A N I M A T I O N F L A S H
Tuesday, November 4, 2003 Volume 08, Issue 32
________________________________________________________________________
The Animation Flash E-mail Newsletter
an Animation World Network publication
****Industry News Headlines****
Business
1. FORMER NELVANA EXECS HIRSH & TAYLOR BUY CINAR.
2. CLASSIC MEDIA PAYS $19.3M FOR BIG IDEA.
3. WGA AND IATSE SETTLE FATHER'S PRIDE WRITERS' DISPUTE.
4. POOH CASE WRINKLE: MILNE HEIR SEEKS RIGHTS.
5. CINESITE (EUROPE) TO RECRUIT IN L.A.
People
6. GURNEY, MALACH, BLOHM AND KELLY PROMOTED AT DISNEYTOON.
7. WBA GETS GOES ACTION-ADVENTURE WITH POINDEXTER.
8. O'DONNELL HEADS CREATIVE AFFAIRS AT DIC.
9. ORELLANA HEADS PRODUCTION AT TRIDENTE ANIMATION.
10. NICK LICENSING UPS TAXTER AND YOUNGWOOD.
11. 3 RING CIRCUS FEATURES NEW CREATIVE TEAM.
Film
12. BROTHER BEAR FILMMAKERS SIGN EXCLUSIVE DISNEY FEATURE ANIMATION
DEAL.
13. SPIKE JONZE ATTACHED TO LIVE-ACTION WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.
14. JOHNNY BRAVO GETS LIVE-ACTION FEATURE.
15. REVOLUTIONS MARKS DAY AND DATE FIRST FOR IMAX AND INDUSTRY.
16. MONSTER ROAD DOC EXPLORES UNDERGROUND CLAY ANIMATOR BICKFORD.
17. TWO AMITYVILLE HORROR REMAKES GET GREENLIGHT.
18. BROTHER BEAR PAWS ITS WAY TO DISTINCTION.
Television
19. SPIKE TV TAKES TIME OUT ON ADULT ANIMATION.
20. FOX KIDS U.K. GOES 24.
21. PLAYHUT ENTERTAINMENT DEBUTS CHINAMATION.
22. XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN PREMIERES ON NEW KIDS' WB! SKED.
23. SOUTH PARK DEALS WITH SENIOR RIGHTS TO DRIVE.
Commercials
24. HORNET ANIMATES NEW ANGELS CAMPAIGN FOR BMW X5.
Internet & Interactive
25. ROCKY & BULLWINKLE GO WIRELESS.
26. VIVENDI UNIVERSAL DELIVERS BARBIE HORSE ADVENTURES GAME.
Home Video
27. NEMO POISED TO CONQUER DVD.
28. SANDLER'S EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS DVD ANIMATES CHANUKAH.
29. GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE 2 BOASTS CUTTING EDGE ANIMATED CREDITS.
Location-Based Entertainment
30. DISNEY WORLD DEBUTS 3D MICKEY AND FRIENDS.
Books
31. TOKYOPOP TURNS FAIRLY ODDPARENTS INTO CINE-MANGA.
Education
32. CCS ADDS NEW FACULTY, GAME DESIGN PROGRAM.
33. NFB NURTURES NEW TALENT IN ANIMATION HOTHOUSE.
34. REALVIZ LAUNCHES WORLDWIDE STUDENT DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
Technology
35. MAXON'S CINEMA 4D MODULE OFFERS NEW TOON.
36. HP ANNOUNCES VISUALIZATION CENTER SV7.
Awards
37. CALIGARI ANNOUNCES BIG BREAK ANIMATION WINNERS.
38. FRAMESTORE & ASYLUM TAKE HOME BTAA CRAFT AWARDS.
39. ANGELUS AWARDS ANNOUNCED.
Call for Entries
40. NYICFF 2004 DEADLINE EXTENDED.
Events
41. FILM ACADEMY DIVVIES OUT $250,000 TO U.S. FILM FESTIVALS.
42. ALIAS LAUNCHES EXPOSE YOURSELF FOR SKETCHBOOK PRO ARTISTS.
43. TOO HOT TO HANDLE: CREATING CONTROVERSY THROUGH POLITICAL
CARTOONS.
44. AFI DESTINO SCREENING.
45. FROM STIMPY TO SHREK: ANIMATION THROUGH VICKY JENSON'S LENS.
46. SECRETS OF A BEVERLY HILLS ATTORNEY: CONTRACTS & DISPUTE
RESOLUTION.
47. MOOV FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS EMERGING MEDIA ARTS.
48. MAD MALLARDS & WASCALLY WABBITS: THE CARTOONS OF CHUCK JONES.
49. BREAKING INTO ANIMATION, GAMES & VISUAL EFFECTS.
50. NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT OF WORK FROM EUROPE AND AUSTRALIA.
51. TOM TOMORROW BOOK SIGNING AND DISCUSSION.
52. ANIMATE YOUR FUTURE HOSTED BY MICHAEL SWANIGAN.
53. DON THOMAS TRIBUTE.
54. CG SUPERVISOR FROM LORD OF THE RINGS KEYNOTE ADDITION TO
PIPELINE 2003.
55. UPCOMING EVENTS IN ANIMATION.
Upcoming Films
56. UPCOMING THEATRICAL RELEASES.
****SUBMIT YOUR NEWS!!!!****
If you have news, review materials, events or other items of interest
for the Animation Flash send it to: Sarah Baisley or Bill Desowitz,
Animation Flash, 6525 Sunset Blvd., Garden Suite 10, Los Angeles, CA
90028 USA.
E-mail: editor@awn.com; or Fax: 1-323-466-6619.
****Industry News****
Business
1. FORMER NELVANA EXECS HIRSH & TAYLOR BUY CINAR.
An investor group comprised of Michael Hirsh, Toper Taylor and TD
Capital Canadian Private Equity Partners signed a definitive
agreement Oct. 30, 2003 to acquire all of the outstanding multiple
and limited voting shares of CINAR Corp. in Canada for $143.9 million
in cash by way of a plan of arrangement.
CINAR's board of directors unanimously approved the transaction, and
the company's founders, holding approximately 96% of the multiple
voting shares, have agreed to vote for the sale. However, $1.2
million of the purchase price will be held in escrow pending
resolution of a dispute with the company's founders regarding the
validity of their exercise of certain CINAR options.
Shareholders will receive a pro rata distribution of the potential
net proceeds from the settlement of certain outstanding litigation if
it is settled five business days before the meeting when shareholders
will be asked to vote on the transaction and providing certain other
conditions are met. If net litigation proceeds have not been
determined by then, CINAR shareholders will be granted
non-transferable contingent cash entitlements providing them with the
right to receive 70% of the net proceeds of such litigation.
The deal is expected to close within 60 days, pending shareholder and
regulatory approvals. RBC Capital Markets acted as advisor to the
investor group, with debt financing to be provided by RBC Royal Bank
Media & Entertainment Group (Toronto) and RBC Centura Knowledge Based
Industries Group (North Carolina).
"From ARTHUR to CAILLOU, from Carson-Dellosa to HighReach, CINAR has
a number of popular and important brands in children's education and
entertainment," said former Nelvana chiefs Hirsh and Taylor in a
statement. "We are committed to building these highly recognizable
brands and look forward to working closely with our team and our new
colleagues to lead the company to new heights." They have big plans
for the education division, which will continue under the leadership
of Steve and Patti Carson.
"As a well-capitalized private company stimulated by a new vision and
the creative talent of its people, we are confident that CINAR will
play a leadership role in its markets and are delighted to drive its
renaissance," continued Hirsh and Taylor.
"We are happy to be working with Michael Hirsh and Toper Taylor,
highly respected veterans of the entertainment industry," said Joe
Wiley, md of TD Capital Canadian Private Equity Partners, "and
believe that they have the requisite experience and skills to build
on CINAR's history and strengths."
"We look forward to working with our new partners and focusing all of
our energy on developing new products and services for our markets
and growing the business," stated Carson, president of CINAR
Education and co-founder of Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
Hirsh was a founder and former ceo of Nelvana Limited in Canada and
Taylor was president of international distribution, marketing and
consumer products for Nelvana Limited and president of Nelvana
Communications, its L.A.-based sales and development office. Hirsh
also co-founded Canadian kids broadcaster TELETOON and is the
co-author of THE GREAT CANADIAN COMICS. Taylor has extensive
experience as a television packaging agent at the William Morris
Agency.
TD Capital Canadian Private Equity Partners (CPEP) is a fund
established by TD Capital, the private equity arm of TD Bank
Financial Group. TD Capital has approximately $3 billion of capital
under management through its offices located in Canada and the U.S.
In 2000, CPEP raised the largest ever bank-sponsored private equity
partnership in Canada, with $635 million of commitments. For more
information on TD Capital, please visit www.tdcapital.com.
2. CLASSIC MEDIA PAYS $19.3M FOR BIG IDEA.
On Thursday, October 30, 2003, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John H. Squires
approved Classic Media's purchase of Big Idea Productions for $19.3
million. In August, Classic Media made public its plans to purchase
the VEGGIE TALES producer for $7.5 million as the troubled firm filed
for bankruptcy. As part of U.S. bankruptcy law, assets of Big Idea
had to be put up for auction to allow the company's creditors the
best chance of recouping funds.
Classic Media will acquire all the company's assets, which are valued
at $8 million along with more than $43 million in liabilities.
However, due to a licensing and distribution dispute with Lyrick
Studios Inc. some of those rights still need to be resolved. This row
resulted in a court ruling that Big Idea was in breach of contract
with Lyrick and owed the company $11 million.
Classic Media owns the rights to various characters including Rocky
and Bullwinkle, Richie Rich and Casper. For more information on
either company, visit www.bigideaproductions.com or
www.classicmedia.com respectively.
3. WGA AND IATSE SETTLE FATHER'S PRIDE WRITERS' DISPUTE.
The Writers Guild of America West (WGAw) and IATSE (The Animation
Guild Local 839) have reached a tentative agreement regarding
representation on DreamWorks' upcoming animated series FATHER OF THE
PRIDE, according to DAILY VARIETY.
While the unions and DreamWorks are not officially commenting on this
resolution, it appears that the Animation Guild will continue to
represent the show's writers, with the inclusion of several standard
WGA contract features such as pension and health contributions. The
trustees of the industry-guild health and pension plans have
reportedly given their blessings to the agreement.
WGAw president Victoria Riskin sent out an urgent e-mail to members
on Sept. 25, 2003, alerting them that 12 writers on the DreamWorks'
production were being forced to take less benefits via the IATSE
contract than conditions WGAw had negotiated for all primetime
animated shows so far. She said the writers did, "not want to become
a test case for production companies trying to circumvent the
prevailing standards set by the Writers Guild contract, and they
don't want DreamWorks forcing them to change their union
representation to another union."
DreamWorks' position is that it is simply bound by an IATSE pact,
which expires in 2006. IATSE claimed the WGAw was illegally poaching
and will continue to collect initiation fees.
FATHER OF THE PRIDE is a primetime CG cartoon revolving around a
family of white lions performing in the Siegfried and Roy Las Vegas
show slated for fall 2004 on NBC. Magician Ray Horn is slowing
recovering from his Sept. 3 mauling by one of the tigers during the
duo's magic act in Las Vegas.
Every U.S. network, including Fox, NBC, WB and UPN have paid writer
benefits on series through the Guild's MBA. These shows include THE
SIMPSONS, FAMILY GUY, GOD, THE DEVIL AND BOB, BABY BLUES, THE PJS,
MISSION HILL, FUTURAMA, KING OF THE HILL, THE OBLONGS, DILBERT and
SAMMY.
4. POOH CASE WRINKLE: MILNE HEIR SEEKS RIGHTS.
A new wrinkle has developed in the decades old battle over Winnie the
Pooh licensing rights. THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER reported that Clare
Milne, the granddaughter of POOH creator A.A. Milne, has been grant a
chance to regain the copyrights from the current rights holders, the
Slesinger family. Judge Florence-Marie Cooper's new ruling allows
Milne to appeal Cooper's earlier, tentative decision, which ruled the
request invalid.
"There is substantial ground for a difference of opinion as to the
court's holding," Cooper said in the order. "An immediate appeal may
also materially advance the ultimate termination of this litigation."
This federal suit is separate from the decade old state suit between
Pooh copyright holders Stephen Slesinger Inc. and the Walt Disney Co.
over alleged unpaid royalties. The Milne suit was filed in November
2002 and would give her and the heirs to Pooh illustrator E.H.
Shepard the rights to the characters. Milne has said she would then
license the rights to Disney on an exclusive worldwide basis.
5. CINESITE (EUROPE) TO RECRUIT IN L.A.
Cinesite (Europe) Ltd. will be in Los Angeles to recruit artists on
Nov. 6-7, 2003 for some of its upcoming vfx projects. Recruiters will
be based at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, and interested applicants
are invited to meet with them to discuss professional opportunities
in London. Please email jobs@cinesite.co.uk with resumes. Cinesite
will also be holding open recruitment on Nov. 6 at 6:00 pm.
Last month Cinesite (Europe) (www.cinesite.com) officially moved into
their new facility at Medius House, 2 Sheraton Street, Soho. The new
space offers enhanced facilities and greater capacity throughout.
Cinesite's U.K. operations now occupy 50,000 feet of space at their
bases in Soho, Shepperton Studios and Pinewood Studios.
Cinesite is creating a major portion of the digital effects for
Warner Bros.' HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, and is also
supervising the visual effects and creating all of the digital
effects for Disney's KING ARTHUR, currently filming in Ireland.
People
6. GURNEY, MALACH, BLOHM AND KELLY PROMOTED AT DISNEYTOON.
Gearing up for more DVD/video premieres and theatrical releases,
DisneyToon Studios has promoted Ellen Gurney to svp, creative
affairs; Karen Malach to the newly created position of 3D development
producer; Jennifer Blohm to director, digital production; and Sheila
Kelly to manager, production.
Gurney expands her duties to oversee the creative executive team,
creative affairs, and development for the studio's burgeoning line of
DVD/video premieres and theatrical releases. Gurney is overseeing
sequels to MULAN and TARZAN, as well as 20 other projects in various
stages of development, 16 of which are in or about to begin
production.
Prior to her promotion, Gurney served as vp, video premieres,
supervising the development of DVD/video premieres and theatrical
releases. Gurney joined Disney in 1993 as a development assistant for
Walt Disney Television Animation and was rapidly promoted to manager.
She subsequently became director of creative affairs for the
division. In her 10 years with Disney, she has guided development on
such projects as RETURN TO NEVERLAND, THE LITTLE MERMAID II, 101
DALMATIANS II, POCAHONTAS II and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: THE ENCHANTED
CHRISTMAS.
In her new role, Malach will identify and develop new processes for
producing 3D content for the studio's burgeoning line of DVD/video
premieres and theatrical releases.
Malach "fell into animation" when a friend told her about an opening
at Rankin/Bass Prods. in New York City. She began there as a
production secretary immediately after college graduation and worked
her way up to associate producer for the THUNDERCATS.
In the mid-'80s, Malach moved to Los Angeles to work in production
and segued into animation through Hanna-Barbera where she worked for
four years in a variety of capacities including production exe and
CGI supervisor for THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST. After taking
time off to have a baby, she headed to Sony Pictures Family
Entertainment to work on the MAX STEEL animated series as CGI
supervisor.
Malach joined Walt Disney Television Animation in August 2000 as
director of digital production, where she worked on television
series, DVD/video premieres and theatrical releases.
Concurrently serving as producer for MULAN II, Blohm will segue
full-time into her new role when the production wraps.
Blohm started as a production assistant with JetLag Prods., a small
animation company, and discovered she loved animation. Within the
year, Jennifer rose through the ranks to become associate producer on
its "Children's Classics" home video series.
From there, Blohm went to Hanna-Barbara, working as an assoc producer
on THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST. She then worked at Columbia
Tri-Star Children's Television as assoc producer on its flagship
series JUMANJI and at Cornell/Abood producing animated commercials.
Blohm worked as a production manager on the Nickelodeon short film,
FETCH, before joining Disney in 1998. Since then, she has served as
producer for MULAN II, assoc producer on THE TIGGER MOVIE and worked
in management as director of production.
In her new capacity, Kelly has the responsibility of providing
day-to-day guidance in implementing and standardizing the overall
production process. She will work closely with associate producers,
production managers, production coordinators and production
associates.
Kelly joins the production management group after serving five years
in various capacities at the studio, working on such projects as THE
HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME II, CINDERELLA II and PIGLET'S BIG MOVIE. She
joined Disney in 1997 after relocating to Los Angeles from Boston.
7. WBA GETS GOES ACTION-ADVENTURE WITH POINDEXTER.
Roland Poindexter has been named to the new position of svp of
action-adventure properties for Warner Bros. Animation, responsible
for developing this programming for broadcast, cable and
made-for-video outlets. Poindexter will also be responsible for
supervising creative direction of selected current series in all
genres and developing animated specials for kids, as well as adults.
The 12-year TV and online programming/creative exec has two
Emmy-Award-winning and six number one rated kids' series. He reports
directly to Sander Schwartz, WBA president.
"In Roland, we have selected an extraordinary executive to lead
creative development of cutting-edge, high concept action-adventure
projects," said Schwartz. "His passion for animation, creative vision
and keen production sense will play an integral role in leading this
vital component of our business and continuing our creative momentum
to bring quality, innovative properties to life at Warner Bros.
Animation."
Prior to WBA, Poindexter was vp of programming and entertainment for
Black Entertainment Television, where he produced more than 250 hours
of reality programming for the cable network's primetime schedule,
including the hit series HOW I'M LIVING. Poindexter was vp of
development for Eruptor.com, an online entertainment destination for
teens.
Previously, Poindexter served as vp/head of programming for Fox Kids
in 1998, where he was director of programming in 1993. During his
tenure at Fox Kids, he served as principal creative exec for
GODZILLA: THE SERIES, NASCAR RACERS and SPIDERMAN: UNLIMITED. He also
was principal development and production exec for WHERE ON EARTH IS
CARMEN SANDIEGO?, C-BEAR & JAMAL and THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN AND
ROBIN.
Before Fox Kids, Poindexter was manager of development for Nelvana
Entertainment, having started his career in creative development with
ABC.
8. O'DONNELL HEADS CREATIVE AFFAIRS AT DIC.
Kevin O'Donnell joins DIC Entertainment in the newly created position
of svp of creative affairs at DIC Entertainment. O'Donnell,
co-founder of Poet's Road, a high-end development and multimedia
production outfit, has moved his company to DIC headquarters in
Burbank, California, and has been charged with overseeing concept and
script development for all television programming. He will develop
original properties for the U.S. programming block, The DIC Kids
Network and for the company's international distribution pipeline to
complement DIC's ever-expanding library of animated programming.
O'Donnell works directly with Andy Heyward, DIC ceo/chairman and Mike
Maliani, DIC's cco. O'Donnell's responsibilities will extend across
all media as the company moves more aggressively into interactive
entertainment as he leads DIC to create next generation CGI shows for
the upcoming season, including STAN LEE'S SUPER SEVEN.
"Kevin's vast experience and fruitful history with DIC has made him
the perfect candidate to take the company to the next creative
level," stated Heyward. "He has a keen insight, which is evidenced by
his illustrious career, and we look forward to continuing our efforts
to hold to a standard of quality in children's entertainment as we
develop and produce for a new generation."
O'Donnell collaborated with DIC on LIBERTY'S KIDS, voiced by a roster
of A-list talent (Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Douglas,
Walter Cronkite, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, Ben Stiller
and more) and the animated hit series, SUPER DUPER SUMOS. He has
produced and/or written numerous interactive games, scripts and
interactive programming. O'Donnell co-created ADVENTURES OF HYPERMAN
that merged television, science, gaming and the Internet for the
first time, which aired Saturday mornings on CBS. O'Donnell began his
production career at Dick Clark Productions.
Read Kevin O'Donnell's viewpoint on innovation in WORLD ANIMATION MAGAZINE'S
"Insight to Innovation" at:
http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=1902
9. ORELLANA HEADS PRODUCTION AT TRIDENTE ANIMATION.
Silvia Orellana is the new production manager of Tridente Animation
(part of Tridente&Monigotes), in charge of its business development,
worldwide branding positioning, new marketing strategies
implementation and closing new deals as well as looking after the
needs of its clients. Madrid-based Tridente&Monigotes offers
animation services and is moving into original content production and
co-productions.
Orellana was marketing coordinator Spain at Towers Perrin,
formulating and developing the first marketing and communications in
Spain, including the implementation of new marketing tools and
performance of international strategies. Previously she was an
account manager at T-Kom Internet Advertising (Spain). Prior to that
she worked at Argentaria Bank and was a logistic assistant at Frans
Maas Group.
Tridente&Monigotes (www.tridentemonigotes.com) is one of the leading
animation studios in Spain, grouping a reputed team of 50 artists
offering traditional 2D animation as well as working with innovative
CGI techniques. Tridente&Monigotes is a full service studio including
script development, character designing, props and background, model
packs, storyboard, layout, animation in feature films, TV series,
pilots, teasers, video clips plus ink-and-paint work through
post-production. Clients have included Filmax, Animagic, Hahn Film,
La Laterna Mágica, Ellipsanime, Alphanim, CINAR, Dupuis Audiovisual
and Les Films de la Parrine.
10. NICK LICENSING UPS TAXTER AND YOUNGWOOD.
Maureen Taxter moves up to svp, retail and new business development,
and Steve Youngwood becomes svp, media products.
"Maureen and Steve are extraordinarily talented and enthusiastic
executives who continually succeed in building Nickelodeon's Consumer
Products business lines by introducing great new stuff for kids,"
said Leigh Anne Brodsky, recently upped herself to evp, Consumer
Products, Nickelodeon. "They have been instrumental in forging
innovative partnerships with leading manufacturers and retailers to
create and deliver products that really enable kids to experience
Nickelodeon in a whole new way." The both report to Brodsky.
Taxter, who was vp, Retail and New Business Development, will oversee
the development and execution of retail strategies and retail
relationships for all Nickelodeon Consumer Products initiatives. In
the newly created position of svp, new business development, Taxter
will steer growth strategies for Consumer Products including
development of other MTV Networks brands such as Comedy Central and
Spike TV, as well as original properties coming both from within and
outside the network.
A 22-year licensing industry veteran, Taxter was director of
corporate licensing at Hasbro Inc., and spent 10 years at Jim Henson
Productions before joining Nick.
Youngwood, who was vp, media products for Nickelodeon, is responsible
for managing the business and creative ends of interactive products,
video/DVD, electronics and the domestic book publishing businesses
for all Nickelodeon properties. Youngwood also oversees the
development and management of original properties and characters
launched through video, interactive or books which may migrate to
other areas of the company. In this newly created position,
Youngwood will continue to steer these businesses for Consumer
Products as well as other MTV Networks brands including Comedy
Central and Spike TV.
Before joining the network, he was a consultant at McKinsey and Co.,
where he did strategy consulting for various industries in the U.S.
and Germany.
11. 3 RING CIRCUS FEATURES NEW CREATIVE TEAM.
3 Ring Circus, a full-service creative branding firm based in Los
Angeles, has a new creative team on board, which has just finished a
string of projects. Maziar Majd leads the team as creative director.
Majd had been freelancing with various top design firms. He began his
design career as an art director at a local TV station in Washington,
D.C. Majd moved on to broadcast design studio Belief as lead designer
from 1998 through 2001. While with Belief, he spearheaded
award-winning network redesigns and show opens for many major
clients, including USA Networks, TBS, Sony, National Geographic and
MTV. He was awarded a BDA Platinum Award for his network package for
SET (Sony Entertainment Television) in India.
"Maziar brings with him a wealth of global design experience and
technical expertise, skills which will be instrumental in our
company's growth, and our further movement into providing HDTV
production services for our clients," said John Sideropoulos, 3 Ring
Circus ceo.
Inka Kardys, formerly with Pro Seiben and Velvet of Germany, has
joined Majd's creative team as a designer. She has extensive
experience in design and production for major broadcast, cable and
satellite-delivered networks on a global scale.
3 Ring Circus recently created an HDTV Awareness Campaign for various
HDTV manufacturers like Zenith. The campaign sheds light on the
attributes of HDTV technology, and is targeted to American general
consumers. The spots, which include both live-action elements and
graphics, are being produced entirely in-house using 3 Ring Circus'
state-of-the-art HD suite. Among the planned 20 total spots are those
featuring Tom Verica of the NBC series AMERICAN DREAMS and Neil
McDonough of BOOMTOWN, with future spots to feature other NBC talent.
The company also recently completed a large-scale, comprehensive
brand identity - including strategy, design and a promotional
campaign - for Los Angeles-based Studio 4 Networks. Studio 4 Networks
is an aggregator and distributor of educational and fitness
programming, offered exclusively through Video On Demand (VOD).
In addition, 3 Ring Circus just re-launched the Mega Channel, the
number one-rated broadcast television network in Greece. Mega sought
to solidify its position as a leader and trendsetter in the Greek
market when it retained 3 Ring Circus to develop a new "look" that
would push the boundaries of traditional network graphic design.
Founded in Los Angeles in l994, 3 Ring Circus (www.3ringcircus.tv)
specializes in blending many disciplines, including strategy, design,
image, promotion and production. The company has designed, created
and produced highly memorable branding campaigns for many of the
world's leading entertainment and broadcast companies and
corporations. 3 Ring Circus' U.S. clients have included ABC, FOX,
Showtime, Discovery, A&E, Telemundo, Paramount, DirecTV, DreamWorks,
Target, Lexus, Reebok and many others. International clients include
Sony, Universal, MGM, Televisa, Star TV, RTL and Mega Channel/Greece.
Film
12. BROTHER BEAR FILMMAKERS SIGN EXCLUSIVE DISNEY FEATURE ANIMATION DEAL.
The filmmaking trio responsible for guiding Disney's new animated
feature, BROTHER BEAR -- directors Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker,
and producer Chuck Williams -- have signed an exclusive deal to make
their next feature for Walt Disney Feature Animation. Under the terms
of the arrangement, Williams will produce, and Blaise and Walker will
direct an unspecified animated feature for the studio. All three of
the filmmakers have been key contributors to Walt Disney Feature
Animation Florida since its first day of operation in 1989. BROTHER
BEAR marks the directing debut for Blaise and Walker.
Williams made his feature-producing debut on BROTHER BEAR following a
distinguished 14-year career at Walt Disney Feature Animation
Florida. He edited the studio's debut project, ROLLER COASTER RABBIT,
and did second-unit work on THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST,
ALADDIN and THE LION KING. Following THE LION KING, he shifted to
Feature Animation's Special Projects unit, working as editor and
eventually producer on projects such as VOYAGE OF THE LITTLE MERMAID
attraction. In 1998, he took on the role of developing feature
projects for Disney's Florida Animation Studio, which led to the
development of BROTHER BEAR.
Blaise joined Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida in 1989 and went
on to contribute to a variety of features. He served as supervising
animator for the characters of Rajah the tiger on ALADDIN, Young Nala
on THE LION KING and for Yao on MULAN.
Walker has been a key player at Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida
since it began in 1989. He started there as a journeyman layout
artist on the Roger Rabbit short, ROLLER COASTER RABBIT and
subsequently moved up to head of layout for the Florida Studio,
overseeing scenes for features, including THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER,
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN and THE LION KING. He went on to
supervise the layout department on Florida's first feature effort,
MULAN, and helped to guide the layout department for the 2002 hit
animated feature, LILO & STITCH.
13. SPIKE JONZE ATTACHED TO LIVE-ACTION WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.
The long in-development film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's
children's book classic WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE has been assigned
by Universal to director Spike Jonze (ADAPTATION), reported VARIETY.
Tom Hanks' Playtone production house has long been developing the
film as a CGI project, but Universal agreed to go live-action upon
hearing Jonze's vision. Originally animation vet Eric Goldberg
(ALADDIN) was attached to direct, but he left to go work on LOONEY
TUNES: BACK IN ACTION after WILD THINGS seemed to be stalling. First
hitting shelves in 1963, the WILD THINGS book follows the mischievous
Max after he is sent to his bedroom where he creates a land of
mysterious monsters in his mind.
14. JOHNNY BRAVO GETS LIVE-ACTION FEATURE.
Warner Bros. Pictures has tapped scribes Matthew Berry and Eric
Abrams (CROCODILE DUNDEE IN LOS ANGELES) to write a live-action
feature based on Cartoon Network's JOHNNY BRAVO, starring Dwayne "The
Rock" Johnson, reported VARIETY. Original Film's Neal Moritz and
Marty Adelstein will produce, with show creator Van Partible attached
as exec producer. Overseeing the film will be Original's Tania Landau
and WB's Greg Silverman and Alicia Cotter. The plot will follow
Johnny on his journey to find his estranged father.
15. REVOLUTIONS MARKS DAY AND DATE FIRST FOR IMAX AND INDUSTRY.
The simultaneous release of Warner Bros.' THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS on
Nov. 5, 2003 in 35mm and IMAX/15/70 represents a first for a
live-action Hollywood film and the prestigious large format
corporation, which is attempting to increase both its commercial
appeal and profitability as a result of its aggressive repurposing
strategy.
As with APOLLO 13 and THE MATRIX RELOADED, IMAX employed its
proprietary DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology for the repurposing
of REVOLUTIONS, which also preserves the running time and correct
wide screen aspect ratio. According to IMAX, the Wachowski brothers
were so impressed with the DMR work on RELOADED that they immediately
consented to a day and date release of the finale to their smash hit
trilogy.
Offering a more immersive moviegoing experience, IMAX audiences will
experience unparalled image and sound quality on screens up to eight
stories tall surrounded by 12,000 watts of digital surround sound.
Opening Nov. 5:
United States
Addison, Illinois - Addison IMAX Theatre
Atlanta, Georgia - Regal Mall of Georgia 20 & IMAX
Boise, Idaho - Edwards Boise Stadium 21 & IMAX
Boston, Massachusetts - Simons IMAX Theatre at the New England Aquarium
Buffalo, New York - Regal Transit Center 18 & IMAX
Cathedral City, California - Desert IMAX Theatre
Charleston, South Carolina -IMAX Theatre Charleston at Aquarium Warf
Chicago, Illinois - Navy Pier IMAX Theatre
Colorado Springs, Colorado - Cinemark IMAX Theatre at Cinemark Carefree
Circle
Columbus, Ohio - Marcus Crosswoods IMAX Theatre
Dallas, Texas - Cinemark IMAX Theatre at Cinemark 17
Dearborn, Michigan - IMAX Theatre at The Henry Ford
Denver, Colorado - UA Colorado Center 9 & IMAX
Dublin, California - Regal Hacienda Crossings 20 & IMAX
Grand Rapids, Michigan - IMAX Theatre at Celebration! Cinema
Hampton, Virginia - Riverside IMAX Theater at the Virginia Air & Space
Center
Houston, Texas - Edwards Houston Marq*e 23 & IMAX
Irvine, California - Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21 & IMAX
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania - UA King of Prussia Stadium 16 & IMAX
Lincolnshire, Illinois - Regal Lincolnshire 20 & IMAX
Los Angeles, California - IMAX Theatre at The Bridge
Los Angeles, California - Universal CityWalk IMAX Theatre
Miami, Florida - IMAX Theatre at Sunset Place
Nashville, Tennessee - Regal Opry Mills 20 & IMAX
Natick, Massachusetts - Comcast IMAX Theatre at Jordan's Furniture
New Orleans, Louisiana - Entergy IMAX Theatre at Audubon Aquarium of the
Americas
New Rochelle, New York - Regal New Roc City 18 & IMAX
New York, New York - Loews IMAX Theatre, Lincoln Square
Ontario, California - Edwards Ontario Palace 22 & IMAX
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Rangos OMNIMAX Theatre at Carnegie Science
Center
Rochester, New York - Cinemark IMAX Theatre at Tinseltown USA
San Antonio, Texas - IMAX Theatre San Antonio River Center
San Francisco, California - Loews IMAX Theatre at Metreon
Santa Clarita, California - Edwards Valencia 12 & IMAX
Seattle, Washington - Boeing IMAX Theater at Pacific Science Center
Spokane, Washington - IMAX Theatre at Riverfront Park
Tampa, Florida - Regal Channelside Cinemas 9 & IMAX
Tulsa, Oklahoma - Cinemark IMAX Theatre at The Tulsa
West Nyack, New York - IMAX Theatre at Palisades Center
Woodridge, Illinois - Cinemark IMAX Theatre at Seven Bridges
Canada
Calgary, Alberta - IMAX Theatre, Famous Players Paramount Chinook
Edmonton, Alberta - IMAX Theatre, Famous Players SilverCity West
Edmonton
Mall
Halifax, Nova Scotia - Empire IMAX Theatre
Langley, British Columbia - IMAX Theatre, Famous Players Colossus
Langley
Mississauga, Ontario - IMAX Theatre, Famous Players Coliseum Mississauga
Montreal, Quebec - IMAX Theatre, Famous Players Paramount Montreal
Toronto, Ontario - IMAX Theatre, Famous Players Paramount Toronto
Woodbridge, Ontario - IMAX Theatre, Famous Players Colossus
International
Bangkok, Thailand - Panasonic IMAX Theatre
Berlin, Germany - CineStar IMAX Cinema
Capetown, South Africa - IMAX Cinema, BMW Pavilion
Durban, South Africa - Gateway IMAX Theatre
Hyderabad, India - Prasad IMAX Theatre
Madrid, Spain - IMAX Theatre Madrid
Moscow, Russia - Nescafe IMAX Theatre
Mumbai, India - IMAX Adlabs Theatre
Pretoria, South Africa - IMAX Theatre at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre
Singapore, Singapore - Popular IMAX Theatre, Golden Village Grand
Tokyo, Japan - Mercian Shinagawa IMAX Theatre
Vienna, Austria - IMAX Wien
Opening After Nov. 5:
United States
Kansas City, Missouri - Sprint IMAX Theatre at Kansas City Zoo
Las Vegas, Nevada - Luxor IMAX Theatre
International
Bradford, England - IMAX Cinema, National Museum of Photography, Film
and
TV
London, England - BFI London IMAX Theatre
Manchester, England - IMAX Cinema @ thefilmworks
Prague, Czech Republic - Oskar IMAX Theatre
Katowice, Poland - IMAX Theatre Katowice
Krakow, Poland - Panasonic IMAX Krakow
Warsaw, Poland - Panasonic IMAX Theatre at Sadyba Best Mall
Founded in 1967, IMAX Corp. (www.imax.com) is one of the world's
leading entertainment technology companies. IMAX's businesses include
the creation and delivery of the world's best cinematic presentations
using proprietary IMAX and IMAX 3D technology, and the development of
the highest quality digital production and presentation.
16. MONSTER ROAD DOC EXPLORES UNDERGROUND CLAY ANIMATOR BICKFORD.
North Carlina-based indie filmmakers Brett Ingram (director,
co-producer, co-editor) and Jim Haverkamp (co-producer, co-editor)
are profiling underground clay and line animator Bruce Bickford in a
new documentary titled MONSTER ROAD. Bickford is best known for the
dark and magical animations he did for musician Frank Zappa in the
1970s, and has been doing independent work since then, almost all of
which has never been released.
Tracing the origins of his unique sensibility, the film journeys back
to Bickford's childhood in a competitive household during the
paranoia of the Cold War, and examines his relationship with his
father, George, a retired Boeing engineer who is facing the onset of
Alzheimer's Disease. Entirely self-taught, the 56-year-old Bickford
works alone in a makeshift basement studio in his house near Seattle.
He often animates for 10 hours a day, seven days a week, producing
films that he may never even edit or screen for an audience. MONSTER
ROAD explores the combination of family and aesthetic influences that
propel him to work, and that continue to fuel his cinematic visions
and nightmares.
MONSTER ROAD is produced by Bright Eye Pictures
(www.brighteyepictures.com) of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
17. TWO AMITYVILLE HORROR REMAKES GET GREENLIGHT.
Right upon the heals of MGM's announcement that it has enlisted
Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes to remake THE AMITYVILLE HORROR,
Dimension Films plans to produce a film based on the life of George
Lutz, who lived in the real Long Island haunted house, which the 1979
film was based on, reported VARIETY. Dimension obtained Lutz's life
rights and a finished script from Nu Image. The film is scheduled to
hit theaters early next summer.
18. BROTHER BEAR PAWS ITS WAY TO DISTINCTION.
While Dimension's SCARY MOVIE 3 barely kept its hold on first place
for the Halloween weekend ended Nov. 2, 2003, Disney's BROTHER BEAR,
despite only two days of expanding nationwide, finished second,
gathering a huggable $19.4M. With a per screen average of $6,404,
BROTHER BEAR has now risen to $19.8M, making a good case for
traditional animation given the right vehicle.
Coming in third was New Line's TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake,
scaring up $10.8M for a cume of $66M. Sony's heart-warming RADIO
finished in fourth place with $9.6M and a total to date of $26.2M.
Fox's RUNAWAY JURY isn't running away with anything, slipping to
fifth with $6.5M, good enough for a tepid $33.3M. Clint Eastwood's
MYSTIC RIVER finished sixth with $6.2M. The Warner Bros.
Oscar-contender now has a modest $33.5M to its credit. Miramax's KILL
BILL VOLUME 1 (with vfx by Centro Digital Pictures Ltd. and K.N.B.
EFX Group Inc.) held the seventh spot with $4.5M, and $60.8M to date.
Paramount's SCHOOL OF ROCK came in eighth with $4.5M and a tally of
$69.2M. Universal's INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, despite the star pairing of
George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones, is not exactly lighting up
the box office. It remained in ninth place with $2.4M and a cume of
$31.8M. MGM's talking dog fest, GOOD BOY! (courtesy of Jim Henson
Prods. with vfx from Rainmaker Digital Pictures), took the 10th
position with $2.2M, good enough for a total of $35.2M. Box office
information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Television
19. SPIKE TV TAKES TIME OUT ON ADULT ANIMATION.
Spike TV pulled its animation slate from its schedule in October
2003, putting its new entries GARY THE RAT, STRIPPERELLA and REN &
STIMPY'S ADULT PARTY CARTOON on hold until early 2004, it was
reported in TELEVISIONWEEK. This prompted industry speculation that
the network for men may be retreating from creating animation for an
adult audience.
This, however, is not the case, according to Kevin Kay, evp of
programming and production for Spike TV, which has 18 animated
projects in various stages of development.
"We played them a lot," Kay told TELEVISIONWEEK. "They were all over
the schedule and did well, and at one point we thought, 'Let's take
them off' so they don't burn out. And it's so funny, because I've
been hearing rumors that STRIPPERELLA had been canceled before it
even went on the air."
Spike TV is developing BIG-HEADED PEOPLE from producer Warrington
Hudlin (HOUSE PARTY, BOOMERANG), a political satire featuring
characters with huge heads discussing things like Osama bin Laden and
what it's like to be a black Republican.
Other projects with Hank Azaria, Howard Stern and John Leguizamo are
being readied for a Thursday night block called "The Strip," which
was planned as a slot for rotating original programming throughout
the year.
The block had modest ratings, giving Spike TV a double-digit increase
from the previous year's timeslot.
"We wanted to get younger," Kay said in his interview. "The animation
block skewed 27. It helped bring down the median age of the viewer.
It's 'Stupid Male Humor Night,' for lack of a better term. But if you
hit it right out of the ballpark - like SOUTH PARK and THE SIMPSONS -
there's all kinds of ancillary revenue streams [in merchandising]."
Reportedly Spike TV has only received three of the nine original
episodes it ordered of REN & STIMPY'S ADULT PARTY CARTOON from
creator John Kricfalusi. Kay said he expects the new episodes will
come as Kricfalusi spends more time tweaking them than was scheduled.
STRIPPERELLA and GARY THE RAT were pulled after about seven of 13
episodes aired. The remaining episodes will run in the first quarter
of 2004, but a second season has not yet been ordered.
Spike TV has ordered six episodes of the THE IMMIGRANTS from Klasky
Csupo, a comedy featuring two tenement dwellers seeking success in
their new country. Eric McCormack and Hank Azaria star as the voices
of the lead characters.
20. FOX KIDS U.K. GOES 24.
Fox Kids Europe is taking its U.K. channel round the clock starting
Nov. 3, 2003, in one of the most competitive kids markets in the
world. The channel had been broadcasting from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm.
The kids net plans to tap into the young, early risers, as well as
those adult fans keen to tune into the channel's late night POWER
RANGERS, classic 80s animation and Marvel programming.
The new 24-hour schedule will kick off at night with THE INCREDIBLE
HULK, SPIDERMAN, X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, POWER RANGERS, M.A.S.K,
ULYSSES 31 and JAYCE AND THE WHEELED WARRIORS.
The programming coincides with a themed 'Heroes' weekend on Fox Kids
over the weekend of Nov. 22nd-23 and a major sponsorship deal with
DreamWorks, in conjunction with the DVD and video release of its the
animated feature film SINBAD in Europe. DreamWorks will sponsor a
two-hour block of the 'Heroes' programming, offering a 'vote to show'
SINBAD microsite.
Ian Finnegan, md of Fox Kids U.K. said, "The extension of our
broadcast hours will provide children and families with a much wider
choice of television entertainment, as well as increasing our appeal
amongst young adults with these cult shows."
FKE reports its channels reach more than 33 million households across
Europe and the Middle East (57 countries in 17 languages), with a
local channel in every major European market. For more, check out
www.foxkidseurope.com.
21. PLAYHUT ENTERTAINMENT DEBUTS CHINAMATION.
As part of the Las Vegas Comic Con, Playhut Entertainment presented
the North American debut of "Chinamation." The collection of animated
TV series features China's top independent animators. Playhut hosted
free screenings of DECHENG, WAY OF THE WARRIORS, LITTLE MONK, MIGHTY
BUNCH and BIRD ISLAND. As well, the company gave attendees the chance
to win limited edition DVDs of the "Chinamation" screeners.
DECHENG is a 52x22 action adventure series set in ancient China. The
show follows orphan DeCheng as he returns to his war-torn homeland to
fulfill his destiny of becoming a great warrior and savior.
WAY OF THE WARRIORS is a 52x22 action adventure series. The story
follows the centuries old battle between the Sui and Tang dynasties
in a world full of magic and powerful female warriors.
LITTLE MONK is a 52x11 animated series for children 3-8. The story
follows mischievous and playful Little Monk as he learns from his
experiences lesions about patience, respect and problem solving.
MIGHTY BUNCH is a 26x22 animated action-comedy. The plot follows the
young Chinese Crusaders as the use their brainpower and kindness to
outwit oppressors of the weak and poor.
BIRD ISLAND is a 52x22 animated sci-fi adventure series. The story
follows troubled teenager Tin Wang as he tries to discover his past
and save the Earth from the alien invaders known as the Yani People.
Playhut Entertainment is a division of Playhut Co., a toy designer
and manufacturer. The new arm focuses on film and television
production and distribution. For more information, visit
www.playhutentertainment.com.
22. XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN PREMIERES ON NEW KIDS' WB! SKED.
The Kids' WB! 2003-2004 fall schedule launch continues with new
programming for the season including the comedy-adventure series
XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN, the next installments of YU-GI-OH!: ENTER THE
SHADOW REALM and POKÉMON: ADVANCED and TEEN TITANS on Saturday
mornings, beginning November 1, 2003.
November is filled with fun events including a special cameo
appearance of favorite Looney Tunes character Speedy Gonzales on
¡MUCHA LUCHA! the morning of Saturday, Nov. 8. Kids will get hundreds
of chances to win prizes all month long during the "Kids' WB! Crazy
Takes Sweepstakes," "Super-Stuffed Saturday Sweepstakes" and the
"Shop 'Til You Drop Sweepstakes."
Warner Bros. Animation-produced XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN joins the Kids' WB!
Saturday morning schedule at 9:30 am. The mystical, high-adventure
series with choked full of current comedy references is based on the
ancient mythical Xiaolin martial arts inspired by Chinese monks
thousands of years ago.
Omi, a young, gifted monk-in-training from the Xiaolin Temple, must
show his fellow trainees - J-pop hipster girl Kimiko, flashy, street
smart Brazilian Raimundo and Texas Kung Fu cowboy Clay - around the
world to find and protect sacred ancient artifacts. These sacred
objects with supernatural powers called the Shen Gong Wu are keys to
controlling the powers of good and evil. These can only be captured
after an extreme, gravity-defying, martial art-inspired "double dare"
showdown occurs.
Challenging the trainees is evil boy genius Jack Spicer and his
custom-built robot army, along with the ancient witch Wuya - all
competing for these objects in extreme Xiaolin Showdowns. It is a
tight race - for the one who gathers all of the Shen Gong Wu will
become an unstoppable force for good...or evil!
There is an obvious POWERPUFF GIRLS design and staging influence on
this colorful, richly designed production. There are many east meets
west and old encounters high-tech cultural references that make way
for comedy and adventure. Xiaolin is traditionally animated with some
cg vehicle movements.
Created and produced by Christy Hui, Eric Radomski was supervising
producer while Bill Motz and Bob Roth served as producer/story
editors. Dan Riba, Steve Lyons and Tim Eldred directed the series
with creative execs Kim Christianson and Christopher Keenan plus
Sander Schwartz as exec producer.
Lisa Schaffer cast and directed the voice cast of Tara Strong (Omi),
Grey DeLisle (Kimiko), Tom Kenny (Raimundo), Jeff Bennett (Clay),
René Auberjonois (Master Fung), Wayne Knight (Dojo), Susan Silo
(Wuya) and Danny Cooksey (Jack Spicer).
Also joining the Saturday morning schedule at 8:30 am from WBA and in
conjunction with Cartoon Network, is the action-comedy-adventure
series, TEEN TITANS, chronicling the high-flying escapades of a new
young breed of superheroes. It premiered on Cartoon Network in July
2003.
The saga continues with the next evolution of the highly popular
anime series POKÉMON: ADVANCED at 10:00 am. From 4Kids Prods. Inc.,
this new season follows Ash and Pikachu into the Hoenn Region, a land
rife with mystery, adventure and more than a 100 Pokémon he's never
seen nor heard before. As he journeys with two new friends into this
unchartered territory, Ash must assemble an entirely new team of
Pokémon captured in the region and also must learn new rules of
Pokémon competition, adapt to new tools and technologies and embrace
new modes of Pokémon challenges.
YU-GI-OH!: ENTER THE SHADOW REALM, the next installment from 4/Kids
of the anime/adventure series at 11:00 am, follows the exploits of
high school student Yugi, who has a magical secret that comes to life
when he plays his favorite card game "Duel Monsters." In this
intriguing third season Yugi must escape from the virtual world
before his friends are lost forever in the Shadow Realm.
On Nov. 8, Kids' WB! welcomes the fastest mouse in all of Mexico,
Speedy Gonzales, to Saturday morning as he makes a special
guest-appearance on ¡MUCHA LUCHA! (10:30 am) when this original
Looney Tunes character comes face-to-face with the three mascaritas
in Flash animation.
All-new Kids' WB! animated bloopers and wacky outtakes, starring
favorite backlot characters - and even a surprise special guest, will
air throughout the Saturday morning lineup. To celebrate the
craziest morning in Kids' WB! history, kids will have the chance to
win Warner Bros. and Electronic Arts' Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Game Cube video games and Nintendo Game Cube systems. Viewers will
enter for a chance to win by visiting www.KidsWB.com to vote for
their favorite Crazy Take - with eight to choose from throughout the
morning. Every kid will receive a Looney Tunes: Back in Action
downloadable screensaver, just by voting.
The new Saturday morning line-up, beginning Nov. 1, is as follows
(all times ET):
8:00 am YU-GI-OH!
8:30 am TEEN TITANS
9:00 am JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES
9:30 am XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN
10:00 am POKÉMON: ADVANCED
10:30 am ¡MUCHA LUCHA!
11:00 am YU-GI-OH!: ENTER THE SHADOW REALM
11:30 am X-MEN: EVOLUTION
23. SOUTH PARK DEALS WITH SENIOR RIGHTS TO DRIVE.
In keeping in its tradition of parodying news events and topical
controversies, South Park's senior citizens rise up in protest when
their driver's licenses are revoked in an all-new episode, entitled
"Grey Dawn," premiering Nov. 5, 2003 at 10:00 pm on Comedy Central.
The topic springboards from the incident in July 2003 when an elderly
driver drove his out-of-control car into the busy farmer's market in
Santa Monica, California, killing and injuring many pedestrians and
sellers.
In the SOUTH PARK episode, the seniors have repeatedly mowed down
more than a few farmers' markets filled with shoppers, so the SOUTH
PARK residents no longer feel it's safe to be out in the streets. The
boys decide to take action against the older generation and have
their drivers' licenses revoked. Unwilling to surrender their
licenses, the elderly enlist the help of one of the most powerful
organizations in Washington, DC.
Launched in 1997, SOUTH PARK remains the highest-rated series on
Comedy Central (www.comedycentral.com). SOUTH PARK repeats Fridays at
12:00 am, Saturdays at 10:30 pm and 2:00 am and Sundays at 11:00 pm.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are co-creators and exec producers of the
Emmy-nominated SOUTH PARK, with Anne Garefino also serving as exec
producer.
Commercials
24. HORNET ANIMATES NEW ANGELS CAMPAIGN FOR BMW X5.
Elevating its position as a leading 3D animation company, Hornet Inc.
recently completed ANGELS, an advertising campaign for the new BMW X5
and Fallon Worldwide. The package includes TV, print, interactive,
merchandising and point-of-sale elements for BMW.
The :30 spot debuts Nov. 3, 2003 featuring 3D-animated angels
designed by renowned character designer Peter de Sève (FINDING NEMO
and ICE AGE). De Sève is also an accomplished illustrator, whose
work often appears on the cover of THE NEW YORKER.
Hornet animation director Steve Talkowski oversaw the entire
campaign. Before working on the BMW project, Talkowski also played a
key role in ICE AGE. Director Nico Beyer (CHASED BY COWBOYS) shot
the live action. Technologies used included: Maya Version 5, Mental
Ray, Shake, Photoshop and Avid.
The spot opens with Hornet's four animated "guardian angels"
descending on the new BMW X5, each watching over a tire. The angel
team leader commands his group over headsets. As he shouts out
orders, the angels respond with "Got it" and "I'm on it." The team
confidently oversees the tires, as the car tackles water, ice and a
giant patch of mud. In the end, the team leader, splattered with
mud, wipes his face and proclaims, "Man, I love this job!"
"A lot of technology is easier for non-engineers to understand when
you use a metaphor," said Bruce Bildstein, creative director, Fallon.
"So once the creative team came up with the guardian angels metaphor
for xDrive, it immediately led us to animation. We knew animation
could make it charming without being corny. When we learned that
Peter de Sève and much of the rest of the team at Hornet had worked
on one of our favorite animated films, ICE AGE, we knew they were the
right ones to execute the animation. It was a very technical shoot
which required precise coordination with the live action production,
but they pulled it off flawlessly."
"This is a breakout spot for a new company like Hornet," added
Michael Feder, exec producer/partner, Hornet. "We couldn't ask for a
better agency and brand to work with on our first large scale
character animation spot. Fallon trusted us and allowed our team's
input on everything from the music to the live action. The ANGELS
work shows our capabilities in character design, animation and
seamless CG integration. It also represents the company moving to
the next level and launches the commercial careers of Peter de Sève
and Steve Talkowski."
With studios in Los Angeles, New York and an affiliated partner in
New Zealand, Hornet Inc. (www.hornetinc.com) is a commercial, film
and design company that works with a roster of leading artists and
directors to create computer animation, visual effects, motion
graphics and live-action film.
Internet & Interactive
25. ROCKY & BULLWINKLE GO WIRELESS.
Sennari Inc. and Bullwinkle Studios announced they have entered into
a partnership to create character driven wireless content. Bullwinkle
Studios is a joint venture between Classic Media and Jay Ward
Productions Inc., the original creators of ROCKY & BULLWINKLE. As
part of the deal the two companies will create games, screen savers
and ringtones based on animation franchises such as ROCKY &
BULLWINKLE, BORIS & NATASHA, SHERMAN & PEABODY and DUDLEY DO-RIGHT.
In addition, Sennari will create wireless content based on Classic
Media's vast library of properties, including CASPER THE FRIENDLY
GHOST, UNDERDOG, THE LONE RANGER, MR. MAGOO, ROGER RAMJET and holiday
favorites such as SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN and RUDOLPH THE
RED-NOSED REINDEER. The new content will be created for next
generation wireless platforms such as Sun Microsystems' Java and
Qualcomm's BREW. Sennari will distribute the games to its major
wireless customers.
Mike Cartabiano, president of Sennari, said, ""Classic Media manages
one of the world's most highly recognizable family entertainment
portfolios. The breadth of their library provides us with a wealth of
exciting content to bring to the wireless marketplace."
Robert Friedman, president of Classic Media, added, "Sennari's high
quality wireless applications have great consumer appeal. We believe
that Sennari is an ideal partner to help us translate our characters
into innovative wireless content with broad appeal for all ages. The
classic nature of our properties provides the flexibility to build
this emerging category across many platforms."
L.A.-based Sennari is one of the leaders in the field of mobile
gaming and entertainment. For more information, visit
www.sennarigames.com.
Classic Media manages some of the world's most recognizable family
properties across all media including feature film, television, home
video and consumer products. The company's extensive library features
a diverse collection of popular animated and live-action characters.
Classic Media recently purchased the assets of Big Idea Productions,
the producers of the VEGGIE TALES series. For more information, visit
www.classicmedia.com.
26. VIVENDI UNIVERSAL DELIVERS BARBIE HORSE ADVENTURES GAME.
Vivendi Universal Games trots out BARBIE HORSE ADVENTURES WILD HORSE
RESCUE, the first Barbie video game created for PlayStation 2 and
Xbox. Featuring Barbie, the #1 girls software brand, this all-new 3D
horse riding adventure challenges players to help Barbie and her
friends find lost horses from the local riding school.
Players join Barbie on a ride through 10 beautiful adventure areas,
jumping over fallen trees, crossing rickety bridges and avoiding
other potential hazards throughout their quest. Finally, gamers must
chase the loose horses, lasso them and return them to safety.
"We are very excited about expanding the world for Barbie fans to the
PlayStation 2 and Xbox game systems," said Philip O'Neil, svp of
sales and marketing, Vivendi Universal Games. "The platform
capabilities have opened up new opportunities for our developer to
create a beautiful title that offers girls action/adventure game
play."
Aimed for ages seven and up, BARBIE HORSE ADVENTURES WILD HORSE
RESCUE, produced by Blitz in the U.K., enables players to customize
their horses through creative play options, guiding Barbie and her
horse across thin cliff edges, around logs and through rivers.
They can even guide Barbie to dismount her horse and explore trails
on foot for more adventure. It also encourages trust between rider
and horse, rewarding careful handling and nurturing.
BARBIE HORSE ADVENTURES WILD HORSE RESCUE is part of a new round up
of equestrian games featuring Barbie, including BARBIE HORSE
ADVENTURES BLUE RIBBON RACE for the Game Boy Advance and the BARBIE
HORSE ADVENTURES MYSTERY RIDE CD-ROM.
BARBIE HORSE ADVENTURES WILD HORSE RESCUE is available on PlayStation
2 for $49.99 and on Xbox $39.99. For sales and ordering information,
customers may call (800) 545-7677 or visit www.vugames.com.
Headquartered in New York City, Vivendi Universal Games is a global
leader in multi-platform interactive entertainment. A leading
publisher of PC, console and online-based interactive content,
Vivendi Universal Games' portfolio of development studios includes
Black Label Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Coktel, Fox Interactive,
Knowledge Adventure, Sierra Entertainment and Universal Interactive.
Through its Partner Publishing Group, VUG also co-publishes and/or
distributes interactive products for a number of strategic partners,
including Crave Entertainment, Interplay, Majesco, Mythic
Entertainment and Simon & Schuster, among others.
Home Video
27. NEMO POISED TO CONQUER DVD.
After breaking the box office record for animation, Disney/Pixar's
beloved FINDING NEMO (Walt Disney Home Video, $29.99) sets its sights
on a DVD record as well, streeting Nov. 4, 2003. The two-disc set of
Pixar's computer-animated phenomenon not only looks and sounds
digitally great, as you would expect, but the extras just keep
getting better and better, thanks in large part to Bill Kinder, who
has produced Pixar's DVDs since A BUG'S LIFE. They are witty,
inventive and always informative. And those virtual aquariums are
quite alluring.
Disc one, "Filmmakers' World," contains humorous audio commentary
along with deleted scenes and recording sessions (these animators
should do stand up). Pixar's first making-of doc provides nearly a
half-hour on the inner workings of Pixar. There is also "The Art of
Nemo" narrated by the artists, reminding us that it all begins with
beautiful sketches. Disc two, "Family Fun," features "Exploring the
Reef," a short with Jacques Cousteau's son, Jean-Michel, teaching us
a few fun facts with comic relief from Marlin and Dori (Albert Brooks
and Ellen DeGeneres). Plus there's an updated tour of the
Emeryville-based studio, the hilarious Pixar short, KNICK KNACK (with
commentary from John Lasseter), and a sneak peek at Brad Bird's THE
INCREDIBLES, which should be the talk of the holiday season next year.
28. SANDLER'S EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS DVD ANIMATES CHANUKAH.
Adam Sandler's first animated foray, EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS, comes to DVD
(Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, $26.95) Nov. 4, 2003, with lots
of Sandler bonuses underlying the somewhat autobiographical holiday
riff.
Originally written for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, Sandler's new version of
his beloved and nearly classic Chanukah song, specially written for
the movie and coupled with his talent to voice multiple characters,
makes for a kosher comedy this season.
EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS also features voices from Jon Lovitz and Rob
Schneider. When extremely disgruntled small-town guy Davey Stone
(voiced by Sandler) faces another holiday season in his New England
hometown, he does what he always has -- he screws up big and lands in
jail. Davey's old basketball referee, Whitey, bails him out with the
bright idea of putting Davey to work doing community service. But
Davey turns his sentence into a daily disaster for Whitey and the
whole town! After a few surprises -- including the mysterious reason
for Davey's bad attitude and the reappearance of a childhood
sweetheart -- Davey might find a reason or two to change his ways.
Bonus Features include:
* "A Day with the Meatball," (Adam Sandler's dog) short film
* 13 Deleted Scenes including: "At the Mall," "Extended First
Basketball Game," "Davey Bumper Hopping" and "Exploding Monkey"
* 10 Featurettes, including: Character profiles of "Davey,"
"Eleanore," "Jennifer & Benjamin" and "The Deer"
* "Chanukah Song Part 3" Music Video
* HBO First Look Special
* "Cast" Commentary -- Adam Sandler plays the characters Whitey and
Eleanore as if they are watching the film
* Director, Art Director, Effects Animator and Producer Commentary
* Animation Progression
29. GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE 2 BOASTS CUTTING EDGE ANIMATED CREDITS.
Cutting Edge VFX of Australia (www.cuttingedge.com) recently
completed the animated opening and closing credits for Disney's
just-released DVD premiere GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE 2 (Walt Disney Home
Entertainment, $29.99).
Head of animation Ian Anderson and art director Daniel Cox designed
the titles, working closely with Cutting Edge producer Megs Gildea,
and the film's producer Gregg Hoffman and director David Grossman.
The brief was to update and modernize the 2D animated sequence from
the original film, yet still retain the happy bright and primary
color scheme. The titles also had to set the feel and narrative for
the film, as George battles issues of commitment to his family and
his duties as Jungle King.
Cutting Edge created multiple versions of the storyboards, which were
completed in-house by Anderson, until Disney settled on the concept
of the Jungle King on a quest for an elusive purple fruit. The
opening titles are approximately two-and-a-half minutes of full
animation, which included 37 scenes and incorporated 20 credits; two
of which were 3D multi-plane sequences rendered in 3D. The credits
appear throughout the sequence on trees, underwater rocks and even on
the sides of crocodiles. After sign-off on the storyboards, Anderson
and a small team of 2D animators devised the layouts and began
animating the characters. Cox created a color-script, and then moved
onto using the layouts to create style frames for each scene.
As the titles begin, we fade from black and start deep in the jungle,
moving past lush foliage until we come out of the Jungle and into a
valley, where the logo is revealed. In typical George fashion, our
hero swings into frame but loses control and smashes into the logo,
which causes it to crack and tumble to the ground.
Cutting Edge wanted to create a multiplane effect and utilize Maya
almost like a Rostrum camera. VFX supervisor David Peers and 3D
supervisor Andy Monks worked closely with lead animator Scott Thomas,
developing a technique that would achieve this. Thomas modeled
geometry based on the 2D drawings, and then projected the final
painted textures onto the 3D. The logo was pre-scored to crack and
break apart, and then keyframe-animated with hero pieces to make the
scene more dynamic. The whole sequence was then rendered as separate
passes on the SGI Origin renderfarm for comping, including depth and
volumetric light effects. The valley, which was painted at 4k by Cox,
was broken up into about 14 layers, and then modeled and rendered
with the same technique. Additional 3D effects included a toon-style
caterpillar, water bubbles, ripples and dust by senior animator David
Clayton.
George recovers, and swings off to begin his quest for the purple
fruit. During this roller coaster ride through the jungle, George
falls into water infested with crocodiles and hippo's, he
inadvertently swings into trees, interrupts a game of fruit ball when
he grabs the fruit the animals are using as a ball. We are also
re-acquainted with his family of Ursula and George Jr., and also
introduced to many of his Jungle friends.
All the characters were animated in 2D and painted in-house utilizing
Toonz software, and then handed to the Shake team lead by senior
compositor Sam Cole. His team used Shake to integrate the characters
and backgrounds through the use of edge effects, grading, animated
shadows and various digital effects such as volumetrics, caustics and
rippling for the underwater scenes. Using grading tools developed
in-house for the Shake engine, they were able to make changes in
color temperature across a whole sequence very quickly as George
travels through a large range of environments. Often the Shake
compositors were generating dynamic camera moves using the large
resolution backgrounds supplied by the background artists.
The backgrounds were painted digitally using textured brushes, lead
by Cox and background artist Kurtis Richmond. Some of the layered
files were up to 8K in size for the dynamic camera moves.
Motion graphics designer Tundra Gorza did a final grade and composite
in Inferno.
To complete the closing titles Cutting Edge needed to create a
transition from live action to animation. Disney's production team
shot George swinging into the treehouse and on impact the Cutting
Edge VFX team created 2D dust swirls that roll over the camera as a
device to cut to a 2D Ursula, who winces at the impact. We then begin
to pullback and see that George has formed "The End" on the
treehouse, through his multiple mishaps. As the camera move continues
we see a dramatic sunset over the lush jungle setting, until we fade
to black and the credits roll.
Cutting Edge VFX also completed three 2D animated sequences for the
film, in addition to 225 visual effects shots.
Location-Based Entertainment
30. DISNEY WORLD DEBUTS 3D MICKEY AND FRIENDS.
Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, recently unveiled
MICKEY'S PHILHARMAGIC, a new 3D film presented by Kodak starring
Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and other favorite Disney characters. It
marks the first attraction to feature the beloved Disney characters
in computer animation. Set in Fantasyland Concert Hall, the musical
experience unfolds on one of the largest - if not the largest --
seamless screen ever created for a three-dimensional film: a
150-foot-wide canvas. Disney Feature Animation in Burbank was
responsible for the animation.
Books
31. TOKYOPOP TURNS FAIRLY ODDPARENTS INTO CINE-MANGA.
TOKYOPOP Inc. and Nickelodeon have teamed up to bring Nick's series
THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS into Cine-Manga. Composed of digital images
directly from the animation, the full-color books will debut in March
2004.
TOKYOPOP's senior editor, Cine-Manga, Elizabeth Hurchalla, said,
"We're delighted to bring the madcap hilarity of THE FAIRLY
ODDPARENTS to readers in the portable, full-color pages of
Cine-Manga. Not only will kids of all ages find a cool new way to
enjoy the show, but they'll be able to take the action with them
wherever they go."
The show follows Timmy Turner, an average 10-year old kid whose fairy
godparents get him into mishaps unimaginable. Other Nickelodeon
properties that have gotten a Cine-Manga series include SPONGEBOB
SQUAREPANTS and THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY NEUTRON.
TOKYOPOP Inc. is the leading North American publisher of manga, the
fastest growing segment within the publishing industry. Visit
www.TOKYOPOP.com for additional information.
Nickelodeon includes television programming and production in the
U.S. and around the world, plus consumer products, online,
recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S.
television network is seen in more than 86 million households and has
been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than eight
consecutive years. Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom International Inc.
For more information, visit www.nick.com.
Education
32. CCS ADDS NEW FACULTY, GAME DESIGN PROGRAM.
The College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit is accelerating its
animation and game design curriculum with the appointment of Eduardo
Batres, Gary Schwartz and Ben Ridgway as associate professors in the
Department of Animation and Digital Media.
Batres is an innovator and 18-year-veteran in the field of digital
effects, who began his career using tools from the old school of
physical effects - making miniatures, rigs, puppets and using
greenscreen. He worked at Disney Imagineering, Robert Short Prods.,
DreamQuest Images and Greg Jein, Inc. Credits include Oscar-winning
makeup effects in BEETLEJUICE and the photography miniature of the
Starship Enterprise, used throughout the eight seasons of STAR TREK,
THE NEXT GENERATION. His work with state-of-the-art digital effects
ranges from hit movies such as POWER RANGERS and SPACE JAM, to the
Oscar-winning visual effects for BABE and TOTAL RECALL.
His work also includes titles, openings and commercials, such as the
COCA-COLA POLAR BEARS and VIRTUAL AGASSI, and television shows,
including Stephen Spielberg's AMAZING STORIES. Batres has worked with
top talent on productions for Sony Pictures, Digital Domain, VIFX and
Rhythm & Hues. Batres will lead the 3D animation courses at CCS.
Prior to CCS, Batres taught at the Massachusetts College of Liberal
Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts.
Schwartz is an award-winning animator, director, artist, filmmaker
and instructor, who has taught throughout the U.S. and Europe, most
recently at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia
(CalArts). Through his company, has produced, designed and directed
animation via his studio, Single Frame Films, Schwartz for Disney,
MTV, FOX Television, Klasky Csupo and PBS/Esparza-Katz Prods.
ANIMUS, a 16mm, color, 5-minute film Schwartz created for his
master's thesis, is included in the permanent collections of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Franklin Furnace, IOTA Center, CalArts
and Gallaudet College for the Deaf. Schwartz has presented workshops
at the Nashville Independent Film Festival, Festival of Cinema for
the Deaf in Chicago, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Guild of
Puppetry and Universal Studios as well as taught animation to inmates
through a special program at California prisons. Schwartz will teach
traditional character animation courses at CCS.
Ridgway leaves THQ (formerly Outrage Games) in Ann Arbor to develop
CCS' new concentration in game design. Ridgway was the game designer
and level and concept artist for the highly anticipated game ALTER
ECHO at THQ. Prior to this, he was at Rockstar and THQ both in San
Diego, where he helped design TEST DRIVE OFF ROAD 4, MIDNIGHT CLUB 2,
ROAD RASH64 and MX2001 featuring Ricky Carmichael. Rigdway has
received two Black Maria Director's Choice Awards for his
black-and-white shorts, OLIVE SHOWER and XENOMYCOLOGY. Under
Ridgway's new game design curriculum will focus on the concept
development, story, animation and modeling for gaming while
emphasizing a superior level of art and design.
"Eduardo Batres, Gary Schwartz and Ben Ridgway are welcome additions
to the CCS Department of Animation and Digital Media, " said Richard
L. Rogers, president, CCS. "They bring great expertise and creative
diversity to the department. They bring the right blend of talent and
real-world experience to inspire students to reach for the stars. The
department is the strongest it has ever been."
CCS (www.ccscad.edu) is a private, fully accredited, four-year
college, offering degrees in animation and digital media, art
education, communication design, crafts, fine arts, illustration,
industrial design and photography. CCS is credited with having one of
the world's most recognized programs in transportation design and for
placing more graduates in automotive design than any other school.
33. NFB NURTURES NEW TALENT IN ANIMATION HOTHOUSE.
NFB will be hosting its second annual "Animation Hothouse," designed
to help nurture the talents of emerging animators. Six promising
filmmakers from across Canada will be given 12 weeks to create
extremely short animation, from concept to release, with the full
support and assistance of NFB creative experts at the NFB's English
Animation Studio. This year's Hothousers are Marielle Guyot and Thea
Pratt, Montreal; Kevin Langdale, Vancouver; Amy Lockhart, Vancouver;
Megann Reid, Calgary; and Howie Shia, Toronto. The project began on
Nov. 3, 2003 in Montreal.
Janet Perlman, this year's mentoring director, has made independent
short films, commercials and educational productions, including the
NFB titles WHY ME?, THE TENDER TALE OF CINDERELLA PENGUIN, DINNER FOR
TWO and BULLY DANCE. Her work has won many international prizes,
including an Academy Award nomination. She has taught animation at
Harvard University and at the Rhode Island School of Design, and has
written and illustrated children's books, including the upcoming THE
PENGUIN AND THE PEA. Her production company, Hulascope Studio, was
formed with partner Judith Gruber-Stitzer.
Michael Fukushima, this year's mentoring producer, was an independent
filmmaker, then NFB director for 14 years before becoming an NFB
producer in 1997, with stints teaching animation production at
Concordia University. He has produced the films UNDERSTANDING THE
LAW, LOON DREAMING and SHOWA SHINZAN. His Internet projects include
THE CYBER-TERRORISM CRISIS and NFBWEBWORKS.
Since its creation in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada has
produced more than 10,000 films and other audiovisual works, and won
4,000+ awards - including 10 Oscars. As Canada's public film
producer, the NFB produces and distributes distinctive, culturally
diverse, challenging and relevant audiovisual works that provide
Canada and the world with a unique Canadian perspective. For more
info, visit www.nfb.ca.
34. REALVIZ LAUNCHES WORLDWIDE STUDENT DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
REALVIZ, a leader in image processing software development, is now
offering a range of its flagship products at special discounted
prices for the "financially challenged" student population. The
company is also offering a dedicated "Student Pack," which consists
of REALVIZ Stitcher 3.5, for the creation of high-quality panoramas
for the Web, film, print and 3D; ImageModeler3.5 to measure and
create 3D scenes using photographs; and SceneWe@ver, which brings 3D
into panoramas. These are priced at the 220 euros/dollars.
"We realize how hard it is to make ends meet when you're a student,"
says Dominique Pouliquen, REALVIZ ceo. " Now we've made it affordable
for everyone to learn with the same tools that the pros use, whilst
developing the skills to compete and excel in today's demanding job
market. It's crucial that we catch the imaginations of these guys
early on, so that they can familiarize themselves with our products
and help spread the word. Of course, it goes without saying, that the
budding talent of today is also tomorrow's client!"
The program, which is available beginning October 2003, is the result
of an overwhelming wave of interest from the student community, and
aims to encourage students to get "hands on" with REALVIZ' unique
image-based software applications. REALVIZ will shortly launch a
worldwide student competition, with prizes for outstanding work
submitted using the software products available in the student
program. Further details will be released in the next few months.
Student discount prices are also available on purchases of REALVIZ
ReTimer SD/HD.
The REALVIZ Student Pack is available for purchase via the REALVIZ
Website (www.realviz.com/purchase/students/index.php). Proof of
student identity will be requested at the time of purchase.
For further information on the REALVIZ Student Pack & Educational
Program, please go to: www.realviz.com/education/index.php or
contact: sales@realviz.com.
REALVIZ (www.realviz.com) is a leading developer of image based
creation software based in Sophia Antipolis, France, with U.S.
operations in San Francisco, California; and a satellite sales office
in London. REALVIZ develops a suite of image-based content creation
solutions for the film, broadcast, gaming, digital imaging,
architecture and Internet communities. Derived from years of research
efforts at the renowned INRIA Lab in France, the company's
applications enable 2D and 3D artists to easily and cost-effectively
tackle complex digital imaging projects. REALVIZ' award-winning
products are currently in use at some of the world's leading
educational establishments, including the Ecole d'Architecture de
Marseille, ENSAD, ESRA, Savannah College of Art & Design, the
Universities of Cambridge, Yale and Stanford and the Filmakademie
Baden-Wurtemberg.
Technology
35. MAXON'S CINEMA 4D MODULE OFFERS NEW TOON.
"Sketchy" details are a thing of the past as MAXON announces the
availability of Sketch and Toon, a new CINEMA 4D module for
non-photorealistic output offering technical illustration styles,
advanced cartoon cel and artistic rendering technologies. This
versatile new module supposedly boasts the most comprehensive feature
set of any non-photorealistic renderer on the market.
Artists can choose from many preset styles and various options to
achieve the look they desire. This new module provides the ability to
draw lines that match geometry accurately, create freehand
interpretations, generate distorted styles or produce cloned
variations, motion lines or stroke connections.
Sketch and Toon also goes beyond adding simple lines to your work.
The faces of 3D objects can be "filled in" with shaded, rendered,
colored and textured styles incorporating different shaders such as
cel, hatch and artistic. The final result can be delivered in still
images, drawn animations or even vector-based Illustrator files.
Sketch and Toon features three different user levels for fast, simple
and streamlined workflow. A multitude of presets is included for
immediate quality results. More adventurous users can dig deeper into
all aspects of functions for ultimate control. User-created styles
can also be saved and loaded as presets for later use or sharing with
other artists. Video tutorials are also included at no additional
cost to further flatten the learning curve and make artists
productive in record time.
Sketch and Toon is fully integrated with CINEMA 4D, which not only
gives optimum workflow, but also opens up a whole wealth of extra
possibilities. CINEMA 4D specific features such as Radiosity can be
used in conjunction with Sketch and Toon giving artists even more
ways to produce an original result.
MAXON Computer (www.maxon.net) develops professional solutions for 3D
modeling, painting, animation and rendering. Its award-winning
products have been used extensively in the film, television, science,
architecture, engineering and other industries. The company is
located in Friedrichsdorf near Frankfurt (Germany) and has
international offices in Newbury Park, California, Bedford (U.K.) and
Tokyo.
36. HP ANNOUNCES VISUALIZATION CENTER SV7.
HP announced the new HP Visualization Center sv7, an affordable,
high-end visualization solution designed for companies, such as large
automotive and aerospace firms who need to visualize designs on
auditorium-scale displays. The center will allow executive committees
and engineering teams to review full-scale design concepts and
digital assemblies that allow users to model and walk through the
manufacturing process. The program is designed to help companies
reduce design time by half to one-third, lower product development
costs by more than one-third and improve overall design quality and
performance.
The HP Visualization Center sv7 enables users to view large, more
complex models. It utilizes the bandwidth of multiple
industry-leading HP Workstation xw8000 systems with NVIDIA FX 3000G
graphics. The NVIDIA Quadro FX 3000G is designed to allow
applications to synchronize video refresh and buffer swaps between
multiple systems for full-scale reality centers for collaborative
engineering and design reviews. The combination of the HP
Visualization Center sv7 and the NVIDIA Quadro FX 3000G technology HP
delivers the industry's fastest workstation graphics solution today.
With up to 128 independent samples per pixel, the HP Visualization
Center sv7 creates a high quality image. This high-resolution
capability is designed to allow teams to increase cross-functional
collaboration and communication on designs.
HP is a leading global provider of products, technologies, solutions
and services to consumers and businesses. The company's offerings
span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global
services and imaging and printing. HP completed its acquisition of
Compaq Computer Corp. on May 3, 2002. More information is available
at http://www.hp.com.
Awards
37. CALIGARI ANNOUNCES BIG BREAK ANIMATION WINNERS.
Caligari, award-winning producer of 3D modeling and animation
software, released the winners of its Big Break 2003 animation
contest. The contest was designed to showcase the talents of artists
and animators using Caligari's trueSpace 3D modeling and animation
software package and illustrate what's possible using inexpensive
software, an ordinary desktop PC and a healthy dose of talent and
imagination.
Seattle-based Spencer Britton, mechanical engineer by day and
animator by night, won the Big Break's "Art Form" category with his
animated short, BOMBASTIC, a fun look into the adventures of the
life-forms on an alien planet. Saul Greenberg, a London-based painter
of set designs and other industrial projects, won the "Story Form"
category for his beautiful animated short, UMMM, a surreal,
improbably-lush study of animators' block.
"The ability to create beautiful, evocative animations is no longer
limited to movie studios or professional animators," said Caligari
president/founder, Roman Ormandy. "These two animations alone are
proof, not to mention the many other terrific animations submitted to
this contest. We are continually overwhelmed by the quality of
imagery produced by people using trueSpace."
"Computers have made so many things possible," added Greenberg.
"Anyone can produce anything these days, it's just a matter of
application and time." Greenberg created UMMM primarily on his laptop
as he traveled between assignments rendering completed images on "the
closest desktop" as time allowed. Britton also produced BOMBASTIC
during nights and weekends, using plug-ins including Motion Studio
and Primal Particles FX from Primitive Itch and Space-Time Morph from
Mente Magica for fine-tuning. Britton is a big fan of the trueSpace
interface saying: "it's fast and easy to use, particularly on a dual
monitor set-up." Britton says his inspiration for animations is to
make people laugh using unusual characters and machines with
universally familiar qualities.
These animations, as well as the animations produced by the
runners-up and honorable mention winners in the Big Break contest can
be viewed at www.caligari.com/Gallery/press_animations.html
For more information on trueSpace contact Caligari at 800-351-7620 or
visit the Caligari Website at www.caligari.com.
38. FRAMESTORE & ASYLUM TAKE HOME BTAA CRAFT AWARDS.
The British Television Advertising Awards were announced on Nov. 3,
2003 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel. The event attracted more than 400
entries for its 21 categories.
Framestore CFC received the award for Best Computer Animation for its
work on the Johnnie Walker spot, FISH. In competition for the same
award was the company's work on DRINK LIKE A FISH for Audi and The
Mill's work on Toohey's THE QUEST. The Johnnie Walker spot was also
nominated in the Video Post-Production category. Head of production
Helen MacKenzie and co-supervisors William Bartlett and Murray Butler
accepted the award on the team's behalf.
In addition, Asylum took home the prize for Best Live-Action Special
Effects for its BT Broadband spot, BURST PIPE. Mark Mason accepted
the award.
The BTAA Craft Awards were instituted in 1996, with the aim of
further recognizing the British skills and crafts employed in
commercials production. For further details, visit www.btaa.co.uk.
39. ANGELUS AWARDS ANNOUNCED.
The Angelus Awards Student Film Festival announced the winners of its
8th annual student film competition. Winning films screened at the
awards ceremony on October 25 at the Directors Guild of America. A
special tribute and SPIRIT OF ANGELUS award were given posthumously
to Academy-Award winner Gregory Peck, which was presented to his
wife, Vèronique Peck. Twenty-one college and graduate level film
students were selected as finalists from a record 472 entries
worldwide. The cash prizes include the $10,000 Patrick Peyton
Excellence in Filmmaking, which is one of the highest cash prizes for
student filmmaking.
This year's winners are:
Patrick Peyton Excellence in Filmmaking Award ($10,000): AMERICAN
MADE, Marcus Cano and Sharat Raju (American Film Institute)
Priddy Bros. Productions Triumph Award ($5,000): SOPHIE, Helen Lee
(University of Texas at Austin)
Fujifilm Audience Impact Award ($2,800): LITTLE RED PLANE, Wira
Winata and Joey Jones (Art Center College of Design)
Mole-Richardson Production Design Award ($2,500): SHUI HEN,
Maximilian Jezo-Parovsky (American Film Institute)
Outstanding Non-fiction Award, sponsored by the Catholic Academy for
Communication Arts Professionals ($1,500): SID VISION, John Jack,
Donna Pazdera and Todd Southern (University of Florida)
Outstanding Animation Award ($1,500): SNOUT, Tilmann Vogt (University
of Applied Sciences, Germany)
Honorable Mentions are:
Documentary: A THOUSAND WORDS, Melba L. Williams (Stanford University)
Audience Impact: MAREE, James Pellerito (Columbia University)
Production Design: THE ANNIVERSARY, Ham Tran (UCLA)
Special Recognition: STILL WATERS, Cinque Northern (New York University)
For more information, visit www.angelus.org.
Call for Entries
40. NYICFF 2004 DEADLINE EXTENDED.
New York International Children's Film Festival 2004
New York, New York, USA
March 5-21, 2004
Deadline: November 15, 2003
New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) presents
films in competition, gala receptions, awards ceremony, workshops,
retrospectives and sidebar events. The event expects more than 20,000
attendees. NYICFF accepts shorts, features, animation, documentary,
narrative and experimental film and video. Works must be completed no
earlier than January 1, 2003. Foreign language films must be dubbed
or subtitled in English. NYICFF was formed to encourage the creation
and dissemination of passionate, intelligent, artistic film and video
productions for ages 3-18 and to build an audience for such works.
Since its launch in 1997, NYICFF has become one of the largest and
most prestigious youth film festivals worldwide. The emphasis of the
festival has always been to provide the highest quality programming
while pushing the boundaries of style, genre and subject matter to
help redefine what is meant by "film for kids." Each year the
festival reviews over 1,000 submissions from around the world to
select the 50 new films to screen in competition. For more
information, e-mail info@gkids.com or visit www.gkids.com.
Events
41. FILM ACADEMY DIVVIES OUT $250,000 TO U.S. FILM FESTIVALS.
The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences will allocate $250,000 to 17 U. S. film festivals for
calendar year 2004 programming, according to the Academy's festival
grants committee chair, Buffy Shutt.
The Chicago International Children's Film Festival and the Miami
International Film Festival will each receive $30,000 grants.
Winners of $20,000 grants are Austin (Texas) Film Festival, Mill
Valley (California) Film Festival, OutFest: The Los Angeles Gay &
Lesbian Film Festival, San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film
Festival and The Hamptons International Film Festival (East Hampton,
New York).
A $15,000 grant has been awarded to the San Francisco International
Asian American Film Festival.
The African Diaspora Film Festival (New York City), Hot Springs
(Arkansas) Documentary Film Festival, Newfest: The New York Lesbian &
Gay Film Festival (New York City), San Francisco Silent Film
Festival, Taos (New Mexico) Talking Pictures and USA Film Festival
(Dallas, Texas) will each receive $10,000 grants.
The CinemaTexas International Short Film Festival (Austin), the Maine
Jewish Film Festival (Portland) and the VC FilmFest: The Los Angeles
Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival will each collect $5,000 grants.
The Festival Grants Program was established by the Academy six years
ago and has awarded 78 grants to film festivals to date.
42. ALIAS LAUNCHES EXPOSE YOURSELF FOR SKETCHBOOK PRO ARTISTS.
Alias Systems announced the start of "Expose Yourself," the upcoming
contest for digital artists who use Alias SketchBook Pro, the
sketching tool for Tablet PCs and Wacom tablets. From Nov. 17, 2003
until Feb. 13, 2004, artists, illustrators and designers can submit
their sketches at www.sketchbookpro.com/contest. The contest is
sponsored by Microsoft, Acer, Wacom, PC Mall and Intel.
"Expose Yourself" is the first contest to award the creative work of
tablet-using digital artists. Comic artist Dale Keown, best known for
THE INCREDIBLE HULK comic book, and Gray Holland, founder of the
industrial design firm Alchemy Labs, will judge the submissions.
Judging will be based on originality as well as the artist's use of
colors, layers, brushes and backgrounds. The grand-prize winner of
the contest will receive a copy of Alias SketchBook Pro, Microsoft
Office for Window XP Tablet PC Edition, an Acer 300 Tablet PC and a
Wacom Cintiq Tablet. They will also have their creative talents
profiled in a U.S.-based creative magazine. Monthly prizes include
copies of Alias SketchBook Pro, Microsoft Office XP and Rover MP3
players.
A free 15-day trial version of Alias SketchBook Pro is available for
download at www.alias.com/sketchbookpro. Full contest details can be
found at www.sketchbookpro.com/contest.
Alias Systems, a division of Silicon Graphics Ltd, is a leading
creator of 2D and 3D software. For more information, visit
www.alias.com.
43. TOO HOT TO HANDLE: CREATING CONTROVERSY THROUGH POLITICAL CARTOONS.
Too Hot To Handle: Creating Controversy Through Political Cartoons
San Francisco, California, USA
November 6, 2003
Starting at 6:00 pm, the Cartoon Art Museum will be holding a free
showing of more than 60 works considered too subversive, tasteless,
offensive or all of the above by some critics. Special guests include
Rex Babin, editorial cartoonist for THE SACRAMENTO BEE; Tom Meyer,
editorial cartoonist for the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE; and Mark Fiore,
political animator. The exhibition, organized by The Andy Warhol
Museum, opens October 18 and runs through February 1, 2004. For more
information, visit http://www.cartoonart.org/events.html.
44. AFI DESTINO SCREENING.
AFI Destino Screening
Hollywood, California, USA
November 7, 2003
Preceding the U.S. debut of the French film BON VOYAGE, the AFI Film
Festival will screen Disney's new short DESTINO, which was originally
to be a collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali. The film
is directed by Dominique Monfery. The screening will begin at 6:30 pm
at the ArchLight Theaters, 6360 W Sunset Blvd. A second screening of
the film will be on Nov. 9, 2003 beginning at 12:00 pm. For more
information, log on to www.afifest.com.
45. FROM STIMPY TO SHREK: ANIMATION THROUGH VICKY JENSON'S LENS.
From Stimpy to Shrek: Animation Through Vicky Jenson's Lens
Rochester, New York, USA
November 8, 2003
Vicky Jenson (SHREK) will discuss her years as an art director and/or
production designer on projects including FERNGULLY, THE ROAD TO EL
DORADO, and her upcoming DreamWorks film, SHARK TALE, as well as her
work with Ralph Bakshi and John Kricfalusi on the visual style
development for Mighty Mouse and Ren & Stimpy. Jenson will show clips
of her work, as well as FAMILY TREE, a 36-minute live-action film she
directed, starring Harlan Williams, Talia Shire and Ethan Phillips.
The program will begin at 1:15 pm at The Little Theater, 240 East
Avenue. Tickets for the show are $7. Find out more at
http://www.animatusstudio.com/highfalls.
46. SECRETS OF A BEVERLY HILLS ATTORNEY: CONTRACTS & DISPUTE RESOLUTION.
Secrets of a Beverly Hills Attorney: Contracts & Dispute Resolution
Valencia, California, USA
November 8, 2003
Deadline: November 5, 2003
The City of Santa Clarita and the CalArts Alumni Association will be
hosting "Secrets of a Beverly Hills Attorney: Contracts & Dispute
Resolution." Find out what you can do to improve your business
relationships before you contact an attorney. Learn some simple ways
to protect yourself and your artwork. In this workshop, arts attorney
Sarah Conley will arm attendees with everything they need to know
about contracts and avoiding disputes. Demystify the process of
negotiating contractual agreements. Learn how to read and understand
contracts and how to enforce them once the work is done. Learn what
simple steps you can take yourself to reduce the likelihood of
disputes. The event runs from 1:00 pm-4:00 pm at CalArts Campus,
24700 McBean Parkway, Room D309, Valencia, California. The fee is
$10. RSVPs must be received by November 5 by calling (661) 253.7875.
47. MOOV FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS EMERGING MEDIA ARTS.
MOOV Festival 2003
New York, New York, USA
November 8 - 22, 2003
MOOV Festival 2003 consists of three Saturday evenings of video and
performance. MOOV is a media arts festival with an emphasis on new
work by young and emerging international artists. All screenings will
begin at 7:00 pm. On November 8, "Independent Exposure US Edition
2003" is a new touring program from Microcinema International, an
independent curating, distribution, and exhibition organization of
independent films, videos and digital art. On November 15, "Digital
Convergence" features 13 works from nine European-based media artists
and groups, curated by Norwegian video artist HC Gilje, that explore
the relationship between the visual and audio aspects of the video
medium. On November 22, "Star City" features eight international
video artists who use Hong Kong as a backdrop to explore urban space.
Star City is curated by Elaine Ng and Videotage, a media artist
collective based in Hong Kong and China. All programs take place at
Remote Lounge, 327 Bowery and admission for each evening is $5. For
more information, visit http://www.moovfest.org.
48. MAD MALLARDS & WASCALLY WABBITS: THE CARTOONS OF CHUCK JONES.
Mad Mallards & Wascally Wabbits: The Cartoons Of Chuck Jones
Hollywood, California, USA
November 12, 2003
Famed voice artist Joe Alaskey, the current voice of several classic
LOONEY TUNES characters, including Daffy Duck, Marvin the Martian and
Sylvester the Cat, joins colleagues Spike Brandt, Tony Cervone, Paul
Dini and Tom Minton for the Hollywood's Master Storytellers Special
Presentation of "Mad Mallards & Wascally Wabbits: The Cartoons Of
Chuck Jones." The screening will show brand new 35mm prints of 14
classic Chuck Jones cartoons, including DUCK DODGERS IN THE 24TH &
1/2 CENTURY, ONE FROGGY EVENING, the very first Road Runner cartoon
FAST AND FURRY-OUS and WHAT'S OPERA DOC? Alaskey will discuss the
legacy of the classic Warner Bros. shorts with veteran entertainment
reporter and series host Dennis Michael together with Brandt,
Cervone, Dini and Minton, the creative team behind The Cartoon
Network's new weekly series DUCK DODGERS IN THE 24TH 1/2 CENTURY. The
event will take place at the ArchLight Theaters, 6360 W Sunset Blvd.,
at 7:30 pm.
49. BREAKING INTO ANIMATION, GAMES & VISUAL EFFECTS.
Breaking Into Animation, Games & Visual Effects
San Francisco, California, USA
November 12, 2003
The Art Institute of California San Francisco will host a career day
industry panel discussion on "Breaking Into Animation, Games & Visual
Effects." Bay Area students and members of the public are invited to
hear experts from leading Bay Area animation, games and visual
effects studios sharing career advice, job tips and other suggestions
for those interested in breaking into the field. The discussion will
include skills needed to enter the fields Q&As from the audience and
a voluntary portfolio review for students interested in showing their
work. The event is hosted by the Student SIGGRAPH Chapter of The Art
Institute of California San Francisco. Speakers include: Alison Leaf,
animator, Industrial Light & Magic; Eric Wong, creature technical
director, Industrial Light & Magic; Jonathan Gibbs, global effects
lead, PDI/DreamWorks; Phillip Gee, university relations manager,
Electronic Arts; Mark Lohff, art manager on THE LORD OF THE RINGS
game, Electronic Arts; Carl Bahor, director of animation, Visual
Forensics; and Julia Tortolani, commercial director, Wild Brain Inc.
and animation and storyboarding instructor at The Art Institute of
California San Francisco. Preceded by refreshments at 6:30 pm, the
event will run from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. The cost is $5 general public
and free to AiCA-SF SIGGRAPH student members and AiCA-SF students.
For more information contact the Art Institute of California San
Francisco at: 1170 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94102;
tel.: (415) 865-0198; or Web: www.aicasf.aii.edu.
50. NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT OF WORK FROM EUROPE AND AUSTRALIA.
Work From Europe And Australia
San Francisco, California, USA
November 13, 2003
Starting at 7:00 pm, Sprocket Ensemble at the Red Vic on Haight
Street will present "Work From Europe And Australia." The program
includes: THE LOVE NEST by Shelly Wain (U.K.), THE PENGUIN PARADE by
Julia Pihlak and Riho Unt (Estonia), GERANIENFRIEDE (GERANIUM PEACE)
by Marcel Hobi (Switzerland), DAD'S CLOCK by Dik Jarman (Australia),
SLOW BISTRO by Ivan Maximov (Russia)' BIRD BRAINED by Caroline Maure
(France), THE STORY OF KOLOBEK by James M. Boekbinder (Netherlands)
and SEE THE TRUTH by Gerald Howard from San Francisco.
51. TOM TOMORROW BOOK SIGNING AND DISCUSSION.
Tom Tomorrow Book Signing and Discussion
San Francisco, California, USA
November 14, 2003
Starting at 6:00 pm, Tom Tomorrow, creator of THIS MODERN WORLD, will
be at the Cartoon Art Museum. He will discuss and sign his most
recent book, THE GREAT BIG BOOK OF TOMORROW. The 240-page book
contains the best of his previous five anthologies, new cartoons from
the last several years and many cartoons previously only published in
rare comic books or zines. The event is $4 and seating is limited. To
reserve a seat, call (415) 227-8666, ext. 314.
52. ANIMATE YOUR FUTURE HOSTED BY MICHAEL SWANIGAN.
Animate Your Future Hosted by Michael Swanigan
Addison, Illinois, USA
November 19, 2003
Emmy-Award winning animator Michael Swanigan (THE SIMPSONS and
VOLTRON, DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE) will be the featured speaker at
"Animate Your Future," an event for anyone interested in learning how
to start or advance a career in animation. During his presentation
and a Q&A session, Swanigan will discuss industry trends and career
opportunities in the animation business. Scott Cenkar, an instructor
in the animation degree program at Westwood College of Technology's
Woodridge, Illinois campus, will also participate in the Q&A session.
Admission is free but advance registration is recommended. The event
will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Dave and Busters, 1155 North Swift Road in
Addison, Illinois 60101. Individuals wishing to register for the
seminar should call (630) 434-8244. For more information, visit
www.westwood.edu.
53. DON THOMAS TRIBUTE.
Don Thomas Tribute
San Francisco, California, USA
November 20, 2003
Starting at 7:00 pm, San Francisco State will be hosting a Don Thomas
tribute featuring a screening of his award-winning films, speakers
and Thomas' family will present the new Gordon Thomas Scholarship to
junior and senior animation students at SF State. This event is free
and open to the public with a reception to follow. Tax deductible
donations to the Gordon Thomas Scholarship may be sent to: SFSU
Foundation, c/o Jennifer Severin, San Francisco State University,
Office of Development, 1600 Holloway Ave. San Francisco, CA 94132.
Please make the check payable to SFSU Foundation (Gordon Thomas
Scholarship). A tax receipt will be mailed to you from that office.
54. CG SUPERVISOR FROM LORD OF THE RINGS KEYNOTE ADDITION TO PIPELINE 2003.
Gregory Butler from Weta, a CG supervisor on THE LORD OF THE RINGS
films, has been added as a morning keynote speaker to The Pipeline
2003, the U.K. event devoted to digital artists and animators,
sponsored by Techimage, to be held at the Institute of Contemporary
Arts in London on Nov. 20, 2003. The Pipeline 2003 will comprise
keynote speaker sessions, technical product presentations,
information on training courses, a job fair and exhibits from leading
software vendors, including Pixar, Side Effects, alienbrain and
Science D Visions.
In addition to his keynote address, which still has spaces available,
Butler will explore the development of several key sequences from the
first two RINGS films.
Seamus Morley, director, Techimage, commented: "The U.K. is now a
major center for the production of high quality CG. This growing
success is increasing demand for more highly skilled CG animators and
artists. Bringing together speakers from the world`s top CG houses,
plus application experts from the leading software developers, will
enthuse those in the business, inspire those who already have some
experience to take their skills to the next level and entertain the
rest of us."
Other keynote speakers include:
Mark Walsh, Pixar Animation Studios, directing animator on FINDING
NEMO, who will provide an overview of the production pipeline used at
Pixar covering some of the challenges in lighting and coloring that
contributed to the believable look of water in more than 1,400 shots.
Darin Grant, Digital Domain, manager, technical directors and
software. Grant will discuss Houdini`s role in Digital Domain's
production process.
Technical presentations include:
Creation - Jeff Wagner, Side Effects Software, Toronto. An
examination of the unique technology provided by Houdini and
motivations for employing a procedural paradigm and architecture at
the start and throughout a production pipeline.
Integration - Rolf Schneider, Science D Visions, Dortmund. Techniques
for integration of live action and CG elements are demonstrated using
Academy Award-winning 3DEqualizer`s automatic and manual features.
Asset Management - Steve Tyson, NXN Software, Munich. Tyson will show
how NXN alienbrain studio can help free up the time needed for the
highest quality results.
Rendering - Dylan Sisson, Pixar. An illustration of some of the
features that make RenderMan the industry standard renderer for film
and television. These include motion blur, optimized Ray Tracing and
Global Illumination.
Training information:
Information on training for Houdini and RenderMan, including two- and
three-day courses from the NCCA at Bournemouth University, the U.K.'s
premier University for CG.
Job fair:
Houdini and RenderMan skills are in demand as never before. A number
of companies currently recruiting will be available, including
Vanguard Animation and FramestoreCFC.
To register for the event or to seek additional info, log onto:
www.techimage.co.uk/pipeline.
Techimage Ltd. (www.techimage.co.uk) was formed in 1995 to provide
high-end software solutions for 2D and 3D artists and animators in
the U.K. and northern Europe.
55. UPCOMING EVENTS IN ANIMATION.
Search AWN's expansive Calendar of Events section for a list of
animation and visual effects events spanning into the year 2004. Find
out about all the places where you can see the hottest toons or
showcase your own work at http://events.awn.com.
Upcoming Films
56. UPCOMING THEATRICAL RELEASES.
Want to know what's hitting your local movie house this weekend, or
what your favorite director is working on? Then go online to
http://releases.awn.com and check out AWN's new Upcoming Theatrical
Releases' database to find out the release dates for the forthcoming
feature animated and special effects flicks!
__________________________________
Animation news written and compiled by AWN.com editor Sarah Baisley.
Visual effects news written and compiled by VFXWorld.com editor Bill
Desowitz.
Additional news written by managing editor Rick DeMott.
Publishers: Dan Sarto and Ron Diamond.
__________________________________
Copyright 2003 AWN, Inc. No part of this periodical may be reproduced
without the written consent of Animation World Network.
_________________________________
Send news, review materials, events, or other items of interest to:
Sarah Baisley or Bill Desowitz
Animation Flash
6525 Sunset Blvd., Garden Suite 10
Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA
E-mail: editor@awn.com; or Fax: 1-323-466-6619.
_________________________________
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