DigitalFilm Tree (DFT), a post and design company specializing in Final Cut Pro (FCP) consultation and implementation, collaborated with Oscar-winning editor Walter Murch to pioneer a Final Cut Pro editing workflow for his work on Anthony Minghella's COLD MOUNTAIN, Miramax's Civil War epic starring Jude Law and Nicole Kidman and prime Oscar contender, due in theaters Christmas Day.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment plans to up the D-VHS ante by debuting five new titles this holiday season on JVC's D-VHS format, featuring JVC's D-Theater encryption and introducing for the first time optional DTS digital surround sound at the full bit rate of 1509 kbps. The titles include: X2 (Nov. 25), LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (Dec. 16), MOULIN ROUGE (Nov. 25), SPEED (Dec. 16) and TRUE LIES (Dec. 16).

Giant Killer Robots (GKR), an Oscar-winning vfx boutique in San Francisco, provided pre-visualization, design, effects animation, rendering and final compositing services to create the subterranean metropolis Zion in THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS. GKR also served as a lead coordinating firm for critical action sequences in Zion that required photorealism and precise animation. REVOLUTIONS features vfx with a Japanese anime-like feel that blends fantasy and reality.

Visual effects vet Hael Kobayashi has joined Animal Logic, the Sydney-based visual effects house as digital artists manager to oversee recruiting, training and career development of the studio’s expanding ranks of digital artists.

At the 2003 Virtuality Conference, Franz Cerami announced the new Miss Digital World, a beauty contest for digitally created women. The contest’s Website (www.missdigitalworld.com) has now officially launched. The idea for the event is to “search for a contemporary ideal of beauty, represented through virtual reality.”

On the heels of Ridley Scott's new director's cut of ALIEN comes ALIEN QUADRILOGY, the ultimate box set of the sci-fi franchise and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment's (TCFHE) most ambitious DVD project yet. Due Dec. 2, 2003 and priced at $99.98, QUADRILOGY contains four films, nine discs and 45 hours of bonus materials. Plus new vfx in ALIEN and ALIEN3 supplied by TCFHE and five houses (Svengali, R!OT, Encore, Frantic and Modern Video). There are 15 new CG shots in ALIEN, including CG blood, CG fire, wire removal and star fields.

Nexsan Technologies, a leader in innovative storage solutions, announced that its new ATABeast is now shipping in volume and available worldwide. The ATABeast disk vault sets the bar in high-end, high capacity storage, delivering industry-leading features with unparalleled density and security. ATABeast offers a TCO that also establishes new standards of affordability.

Moneyshots recently completed visual effects on a series of spots for Reebok featuring the NFL Summit Heavyweight Jacket and Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Donavan McNabb. Directed by The Odiorne Brothers for Arnell Group, the 30- and 10-second spots were shot in Philadelphia over three days, and utilize a series of scenes connected by the winter breaths of Eagles players and fans.

THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS made its worldwide debut on Nov. 5, 2003, taking in $43.1 million from 18,000 screens. The final installment in the cyber saga brought in $24.3 million in the U.S. and Canada where it played in 3,502 theaters. This amount makes it the third biggest Wednesday bow of all time in North America behind only STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE ($28.5M) and THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS ($26.2M).

Visual effects producer Leighton Greer has joined the staff of Entity FX in Santa Monica, California. Previously she was visual effects producer at A52 where she produced spots for Nike, BMW, Nissan, Toyota, Cadillac, Volvo and Sony PlayStation. Prior to A52, Greer worked at Rhythm & Hues, Pinnacle Studios and Pacific Ocean Post.

Greer recently produced the award-winning Nike MOVE, directed by Jake Scott of RSA and Sony PlayStation’s SIGNS, directed by Dante Ariola of MJZ.