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AWN Headline News

Headline News

CGI-Animated Strawberry Shortcake Film in Fall Feature Harvest

The season is ripe for beloved Girls brand Strawberry Shortcake to star in her first theatrical movie, SWEET DREAMS. American Greetings Corp. (AG), creator and owner of Strawberry Shortcake, DIC Ent. (DIC), the exclusive worldwide licensing agent and production company, along with Fox Home Ent. announced today (June 15, 2006) the STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE feature film will premiere in movie theaters across the U.S. in October 2006.

Creative Headline News

Joe Rohde to Keynote SIGGRAPH 2006

Joe Rohde, exec designer and vp, creative for Walt Disney Imagineering, will present the SIGGRAPH 2006 keynote address "From Myth to Mountain: Insights Into Virtual Placemaking" on July 31 during the 33rd International SIGGRAPH Conference in Boston.

Rohde is the lead designer of Disney's Animal Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and is responsible for driving the vision for the theme park. He was the principal creative force behind the just-opened Expedition Everest attraction, which made its debut this year.

Show Headline News

A52 Earns First VFX Honors at AICP Show

Los Angeles vfx and design company A52 was honored for the first time in the visual effects category by the AICP Show for last year's Nike Golf KID TIGER broadcast spot from Wieden+Kennedy.

The presentation of the 15th Annual AICP Show was held June 8 by the Assoc. of Independent Commercial Producers at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Headline News

FrameCycler DI Selected by Young-Gu Art

Young-Gu Art is the latest vfx facility that has selected Iridas FrameCycler DI as its new review and approval system. The facility, based in Seoul, provides cutting-edge work for the Korean film industry, one of the largest in the world.

"We chose FrameCycler for its realtime playback and primary color correction capabilities," said Ki-Wook Shim, visual effects supervisor at Young-Gu. "We work with 2K 10-bit files so we needed an application that can handle that. Iridas has a great track-record in the industry and that made it an easy decision."

Framestore Headline News

Andy Lomas Returns to Framestore as CG Head

Framestore CFC has welcomed back Andy Lomas to the newly expanded post of head of CG, which will encompass features, commercials and longform TV.

Lomas returns at a significant time for Framestore CFC, with the recent announcement of the company's move into feature animation production (THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX) and the need to optimize CG work.

Production Headline News

ILM To Sell Physical Production Unit

Industrial Light & Magic is in discussions to sell its physical production unit, the legendary unit that works with models, miniatures and stage work, VARIETY reports. The sale would mark the end of an erabeginning as the unit that produced the effects for George Lucas' original STAR WARS moviesand solidify ILM's status as a digital effects house.

World Headline News

It’s A Big Big World For Sony & Fisher-Price

Sony Pictures Consumer Products (SPCP) has named Fisher-Price Inc., the number one infant and preschool toy company in the world, as master toy licensee for the new PBS KIDS preschool series ITS A BIG BIG WORLD. The series engages children with a diverse group of animal characters, world music rhythms and a multi-level, age-appropriate science and geography curriculum. The licensing agreement between SPCP and Fisher-Price will bring the lessons taught in ITS A BIG BIG WORLD to life with a full line of toys and plush.

Headline News

Heroes Of Might And Magic V Hits To Stores

Ubisoft announced that HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC V for PC has released and will be arriving at North American retailers this week.

Today we celebrate the return of the beloved MIGHT AND MAGIC franchise with HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC V, enhanced and revamped but still holding true to the values of the series that its loyal fans love and demand, said Tony Key, vp of marketing at Ubisoft. Ubisoft is proud to bring the series into a new realm of PC gaming with an all-new 3D universe and innovative new features such as the Dynamic Battle System.

Headline News

Carnegie Mellon Researchers Teach Computers To Perceive 3 Dimensions In 2D Image

Researchers in Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science have discovered a way to help computers understand the geometric context of outdoor scenes, making them better comprehend what they see, reports SCIENCE DAILY. The discovery promises to revive an area of computer vision research all but abandoned two decades ago because it seemed insoluble. This breakthrough could led to applications in vision systems used to guide robotic vehicles, monitor security cameras and archive photos.

Animation Headline News

LAIKA Building State-Of-The-Art Feature Film Animation Campus In Portland

LAIKA Inc. will build a state-of-the-art feature film animation campus to house its burgeoning entertainment division. LAIKA owner/chairman of the board Philip H. Knight has purchased 30 acres of land in Tualatin, Oregon, just 12 miles south of Portland, as the future site of LAIKAs world-class animation facility, scheduled to open in 2008.

With its expanding film production schedule, LAIKA anticipates its employee roster to soar to more than 400 within the next two years.

Mobile Headline News

Emdigo to Provide Supergirl Based 3D Animation Content

Emdigo Inc. has acquired the exclusive rights to develop and deploy 3D graphics based episodic SUPERGIRL animation content to mobile users in China. One of China's hottest TV productions, SUPERGIRL is China's hugely successful, AMERICAN IDOL-like television show.

Headline News

All News Corp. Units on Go for Simpsons Film

Leading up to the 20th Century Fox launch its feature version of THE SIMPSONS next year, parent company News Corp. will synergize all units throughout its empire promote the film, president/coo Peter Chernin said today (June 14, 2006), according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

Headline News

Digital Musings From the Editor:

With THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT, opening Friday from Universal Pictures, the vfx bar has been raised in that franchise to 768 shots, divided among 10 houses, with Rhythm & Hues handling the most complex sequence. Alain Bielik reports how placing the action in Tokyo necessitated creating the environment digitally for the car racing. Meanwhile, Renee Dunlop delves into Foxs GARFIELD: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES, which also opens Friday, featuring the animation/vfx of Rhythm & Hues and Rainmaker.

Bill DesowitzEditor

Animation Headline News

New York TV Festival Seeks Animatics and Pilots

The New York Television Festival (NYTVF) is seeking submissions for the Animation category to be entered into the 2006 Independent Pilot Competition. Entries may be animated projects or animatics running 2-20 minutes in length that introduce a character or a main premise for an episodic TV series. The NYTVF, to be held in New York City in mid-September, is the first-ever Independent Television showcase, uniting prominent industry figures, artists and TV fans in one forum.

Headline News

Radium Does ‘Dot Matrix’ for Yukon Denali

Radium lent its creative editorial, design, visual effects and animation talents to DOT MATRIX, a sleek duo tone package for Lowe Worldwide and its client GMC Yukon Denali. In the evolution of The Behind the grille campaign, Radium helped create a captivating automotive brand film in :30 and :20/10 second versions for broadcast. The spot was directed by The Cronenweths, with production company Untitled.

Television Headline News

Superman Comes To IN2TV AT AOL.com

Timed to coincide with the upcoming release of SUPERMAN RETURNS (in theatres June 28), Warner Bros. and AOL have launched a special Superman Channel on In2TV (www.aol.com/in2tv) to celebrate the Man of Steel. In2TV is the largest offering of popular television series available online for free and the destination for watching full TV episodes. The Superman Channel is available now through the end of July 2006.

World Headline News

Jane and the Dragon Wins Banff World TV Award

On June 12, 2006, the Banff World Televison Festival announced the winners of the 27th annual Banff World Television Awards. Winning in the Animation Program category was JANE AND THE DRAGON Shall We Dance, produced by WETA Prods. Ltd. New Zealand and Nelvana Ltd.

The Banff World Television Awards are part of the annual Banff World Television Festival (June 1114) at the Fairmont Banff Springs in Banff, Alberta. For more information on BANFF 2006, visit www.banff2006.com.

Headline News

Gorillaz Wins Artist of the Year at Webby Awards

The Webby Awards, the leading international award honoring excellence in web design, creativity, usability and functionality, has announced its winners. Animated virtual band Gorillaz won Artist of the Year for www.gorillaz.com.

Bebop Jeans (www.bebopjeans.com), credited by White Noise, won for Best Use of Animation or Motion Graphics while Stackopolis (www.stackopolis.com), credited by Bloc Media, won in the Games category.

Award Headline News

Hamburg Int’l Short Film Fest Announces Winners

The 22nd Hamburg International Short Film Festival, which ran from May 31 to June 5, 2006, has announced its winners.

In the International Competition, a special mention went to Finnish animated short, ELUKKA / TIER by Tatu Pohjavirta.

In the NoBudget Competition, the NoBudget Audience Award went to the computer animated MAN OS 1 / EXTRAORDINATEUR from Roland Seidel and Achim Stiermann of Austria and experimental animation JULOT from Maya Tiberman of Israel.

Spot Headline News

R!OT Moves Heaven and Earth for Hyundai Spot

R!OT literally moved heaven and earth to deliver a new effects-driven spot for Hyundai. The studio assisted in the design, and provided visual effects, color correction and post production services for the visually-rich spot, which presents a topsy-turvy world to underscore the radical thinking behind the automakers new Sonata.

Headline News

SIGGRAPH 2006 Offers Latest Computer Graphics, Interactive Techniques

The SIGGRAPH 2006 Papers Program features the latest achievements in the worlds most prestigious presentation of the years best research innovations in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Of 474 international submissions, 86 Papers were accepted for SIGGRAPH 2006 taking place July 30-Aug. 3 in Boston. The SIGGRAPH 2006 Papers Program opens July 31 at 8:30 am and closes Aug. 3 at 5:30 pm.

Effects Headline News

Sony Pictures Imageworks Awards $50,000 in IPAX Grants

Sony Pictures Imageworks president Tim Sarnoff announced the presentation of scholarships to six students currently enrolled at academic institutions affiliated with the Imageworks Professional Academic Excellence (IPAX) program.

International Headline News

The Meltdown & Last Stand Help Fox Cross $1 Billion Overseas

Twentieth Century Fox became the first Hollywood studio this year to hit the $1 billion mark at the overseas box office, thanks to Blue Skys animated ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN ($441M) and X-MEN: THE LAST STAND ($160.6M), according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

2006 marks the second consecutive year that Fox has led the pack in the race to break the billion-dollar threshold. But last year it took Fox International about three weeks longer, bolstered by STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

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