as an effects artist at Peter Kuran's VCE on films such as 13 Days & The Sixth Day. When time allows, Kurt pursues his own story and characters for his self-funded project, Secret of the Sapphires," a showcase for effects and computer assisted classic animation.

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