Alain Bielik rides along with the visual effects artists on The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift for a trip to a virtual Japan.

Animation studio ILL Clan and 3D objects provider TurboSquid have partnered up to present TRASH TALK, which employs the use of machinima in the production of the latest talk show host to grace computer and iPod screens. This animated 3D game character wannabe named ILL Will, a cross between Jay Leno and Duke Nukem, reports on the latest gaming news and talks trash each week on the Internet with his sidekick, a missile named Mal Content.

fmx/06, the 11th International Conference on Animation, Effects, Realtime and Content from May 3-6, 2006 in Stuttgart, Germany, announces its prizes. With more than 5,000 international visitors – 40% more than last year – fmx/06 included 350 speakers from all over the world presented more than 300 lectures, demos, workshops and screenings about creation, production and distribution in all forms of digital content.

fmx/06, the 11th International Conference on Animation, Effects, Realtime and Content, will take place May 3-6, 2006, in Stuttgart, Germany.

7th International Bitfilm Festival for Digital Film
Hamburg, Germany
November 2006
Deadline: June 1, 2006

Spring term for Gnomon School of Visual Effects begins April 3 through June 11. New classes include:

* Digital Sculpting and Texturing in ZBrush. This course is a comprehensive look at ZBrush's complete toolset for high-end 3D modeling and texturing. Instruction introduces a complete ZBrush workflow beginning with a base mesh and taking it to a complete ZBrushed finish. Instructor: Scott Spencer.

Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world SECOND LIFE, announced the release of BELLS AND SPURS, a machinima film based on the cowboy poem "Silver Bells and Golden Spurs" and created entirely within SECOND LIFE. The film will have its real world premiere Saturday, March 11, 2006, during the Screen Burn Beta Festival at the 13th annual SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin. To see the film and tour the virtual back lot where Bells and Spurs was filmed, visit www.bellsandspurs.com.

Alain Bielik reports on the more ambitious vfx utilized in Underworld: Evolution, resulting in a pipeline shift by Luma Pictures and further reliance on ZBrush.

fmx/06, the 11th International Conference on Animation, Effects, Realtime and Content, will take place May 3-6, 2006, in Stuttgart, Germany.

Topics include the latest animated movies and vfx features, the convergence of games and movies, new fields of work for animators, the latest use of realtime graphics and current trends from the Far East. There is also new cooperation with the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, with overlapping programs, in addition to the festival award ceremony coinciding with the opening of fmx/06 on the evening of May 2.

With the holidays comes holiday parties. The Career Coach gives some quick tips on how to get more out of the festivities than just chips and dips.