In its 17th year, the Showbiz Expo and Conference is a major spot for companies to showcase their production products and discuss the future of the entertainment industry. Among this year's seminars will be "Digital Hollywood: Bringing Entertainment Project Management into the New Millennium." The event will be hosted by Creative Planet and feature a look at how new technology will transform the efficiency of entertainment production. Another seminar of interest is "Storyboards For People Who Can't Draw." The discussion will be lead by James O. Fraioli, the author of STORYBOARDING 101. On Saturday, the expo will hold "Compositing Live-Action and Animation." The seminar will be moderated by Mark Simon, author of STORYBOARDS: MOTION IN ART and owner of AARGH! Animation Inc. On Sunday, there will be a seminar entitled "Live-Action Special Effects." Various other seminars will center on production, direction, scriptwriting and much more.

The 9th Asian Media Information and Communication (AMIC) Conference will be presenting "Digital Millennium: Opportunities For Asian Media." The event will focus on how new technologies in entertainment, information and education is effecting laws and regulations and the Asian society as a whole. The conference will have over 40 speakers and 250 delegates from media and communication industries, policymakers and academics in Asia-Pacific. The AMIC helps encourage media and communication in the Asia-Pacific area. The opening ceremony's keynote speech will be from Lim Swee Say, the minister of state communications and information technology for Singapore.

Rio de Janeiro: July 14 - 23, 2000

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The Visual Effects Society (VES), in conjunction with CreativePlanet's VFX.Pro, will present VES 2000: A Festival of Visual Effects. This year's event will feature presentations and discussions by the award-winning VFX teams from some of the current outstanding visual effects film and television productions, including GLADIATOR, DINOSAUR and the TV mini-series ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Speakers will include visual effects professionals from ILM, Sony Pictures Imageworks, The Secret Lab and Mill Film. Friday evening's discussion of THE PERFECT STORM will be followed by a screening of the film. On Saturday evening, CHICKEN RUN will be screened after a "making of" presentation.

SIGGRAPH 2000 is the foremost conference and expo on computer graphics. This year's event will feature an art gallery of some of the best digital work being created in the world. The event gives students, educators and artists a chance to communicate with the international computer graphics industry. The computer animation festival has the following categories: entertainment, visualization, education, art, non-narrative and experimental. The expo will feature in-depth labs, programs, seminars, forums, workshops and discussion on the industry of visual effects. The keynote address will be given by Ray Kurzwell, the author of THE AGE OF SPIRITUAL MACHINES: WHEN COMPUTERS EXCEED HUMAN INTELLIGENCE.

The 3rd Annual Disney Institute Animation Event will give animation fans a chance to participate in the creation of a short animated film. For the first time an original score has been commissioned for the event. Hosting the event will be John Culhane, an acclaimed animation scholar and the inspiration for the "Mr. Snoops" character in THE RESCUERS. Guests will stay 6 days and 5 nights in a bungalow at the Disney Institute. Animation workshops and team animation sessions will guide participants through the animation process from story to soundtrack. A Disney animated film screening will happen nightly, followed by commentary. The newly trained animators will be given a copy of their work to take home with them. The price for the event is US$1,299 per person for double occupancy or $1,685 per person for single occupancy.

Cine-Clube de Avanca and the C

The renowned layout, background artist and color designer Maurice Noble will be holding a design seminar. Starting at the Disney Studios in 1931, he worked on SILLY SYMPHONIES, THE OLD MILL, SNOW WHITE, BAMBI, FANTASIA and DUMBO. His work at Warner Bros. Studios is legendary, designing the backgrounds for classic cartoons such as "What's Opera Doc" and "Duck Amuck" (both in the National Archives!), "Duck Dodgers," the ROAD RUNNER cartoons, and contributing to the feature film, THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET. Continuing his work with Chuck Jones at MGM, he also worked on HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, HORTON HEARS A WHO, THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH and the Academy Award-winning short, THE DOT AND THE LINE, which he designed and co-directed. The price for the class is US$350.

Read Karl Cohen's Animation World Magazine interview with Maurice Noble and find out why he's the "Old Rebel."

Produced by Virtual Studios and Virtual Production, the Interactive TV Launches USA is a seminar examining the benefits of interactive television on business. Off a successful run in England, the event kicks off with a keynote speech by Paul Mitchell, senior director of content and standards TV platforms group for Microsoft. The first day will deal with platform launches and software providers. Day two will take a look at home shopping, interactive marketing and interactive games and entertainment. Each day's activities will conclude with a panel discussion made up of industry insiders.

The Crested Butte Reel Festival is a competitive short film festival with an animation, experimental and student category. The shorts must be under 40 minutes. There are cash awards, unusual "trophies" and industry exposure. The festival also presents filmmakers' panels and a director's workshop. Entry fees: regular entries, $30; student entries $20.