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AnimationMentor.com Co-Founders Added to //ADAPT Masters Program

Digital 04 Studios is pleased to announce additional speakers to the //ADAPT 2007 Conference schedule. Presenting in the 3D Masters Program are Shawn Kelly and Carlos Baena, renowned artists and two of the three founders of AnimationMentor.com, the leading online animation school. In addition, two more Special Feature Presentations are confirmed; "The Evolution of SHREK" presented by DreamWorks Animation SKG and for the first time ever, "Creating a CG Film" presented by an impressive panel featuring Walt Disney Animation Studios' Carolyn Soper (vp production), DreamWorks Animation's Tim Johnson (co-director on the movie OVER THE HEDGE) and Sony Pictures Imageworks' Lydia Bottegoni (co-producer on the movie SURF'S UP).

The //ADAPT 2007 Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Montreal from September 24-28, 2007. An estimated 2,500 digital artists from around the world are expected to attend the industry's second annual creative event focused on inspiring and teaching advanced digital art production techniques for film, visual effects and videogame development. The program includes over 40 digital art masters, an Art Expo, a Theatre, a Job Fair and much more, soon to be announced.

Working with ceo/president Bobby Beck, Kelly and Baena launched AnimationMentor.com in 2005 with the goal of training character animators for immediate employment at feature film and high-end gaming studios. In 2006, the online school was honored with the 21st Century Award and the Best Practices in Programming Award Gold Level by the U.S. Distance Learning Awards (USDLA), the nation's leading distance-learning organization. With AnimationMentor.com's participation in this year's event, attendees will get a taste of what the character animation school is all about.

Speaking for himself and his colleague Baena, Kelly said, "We are very excited to present at Adapt, to share some of our experiences helping to create AnimationMentor.com, to meet other professionals in the field, and to talk about our favorite subject: animation."

Recommended for intermediate to advanced artists, the 3D Masters Program covers a wide range of topics, which include advanced previz, rigging, texturing, animation, lighting and rendering techniques. Passes are available at a reduced rate until Aug. 24, at $449 USD for general attendees and $389 for students.

//ADAPT's Special Feature Presentations program will be open to all attendees. The Special Feature Presentations are geared towards the reveal or making-of a major blockbuster film or AAA videogame released this year. Industry experts will showcase their work and share their creative and artistic expertise.

"Participating in ADAPT gives such a great opportunity for each of the studios to have face to face time with each other, and to have interaction with the artists attending the conference. It's also a fantastic forum to show artists the similarities and the differences that exist at these studios during the process of creating a film in CG," commented Soper.

//ADAPT 2007 tickets are currently available with limited seating. Receive a $100 rebate before Aug/ 24. Take advantage of the many social activities, a unique Job fair and more! For more information and complete summary of events and tickets, please visit www.adaptmontreal.com.

//ADAPT Call for Entries welcomes all students, amateurs, professionals and studios to submit their most outstanding artwork for the //ADAPT Art Expo and their most outstanding animated content for the //ADAPT Theater. All submission guidelines and categories can be found at www.adptmontreal.com.

Bill Desowitz's picture

Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.