Image College of Arts, Animation and Technology (ICAT), a division of Chennai-based Image Infotainment Limited, will launch a three-year full-time program in digital media, which includes animation, visual effects, game design or game development, reports THE BUSINSS STANDARD.

Philip Thomas, manager (admissions) of ICAT, said that the digital media industry across the world was in need of more fusion artists, those who combine artistic and technical skills.

Sony Pictures Imageworks president Tim Sarnoff announced the presentation of scholarships to six students currently enrolled at academic institutions affiliated with the Imageworks Professional Academic Excellence (IPAX) program.

fxphd, the formal training arm of fxguide.com —a long time valued industry source for news and visual effects tips — has been launched. Unlike fxguide, fxphd is a formal structured course that builds week to week into a complete understanding of the subject at hand. Students are able to discuss with course leaders each week and have their work reviewed and accessed.

Registration for summer term 2006 at Gnomon School of Visual Effects (June 26-Sept. 10) began May 22. There are two new classes for summer: Visual Math for Artists, taught by Saty Raghavachary, is visual intro to mathematical topics that are useful in CG production, and is meant for a non-programmer/non-technical audience. In Vehicles and Hardware Design for Film and Games, students learn the basic design principles necessary to work as conceptual artists in the science fiction genre. This five-week class is taught by Hugo Martin.

Studio B Prods., one of Canada’s leading animation studios, is opening up their doors to scholarship winners. The winners were chosen by their portfolios from their respective first and third year animation programs. Three $2,000 scholarships and the opportunity to work with Studio B during a four-week paid internship program were awarded to:

* Capilano College’s Lauren Airriess from Salt Lake City, Utah – working in the Design & Storyboard Department on GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE and RICKY SPROCKET – SHOWBIZ BOY.

The Gnomon Workshop now offers two new DVDs by CG supervisor Tim Jones. The creation of digital environments for the highest caliber game cinematics and short films has been Jones’ area of expertise at Blur Studios. In these DVDs, he shares his techniques for modeling, texturing, lighting, rendering and compositing highly realistic digital sets in 3ds Max.

ENVIRONMENT CREATION FOR PRODUCTION: 3DS MAX MODELING AND TEXTURING WITH TIM JONES.

Digital-Tutors announced the availability of USING SYFLEX IN MAYA, a comprehensive guide to the learning the fundamentals of SyFlex and creating realistic simulations using the fast and powerful technology developed by Syflex Llc. Containing more than four hours of project-based training, USING SYFLEX IN MAYA provides artists a unique approach to learning the capabilities of SyFlex. A limited time offer is also included with the training DVD, allowing artists to save 10% on a license of SyFlex through June 10, courtesy of Syflex Llc.

Philip Flynn, chief executive of the Digital Hub Development Agency, said that Irish and international animation companies should take advantage of Ireland’s highly skilled workforce that has experience in producing digital animation from primary school, reports THE IRISH EXAMINER.

Flynn made his comments at the debut of the Liberties Claymation Festival in the Digital Hub in Dublin. The festival, which is running over three days, will feature more than 30 animation films produced and directed by children 8-16-from schools based in the Liberties.

The deadline for entries for the $1,000 Phyllis Craig Scholarship Fund Competition, awarded by Women in Animation International Inc. has been extended until May 30, 2006.

In a major initiative to nurture and encourage emerging Korean-American filmmakers, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) announced the launch of its inaugural KOFIC Filmmakers Development Lab.

The Halle, Germany-based European Animation Masterclass (EAM) initiated a European network of animation film artists and animation schools. Last week, the EAM brought together 25 of the next-generation animation film producers from 11 countries with internationally acclaimed trainers from Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany and the U.S.

The Gnomon Workshop provides the answer to all your matchmoving questions, with five new titles from artists Tim Dobbert, who joins the Gnomon Workshop with three new releases, and Stephen McClure, whose two new titles introduce tracking in boujou. Ethan Summers rounds out the releases with a new title showing how he creates landscapes in Vue.

Following the tremendous success of courses offered at its Dubai hub, SAE Institute, the largest film, audio engineering and animation training provider in the world, is looking at expanding to other countries in the region.

Marco Bettelli, SAE's Dubai gm, said that the SAE Institute's regional campus at Dubai Knowledge Village (KV) has captured the imagination of aspiring filmmakers, animators and music professionals from around the region and is considering opening branches in Middle Eastern countries like Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.

The Art Institute of California – San Francisco is now offering a bachelor’s degree program in Simulation & Virtual Environments and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Computer Animation.

Animation Mentor, the Berkeley-based online character animation school, was selected by San Francisco radio station Alice @ 97.3 as a partner on its Alice’s 3-Minute Film Festival. The modern adult contemporary station unveils a new Morning Show-themed short film, each year, as part of the celebration. This year’s short was co-directed by Animation Mentor’s co-founder/creative director Carlos Baena, whose motion picture credits include FINDING NEMO and CARS.

A study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign presents the argument that computer animation uses in court cases to re-create incidents may present a biased view depending on which side created the simulation, reports ScienceDaily.com.

It has been March madness in the classroom for 12 graduate students enrolled in New York Institute of Technology's (NYIT) Master of Arts computer graphics program. Students worked long days and late nights — even giving up much of their spring break — to complete a new, full-screen animation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Centennial logo.

Joining the Gnomon School of Visual Effects advisory board are visual effects supervisor Richard Kidd and Patricia Beckmann, manager of artistic and professional development for Disney Feature Animation. As board members, they will help guide development, curriculum and direction for the school.

Subhash Ghai's Mukta Arts and Film City have launched the Whistling Woods Intl. film school on the Film City campus in Mumbai, reports VARIETY. The school will begin classes in July and has a teaching staff that includes Bollywood actors Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, helmers Ghai, Shyam Benegal and Aruna Raje.

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.