An intrepid group of students from Minneapolis will be trekking to Northern California to attend VES 2004, the Visual Effects Society's sixth annual Festival of vfx, June 18-20 in San Rafael. This will be the third year in a row that the aspiring visual effects artists and animators from The Art Institutes International Minnesota (AIM) will attend the festival, accompanied by faculty member Michael Heagle, an instructor of Visual Effects and Motion Graphics.

Ex’pression College for Digital Arts of Emeryville, California, announced that its digital visual media students were chosen to design and produce the graphic openings for the Visual Effects Society’s (VES) sixth annual VES Festival on June 18-20 in San Rafael, California. A team of Ex’pression students under the direction of instructor Stephen Kopels is also responsible for videotaping all of the presentations for the VES archives.

Kaydara announced its first Certified Courseware DVD for MOTIONBUILDER, the company's award-winning character animation solution. INTRODUCTION TO MOTIONBUILDER 5.5 is an interactive training guide that teaches users the fundamentals of using MOTIONBUILDER more effectively to create character animation. From interface and general concepts to exporting to other 3D applications, users will learn step-by-step how use MOTIONBUILDER for their own projects.

The Academy Foundation, the educational and cultural arm of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has distributed $400,000 in financial grants to 43 college and community film programs across the United States.

The Academy Foundation's Grants Committee, chaired by actors branch member Janet MacLachlan, selected the following programs for the 2004-2005 allocation:

The allocations include:

INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS

$12,500 to:

California Institute of the Arts, Valenica, California.

The Art Institute of California – San Francisco (http://www.aicasf.aii.edu) has announced a new scholarship program designed for videogame industry professionals interested in furthering their education. The school is offering special scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to individuals who are or have worked in the game industry. Scholarships must be applied for tuition in the school's Game Art & Design (Bachelor of Science) or Visual & Game Programming (Bachelor of Science) degree programs.

World-renowned designer, concept artist and futurist Syd Mead will speak and sign the books OBLAGON and SENTURY (his latest) at Gnomon School of Visual Effects on Thursday, May 20 at 7:00 pm.

Renowned sound designer and mixer, as well as USC alumnus, Gary Rydstrom will deliver the commencement address at the 2004 USC School of Cinema-Television Commencement Ceremony on May 14, 2004 at the Shrine Auditorium. Rydstrom will accept the prestigious Mary Pickford Outstanding Alumnus Award, given in recognition of his innovative and prolific work in film sound.

The Art Institute of California - San Francisco is hosting special Summer Studio Workshops, June 22-25, giving high school seniors the opportunity to explore the creative arts, meet fellow young creative people and learn about new design technologies. The hands-on workshops will be held for students interested in learning more about videogame development, computer animation, graphic design, fashion design, interior design and Web design. Students can choose one of five different workshops.

After two years in production and more than 40,000 drawings later, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh has completed a 12-minute animation, titled TIMMY'S JOURNEY TO UNDERSTAND MS, for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Allegheny District Chapter. The children's short was developed and animated by a group of Media Arts & Animation students to help kids across the U.S. whose parents have MS better understand the disease.

Oregon3D Inc., The Academy for Digital Arts & Sciences, is offering a four-week Oregon3D combustion 3 Boot Camp, May 12 - 28, 2004. It features a series of three comprehensive courses devoted to Discreet’s combustion 3, an award-winning motion graphics, vector paint, visual effects and 3D compositing desktop software.

Vinton Studios will launch Project Backpocket June 21 - August 20, 2004 in Portland, Oregon, where a team of college students will team with top creatives from the advertising industry to create an original short film.

Bruce Royer of Royer Studios has formed the Classroom Awareness Through Animation Program, which plans to bring animators into middle and high school art, life-skills, and health classrooms to help kids create 30-second animated Public-Service Announcements (PSAs).

The Gnomon Workshop, in collaboration with Design Studio Press, has released seven new DVDs. Concept artists James Clyne (TROY), Scott Robertson (who launched Design Studio Press) and Feng Zhu (STAR WARS: EPISODE III) offer titles on sketching, rendering, drawing and environment design.

L.A. Inc., the Los Angeles's Convention and Visitor's Bureau, has commissioned CalArts School of Film/Video to make 20 one-minute films created by CalArts students, highlighting the city's landmark cultural institutions and reflecting the "new L.A." as a vibrant cultural epicenter and edgy arts maverick. The films have been compiled into a four-minute piece that will be used by L.A. Inc., at convention, meeting and leisure travel industry events around the world to promote the city and attract tourism. This is the first time a U.S.

New York University is hosting the first Camp/Game: Intensive Video Game Creation this summer, from July 6 to August 6, 2004. The summer camp is geared toward high school seniors and undergraduate students (17-25) interested in learning the finer points of the videogame industry. Camp/Game is created and run by the Division of Entertainment, Technology, Digital Arts and Design (ETDAD), part of NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS).

Gnomon School of Visual Effects will present an evening with legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen on April 20, 2004 at 7:00 pm. Harryhausen will speak about his work (including the recently restored MOTHER GOOSE STORIES) and life and sign copies of his newly released book, RAY HARRYHAUSEN: AN ANIMATED LIFE (Billboard Books), which will be available for sale at the event.

Escape Studios in London has announced a new range of courses aimed at developing specific skillsets with Maya. The new courses have been written and will be taught by industry professionals.

The new courses include:
* Character Animation Essentials: The program covers all the key areas of character animation including an understanding of the principles of animation and how exactly they translate into a 3D software environment.

Oregon3D has purchased a license from Newlands & Co. Inc. for rights to the data that comprises a 3D prototype of the city of Portland, Oregon. Oregon3D plans to use the Portland City model for realtime visual simulation projects, allowing users to fly through the virtual city in realtime.

Oregon3D Inc., The Academy for Digital Arts & Sciences, has announced its second annual Oregon3D Film Camp. Scheduled for Aug. 15 - 27, 2004 at Oregon3D, students from around the world will partake in the process of creating a short film collectively. Under the guidance of award-winning director, Mike Wellins of Happy Hour Ent. (previously from Will Vinton Studios), students will work step-by-step through the entire film production process and an actual short film for their demo reel.