Darkwatch Garners Golden Trailer Nomination for High Moon Studios and Brain Zoo Studios
First-Ever Video Game Trailer Category for Prestigious Golden Trailer Awards Takes Place May 26
LOS ANGELES and CARLSBAD, CALIF., May 24, 2005 - Brain Zoo Studios (www.brainzoostudios.com), a leading character animation and effects studio, and High Moon Studios, Inc., an independent video game developer and creator of Darkwatch, announced today that their video trailer for the game has been nominated for a Golden Trailer Award. The Golden Trailer Awards have previously honored excellence in the art of trailers for feature film, television and animation. This year, for the first time, they will extend awards to honor the best in video game trailers. The 6th Annual Golden Trailer Awards Show takes place May 26th, 2005, at the Orpheum Theatre located at 842 South Broadway in LA. Tickets are available by calling 212-696-9770 or ordering online at ticketmaster.com
The Darkwatch trailer was created through a joint effort between Brain Zoo and High Moon to establish the game's unique, visually stylistic Vampire-Western premise. The trailer introduces Jericho Cross, the game's half-vampire gunslinger protagonist. Featuring a battle between Jericho and a legion of undead enemies in the thorough-fair of a ghost town, the trailer boasts eye-popping sequences that include enemies ripped to shreds by bullets, bullet time effects and an explosive finale.
"This trailer was an extremely important vehicle for us, designed as the first glimpse into the Darkwatch universe," said Emmanuel Valdez, chief creative officer of High Moon Studios. "We wanted to communicate more than high concept, since we felt the video needed to show details of our premise and even hint at game play mechanics to captivate and excite people. We enlisted Brain Zoo because we knew their track record as a high-end animation house with tremendous attention to detail. The distinction of being nominated for this award is a testament to us that we have created something special."
"The quality of video game animation continues to increase, and we are proud to be among the very first that pushed this category through to a spotlight usually reserved for film and television," stated Mohammad Davoudian, president and CEO of Brain Zoo Studios. "That in itself is a major accomplishment."
"We created this trailer from the ground up in terms of animation," continued Davoudian. "We did not take pre-existing footage and edit it together like a standard film or television trailer. Massive amounts of planning and production were put into the project to make it as compelling as possible and we are proud to be recognized for the work we have accomplished."
About Brain Zoo Studios
Founded in summer of 1995, Dream Theater Animation, a division of Dream Theater Inc. emerged as a premiere, full service Animation Studio servicing the entertainment industries. In 2001, DT Animation spun off from Dream Theater Inc. to become Brain Zoo Studios. The company has gained a reputation of excellence in creating cutting edge animation and visual effects for some of the most recognizable brands in game, feature film, television, commercial and music video industries.
About High Moon Studios, Inc.
High Moon Studios, Inc., formerly Sammy Studios, Inc., is an independent video game development company. Headquartered in the coastal city of Carlsbad in San Diego County, California, High Moon employs over 100 game developers at a state-of-the-art, fully equipped development facility. High Moon is best known for its highly-anticipated first-person shooter "Darkwatch" (www.darkwatch.com), and is currently working on additional original properties for this and next-generation video game consoles. For more information on High Moon Studios, please visit www.highmoonstudios.com.
Brain Zoo Contact:
Stephanie Schopp
310 985 3873
High Moon Contact:
Meelad Sadat
310 448 3061