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Feature Film Director to Visit Ohio State

'Horton Hears a Who!' Director to Present Program May 1

Noted alumnus of The Ohio State University Steve Martino—director of 20th Century Fox's animated feature film Horton Hears a Who!—will visit campus Thursday May 1 and Friday May 2 to work with students and give a public presentation. Martino earned degrees from the Departments of Design and Art Education, and studied at the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD), explains Maria Palazzi, director of ACCAD.

Martino's public presentation is on Thursday, May 1, at 4:30 pm in Page Hall, room 10, on the OSU campus. The free event will include behind-the-scenes footage related to animating the film and how the directors translated Dr. Seuss's images to 3D designs. He'll discuss the film's special effects development and the use of radiosity in lighting and rendering. During his visit, Martino also will work with smaller groups of students at ACCAD and in Design.

Background

More than 50 years after young readers first fell in love with the imaginative and kind-hearted elephant in Horton Hears a Who, the story comes alive on the big screen in a new CG-animated film . . . under the talented direction of an alumnus from the College of the Arts. Steve Martino, who studied at ACCAD, and earned his bachelor's degree from Design and a master's in Art Education, is one of the co-directors of the film created by East Coast-based Blue Sky Studios. Martino -- who previously was art director on the animated film Robots -- and director Jimmy Hayward stayed true to author Dr. Seuss's themes, characters and visuals in the colorful movie that opened March 14. The story takes place on the fifteenth of May, in the jungle of Nool, in the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool. . . when Horton the elephant heard a small noise. Voices are provided by Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Isla Fisher, Amy Poehler and others.

Photos courtesy of Blue Sky Studios.
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who! ™ & © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

 

Steve Martino
Steve Martino

Horton Hears a Who
Horton Hears a Who!™