The American Film Market has announced the schedule for its seminars and conferences to be held at Le Merigot Hotel and the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica from November 7 to 11. Film and new media executives, distributors, producers, writers, directors, financiers, attorneys, sales agents and film commissioners will address topics affecting the independent sector, including film financing, online and self distribution, production incentives, the future of 3-D, the monetization of film projects and new technologies. Presented by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and KPMG LLP, a total of 14 sessions will be held. Kicking off this year's agenda will be the "AFM Finance Conference" at 9 a.m. on Friday, November 7; while other notable seminars include "Pitch Me!," at 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 8; "Web Entrepreneurs: Imagination Meets Commerce," at 11 a.m. on Monday, November 10; "Through Rose (and Aqua) Colored Glasses: The Future of 3-D," at 2 p.m. on the 10; and "Getting Your Film Seen," at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 11 Seminars and conferences during this year's AFM are being programmed by the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), the American Society of Cinematographers, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Directors Guild of America, Dreamscape Studios, Entertainment Partners, Film Independent, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Producers Guild of America, Women in Film and the Writers Guild of America, West. Additional information on this year's seminars and conferences, including ticket prices and venues, is located at www.AmericanFilmMarket.com.

An in-depth session comparing and contrasting the two approaches to stereoscopic 3-D visual effects--creating the effects in stereo or completing the FX in a traditional 2-D pipeline and transforming them, after the fact, into 3-D -- will be one of the highlights at the annual SMPTE 2008: Tech Conference & Expo. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH used both approaches, but produced most of the work in 3-D from the outset. The upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Disney film, G-FORCE, is using the 2-D to 3-D approach, working with In-Three and Sony Pictures Imageworks.

Panelists will analyze the benefits and drawbacks of each technique, compare the end-result footage, and share their experience on the set and in CG. Speaking will be: Ed Marsh (VFX editor, JOURNEY), David Seigle (G-FORCE, In-Three); Rob Engle (G-FORCE, Sony Pictures Imageworks) and Tim Sassoon (U2 3D, president, Sassoon Film Design).

The session, Stereoscopic 3D Production -- Comparing Methodologies, will take place at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel on Wednesday, October 29, 9:30 a.m.-Noon. The chair is Lenny Lipton, CTO, Real D.

Registration is at: www.smpte2008.org/register.

The Create Chaos Expo surrounds a unique Medici Garden Intersection for the ultimate networking and trade show experience. The expo boasts three live theaters, access to the job fair, a bookstore and round the block inspirational demos and showcases of the latest technologies and techniques. The Create Chaos Expo is the hub of the entire week. Here you can hop online at the cyber cafe, talk to a prospective recruiter, find talent, talk with vendors, explore the bookstore, or just chill out and take a rest in the Medici Garden while you see the chaos unfold around you. Live events such as podcasts interviews, filming, photo shoots, live performances, and product and software demonstrations will also be on going throughout the expo arena at four different stages. Create Chaos is pleased to co-locate this one of a kind event with these one of a kind conferences and partners. One Week. One Location. And one all access ticket gets you into everything. Creative Suite Conference -- This year's conference will host leading Creative Suite experts covering several in-depth sessions. This is the most comprehensive, dedicated Adobe Creative Suite event in the nation and we want to see you in Orlando. This show is for designers, art directors and marketing professionals looking for new and creative solutions in the world of printing, paper and packaging. Classes and hands-on demos showcase technologies and techniques such as lenticular printing, variable data, scratch and sniff, rapid prototyping, and the latest "coolness" in digital publishing and print communications. The Pixel Conference -- The Photoshop Conference for Designers. If you're a creative professional, you rely on pixels – those building blocks of every Photoshop image. The Pixel Conference focuses on how professionals get their work done – high quality and high productivity. Leave the wacky special effects at home and take some time to master Photoshop's powerful utility features at The Pixel Conference. The Pixel Conference only focuses on the issues/topics that pertain to designers. The Web Design Conference -- What Designers Need to Know to Make It on the Web. It's not hard to find seminars for code-heads and Web developers ... but now there's finally a conference for designers. Whether you're targeting desktop browsers or mobile devices, you need to understand the fundamentals of designing for the Web and the tools that let you build high-quality interactive designs quickly. At The Web Design Conference you'll find sessions on Flash, Dreamweaver, CSS, Fireworks, Photoshop, video, and more. We'll also have special sessions introducing you to AJAX and Adobe AIR, creating content for mobile devices, and decoding all the terms and acronyms that people talk about. ASMP Fall Photo Summit (held on Wednesday, Oct. 15) -- Join with the American Society of Media Photographers and experience first-hand photographers helping photographers while engaging with nationally recognized marketing and electronic authorities who will share their secrets for success. Experience search-engine optimization at its best and develop a systematic base for your archives. To be the best in the business, you need the best information and the photo summit has it covered. Motion Graphics Festival (MG Fest) is an innovative industry event showcasing creative motion picture design. The festival includes a unique summit with discussions to listen and learn with some of the industry's best artists, designers and animators. The topics range from the future of the motion graphics business, unique motion graphics placements, life as a VJ, and the breakdown of how a company approaches and delivers a motion graphics project. Create Chaos Job Fair -- Brahn Awards & Events, producers of Create Chaos, has partnered with CreativeHeads.net to produce a best-in-class job fair for Create Chaos 2008.

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 theme of the 35th International Research Conference is "Advances in Printing and Media Technology." The conference will accept for presentation and publication scientific or technical papers presenting original and previously unpublished research, related to all aspects of the theory, practice, development and effects of technology in the media and graphic arts industries. For this conference, special attention will be given to contributions on environmental issues in the graphic arts and media industry; advances in materials and production methods; standardization; color control; cross-media publishing; and industry development. However, contributions are not limited only to these areas and all submissions related to the wider field of media and graphic arts will be considered. For more information, visit www.iarigaiconference08.org.

The Zelski Art Portfolio for Animation program consists of 15 six-hour workshops. Students will be prepared for university or college drawing exams, where required. Through workshops, demonstrations and practice, students will strengthen their portfolios and prepare themselves for the competitive environment in the field of animation.

Fundamental drawing techniques play a major role in this and other Zelski Art workshops, and include pencil, conte, ink, pastel and charcoal. Students will have ample opportunity to practice perspective drawing in the following sessions:

--Life drawing: Instruction will be provided on how to draw a head, hand and feet.
--Everyday objects: Students learn to draw items such as a coffeemaker, vacuum cleaner, telephone etc.
--Perspective of space: Examples of perspective drawing include studies of a corner of the room.

IFA is one of the largest consumer electronics trade shows in the world. It combines innovation and the technology of tomorrow with business sales and entertainment. According to published statistics, more than 1,200 companies from 32 countries exhibited at IFA 2007, covering a net space of more than 103,000 square meters. More than 6,600 press attended IFA 2007, including 1,371 international journalists from 62 countries. Sales at the 2007 show totaled 2.75 billion Euros. The number of trade visitors attending the show in 2007 jumped 7.5% to 101,358. The overall number of attendees jumped 5% to a total of 223,000 -- making IFA nearly 60% larger than the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held each year in Las Vegas. For more information, visit http://www.ifa-berlin.com.

TASI Viewers Choice Awards (3 Categories):

Professional Short Films (TRT 10 minutes)
Student Short Films
Professional Ad Commercials

Films shortlisted by professionals and awards decided by live audience vote.

DVD format -- no entry fee
Content created after April 2007.

SIGGRAPH 2008, the 35th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, will be held Aug. 11-15, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California.

SIGGRAPH 2008 is evolving along with the computer graphics and interactive techniques community. It is dissolving the borders between some traditional SIGGRAPH programs (Art Gallery, Courses, Educators, Emerging Technologies, Panels, Posters, The Studio, Sketches) to create a more fluid, interdisciplinary conference. And it is offering presenters more flexible options for sharing their work. SIGGRAPH is also upgrading the value of the Computer Animation Festival.

Submission Deadlines
All deadlines are at 22:00 UTC/GMT:

Technical Papers
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008

General Submission
Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008

Student Volunteers Applications
Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008

General Submission, Materials Upload
Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008

Late-Breaking Work
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

For specific details, visit www.siggraph.org/s2008.

Submissions to the international competition are now open and due May 2, 2008.

Information: www.avanca.com.

--- Fiction and animation short-films
-- Fiction and animation feature films
-- Documentaries
-- Videos
-- Films on Web TV.

Only films made after January 1, 2006 and which have not competed in any previous Portuguese festival are eligible to enter.

Every summer for more than a decade, Avanca has been bringing together some of the most significant films and audiovisual and international cinema production creators.