Last week I attended the Korea Media and Content Market sponsored by the Korean Trade-Investment Agency (Kotra). The event was held at the Hollywood & Highland Center and was designed to introduce a number of Korean animation and media companies and their projects to interested investors and potential partners.

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) came to an end with the highly anticipated closing ceremonies which were held this evening at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. OIAF organizers announced the 2011 winners of the official competition during the ceremonies.

The Animator’s Picnic is inspired event programming – stop all proceedings, go to a park, eat, drink, see and be seen. On this unseasonably beautiful Autumn day, as I gaze out on the crowd of young animators, I can’t help but think…I feel so old. Nothing like a large gathering of energetic young hipsters, free from the burdens of metabolic decline and hearing loss, to remind you just what a sorry-ass geez you are. The crowd gets younger, the walk to the Bytowne Cinema gets longer and no amount of Advil or Scotch can change that. Sometimes I wonder, if I start talking to a young female animation student, am I perceived as someone who has something useful to say, or just a perve? Can one be both?

I know it must be Ottawa Animation Festival time because it’s been roughly a year since my last verbal manhandling by an airport customs agent. Happy Anniversary! I seem to be a magnet for every disaffected flak vested agent looking to brush up on their 12-step time mismanagement drill.

Filmmaker Junction and Hype join forces to host an evening of Visual Effects for indie filmmakers.

I have been going to Comic-Con on and off since ’94 and I have seen the change. Up to a few years ago, the Con, as it is now know, was the celebration of the comic book artist and writer. It celebrated a genre that had sustained since the turn of the last century.

IMAX Corporation today announced that Shaw Theatres Pte Ltd, a leading exhibitor in Singapore, has signed an agreement to install a digital IMAX(R) theatre system in the new JCube entertainment complex in Singapore.

Few FFAF episodes have challenged the potent potential of what a jam-packed powder-keg of animation multilarities can elicit in the burgeoning minds of those seeking more lore and eternal wisdom of this frame-by-frame La Bamba than number 24. This show is huge. Ron Diamond + Dan Sarto = how to invent and maintain an international animation archive and animation short distribution empire while enjoying the best of Scotch and olive canning. The Animation Room + The Animation Room = how to create an animation studio boyband right out of college. And finally, Billy + Bill + William Frenzer = how to develop treasured American comedy songs into animated music videos that change the course of human history. Perfection, sometimes, does not take time.

International Animation Festival with competition sections for Short, Student and Greek animated films.

Recently, the Executive Director of the VES delivered an open letter to the VFX community describing what he believes are a number of issues currently facing the VFX industry. The letter was passionate, but is his approach to the issue of globalization potentially damaging?