The new Center for Digital Imaging Arts (CDIA) at Boston University is enrolling students of all ages and experience levels for a variety of certificate programs and workshops in digital filmmaking, photography, 3D animation, game design and visual effects.

Students may sign up for intensive training through a nine-month certificate program or basic skills through a foundation certificate or workshop series. Courses range from Beginning Photography for the Digital Age to Digital Film Boot Camp and all levels of Photoshop, editing, lighting and real-world assignments.

An intrepid group of students from Minneapolis will be trekking to Northern California to attend VES 2004, the Visual Effects Society's sixth annual Festival of vfx, June 18-20 in San Rafael. This will be the third year in a row that the aspiring visual effects artists and animators from The Art Institutes International Minnesota (AIM) will attend the festival, accompanied by faculty member Michael Heagle, an instructor of Visual Effects and Motion Graphics.

Ex’pression College for Digital Arts of Emeryville, California, announced that its digital visual media students were chosen to design and produce the graphic openings for the Visual Effects Society’s (VES) sixth annual VES Festival on June 18-20 in San Rafael, California. A team of Ex’pression students under the direction of instructor Stephen Kopels is also responsible for videotaping all of the presentations for the VES archives.

Kaydara announced its first Certified Courseware DVD for MOTIONBUILDER, the company's award-winning character animation solution. INTRODUCTION TO MOTIONBUILDER 5.5 is an interactive training guide that teaches users the fundamentals of using MOTIONBUILDER more effectively to create character animation. From interface and general concepts to exporting to other 3D applications, users will learn step-by-step how use MOTIONBUILDER for their own projects.

The Academy Foundation, the educational and cultural arm of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has distributed $400,000 in financial grants to 43 college and community film programs across the United States.

The Academy Foundation's Grants Committee, chaired by actors branch member Janet MacLachlan, selected the following programs for the 2004-2005 allocation:

The allocations include:

INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS

$12,500 to:

California Institute of the Arts, Valenica, California.

The Art Institute of California – San Francisco (http://www.aicasf.aii.edu) has announced a new scholarship program designed for videogame industry professionals interested in furthering their education. The school is offering special scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to individuals who are or have worked in the game industry. Scholarships must be applied for tuition in the school's Game Art & Design (Bachelor of Science) or Visual & Game Programming (Bachelor of Science) degree programs.

World-renowned designer, concept artist and futurist Syd Mead will speak and sign the books OBLAGON and SENTURY (his latest) at Gnomon School of Visual Effects on Thursday, May 20 at 7:00 pm.

Renowned sound designer and mixer, as well as USC alumnus, Gary Rydstrom will deliver the commencement address at the 2004 USC School of Cinema-Television Commencement Ceremony on May 14, 2004 at the Shrine Auditorium. Rydstrom will accept the prestigious Mary Pickford Outstanding Alumnus Award, given in recognition of his innovative and prolific work in film sound.

The Art Institute of California - San Francisco is hosting special Summer Studio Workshops, June 22-25, giving high school seniors the opportunity to explore the creative arts, meet fellow young creative people and learn about new design technologies. The hands-on workshops will be held for students interested in learning more about videogame development, computer animation, graphic design, fashion design, interior design and Web design. Students can choose one of five different workshops.