This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Similar to its predecessor, Killzone 2 takes place in the 24th century and chronicles the war between two human factions; the Vektans, and the Helghast. The game takes place two years after the events of Killzone and follows protagonist Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko as he and his unit battle the Helghast as the Vektans invade Helghan. The protagonist of Killzone and Killzone: Liberation, Cpt./Col. Jan Templar, returns in a supporting role, along with Rico Velasquez. Killzone 2 is played from a first-person view and allows the player to use a variety of weapons. It was released worldwide in February 2009.
Killzone 2 was widely anticipated prior to its release. It was critically acclaimed by critics and fans, who praised it as a superior title to the original Killzone. Additional praise was given to the game's visuals, action, multiplayer modes, soundtrack and atmosphere, although criticism was directed at the narrative. The game's critical and commercial success led to a sequel, Killzone 3, which was released in February 2011.
The official servers for Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 were shut down in March 2018. However, in 2021, a game preservation group called PSONE restored most of the game's online capability on their own set of servers.
The game is presented almost entirely from a first person perspective, aside from vehicular combat. Killzone 2 features a "lean and peek" cover system which allows the player to take cover behind an object and then pop out to fire at enemies. The "lean and peek" mechanic stays in first-person view at all times. It is also possible for the player to pilot vehicles at two points in the game: a tank and an exoskeleton. Many classic weapons and vehicles from previous Killzone installments return, such as the M82-G and the StA-52 LAR.[citation needed] The Sixaxis motion control feature is also utilized in performing certain actions such as turning a valve, arming an explosive charge and sniping.
Warzone, the title of the online multiplayer component of Killzone 2 has been developed by Guerrilla Games in conjunction with the game's single-player campaign.[citation needed] The online multiplayer gameplay is class-based, meaning the player can choose a class of character which is specialized for a specific role to better suit the player's needs in battle. There are 7 classes in total, in which the player can mix and match a main and sub ability according to their playing style, and can switch abilities upon death. There are 15 weapons available to the player, most of which cannot be used until the player reaches a certain rank. Two of these weapons are secondary firearms, and a further two weapons, the Boltgun and Flamethrower, are exclusive to the downloadable maps "Suljeva Cliffside" and "Arctower Landing".
Players play as either the ISA or Helghast, with a few gameplay differences. The character model and respawn points, and the "lean and peek" cover systems were removed. Each class levels up with experience gained from killing enemies or completing mission objectives. With enough experience, players unlock new weapons and skills, as well as a new class. Each class has two badges, the Primary badge selects the class and their specified skill. The secondary badge has an extra skill for the specified class but can be swapped to create own custom class.
Warzone plays out through dynamic matches where multiple game types are played in a single round. The game does not reset between game types, instead flowing between them, with the winning team determined by who wins the most modes. The game ships with five different game types including Assassination, Search & Retrieve, Search & Destroy, Bodycount and Capture & Hold.[1] Online matches can connect 2 to 32 players, and they can group into six squads of up to four players. If an online match does not have a full 32 players, computer-generated "bots" can be added in to create bigger teams (but only in an unranked match). Killzone 2 also offers a clan system, which allows clans of up to 64 players to compete for "Valor Points", an in-game currency that clans can use to bet on tournaments.
Players can also play offline against AIs with Skirmish mode and unranked online multiplayer, but there is no offline multiplayer mode for splitscreen players.
Eight multiplayer maps are included on disc at release,[2] but Guerrilla has released more maps as downloadable content. 6 more maps have been added to multiplayer since release via downloadable content purchasable from the PlayStation Store.
Two years after the attempted Helghast invasion of Vekta, an ISA fleet led by Colonel Jan Templar is sent to attack Pyrrhus, the capital city of Helghan, with the goal of deposing and arresting Emperor Scolar Visari on charges of war crimes. Among the ISA units taking part in the attack is Alpha Squad, led by Jan's old comrade Ricardo "Rico" Velasquez. Sergeant Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko, a veteran of the ISA "Legion" battalion, is assigned to serve as his second-in-command.
Tasked with securing Pyrrhus against the fierce resistance of the Helghan Second Army, the team quickly discovers that the Helghast are well prepared for an invasion. Using Helghan's harsh environment to their advantage, they have developed new weapons and equipment, none of which the ISA has ever seen before. Furthermore, the planet's fog-like atmosphere, gritty deserts, and constant storms pose almost as much of a threat to the invaders as the enemy themselves.
Led by Jan's flagship, the New Sun, the ISA bombard Pyrrhus as cover for a massive ground assault on the city. Despite stiff resistance from well-armed Helghast divisions, they steadily advance towards the Imperial Palace, ultimately capturing both Visari Square and the Helghan Military Academy. Just as the main convoy is set to attack the palace, Colonel Mael Radec, commander of the Second Army, activates a network of arc towers hidden beneath Pyrrhus, killing hundreds of ISA soldiers and breaking their momentum.
Dante Garza, a member of Alpha Squad and close friend of Tomas's, retrieves a piece of a destroyed tower and sends it to ISA researcher Evelyn Batton, who learns that the towers are powered by Petrusite, a mineral capable of generating and channeling electricity. She also identifies an old mining outpost on the outskirts of Pyrrhus where the Helghast have been secretly extracting it for military use.
While working to restore the outpost's communication antenna, Tomas and Rico are separated from the rest of Alpha Squad, allowing Radec's men to capture them. The two fight their way through the refinery where the captives were taken, stumbling upon an interrogation overseen by Radec himself. Oddly enough, he demands that Evelyn give him the launch codes to a set of stolen nuclear warheads in Helghast custody. Rico loses his temper and surprises Radec, saving the captives but leaving Garza mortally wounded when one of Radec's men Rico kills discharges his weapon and Garza is shot in the process. Blaming him for his friend's death, Tomas and the squad return to the New Sun.
Before Garza can be properly mourned, an elite Helghast battalion led by Radec mounts a surprise attack on the fleet, boarding or destroying several ships including the Sun. The ship's crew manages to evacuate, but Radec reaches the bridge, mortally wounds Jan and executes Evelyn, downloading the codes before they can be deleted. With the last of his strength and before succumbing to his wounds, Jan maneuvers the ship to crash into the center of Helghan's Petrusite distribution grid, causing it to explode and disrupt the arc network.
Seizing the opportunity, the survivors attempt to regroup, only to witness Visari detonate the warheads over Pyrrhus, destroying it and killing both the entire population and most of the remaining ISA forces.
With ISA captain Jason Narville leading an offensive on the remnants of the Second Army, Alpha Squad breaches the palace, where they encounter Radec and the imperial guard. After a pitched battle, the wounded commander and his men commit mass suicide out of disgrace, clearing the way to Visari's throne room.
As Tomas moves to arrest him, Visari gloats that he has still won, as the Helghast are now united against the ISA, and without him, they cannot be stopped. Overcome with guilt and wanting revenge for Templar and Garza's deaths, Rico kills him on the spot.
Weary from fighting, Tomas exits the palace and sits on the steps. Above him, a large armada belonging to the Helghan First Army begins its attack on what is left of the ISA invasion force.
At E3 2005, Killzone 2 was debuted with a trailer depicting soldiers landing in a hostile war-zone on Helghan and fighting Helghast forces. Critics in the media argued that the trailer shown at the trade show did not show actual gameplay footage, as its high level of visual detail has been argued to be impossible to render in real-time on the PlayStation 3 and the audio mix of the trailer was slightly delayed. SCEA's Vice President, Jack Tretton, stated that the footage of Killzone 2, that was believed to be pre-rendered, "is real gameplay everybody's seeing out there".[3] Several days later, Phil Harrison, SCE Europe's Vice President of Development, stated in an interview that all of the footage of PlayStation 3 games at E3 2005 were "running off video" which was "done to PS3 spec".[4] Further interviews eventually revealed the trailer was indeed a "target render", a prerendered video showing the developer's goals for the finished product.[5]
At the Game Developers Conference in 2007, a Killzone 2 teaser was shown behind closed doors, and was never released to the public. It featured various battles, destructible environments, and lighting effects among others.[6]Killzone 2 was shown to a panel of journalists at a special pre-E3 2007 event in Culver City, California, and then the next day to the public at Sony's E3 press conference.[7] An in-game trailer showing real-time gameplay of Killzone 2 was also released,[8] along with several videos of extended gameplay.[9] A number of media outlets since E3, such as the BBC, have referred to Killzone 2 as being "one of the most cinematic and immersive games ever produced on a console".[10] At the Leipzig Games Convention in 2007, Killzone 2 was presented in playable form to the media. It was the same demo level as shown at E3 2007, although journalists were allowed to play it hands-on.[11] At Sony's PlayStation Day 2008, the first level in Killzone 2's single-player campaign was presented, named "Corinth River".[12]
Michal Valient, a Senior Programmer at Guerrilla Games, presented details of their Killzone 2 proprietary game engine at a Developers Conference in July 2007.[13] As with many other titles published by SCE, including LittleBigPlanet and Infamous, Killzone 2 uses a deferred shading engine which enables far greater control over the game's characteristic lighting palette, while maximising processor throughput and limiting shader complexity. Other games to use similar approaches include Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV and GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. However, this approach does create some additional problems, notably with respect to anti-aliasing and transparencies. The former was solved using a MSAA Quincunx (multisample anti-aliasing) solution, and the latter by the addition of a standard forward rendering path. The game's graphics were universally praised by critics.[14]
The animation was done in Maya 8.5 with some motion capture animations tweaked in MotionBuilder. 3D artists, animators and level designers used Maya as their production environment, which is unusual considering that most 3D games are produced using 3ds max. A large library of custom Maya tools and scripts was created to support these different disciplines.[15] Tools like "Hyperion", a lightmap rendering software, were used in place of Maya's viewport rendering software. In-game animation was assisted with another tool they created called "AnimationBlender" and particle effects were edited using a tool called "Particle Editor". They also created a tool called "ColorTweaker", which gave them the possibility to do color correction on the PS3 in real-time.[15]
Most of the animation was done using motion capture with some animations, reload animations for example, done by hand. Facial animation was done using blendshapes with bones for the jaw and the eyes. Lead tech artist, Paulus Bannink, explains that "The main reason for going with blendshapes was the relative ease with which they can be transferred to different faces, it would also provide a more artist friendly way of editing the facial animation rig.".[15] The cut scene facial animation was done using marker motion capture. In game dialog was done generically using MotionBuilder after audio files were plugged in. The game was developed not only by artists in Amsterdam, but also by people living in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Korea, the UK and the US. The data files, gigabytes in size, were sent over the internet.[15]
Killzone 2's budget was originally US$20 million but rose to US$40–45 million at the end of the development, with a team of 120.[16][17][18][19]
The score to Killzone 2 was composed by Joris de Man, who scored 60 minutes of in-game music and 30-minutes of live orchestral score for the game, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, with the Nimrod Studio Orchestra.[20] The score was produced and mixed by Rich Aitken, regular mix partner for Joris de Man and Marc Canham, at Nimrod Productions.
Killzone 2 (Original Soundtrack from the Video Game)
Beta access was given to a select number of North American and European PlayStation Network subscribers. The beta consisted of three online multiplayer maps; "Blood Gracht" (small), "Radec Academy" (medium) and "Salamun Market" (large), with unlockable ranks and character classes ("badges"). Beta testers had their own statistics and have the ability to enter clan competitions. Beta access was private and thus could not be shared with other PlayStation Network accounts. Also, beta testers are tied with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. by a non-disclosure agreement; therefore they were not allowed to reveal contents of the beta experience. A technical demo of one of Killzone 2's TV commercials, known as the "Bullet" trailer, was released on the PlayStation Store on April 2, 2009.[21] The demo features the commercial itself, the ability to shift camera angles and film speed, and several commentaries from key development staff at Guerrilla Games.
On February 5, 2009, SCEE released a single player demo of Killzone 2 on the European/Oceanic PlayStation Store.[22] The demo includes the first two sections of 'Corinth River' (the first level of the game) as well as the tutorial sequence from the final game.[23] A demo card, granting access to a Killzone 2 demo was also offered to US gamers who pre-ordered the game at GameStop. The US demo was also made available to those customers on February 5. In the North American version of PlayStation Home, if users found an avatar dressed in a Helghast costume, the avatar with the Helghast costume would give that user a code for the demo. This occurred on February 16.[24] On February 26, the demo was made available for download from the PlayStation Store in North America.
The servers for Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 were shut down on March 29, 2018. They have since been offline and can no longer be played online.[25]
In the North American version of PlayStation Home, if users pre-ordered Killzone 2 from Amazon.com, users received free male and female I.S.A. and Helghast uniforms for their avatar.[26] In the European version of PlayStation Home, if users participated in the "Killzone AM" event that took place on Saturday March 28, 2009, at 11 am CET for one full round, the Home Managers gave the participants a code for the Killzone 2 uniforms. Requirement was that users had to have a United KingdomPSN account.[27] For a limited time in Japanese Home, users received an I.S.A. uniform for watching the Killzone 2 trailer and answering a questionnaire. To get the Helghast uniform in Japan, users had to do a pre-order. In Home's shopping complex, there are fourteen — seven for male and seven for female — Killzone 2 themed shirts available for purchase as well as the Helghast Tactician uniform. A costume for Radec was released on March 4, 2010, to the European Home and has been released in the North American.
Guerrilla Games have released a Killzone 2 themed apartment called the "Visari Throne Room" for Home. The Visari Throne Room apartment is based on the throne room inside Visari's Palace from the final mission of Killzone 2. For the Visari Throne Room, there are five pieces of furniture based on actual palace furnishings from Killzone 2: two types of Visari-style chairs, an administrative desk, a plant container with authentic Helghan vegetation, and a freestanding painting which portrays an important moment in the colonial history of the Helghast. The Visari Throne Room and matching furniture were made available to the European Home on July 2, 2009,[28] the North American on August 27, 2009,[29] and the Asian[30] and Japanese Home on October 9, 2009.[31]
On April 10, 2009[32] Hermen Hulst, Managing Director from Guerrilla Games announced on GameTrailers TV[citation needed] that Killzone 2 would get a DLC map pack named "Steel & Titanium" which would contain two new maps called Wasteland Bullet and Vekta Cruiser. With new gameplay elements and strategic twists.[33][34] The first DLC map pack was released on Thursday, April 30.[34][35] Hulst stated that the next Killzone 2 DLC map pack that they were releasing would have a 'Retro Vibe' to it.[citation needed]
The second map pack was officially announced on May 20, 2009 as "Flash and Thunder", and features two maps previously seen in Killzone called "Beach Head" and "The Southern Hills". Both maps followed the first map pack by bringing new gameplay elements and strategic twists; Beach Head, the wide open battlefield, with rain-filled trenches, and Southern Hills with its intermittent nuke explosion. It was released on June 11, 2009.[36] Both map packs have twelve trophies that go along with them, six for each map.
On July 10 the third map pack was officially announced, even though Sony stated that there were no plans for a third pack. The DLC "Napalm and Cordite" was released on July 23, 2009, it contained two new maps "Suljeva Cliffside" and "Arctower Landing", in addition to the maps the Flamethrower and the Boltgun both from singleplayer made their debut in multiplayer.[37] The Flamethrower is found in the Suljeva Cliffside map and the Boltgun is found in the Arctower Landing map. A multiplayer map pack bundle was also released to coincide with the release of Napalm and Cordite, containing all six maps from the DLC packs, for the price of four maps.[38] The downloadable content pack three has eight trophies that go along with it, four for each map which are for the new weapons. With the fifth anniversary of the original Killzone taking place, the map pack "Flash & Thunder" was reduced in price in North America and Europe.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Parker and Stone developed South Park from two animated short films, both titled The Spirit of Christmas, released in 1992 and 1995. The second short became one of the first Internet viral videos, leading to the series' production. The pilot episode was produced using cutout animation; the remainder of the series uses computer animation recalling the prior technique. Since the fourth season, episodes are generally written and produced during the week preceding its broadcast, with Parker serving as the lead writer and director.
Since its debut on August 13, 1997, 328 episodes of South Park have been broadcast. It debuted with great success, consistently earning the highest ratings of any basic cable program. Subsequent ratings have varied, but it remains one of Comedy Central's longest-running programs. In August 2021, South Park was renewed through 2027, and a series of television specials was announced for Paramount+, the first two of which were released later that year.[2][3] In October 2019, it was announced that WarnerMedia acquired exclusive streaming rights to South Park starting in June 2020 for HBO Max.[4] The series' twenty-sixth season premiered on February 8, 2023.[5]
South Park has received critical acclaim, and is included in various publications' lists of the greatest television shows. It has received numerous accolades, including five Primetime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award. A theatrical film, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, was released in June 1999 to commercial and critical success, garnering an Academy Award nomination. In 2013, TV Guide ranked South Park the tenth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.[6]
South Park centers around four boys: Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick. The boys live in the fictional small town of South Park, located within the real-life South Park basin in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado,[7] approximately a one-hour drive from Denver.[8] The town is also home to an assortment of other characters, including students, families, elementary school staff, and other various residents.[9] Prominent settings include South Park Elementary, various neighborhoods and the surrounding mountain range, actual Colorado landmarks, and the businesses along the town's main street, all of which are based on the appearance of similar locations in Fairplay, Colorado.[7][9] As one of the few television programs set in the Mountain West region that takes place outside the urban core of Denver, South Park frequently features the unique culture of the region, including cattle ranchers, Old West theme parks, snowy climates, mountaineering, Mormons, real-life Colorado locations such as Casa Bonita and Cave of the Winds, and many other regionally specific characteristics.
Stan is portrayed as an average American boy; however, he has many mishaps throughout the series. In the first 22 seasons, Stan lived in South Park, but in the episodes during and after season 22, Stan resided in Tegridy Farms. Kyle is Jewish, and his portrayal as one of the few such people in South Park is often dealt with satirically.[10] Stan is modeled after Parker, while Kyle is modeled after Stone. They are best friends, and their friendship, symbolically intended to reflect Parker and Stone's friendship,[11] is a common topic throughout the series. Cartman (as he is commonly referred to) is amoral and increasingly psychopathic, and is commonly portrayed as an antagonist. His staunch antisemitism has resulted in a progressive rivalry with Kyle.[10][12] Kenny, who comes from a poor family, tightly wears his parka hood to the point where it obscures most of his face and muffles his speech. During the first five seasons, Kenny died in almost every episode before reappearing in the next with no definite explanation. He was killed off in the fifth season episode "Kenny Dies", before being reintroduced in the sixth season finale, "Red Sleigh Down". Since then, Kenny is depicted as dying sporadically. During the first 58 episodes, the children were in the third grade. During the fourth season, they entered the fourth grade, where they have remained ever since.[13][14]
Plots are often set in motion by events, ranging from the fairly typical to the supernatural and extraordinary, which frequently happen in the town.[15] The boys often act as the voice of reason when these events cause panic or incongruous behavior among the adult populace, who are customarily depicted as irrational, gullible, and prone to overreaction.[7][16] They are frequently confused by the contradictory and hypocritical behavior of their parents and other adults, and often perceive them as having distorted views on morality and society.[9][17]
Each episode opens with a tongue-in-cheekall persons fictitious disclaimer: "All characters and events in this show—even those based on real people—are entirely fictional. All celebrity voices are impersonated.....poorly. The following program contains coarse language and due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone."[18][19]
South Park was the first weekly program to be rated TV-MA,[20] and is generally intended for adult audiences.[21][22][23] The boys and most other child characters use strong profanity, with only the most taboo words being bleeped during a typical broadcast.[9] Parker and Stone perceive this as the manner in which real-life small boys speak when they are alone.[24][25]
Early episodes tended to be shock value-oriented and featured more slapstick-style humor.[33] While social satire had been used on the show occasionally earlier on, it became more prevalent as the series progressed, with the show retaining some of its focus on the boys' fondness of scatological humor in an attempt to remind adult viewers "what it was like to be eight years old".[10] Parker and Stone also began further developing other characters by giving them larger roles in certain storylines,[10] and began writing plots as parables based on religion, politics, and numerous other topics.[9] This provided the opportunity for the show to spoof both extreme sides of contentious issues,[34] while lampooning both liberal and conservative points of view.[9][16][35] Rebecca Raphael described the show as "an equal opportunity offender",[15] while Parker and Stone describe their main purpose as to "be funny" and "make people laugh",[36][37] while stating that no particular topic or group of people be exempt from mockery and satire.[16][32][38][39][40]
Parker and Stone insist that the show is still more about "kids being kids" and "what it's like to be in [elementary school] in America",[41] stating that the introduction of a more satirical element to the series was the result of the two adding more of a "moral center" to the show so that it would rely less on simply being crude and shocking in an attempt to maintain an audience.[36][37] While profane, Parker notes that there is still an "underlying sweetness" aspect to the child characters,[34] and Time described the boys as "sometimes cruel but with a core of innocence".[11] Usually, the boys or other characters pondered over what transpired during an episode and conveyed the important lesson taken from it with a short monologue. During earlier seasons, this speech commonly began with a variation of the phrase "You know, I've learned something today...".[42]
South Park creators Trey Parker (left) and Matt Stone continue to do most of the writing, directing and voice acting on the show.
Parker and Stone met in film class at the University of Colorado in 1992 and discovered a shared love of Monty Python, which they often cite as one of their primary inspirations.[43] They created an animated short entitled The Spirit of Christmas.[27] The film was created by animating construction paper cutouts with stop motion, and features prototypes of the main characters of South Park, including a character resembling Cartman but named "Kenny", an unnamed character resembling what is today Kenny, and two near-identical unnamed characters who resemble Stan and Kyle. Fox Broadcasting Company executive and mutual friend Brian Graden commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film as a video Christmas card. Created in 1995, the second The Spirit of Christmas short resembled the style of the later series more closely.[44] To differentiate between the two homonymous shorts, the first short is often referred to as Jesus vs. Frosty, and the second short as Jesus vs. Santa. Graden sent copies of the video to several of his friends, and from there it was copied and distributed, including on the internet, where it became one of the first viral videos.[27][11]
As Jesus vs. Santa became more popular, Parker and Stone began talks of developing the short into a television series about four children residing in the fictional Colorado town of South Park. Fox eagerly agreed to meet with the duo about the show's premise, having prided itself on edgier products such as Cops, The Simpsons, and The X-Files. However, during the meeting at the Fox office in Century City, disagreements between the two creators and the network began to arise, mainly over the latter's refusal to air a show that included a supporting talking stool character named Mr. Hankey. Some executives at 20th Century Fox Television (which was to produce the series) agreed with its then-sister network's stance on Mr. Hankey and repeatedly requested Parker and Stone to remove the character in order for the show to proceed. Refusing to meet their demands, the duo cut ties with Fox and its sister companies all together and began shopping the series somewhere else.[45][46][47]
The two then entered negotiations with both MTV and Comedy Central. Parker preferred the show be produced by Comedy Central, fearing that MTV would turn it into a kids show.[48] When Comedy Central executive Doug Herzog watched the short, he commissioned for it to be developed into a series.[27][49] Parker and Stone assembled a small staff and spent three months creating the pilot episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe".[50]South Park was in danger of being canceled before it even aired when the show fared poorly with test audiences, particularly with women. However, the shorts were still gaining more popularity over the Internet, and Comedy Central ordered a run of six episodes.[36][48]South Park debuted with "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" on August 13, 1997.[51]
Except for the pilot episode, which was produced using cutout animation, all episodes of South Park are created with the use of software, primarily Autodesk Maya.[52] As opposed to the pilot, which took three months to complete,[53] and other animated sitcoms, which are traditionally hand-drawn by companies in South Korea in a process that takes roughly eight to nine months,[27][35] individual episodes of South Park take significantly less time to produce. Using computers as an animation method, the show's production staff were able to generate an episode in about three weeks during the first seasons.[54] Now, with a staff of about 70 people, episodes are typically completed in one week,[27][34][35] with some in as little as three to four days.[55][56][57] Nearly the entire production of an episode is accomplished within one set of offices, which were originally at a complex in Westwood, Los Angeles, California and are now part of South Park Studios in Culver City, California.[49][53] Parker and Stone have been the show's executive producers throughout its entire history.[58]Debbie Liebling, who was Senior Vice President of original programming and development for Comedy Central, also served as an executive producer during the show's first five seasons, coordinating the show's production efforts between South Park Studios and Comedy Central's headquarters in New York City.[59][60] During its early stages, finished episodes of South Park were hastily recorded to D-2 to be sent to Comedy Central for airing in just a few days' time.[61] Each episode used to cost $250,000.[62]
After exchanging ideas, Parker will write a script, and from there the entire team of animators, editors, technicians, and sound engineers will each typically work 100–120 hours in the ensuing week.[50] Since the show's fourth season (2000), Parker has assumed most of the show's directorial duties, while Stone relinquished his share of the directing to focus on handling the coordination and business aspects of the production.[27][71] On Wednesday, a completed episode is sent to Comedy Central's headquarters via satellite uplink, sometimes just a few hours before its air time of 10 PM Eastern Time.[27][72]
Parker and Stone state that subjecting themselves to a one-week deadline creates more spontaneity amongst themselves in the creative process, which they feel results in a funnier show.[27] The schedule also allows South Park to both stay more topical and respond more quickly to specific current events than other satiric animated shows.[10][73] One of the earliest examples of this was in the season four (2000) episode "Quintuplets 2000", which references the United States Border Patrol's raid of a house during the Elián González affair, an event which occurred only four days before the episode originally aired.[74] The season nine (2005) episode "Best Friends Forever" references the Terri Schiavo case,[25][34] and originally aired in the midst of the controversy and less than 12 hours before she died.[35][75] A scene in the season seven (2003) finale "It's Christmas in Canada" references the discovery of dictator Saddam Hussein in a "spider hole" and his subsequent capture, which happened a mere three days prior to the episode airing.[76] The season 12 (2008) episode "About Last Night..." revolves around Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election, and aired less than 24 hours after Obama was declared the winner, using segments of dialogue from Obama's real victory speech.[77]
On October 16, 2013, the show failed to meet their production deadline for the first time ever, after a power outage on October 15 at the production studio prevented the episode, season 17's "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers", from being finished in time. The episode was rescheduled to air a week later on October 23, 2013.[78]
The various stages of production (from top to bottom): the storyboard sketch, the CorelDRAW props with stock character models, and a frame from the fully rendered episode, "Super Fun Time"
The show's style of animation is inspired by the paper cut-out cartoons made by Terry Gilliam for Monty Python's Flying Circus, of which Parker and Stone have been lifelong fans.[48][11][79]Construction paper and traditional stop motioncutout animation techniques were used in the original animated shorts and in the pilot episode. Subsequent episodes have been produced by computer animation, providing a similar look to the originals while requiring a fraction of the time to produce. Before computer artists begin animating an episode, a series of animatics drawn in Toon Boom are provided by the show's storyboard artists.[50][80]
The characters and objects are composed of simple geometrical shapes and primary and secondary colors. Most child characters are the same size and shape, and are distinguished by their clothing, hair and skin colors, and headwear.[17] Characters are mostly presented two-dimensionally and from only one angle. Their movements are animated in an intentionally jerky fashion, as they are purposely not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters.[10][53][81] Occasionally, some non-fictional characters are depicted with photographic cutouts of their actual head and face in lieu of a face reminiscent of the show's traditional style. Canadians on the show are often portrayed in an even more minimalist fashion; they have simple beady eyes, and the top halves of their heads simply flap up and down when the characters speak.[38]
When the show began using computers, the cardboard cutouts were scanned and re-drawn with CorelDRAW, then imported into PowerAnimator, which was used with SGI workstations to animate the characters.[50][53] The workstations were linked to a 54-processor render farm that could render 10 to 15 shots an hour.[50] Beginning with
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