The National Film Board of Canada is holding an open house of their new facilities. The event gives the public a chance to meet the filmmakers and staff. The NFB will feature screenings, studio tours and receptions on Monday from 2-6 pm and on Tuesday from 10 am - 5 pm. Screening facilities will be available for visitors to screen their own work as well.

ASIFA San Francisco will be hosting a night of new animation and special effects. ILM's Victoria Livingston will show a company reel of features and commercials, plus her own personal film. PDI will present a reel of commercial work and personal projects by staff members. DotComix will show several of their Web shows and a short on how they do performance animation. Wild Brain will screen about 30 minutes of new material including pilots, Webisodes, TV commercials and more. The event is a free screening at the Exploratorium and the general public is invited.

The sixth annual Toronto Digital Image Festival (TDIF) celebrates works in 3D animation, compositing and experimental technique. Toronto artists already involved include Marcus Moore (HOVERBOY) and Rick Dolishny (JUNGLE LOVE). TDIF's special guest will be Phil McNally, creator of the award-winning cult short PUMP-ACTION MAN. The event will feature workshops and seminars run by industry insiders.

The Digital Media Innovations Conference has a full program dedicated to animation, 3D visualization and multimedia and telecommunications convergence. In animation, the conference will feature seminars on digital technologies, 3D animation software developments, cutting edge of digital visual effects, CG 4 kids' programming, tools for animating the Web, storytelling for the digital age and future opportunities in new media. In 3D visualization, the event will hold discussion on: applied parallel processing and scientific data visualization; virtual reality in education and training; visualization and simulation in engineering; new media and medicine; interactive data exchange; enabling the architects and designers of the future; and HDTV, interactive TV and digital TV. Finally in multimedia, the conference will feature speakers on: leading edge contact centre management; embedded technologies; the Internet; Web design; collaborative authoring for new media; e-business incubation; and network architecture for e-business.

The Savannah College of Art and Design is presenting the Third Annual Savannah Film and Video Festival. The festival showcases the talents of up and coming filmmakers in every format from feature length films to shorts. The festival will offer a series of morning workshops, with evening showings of narrative, experimental, animated and feature films and videos. Industry insiders who give pointers on everything from special effects to selling a film present lectures and workshops.

PC Creator Studios is offering a public acting workshop under the supervision of acting-veteran Ed Hooks. Hooks has taught at Pacific Data Images during the making of the feature film ANTZ, Will Vinton Studios, Mondo Media, OddWorld Inhabitants as well as several film schools and colleges around the world. The class will feature topics such as character analysis, essential acting principles for animators, importance of empathy and how to achieve it in your work, power centers and Laban Movement Analysis.

LEAF 2000 (London Effects and Animation Festival) is a three-day event celebrating the best new work in computer-generated animation and special effects. LEAF is recognized as one of the most important events in the animation calendar, showcasing and promoting the skills and services of companies and individuals involved in the creative development of visual effects and computer-generated animation. The LEAF awards offer prizes in categories such as commercial animation, special effects commercials, feature films, music videos, short films, titles/idents/stings, student work, Web animation and PSA/educational/simulation. The works are judged by a panel of industry experts, media buyers and trade media.

The Virtual Reality Conference is geared to bring to light the advantages of virtual reality to a mass market. The conference will focus on the following: what are the uses of virtual reality?; what virtual reality products are currently being manufactured?; what are the key software and design issues within virtual reality?; how is virtual reality being deployed on the Internet?; what opportunities will digital TV offer deployment of virtual environments?; and what are the latest developments in virtual reality research? Speakers will include representatives from BBC Smart Venture, Durham University, Microsoft, ParallelGraphics and many more.

Gnomon School of Visual Effects is conducting three-weeks of one-day Maya workshops. Thirteen of the workshops cover capabilities in Alias|Wavefront's Maya, with the remaining two addressing 3D paint programs, StudioPaint3D and Deep Paint 3D. All of the courses will be held from 9 am to 4 pm. Each class will cost US$295. Darrin Krumweide, associate director of Gnomon, will host "Maya Live" on November 27, "Maya Cloth" on November 28, "Paint Effects" on November 29, "Maya Fur" on December 4, "StudioPaint3D" on December 5, "Deep Paint 3D" on December 6, "Polygon Modeling" on December 11, "Polygon Texturing" on December 12 and "Subdivision Surfaces" on December 13. Alex Alvarez, director and founder of Gnomon, will host "Inverse Kinematics: Arms & Legs" on November 30, "Constraints for Characters" on December 1, "Organic Modeling: Heads" on December 7, "Organic Modeling: Hands and Feet" on December 8, "Smooth Skinning with Wrap Deformers" on December 14 and "Trax: Non-Linear Animation" on December 15.

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.