The sixth annual Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge is now underway. Co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the journal SCIENCE, the flagship publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Visualization Challenge is a prestigious competition to find the photographs, illustrations, and digital media that best communicate science, engineering, and technology for education and journalistic purposes. Last year's winning entries were as diverse and imaginative as any yet received. They took us in close to see how nicotine creates cravings, how muscles work, how wires can heal themselves, and even what lies behind our noses. They helped us learn physics, mathematics, and the progression of breast cancer. They took us up 18 kilometers to the top of Hurricane Bonnie and down to the delicate structures of sea moss from Cape Breton Island. They even slowed time to a standstill, revealing the beautiful complexity of a bat's flight. Winning entries will be published in a special section of the Sept. 26, 2008 issue of SCIENCE and Science Online and on NSF's website. The entry deadline is May 31, 2008. For rules, entry forms, and more information, see www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis.

The Art Institute of Pittsburg, Online Division (AiPO) and Alienware are hosting The Concept Art Competition, a contest that celebrates artwork from leading independent game artists around the world. The artwork was created as concept art for videogame applications, such as characters, landscapes, vehicles and other game-art renderings.

The competition will crown and reward two artists for their winning entries. Alienware will provide two Area-51R 7500 computers (MSRP $3,009 each) to the winning entries. Mod DB is hosting the event and provides the ideal staging ground for this competition, given its history and unrivaled platform for mod developers, game designers and artists to collaborate to create game modifications, add-ons and independent games.

The Concept Art Competition is open for public judging on Mod DB through Dec. 7, 2007. The results will be posted on Dec. 15, 2007. To view and vote on your favorite artwork, visit www.moddb.com/features/23851/concept-art-competition.

CGSociety and NVIDIA are hosting the first NVArt competition. The "Amazing Creations" contest for digital artists has a prize pool valued at over $21,000.

Submissions will be reviewed by a distinguished panel of judges, including:

* Pascal Blanche, Concept Artist/Art Director, Ubisoft
* Francisco Cortina, 3D Artist
* Lorne Lanning, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Oddworld Inhabitants
* Stephan Martinere, Concept Artist/Creative Visual Director, Midway Games
* JoAnne Northup, Senior Curator, San Jose Art Museum
* Shelley Page, Head of International Outreach, DreamWorks
* Mark Snoswell, President, CGSociety
* Steven Stahlberg, Lead Artist
* David Wright, Creative Director, NVIDIA

The deadline for contest submissions is Jan. 7, 2008. Winners will be announced at the San Jose Art Museum, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Feb. 1, 2008. For additional details and official rules, go to events.cgsociety.org/NVArt.

Vicon, developer of Academy Award-winning motion capture systems and part of the Oxford Metrics Group, is currently accepting submissions for the Vicon Film Festival online at www.vicon.com/filmfestival/.

With a grand prize of $10,000, the international competition aims to find the most creative and entertaining use of a series of motion capture sequences in an animated short. The competition is open to original short films (between two and five minutes long) using motion capture data made available for download from the Vicon Film Festival website.

The contest launched in August 2007, offering participants a variety of different motion capture clips for download, along with NFR licenses of 3D match-moving software boujou SD, to aid in the creation of their short films. Between now and the submission close date (Jan. 31, 2008), one entrant per day will be selected at random to win an iPod Shuffle.

Film entries will be posted on YouTube and the Vicon Film Festival website for public voting. The top 10 entries will be submitted to an independent judging panel comprised of industry experts including Mike Sanders (Industrial Light & Magic), Eric Furie (USC School of Cinematic Arts), Takashi Fukamoto (Links Digiworks), Gary Roberts (Vicon House of Moves), Chris Mais (writer and director of the award-winning SMILE), Mick Morris (Audiomotion) and Darren Waters (BBC Interactive). The winner will be announced in June 2008. Media sponsors for the competition include VFXWorld.com, Computer Graphics World and Digital Arts Magazine (UK).

NVIDIA and CGSociety have teamed up to offer another NVArt competition, this time the focus is on architecture and landscape design. Titled Art Space: Architecture and Landscape, this digital art competition challenges participants to create awe-inspiring architecture and landscape designs. First prize is 2 NVIDIA Quadro FX 5500 cards, and 1 week 'all inclusive' holiday valued at $10,000 (USD). Second prize is NVIDIA Quadro FX 5500, and a $500 (USD) American Express Gift Card. Third prize is NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500, and a $500 (USD) American Express Gift Card. Entrants must be members of CGTalk or CGSociety. The entry process will walk you through a free signup if you are not already registered. For details, visit http://events.cgsociety.org.

The Bristol School of Animation at the University of the West of England and Aardman Animations join forces for the annual storyboarding competition for 2008. Entrants are asked to produce an It can be serious, touching, funny, even a spoof, but it must be thirty seconds long with a three-second pack shot at the end and no longer than 20 frames. First prize is a free place to study either 2D drawn or 3D Stop Motion Pro in Bristol School of Animation's "Three Month Animation Course" running from June until September 2008. The prize includes accommodation. There will also be runners-up prizes on offer. The competition is open to everyone over 18 years of age. For more information, call +44 (0)117 32 848410, email amd.shortcourses@uwe.ac.uk, or visit www.uwe.ac.uk/amd.

Voting Ends: August 31, 2008

No cinemas, no queues, no tickets, no e-scalpers, no timetables. The third annual Portable Film Festival is an online film festival presenting the very best in international film and video culture.

With former featured shorts going on to be nominated for Oscars in each consecutive year, the Portable Film Festival has become the place to hit the big-time online. Renowned directors will be battling it out against budding bedroom philosophers, across six categories including Short Film, Music Video, Animation, Online Serials, Films Caught on Mobile Devices and this year for the first time ever, Feature Films.

The Portable Film Festival will award prizes in six categories, as voted by the users. The main award -- the Grand Hopper -- will be awarded in the flagship category Short Film.

Visit www.portablefilmfestival.com to vote.

Boinx Software will offer free interactive web seminars and FAQ sessions to help users get the most out of BoinxTV, FotoMagico and other Boinx Software products. Beginners and pros alike can talk directly with product managers and developers to ask them questions and learn about advanced techniques to make their own workflow more efficient and productive. It's easy for everyone with Internet access to tune into a Boinx "Live-Webinar" from their computer at home, or at the office, to follow the activities on the presenter's desktop. The next two Live-Webinars from Boinx take place on March 10 and 11. To participate in a Boinx Live-Webinar, click on the big "Join Webinar" button on the Boinx Webinars webpage (http://boinx.com/webinars) and follow the instructions to set up an account. Give feedback, raise your virtual hand to ask your questions via audio, and chat with other users during the live presentation. All Live-Webinars will be recorded for later distribution and are free of charge for all attendees (data rate fees from your local Internet provider may apply). Scheduled Live Webinars: March 10, 2009, 5pm UTC (5 p.m. GMT, 1 p.m. ET; 10 a.m. PT) "The Magic of FotoMagico" Meet the developers of FotoMagico and get some valuable hints and tips to make your slideshows even more compelling. March 10, 2009, 11pm UTC (11pm GMT, 7 p.m. ET; 4 p.m. PT; March 11, 8 a.m. Tokyo) "The Secrets of BoinxTV" The first half hour of the free BoinxTV webinar is dedicated to beginners, the second half hour is for experienced users.

NewTek Inc., manufacturer of video and 3D animation products, will offer free live demonstrations of its products at http://demo.newtek.com beginning on March 18 and 19. Produced and streamed using NewTek TriCaster portable live production systems, each session will be held every two weeks and will focus on one NewTek product line. Visit http://demo.newtek.com for session focus information, dates, start times and sign-up form. The products to kick off the NewTek DEMOS are: NewTek TriCaster (March 18, 3 p.m. EST): With TriCaster, anyone can produce network-style live video and distribute the event simultaneously to Web, video and projector. A single operator or small team can produce a live show while switching between as many as six cameras with two VCR's, multi-channel effects and NewTek's proprietary LiveSet virtual sets. TriCaster is used by sports organizations, government agencies, broadcasters, schools and others to provide a new level of extended programming and content to their audiences. NewTek 3PLAY (March 19, 3 p.m. EST): A multi-channel High Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD) instant replay and slow motion system that delivers simultaneous display, recording, and instant replay of up to three video streams and four digital or analog audio streams per input. 3PLAY supports both NTSC and PAL formats and can be connected to any production switcher. 3PLAY gives sports broadcasters, leagues, teams and schools an affordable option to deliver instant replay and slow motion for broadcasts, webcasts, arena scoreboard displays and more. The TriCaster family of products in NTSC is available in North America starting at $3,995. The TriCaster family of products is available in multi-standard internationally beginning at $5,995. Educational pricing is also available. For more information, visit www.NewTek.com or call NewTek Sales at 800-368-5441, international callers dial +1-210-370-8000. NewTek 3PLAY is slated to ship at the end of Q1 2009. 3PLAY will be available in North America at $21,995, and internationally starting at $24,995. Educational pricing is also available. For more information, visit www.NewTek.com or call NewTek Sales at 800-368-5441, international callers dial +1-210-370-8000.

From December 1-5 Autodesk will host a series of 3December events to celebrate 3D artists and their work. For the tenth consecutive year, these events provide Autodesk 3D software users with the opportunity to share their art, learn and network with their peers. 3December 2008 will include 3D art contests, live events in numerous cities around the world, and a virtual celebration on Autodesk's online user community -- the AREA. Autodesk will host live events on December 3 in London, Paris, Seoul, and Tokyo. Live events will also be hosted in New York City and Las Vegas on December 2 and Melbourne on December 5. In New York, free MasterClass Tips & Tricks sessions for Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Mudbox software will be offered by Derald Hunt and Erik Paynter from Turner Studios, renowned 3ds Max VFX artist Allan McKay, and Bill Harper from The Dreamhive. At the New York evening event, Harper will also offer a demonstration of Mudbox modeling techniques, while other high-profile artists will present tips and tricks for Maya and 3ds Max. The program line-up for the London event includes presentations by artists from Double Negative and The Mill. Registration is required for these events. For more information, or to register, visit: http://area.autodesk.com/3dec. Approximately ten Autodesk Animation User Group Association chapters will hold meetings in conjunction with 3December, including Los Angeles, New Jersey, and Oklahoma City. This year's Los Angeles meeting, at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects, features Blur Studio discussing the cinematic pipeline used to create Warhammer Online. The user group chapter in Oklahoma, based at Digital Tutors, also promises a stellar line up of guests for its meeting, including Greg Punchatz, senior creative director at Janimation. Autodesk's AREA community website will serve as an online venue for the weeklong celebration. The site will offer free content including, tutorials, demonstrations and show reels. With the support of HP, Intel, and Wacom, Autodesk will also offer videos and images of 3December events online. Artists can register to become a member of the AREA community free-of-charge year-round at http://area.autodesk.com. During 3December, Autodesk will launch two contests, which will run until the end of January 2009. The "Alien Landscapes" contest invites artists to use Maya, 3ds Max, Mudbox and/or Softimage|XSI software to design an alien landscape. The grand prize winner will receive an HP DreamColor LP2480zx Display, courtesy of HP and a Dual Quad Core Intel Xeon based HP xw8600 workstation, courtesy of Intel. The winner will also receive one license of Mudbox 2009 software, as well as his or her choice of one license of Maya Complete 2009, 3ds Max 2009 or Softimage|XSI software. To celebrate the event's tenth anniversary, the "3December Logo Design Challenge" requires artists to design a logo for 3December using Autodesk SketchBook Pro software. Among other requirements, the 2D design submitted must be transferrable to 3D and easily animated. The grand prize winner will receive a Wacom Cintiq 12 tablet, provided by Wacom. On December 1, more information, including contest terms and conditions, are to be available at http://area.autodesk.com/3dec.