Demonstrating the senior executive commitment behind Blu-Con 1.0, the 1st Congress of Blu-ray Innovation, the opening address will be presented by Warner Home Video President/ DEG President Ron Sanders who has called this event "a call to action for the home entertainment community to share knowledge about Blu-ray's marketing success while focusing on new opportunities for Blu-ray in the future." Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos will provide updates about what consumers seem to want from the format and how well it is faring out in the marketplace. Ted oversees strategic content acquisition for Netflix and manages the company's relationships with studios, networks, filmmakers and producers. Speakers include: Chris Brown, CEO and President, Metabeam Andrew Carlson, Executive Director of Interactive Media, New Wave Ent. Steven Chester, General Manager Worldwide, Blink Digital Erin Crawford, SVP and GM, Nielsen Home Ent. Russ Crupnick, President, NPD Music & Movies Eric Dilts, President -- U.S., AudioDev Marc Finer, Technical Director, DEG Paul Gluckman, Managing Editor, CE Daily Rolf Hartley, SVP and GM - Professional Products Group, Sonic Solutions Mark Johnson, CEO, Javelin Ventures / Co-author of DVD Demystified Aslam Khader, CTO, Marketing and Strategy, Ensequence Isaac Larbi, CEO - U.S., Sofatronic Victor Matsuda, Chairman of the BDA Global Promotions Committee Mike Mitchell, EVP and GM, Sony DADC Paulette E. Pantoja, Founder/CEO, BluFocus Ron Sanders, President, Warner Home Video/President, DEG Ted Sarnados, Chief Content Officer, Netflix John Town, SVP of Blu-ray R&D, Technicolor Adam Vadnais, Supervising Producer, Trailer Park Zane Vella, President, Related Content Data Base Discussion Topics Include: --How Consumers Will Interface With Content Through Blu-ray Disc --Building the Technology Backbone for BD-Live --BD and BD-Live: Marketing Interactivity and Infotainment --Authoring Panel: Creating the Future and Keeping Up With Demand --View from the Plant: Replication and Distribution --Retail View: The Transition to Blu-ray --Creative Panel: Where Marketing Meets Inspiration --Putting It All Together: Innovative Technology -- Tools, Systems & Services --Research Update: Blu-ray: By the Numbers --Blu-ray Hardware Trends and Innovation

Since the creation of Cartoon Movie 10 years ago, a record of 123 European films were produced for a cumulative budget of 800 million Euros (in the previous decade, only 52 animated films were made). Twenty percent of these films clocked up more than one million admissions throughout Europe and audience numbers have increased six-fold in the past three years to reach today's 25 million filmgoers. These figures constitute a remarkable achievement for the European animation industry as a whole, and in particular for the studios which have successfully managed to go from TV series to animated features. They are also an acknowledgement by the public at large that animation is a popular story-telling genre - that happens to use animation rather than live action techniques. The acclaimed WALTZ WITH BASHIR, a co-production between Israel, France and Germany evidences this assertion. So following a decade of growth in the animated feature industry a new cycle is starting, opening up challenges and opportunities: In a clustered movie market suffering from audience dispersion, marketing techniques need to adapt to the new consumption modes whilst 3-D stereoscopic as well as digital cinema could well provide increased revenues for animated features. In the U.S. for instance where 3-D films generate 3 times the per screen revenue of conventional releases, Disney and DreamWorks Animation will be releasing their entire slates of films in 3-D as of next year. Digital prints are also expected to facilitate multiple and flexible distribution across borders, on VOD platforms and IPTV. As legal offers multiply, film piracy should also be contained. Thanks to new national and European tax incentives, smaller markets like Belgium, Ireland and Denmark are becoming significant players in the feature industry -- developing projects with an international scope and also low cost budget films. Cartoon Feature will be looking into these latest developments from a European perspective and our panel of experts will continue to present through case studies and recent films, new business models and changing relationships between producers and distributors.

Held in Swansea, Wales, SAND is a U.K. conference event for CGI animation, digital content and creation, attracting visitors and speakers from around the world, holding sessions on computer games, procedural animation, films, post production techniques, TV commercials and motion capture. Now in its ninth year, the conference is organized by Swansea Metropolitan University in partnership with the Welsh Assembly Government. SAND Business and SAND Papers: Monday, November 24 SAND Interactive (Games): Tuesday, November 25 SAND Games: Wednesday, November 26 SAND Film, TV & SFX: Thursday, November 27 SAND Film: Friday, November 28 This year, Double Negative, the SoHo effects studio that created many vfx sequences for HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY and THE DARK KNIGHT, will attend, as well as THE PEARCE SISTERS' award winning creator Luis Cook of Aardman Animations and Blitz Games (SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, AMERICAN IDOL). Tim Allen will be leading this year's "Claymation" workshop for clay and stop-frame animation on November 16. Allen is an experienced freelance stop motion animator working on many successful series and films including CREATURE COMFORTS USA, Tim Burton's CORPSE BRIDE and the Oscar winning PETER & THE WOLF. "Acting for Animators" guru, Ed Hooks, returns to lead this professional workshop on November 24 designed for animators, new media designers, games designers and teachers who want their characters to convince their audience. Hooks is a pioneer in acting training, designed specifically for animators, having taught at most major studios including DreamWorks/PDI, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Electronic Arts. Anime expert Jonathan Clements of Muramasa Industries discusses "Storylining in a Corporate Environment" on November 26. Aspiring writers, designers and animators are all welcome -- as in the real world, the workshop will comprise group efforts to reach saleable solutions. Clements is a scriptwriter for media as diverse as DOCTOR WHO on the radio, the computer game HALCYON Sun, and the Sci Fi channel show SAIKO EXCITING. Independent Animator Rick Villenueve's workshop "Animated Thought Showers" on November 27 provides a practical approach on how to develop and present animation concepts for specific medias, from television series to feature films, independent short films to interactive games. Villenueve's television & film work includes the BEATRIX POTTER series and FERNGULLY, THE LAST RAINFOREST. Escape Studios are holding the Maya Workshop on November 26 for intermediate/advanced level, covering specific aspects of the Autodesk Maya software package. Throughout the conference week there are also animation and live action screenings (Including Studio AKA's VARMINTS, PERSEPOLIS, as well as THE DARK KNIGHT), professional sector workshops and business seminars. The conference is open to the public and runs over five themed days held mostly at the Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea. Visit www.smu.ac.uk/SAND to purchase tickets and for more information on the SAND 2008 program. Prices range from 10 pounds for a 1 Day Conference Pass to 80 pounds for a 5 Day Conference Pass.

The Dubai International Character & Licensing Fair -- Character Dubai brings together character and licensing professionals from around the globe. The region's largest character fair aims at attracting more than 250 professional companies, in addition to 10,000 trade visitors and dealers who will come together to exchange business ideas, network, and gain knowledge and expertise. The event will take place at the Dubai Int'l Convention and Exhibition Centre. For more information, visit www.character.ae.

The Broadcast India Show is a global megamart for broadcast-related industries featuring everything to do with entertainment, from content creation to its delivery, under one roof. After the success of its 17th consecutive exhibition and symposium, the event is expected to draw more than 22,000 attendees, with more than 450 companies from 31 countries.

The latest innovations in television, radio, video, audio, film, IPTV, mobile TV, computer graphics, visual effects, multimedia, music, lights, cable, satellite, broadband, Internet and transmission will all be on display for visitors from across the sub-continent and from the Middle East, South Africa and South Asia.

For more information, visit http://www.saicom.com/broadcastindia/2008/.

Conference will be held October 15-16, 2008; Exhibition will be held October 17-19, 2008

The Hit Makers Summit is a three day catered TV pitch crash course that takes place in Orlando, Florida. This summit, hosted by Mark and Jeanne Simon, founders of SellYourTVConceptNow.com, promises to have an incredible line up speakers and even more time to work with industry professionals one-on-one. The next Hit Makers Summit is September 20-22 and seats are limited to 30 people. This is a one-of-a-kind event where creators passionate about selling their shows come to sharpen their pitch skills with personal attention. The best idea for a TV show won't sell if you can't get to the right people and show them what they want to see. Perfect your pitch and look like a seasoned pro when you pitch your show. Create a Pitch Package That Sells a Concept: --Prepare those elements executives expect to see --Secrets to writing treatments that communicate the spirit of your show in your absence --Find out when having art in your package is absolutely necessary --How to find writers or artists who can capture the essence of your project for you --Find out how much information is too much and what is just right Perfect Your Pitch: --The greatest TV pitch strategies of all time are revealed --Practice pitch to experts and get expert critiques --Gain the confidence to pitch to anyone

Representatives from Second City, 24/7 Chicago, the Nude Hippo Show and the "Corporate Jester" will all be on hand to show how comedy and improv can become invaluable tools in your arsenal -- in the workplace and on the stage. Speakers include Anne Libera, Executive Artistic Director of Second City Training Centers & Education Programs, Jeff Rogers, owner of ZAP Creative Inc., Catie Keogh, host and executive producer of 24/7 Chicago, and Mariana Perin, Producer of The Nude Hippo Show.

DATE: Wednesday, September 10
TIME: 6:30 p.m.
PLACE: The Acting Studio Chicago, 10 W. Hubbard, Suite 2E Chicago, Illinois 60610
COST: WIFC members: $5, Non-members: $15
RSVP@WIFChiccago.org

IFA is one of the largest consumer electronics trade shows in the world. It combines innovation and the technology of tomorrow with business sales and entertainment. According to published statistics, more than 1,200 companies from 32 countries exhibited at IFA 2007, covering a net space of more than 103,000 square meters. More than 6,600 press attended IFA 2007, including 1,371 international journalists from 62 countries. Sales at the 2007 show totaled 2.75 billion Euros. The number of trade visitors attending the show in 2007 jumped 7.5% to 101,358. The overall number of attendees jumped 5% to a total of 223,000 -- making IFA nearly 60% larger than the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held each year in Las Vegas. For more information, visit http://www.ifa-berlin.com.

This summer -- August 16 and 17 -- Marla Kirban Voiceover will be presenting an animation seminar for those looking to get into the industry. It will be taught by the multi-talented Hynden Walch. Walch is not only known for her iconic roles in THE BATMAN (as Harley Quinn) and TEEN TITANS (as Starfire), but is known for her work as a casting director, writer, show runner, and director.

Hynden will also be casting for a couple of her new projects from the class.

Go to www.myspace.com/marlakirbanvoiceover to see a trailer for the event as well as to find bios, details, and contact info. Sign up by August 1, 2008.

SIGGRAPH 2008, the 35th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, will be held Aug. 11-15, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California.

SIGGRAPH 2008 is evolving along with the computer graphics and interactive techniques community. It is dissolving the borders between some traditional SIGGRAPH programs (Art Gallery, Courses, Educators, Emerging Technologies, Panels, Posters, The Studio, Sketches) to create a more fluid, interdisciplinary conference. And it is offering presenters more flexible options for sharing their work. SIGGRAPH is also upgrading the value of the Computer Animation Festival.

Submission Deadlines
All deadlines are at 22:00 UTC/GMT:

Technical Papers
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008

General Submission
Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008

Student Volunteers Applications
Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008

General Submission, Materials Upload
Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008

Late-Breaking Work
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

For specific details, visit www.siggraph.org/s2008.