The Previsualization Society today announced "Previs 2010," the organization's inaugural event in Los Angeles scheduled for May 8. The one-day gathering will bring together a wide spectrum of professionals who use and interact with previs for an exploration of current previs approaches, workflows and new work.

VARIETY reports that San Diego's Tourism Marketing District board is offering Comic-Con hotel tax revenue as an incentive to stay in the city.

IMAX Corporation (Nasdaq:IMAX) (TSX:IMX) and Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX), announced today that they have completed an agreement to release up to 20 Warner Bros. films in IMAX's format over the course of the next three and a half years (from 2010 through 2013).

Summit Entertainment has confirmed that Academy Award® winner Bill Condon will direct THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, based on the fourth novel in author Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series.

Previs 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sofitel Los Angeles
2:00 pm - 9:00 pm
 
$40 for Previsualization Society members
$100 for non-members
Reserve tickets in advance on www.previssociety.com.

Hosted by the Previsualization Society, Previs 2010 brings together a wide spectrum of professionals who use and interact with previs for an exploration of current previs approaches, workflows and new work.  The program will highlight recent motion picture previs, as well as interdisciplinary round tables that encourage input from all vantage points of pre-production, production and post production with an emphasis on previs in relationship to the creative process.  Event begins at 2:00 pm, with a dinner-and-drinks reception to follow from 7:00-9:00 pm.  Full details on www.previssociety.com.

Jeffrey Katzenberg told THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER that DreamWorks Animation plans to have a HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON sequel in theaters by the second half of 2013.

EuropaCorp and France-based Zagtoon are partnering on a TV series version of ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES, reports VARIETY.

HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality children’s entertainment, announces that Topsville, Inc., a manufacturer of children’s apparel, has been selected as the US master apparel licensee for Angelina Ballerina.

CGTEXPO organized by CGTantra is India's Largest Expo on Animation, VFX & Gaming Industry & has been a tremendous success witnessing footfalls as good as 4500 people turning up for the 2 day exhibition in 2008 & 2009 each.

The line-up of activities included a Job Fair for Placement Agencies, Studios and Production Houses as well as an Education Fair for all institutes and Animation Schools, Technical Exhibition, Master classes, Showcases, Seminars, Student Competitions, Art Galleries, and Entertainment Zone covering all possible activities in Art and Technology.

After only missing out on reclaiming the #1 spot at the U.S. box office last weekend, this weekend DreamWorks Animation's HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON did reclaim the top slot.

Big Idea Entertainment, the leading faith-based studio and producer of children’s and family programming, characters and brands, today announced they will release a brand new VeggieTales enchanting adventure, VeggieTales: Sweetpea Beauty—A Girl After God’s Own Heart, on July 31, 2010 for $14.99 SRP in Christian market stores, and on August 3, 2010 for $14.93 SRP in the general marketplace.

Directing collective Kompost, working via DUCK Studios, created a visually explosive spot for Green Earth Technologies' G-OIL, the "official motor oil of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and the International Motor Spots Association (IMSA)."

Now in its 37th year, the SIGGRAPH conference is the premier international event on computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2010 is expected to draw an estimated 25,000 professionals from five continents to Los Angeles, California

Who

The SIGGRAPH conference attracts the most respected technical and creative people from all over planet Earth. The SIGGRAPH community includes people everywhere who are excited by research, science, art, animation, gaming, interactivity, education, and the web. SIGGRAPH 2010 is sponsored by The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), an educational and scientific society uniting the world's computing educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field's challenges.

What

The SIGGRAPH conference and exhibition is a five-day interdisciplinary educational experience including a three-day commercial exhibition that attracts hundreds of exhibitors from around the world. SIGGRAPH is widely recognized as the most prestigious forum for the publication of computer graphics research. In addition to SIGGRAPH's leading-edge technical program, the conference's installations provide close-up views of the latest in digital art, emerging technologies, and hands-on opportunities for creative collaboration.

The conference also hosts the international SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival, showcasing works from the world's most innovative and accomplished digital film and video creators. Juried and curated content includes outstanding achievements in time-based art, scientific visualization, visual effects, real-time graphics, and narrative shorts. Since 1999, the festival has been an official qualifying event for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Animated Short Film award.

Where

Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

When

Conference: 25 - 29 July (Sunday through Thursday)
Exhibition: 27 - 29 July (Tuesday through Thursday)

Disney-Pixar has set release dates for its 2012 duo of films, reports VARIETY.

Playhouse Disney has picked up the rights to eco-friendly pre-school toon, THE HIVE, reports VARIETY.

Cameron and Spielberg on Blu-ray in the same week: this is just the boost that the HD format needs.

Over the last many years, the role and impact of interactive and real-time graphics have grown substantially to affect SIGGRAPH attendees from film production to academia.

Read how the Virtual Art Department is one of industry's game changers as a result of Avatar.

Short Films and Feature Animation Branch governor Bill Kroyer will lead an evening focused on two Oscar-winning films – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008) and “Avatar” (2009) – to demonstrate how innovations in performance-capture technology, digital doubles, digital makeup, photorealism and image manipulation are affecting actors.

Cartoon Network unveiled a substantial new line-up of content today at its annual Advertising Upfront presentation at New York’s Time Warner Center.