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AWN Headline News

Software Headline News

SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.5.0 Now Available

Avid Technology Inc. announced the worldwide availability of SOFTIMAGE|XSI version 5.0, the latest edition of the companys flagship 3D animation software. Unveiled at the SIGGRAPH tradeshow in August, XSI v.5.0 software includes a wide range of powerful new features, including non-destructive character tools and a comprehensive set of migration tools for Maya users, all of which enable artists to meet todays demanding production deadlines while future-proofing their existing pipelines.

Headline News

BOXX Upgrades 7000 Series Workstations

BOXX Technologies plans to add a new level of performance to its 7000 series 3DBOXX workstations and RenderBOXX render nodes by offering the latest Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors Model 880 and Model 280.

Customers who choose 7000 Series systems from BOXX based on Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors continue to see increases in productivity resulting from AMDs Direct Connect Architecture, which directly connects the CPU, memory and I/O resources.

Digital Headline News

Iridas and Rising Sun Research to Present SpeedGrade Seminars

Iridas, an industry leader in non-destructive color grading technologies, and Rising Sun Research, a pioneer in calibration tools for digital film, will present the SpeedGrade Seminars on Nov. 5, 2005, at the new DALSA Digital Cinema facility: 6160 Variel Ave., Woodland Hills, California. The cost is $25 per session, which includes a catered lunch and refreshments during the day. For more information, or to register, call 866-825-7999, or visit www.Iridas.com

Headline News

IntegrityWare Releases Power NURBS

nPower Software, a division of IntegrityWare Inc., released Power NURBS 1.0. nPower Software, a division of IntegrityWare Inc, released Power NURBS 1.0. Power NURBS is a hybrid modeling system, based on IntegrityWares SOLIDS ++ Kernel, that brings the highest orders of surfacing, solids modeling, analysis and tessellation technologies to users of the widely popular Autodesk 3ds Max and Viz 3D visualization solutions.

Headline News

Digital-Tutors Announces First XSI 5 Training Kits

Digital-Tutors announced the availability of the highly anticipated FUNDAMENTALS OF SOFT AND RIGID BODIES IN XSI and FUNDAMENTALS OF MENTAL RAY IN XSI training kits, the newest releases in a growing library and first release of training material for XSI v.5.0. A free trial of SOFTIMAGE|XSI V.5.0 FOUNDATION is included with both, FUNDAMENTALS OF SOFT AND RIGID BODIES IN XSI and FUNDAMENTALS OF MENTAL RAY IN XSI training kits providing immediate access to explore the software and expand the users skills.

Headline News

Getting to Know Jack

jack is the new kid on the block of visual effects companies and is quickly making a statement. Having officially launched in Venice, California, feature film and commercial production companies now have a new creative partner for high-end visual effects, finishing and previs.

Headline News

Flightplan Takes Off; Corpse Bride Rises Higher

With a takeoff of $24.6M, Buena Vistas FLIGHTPLAN, the Jodi Foster airplane thriller (with vfx from Lola Visual Effects and Peerless Camera Co.), withstood TIM BURTONS CORPSE BRIDE for the weekend ended Sept. 25, 2005. However, Warner Bros. should be pleased with the $19.1M tallied by the stop-motion feature as it goes wide throughout North America. CORPSE BRIDE (with vfx by MPC) now has $19.65M. Coming in third place with $9.6M was DreamWorks romantic fantasy, JUST LIKE HEAVEN (with vfx by Big Red Pixel), which now totals $29.8M.

Animation Headline News

Nicktoons Now Nicktoons Network With New Logo, Look, Packaging & Website

Nicktoons, Nickelodeons 24-hour animation network, has renamed and rebranded itself to become Nicktoons Network on Sept. 23, 2005. The network, which became ad-supported I August, will continue to showcase a variety of animation all day and night. Targeting kids 6-14, Nicktoons Network features programming that is 75% exclusive to the channel. In addition to a new name and logo, Nicktoons Network sports a fresh look with new packaging both on-air and on the networks new website, www.NicktoonsNetwork.com.

Animation Headline News

Maya Academy Hosts Animation Career Seminar

Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics, a leading animation training institute in India and part of the internationally acclaimed Maya Entertainment Ltd., hosted a seminar on Career Opportunities in the Animation Industry at the Music Academy in Chennai recently, reports CHENNAI ONLINE.

Cartoon Headline News

JoJo in the Stars Wins 2005 Cartoon D'Or

The 2005 Cartoon d'Or has been awarded to Marc CRASTE of the U.K. for his short, JOJO IN THE STARS.

The Cartoon d'Or winner receives 15,000 euros from MEDIA as a pre-production aid to begin a more ambitious project like a feature film or a TV special. The prize was awarded on Sept. 24, 2005, at the closing night of the 16th Cartoon Forum held in Kolding, Denmark.

Film Headline News

Disney Highlights Upcoming Animated Slate

With DreamWorks Animation recently announcing its slate of upcoming films, Walt Disney Studios chairman Richard Cook announced Disneys forthcoming films at the Walt Disney Studios Showcase, which offered previews of the studio's slate through 2008 and featured cameo appearances by Johnny Depp, Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and Elton John, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The daylong event was held at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland for exhibitors, retailers, merchandisers and other business partners.

Production Headline News

Alliance Atlantis Ups Alan Gregg VP, Production And Distribution, Children's TV

Alan Gregg has been upped to vp, production and distribution, children's television, at Alliance Atlantis Communications to fill the void by Ken Faiers departure to Nerd Corps Ent. Based in Alliance Atlantis head office in Toronto, Gregg is responsible for developing and implementing the overall strategy for the companys childrens properties, including all aspects of production and distribution.

Cartoon Headline News

Cartoon Network Stitches Up Animation Shorts Showcase for Sundays

Cartoon Network will launch SUNDAY PANTS, a new Sunday evening, 30-minute showcase of original and acquired animated shorts, starting Oct. 2, 2005, at 9:30 pm. SUNDAY PANTS will feature a variety of animation styles, from traditional hand-drawn animation to artists working on computer-based Flash and CGI, as well as both original and acquired shorts, giving Cartoon Network the opportunity to work with many different animators from around the world.

Kids Headline News

CYBERCHASE Mystery Week on PBS KIDS GO!

PBS KIDS GO! Kicks off its third annual CYBERCHASE ONLINE CONTEST in which kids may hone their sleuthing skills will the chance to win two Intel Centrino Mobile Technology-based notebook computers -- one for the winner and one for the winner's school or community group -- as well as fun CYBERCHASE products donated by Flying Minds, the online store for "Cool Stuff For Clever Kids."

Intel is a corporate sponsor of CYBERCHASE, the popular math-mystery cartoon series seen weekdays on PBS KIDS GO!

Wild Headline News

Dan Rounds to Head Feature Development at Wild Brain

San Francisco-based animation studio Wild Brain has hired Dan Rounds as producer/head of development. He will lead the feature development efforts in acquiring and developing the companys first 3D-animated feature. (OPUS, the proposed BLOOM COUNTY 3D-animated spinoff about the wisecracking penguin, was not given the green light once Miramax split from Disney.)

Film Headline News

Lion, Witch and Wardrobe to Premiere at Royal Albert Hall

The world premiere of Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media's THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE will take place Dec. 7 at Londons Royal Albert Hall in the presence of TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. Chosen as the prestigious 2005 Royal Film Performance, the premiere is a fundraising event in aid of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund. The movie opens Dec. 9 in the U.S.

Animation Headline News

e frontier and Bauhaus Software Form Distribution Partnership

e frontier America Inc., a leading publisher of multimedia software, and Bauhaus Software Inc., a leading provider of 2D animation and special effects tools, announced a wide-ranging distribution agreement for Bauhaus Mirage 2D animation system. Combining e frontiers distribution capacity with the strength of the Mirage animation platform will allow both companies to target a broader end-user base, reach new vertical markets, and deliver immense value to both freelancers and professional graphics studios.

Headline News

Alias Releases Maya 7 and MotionBuilder 7 Personal Learning Editions

Maya 7 Personal Learning Edition (PLE) and MotionBuilder 7 Personal Learning Edition are now available for download at www.alias.com/mayaple and www.alias.com/motionbuilderple, respectively. Maya 7 PLE and MotionBuilder 7 PLE are special versions of Maya Complete and Alias MotionBuilder Standard that provide free access to the software for non-commercial use.

Mobile Headline News

Gravity Releases Ragnarok Mobile Games in Japan & N. America

Korea-based Gravity Co. Ltd., an online game developer and distributor, has launched its mobile games in Japan and North America. Gravity launched RAGNAROK TACTICS, a strategic simulation 3D mobile game, and RAGNAROK 2 MOBILE EPISODE VERIENE, a 3D mobile action role- playing game, in Japan at the Tokyo Game Show 2005 (TGS 2005), which ran from Sept. 16-18, 2005.

Headline News

Uni Fantasizes About Whedon Penned & Helmed Goners

Universal Pictures has forked over seven figures to Joss Whedon for him to direct his fantasy thriller spec script GONERS, reports VARIETY. Mary Parent and Scott Stuber are set to produce.

"It's the story of a young woman's journey that involves a great deal of horror and some heroics," Whedon said. "It's certainly darker than SERENITY, and there are a lot of left turns along the way. It is something I had in mind for a while, and it just poured out of me when I finished my film."

Studio Headline News

St. George and the Dragon Gets Pulitzer Prize Writer

Paramount has hired Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Auburn to write an adventure version of the legend of St. George and the dragon, according to VARIETY. Red Wagon's Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher are producing. The studio paid high six figures against low seven figures.

The myth chronicles the knight's struggle to save a feudal princess from a fearsome beast. As a twist, the knight will be not chivalrous and the princess not chaste.

Media Headline News

Triple Take Marches with CowParade

By Rick DeMott | Thursday, September 22, 2005 at 12:00am

Triple Take Media and CowParade Holdings Corp., a world-renowned organization whose cow motif art and collectible figurines have spawned a multimillion dollar franchise, have established a joint venture designed to expand the beloved COWPARADE brand into all areas of media and merchandising.

Cartoon Headline News

James Anderson to Head Cartoon Network PR

Veteran TV publicity exec James Anderson joins Cartoon Network as vp of public relations, overseeing external and internal communications supporting the domestic Cartoon Network brand, including the flagship television network and its sister services, Adult Swim and Boomerang; and Cartoonnetwork.com.

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