THE DARK KNIGHT, DR. SEUSS' HORTON HEARS A WHO! and the fourth season of LOST arrive on DVD and Blu-ray, plus Oscar-winning Best Animated Short PETER & THE WOLF makes its U.S. DVD debut, and more.

THE DARK KNIGHT On DVD And Blu-ray

This week in AWN's Forums, a newbie to animation wants to know the best 2D animation programs. Discussion continues on the aspect ratio on animation software. A member wants to know the best way to set up a Flash movie for eventual broadcast or screening. Have some advice on becoming a voiceover actor? A member is looking for advice. Help out a member choosing which 3D software to use for a feature film. A junior at the Savannah College of Art and Design is looking for a summer internship. Got some cool links to Christmas animation? Post them now!

Bitfilm has released the first issue of its new BITFILM COLLECTION. It contains 12 groundbreaking digital animations, voted on the first ranks by the international audience of the Bitfilm Festival -- including all six winners of the Bitfilm Awards. Once a month, the digital film experts will select 12 films that they consider state of the art of digital animation.

Animation is not just kids' stuff anymore, and Nexus Productions Ltd. is in the thick of the changing creative and business market for animated films of all kinds. The London-based company, founded 10 years ago to create creative, family animation for commercials, music videos and shorts, has recently doubled its size, secured new avenues of funding, and positioned itself to take advantage of a revolution in the field. In addition, two recent short films produced by Nexus, THIS WAY UP and DAMAGED GOODS, have qualified for the 2008 Academy Award for animated short.

Nathania Seales has been promoted to VP of production for Cartoon Network On-Air. Formerly senior director of on-air production, Seales will oversee production of on-air promotions, program production, ad-supported/sponsored promotions and branding material for Cartoon Network and Boomerang. She will continue to manage the assignment of projects and budget allocations to partnering production companies, writers, animation and live-action producers and on-air talent.

PEANUTS has become the first fully animated series in the Warner Premiere Motion Comics digital content category.

HP has introduced a high-performance thin client and blade workstation that provide virtualization customers a true workstation experience combined with the security, ease of management and lowered total cost of ownership of thin client computing.

Offering significantly more processing and graphics performance, the new HP gt7725 Thin Client and HP ProLiant xw2x220c Blade Workstation deliver a leading remote experience for 3D mechanical computer-aided (MCAD) applications, rich media, flexibility and performance.

This week in AWN's Forums, members are discussing how the upcoming presidential election will affect the economy as it relates to the animation industry. A member wants input on whether to include comic pages in an animation portfolio, and the discussion continues over whether one can be too old for cartoons. A user would like some help on animating in Flash CS4. Members are still updating each other on their current projects. A thread has been started for tips and advice on buying and selling outside animated feature scripts.

The Fremantle Corporation has acquired the new and quirky CG animated series LIMO GUY from Comet Ent. and Kaleidoscope Productions. LIMO GUY is akin to the antics of SOUTH PARK with a twist of a modern day TAXI.

Super U Animation Contest
Deadline: October 30, 2008

Stop-motion, 3D, claymation, Flash or flip book. If it's animated, you could win $2,500.

Beginning in September 2008, Super U and TAC.tv (a.k.a Tetes a claques) will be presenting quarterly animation contests. A jury, including TAC.tv creator Michel Beaudet will be awarding a prize for the best of the best at the end of August 2009.

Expanding upon their existing relationship, NCircle Ent. signed a new multi-year DVD brick-and-mortar and online retail distribution agreement with The MoonScoop Group's Taffy Ent. NCircle will assume responsibility for the DVD roll-out of the new children's series CHLOE'S CLOSET in North America. NCircle, a division of Source Interlink Companies, has already begun elevating the North American presence of Taffy's preschool DIVE OLLY DIVE! series since June.

BIOSHOCK for the PlayStation 3 needed a promotional site that did justice to its intense graphics and compelling storyline. The team of designers, motion/3D artists, and developers at ROKKAN, a bicoastal, full-service interactive agency, created an online experience as gripping and immersive as the critically acclaimed game itself.

This week in AWN's Forums, discussion of freelance contracts continues, but the consensus is to consult a lawyer. IGOR's less than stellar opening weekend is dissected. A heated discussion is underway regarding fan creations of copyright-protected characters. What 2D animation software would you use for Web animation if Flash were unavailable? Some new animations were posted for member critique. A character designer is hoping to get into animation and is looking for advice.

Nicktoons Network will air RANDOM! CARTOONS episodes on Saturdays and Sundays this December, starting December 6, according to CARTOONBREW.com.

RANDOM! CARTOONS is 39 shorts for kids, all with different characters and stories and all seven minutes long. A mix of traditional, CG and Flash animation and created by Fred Seibert, the series has been delayed by Nickelodeon several times.

Shorts include ADVENTURE TIME (Pendleton Ward), GARLIC BOY (John R. Dilworth), GARY GUITAR (Bill Plympton), HORNSWIGGLE (Jerry Beck) and SOLOMON FIX (Doug TenNapel).

Digital animation and visual effects studio Keyframe Digital Productions is co-producing and creating 3D animation for 26 new half-hour episodes of PINKY DINKY DOO for the second season of the animated preschool series produced by Sesame Workshop and Cartoon Pizza.

Keyframe co-founder Clint Green is also producer and production manager for Keyframe. Keyframe co-founder, Darren Cranford, is directing all 26 episodes, which include 52 segments and 104 games. JoEllyn Marlow is overseeing production for Sesame Workshop.

GoAnimate Animators Contest
World Wide Web
Deadline: October 1, 2008

GoAnimate.com is offering the opportunity to win cash prizes in the GoAnimate Animators Contest by designing and posting your most inventive animation.

The creators of GoAnimate designed GoAnimate to allow the casual online socialite the opportunity to share their sentiments, sagas and satires in animation, without drawing talent or a technical understanding of advanced software such as Flash.

This week in AWN's Forums, check out a new Flash cartoon about an evil scientist and several new excerpts on the business of independent film financing, including distribution tips, creating a business plan and funding plan and how to present to investors. The discussion of art and animation schools keeps adding choices to the list of schools to consider. A member wants to discuss music in cartoons, both the old and the new.

NOGGIN, the 24-hour, commercial-free, educational network for preschoolers, will premiere the second season of PINKY DINKY DOO, the interactive and imaginative series from Sesame Workshop and Cartoon Pizza, with two back-to-back new episodes on Sunday, September 7, from 7-8 p.m. (ET).

TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES is now out on DVD and Blu-ray, along with some JUSTICE LEAGUE, HANNAH MONTANA in 3-D and a direct-to-video extension of the Scorpion King story.

TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES: The Complete First Season On DVD And Blu-ray

Toon Boom Animation has launched Toon Boom Studio 4.5 and its Toon Boom Studio Importer to Flash (TBSi).