On February 11, 2009 at 7 p.m., the Kinetic Cinema screening at Chez Bushwick will feature a wide-variety of dance and movement animation videos. Curated by Doug Fox, blogger and founder of Great Dance, the program will show how directors, artists, choreographers and dancers have used different animation styles and techniques to capture, illustrate and transform human movement. The program will feature 15 clips from video and film animations, theatrical movie releases, TV commercials, music videos, performances and installations, and student projects. Among the highlighted animation techniques will include hand-drawn 2D animation, 3D animation, live-action and computer graphics, stop-motion, rotoscoping, motion graphics, real-time performance animation, machinima and other animation styles. This program builds on Fox's online guide to "50 Dance and Movement Animations," which he published in January 2009 on GreatDance.com. He has interviewed many of the artists, animators, directors, choreographers and dancers who participated in the production of the videos which will be screened and he will share insights from these conversations during the Q&A section of the program. Date/Time: February 11, 2009 7-9 p.m. Tickets: $10 at the door, no reservations. Location: Chez Bushwick, 304 Boerum St., Buzzer #11, Brooklyn, NY 11206. Phone: 718.418.4405 Web: www.chezbushwick.net Trains: L to Morgan Street Directions: Exit back of the train. Turn LEFT outside the station. Turn LEFT onto Boerum Street. The screening portion of the program will be just over an hour and discussion will follow. The following dance animation videos will be screened: BALLET DANCER WARM-UPS (2007) -- 1:13 minutes 2D animator Susan Chien, for a life-drawing class at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, created a hand-drawn animation with a stop-motion feel that captures the movements of a human model. BODY NAVIGATION (2008) -- 8:08 minutes Recoil Performance Group's dance installation with real-time, interactive graphics, premiered in Copenhagen as part of Danish Dance Theatre's LABYRINTH. Choreography by Tina Tarpgaard, and visual and interaction design by Ole Kristensen and Jonas Jongejan. Chandon -- AFTER PARTY (2007) -- 34 seconds A combination of live action and computer graphics were used in this TV commercial featuring a Tango-dancing wireframe couple constructed from a champagne bottle cap. Produced by advertising agency Dentsu America. CSI: NY -- "SECOND LIFE Virtual Experience" (2007) -- 1:47 minutes Nightclub dancing scene from CSI: NY. Machinima pioneers ILL Clan produced the in-world animations for CBS where a killer is tracked in the SECOND LIFE virtual world. EN TUS BRAZOS (2006) -- 5:20 minutes A 3D narrative-based animation about a tragic accident that befalls a great Tango dancer of the 1920s. Direction and animation: François-Xavier Goby, Matthieu Landour and Edouard Jouret. FEET OF SONG (1988) -- 5:27 minutes Inspired by African music and art, U.K.-based 2D animator and dancer Erica Russell, who grew-up in South Africa, explores rhythms, colors and moving forms. GHOSTCATCHING (1999) -- 7:10 minutes Digital artists Paul Kaiser and Shelley Eshkar composed this 3D animation based on the captured movement and sound phrases of choreographer Bill T. Jones. This art installation premiered at The Cooper Union School of Art. HUMAN SKATEBOARD (2007) -- 32 seconds A stop-motion TV commercial created for Sneaux Shoes by animation and video production company PES. Sneaux fans are encouraged to create and share their own stop-motion skateboarding adventures. ILLUMINATED (2007) -- 4:13 minutes Animator Kevin Abbott modeled a 3D metallic character that moves to the motion-captured sequence of dancer David Curwen. Created and performed at Western Michigan University. "Joinville Dance Festival Promotion" (2008) -- 30 seconds 3D animated video promotion for dance festival in Brazil. Design and characters inspired by illustrations of dance steps in teaching magazines. Direction: Frederico Freire, animation: Magno Borgo. KINETICS (2008) -- 2:53 minutes Chicago-based visual designer Nicholas Schrunk produced this video that features the interplay of motion graphics and the break dancing of Damion "Daylight" Day, recorded with a high-speed video camera. MR.

SIGGRAPH Asia 2008, the first non-North American venue for a SIGGRAPH conference, to take place Dec. 10-13 at Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Center, Singapore, is anticipating 6,000 participants and some 80 exhibiting companies and country pavilions. SIGGRAPH Asia committee overview: * Conference Advisory Group Chair - Alyn Rockwood, VP of ACM SIGGRAPH (US) * Conference Chair - Lee Yong Tsui, associate professor at the Nanyang Technological University's School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (Singapore) * Associate Chair - John C. Finnegan (US) * Technical Papers - Kurt Akeley (US) * Sketches & Posters - Diego Gutierrez (Spain) * Courses - Matt Adcock (Australia) * Art Gallery & Emerging Technologies - Tomoe Moriyama (Japan) * Computer Animation Festival - Jinny Choo (Korea) * Educators program - Mark Chavez (Singapore) * Exhibition - Caleb Cheong (Singapore) Program highlights: * Technical Papers The SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 Technical Papers Programme will continue the tradition of excellence in computer graphics and interactive techniques that SIGGRAPH is known for and extend this world-class experience to Asia. We invite submissions of high-quality papers that will set the standard in the field and stimulate future trends. Accepted papers will be presented at SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 and published as a special issue of ACM Transactions on Graphics. The deadline for submission to the SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 Technical Papers Programme is May 28, 2008. * Sketches and Posters Take part in a dynamic forum as authors sketch out and discuss their works with a passionate audience. Check out the posters depicting graphical summaries of new ideas that come with a scheduled discussion session. * Courses International experts will be presenting instructional sessions on the latest and best practices in computer graphics and interactive techniques. * Art Gallery This is a showcase for innovative works, including hybrid formats such as text-literature collaboration and zero gravity space art, all of which will serve to provoke and challenge the audience's intellect. * Computer Animation Festival This is a celebration of the best in world-class digital animation. With submitted works from around the world, in genres that extends to machinima, gaming and scientific visualization, it's a feast for both the eye and the mind. * Educators program To equip educators with the tools to guide the next generation of computer graphics professionals, this program will present innovative approaches to creative instruction in a series of panels, demos and informal discussions. * Emerging Technologies Demos and installations of new computer graphics and interactive technologies such as haptic interfaces and robotics will be on display. * Exhibition Be the first to see and evaluate next generation CG & interactive technologies. Immerse yourself in an environment of new ideas, trends & concepts. * Exhibitor Tech Talk Gain insights before deciding on which new technology to align with an existing business. * Job Fair This is where the biggest and the brightest flock together and a chance meeting may lead to a dream career. For more information about SIGGRAPH Asia, visit www.siggraph.org/asia2008.

Bitfilm has released the first issue of its new BITFILM COLLECTION. It contains 12 groundbreaking digital animations, voted on the first ranks by the international audience of the Bitfilm Festival -- including all six winners of the Bitfilm Awards. Once a month, the digital film experts will select 12 films that they consider state of the art of digital animation.

The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences (AMAS) has opened the call for submissions for the 2008 Machinima Film Festival, which will be held Saturday, November 1, 2008, at Eyebeam, a multi-disciplinary art and technology center in New York City. Filmmakers interested in submitting their work for the 2008 Machinima Awards ("The Mackies") should do so by Friday, Sept. 12. As in years past, the 2008 Machinima Festival will feature panel discussions with prominent machinima filmmakers from around the world discussing this new form of cinema which often uses popular video games like HALO 3, WORLD OF WARCRAFT and THE SIMS as source material for entirely new and often subversive works. The main highlight of the 2008 Machinima Festival is the awards ceremony honoring the best new machinima movies produced in 17 categories, beginning at 8 p.m. This year also sees the introduction of new award categories, notably "Best Long Format" recognizing the increasing number of feature-length productions, and "Best Game Studio Machinima" honoring realtime cutscenes and cinematics found in today's next-generation titles. Hailed as the "Sundance for the Video Game Set" by MTV News, the Machinima Festival evolved from its humble beginnings as an adjunct to QuakeCon in Mesquite, Texas in 2002, into the field's definitive celebration and showcase. The event, which is organized and produced by AMAS, consistently draws hundreds of machinima professionals, enthusiasts and critics, who gather to explore the works of modern innovators, network and discuss the future of the industry. Detailed submission requirements and instructions can be found online at www.festival.machinima.org. Interested parties may also contact AMAS at: ress@machinima.org. WHERE: Eyebeam, 540 W. 21st Street, (between 10th and 11th Avenues), New York, New York, 10011 USA. WHEN: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. (Awards Ceremony at 8 p.m.) PHONE: (212) 937-6580

A team of Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg students has received a nomination for the film NICO BELLIC -- A PORTRAIT at the 5th Machinima Film Festival 2008 in New York. They will compete with five films from the U.S. in the category Best Student Work at the Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology on November 1, 2008.

3D software developer Reallusion has announced the launch of iClone 3.0, the latest release of their popular and critically acclaimed animated filmmaking software, which promises to transform any PC into a robust 3D real-time filmmaking studio.

2008 Machinima Film Festival
Deadline: September 12, 2008
November 1, 2008

The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences (AMAS) has opened the call for submissions for the 2008 Machinima Film Festival, which will be held Saturday, November 1, 2008, at Eyebeam, a multi-disciplinary art and technology center in New York City. Filmmakers interested in submitting their work for the 2008 Machinima Awards ("The Mackies") should do so by Friday, Sept. 12.

The Internet audience has made its decision after two months, and the Bitfilm Festival Awards are official. Ninety-one films from 25 countries competed for Bitfilm Awards in six categories. More than 130,000 people from 146 countries visited the Bitfilm Festival online.

Winners:

3D Space -- Computer Generated 3D Animations
First Place (2,000 Euros): OUR WONDERFUL NATURE by Tomer Eshed (Israel/Germany)
Second Place: DO PENGUINS FLY by Alban Lelievre (France)

Rustlers may be the market leaders in the hot snacking section of your local supermarket, but that doesn't mean they're content to rest on their burgers. They've teamed up with Machinima.com, the most popular machinima website in the world, to launch the art in the U.K. -- and they've brought along a friend to help them.

For one more week, the worldwide online community has the chance to cast their votes to decide upon the winners of the Bitfilm Festival. The online voting runs until July 1, 2008 at www.bitfilm.com/festival. 91 films compete in six categories for the Bitfilm Awards. On July 9 the winners will be disclosed at the Bitfilm Award Show held at Planetarium Hamburg. The prize money, donated by the Hamburg Cultural Authority, totals 10,000 Euros.