Game Developers Conference provides educational, networking, and business opportunities for game development professionals driving the $11 billion videogame industry. It is the main global forum where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals and others involved in the development of interactive games gather to exchange ideas, network and shape the future of the industry.

The GDC features more than 300 lectures, panels, tutorials and round-table discussions on a comprehensive selection of game development topics taught by leading industry experts. In addition, the GDC expo showcases all of the game development tools, platforms and services. More information can be found at www.gdconf.com.

The 2nd Annual Hollywood And Games Summit will unite Hollywood studio and videogame execs under one roof to exchange ideas in an entertainment-specific forum. The summit will also allow leaders from their respective industries to interact and discuss best practices for strategically marketing original intellectual property. This two-day event will include focused sessions, an exhibit floor and a networking reception. The event will take place at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, 1755 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, California. For more information, visit www.hollywoodandgames.com.

The next issue, PSIVT 2007, will be held in Santiago, Chile, at the Catholic University. Santiago hosted many large conferences in the past, and we would consider PSIVT 2007 as an opportunity to introduce this region to the image and video community. Santiago is Chile's capital. It has a population of about 5.5 million people and is one of Latin America's most sophisticated metropolitan areas, with a good balance between modern infrastructure and elegant 18th century Spanish Architecture. The city is also considered to be one of the most diverse and rich cultures to be found in South America. See more in http://www.santiago.cl This new symposium provides a forum for presenting and exploring the newest research and development in image and video technology by discussing the possibilities and directions in this field, a place where both academic research and industrial activities are presented and meet for mutual benefit. The symposium combines a conference with an exhibition (showing the latest products in image and video technology), and offers also tutorials, a show of digital art, demonstrations and tours to industrial sites. The symposium brings together technical issues, theory and practice, artistic and consumer innovations, and invites researchers, artists, developers, educators, performers, and practitioners of image and video technology from the Pacific Rim and around the world. There is PSIVT best paper awards for submitted conference papers, and a PSIVT Innovation Prize and special recognitions for products shown at the exhibition. The conference program includes plenary talks and sessions of technical presentations of reviewed papers. For more information, visit www.psivt.org/.

IFTA Production Conference brings together key players in the independent film and television industries to discuss the impact of the introduction of new distribution technologies and content formats on a global basis. The cost (which includes a continental breakfast & parking) is $60 per person for IFTA members and $90 for non-IFTA members. The conference will run from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm. For additional information, contact Lezlie Brazil at (310) 446-1043 or e-mail: lbrazil@ifta-online.org, or visit www.ifta-online.org.

The 2007 International CES, the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow, will celebrate the show's 40th anniversary. Bill Gates, chairman/chief software designer of Microsoft Corp., will return to CES for his ninth pre-show keynote address on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007, at 6:30 pm. Ed Zander, chairman/ceo of Motorola Inc., will kick off the 2007 International CES with an opening keynote, immediately following a State of the Industry Address by Gary Shapiro, president/ceo of CEA, which starts at 8:30 am on Monday, Jan. 8. Robert Iger, president/ceo of The Walt Disney Co., will round off day one of the International CES with his company's first CES keynote address at 4:30 pm, Monday afternoon. All keynotes for the 2007 show will take place at The Venetian's Palazzo Ballroom. The 2007 International CES will feature the hottest product debuts from 2,700 exhibitors, covering more than 30 product areas, including the latest in wireless, digital imaging, mobile electronics, home networking and more. For more news on the 2007 International CES before, during and after the show, visit www.CESweb.org.

The British Animation Awards, also known as the BAAs, were launched in 1996 and are a biannual event that covers the whole spectrum of contemporary animation production in the U.K., from short films to features, music videos to student and experimental work, animated commercials, creative use of new technologies, sound, TV and film graphics, and children's entertainment. Categories are judged by peer groups and there is also a children's jury. The Public Choice Awards give the general public an opportunity to vote for their favorites in selected categories via screenings held in cinemas across the U.K. Winners receive a one-of-a-kind piece of sheep-themed artwork created by an inspirational fellow artist or animator. BAA is introducing a new category in 2008 to celebrate talented artists lending their voice to animated work. The Best Character Voice Performance award will be sponsored by The Sound Company. Interested entrants should visit www.britishanimationawards.com for details on entering and to download the appropriate forms. The deadline for student work is Oct. 31, 2007 and all other category entries need to be received by Nov. 30. Entrants whose work has been short-listed for judging will be notified and three finalists from each category will be screened in extract on the awards night (March 13, 2008) when the winner is announced. Juries are made up of experts in the animation, arts and broadcast industries.

Limelight Networks will host its second annual rich media summit, the 2008 Digital Media Innovation Forum. The event will take place at the Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix on October 15-17, 2008. With the theme "Innovation: From Creation to Consumption," the three-day event will feature senior-level executives from the content publishing, technology, and telecom sectors discussing the opportunities and challenges in building a scalable and profitable online business. Featured speakers will include senior-level executives from Adobe, Accenture Digital Media Services, Associated Press, CNET Networks, Disney.com, Forrester Research, Fox Interactive Media, MTV, Microsoft, Motorola, and Veoh Networks. Attendees will learn about trends and innovations that are impacting their companies and reshaping the digital media landscape. Presentations and panel discussions will address topics and trends in entertainment, social media and e-commerce. Forum sessions include: --The future of digital media --The six secrets of successful rich media --Creating engaging online experiences --How to meet the needs of today's "me-focused" online audience --Emerging solutions for contextual video advertising --Understanding next-generation mobile media consumption The forum will not only provide insight into the opportunities and challenges in online business, it will present real-life case-study solutions to these challenges. For example, attendees will get a behind-the-scenes look at large-scale Internet event delivery through a case study on the largest online event in history, the 2008 Summer Games. For more details on the conference and registration information, visit the 2008 Digital Media Innovation Forum Web site at http://www.dminnovationforum.com/.

Game Developers Conference provides educational, networking, and business opportunities for game development professionals driving the $11 billion videogame industry. It is the main global forum where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals and others involved in the development of interactive games gather to exchange ideas, network and shape the future of the industry. The GDC features more than 300 lectures, panels, tutorials and round-table discussions on a comprehensive selection of game development topics taught by leading industry experts. In addition, the GDC expo showcases all of the game development tools, platforms and services. The CMP Game Group is now accepting proposals for lectures, roundtables, tutorials and poster sessions at the 2008 GDC. GDC, CMP Technology's annual conference dedicated to the art, science and business of games, will take place at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center. Abstracts can be submitted via the official GDC website at http://www.gdconf.com. Submissions are being accepted through Monday, Oct. 1. More information can be found at www.gdconf.com.

The NAB Show is the world's largest professional digital media industry convention. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has been hosting this event for over 80 years for all traditional broadcast, entertainment and emerging platform industries, including TV, Radio, Film, Internet and many others. This is where it originates -- an extraordinary experience, over twice the size of any other tradeshow centered on content: creation, management, commerce, distribution and delivery. The NAB Show is the ultimate destination for a global audience of media professionals who seek to deliver enriched content from concept to consumption. Kamy Merithew, Vice President of Marketing for WEGENER, and Gary Pelkey, WEGENER’s VP System Architect, will present discussions at the World Teleport Association (WTA) Content Distribution Forum and the 62nd Annual Broadcast Engineering Conference respectively. Pelkey will be joined by Eric Wiler, VP of Technology for Jones Radio Network, for a presentation entitled "Radio Broadcasters: Building File-Based Networks". They will examine the technology behind the next generation of satellite-delivered programming and discuss ways to provide listeners and advertisers with a sense of local presence by transitioning to file-based program delivery. The presentation is part of the session, Radio Technology Advancements and is scheduled for Sunday, April 13 at 1:00 p.m in the Las Vegas Convention Center Room S226/227.

Hosted by the Sundance Institute, the Sundance Film Festival will screen approximately 120 feature films, including world, North American and U.S. premieres. As the premier showcase for American independent film, and an important new platform for international independent film, the festival screens films that embody risk-taking, diversity and aesthetic innovation. For more information, visit www.sundance.org.