A.D.V. Films is releasing the following anime titles in the US. On November
9: MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO VOLUME 1 - INVASION! - An unorthodox crew
fights to save Earth from annihilation by Martians; COMPILER 2 - It's
Compiler versus Compiler in deadly showdown!; and ORIGINAL DIRTY PAIR
VOLUME 4 - Kei and Yuri stumble upon a child who is the sole survivor of a
mass murder committed over twenty years ago. November 23: BUBBLEGUM CRISIS
VOLUME 2 - TRIAL BY FIRE - Sylia's brother Mackey joins the team as the

Sausalito, California-based Puffin Designs has announced Commotion DV, a
professional image editing and effects program for digital video artists.
Commotion DV is ideal for creating original stylized motion graphics and
fixing image problems such as video dropouts. The SuperClone brush allows
users to move and duplicate objects such as mountains, trees or clouds to
create just the right background; fill in crowd scenes; or remove visual
distractions such as power lines or a wayward microphone. Playback controls

San Jose, California-based Adobe Systems Incorporated has announced Adobe After Effects 4.1. After Effects is a tool for motion graphics designers and visual effects artists working with film, video, multimedia and the Web. Among the new features are: support for enhanced media exchange, performance enhancements, workflow refinements, and extended creative options and control. Adobe After Effects 4.1 will be available in September 1999 in the US and Canada for an estimated street price of US$699 for the standard version and US$1,499 for the production bundle.

New York-based studioNEXT.com Corporation and Voyager Entertainment, Inc.
have announced a partnership to bring the Japanese television series, STAR
BLAZERS, to the Internet. The series first appeared on US television in
1979, and lasted for three seasons. The story of STAR BLAZERS is about a
group of heroic voyagers who, in order to save Earth from invasion, journey
on the starship Argo to battle the diabolical forces of Gamilon, the evil
stellar empire. "There has been further interest to bring back STAR BLAZERS

Santa Barbara, California-based SANTA BARBARA STUDIOS, a visual effects
company that produces CGI for motion picture, commercial, television and
special venue markets, has hired PETE TRAVERS as CGI supervisor and VIVIEN
MINTON as sales and marketing manager. Travers is returning to the studio
where he previously worked on AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS, after which he
left to form his own company, ShadowCaster, through which he worked as
computer graphics supervisor for Oscar winner WHAT DREAMS MAY COME. Minton

San Francisco, California-based Macromedia, Inc. has announced Macromedia Flash
Writer, a free downloadable plug-in for Adobe Illustrator, which will
enable Illustrator users to save their artwork natively to the Flash Player
file format (SWF). Illustrator users will now be able to deploy their
artwork to the Web immediately without having to reformat it as a bitmapped
file. Flash is the industry standard for high-impact, vector-based Web
sites that deliver motion, sound, interactivity and graphics. Flash Writer

San Francisco, California-based Macromedia, Inc. has announced that its
Flash Player, which enables internet browsers to play web animations, will
be available free on September 1, 1999 for Linux, Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s
Solaris, and Silicon Graphics Inc.'s Irix platforms. Flash is the standard
for creating high-impact, vector-based Web sites that deliver motion,
sound, interactivity, and graphics. Flash Player versions for UNIX will be
available for download at no charge from the Macromedia Web site.

Computer graphics industry leader PDI (Pacific Data Images) will participate in a variety of presentations at SIGGRAPH 99. They include the following:


- PDI Co-founder and Chairman Carl Rosendahl is featured in the new
ACM SIGGRAPH produced feature-length documentary, THE STORY OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS. The documentary "chronicles the history of the industry, its impact on society, and the excitement of future possibilities."


- Electronic Theatre: For the fourth consecutive year, PDI is proud to

The Visual Communication Design department of Austin Community College offers a work intensive program in the areas of Graphic Design and Multimedia production. The two year Associate of Applied Science degree includes classes in Computer Production Art, Typographic Design, Illustrative Techniques, Graphic Design and Basic Drawing. The Applied Multimedia Technology certificate offers extensive training in 2D and 3D Computer Animation, Motion Graphics, World Wide Web Design, Multimedia Authoring, Interface Design and Photoshop Techniques.

Actor Leonard Nimoy, who has gained worldwide recognition portraying the legendary character Mr. Spock in the science fiction juggernaut "Star Trek," narrates the new feature length documentary film "The Story of Computer Graphics."


"The Story of Computer Graphics" which premiered Sunday, August 8th at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, will also be shown during SIGGRAPH 99 in Room 501 of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Screening times are: 9-12 August at 9 am, 10:45 am, 12:30 pm, 2:15 pm and 4 pm; and 13 August at 9 am, 10:45 am and 12:30 pm.