With sharks, manta rays and seahorses on all sides, the Barcelona Aquarium was the setting chosen by Neptuno Films to celebrate 15 years of animation production. Almost 200 guests attended a spectacular "Fiesta" for a company that began its career with a mischievous mouse called Balin, and whose characters Connie the Cow, Dougie in Disguise, The Ugly Duckling, Tork and many more can now be seen on TV all over the world.
On July 4, 2006, ADV Films will release four new titles, including the launch of THIS UGLY YET BEAUTIFUL WORLD, the third volume of UFO ULTRAMAIDEN VALKYRIE, and a new thin-pack collections of GANTZ SEASON 2 and CYBERTEAM IN AKIHABARA. Additionally, other recent releases include: SHADOW SKILL: TIMOR MORS MORTIS, GATCHAMAN and SISTER PRINCESS COMPLETE COLLECTION.
THIS UGLY YET BEAUTIFUL WORLD: FALLING STAR, first volume in the new anime series from Studio Gainax (NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, FLCL), makes its North American premiere.
ANTICS V2 IS THE FASTEST AND EASIEST TO USE 3D ANIMATED PRE-VIZ SOFTWARE AVAILABLE for Creatives who make Films, Commercials and TV Programs.
WHERE STATIC STORYBOARDS STOP ANTICS GETS MOVING!See how a shot looks, if the timing works, when to cut and more All in real time! Whether its the quick visualization of an idea, or pre-viz for a commercial or a movie scene - Antics brings your ideas to life.
TO SEE HOW - Take a quick web Tour
Its that time of year again! Its the return of ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINEs annual Hot Spots Showcase, featuring the best in commercials, IDs and music videos.
Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG) has shipped handheld videogames based on Walt Disney Pictures' feature film, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST, to retail stores in North America, in time for the film's release on July 7, 2006.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz.
DORA THE EXPLORER and its spin-off series, GO, DIEGO GO, are amongst the 21st Annual Imagen Awards' 2006 Nominees announced June 29, 2006 by Lorenzo Lamas at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Conference Center in North Hollywood, California. The Imagen Awards Gala is scheduled for Aug. 18 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Imagen was established in 1985 to encourage and recognize the positive portrayal of Latinos in all media, and to increase Latino representation at all levels of the entertainment industry.
This week in AWN's Forums, a potential student has some questions and concerns about online animation schools. Others are still abuzz about 2D animation returning to Disney. There are also several posts asking for help in using Flash. More members post their frustrating work experience in a thread titled The definition of frustration. Another member wants to know if its worth attending the Ottawa Festival. A junior member shows off his daunting effort animating in a foreign language.
Artist-owned-and-operated effects studio Brickyard VFX has completed a spate of high production value television commercials for the Hispanic market through such agencies as Accent Marketing. The recent work includes two spots for Farmers Insurance Group directed by Martin Weisz and shot by Amir Mokri that feature actor Edward James Olmos (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, MIAMI VICE, BLADE RUNNER), and boast a distinctly cinematic look and feel.
Tippett Studio has chosen cineSpace from Rising Sun Research for facility-wide color management. The cineSpace color management suite enables end-to-end pipeline calibration across multiple platforms and applications.
In the first part of our Superman Returns coverage, Bill Desowitz explores how Sony Pictures Imageworks advances its animation techniques to enable The Man of Steel to fly.
Framestore CFC was the sole London facility to contribute to SUPERMAN RETURNS vfx, and was responsible for the film's climactic sequences.
The Career Coach advises readers on how to tackle job fairs.
Realscan 3D, an industry leader in high resolution, high color structured light 3D scanning, announced its involvement on the forthcoming Disney film UNDERDOG (Aug. 3, 2007). Realscan 3D provided the production with animation-ready precision digital doubles of the lead character, Shoeshine, Underdog's alter-ego, and the heads and muzzles of the cast dogs in the film. Realscan also created a digital double of the film's villain, Simon Barsinister, played by Peter Dinklage.
Warner Bros. SUPERMAN RETURNS opened softer than expected but still posted solid Independence numbers in its five-day theatrical bow for the period ended July 2, 2006. Bolstered by vfx from Sony Pictures Imageworks, Rhythm & Hues, Framestore CFC, Rising Sun Pictures, The Orphanage, Frantic Films, among others, the Bryan Singer reboot scored an estimated $84.7M on around 8,200 screens at 4,065 theaters. For the weekend, it earned around $52.6M, which puts it below last years WAR OF THE WORLDS Independence Day start ($64.9M) but ahead of BATMAN BEGINS ($48.7M).
The Visual Effects Society (VES) is giving away Festival Master Passes...
This summer, TELETOON invites viewers to keep their cool with its annual regional tour, Camp TELETOON, to meet and greet viewers and fans. In addition, TELETOON has a brand new contest with long-time client Sony Pictures for their summer release of MONSTER HOUSE; an extensive on-air campaign co-produced with Nelvana for the upcoming August launch of the brand new TELETOON original series, DI-GATA DEFENDERS; and The Burn, a new TELETOON initiative that supports kids in healthy active living.
The Walt Disney Co. has amended its compensation policy for non-employee directors after Apple Computer Inc. ceo Steve Jobs requested not to be paid for serving on Disney's board, according to several news reports.
Jobs, previously Pixar Animation Studio's chairman/ceo, joined the board after Disney purchased Pixar in May for $7.4 billion in stock. Jobs receives $1 a year for his role as Apple Computer's ceo.
Cindi Rice, co-exec producer of the upcoming animated fantasy film, DRAGONS OF AUTUMN TWILIGHT, said the film will remain true to the book by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the first in their Dragonlance Chronicles series, reports SCI FI WIRE.
"I'm extremely proud of the creative team I brought together," Rice said. "George Strayton has written a very cool script while staying true to Margaret's and Tracy's vision. Will Meugniot is simply an animation genius, and he's helping us create a very innovative and complex film. It is a joy to work with both of them."
SCR(I)PT MAGAZINE and Writers and Artists Group Intl. will be sponsoring the next Open Door Contest. Prizes include $3,000 cash for the winner of the contest as well as a complementary pass to the 2007 Scriptwriters Showcase. The top three contest finalists will be considered for representation and production by Smart Ent. and will also receive screenwriting software from Final Draft. Additionally, the top three finalists will receive free memberships with Soyouwannasellascript.com, Script Pimp, Ink Tip and a copy of Dave Trottier's DR. FORMAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS screenwriting book.
Two of San Francisco's most unique non-profit organizations join forces to present Cartooning With Students: A Cartoon Art Museum/826 Valencia Project. This exhibition features the works of more than 20 elementary school students, ages 7-14, representing 13 Bay Area elementary schools. Featured works include comicstrips and comicbook pages by students from Buena Vista Elementary, Cabrillo Elementary, Clarendon Elementary, Edison Charter Elementary, Gratton Elementary, Lakeshore Elementary, SF Waldorf Elementary and Spring Valley Elementary.
Wizard Ent. has announced a new 3-day pop culture consumer show. The Atlanta show is Wizard's sixth, joining similar events in Chicago, Boston, Texas, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Wizard Ent.s Wizard World Chicago attracted an audience of more than 54,000 last year making it the second largest pop culture convention in the U.S., trailing only the San Diego Comic-Con. For more information, visit www.wizarduniverse.com/.
The Broad Humor Film Festival is an event highlighting female-directed and female-written comedies. The festival puts the spotlight on women who write and direct comedic films. Filmmakers, writers and theatergoers who love well-crafted humor will come together for a weekend of films, workshops, panels and events. All film submissions must be both written and directed by a woman. All screenplays must be written by women writers.
The governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approved the rules for the 79th Academy Awards at their June 27, 2006, evening session, endorsing a series of changes that the organizations president, Sid Ganis, characterized as constructive but not earthshaking.
Activision Inc. and Lionhead Studios have shipped THE MOVIES: STUNTS & EFFECTS EXPANSION PACK to retail stores nationwide. Building on THE MOVIES' critically acclaimed gameplay, THE MOVIES: STUNTS & EFFECTS EXPANSION PACK gives players the tools to turn ordinary scripts into blockbuster films with the addition of stuntmen, visual effects, a variety of dangerous stunts, a movie-making toolset, impressive new sets and an innovative "Freecam Mode" that allows players to adjust the camera location, angle, field of view and path.
