The 2008 SXSW Interactive Festival provides practical how-to information, as well as career inspiration, bringing together some of emerging technology's most creative thinkers. The event features five days of keynote speeches, more than 120 panels, the SXSW Web Awards, the iF! Trade Show & Exhibition, the ScreenBurn Arcade, and dozens of exciting evening events. For more information, see http://www.sxsw.com/interactive.

The Game Developers Conference Austin (GDC Austin) returns this September with three days focused on connected games including online games, virtual worlds, and social networking. Now in its 7th consecutive year, GDC Austin will continue as the mecca for online game developers worldwide to convene and share best practices, new perspectives, and business opportunities in connected games. GDC Austin conference tracks focus on the disciplines of Business and Marketing, Design, Social Networking and Community, Services, Production and Programming. Presented by Think Services, organizers of the industry-leading Game Developers Conference(R) (GDC), GDC Austin is a four-day event taking place at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas September 15-18, 2009.

The 2009 GDC Austin Advisory Board expands to include international game communities and perspectives with new members: Thomas Bidaux of ICO Partners, creator of successful European MMO titles, Dark Age of Camelot, Guild Wars and City of Heroes, and Min Kim of Nexon, creator of the critically acclaimed Maple Story. John Blakely of Sony Online Entertainment, Eugene Evans of EA/Mythic Entertainment, Mike Goslin of Hangout Industries, formerly of Disney where he developed Pirates of the Caribbean Online, and Sheri Graner Ray of Schell Games also round out the new lineup.

GDC Austin will also feature two-day Summits: Game Audio, Game Writers, Independent Games, and the newly introduced iPhone Summit, on September 15-16, 2009.

Online registration for GDC Austin opens in early June. For more information on GDC Austin and the advisory board visit www.GDCAustin.com.

2012 IBC Conference and Exhibition

Sept 6th-11th

Amsterdam

In an industry that is constantly changing and evolving IBC provides an essential guide to the latest technologies, business models and innovations at the forefront of electronic media and entertainment. From mobile video to automated playout, stereo 3D to cloud production - whatever your interest, IBC has it covered. There are fourteen themed halls to browse housing the latest innovations from more than 1,300 leading brands alongside a wealth of free to attend activities and events designed to enrich your business, your knowledge, and your one to one relationships.

Stimulating debate and sharpening strategy, the IBC Conference attracts the industry’s most influential and authoritative speakers. Join in this 6-day programme packed with headline-grabbing keynotes, masterclasses, revered technical papers and posters, Q&A’s, panel discussions and more.There is nowhere else you can network with representatives of Microsoft, The Walt Disney Studios, Facebook, Sony, the BBC, Google and the European Commission. Only IBC combines such invigorating debate and definitive overview of the roadmaps that will govern the future of electronic media and entertainment.

NEW JUDGES FOR 2012 VIMEO FESTIVAL + AWARDS INCLUDE JAMES FRANCO, AZIZ ANSARI, RADIOHEAD’S COLIN GREENWOOD, AND MORE

13 Days Left to Submit to Win Up to $30,000 in Grants

NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2012 – Vimeo®, an operating business of IAC [NASDAQ: IACI], today announced its panel of judges for the 2012 Vimeo Festival + Awards. The panel consists of three judges per category across 13 categories, and includes actor and director James Franco; Parks and Recreation Star Aziz Ansari, 2012 Oscar Nominee Lucy Walker; Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood; Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright; snowboard superstar Travis Rice; Thierry Mugler and UNIQLO creative director Nicola Formichetti; Shelley Page of DreamWorks Animation; Barbara London of The Museum of Modern Art; advertising legend David Droga; and many more.

"The aim of the Vimeo Festival + Awards is to become the gold standard for creative online video," said Jeremy Boxer, Director of the Vimeo Festival + Awards. “We designed the program to focus on discovering the best new talent and to give that talent a platform that will catapult their careers to the next level.  We are proud to reveal our new panel of esteemed judges."

"Vimeo created a platform that has changed the language of storytelling,” said Eliot Rausch, 2010 Vimeo Award Grand Prize Winner. “The way we share our innermost being has been flipped on its head — a true revolution of consciousness. It is indescribable, the feeling I have after winning the award, knowing my voice has been heard, that millions have been touched and maybe the world is better because of it."

“I am very glad to be back as a judge for the Vimeo awards this year,” said Lucy Walker.   “I’m very excited to see the new shortlist and the evolution of documentary as a new generation of talent comes through with new stories to tell and new ways of telling them.”

The current list of judges includes:

Action Sports

Stacy Peralta Travis Rice

Advertising

Benjamin PalmerDavid DrogaTraktor

Animation

Amid AmidiEran HilleliShelley Page

Captured

Charlie BucketSteve LazaridesBarbara London

Documentary

Eliot RauschSteve JamesLucy Walker

Experimental

Chris Beckman

Fashion

Nick KnightNicola FormichettiHumberto Leon, Opening Ceremony+Kenzo

Lyrical

Blake WhitmanPhilip BloomMaria Popova

Motion Graphics

Tom Schlesinger conducts a workshop for film and television writers, directors, producers, actors and novelists. Attendees will learn how the synergy between your creative experience while writing, the essential biology of story structure, and the commercial necessities of today's marketplace will empower you to write great screenplays. Schlesinger is an award-winning writer and story consultant whose script editing work on the film NOWHERE IN AFRICA played a key role in its winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2003. With 25 years experience in the film industry, he teaches his unique approach to screenwriting to thousands of students in Europe, Africa, Asia, India, Australia, and in the U.S. under such groups as the Writers Guild of America, The Directors Guild and the American Film Institute. The event will take place on the UCLA campus from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm on each day. The price is $425. For more information, visit www.writingfilms.com.

Although principally supporting and honoring 2D animation production, the "2D OR NOT 2D Animation Festival" does in fact encourage ALL categories of animation and animated filmmaking... from 2D to 3D, Claymation to Cut-out. Established by author and award-winning animator, Tony White, in 2006, the festival will consider for screening any form of animation that brings innovation, quality of execution and/or aesthetic beauty to the medium. Proposed keynote speakers this year will include (subject to final confirmation)... Bill Plympton, Don Hahn, Michel Gagne and Nancy Beiman, who will all be speaking and presenting their work between film screenings throughout the event. "GOLDEN PENCIL" awards will be presented to both 'best film' and 'best animation in a film' for several category including '2D', 'All-form animation', 'Student animation' and 'Digital media.' The non-competitive but prestigious "Roy E. Disney Award" will be announce at the end of the event, honoring a chosen individual, or studio, considered as having made an outstanding contribution to the evolution of the 2D animated genre.

Aniboom (www.aniboom.com), the premier multi-platform animation network that partners with untapped animation talent from around the world to create independent animated content for global distribution, is holding its 2007 Aniboom Awards. Animators can enter work in five categories, with no limit to the number of categories or submissions per entrant. Categories include Funny, Drama, Music Videos, Amateur and Experimental. Each month for four months, one winner from each category will join the finalist pool. From there, a winner will be chosen from each category to compete for the grand prize. Prizes include a $25,000 original series development deal, $3,000 to each category winner, Toonboom Software (valued at $7,000) and exposure to some of the most renowned industry executives. The Aniboom Awards will be judged by entertainment executives and animation industry veterans, including multi-award-winning animator and Oscar nominee Paul Driessen. In 2006, the Annual Aniboom Awards received more than 1,700 entries from more than 70 countries in its inaugural year. Winner Jossie Malis took home $25,000 for his animation BENDITO MACHINE. Malis is working with the Aniboom Creators Studio to develop his original series, which is set to launch in 2008. For more information, visit www.aniboom.com.

The Casual Games Conference provides developers, publishers and distributors insight into the current business and design considerations required to succeed in this rapidly growing game industry segment. The 2005 Casual Games Conference was attended by nearly 500 industry professionals responsible for many of today's top web, downloadable and mobile games, with executives coming from as far away as the U.K., Norway, India, Korea, China and Australia. Sponsorship was provided by industry leaders Microsoft Casual Games Group, Real Networks, Nokia, Sandlot Games, Game Trust, shockwave.com, Trymedia, Game Instinct and DigiPen. Casual Games are platform agnostic and can be easy to learn but hard to master. With their small size, casual games provide a fantastic venue for explorative gameplay, according to the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), the leading game industry professional organization. Casual games can be produced with smaller development teams, shorter development cycles and with lower development costs than console and PC games. As a revenue-producing section of the industry, web and downloadable games are increasing in popularity. According to research firm IDC, the U.S. market for casual downloadable games will grow to more than $760 million in 2007. Conference details and registration information are available at www.CasualGamesConference.com.

The 2nd Annual Future TV Show 2007 in Oslo, Norway is where broadcasters, telcos, production companies and new platform owners come together to discuss the future of television. Taking place on 22-23 May, this event will cover all forms of future TV including VOD, IPTV, User-Generated Content, Mobile TV, Advertising Models and Quadplay. For more information, visit www.futuretvshow.com.

Advanstar Communications, producers of Licensing 2006 International, and iHollywood Forum will host the 2nd annual Mobile & Digital Licensing Summit exclusively for the licensing community about how content owners, consumer brand marketers, artists and designers can capitalize on mobile and digital distribution platforms. The Mobile & Digital Licensing Summit will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, one day before the exhibits open at Licensing 2006 International, the largest licensing show in the world. The trade show attracts 25,000 people per year. The event will explore how brands in entertainment and traditional products are using interactive media to deliver compelling messages that drive sales. The summit will emphasize identifying, negotiating and monetizing wireless and digital licensing deals, with an emphasis on case studies. According to event organizer Zahava Stroud, "This year we explore consumers' rapid adoption of mobile and digital entertainment - focusing on strategies for creating, licensing and monetizing television content for mobile distribution, including games, graphics, multimedia, marketing and promotions, video, messaging, and other cutting-edge wireless and digital content.