Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design (RMCAD), located in Denver, Colorado, has added a new animation program to its bachelor degree program. Currently, the college offers five other Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Graphic Design and Interactive Media, Illustration, Painting, Sculpture and Interior Design. The school’s goal is to delve into the medium of animation as the only interdisciplinary visual art that merges art, writing, storytelling, drawing, design, sculpture, acting, filmmaking, art direction and film directing.

The Vancouver Film School (VFS) has launched the largest scholarship competition in the history of the institution. Open to residents of Canada and the United States, the VFS 2000 Scholarship Competition will award 12 scholarships, for a total value of more than US$174,000. Established in 1987, VFS focuses on portfolio development and production-based education. "We are basically a production house that teaches; our students learn by doing," said director of registration Daniel Craig.

The Art Institute of Los Angeles has received approval from the Accrediting

Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT) to offer

Bachelor of Science degrees in computer animation, graphic design and

on-line media and marketing. Established in 1997 as a branch of The Art

Institute of Pittsburgh, the Los Angeles arm received state approval to

offer baccalaureate-level programs in September, 1999. With more than 850

students enrolled, The Art Institute of Los Angeles also offers Associate

Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology in Canada has become the

first institution to bring ORAD video technology into the classroom.

Originally designed for the Israeli military's virtual reality training,

ORAD places real-time people into a virtual set. The ORAD system removes

the bluescreen behind a person and replaces it with a computer-generated

environment. Located at the Seneca York campus, students in the television

broadcasting, 3D arts and advertising programs will have the opportunity to

Ontario, Canada-based Sheridan College, one of the leading animation programs in North America, is expanding its facilities with the latest animation equipment including new computers, software, cameras and pencil test systems. For pencil tests, Sheridan has purchased six Video LunchBoxes. Created two years ago by Oregon-based Animation Toolworks, the Video LunchBox captures still images from a video camera and plays back this sequence of images at the same rate as film images or television video.

British Columbia-based CDIS, a media arts college, is sponsoring
Environment.Com: Generating Community Stewardship and Sustainability for
Our Environment Through New Media. The event takes place October 24, 1999,
11 am - 4 pm at CDIS which is located at 3264 Beta Ave. in Burnaby, British
Columbia, Canada. CDIS's sponsorship includes the use of its 20,000 sq. ft.
campus in Burnaby, complete with high-speed Internet connections, and the
presentation of free seminars on New Media technologies. For more

On October 29 and 30 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Wayne Gilbert, Kyle Clark,
and Mike Ford, who work as animators for feature film projects at
Industrial Light + Magic, will be giving seminars on classical and computer
animation principles. The three animators have started their own
corporation, Animation Foundation and Anamie, providing consulting,
training and seminars for corporate and academic clients. This event is
coordinated by The Florida Center for Electronic Communication, The Fort

Denmark-based The Animation Workshop is running a short intensive week of
lectures concentrating on storyboarding November 8-12, 1999, with John
Ramirez and Dan Jippes. Prices and details will be available upon request
beginning October 1. For more information Tel. (45) 86672007; Fax (45)
86675007; or e-mail colin@animwork.dk. Also visit www.animwork.dk.

Craig Miller and Marv Wolfman, who created and produced POCKET DRAGON ADVENTURES, are offering THINKING VISUALLY: HOW TO WRITE FOR TV ANIMATION, a single session class at The Learning Annex in Los Angeles. Topics to be covered include what's required to break in; what extra things you need to think of when writing animation; writing the premise, outline, and script; writing with your intended viewers in mind; working with story editors; and humor and action, how far can you go. Handouts will include a sample story premise, outline, and script.

The United States Army will give the University of Southern California $45
million over the next five years to establish a research center to develop
advanced military simulations. The center will use film students and video
game designers to create realistic training simulations using virtual
reality technology and artificial intelligence. This effort is part of the
Army's plan to create higher quality training using more realistic war-type
exercises.