Search form

AWN Headline News

Toon Headline News

Toon Boom Storyboard Launched at MIFA 2006

Emmy award-winning Toon Boom Animation Inc. announced the release of Toon Boom Storyboard, the leading storyboarding system for visual storytelling. Developed in conjunction with expert storyboard artists, Toon Boom Storyboard speeds up production planning and enables studios to increase production integration.

Toon Boom Storyboard provides:* Flexible layer-based panel display with motion camera capabilities * Complete set of drawing tools, including pressure-sensitive brush tool when using a digital graphic tablet and pen

Show Headline News

MJZ & TBWAChiatDay Top Winners at AICP Show

MJZ topped the list of honored production companies in the 15th Annual AICP Show, The Art & Technique of the American Commercial, presented by the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, tonight (June 8, 2006). Close to 2,000 members of the advertising and production industry gathered to view the show, an hour and 22-minute compendium of the best commercials of the previous year, which premiered at The Museum of Modern Art, and now goes on tour to museums and cultural institutions around the country and abroad.

Headline News

Michael Pardee Exits Digital Domain for Sway

Michael Pardee joins Sway Studio as exec producer after serving as head of production for commercials at Digital Domain since 2003.

This is a key development for Sway, said company founder and former Digital Domain exec Mark Glaser. Ive known Mike for more than 10 years and hes the perfect person to oversee all of our production in a seamless, cohesive and streamlined manner. Pardee will work alongside executive producer Shira Boardman.

Headline News

Framestore Tackles Bridge for X-Men: Last Stand

London-based Framestore CFC created the climactic San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge sequence in X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, arguably the most complex vfx in the movie, as it is wrenched from its foundation to form a bridge with Alcatraz island. It features a vast array of elements: CG, digital backgrounds, miniatures, full-size sets with digital extensions, night-shot material that had to be matched with day-shots all of which had to be brought together as a seamless whole.

Headline News

New Line Set For Battle Royale

Despite producer Toeis reluctance to license the blood-soaked original to any North American studio for fear of cuts, New Line was able to obtain the remake rights to worldwide Japanese cult hit, BATTLE ROYALE, according to VARIETY. Neal Moritz and Roy Lee are set to produce.

Headline News

Neopets Members Vie for International Glory in First Altador Cup

This month, top players from around the globe will compete for the sporting worlds other top international prize the Altador Cup. On June 8, 2006, concurrent with the start of the World Cup, Neopets.com will kick-off its first ever Altador Cup Tournament, offering its 25 million members the opportunity to compete internationally in the online sport, "Yooyuball" (pronounced you-you-ball).

Animations Headline News

Aardman’s Big Jeff To Be Shown On MTV2

MTV2 has joined up with Aardman Animations to broadcast a series of shorts featuring the character Big Jeff.

MTV2 is MTV Networks U.K. & Irelands channel dedicated to guitar-based music. The 10 BIG JEFF films range from 90 to 180 seconds in duration and will be scattered amongst the MTV2 schedule from mid June. The animations were created, written and directed by Aardmans Tom Parkinson and exec produced by Miles Bullough, Pete Lord and Dave Sproxton.

Channel Headline News

FUNimation Channel to be Part of Verizon’s FiOS TV Lineup

FUNimation Ent., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corp., announced that the company has signed an agreement with Verizon for distribution of the FUNimation Channel as part of the Verizon FiOS TV service.

Headline News

Genius Products & BKN Embrace the Classics

Genius Products has signed a U.S. distribution pact with BKN Intl for 16 animated direct-to-video titles based on classic tales, reports VARIETY. In addition, an all-animal CG version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL will receive a limited theatrical release via SD Intl in November before arriving on DVD later that month.

Other titles will debut between September and the end of 2007 and include ALI BABA AND THE 40 THIEVES and animated retellings of A JUNGLE BOOK, ROBIN HOOD and ZORRO.

Game Headline News

Trilogy Studios Adds Experienced Talent to Game Dev Team

There's an influx of new talent at game developer Trilogy Studios. Animator Chad Schoonover recently left Sony Pictures Imageworks, where he created 3D facial and body animation for characters in the upcoming animated feature film, MONSTER HOUSE. He is now leading the animation team at Trilogy. He previously worked for five years as an animator on the UNREAL franchise, the demos for Epic's highly vaunted UNREAL 3 tech, as well as three years at Midway Games, where he pioneered the use of motion capture in the Sports division.

Mobile Headline News

NVIDIA, Intel Offer New Solution for Windows-Based Mobile Devices

NVIDIA Corp. announced a reference design with Intel Corp. that will provide device manufacturers with a fast and easy solution for bringing powerful, media-rich handheld devices to market based on the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system.

Artists Headline News

ArtZone Makes Worldwide Debut

ArtZone, a unique and focused online destination that brings community to art, is now available and free to artists worldwide at www.ArtZone.com. Backed by DAZ Prods. Inc., a leading developer of professional quality 3D models and software, ArtZone brings a new environment that enables the sharing and growth of each members passion for art.

Headline News

Rising Sun Research Releases cineSync V 1.1

Rising Sun Research, an innovative developer of tools for visual professionals, now offers cineSync v1.1, a new version of the company's remote review and approval tool. Based on Apple QuickTime technology, cineSync continues to redefine the post-production review and approval paradigm.

Headline News

Digital Musings From the Editor:

Foxs remake of THE OMEN opened auspiciously well with $12.5M on 6/6. Alain Bielik recounts how Cinesite digitally recreated those legendary death scenes we remember so well. Meanwhile, Fred Galpern reviews modo 201, the latest version of Luxologys 3D modeling, painting and rendering software. According to early reports, 201 makes it easier to model and render all in application without worrying about the mechanics. Theres also the latest excerpt from LEARNING MAYA 7 FOUNDATION, which continues the series on rendering.

Bill DesowitzEditor

Series Headline News

AWN Debuts 4th Lesson in High-End Animation Directing Series

AWN has launched the latest free video lesson in its exclusive video learning series taken from Hollywood Camera Work: The Master Course In High-End Blocking And Staging, a comprehensive and ambitious six DVD training series for animation and live-action directors.

Interactive Headline News

WB Interactive Brings Justice League Heroes Games To Gameboy & DS

Warner Bros. Interactive Ent. will launch JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES: THE FLASH for Game Boy Advance and JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES for Nintendo DS in fall 2006. Distributed by Eidos Interactive, the games will release simultaneously with the JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES games for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PSP.

Film Headline News

Weinsteins Do Monster Sales For Igor In Cannes

The Weinstein Co. has sold most of the world on Exodus Film Groups CG-animated feature comedy IGOR, following Cannes.

Key territorial sales include the U.K. to Momentum, in France to TF1, in Germany and Switzerland to Constantine, in Spain to Aurum, in Russia to West Film Group, in Eastern Europe to EEAP, in Benelux to RCV, in Brazil to Europa, in the Middle East to Italia, in Portugal to Lusomundo, in South Korea to Jung-A Ent., in Turkey to Film Pop and in Taiwan to Applause.

Animation Headline News

aniBOOM Launches Online Animation Competition with $50,000 in Prizes

Interactive animation company aniBOOM announced the First aniBOOM Awards. Fans of animation throughout the world will be able to vote on their favorite submissions from professional and independent participants alike and help determine the winners of $50,000 in prize money.

Headline News

Tom Goes to the Mayor Returns to Adult Swim With Guest Stars

TOM GOES TO THE MAYOR makes its basic cable homecoming with a new season on Adult Swim this June. The small-town politics, poor decision making, delusional thinking and curious guest stars that have become the Adult Swim shows hallmark started up again on June 4, 2006, at 12:30 am.

Turbo Headline News

TurboSquid & ILL Clan Forge Machinima Cartoon Series Partnership

Animation studio ILL Clan and 3D objects provider TurboSquid have partnered up to present TRASH TALK, which employs the use of machinima in the production of the latest talk show host to grace computer and iPod screens. This animated 3D game character wannabe named ILL Will, a cross between Jay Leno and Duke Nukem, reports on the latest gaming news and talks trash each week on the Internet with his sidekick, a missile named Mal Content.

Headline News

Nicolas Coppermann to Head Télé Images

General secretary/deputy program director in charge of drama production at M6, Nicolas Coppermann, will soon take over as head of Télé Images. Coppermann will team with Pascal Breton (Marathon), Vincent Chalvon Demersay (Marathon Media) and Denis Mermet (Adventure Line Prods.), who joined forces in January 2006 with the fusion of the temporarily named Finhera group, currently presided over by Pascal Breton.

Headline News

Vue 5 xStream Pre-Release Available for LightWave and Cinema 4D

e-on software announced the pre-release of two new versions of its xStream suite of plug-ins: xStream for LightWave and xStream for Cinema 4D.

Vue 5 xStream is a suite of plug-ins that enables the seamless integration of Vue environments into the industry's leading 3D applications. Versions of xStream were already available for Autodesk 3ds Max and Maya. As of June 1, versions of xStream for Newtek LightWave and Maxon Cinema 4D are also available. xStream for SOFTIMAGE|XSI is still under development.

Shorts Headline News

Warner Set to Distribute Popeye on DVD in 2007

The Popeye logjam is over. Warner Home Video (WHV) has reached an agreement with Heart Ent. and King Features Syndicate to be the exclusive worldwide DVD distributors of the classic Popeye theatrical animated shorts and the Popeye made-for-TV animated shorts.

Pages