The Rise and Fall of the Computer
Kasanoff
Mr. Kasanoff started Threshold in 1992. Formerly known as Amalgamated Widgets  the company billed itself as an intellectual property hub  harvesting rights to video games like Duke Nukem or Lego animated projects; its subsidiary Threshold Digital Research Labs provided animation and effects work for a variety of clients  including a âStar Trekâ attraction in Las Vegas. Threshold also tried to court the young-male demographic of the emerging World Wide Web with content like the series âBikini Masterpiece Theater.â
In 1999  Mr. Kasanoff and a Threshold employee  Joshua Wexler  conceived a film in which food mascots would come alive when away from prying eyes  much like the playthings in âToy Story.â
 Mr. Kasanoff  raised an initial $25 million for production costs in conjunction with a Korean investment consortium and expected the rest of the budget  which Threshold projected at $50 million  would come from foreign presales and loans against those sales.  He  worked with IBM for on-demand processing power off site  an early precursor to cloud computing that  Mr. Kasanoff  predicted would save the production millions in operating expenses.
 He  also decided that  he  would produce and direct  despite never having supervised a full-length animated feature.
â His  approach  because  he  had gotten the money for it  and no one could say no to  him   was very idiosyncratic â said Kenneth Wiatrak  a layout artist on the project. âYou didnât know from day to day what would occur. Would there be a review? Would  he  suddenly want to change the whole thing?â
Citing legal reasons   Mr. Kasanoff  declined to comment for this article.
Nothing at Threshold had ever been deemed so crucial to the companyâs success. âFor us â Mr. Kasanoff told the press  âthis is âCasablanca.â â
The break had given  Mr. Kasanoff  a new idea  one that probably sealed the filmâs fate.  He  wanted to direct it like a live-action movie  complete with retakes  motion-capture performances and more spontaneity. As a result   he  and animators were speaking two different languages.
A roving  Mr. Kasanoff   animators said  would request that things be âmore awesomeâ or â30 percent betterâ and didnât understand why someone trained in texture couldnât do modeling work. (The productionâs previous software had allowed for such flexibility  but the new system  Maya  was geared toward specialists.)
 Mr. Kasanoff  sourced out part of the production to House of Moves  a motion-capture company  and Image Metrics  which had developed software to sync animation to a voice actorâs filmed performance. But Image Metrics had a limitation: Performers had to stare straight ahead and keep still. The result was subdued  with eyes appearing vacant or looking in the wrong direction.
In 2005  Threshold secured roughly $20 million in additional financing through private investors represented by StoryArk  a financing firm that had been impressed by the brand tie-ins  the celebrity voice cast and a new distribution deal Mr. Kasanoff had struck with Lionsgate. The studio balked  however  when planned release dates in 2006 and 2007 didnât materialize.
[TGT]  started Threshold in 1992. Formerly known as Amalgamated Widgets  the company billed itself as an intellectual property hub  harvesting rights to video games like Duke Nukem or Lego animated projects; its subsidiary Threshold Digital Research Labs provided animation and effects work for a variety of clients  including a âStar Trekâ attraction in Las Vegas. Threshold also tried to court the young-male demographic of the emerging World Wide Web with content like the series âBikini Masterpiece Theater.â
In 1999  Mr. Kasanoff and a Threshold employee  Joshua Wexler  conceived a film in which food mascots would come alive when away from prying eyes  much like the playthings in âToy Story.â
  [TGT] raised an initial $25 million for production costs in conjunction with a Korean investment consortium and expected the rest of the budget  which Threshold projected at $50 million  would come from foreign presales and loans against those sales.   [TGT]   worked with IBM for on-demand processing power off site  an early precursor to cloud computing that   [TGT] predicted would save the production millions in operating expenses.
  [TGT]   also decided that   [TGT]   would produce and direct  despite never having supervised a full-length animated feature.
â  [TGT]   approach  because   [TGT]   had gotten the money for it  and no one could say no to   [TGT]    was very idiosyncratic â said Kenneth Wiatrak  a layout artist on the project. âYou didnât know from day to day what would occur. Would there be a review? Would  he  suddenly want to change the whole thing?â
Citing legal reasons    [TGT] declined to comment for this article.
Nothing at Threshold had ever been deemed so crucial to the companyâs success. âFor us â  [TGT]  told the press  âthis is âCasablanca.â â
The break had given   [TGT] a new idea  one that probably sealed the filmâs fate.   [TGT]   wanted to direct it like a live-action movie  complete with retakes  motion-capture performances and more spontaneity. As a result    [TGT]   and animators were speaking two different languages.
A roving   [TGT] animators said  would request that things be âmore awesomeâ or â30 percent betterâ and didnât understand why someone trained in texture couldnât do modeling work. (The productionâs previous software had allowed for such flexibility  but the new system  Maya  was geared toward specialists.)
  [TGT] sourced out part of the production to House of Moves  a motion-capture company  and Image Metrics  which had developed software to sync animation to a voice actorâs filmed performance. But Image Metrics had a limitation: Performers had to stare straight ahead and keep still. The result was subdued  with eyes appearing vacant or looking in the wrong direction.
In 2005  Threshold secured roughly $20 million in additional financing through private investors represented by StoryArk  a financing firm that had been impressed by the brand tie-ins  the celebrity voice cast and a new distribution deal  [TGT]  had struck with Lionsgate. The studio balked  however  when planned release dates in 2006 and 2007 didnât materialize.