An outstanding, completely 2D animated, downloadable title rips a new one on the PS3 and 360. Hit the jump to check out Shank

The Frenzer Foreman Animation Forum hits Hollywood this week as they kick off their exclusive and elusive star-studded six week podcasting tour of the west coast animation dynasty. It's FFAFLA 2010! Join Alan, Joel, Computer, and Sam Olschan as they tinkle and toast their way into the hearts of the industry's most influential celebrataunts and debuties. Special guest and International Manimator of Mystery, Mike Overbeck, gets things going as he discusses his commercial work, personal films, unemployment animation time-fillers, and interrogation spy techniques.

The 2011 Byron Bay International Film Festival  

FINAL ENTRY DEADLINE:  29/10/2010

REGULAR ENTRY DEADLINE: 29/09/2010 

5th Byron Bay International Film Festival March 4th to 13th 2011

The 2011 BBFF will screen for 10 days in beautiful sub-tropical Byron Bay, the first place in Australia to receive the sun, providing filmmakers with the opportunity to present their work at a truly distinctive film festival. Located just a short stroll from one of the world’s finest surf beaches, this Festival attracts International filmmakers, directors, producers, performers, cultural tourists and prominent members of Australia’s film industry, not to mention plenty of appreciative locals.

As animated and experimental films continue to grow in popularity so too does the awareness of these often overlooked genres.  BBFF is no exception to this and is an exciting avenue to showcase animated and experimental films in a world-class environment.  These genres of filmmaking are a major part of our program and always prove greatly popular with judges and audiences alike. 

If your film is 2D, 3D, Flash, Stop motion, Claymation, Traditional or Machinima it could win BBFF’s Best Animation Award.  If it’s quirky or unique, artistic, surreal, invoking, abstract, poetic or just plain strange maybe it’s a contender for the Best Experimental Film Award – or both!

The range of films we screen is diverse and dynamic – we particularly seek films which reflect the values held by our vibrant local community which may include: creativity and the arts; human rights, diversity and multiculturalism; the natural environment and environmental issues; indigenous culture; innovation; spirituality and healing; conscious thinking and positive living; music; humour; and surfing. Our programming, however, is not limited to these themes as our priority is transporting our audience and their imaginations to worlds outside of their own. 

BBFF is passionate about supporting independent filmmakers in all stages of their careers and we believe in creating positive opportunities wherever possible - showcasing the amazing works of talented creatives to an open, intelligent audience as well as some well connected, highly respected Judges. Our judging panels have included representatives from Australia’s top distribution companies including Lionsgate, Dendy Films, Paramount Pictures, the ABC, World Movies Channel, Rialto Distribution, Accent Film, Palace Films and many more.  

Date: Thursday, July 1st
Time: 7:30 PM Musical Performance by Todd Michaelsen and Reena Shah of My Pet Dragon
8pm: Film screening/Q & A
Complimentary bags of popcorn will be served while supplies last
Admission: $5
Day Four of The Oxberry Pegs Series

Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana. Set to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as "the Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told."

This Thursday, July 1st, 8pm, the Animators are God? series at Observatory continues with a screening of the animated feature Sita Sings the Blues hosted by director, Nina Paley. Prior to the screening, there will be a live performance by Todd Michaelsen and Reena Shah of My Pet Dragon.

Nina Paley is a longtime veteran of syndicated comic strips, creating "Fluff" (Universal Press Syndicate), "The Hots" (King Features), and her own alternative weekly "Nina's Adventures." In 1998 she began making independent animated festival films, including the controversial yet popular environmental short, "The Stork." In 2002 Nina followed her then-husband to Trivandrum, India, where she read her first Ramayana. This inspired her first feature, Sita Sings the Blues, which she animated and produced single-handedly over the course of 5 years on a home computer. Nina teaches at Parsons School of Design in Manhattan and is a 2006 Guggenheim Fellow.

Singer-composer Todd Michaelsen created the title music, "Agni Pariksha," and most of the score and background music for Sita Sings the Blues.

$5 admission

Performance by Todd Michaelsen and Reena Shah of My Pet Dragon begins at 7:30

Film screening/Q & A begins at 8pm

Complimentary bags of popcorn will be served while supplies last!

No marching brooms, cartoon mice, dragons or robotic tentacles: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel and Alfred Molina star in Jerry Bruckheimer’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

AEAF Awards 2010, 11 August 2010, Sydney

Seminars and screenings plus the AEAF Awards screening and presentation. 

The AEAF Awards Entry Form 

The Australian Effects & Animation Festival Awards - AEAF Awards - is an international competition and screening now in its 13th year and attracts entries from around the world. The Awards recognize and reward excellence and creativity in 10 categories of competition. 

Commercials Animation - Commercials VFX - Titles, Idents & Stings - Short Film - Student - Music Video - TV Series - Flash Animation - Feature Films Animation - Feature Films VFX

The AEAF Awards finalists and winners will be screened on 11 August 2010. 

The panel of judges will select the top ten entries in each category for screening and the top scoring entry will be named winner and receive the award.
The AEAF Awards are open to all digital content creators and motion graphics, digital video, animation and effects professionals and students.

Digital Media Online Festival For the first time, all entries will have the opportunity to be shown online at www.digitalmedia-world.com prior to judging by the panel.

If you want your peers in the filmmaking community to view your projects, and believe you deserve industry recognition, then enter your work now. If you choose, it will be shown online straightaway.

Previous winners of the AEAF Awards are among the world's premier post-production companies, effects houses and film studios. Past winners include: 

Weta Digital - Animal Logic - Industrial Light & Magic - Beeps - Complete Post - Digital Pictures - Fuel - Iloura - Rising Sun Pictures - Fin Design & Effects - Sony Pictures Imageworks - Passion Pictures - The Mill - Box Communications - John Rowe Animation - Framestore CFC - Nectarine - Bigfish Design - Pixar Animation Studios - Students from AFTRS - QUT - VCA - and many others. 

Don’t miss out on your chance to be involved in Australia’s leading competition for the creation of animation and effects and digital content creation. Make sure to enter your work in the AEAF Awards 2010. Simply fill in the Entry Form and send it to us with your entry, no later than 30 June 2010.

All finalists’ entries will be screened at the AEAF Awards night on 11 August 2010. Winning entries receive the specially commissioned Award and, most important, exposure through a screening of the entries, press coverage including the Showcase issue of Digital Media World Magazine and the recognition of the digital content creation, animation and VFX communities

Please see the Entry Form to enter online or download an entry form. We look forward to receiving your entry.

 

On this week's episode of the Frenzer Foreman Animation Forum, Alan gives Joel a sneak peek at his decades-old experimental energy sleep activity cycle! Then, the most impressively twinned pair of animation super-star multi-makers Fran and Will Krause ride into the forum on their tandem bike to discuss making things, breaking things, and their high-octane bacon-powered recipe for dancin' dancin' dancin'.

On FFAF's big 5-week anniversary celespectaculation, Joel expunges another special circuitous grievance about inconsequential matters pertaining to his favorite subject, Animation, with no real concluding statement. Alan's face reacts quizzically. Later, Director and Animator Dan Abdo enters The Forum to discuss comics, commercials, censuses, corporate identities, and exactly why Vermont is for lovers.

The entire original cast and Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane, as the voice of I.S.R.A.E.L, get drawn into the brand new animated feature film, which is now available on DVD and download-to-own.

Footware company Skechers will produce two animated direct-to-DVD features, reports VARIETY.