The Vancouver Effects and Animation Festival (VEAF) showcases all types of effects work and animation from realistic water effects to traditional cel animation work. The event will feature guest speakers, panels and awards. Special guests will include visual effects legend Ray Harryhausen and Mark Gustafson, senior creative director/supervising producer for THE PJS. Some of the categories for the festival competition are: Commercials (animated), Commercials (effects), Feature Film (animated), Feature Film (effects), Music Videos (animated), Music Videos (effect), Short Films, Titles, Idents, PSAs and Stings, Simulations, Education and Training Videos, Student Work, CD-Roms and Websites.

Animators Ruth and Roger Whiter were lucky enough to meet Ray Harryhausen for tea and a chat about his career, read what was said in Animation World Magazine.

Want to know more about Mark Gustafson and his work on THE PJS? Then check out Animation World Magazine's interview.

The Second Annual International Festival of Time-Based Media is being presented by the University of Southern California School of Fine Arts, in collaboration with the Santa Monica Museum of Art. The festival will take place on both the USC Campus, Los Angeles and at the SMMoA, Santa Monica. Art In Motion is organized around a central theme, and the only criteria for submission is that works be "time-based." This year's theme is "The Vanishing Author?" an exploration of the changing view of whom is "The Author" of modern artwork. Entries may address the festival theme directly or indirectly. If, for example, you are an "Author," or your work is made collaboratively, employs sampling and appropriation and/or is available for others to sample, then it is addressing the theme. A jury will view all selected works and award, among others the US$1000 Intelefilm Award for Creative Excellence. The Art in Motion II jurors are Tom Leeser, Visual Effects Supervisor/Art Director at Rhythm & Hues; Janice Tanaka, a video collage artist; and T. Kim Trang, an internationally-acclaimed video artist and independent curator of digital media.

The Second Annual Broadcast Graphics & Virtual Studios Conference embraces the cutting edge of innovation in the world of graphics and virtual studios. The conference provides a forum for television and film professionals to gather and discuss technology trends and developments. Access Conference International is sponsoring the event.

The 22nd Annual International Monitor Awards were established by the Association of Imaging Technology and Sound to showcase the best in electronic production, post-production and digital media. The nine craft areas are editor, visual effects, graphic design, 3D animation, color correction, sound design, audio mixing, original scoring and best achievement. The event accepts entries from film, television, shorts, PSAs, music videos and interactive media.

The Alias|Wavefront User Group will be presenting artists from Digital Domain. Come and see how Digital Domain has used Maya for the Experience Music Project, in their special venue and commercial divisions and on HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS. In addition, Kino Gil will show how Arete's Pyro for Maya was used for a volcano effect in a Backstreet Boys music video. The Gnomon School of Visual Effects and HighEnd.com are hosting the event. A meet and greet session will start at 6:30 pm with the presentation beginning at 7:30 pm.

The Australian Effects & Animation Festival is dedicated to the arts and creation of visual effects and animation. Australian visual effects guru Karen Ansel will be honored during the event. She has worked on such films as NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS, FLUBBER, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME and THE MASK. The annual AEAF Awards night will occur on Tuesday, February 27 where industry professionals will be awarded for excellence in their fields. For the first time ever, the AEAF 2001 Flash Animation Festival will highlight the best in animation created in Flash. Tim Alexander from Industrial Light & Magic will give a discussion on the water effects that went into THE PERFECT STORM. Ken Beilenberg, visual effects supervisor at PDI, will be discussing the company's work on their new 3D feature SHREK. From the U.K., Mark Coleran of Useful Companies at the renowned Pinewood Studios will look at the live computer graphics utilized to create Lara Croft's highly anticipated first feature film, TOMB RAIDER.

Entertainment Graphics Organization 2001 (EGO 2001) is an entertainment industry event that will discuss the future of digital animation and filmmaking. EGO 2001 will present speakers from around the globe talking about the hot topics and technologies in the industry. Last year's event featured Scott Ross, the executive producer of TITANIC. EGO is organized by Pentamedia Graphics, one of the world's largest multimedia companies.

The 14th Dallas Video Festival highlights films and videos from around the world and also brings attention to artists working in Texas. Over 250 films and videos are screened at the event to over 8,000 attendees. This year's Kovacs Award for innovation in TV will be presented to Mike Judge, the creator of KING OF THE HILL and BEAVIS & BUTT-HEAD. This year's festival will feature a showcase of innovations in computer graphics. The Video Association of Dallas is organizing the event.

The Mogra Festival 2001 is an online exhibit highlighting work from motion designers from around the globe. The idea is to create a comprehensive gallery of both creative and corporate work created in After Effects and motion graphics. The online gallery will be located at www.pitchtv.com, similar to the Interactive Playground. There are plans in the works to create a physical exhibit in New York City.

SIGGRAPH is the foremost conference and exhibition of visual effects and interactive technology. The event offers scientific papers, panels, courses, educational programs and informal presentations from researchers, artists, animators and engineers. The exhibition presents all the software, hardware and services that are hot in the computer graphics field. The computer animation festival highlights the year's best films and video artists.