A N I M A T I O N F L A S H Tuesday, January 13, 2004 Volume 08, Issue 42 ________________________________________________________________________ The Animation Flash E-mail Newsletter an Animation World Network publication ****Industry News Headlines**** NATPE News In response to reader demand, AWN has made it easier for you to get all your important NATPE news in one concise place. AWN is publishing three special NATPE newsletters, in Acrobat format, that will be e-mailed to all subscribers of the Animation Flash and AWN Spotlight. Check out the special edition for all the happenings at NATPE. Send all NATPE news information to editor@awn.com. And if you're interested in advertising in this special series of graphics-enhanced PDF newsletters, e-mail sales@awn.com. Business 1. DISNEY OFFICIALLY CLOSES FLORIDA ANIMATION STUDIO. 2. DISNEY ANIMATORS FORM LEGACY ANIMATION IN FLORIDA. 3. FOX KIDS JETTISONING NAME TO BECOME JETIX. 4. GLOBAL MECHANIC EXPANDS TO BOSTON. People 5. ZARGHAMI UPPED TO NICK TV PRESIDENT. 6. HOBBS TO JOIN HEARST-ARGYLE TELEVISION. Film 7. DISNEY DECLARES 'A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON' ANIMATED FEATURE FOR 2006. 8. PARAMOUNT DEVELOPING LIVE ACTION/CGI TRUMPET OF SWAN. 9. RETURN OF KING OUTLASTS BIG FISH AT BOX OFFICE. 10. NOODLESOUP COOKS UP OPEN MY BABY'S DADDY. Television 11. WITCH HUNTER ROBIN JOINS CARTOON NETWORK'S ADULT SWIM. 12. ADV FILMS ACQUIRES NEW FIST OF THE NORTH STAR ANIME. 13. CRAM SESSION FOR TEACHER'S PET. 14. DRAGON STORM DEBUTS JAN. 24 ON SCI FI CHANNEL. 15. MONSTER GOES HDTV IN U.S. Commercials 16. MOTION ANALYSIS MAKES MO-CAP HISTORY WITH DAVID FINCHER NIKE SPOT. Internet & Interactive 17. NOKIA MAKES ASHEN FOR N-GAGE MOBILE GAME DECK. Home Entertainment 18. THE END IS NEAR: MATRIX REVOLUTIONS ON DVD APRIL 6. 19. DANGER, DANGER, LOST IN SPACE ON DVD. Location-Based Entertainment 20. IOMEDIA FORGES 3D RELATIONSHIP WITH ROCKWELL. Licensing 21. MATTEL GAINS MEGAMAN TOY LICENSE. 22. TOKYOPOP AWARDS HASBRO MASTER TOY LICENSE FOR RAVE MASTER. 23. DIC & PENGUIN REACH 4 MILLION UNIT MARK WITH STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE. 24. LEGO AND NICK BUILD DORA PLAY SETS. Education 25. VIDEO SYMPHONY TURNS 10 AND ACCREDITED. Technology 26. TURBO SQUID TURNS RTRE INTO LATEST 3DS MAX PLUG-IN. 27. MEDIA 100 TO RELEASE 844/X VERSION 3. 28. NPOWER RELEASES POWER SOLIDS/POWER TRANSLATORS 2.0 FOR 3DS MAX/VIZ. Awards 29. LA CRITICS BESTOW MULTIPLE HONORS ON TRIPLETS, SPLENDOR, RINGS. 30. BBC ANNOUNCES TALENT NEW ANIMATION AWARD WINNER. 31. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT HONORS AND OSCARS ANNOUNCED. 32. CAMERON TO PRESENT VES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD TO GEORGE LUCAS. Call for Entries 33. TELLURIDE INDIEFEST DEADLINE NEARS! 34. IFP LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL PUTS OUT CALL FOR ENTRIES. 35. ENTER YOUR FILM IN THE FAST-GROWING WORLDWIDE SHORT FILM FEST. 36. SUBMIT YOUR COMIC WORK TO THE WILL EISNER AWARDS. 37. HYPEFEST SCREENPLAY COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES. 38. SEND YOUR FILMS TO DAHLONEGA, GEORGIA! 39. INTERNATIONAL 3D AWARDS CALL FOR ENTRIES. Events 40. CES PRODUCTS ELECTRIFY VEGAS AND GADGET HOUNDS. 41. 6TH EDITION OF CARTOON MOVIE COMING IN MARCH. 42. AHA! ROUND TABLE COMES TO PASADENA. 43. INTRODUCTION VOICE-OVER SEMINAR IN BURBANK. 44. MICROCINEMA INDEPENDENT EXPOSURE SERIES BEGINS IN JANUARY. 45. SAA TO UNVEIL ILLUSTRATION AWARDS WINNER SOON. 46. WANT TO BREAK INTO THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY? 47. PHILIPPINE ANIMATION FEST MAKES IT DEBUT. 48. UPCOMING EVENTS IN ANIMATION. Upcoming Films 49. 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. DISNEY OFFICIALLY CLOSES FLORIDA ANIMATION STUDIO. Walt Disney Feature Animation has officially closed its animation unit in Orlando, Florida that was responsible for BROTHER BEAR ($83.6M), LILO & STITCH ($146M) and MULAN ($121M) as a cost-cutting measure. In November, Disney cancelled production of A FEW GOOD GHOSTS, leaving little doubt about the fate of its 258 employees based in Florida. The move completes the reorganization of Feature Animation as it transitions to an all-3D pipeline. All Disney animation creative and production activities will be housed solely at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, where there are 600 employees and where production is currently under way on CHICKEN LITTLE, due in theaters in 2005. At the same time, Disney announced that it would commence production in June on the feature A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON, based on the best-selling William Joyce book, author of ROLIE POLIE OLIE, which is currently a Disney Channel series. "This difficult decision was based on what is best strategically for our business in both the short and long term," said Disney Feature Animation president David Stainton in a prepared statement. " Having the entire animation group working together in Burbank under one roof will further enhance our filmmaking process." Disney officials were unsure how many Orlando workers would be transferred to Burbank. 2. DISNEY ANIMATORS FORM LEGACY ANIMATION IN FLORIDA. A group of former Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida animators have banded together to open Legacy Animation Studios, a new animation production studio in Winter Garden, Florida, close to Orlando in late January 2004. The studio will offer a full-range of traditional hand-drawn (or 2D) animation services for film, television and commercials. Legacy will also be dedicated to developing original properties for television and film as well as produce its own feature film project. "We believe that traditionally animated films are still a viable form of entertainment," says Legacy Animation Studios directing manager, Eddie Pittman. "Our goal is to create quality animated films with compelling stories and strong characters and to continue Walt Disney's legacy of hand-drawn animation." The combined experience of the Legacy team amounts to more than 25 animated films, including THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN, MULAN and LILO AND STITCH. Pittman has worked on such animated features as MULAN, TARZAN, and LILO & STITCH. He has taught for the renowned Computer Animation program at Ringling School of Art and Design, and his popular drawing classes taught around Central Florida the Disney Florida studio recommended to aspiring animators. Recently, he produced and directed LEGENDS OF THE NIGHT SKY: ORION, the world's first full dome (360°) traditionally animated movie. Veteran assistant animator David Nethery is on board as creative director for Legacy. Nethery has nearly 20 years of experience as an animation artist. His credits include such characters as "Meeko" the raccoon from POCAHONTAS, "Mushu" from MULAN, "Cobra Bubbles" from LILO AND STITCH, and, most recently, "Tug" and "Koda's Mom" from BROTHER BEAR. Legacy has three projects in development, including a short film that will begin production in late January 2004. For more information contact Pittman at (407) 538-8938 or via e-mail at eddie@legacyanimation.net. 3. FOX KIDS JETTISONING NAME TO BECOME JETIX. ABC Cable Networks, Fox Kids Europe and Fox Kids Latin America have teamed up to launch Jetix, a joint kids programming worldwide alliance that will feature original, acquired and library action/adventure series for kids to reach a combined 137 million television households in 77 countries and in 18 languages. Featuring such popular action programs such as POWER RANGERS, Jetix programming blocks will debut in the U.S. in February 2004, with morning programming on ABC Family and primetime shows on Toon Disney. Jetix blocks on Fox Kids channels will start up in April in Europe and the Middle East. These channels are scheduled to be renamed Jetix channels in fall 2004 while Fox Kids outlets in Latin America will become Jetix in midyear. The unique name Jetix was developed, and researched with children, with the goal of finding a word that implied action and adventure and yet could be used in a number of international markets without being a proper name for something else. Anne Sweeney, president of ABC Cable Networks Group and Disney Channel Worldwide calls Jetix, "a strategic, ad-supported complement to Disney-branded television around the world, including our 22 Disney Channels." Bruce Steinberg, chairman/ceo of Fox Kids Europe said, "Jetix propels Fox Kids' offering of high-energy entertainment to a worldwide kids audience. This will strengthen Fox Kids Europe's partnership with Disney and enable us to develop exciting original programming to bring to this expanded audience and continue our success as the leading pan-European kids action-adventure entertainment company. We will build on this new alliance to continue to successfully leverage our programming library through our channels, consumer products, program distribution and online and interactive businesses." 4. GLOBAL MECHANIC EXPANDS TO BOSTON. Vancouver Canada-based Global Mechanic has expanded its operations to the United States in order to serve its increased business in commercial, television production and independent film work. With the addition of a new east coast office, Global Mechanic is now able to run productions from both its Vancouver headquarters and its Boston studios. The new U.S. studios will be run by production industry veteran Matthew Charde. Matthew most recently spent two years at Euro RSCG MVBMS Partners as svp and director of Circle Studios -- the Multimedia & Entertainment group of Euro RSCG Circle. While there, Matthew developed and produced commercials, programming and branded content (both broadcast and Web) for many of the agency's clients, including Campbell's, MINI, IKEA, Verizon and the Cartoon Network. Before working on the agency side of the business, Matthew served as the exec producer/gm of Olive Jar Studios, a Boston and Los Angeles-based animation and special effects production company. While there, they delivered hundreds of commercials and network identities as well as numerous television pilot and series projects. Matthew will serve as the exec producer of Global Mechanic. This expansion move comes at a time when Global Mechanic is experiencing dramatic growth of its commercial, television programming and independent film business. Says Charde, "Our presence in the U.S. will be a tremendous asset to the studio since we will be more fully able to service our clients with an east coast presence, while at the same time broadening creative and production opportunities for our teams in Vancouver." Bruce Alcock and Ann Marie Fleming founded Global Mechanic in Vancouver in 2000. Alcock was a founder of Cuppa Coffee Studios in Toronto and Tricky Pictures (part of Backyard Prods.) in Chicago. Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Fleming has worked in all forms from shorts to features, including animation. Between the two of them, they boast nearly 30 years of award-winning broadcast design, commercials and films. The Boston office will be based in the heart of the city's production community at 162 Columbus Ave., home of Finish Editorial and the Soundtrack Audio Studios. Says Don Packer, coo of Finish, "I am thrilled that Global Mechanic is opening up their new studios right inside our post facility -- it is a great fit. Our clients, abilities and sensibilities are a perfect complement to one another. With animation, live action, edit, composite, sound and hi-def film transfer all under one roof, the opportunities - not to mention the convenience - are tremendous." Recent Global Mechanic projects include: a nine-spot broadcast campaign for Bell Mobility and Re-Think Advertising, television commercial work for Dove (Unilever) and Leo Burnett; the feature documentary by Fleming, THE MAGICAL LIFE OF LONG TACK SAM, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival; and the animated short by Alcock, WRONG NUMBER PHONE MESSAGE, invited to the Sundance On-Line Film Festival. Global Mechanic (www.globalmechanic.com) is a bi-coastal animation and live-action production company that makes television commercials, independent films and music videos. Techniques include design-based animation, mixed media, stop-motion/motion control, drawn and live action/special effects. Commercial clients include Anheuser-Busch, Bell Mobility, Proctor & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Mattel, BMW's MINI, Unilever, Hershey, Kraft, Mattel, Nestlé and Target. People 5. ZARGHAMI UPPED TO NICK TV PRESIDENT. Cyma Zarghami, who has been instrumental in making Nickelodeon the highest-rated basic cable network in total day ratings for more than eight straight years, has been promoted to the newly created position of President, Nickelodeon Television. In her new role, Zarghami will oversee all of Nickelodeon's television businesses, adding the digital channel Noggin/The N, which is now in 40 million homes, to her responsibilities, while continuing to oversee Nickelodeon Games & Sports (GAS) and Nicktoons. Formerly evp/gm of the network since 1996, Zarghami will continue to oversee all program production and development for Nick's television businesses, as well as marketing, programming and creative. She continues to report to Herb Scannell, MTVN Group president, and president, Nickelodeon Networks. "Cyma Zarghami is a tremendous leader and strategist who literally grew up at Nickelodeon, and has exhibited her prowess as a programmer time and time again as proven by the channel's ratings performance," Scannell said. "She embodies the heart and soul of Nickelodeon and always finds a way to know what kids want before anyone else does. In her new role, she will add oversight of our digital channels, ensuring that the Nick brand will be wherever kids are as new generations come of age." A kids programming veteran, Zarghami has managed a continuous string of hits at Nickelodeon, including taking SPONGEBOB SQUAREPARTS to new heights, making THE FARILY ODDPARENTS Nick's newest hit, and building DORA THE EXPLORER into the number-one preschool program in commercial television. Zarghami reinvigorated Nickelodeon's storied RUGRATS franchise by launching its spin-off series ALL GROWN UP to the highest ratings in the network's history. Zarghami has also introduced many of Nick's key signature programming concepts and achievements, including the extension of programming dayparts to kids when broadcast networks are not serving them and breakthrough packaging concepts. Zarghami began her career with Nickelodeon 17 years ago, rising through the ranks to play an instrumental role in the company's marketing partnerships, initiatives and growth, including the launch of Nickelodeon U.K. in 1993 and Nick at Nite's TV Land in 1996. Named gm of Nickelodeon in 1996, she helped launch all of Nickelodeon's major dayparts, including television's premier preschool block, Nick Jr., SNICK (Saturday Night Nickelodeon) and TEENick. 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 and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. 6. HOBBS TO JOIN HEARST-ARGYLE TELEVISION. Steven A. Hobbs will join Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. in the newly created position of svp/chief legal and development officer, effective January 21, 2004, reporting to Hearst-Argyle TV president/ceo David J. Barrett. "Steve Hobbs has worked closely with our company for many years, and has played an important role during the recent six-year period of our significant expansion and growth as a public company," Barrett said. "We are excited to have him join us in this new position, and I know he will be a valued addition to our strong senior management team. Steve will help us evaluate new opportunities for growth, providing a valuable strategic and legal perspective that will help us address the challenges and opportunities in an exciting, but increasingly complex and competitive television industry. His strong executive leadership skills will be of great benefit to our stations, our company, and to our various other strategic ventures." Hobbs, a partner with the law firm of Clifford Chance US LLP, since 1993, based in the firm's New York office, is a member of Clifford Chance's corporate and securities law practice and has served as the firm's Americas merger-and-acquisition group practice leader as well as a member of its Americas management group. Hobbs has advised on transactions involving both public and private media entities including the formation of Hearst-Argyle Television through the merger of Argyle Television, Inc. with The Hearst Corp.'s broadcasting group; Hearst-Argyle Television's acquisition of the broadcasting assets of Pulitzer Publishing Company; Hearst's acquisitions of THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE and THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS; and Cable & Wireless U.S.A., Inc. in the sale of its dial-up Internet access services business to Prodigy Communications. Hearst-Argyle TV (www.hearstargyle.com) owns 24 television stations, and manages an additional three television and two radio stations, in geographically diverse U.S. markets. Its TV stations reach about 17.7% of U.S. TV households, making it one of the largest U.S. television station groups. Hearst-Argyle owns 10 NBC affiliates, and is the second-largest NBC affiliate owner. Hearst-Argyle TV also owns 11 ABC affiliated stations, and manages an additional ABC station owned by The Hearst Corp., and is the largest ABC affiliate group. IN addition, the company owns two CBS affiliates and a WB affiliate, and manages a UPN affiliate and an independent station. Hearst-Argyle also is involved in television production and syndication, through a joint venture with NBC Enterprises, and is a leader in the convergence of local broadcast television and the Internet through its partnership with Internet Broadcasting Systems. Film 7. DISNEY DECLARES 'A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON' ANIMATED FEATURE FOR 2006. The same day that Walt Disney Feature Animation officially declared the closing of its Florida unit, saying goodbye for the moment to traditional animation, it strengthened its 3D commitment by announcing the addition of A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON to its production slate. Based on the best-selling book by William Joyce, whose ROBOTS is already in production at Fox's Blue Sky Studios, A DAY IN THE LIFE will be exec produced by Clark Spencer (LILO & STITCH) and produced by Disney animation veteran Dorothy Mc Kim. Steve Anderson (head of story on THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE and BROTHER BEAR) is set to direct. Animation will begin in June for a 2006 release. Disney is already in production on CHICKEN LITTLE for a 2005 release. The fantastic world of Joyce's beloved 1990 book, A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON, follows one fateful day in the life of a boy-genius who creates a mysterious machine with one fantastic purpose -- to recover the lost memory of the past. What he unlocks instead is time itself, and a visit with a future, a family and a world whose survival all depends upon him. Commenting on the announcement, Disney Feature Animation president David Stainton said, "William Joyce's charming and funny book has everything you could possibly want in an animated film and offers our animation team a rich world of possibilities. Our goal at Disney is to tell great stories and to take full advantage of the medium, and A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON gives us a chance to do both." Acclaimed illustrator/author Joyce has previously been associated with Disney on the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel series, ROLIE POLIE OLIE, which has earned kudos during its five year run. 8. PARAMOUNT DEVELOPING LIVE ACTION/CGI TRUMPET OF SWAN. Paramount Pictures confirmed that it is developing a live action version of THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN, based on E.B. White's final children's book, which would include some CGI animation. Katie Ford (co-writer of MISS CONGENIALITY) will script. This marks the second film adaptation of THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN. Back in 2001, Rich-Crest Animation produced an animated feature directed by Terry Noss and Richard Rich. The story concerns a trumpeter swan named Louis, who, unlike his four brothers and sisters, is unable to trumpet at all, and desperately wants to win the heart of a beautiful swan through music. White is also known for writing the children's books STUART LITTLE and CHARLOTTE'S WEB. 9. RETURN OF KING OUTLASTS BIG FISH AT BOX OFFICE. The tug of war for box office supremacy was intense last weekend between THE RETURN OF THE KING and BIG FISH, with the Tim Burton film appearing to be the winner by a nose. But when all the numbers were officially tabulated, it turned out there was no stopping THE LORD OF THE RINGS finale, which stayed atop the chart for the period ended Jan. 11, 2004. New Line's RETURN OF THE KING grossed another $14.2M, giving the Peter Jackson film (with VFX by his Weta Digital) a cume of $312.3M, which ranks 13th on the all-time list. Meanwhile, Sony's BIG FISH wound up in second place with a very impressive $13.8M (with VFX by Sony Pictures Imageworks), as it went wide for the first time. So far, BIG FISH has $23.3M. CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN from Fox was rich with family viewers, placing third in its third weekend with $11.7M for a total of $101.1M for the Steve Martin starrer, with VFX by 11:11 Mediaworks and Digital Filmworks. Miramax's COLD MOUNTAIN heated up the box office for $7.8M to stay in fourth place, producing $55.3M in its third outing. Double Negative and Framestore in the U.K. contributed VFX. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE moved down to fifth for Sony with $7.7M in its fifth outing, totaling $92.5M, with Scott Rader as vfx supervisor. Miramax's MY BABY'S DADDY debuted in sixth place with $7.5M and Warner Bros.' CHASING LIBERTY debuted at number seven with $6M. Audiences paid $5.1M to see Paramount's PAYCHECK in eighth place, adding up to a disappointing cume of $46.4M for the Ben Affleck vehicle featuring VFX from Rising Sun Pictures, Creo Collective and CIS Hollywood. Warner Bros.' THE LAST SAMURAI (with VFX from Flash Film Works, Rising Sun and Matte World) slipped to the ninth spot with $4.5M, giving the Tom Cruise actioner $97.1M. Sony's MONA LISA SMILE period drama starring Julia Roberts dropped to 10th place, taking in $4.3M and $56.8M in its fourth week, with Framestore contributing VFX. Sony Pictures Classics' critically acclaimed THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVEVILLE took in $155,806 decreasing its theaters to 34, for a total of $1,280,038 to date. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com. 10. NOODLESOUP COOKS UP OPEN MY BABY'S DADDY. Newcomer Noodlesoup Productions has made an impression on Miramax, animating the opening minutes to the distributor's latest release, MY BABY'S DADDY, which opened in theaters Jan 9, 2004. "We're excited that Miramax has such faith in Noodlesoup Prods. and has given us the opportunity to work with them on another film, said Jeff Nodelman, founder and CEO of Noodlesoup. "I believe this is just the beginning of a great relationship." MY BABY'S DADDY stars Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson and Michael Imperioli, who play three bachelor friends from the hood. After a lifetime of hard partying, the bachelors are in for a rude awakening when their respective girlfriends all become pregnant at the same time. The film is produced by Eddie Griffin, Mathew Weaver, Happy Walters and directed by Cheryl Dunye. Noodlesoup also animated the opening to another Miramax comedy, DUPLEX, which starred Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore and was directed by Danny DeVito. Duplex opened in the fall of 2003. Founded in 2001, Noodlesoup Prods. is a full-service animation studio, located in the heart of Times Square in New York City. Founded in 2001 by award-winning animator Jeff Nodelman, the studio creates original content in addition to providing production services for the entertainment and advertising industries. Noodlesoup's staff of classically trained artists and animators has more than 50 years of combined experience in TV, feature film and advertising at leading companies. Their talent has produced more than 15 animated TV series, five feature films and 30 advertising campaigns. Television 11. WITCH HUNTER ROBIN JOINS CARTOON NETWORK'S ADULT SWIM. Cartoon Network has added the gothic anime series, WITCH HUNTER ROBIN, to its Adult Swim lineup. Beginning Feb. 16, 2004, the show will air Monday-Thursday at midnight. Set in present-day Japan where witches abuse their supernatural powers, a special team, lead by the flame conjurer Robin, hunts this new threat with a blend of technology, forensic science and supernatural powers. The series is directed by animé veteran Shukou Murase, who served as character designer for GUNDAM WING and ARGENTOSOMA. Adult Swim is Cartoon Network's highly rated block of animation for adults. Airing Sunday-Thursday from 11:00 pm - 2:00 am (ET/PT), Adult Swim is #1 in its time period on all of ad-supported basic cable with adults 18-24 and adults 18-34. Cartoon Network, seen in 85.7 million U.S. homes and 145 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s 24-hour, ad-supported cable service offering animated entertainment. For more information, visit www.cartoonnetwork.com. 12. ADV FILMS ACQUIRES NEW FIST OF THE NORTH STAR ANIME. ADV Films has acquired the exclusive home video and broadcast rights for the new FIST OF THE NORTH STAR trilogy, a modern animated series based on the world-renowned FIST OF THE NORTH STAR manga. Anime Network is planning a broadcast run of the new trilogy to support the upcoming home video release. In the aftermath of the great apocalypse on Earth, bandits and enterprising overlords hold survivors in an unflagging grip of terror. A lone warrior, Kenshiro, rises from the ashes and cut a swath of justice across the Earth's ruined landscape with his unconquerable martial arts and proclaims, "You're already dead." The new trilogy, recently released in Japan, is based on the popular FIST OF THE NORTH STAR manga series and classic anime feature film. FIST OF THE NORTH STAR manga first enthralled audiences with its debut in the early 1980s by selling more than 60 million copies in five languages worldwide. The story's success made its creator, Hara Tetsuo, an internationally renowned manga artist and led to two hit television series, two animated movies and one live-action movie. Its over-the-top violence and exciting action sequences quickly became legendary, making the series a staple of Japanese pop culture. The series has been parodied in several prominent anime titles over the years, most recently in MAGICAL SHOPPING ARCADE ABENOBASHI, also available from ADV Films. FIST OF THE NORTH STAR has gathered impressive merchandising momentum with numerous video games, action figures and other character related merchandise in stores around the world. "The new FIST OF THE NORTH STAR trilogy maintains all the explosive action of the original property by utilizing the latest in anime production techniques," said ADV Films' ceo/co-founder John Ledford. "I am confident that the new trilogy will satisfy the title's countless fans and attract new ones." An added bonus is the participation of Japanese pop sensation Gackt, who sings the opening and closing theme songs and acts in the first volume of the DVD. ADV Films has not yet announced specific release plans for the title, but Ledford says he expects a home video release around late spring or early summer 2004 with exclusive airings of the new FIST OF THE NORTH STAR on Anime Network prior to the DVD release. In 1992, ADV Films (www.advfilms.com) began to forge the international market for Japanese animation (anime) by combining unique titles, outstanding production values and efficient large-scale distribution. Today, ADV Films is a top producer/distributor of Japanese animation to the North American market, with the firm's holdings including such premier titles as NOIR, SAILOR MOON, HELLO KITTY'S PARADISE, RAHXEPHON, ROBOTECH, FULL METAL PANIC and NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. ADV Films' parent company, A.D. Vision Inc., also publishes anime and manga monthly magazine NEWTYPE USA, operates Anime Network, broadcasting anime and anime-related programming via digital cable, 24 hours a day; and publishes ADV Manga, a line of Japanese and other East Asian comics, illustration books, graphic novels and more. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with additional offices and distribution across four continents, ADV Films is fast becoming an international multi-media entertainment powerhouse. 13. CRAM SESSION FOR TEACHER'S PET. Toon Disney is giving viewers a chance to do their homework on DISNEY'S TEACHER'S PET before the feature film hits theaters on Jan. 16, 2004. The Disney cable outlet presented a special four-hour marathon on Jan. 11 from 8:00 to noon, featuring eight consecutive episodes of the critically acclaimed animated TV series, produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series, based on the striking visual style and attitude of cartoonist Gary Baseman, follows the comic exploits of Spot, a talking dog who disguises himself as a boy in order to attend school and becomes the teacher's pet. DISNEY'S TEACHER'S PET features a voice cast that includes the two-time Tony Award winner Nathan Lane as Spot, Shaun Fleming as Leonard, Debra Jo Rupp as Leonard's mother and fourth grade teacher Mrs. Helperman; Jerry Stiller as the voice of the napoleonic family bird, Pretty Boy; David Ogden Stiers as the Helperman's plump, neurotic cat, Mr. Jolly; Rob Paulsen who supplies the voice of know-it-all classmate Ian Wazselewski; and Wallace Shawn portraying the cat-loving, overlord Principal Strickler. The show has received five Daytime Emmy Awards, including two consecutive honors as Outstanding Animated Series. It has also garnered honors from the British Academy Film & Television Awards (BAFTA), the National Cartoonist Society and the World Animation Celebration. The Toon Disney DISNEY'S TEACHER'S PET marathon event will feature the following episodes: "What Sweat Got to Do With It" "Never Take Candy from a Kindergartner" "Stricker's Pet / Fresh 'N Frozey Chocolaccino" "The Nose Knows / Don't Bite the Hound That Feeds" "You Can't Bite City Hall" "Attack of the Fifty Inch Girl" "Flipper" "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Green" DISNEY'S TEACHER'S PET airs regularly on Toon Disney weekdays at 4:30 pm, Saturdays at 9:30 pm and Sundays at 11:00 am, 11:30 am and 9:30 pm. Toon Disney showcases Disney's vast library of animation from the past seven decades, as well as a variety of acquired animated programs. Toon Disney, available in 42 million homes, is a division of ABC Cable Networks Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. 14. DRAGON STORM DEBUTS JAN. 24 ON SCI FI CHANNEL. Travel back to medieval times, where alien dragons are transported inside an earth-bound meteor, in DRAGON STORM, the two-hour original feature airing on Sci Fi Channel on Jan. 24, 2004 at 9:00 pm. John Rhys-Davies (THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy) stars along with Maxwell Caulfield and Angel Boris. Stephen Furst (ANIMAL HOUSE) directs. Two enemy kingdoms must unite and, following the lead of a reclusive hunter (Caulfield), fight off the beasts before they scorch the countryside bare. VFX were provided by UFO. 15. MONSTER GOES HDTV IN U.S. Monster Distributes has sold three programs to Animania HD, one of 21 brand-new, commercial-free HD (high-definition) channels created by Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC and available exclusively on VOOM, the first television service to offer a comprehensive array of HDTV programming to customers throughout the continental United States. Animania HD has picked up both Monster's animated caterpillar stories, HERMIE: A COMMON CATERPILLA, from U.S.-based GlueWorks Entertainment and THE LOST LITTLE CATERPILLER from Iceland-based Caoz Entertainment. Also included is Ape, a half hour model animation from Dublin-based Treasure Entertainment. "Animania HD provides animated kids programming that is delivered with such spectacular images the viewer feels as if they're being drawn into the program," said Josh Sapan, president/ceo, Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC, creators of Animania HD, which launched in October 2003. "We're thrilled to be working with Monster Distributes to deliver such high quality programming to kids." Andrew Fitzpatrick, chairman of Monster Distributes, said, "Animania HD is such a wonderful idea that will bring animation to life in a way that can only be done in high-definition." Max Lucado's HERMIE: A COMMON CATERPILLAR is the clever animated story of two caterpillars who long to escape their dull, boring lives and become something great. Voice talent includes Tim Conway, Don Knotts and Melissa Disney. Set in New York, THE LOST LITTLE CATERPILLER tells the story of the adventure of a spellbound princess and her struggle to understand the complexities of life. Voices include Alfred Molina (FRIDA, CHOCOLAT, MAGNOLIA, SPECIES), comedian Dom Irrera (THE BIG LEBOWSKI) and Michael McElhatton (THE ACTORS, I WENT DOWN). APE is about an orangutan who escapes from the zoo and, having learned to pass himself off as a man, goes on to become a famous chat show presenter, described as a cross between Jay Leno and Tony Soprano. Monster Distributes (www.monsterdistributes.com) is an international distribution company, which finances and distributes television series worldwide. Other recent sales of animated programs include HARVIE KRUMPET, with sales to VPRO Netherlands, Arte in France, TSR Switzerland and Madman in Australia, THE TOLL COLLECTOR, with sales to Canal Plus Scandinavia, Sogecable Spain, Arte France, TSR Switzerland and Showtime in the U.S., and the popular Oscar-nominated GIVE UP YER AUL SINS, and animated pre-school series WHY?, both recently sold to Raisat Italy, with a sale to Teletoon France for WHY?, and HOP! in Israel and Innoform Singapore licensing the second series. Commercials 16. MOTION ANALYSIS MAKES MO-CAP HISTORY WITH DAVID FINCHER NIKE SPOT. Motion Analysis Studios recently made motion capture history when they created a 50-foot-by-50-foot volume to capture motions of NFL stars Terrell Owens and Michael Vick for the Nike Gridiron commercial spot directed by David Fincher. This latest cutting-edge spot takes viewers right into the action of a digital football arena, complete with snow and a fantasy football team of 22 growling opponents. In order to create the realistic effects needed, Motion Analysis used an unprecedented 50 cameras to capture up to six players at a time performing high intensity football moves and tackles. The entire shoot was accomplished using the Motion Analysis Digital Eagle system, which allowed Fincher to view the data instantly during the shoot. "Nike and Digital Domain needed the largest mocap volume ever made in order to make the commercial a reality," said Jeff Swenty, head of production for Motion Analysis Studios. "The sheer volume of a 2,500 square foot volume is almost breath-taking considering a 200-square-foot volume was at one point considered huge." Motion Analysis also worked with partner Nexus Digital Studios to 3D scan more than 20 players and actors, including Vick and Owens. The data needed to be processed incredibly fast because of the volume and tight turn-around time associated with this high profile commercial. The data was then provided to Digital Domain who created the animations necessary to bring all of the elements to life. "MAS delivered on all fronts. Not only were they able to give us great data from the captures, they were also able to work seamlessly with our animation team to ensure that we got what we needed when we needed it," said Michael Pardee, producer for Digital Domain. "They are a pleasure to work with and would recommend them to anyone doing a large complicated motion capture session with several characters." Motion Analysis Studios (www.mastudios.com) is a state of the art motion capture facility dedicated to providing the 3D animation industry with the highest quality motion-capture services available. MAS, a pioneer in character animation services, provide animators and directors from feature films, music videos, television, games and commercials with the best technology and superior Motion Capture service. Founded in 1999, MAS is located in the heart of the studio section of Culver City, California. Nexus Digital Studios (www.nexusdigitalstudios.com) is a fully equipped state of the art scanning and digitizing facility and is one of the largest companies of its type in the world. Located in Culver City, it is equipped with a full suite of Cyberware Laser scanners for complete human head and body scanning and high-resolution model scanners for entertainment, industrial design and engineering. The team has more than 15 years of hands on experience in Computer Graphics Imaging, 3D laser scanning and digitizing. Internet & Interactive 17. NOKIA MAKES ASHEN FOR N-GAGE MOBILE GAME DECK. Nokia is at work on ASHEN, its third self-published title for the N-Gage mobile game deck, available in the first half of 2004. ASHEN is a 3D gothic horror themed, first person shooter that pits mobile gamers against a host of horrors. In addition to exciting single player action, up to four people can play in death match mode via Bluetooth wireless technology. ASHEN is being developed by Torus Games, a leading game developer based in Melbourne, Australia. "ASHEN will capture mobile gamers with its impressive gameplay and unique features," said Pasi Polonen, director of game publishing, entertainment and media business unit, Nokia Mobile Phones. "With a compelling storyline, fast-paced action and unique features, Ashen will inspire gamers to fight against an amazing range of enemies and to explore and rescue the citizens of Seven River City." The game has a unique "ghost vision" mode enabling gamers to detect and combat invisible enemies that block their progress through the game. Players can choose from eight different weapon types such as dual pistols, a Gatling gun, sniper rifle and a unique alien assault gun. Eight single-player maps are available, with two additional maps for multiplayer deathmatch gaming. Ashen players will be able to share their best scores with other devotees of the game via N-Gage Arena, the mobile online gaming community. Mobile gamers can immerse themselves in a rich 3D world, ranging from ruined cityscapes, spectacular cathedrals, and alien infested streets. With eight unique and intelligently behaving enemy types, players will need to keep their wits about them as they try to unravel the reasons behind the supernatural phenomena that have taken over Seven River City. The N-Gage game deck is an innovative mobile device that is creating an entirely new market for the games industry. Built for active and hardcore gamers, the N-Gage platform is the first mobile and connected game deck to feature online high-quality 3D multiplayer gameplay over Bluetooth wireless technology and GPRS. The N-Gage device also offers unique online games services as well as a comprehensive and growing games catalogue from the leading game publishers. Nokia (www.nokia.com) is the world leader in mobile communications. Nokia and N-Gage are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nokia Corp. Torus Games (www.torus.com.au) is an independent developer of video games based in Melbourne, Australia. Torus has been developing videogames since 1994 and employs a staff of more than 50. Home Entertainment 18. THE END IS NEAR: MATRIX REVOLUTIONS ON DVD APRIL 6. THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, the last of the Wachowski brothers' groundbreaking trilogy and vfx feast (supplied by ESC Entertainment a host of other houses) debuts on DVD April 6, 2004 (Warner Home Video, $29.95). The two-disc set will include the following bonus features in an attempt to top its predecessors: * Revolutions Recalibrated -- A behind-the-scenes overview that drills deep into the groundbreaking work that went into the final chapter. * CG Revolution -- Explore the special effects arsenal and take an inside look at the making of the creatures and environs of the CGI-intensive third movie. * Super Burly Brawl - A crash course on the final Neo/Smith showdown with three multiple video streams: storyboards, behind-the-scenes and the final scene, all running in sync. * Follow the White Rabbit -- Watch the special features and select the White Rabbit icon to go further into the making of the film. * Neo Realism: The Evolution of Bullet Time -- A closer look at how "Bullet Time" was taken to the next degree of madness. * Super Big Mini Models -- The intricacies of filming in the world of models and miniatures. * Double Agent Smith -- A look at what it took to make this standout scene, including the work to replicate Hugo Weaving, with body doubles, lifelike mannequins, head casts and costumes. * Mind Over Matter: The Physicality of The Matrix -- A look at what it takes for the actors and stunt people to perform the dramatic stunts of THE MATRIX. * Future Gamer The Matrix Online -- An introduction to the massive multiplayer game THE MATRIX ONLINE, created by the Wachowski brothers. * 3D Evolution -- Transition to different levels of the Matrix to view concept art, storyboards, pre-visualizations and realizations for several elements in REVOLUTIONS. * Before the Revolution -- 3D timeline of the concurrent story development occurring in the Matrix between THE MATRIX trilogy, THE ANIMATRIX and ENTER THE MATRIX. 19. DANGER, DANGER, LOST IN SPACE ON DVD. LOST IN SPACE - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (Fox Home Entertainment, $79.98) lands on DVD Jan. 13, 2004 in an eight-disc set containing all 29 black and white episodes of the Space Family Robinson from '65. Cheesy effects, but producer Irwin Allen offered a fun sci-fi romp that took place in '97. The first season was definitely the best. Includes the unaired pilot, "No Place to Hide" with no Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris) and no robot. Disc 1 The Reluctant Stowaway The Derelict Island In The Sky There Were Giants In The Earth Disc 2 The Hungry Sea Welcome Stranger My Friend, Mr. Nobody Invaders From the Fifth Dimension Disc 3 The Oasis The Sky Is Falling Wish Upon A Star The Raft Disc 4 One Of Our Dogs Is Missing Attack of the Monster Plants Return From Outer Space The Keeper- Part 1 Disc 5 The Keeper- Part 2 The Sky Pirate Ghost In Space The War of the Robots Disc 6 The Magic Mirror The Challenge The Space Trader His Majesty Smith Disc 7 The Space Croppers All That Glitters The Last Civilization A Change Of Space Disc 8 Follow The Leader No Place to Hide (Unaired pilot) Location-Based Entertainment 20. IOMEDIA FORGES 3D RELATIONSHIP WITH ROCKWELL. In continuing to define a new collaborative design and production strategy with the Rockwell Group, IOMEDIA has produced a series of presentations combining 3D animation, interactive design and video production for the Starhill Shopping and Entertainment Center located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In order to leverage the best media for the presentation, the Rockwell group used IOMEDIA's PRESENT software to incorporate traditional hand-rendered images produced by the Rockwell Group with animation and video content produced concurrently by IOMEDIA. The PRESENT engine allowed Rockwell to move seamlessly between different media (stills, animation, video and interactive content), while maintaining a unified identity for the project, across all three presentations, made over a period of two months. The Rockwell Group was responsible for creating three alternative concept schemes for extensive renovations to the existing complex, a refinement of the preferred scheme and a master-planning phase for incorporation of these concepts into the surrounding Bintang Walk area. Under the direction of David Mexico, The Rockwell Group's design team developed and provided to IOMEDIA design underlays for the various vignettes and design concepts in hand sketch fashion. IOMEDIA worked these underlays into sketch-like animations befitting of this preliminary level of design. Music and ambient sound was employed to round out the experience for the presentations. "Although collaborating on design schemes and making last minute adjustments is always a challenge, our work experience with IOMEDIA is forging new ground," said David Mexico, Rockwell Group principal. "With each project, the IOMEDIA crew consistently produces great work at a challenging pace. For Kuala Lumpur, with the use of the PRESENT software, we were able to put together impressive interactive presentations. In a nutshell, through what IOMEDIA does best, we were able to show what we do best." IOMEDIA (www.io-media.com) is an award-winning, nationally based creative agency that specializes in using 3D and digital media for custom communications productions. Since its founding in 1997, IOMEDIA has been committed to producing digital media and visualizations that are used to build creative and effective communications programs. Headquartered in New York City, IOMEDIA consistently delivers video productions, animations, digital graphics and interactive services. Rockwell Group was founded in 1984, and contains a 90-person office with more than 150 projects to its credit. Characterized by rich materials, innovative narrative and a sense of theater, recent projects by the Rockwell Group include the groundbreaking Mohegan Sun casinos, set designs for the Broadway musical HAIRSPRAY, Chambers (New York), Riverbank (London) and W (New York) hotels, the Kodak Theatre (Los Angeles) and dozens of restaurants, including Nobu, Town, Rosa Mexicano and Pod. Licensing 21. MATTEL GAINS MEGAMAN TOY LICENSE. Mattel Inc. has signed a deal with ShoPro Ent. for the master toy license to MEGAMAN NT WARRIOR. The franchise originated as a Capcom videogame series then became a long-running manga series. The TV series is garnering high ratings for the Kids' WB! Mattel has not yet announced any information regarding when the initial release of the new toy line will begin. 22. TOKYOPOP AWARDS HASBRO MASTER TOY LICENSE FOR RAVE MASTER. TOKYOPOP Inc. has announced its has awarded the RAVE MASTER master toy license to Hasbro. The toy maker is planning a comprehensive line of RAVE MASTER themed action figures, games and accessories, with the first wave hitting store shelves in the fall of 2004. The TV series is set to debut in the U.S. on Cartoon Network in 2004. "With Rave Master's epic storyline and colorful cast of characters, we knew we had the makings of a merchandising hit. We also knew we needed a manufacturer with the means to expand this property into toys," said Kathryn Klingler, TOKYOPOP's licensing & merchandising sales director. "Hasbro's mass market appeal and expertise in boys action/adventure toys made them the perfect choice." "Rave Master is a very cool lifestyle property from Japan, and we are looking forward to working with TOKYOPOP on its U.S. launch this fall," said Samantha Lomow, vp of marketing for Hasbro. "The variety of characters and unique quest that they take provides rich content with which to develop our product line." RAVE MASTER follows Haru, an ordinary boy who, along with two unique companions, must travel the globe to retrieve a collection of powerful Rave stones necessary for him to defeat the malevolent Shadow Guard and fulfill his destiny. The Japanese hit generated 21 graphic novel volumes, a successful animated TV series, two console games for PlayStation 2 and Game Cube and a wide array of related toys and merchandise in its native country. TOKYOPOP Inc. is the leading North American publisher of manga, the fastest growing segment within the publishing industry. TOKYOPOP has millions of books in print and publishes many hit manga series, including LOVE HINA, CHOBITS, RAVE MASTER, INITIAL D, GTO, BATTLE ROYALE and COWBOY BEBOP. The company pioneered Cine-Manga, releasing such titles as FINDING NEMO, SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, LIZZIE MCGUIRE and TRANSFORMERS ARMADA. Visit www.TOKYOPOP.com for additional information. Hasbro is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., the firm operates the Playskool, Tonka, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, Tiger and Wizards Of The Coast brands. For more information, visit www.hasbro.com. 23. DIC & PENGUIN REACH 4 MILLION UNIT MARK WITH STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE. DIC Consumer Products and publishing powerhouse Penguin Group have reached the four million books sold mark from 15 STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE titles published in the U.S. in 2003. In 2003, the top selling STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE titles included MEET STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (more than 500,000 units), IT'S A STRAWBERRY WORLD sticker story book (more than 400,000 units) and the scratch & sniff THE BERRYLICIOUS BAKE-OFF (more than 400,000 units). Penguin and DIC have 14 new titles slated for release in 2004 such as THE EASTER BONNET PARADE (January release), SPRING FOR STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (January release), STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE GOES CAMPING (February release), WHAT'S BAKING, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (April release) and STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE'S MAGNETIC PLAY BOOK (April release). Since the successful relaunch of STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE last year, the brand has exceeded expectations with retail sales generating more than $200 million across all categories, including publishing, toys, apparel, home video and more. Nancy Bassett, svp, DIC Consumer Products, said, "The Penguin Group has done a phenomenal job this year in publishing the all new STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE titles, and we are thrilled to share in the tremendous success. We anticipate equaled success with the new titles in 2004 as the brand continues to build momentum." Debra Dorfman, president/ publisher, Grosset & Dunlap/Price Stern Sloan (a Division of the Penguin Group), added, "STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE is a breakout title in its category this year and shows no signs of slowing down. Penguin is excited to deliver these quality books from a renowned brand that is on the fast track to becoming a classic children's title and a staple in young girl's libraries." DIC Entertainment is a leading children's entertainment company with more than 3,000 half-hours of programming in its library. DIC is a full service studio with production, development, distribution, home video, marketing and licensing departments. For more information, visit www.dicentertainment.com. Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the leading member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group. Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Berkley Books, Dutton, Frederick Warne, G.P. Putnam's Sons, Grosset & Dunlap, New American Library, Penguin, Philomel, Plume, Puffin, Riverhead Books and Viking, among others. For more information, visit www.penguinputnam.com. 24. LEGO AND NICK BUILD DORA PLAY SETS. LEGO Systems Inc. has partnered with Nickelodeon to create construction sets based on the hit preschool show on commercial television, DORA THE EXPLORER. Through the two-year partnership, LEGO Systems is looking to not only grow in the preschool category with the LEGO EXPLORE line of products, but also increase the construction toy options for all young children. "The show centers on exploration and discovery, something mirrored in the LEGO EXPLORE products," said Jill Wilfert, vp of global partnerships and alliances. "We really felt the show's playful learning tone and empowerment message were very compatible with the philosophy behind LEGO EXPLORE. Both companies have a 'kid's first' philosophy ensuring the best play and learning experience for children." DORA THE EXPLORER is a play along, animated adventure series starring a seven-year-old Latina heroine who lives inside a computer. Bilingual Dora uses her knowledge of English and Spanish to communicate with her friends, overcome obstacles and reach her goals. In each episode, Dora teaches a Spanish word or phrase to the viewers and then asks them to use it to solve a problem. Ultimately, Dora and her best friend, a monkey named Boots, triumph and the story always ends with a, "WE DID IT!" anthem. The initial line of LEGO Dora the Explorer products consists of four construction sets, priced from $9.99 to $29.99 for children ages two and up. The sets will begin shipping to retail in March 2004 and also will be available on www.LEGO.com. Education 25. VIDEO SYMPHONY TURNS 10 AND ACCREDITED. Celebrating its 10th anniversary year, Video Symphony, a TV & Film College and Career Center in Burbank, California has been awarded National Accreditation by Washington, D.C.'s ACCET (The Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training.) Video Symphony's National Accreditation culminates an 18-month process, spearheaded by Video Symphony's coo Andy Webb, and VP/controller Paula Thomas, working closely with ACCET to provide the extensive data necessary. VS had to show compliance with more than 30 standards of performance tests, in the broad categories of instructors, curricula, satisfactory academic progress and completion of students, student placement, facility and equipment, management, and financial stability. Mike Flanagan, founder/president of Video Symphony said, "We are delighted to have achieved this milestone. This accreditation provides us with a 'stamp of approval' by ACCET, signifying that we comply with the institutional standards of performance that are considered essential to a high-quality student education. The biggest challenge we needed to overcome was the structure of our courses and programs. We were founded as a corporate training, industry-certified, short-term training center, with courses that were two-three days long. Originally, students came in, took the classes, and were done. There were no ongoing standards of performance such as admissions requirements, testing, grading, completion time, and placement rate due to the nature of that short-term training." He adds, "However, since accrediting organizations like ACCET are primarily reviewing career and technical colleges that instruct students for months and years, we needed to change our internal procedures, since short-term classes do not lend themselves to the performance monitoring needed for accreditation. It took us many months and a lot of customized database modifications to conform the short-term classes with a long-term comprehensive program of instruction." Recent Video Symphony alumni now working in industry include: Video Editing Students: * Jay Mappala, assistant editor, NBC * Michael Noble, assistant editor, MTV * Dan Morita, assistant editor, CNN * Chris Ryder, assistant editor, FOX * Linda Rzeznik Attias, assistant editor, UPN * Matt Sniegoski, assistant editor, Animal Planet Audio Editing Student: * Steve Schartz, audio editor, FOX TV 3D/Visual Effects Students: * Briana Hamilton, 3D/FX digital artist, LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS and THE RETURN OF THE KING. Now working at DreamWorks Studios. * John Cooper, technical director, Commercials Division, Rhythm & Hues Video Symphony (www.videosymphony.com) is an authorized training center for Avid, Apple, DigiDesign, Sonic Solutions, Adobe, Alias and NewTek. The center provides comprehensive, professional-level instruction in all aspects of post-production for feature films, TV, video and DVD. Technology 26. TURBO SQUID TURNS RTRE INTO LATEST 3DS MAX PLUG-IN. Turbo Squid, home of the world's largest collection of royalty-free 3D assets for sale, announced the release of rtre from Cubicspace as the newest tool in the Discreet-certified 3ds max plug-in program. rtre is the most comprehensive interactive rendering solution available for professional 3ds max users, students and academic institutions. rtre is already in use by leading commercial groups, including Foster & Partners, ASDA/Wal*Mart, Helmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK), Corus, British Airports Authority (BAA), SAS, Jarvis, RMJM, Parkman, Telenor Expo, The Jerde Partnership and Toxic Design Studio. rtre is a suite of plug-ins and stand-alone tools that enables integrated realtime rendering of very complex 3D scenes. Specifically designed to accommodate the complexity of realistic architectural models and game level design conceptualizations, rtre uses Cubicspace's own highly sophisticated and advanced rendering engine to deliver a massive performance increase over existing technology. It is able to render millions of polygons in fractions of a second rather than the standard minutes or hours, letting users navigate their most complex scenes smoothly and freely at 30 frames-per-second. Scene data may also be output as images, video or published into freely distributable interactive scenes requiring no separate client viewer. "rtre absolutely delivers when it comes to speed and reliable output right inside the 3ds max interface," states Beau Perschall, vp of publishing at Turbo Squid. "It is amazing to be able to move through highly complex environments in realtime. I'm excited about the technology that Cubicspace brings to the DCP program, and what it's going to mean for the design/visualization and game creation fields. It's a product that must be seen to be believed." rtre has a suggested retail price $1695, with an introductory special of $995 for a limited time. rtre is available from Turbo Squid at www.turbosquid.com/dcpstore, from Discreet at www.discreet.com/products/3dsmax/dcp or from authorized resellers around the world. For a reseller near you, contact mailto:sales@turbosquid.com. Working together, Discreet and Turbo Squid are carefully selecting third party solutions that bring compelling value to 3ds max artists. These plug-ins are subjected to stringent testing procedures defined by Discreet to ensure each plug-in works well with 3ds max software and other Discreet-certified 3ds max plug-ins. Discreet Certified 3ds max plug-ins are backed up by an online support system implemented by Turbo Squid, including developer-moderated forums, FAQs, tutorials, demos and the latest product information for Discreet 3ds max artists. Founded in January 2000, Turbo Squid (www.turbosquid.com) is dedicated to the management and distribution of digital assets and other relevant content for 3D and 2D designers and creative professionals. Turbo Squid provides a global market for digital assets by enabling individual and corporate users to list, promote and sell their content to users around the world. In 2003 Turbo Squid was named as the exclusive publisher and worldwide distributor for the Discreet-certified 3ds max plug-in program. Turbo Squid is a privately held company with financial backing from Advantage Capital Partners, The Eastman Kodak Co. and Intel Capital. Discreet (www.discreet.com) offers a range of award-winning systems and software developed for digital media creation, management and delivery-across all disciplines from VFX and editing to animation, game development, web/interactive design, and design visualization. Discreet is based in Montreal, Quebec and is a division of Autodesk Inc., a leading design and digital media creation, management and distribution company. Founded in 1997, Cubicspace (www.cubicspace.com) continues to research, conceptualize and develop 3D realtime graphics solutions for the retail architectural, engineering and construction sectors. These solutions deliver superior/realistic realtime interactive graphics and efficient user interfaces on Windows compatible desktop and laptop systems. 27. MEDIA 100 TO RELEASE 844/X VERSION 3. Media 100 Inc., a leading provider of advanced media systems, will release the "Visual Effects" release--new version 3.0 software for 844/X in January 2004. The largest software expansion of 844/X since its inception in 2002, Version 3.0 advances 844/X with many new realtime, multi-stream capabilities: - Advanced keying - 3D digital video effects (DVEs) - Shadow and glow effects - XML-based metadata interchange - New performance optimizations for editing longer-form, layer-intensive projects The company recruited more than 30 844/X beta sites - the largest number to date - to test Version 3.0 and ensure both high performance and reliability. "For the past year we have interacted daily with 844/X users around the world," said Rick Keilty, vp of product marketing at Media 100. "Version 3.0 is a direct result of their inspiration and input. This release takes advantage of the realtime in-stream effects and compositing speed, as well as the 10-bit image quality intrinsic to the GenesisEngine and our 844/X software architecture. The new keyer, for example, rivals any high-end keyer. Our multi-stream 3D DVEs add to the long list of effects we can handle, concurrently, in realtime, for incredible creative flexibility compositing layers. "Version 3 exploits the parallel image processing pipelines of the GenesisEngine. Using numerous video/key streams simultaneously, we've been able to add complex yet lightning-fast multi-stream effects that creative users love and can't get elsewhere, such as glow and shadow effects." Advanced 10-Bit Keying - 844/X version 3.0 features a newly engineered 10-bit (1 billion colors) keyer that incorporates advanced spill suppression and matte-based key operations, such as erode and blur, allowing users to design sophisticated keys with the same precision as dedicated compositing systems. The advanced keyer is powered by the multiple parallel image processing pipelines of the GenesisEngine. To create an advanced key and perform spill suppression, 844/X version 3.0 performs basic keying functions with one stream, while a second stream is used to generate an additional key to remove or color correct spill colors from the image without changing the output key. The new version 3.0 keyer equips users with expanded keying controls, including R, G, B, luma, threshold, softness and transparency. Also new to version 3.0, chroma key controls add key color, tolerance, hue offset, softness and key thresholds. New spill suppression controls include hue offset, tolerance and YCbCr trim controls. With XBLUR, the power of the new version 3.0 keyer increases further. The advanced keyer provides matte blur and matte erode functions to provide smooth edge gradients and further minimize the effects of spill on an image for exceptionally high quality keys, all generated in real time. 3D DVEs - 844/X version 3.0 provides all-new 3D DVE processing for 844/X configurations with XBLUR. The powerful 3D effects expansion exploits the multiple PEPs (Programmable Effects Processors) onboard XBLUR to process 3D DVEs on up to eight streams simultaneously (four video/key pairs) in support of recursively processing unlimited visual effects layers without onerous host-based rendering. The version 3.0 3D DVE processing builds on the prior geometrics capability of 844/X to include: - Realtime adjustment of X and Y anchor point, position and scale; - Realtime X, Y and Z rotation with perspective control; - Realtime X and Y skew parameter; - Sub-pixel cropping for superior edge definition. XBLUR Integrated Filters - With version 3.0, XBLUR adds support for rapid creation of complex effects such as glows and shadows that are otherwise very slow to create and render (and re-render to edit). These new visual effects capabilities are powered by the PEPs onboard XBLUR that also process real-time, multi-stream 80-pixel Gaussian blurs. They include drop shadows, inner shadows, DVE shadows, inner glows, outer glows, and channel glows. User controls for each effect provide content designers direct control over parameters including shadow color, strength, opacity, softness, offset, blur, geometrics and background/glow color. Interoperability - XML Metadata Support - The "Visual Effects" release also provides new XML-based metadata interchange support, giving editors an XML description of the editing, transition, effects and compositing components of a timeline (program). New in version 3.0 is support for the import of XML metadata from existing Media 100 i and iFinish systems, giving thousands of dual-stream editors fast, easy access to 844/X for finishing. Media 100 plans to use XML-based metadata interchange support as a platform for future 844/X releases; the goal is to give users a higher degree of metadata interchange with third-party content design solutions. Also, this new format support provides a basis for working with other metadata formats such as AAF. New Workflow Features - As with previous 844/X releases, version 3.0 contains dozens of user-driven workflow features, enhancements and performance tunings. Some notable ones include: - Color change filter--select pixels from a video image and adjust hue, saturation, RGB gain and contrast of both selected and unselected pixels; - Direct manipulation--grab and manipulate the position, anchor point, and scale of a video image directly within the viewer window; view the image position in context with other layers; zoom and pan the viewer window to precisely place content in relation to other layers; - Video and matte layer effects independence--apply digital video effects to video and/or matte layers completely independently; - Add randomness--new creative effects parameter that can be applied to any or all 844/X effects - Long-form, high-layer-count projects--improved file indexing, Intelligent Layering Architecture (ILA--software) tuning, and better memory management accelerate up to 60-fold timeline manipulation and open/save performance on horizontally large (editing) and/or vertically large (compositing) video projects; - Workspace presets--user-definable views and presets for specific workspace/timeline views, including the size and screen location of user interface windows. 844/X is available worldwide with prices starting at $9,995 for 844/X software and hardware. Complete 844/X system configurations start at around $20,000 and are available exclusively through authorized 844/X value-added resellers. For more information, or to obtain a comprehensive list of authorized resellers, please call (800) 773-1770 or visit www.media100.com. Media 100 develops award-winning advanced media systems for content design, enabling creative professionals to design highly evocative effects-intensive work on a personal computer. Creative artists and content design teams around the world use Media 100's Emmy Award-winning solutions. The company is headquartered in Marlboro, Massachusetts. 28. NPOWER RELEASES POWER SOLIDS/POWER TRANSLATORS 2.0 FOR 3DS MAX/VIZ. nPower Software launches v. 2.0 of Power Solids and Power Translators for 3ds Max/ Viz. Power Solids 2.0 supports 3ds max 6 in an effort to enhance 3D modeling. Power Solids introduces a state of the art precise CAD geometric modeling kernel into 3ds max. It performs dynamic tessellation at render time to generate the most precise and efficient representation. Power Solids and Power Translators data is very well suited for export back to CAD systems through nPower's STEP, IGES, SAT, Rhino data translation. Power Solids and Power Translators are powered by SMLib, a powerful NURBS-based solids modeling kernel from IntegrityWare. Power Solids 2.0 contains the following new features: - Dynamic Editing - Meshing Improvements - More Intuitive UI for 3ds max Users - New Filleting Tool with Variable Radius Filleting and Beautiful Organic Fillets (G1, G2, G3 continuity) - New Shelling/Offset Command - Snapping to Brep Edges/Vertices/Faces - New EditableBrep Object - Assembly Object - New Creation Objects - Quick Help Power Solids makes 3D modeling fun with features like dynamic editing operations. You can manipulate BREP objects dynamically like a 3D sculptor, and watch the Booleans, fillets and other geometry being performed right before your eyes. Interactively sculpt your model, for instance, by moving Boolean operands dynamically, while viewing the result in realtime. Power Solids 2.0 has a much faster mesh generation algorithm. It is able to produce extremely fine meshes very quickly. This release also has "QUAD Meshing" to produce nicely formed quads suitable for subdivision algorithms. New shelling and filleting commands greatly simplify the process of selecting and filleting individual edges/faces. Power Solids also now provides a set of icons, snapping to BREP objects, dynamic sub-object editing and other "3ds max friendly" user interface improvements. Power Solids looks and feels like it was part of the original 3ds max product. Filleting of individual edges and faces is easy with the new stand-alone filleting tool. Fillets are previewed in the graphics window to facilitate the process of setting and modifying fillets. The filleting tool also handles variable radius fillets and G1, G2, G3 continuity fillets. An example can be seen in the opposite column. Power Solids now supports snapping to its BREP objects. You can snap to edges, faces, vertices, edge midpoint and end points, greatly facilitating associative construction techniques. Like the Max Editable Mesh and Editable Poly commands, the Editable Brep command allows the user to easily manipulate sub-objects of the BREP. In addition, you can sew together faces, flip face normals and other editing options. The new swung primitive allows users to revolve profiles around a non-circular path, making it easy to create extremely complex objects within a single command. The pipe primitive allows you to easily generate pipe shapes along a path. The new planar primitive supports planar surfaces. Quick reference help is just a click away. In addition to the regular help files, they've added context- based quick help to the Power Solids dialogs. Power Translators 2.0 contains the following new features: - Assembly Support - Imports Large Files Much Faster - Batch Import with Mesh Generation - New EditableBrep Object - Manual Sewing of Import Data - Manual Cleanup of Surface and Face Normals - Normalize a Group of Face Normal Vectors Power Solids 2.0 and Power Translators 2.0 sell for $495. Power Solids is available for purchase at the nPower Software online store (www.nPowerSoftware.com/store.html), and through various resellers throughout the world. A free 30-day evaluation copy can be downloaded from the nPower Software Website at www.nPowerSoftware.com. San Diego, California-based nPower Software LLC was founded by IntegrityWare Inc. (www.IntegrityWare.com) to cater to the end-user graphics plug-in market. Awards 29. LA CRITICS BESTOW MULTIPLE HONORS ON TRIPLETS, SPLENDOR, RINGS. On Jan. 7, 2004, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) announced its 2003 awards, which will be handed out Jan. 26 at the St. Regis Hotel in Los Angeles. Comic book-inspired indie AMERICAN SPLENDOR received top honors as Best Picture of the Year. As well, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini were awarded Best Screenplay for the film they also directed. In animation, TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE garnered Best Animation, in addition to Best Music/ Score for Benoit Charest and Mathieu Chedid. A special citation was given to the Disney restoration of the Walt Disney/Salvador Dali short, DESTINO. Box office behemoth THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, drummed up awards for Director (Peter Jackson) and Production Design (Grant Major). Production Design on MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD by William Sandell was given the runner-up prize. 30. BBC ANNOUNCES TALENT NEW ANIMATION AWARD WINNER. The BBC has announced the winner of the BBC Talent New Animation Award. The overall winning animation prize went to HOBBIES by Nick Mackie and Pete Avery. As a result, Mackie and Avery will produce a series based on their idea for broadcast on BBC Three. The five remaining finalists included Rich Webber's GOOSEBERRY, Brian Mung's MUNG, Phillip Beglan's THE SISTERS, Adam Crowley's SPAMTON and Brian Demoskoff's WILDFOWL. All the finalists will have their shorts broadcast on BBC Three. To find more information about the winners or to view clips or the animation, visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/talent/animation/. 31. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT HONORS AND OSCARS ANNOUNCED. The first Oscars awards of the season have been decided as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced recipients of this year's scientific and technical achievement awards to be presented at a gala black tie dinner on the evening of Feb. 14, 2004, at the Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California. Digidesign, a leading manufacturer of computer-based digital audio production systems, will receive an Oscar for the creation and development of the Pro Tools digital audio workstation. Bill Tondreau of Kuper Controls will also receive an Oscar statuette for his significant advances with robotic camera systems, which resulted in motion control becoming an integral part of the field of visual effects. The Gordon E. Sawyer Award will be given to Peter D. Parks for his lifetime of technological contributions to the industry. Parks' credits include SUPERMAN and SATURN 3, plus he served as cinematographer on the 2003 3D doc BUGS! The Academy's Board of Governors voted to award the Oscars, as well as four Scientific and Engineering Awards, which will be presented in the form of plaques, and three Technical Achievement Awards, to be presented as certificates, based upon recommendations from the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee, chaired by Richard Edlund. Unlike other Academy Awards, achievements receiving Scientific and Technical Awards do not have to have been developed and introduced during 2003. Devices for Sci-Tech Awards are only considered, "if they have a proven track record showcasing successful and repeated use in the film industry," according to awards administration director Rich Miller. A Scientific and Engineering Award (Academy plaque) will go to Stephen Regelous for the design and development of "Massive," the autonomous agent animation system used for the battle sequences in the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. Each "agent" contains a primitive software "brain" used to develop behavioral rules simulating a wide range of behaviors. In the trilogy, more than 200,000 agents were controlled in several scenes. A Technical Achievement Award (Academy certificate) will go to for Christophe Hery, Ken McGaugh and Joe Letteri for their groundbreaking implementations of practical methods for rendering skin and other translucent materials using subsurface scattering techniques. Their mathematical model contributed substantially to the development and implementation of practical techniques for simulating subsurface scattering of light in translucent materials for computer-generated images in motion pictures. A Technical Achievement Award also goes to Henrik Wann Jensen, Stephen R. Marschner and Pat Hanrahan for their pioneering research in simulating subsurface scattering of light in translucent materials as presented in their paper "A Practical Model for Subsurface Light Transport." Other winners: SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING AWARDS (Academy Plaque) Kinoton GmbH for the engineering and development of the Kinoton FP 30/38 EC II Studio Projector. Kenneth L. Tingler, Charles C. Anderson, Diane E. Kestner and Brian A. Schell of the Eastman Kodak Company, for the successful development of a process-surviving antistatic layer technology for motion picture film. Christopher Alfred, Andrew Cannon, Michael C. Carlos, Mark Crabtree, Chuck Grindstaff and John Melanson for their significant contributions to the evolution of digital audio editing for motion picture post-production. TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (Academy Certificates) Kish Sadhvani for the concept and optical design, Paul Duclos for the practical realization and production engineering and Carl Pernicone for the mechanical design and engineering of the portable cine viewfinder system known as the Ultimate Director's Finder (UDF). 32. CAMERON TO PRESENT VES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD TO GEORGE LUCAS. Academy Award-winning director James Cameron will present the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the Visual Effects Society (VES) to George Lucas at the 2004 VES Awards ceremony. Cameron, acclaimed director of such visual effects powerhouses as TITANIC, ALIENS, THE ABYSS and the first two films of the TERMINATOR trilogy, will be a featured presenter at the second annual VES awards event which will be held at the Hollywood Palladium on Feb. 18, 2004. The board of directors of the 900-member VES selected Lucas for its highest honor in recognition of the contribution that WILLOW, his five STAR WARS films and three INDIANA JONES movies have made to the art and science of visual effects. In addition, Lucas founded Lucasfilm Ltd., which encompasses world renowned visual effects and animation company, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). "The Visual Effects Society can think of no one with a better visual effects history than James Cameron to present this award," said VES founding exec director Tom Atkin, who is stepping down from his position in July. "Throughout his career, Jim has clearly demonstrated his understanding and appreciation of visual effects to enhance to storytelling process." The Visual Effects Society (www.visualeffectssociety.com), founded in 1997, is comprised of distinguished visual effects artists and technologists who are professionally committed to the specialized industry of visual effects. The society provides its members with a platform for communication, education and recognition of the current and future state of the visual effects industry. Society headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California with approximately 900 global members. Call for Entries 33. TELLURIDE INDIEFEST DEADLINE NEARS! Telluride IndieFest 2004 Telluride, Colorado, USA September 2 - 5, 2004 Deadline: January 31, 2004 Telluride IndieFest showcases the best independent films and screenplays in the world and does not require films to 'premiere' at its event. The event limits films and screenplays to 1,000 entries. For more information, visit tellurideindiefest.com. 34. IFP LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL PUTS OUT CALL FOR ENTRIES. 2004 IFP Los Angeles Film Festival Hollywood, California, USA June 17 - 26, 2004 Deadline: February 20, 2004 Held annually in the heart of Hollywood, the IFP Los Angeles Film Festival showcases the best of American and international independent cinema. With an attendance of more than 40,000, the festival screens over 200 narrative features, documentaries, shorts and music videos. The competitive section features recent U.S. narrative features, documentaries and shorts, while the International Showcase features full-length narratives and documentaries. The festival also screens high-school shorts and music videos. The submissions deadline for short films and music videos is February 20, 2004, while the deadline for full-length narrative and documentary features (U.S. and international) is March 1, 2004. For further information, visit www.lafilmfest.com 35. ENTER YOUR FILM IN THE FAST-GROWING WORLDWIDE SHORT FILM FEST. Worldwide Short Film Festival Toronto, Ontario, Canada May 11-16, 2004 Deadline: February 23, 2004 The Worldwide Short Film Festival is fast becoming one of the world's premier short film festivals, presenting the finest short films from around the world and attracting buyers and distributors. Highlights of this year's event include: a Spotlight on Mexico; Classic Silent Shorts; Animators Perspective program; Midnight Mania, Celebrity Shorts, Award-Winners from around the world; More than $40,000 in cash and prizes; and Short Films, BIG IDEAS: A Symposium on the Art and Commerce of Short Filmmaking. The event is accredited by the Academy Awards. For more information, visit http://www.worldwideshortfilmfest.com. 36. SUBMIT YOUR COMIC WORK TO THE WILL EISNER AWARDS. San Diego, California, USA July 23, 2004 Deadline: March 12, 1004 The annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are given to the finest publications and creators in the comic book industry. Publishers can submit any comic, graphic novel or comics-related periodical or book that was shipped to retailers between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003. The submitted items will be considered by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, who will select the final items to appear on the Eisner Awards ballot. Creators can submit materials for consideration if: (a) their publisher is no longer in business; (b) their publisher is unlikely to have participated in the nomination process; or (c) they have severed connections with the publisher or have similar reasons for believing that their publisher is unlikely to consider nominating them or their work. All submissions should be sent to Jackie Estrada, Eisner Awards Administrator, 4657 Cajon Way, San Diego, California 92115. The nominees will be announced in April, and ballots will go out in May to some 5,000 creators, editors, publishers, distributors, and retailers. The results will be announced by celebrity presenters at the gala awards ceremony held during the Comic-Con International. For more information, call Jackie Estrada at (619) 286-1591 or e-mail her at jackiee@mindspring.com. 37. HYPEFEST SCREENPLAY COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES. HypeFest Screenplay Competition Hollywood, California, USA July 2004 Deadline: April 1, 2004 HypeFest has unveiled its Screenplay Competition. The festival is now accepting original short film screenplays (length 1-60 pages). Entrants must send a completed, signed entry form with each submission, which is available online at www.hypefest.com. Screenplays must not have been previously optioned, purchased, or produced. Prizes will be provided by The Writer's Store in Los Angeles. The entry fee is $25. 38. SEND YOUR FILMS TO DAHLONEGA, GEORGIA! Dahlonega International Film Festival, DIFF Dahlonega, Georgia, USA September 2-5, 2004 Deadline: May 15, 2004 The Dahlonega International Film Festival, the DIFF, is unique as it brings together the concept of a totally filmmaker-friendly festival. DIFF strives to be at the forefront in exhibiting works from emerging artisans who have been ignored by the more conventional exhibiting venues. For more information, visit www.diff.tv. 39. INTERNATIONAL 3D AWARDS CALL FOR ENTRIES. The International 3D Awards returns for its second year, with the ceremony to be held May 5, 2004 at the 3D Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark. The 2nd annual International 3D Awards is now calling for entries. Awards will be given in the following categories: - Feature Film Visual Effects - Animated Feature Film - Television Visual Effects - Commercials - Music Videos - Short Films - Logos and Idents - 3D Game of the Year - Game Cinematics (non-interactive) - Technological Innovation - Design Visualization / Industrial Design - Architectural Visualization (Animation) - Architectural Visualization (Still) - Student 3D Animation - 3D Art (Still) There is no entry fee, and no limit to entering works for consideration. Interested participants can view all details of entry at www.3dawards.org/2004/entry. The inaugural 3D Awards held in May 2003 attracted more than 700 entries across 15 categories. Sponsored by NVIDIA, HP and Alias, the 1st Annual International 3D Awards represented and celebrated the achievements of the 3D industry. A full report of the 1st Annual International 3D Awards including nominees and winners can be found at www.3dawards.org/2003/report/. The International 3D Awards recognizes excellence in the field of 3D design, animation, games, architectural visualization and digital visual effects. The International 3D Awards is administered by Ballistic Media, based in Australia. Events 40. CES PRODUCTS ELECTRIFY VEGAS AND GADGET HOUNDS. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held Jan. 8-11, 2004, in Las Vegas was huge, glitzy and overwhelming, as it should be. Whereas many of the products were more-of-the-same-slightly-better, some gadgets and trends stood out. One clear trend is that DVR (digital video recorders) sets for home entertainment centers will soon be a standard item, allowing consumers to record TV programs on DVDs instead of today's ubiquitous VCR tapes. DVDs have the advantage that they take up less space and allow quick skipping to specific programs; the hard drives included in many of these sets offer both nonlinear recording and easy integration with TiVo-type personal video recorder (PVR) features. Typical of the new genre is the Toshiba RD-SX32, which has an 80GB hard drive and a high-speed DVD recorder. What makes the difference this year is price - entries such as Gateway's Ar-230 DVD+RW recorder at $299 are bringing DVRs into the mainstream. Note that both DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W formats are still around, so you may want to buy a +/- dual format unit to be on the safe side. Gateway was not the only computer maker that decided to enter the home entertainment market. Dell is now offering a full range of entertainment products, including TVs and DVD players. And Epson is making printers with wide-screen TV monitors attached. HP is also born again as a CE (consumer electronics) maker, with 30 and 42-inch plasma flat panel TVs, an entertainment hub that serves as a distribution point for home audio/video media, and a deal with Apple to produce an HP-branded digital music player based on Apple's iPod. Another trend is that LCD monitors are getting larger and cheaper, making them an attractive option for people with limited space - such as a university dorm room - to use as both a computer monitor and television set; many new LCD monitors have both TV tuners and computer inputs built into them. LCD televisions were once relatively small, but there were dozens of sets in the 30- and 40-inch range at the show, topped by a 55-inch model from Zenith/LG, showing how popular this monitor format has become for television viewing. The other technology that could be seen everywhere was DLP, the Texas Instruments form of the micromirror chip, which was offered in a wide range of both front and rear-projection televisions. Toshiba, which had offered its own rival LCOS-based technology last year, caved in on that technology because of production difficulties, and now also offers a full range of DLP products, including HD sets based on TI's new HD+ DLP chip, which replaced last year's Mustang as the champion in the 1260x720 range for HD 720p/1080i (and 16x9 native resolution) displays. Digital cameras are selling better than ever, with a large number of 3-megapixel models in the $200-$400 range. Advances include better zoom ranges (4-12x instead of the traditional 3x) and more pixels, with several 6-megapixel models such as Canon's hot-selling digital Rebel showing what will soon be considered the minimum acceptable resolution the market will tolerate. The biggest improvement is in response time, both for startup and for picture-to-picture times - several previous digital cameras (including some Sony models) had several seconds of delay between taking one picture and being ready for the next. Digital camcorder sales are also brisk. What's new is a lineup of very compact cameras the size of a deck of cards, such as the Panasonic SV-AV100 and the Sanyo/Fisher FVD-C1. These cameras achieve their tiny sizes by using removable Flash memory cards instead of DV tape for video storage (the Sanyo is also a 3.2 megapixel still camera). Although still limited in how long they can shoot (a 512MB card may allow only 15 minutes recording time, for instance), these cameras will clearly come to the forefront with the availability of higher-capacity Flash memory cards. SanDisk (www.sandisk.com), for instance, rolled out its new 1- and 2-gigabyte SD (Secure Digital) and Memory Stick storage cards, a development that will revolutionize not only vidcams and digital cameras, but a whole range of consumer products, including PDAs, cell phones, printers and game sets, which will orient towards better picture and display qualities now that gigabyte storage is available in a SanDisk chip the size of a postage stamp. Flash memory grew 90% in sales volume last year. The SD, CF (Compact Flash) and Sony's Memory Stick remain popular flash card formats, while the MMC (MultiMediaCard) format seems to be falling behind, and the SmartMedia is essentially dead. Two new formats, miniSD and Memory Stick Duo, have been developed as reduced-size versions of these cards for the growing cell phone market, especially for cell phones with built-in cameras exceeding one-megapixel resolution (already available in Japan). A real paradigm-shifter at the show was the DVR-250 HD satellite receiver from DIRECTV (www.directv.com), which can receive and record high-definition content, with four HD TV tuners (two for satellite and two for terrestrial), a 250-gigabyte hard drive and TiVo PVR features. What makes this set revolutionary is that it is the first real product (other than some very expensive digital tape recorders) that allows consumers to tape HD programs off the air and then replay them later to friends to show off their widescreen HD monitors and surround-sound speakers. Up till now high-def content could only be watched live, with no way to record it for later viewing. The ability to record HD by consumers will mean both a growing demand for more HD content (which will affect broadcasters and post-production houses) and increased sales of widescreens and surround-sound systems (to show off said content to envious neighbors). DIRECTV (recently bought by Rupert Murdoch) is offering the DVR-250 for $999; the 250GB drive records about 30 hours of HD or 150 hours of standard programming. The growing acceptance of PVRs such as this will have another major effect - because they give viewers the ability to easily skip over advertising in television programming, the networks will have to look for new ways to insert ads. Look for more "banner" ads superimposed on the screen, as well as increased use of product placement within the show itself - both live and (because live footage with a product in it could wind up on the cutting room floor) as 3D computer animation added after a show is in the can. Audio played a large part at the CES, with a myriad of new music players, including MP3 players included in PDAs, phones and almost anything that moves. One cool product shown is the LINK from Skullcandy (www.skullcandy.com), which is a low-cost connection between the two life-support systems for many young consumers - the cell phone and the MP3 player. You need never miss an important call when head-banging again - the LINK allows the cell phone to ring through on your stereo headphones, so you can answer the call and then return to the music. Since Skullcandy is located in Park City, it caters to snowboarders, who prefer not to have headphones covering their ears, lest they miss the screams of possible collision targets. Fear not - Skullcandy has a new backpack with great speakers built into the shoulder straps, so you can get high-quality stereo on the slopes. Another cool product is the IQue from Garmin (www.garmin.com), which combines a GPS navigation system (with voice) and an MP3 player into a PDA with a Palm OS, a definite must for the traveler. If you want to videotape while traveling, you might consider a Model 100 from Deja View (www.mydejaview.com), which consists of a tiny camera that can be attached onto your sunglasses and a cell phone-sized remote unit that clips onto your belt and records video clips, all for under $400. There was also a full day of seminars for the Next Generation Internet (www.usipv6.com), which started with a quote from a Microsoft head of R&D, "The most important thing we learned is that in the future everything over $25 other than food will be connected to the Internet." A live demonstration showed one application -- how home lights and webcams (each with its own Internet address) - could be turned on to check security while away. Hitachi showed how small a sensor/IP package could be - a complete unit with memory, RF communications, a 3-year battery and its own Internet address, yet far smaller than a human thumbnail. In the near future every home will have hundreds of such Next Gen Internet chips - in the car, in cell phones and game consoles, and in every kitchen appliance. 41. 6TH EDITION OF CARTOON MOVIE COMING IN MARCH. The 6th edition of Cartoon Movie will be held March 11-13, 2004, at Babelsberg fx.Center, in Potsdam, Germany. The unique event to support and promote European animation filmmakers is organized by the European Association of Animation Film, CARTOON (in collaboration with NFP Teleart in Germany), with the support of MEDIA Programme of the European Union and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH. The intimate conference is for professionals involved in the financing, production, distribution or the exploitation of feature films. It offers a complete panorama of European cartoon films at different stages of their production or ones that are already available. About 40 films will be presented this year looking for financings, co-production partners or national and international distribution. Animated movies are on the rise in Europe, reflected in Cartoon Movie attendance, which has doubled since its creation. It attracted 461 participants in 2003, including 51 distributors and 61 investors. . Each year, the "Cartoon Movie Tributes" are designed to reward for the initiatives which contribute to the recognition and the success of the European animation cinema. For registration and information e-mail: movie@cartoon.skynet.be or go to www.cartoon-media.be. 42. AHA! ROUND TABLE COMES TO PASADENA. AHA! Round Table Pasadena Pasadena, California, USA January 15, 2004 Artists Helping Artists (AHA!) and THE CREATIVE LINE magazine will be holding an AHA! artists gatherings. This AHA gathering is free. The meeting is a safe space where artists, musicians, writers, arts educators and community arts leaders can make new contacts and share and align their creative visions and projects. It's a meeting where artists get connected up to other artists and leaders and become part of a coordinated team of visionaries, dreamers and doers. The event will take place from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the Zephyr Coffee House and Art Gallery at 2419 E. Colorado Ave. 43. INTRODUCTION VOICE-OVER SEMINAR IN BURBANK. Introduction Voice-Over Seminar Burbank, California, USA January 16, 2004 M.J. Lallo, an award winning voice over artist, producer, director and manager, is holding a three-hour seminar focusing on the tools and techniques one need to get going in the voice-over business. Attendees, who bring tapes, will record various types of voice over copy on mic, in a professional recording studio. Topics include: how the VO business works, how to get started, what it takes to succeed in both commercial and animation VO, how to make a professional demo and breathing and voice stretching techniques. The event will take place from 7:00 - 10:00 pm at MJ Productions, 4020 West Magnolia Blvd., Suite K, Burbank, California 91505. The cost is $35 pre-registration in one payment by Jan. 22 or $45 at the door. For more information, call (818) 980-6576 or visit www.creatingvoices.com. 44. MICROCINEMA INDEPENDENT EXPOSURE SERIES BEGINS IN JANUARY. Microcinema Independent Exposure Series San Francisco, California, USA January 26 - October 25, 2004 Independent Exposure, the monthly screening program of international short films, videos and digital works returns with its Ninth Season Premiere Edition screening. The program is a co-presentation of Microcinema International, Film Arts Foundation and 111 Minna Gallery and will occur on the last Monday of each month from January - October 2004. For further details, visit www.microcinema.com or call (415) 864-0660. 45. SAA TO UNVEIL ILLUSTRATION AWARDS WINNER SOON. The Society of Artists Agents Illustration Awards 2004 London, U.K. January 27 - March 14, 2004 The Second Annual Society of Artists Agents Illustration Awards honor the best in illustration. The winner will be announced by famous illustrator and children's author Quentin Blake on January 27, 2004. The winner receives the unique opportunity of seeing their work exhibited on Underground platforms throughout the capital, from Jan. 28 - March 14, 2004. They will also receive a cash prize of £3000 and a day with Quentin Blake at his London studio. The SAA Illustration awards were launched in 2003 and are the principal showcase for the industry. For further information, visit www.ltmuseum.co.uk. 46. WANT TO BREAK INTO THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY? How to Break Into the Video Game Industry: Mini-Conference & Resume Workshop San Francisco, California, USA January 31, 2004 The Game Initiative will be holding a mini-conference for students and professionals who are eager to enter the gaming industry. The event is designed for artists, programmers and designers. Attendees will have the opportunity to speak with industry insiders, including top recruiter Mary-Margaret.com, hiring managers as well as industry vets. Speakers include Chris Down of dwango studios, Jon Grande of Microsoft Game Studios, John Feil of Microsoft, Michael McHale of Konami Digital Ent., Robin McShaffry of Mary-Margaret.com, Mitzi McGilvray of Tapwave, John Mundy of Namco Hometek, Cory Ondrejka of Linden Lab, Christopher V. Sherman of The Game Initiative and Mike Swanson of LucasArts Ent. The cost in $35 in advance or $45 at the door. The event takes place from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm at 600 Townsend Building located in the South Market Area at the corner of 7th and Townsend Streets. For more information, visit www.thegameinitiative.com. 47. PHILIPPINE ANIMATION FEST MAKES IT DEBUT. 1st Philippine International Animation Festival Manila, Philippines February 6-13, 2004 The Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI) in coordination with the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), The French Embassy Manila, and the Japan Foundation Manila, is organizing the 1st Philippine International Animation Festival, with exhibits and business seminars at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, and creative workshops and film screening at SM Megamall. The festival's objective is to showcase the talents of local animators to both the local and international markets and provide a venue for possible business ventures and co-production agreements between international studios and local animation houses. The festival shall be held concurrently with the country's premiere information technology outsourcing event, E-Services Philippines: 4th IT Outsourcing Conference and Exhibition at the EDSA Shangri-La Manila Hotel. For further details, call +63 2 8185019 or +63 2 8185020, or fax # +63 2 8185005. 48. 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 49. 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 2004 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. _________________________________ Visit the Animation World Network Website, which includes Animation World Magazine in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat Editions. http://www.awn.com/mag |