Writers Boot Camp, the industry leader in training film and TV writers, will be holding the only Saturday morning session of its renowned six-week Basic Training course of the year. It's six consecutive Saturday mornings, beginning on March 29 at its Santa Monica, California headquarters. Classes will be from 10 a.m. until about 12:30 p.m. (instead of the traditional weeknight class). You learn developmental and brainstorming tools, with assignments and deadlines, feedback and support -- and will complete a rough first draft of your film or TV spec script, all in 6 weeks. All you need to start are a single-sentence idea, and 10 hours of available time to write each week. Writers Boot Camp alumni work at the top levels of the entertainment industry, and have written screenplays that earned more than half a billion dollars in box office, including OCEAN'S 13 and BLADES OF GLORY. Alumni have also created (BURN NOTICE), and directed (WEST WING, HOUSE, MAD MEN) some of the top shows on TV, and have been staffed on more than 70 different shows, including an alum who is now the Executive Producer of GREY'S ANATOMY. This year, one alum won two Tony awards, including one for Best Story for a Broadway Musical (SPRING AWAKENING) beating out another WBC alum in that category. If you or someone you know in the Los Angeles area would like to take advantage of this once a year Saturday class, call ASAP. When the class is full, it will be another year before another Saturday class is held again. And, for all Animation Army members and referrals, if you register by March 24, you'll save $100 off the regular $995 fee -- just $895. For more information on this and other WBC coursework -- including live classes in Los Angeles and New York, and online coursework, check out www.writersbootcamp.com, or contact Mike Brennan at (800) 800-1733, x308, or at: mbrennan@writersbootcamp.com.

Coverage Ink is hosting it Writers on the Storm script contest where each entry receives a mini-analysis. Top prize for the competition is $2,500. Winner will be read by 75+ companies and have their script developed with Coverage, Ink. Entry fee is $35 or free with any Coverage, Ink analysis. Visit www.writerstorm.com for more info.

With almost $15,000 cash and prizes, Writers on the Storm is the hottest new contest around. WOTS is from Coverage, Ink and includes more than 130 participating companies hand-picked for receptiveness to new writers. Top industry sponsors including CREATIVE SCREENWRITING, Writers Boot Camp, InkTip, Popular Films, Great American Pitchfest, Scriptblaster, Coverage Ink, Save the Cat!, The Writers Store, Done Deal Pro and many more. The entry fee is $35 and all entries receive feedback. Entry is free if you submit your script to www.coverageink.com for screenplay analysis before the final contest end date. All entries receive The Writers Store and Coverage, Ink discounts. For more information, visit www.writerstorm.com.

Attend a five-hour workshop

lead by three prolific children's book illustrators who have now also become authors. This valuable session will offer one-on-one interaction providing insight for those aspiring to illustrate and even write their own children's book.

(1pm - 2:30pm) Panel with Creators
(2:30pm - 3pm) Q & A
(3pm - 6pm) Workshop Seminar

Presenters/Instructors:

Dan Krall
Dan Santat
James Burks

Topics Covered:

• Layout & Design Tips
• The Best Way to Write Your Book

• Pitching Your Project

*Self publishing.

*Getting an agent

*Process of Illustration

Bring note-taking materials!

ScreenplayLab is host " Writing Animated Comedy for Television." The screenwriting event will feature Cartoon Network executive Heather Kenyon. The free event will run from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, California. RSVP at www.ScreenplayLab.com.

Writing Animation For Television and the Web

X 430.5 Film & Television 3 units $520

Whether on TV, film, or computer screens, animation is a fully creative universe without limits on sets, costumes, or special effects. All it takes is your imagination--plus it's a growing field that is friendly to new talent. One day you can be creating a script about talking trucks, the next day an action show about angst-ridden superheroes or maybe a series of webisodes that are the hottest thing on the internet. This course teaches you how to think like an animation writer, starting with the all-important strategies for writing visually, and then guides you through the entire TV and Internet animation script writing process, including the building blocks of good writing: story structure, character development, and sharp dialogue. Honing in on your spec script, you learn how to find the voice and style of a particular show, pitch stories, create solid outlines, write the first draft, and deal with notes and changes, and by the end of the course, have in hand a polished sample script. Guest speakers include show runners, producers, and executives who discuss the business side of animation: how to break in, what agents do and don't do, the process of getting your script from page to the TV or computer screen, how to hook up with artists that can make your vision visual, and most of all, how to have a satisfying career in a field where your imagination is free. Enrollment limited to 16 students. $55 nonrefundable; no refund after April 15. One previous screenwriting course or equivalent experience is helpful but not necessary. Internet access required to retrieve course materials.

Instructor: Brooks Wachtel

Chris Wehner, editor-n-chief of SCREENWRITER'S MONTHLY, author of SCREENWRITING ON THE INTERNET: RESEARCHING, WRITING & SELLING YOUR SCRIPT ON THE WEB (2000) and WHO WROTE THAT MOVIE? SCREENWRITING IN REVIEW: 2000-2002 will be conducting an online writing workshop entitled, "Writing The Screenplay 101." Classes meet every Monday for four weeks from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm (MST). Students will accomplish at least 10 pages, not exceeding 30 pages, of script development. Students will learn the basics of screenwriting and ascertain enough knowledge to continue writing their screenplay and finish. For more information, visit http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/store/intro_screenwriting.html.

Designflux, the french DVD magazine specializing in motion graphics is currently organizing a competition called 'X-Shorts' which is an open call for professionals and students to create an ultra short animation designed for the mobile phone. http://www.designflux.fr/starshooterxshort/ The competition winners will be announced and projected in Chaumont, France, as part of a collaborative initiative between Designflux and the Chaumont International Poster festival. http://www.ville-chaumont.fr/festival-affiches/index.html

The Los Angreles Chapter meeting of SIGGRAPH will feature "making of" presentations of the visual effects in X2: X-MEN UNITED , as well as a special screening of the movie at Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Academy of Motion Picture Artists & Sciences, 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. Artists from Cinesite and Rhythm & Hues will be on hand to discuss the creation of innovative effects from Nightcrawler's teleportation to Storm's tornados. Event is sponsored by Side Effects Software, whose Houdini 3D software was used extensively throughout the film. Speakers scheduled to appear: Doug Bloom Tornado Effects Lead Rhythm & Hues Mike O'Neal Lead Effects Animator Rhythm & Hues Greg Anderson CG Supervisor Cinesite Arnon Manor CG Supervisor Cinesite Craig "X-Ray" Halpern CG Effects TD Cinesite Meeting is free for members and $10 for non-members. For more information visit: www.la.siggraph.org

The SFWEB3D presents X3D Unreal and for Real: Making Content in X3D. X3D and Realtime3D are fast becoming the next phase of digital media for the Web, corporate intranets, hand helds, phones and beyond. This month's meeting is a special "hands on look at making X3D content." First, Dave Arendash of Manyone.net, the new owners of the Flux X3D browser, will show us how to make X3D and VRML scenes and worlds using the UNREAL game engine and editor. Arendash has created an exporter that will convert Unreal levels and worlds into X3D. Second, Joe Williams who works on the X3D spec, will take those interested in the nuts and bolts code of X3D into examples of how to make x3d content with just code via notepad or any text editor. The free event will run from 7:00