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.

James Cameron has revealed some information about the planned sequels to AVATAR, reports the LOS ANGELES TIMES.

GOBELINS is organizing for the fifth time an international summer school to enable students and professionals from around the world to gain a better understanding of what makes for successful character animation.

Now in our 7th year, CSU Animation and Visual Effects are proud to present the Australian International Animation Festival 2010. The internationally renowned event has gone from strength to strength since its modest start in 2004 and this year has secured amazing exclusives from more than 2,200 submissions from over 40 countries. The range of styles, genres and techniques is testament to the vibrancy and relevance of creative animation and the premiere screening of this highly acclaimed collection is happening right here in Wagga Wagga!

The International Competition programs are made up of an eclectic mix of films and will give audiences a complete, up-to-date snapshot of the international creative animation scene. In addition to these there are programs that focus on digital animating, stop motion, and Australian made films. Rounding out the line-up are programs for younger audiences and even a “Late Night Bizarre” program for those whose tastes lurch to the truly odd and unfathomable.

A series of free talks and workshops given by filmmakers from Australia and overseas will provide those with questioning minds a chance to learn more about how and why these films get made. Buy a Full Festival Pass and you’ll save over 60%, guarantee seating, be in the running for unbelievable prizes, see bonus films, network with key people, be invited to the after-party which includes complimentary food & drinks, and then some...

Door-prizes include full commercial versions of Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium, Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Mudbox worth over $7,000 in professional creative software!

Venue: Forum 6 Cinema
Date: Friday 14th – Sunday 16th May 2010
Cost: $12 Single Session or $35 Full Festival Pass
Only $5 for Kids Program

AIAF2010 Schedule

Friday 14th May
5:30pm - Doors Open
6:00pm - Official Opening & International Program #1
8:00pm - SIGGRAPH Wrap-Up

Saturday 15th May
2:00pm - Kids Screening (4-7 years old)
4:00pm - Animation 101 “Adventures In Ancient Animation”
5:00pm - Animation 102 “Blending Animation & Live Action”
6:00pm - Australian Panorama
8:00pm - International Program #2
9:30pm - Late Night Bizarre

Sunday 16th May
2:00pm - Kids Screening (4-7 years old) [Repeat]
4:00pm - Animation 103 “Lucy Izzard (UK) & Slinky Pics”
5:30pm - Animation 104 “Adobe CS5 in Action”
6:00pm - International Program #3
7:30pm - Digital Panorama

Important:
Please be aware that admission is restricted to 18+ (except for Kids & Official Opening /International Program #1). Film classification regulations in Australia require all films to either be formally classified or restricted to an audience of 18 years of age and over. Most festivals do not have the resources to do this and it for this reason alone that we are not able to admit any person under the age of 18 years to the main AIAF screenings.

Kids Program – Specifically programmed towards 4 – 7 year olds whilst still entertaining more mature patrons, this screening gives children the world’s best animation for a just $5! Pricing includes adults.

The workshops are free for anyone to attend but may contain mature content.

It was announced today that Academy Award nominee Max von Sydow (“Robin Hood”, “Shutter Island”, “Minority Report”), Mads Mikkelsen (“Clash of the Titans”, “Casino Royale”) and Helena Mattsson (“Iron Man 2”, “Surrogates”) have joined the voice cast for the 3D animated family feature MOOMINS AND THE COMET CHASE.

When the final weekend box office numbers came in late Monday, KICK-ASS emerged from the smoke as the winner, changing early news that HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON had returned to the top spot in its fourth week in theaters.

Digital-Tutors, an Autodesk Authorized Publisher and provider of the largest online computer graphics training library, today announced 'Introduction to Maya 2011' - the first solution-based course for emerging digital artists using Autodesk Maya 2011, the latest version of the modeling, animation, rendering and compositing software created by Autodesk, a world leader in 2D and 3D, engineering and entertainment software.

As the cost of product development and prototyping increases, pre-design visualization is becoming paramount to industrial designers. phil&teds , a manufacturer of stylish, adaptable children's products for active parents, is always looking for the best digital tools to help the company visualize and communicate their creative vision.

In its fourth week at the U.S. box office, DreamWorks' HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON regained the #1 slot for the weekend of April 16-19, 2010.

Steve Hanson's Hanson Inc. has licensed the film rights to Kahlil Gibran's famed 1923 collection of poetic essays, THE PROPHET, reports VARIETY.

Philips and ad agency DDB approached RSA Films to commission five films under the banner Parallel Lines. 45 RSA Directors submitted concepts surrounding a single script supplied by the agency. From those, five diverse concepts were chosen for production; the result is a testament to both directorial interpretation and social media promotion.

Find out the secret behind a hot VFX short and a feature deal with Sam Raimi.

Autodesk has announced the 2011 releases of its creative finishing products for visual effects, editorial finishing and color grading: Autodesk Flame, Autodesk Flare, Autodesk Flint, Autodesk Smoke and Autodesk Lustre.

Autodesk Inc. has announced that a modified version of PixelActive's CityScape 1.8 will be shipped with Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 and Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2011 software, to provide users with rapid urban development capabilities within a more intuitive user interface.

BOXX Technologies, a leader in dedicated rendering and high-performance computing systems for visual effects, post production, product design, and advanced visualization, announced that they will feature renderBOXX and ROW (RenderFarm on Wheels) rendering systems, as well as the demonstration debut of the upcoming BOXXpro desk side rendering module, at NAB 2010.