LookAhead Decisions Inc. (LDI) announced the release of its breakthrough software product for videogames and animation. Locust uses proprietary simulation-based look-ahead methods similar to those used by world-championship chess programs, except it handles in realtime aspects such as uncertainty, complex time/cost tradeoffs and dozens of parallel decision-makers.
Autodesk Inc. announced that it has seen rapid demand for its Autodesk TV Suite from broadcasters and post-production houses around the globe. From Tokyo to Rome, the Autodesk TV Suite is being used to realize ideas for high-definition (HD) and standard-definition (SD) television content.
Character Animation Technologies Ltd has released CAT Version 2. A plug-in for Autodesk's 3ds Max, CAT2 is the next generation of the industry-acclaimed character system CAT (Character Animation Toolkit). CAT2 offers a unique set of tools to help game development, film and television artists produce better animations more quickly in a completely flexible environment.
ROME, the new HBO/BBC co-production, which recently debuted on HBO, boasts the mystique of Rome in 52 BC via a main title sequence created by award-winning Los Angeles visual effects and design company A52. The :90 main titles, created entirely in-house at A52, will introduce each episode.
This venture, our third with A52, proves what a powerful creative force they are, said Carolyn Strauss, president of HBO Ent.
Side Effects Software, developer of the award-winning Houdini family of 3D software, has appointed industry veteran Garman Herigstad as production consultant. Herigstad will leverage more than 19 years of experience in 3D animation and vfx at Digital Domain and Sony Pictures Imageworks to provide on-site production and training support to studios using Houdini software.
Columbia Pictures has hired former music video director David Slade to helm the horror film 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, according to the trades. Ghost House Pictures will be the production firm on the film with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert producing. Grant Curtis will shepherd the film for Ghost House. Mike Richardson, Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane will serve as exec producers. Shannon Gaulding and Adam Milano will shepherd for Columbia.
SCI FI Channel continues to test the boundaries of imagination with WHAT IF, a speculative future project that poses intriguing scenarios of alternate realities. The program, from NBC Universal Television Studio in association with New Line Television, asks... What if a moment in time could change the world forever?
Inspired by the life and torment of Alberto Giacometti, ETERNAL GAZE is a story about an artist, his art and reciprocated love. ETERNAL GAZE is a computer-animated film about a real person in a real location. The screenplay was inspired by a combination of ideas and facts based on Giacometti's real life stories with fantasy added in.
4Kids Ent. Inc. announced its new 4Kids TV lineup for fall 2005. 4KIDS TV, which airs Saturday mornings from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm (ET) on FOX affiliates nationwide, launches its fourth season on Sept. 10, 2005.
The lineup includes the U.S. debut of MAGICAL DOREMI, BRATZ and G.I. JOE SIGMA 6. Returning to the 4Kids TV lineup with all-new adventures are well-known and popular properties ONE PIECE, WINX CLUB, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, SONIC X and MEW MEW POWER.
Nickelodeons popular Danny Phantom character is available for the first time as a videogame, DANNY PHANTOM: THE ULTIMATE ENEMY, which THQ Inc. has released to retail outlets throughout North America. This fast-paced, action game based on a special episode of the popular Nickelodeon television series, DANNY PHANTOM.
The videogame recreates all of Danny's TV powers, allowing players to walk through walls, shoot ghostly beams and howl a ghostly wail as he travels through time to save the world.
George Lopez will host the 2005 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 11, 2005, at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Sean Hayes (WILL & GRACE) will present Jerry Lewis with the prestigious Governors Award at the 2005 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which is not part of the Emmy awards network broadcast on September 18.
The March Acrobat edition of Animation World Magazine is now ready for download. The theme this time around is direct-to-video. Greg Singer sizes up the direct-to-video biz in his in-depth analysis. Joe Strike stakes a claim on Disneys direct-to-video sequels. Karen Raugust looks at HIT Ent. home entertainment empire. Rounding out the theme, Chris Panzner takes a more historical look at Japans V-cinema.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz.
This week in AWN's Forums, a member asks how do you pitch an idea to the studios? Another member has an FPS question. A senior member asks for advise in keeping characters look consistent from pose to pose. Another member is looking for fellow voice over actors. There a thread on vector based 2D animation programs being used at the studios. A blogger asks whats wrong with animation in India? Others continue to post their work for critique.
VFXWORLD puts the spotlight on TV in September, and we begin this week with Tara DiLullos informative look at how Gerry Andersons THE NEW CAPTAIN SCARLET (now in its second season in the U.K.) has made the CG transition with the help of Vicons leading edge MoCap system.
Autodesks Discreet Lustre digital color grading system has been adopted by more than 15 additional post-production facilities and film studios. The Lustre system is being used on several upcoming feature films, including KING KONG, STAY, PENNY DREADFUL and DOMINO.
Three vps have joined the Sony Pictures Digital Sales and Marketing team. The appointments come as svps Ira Rubenstein and Mike Arrieta establish their senior team to lead development in several emerging markets.
The 2005 Maya Masters, announced and honored at the Alias Global Users Assn. (AGUA) annual event last month during SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles, include:
* Drew Berry works for The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia and creates scientific visualizations for science documentaries, museum exhibits and gallery installations around the world. His most recent project involved creating animations of the very nasty bugs Smallpox, Ebola and Anthrax for a National Geographic documentary on Bioterrorism.
Animazoo supported students at Dubai Mens College through an intense seven-day production with Gypsy motion capture systems.
Using Gypsy as their core technology, the students managed the MoCap pipeline for a popular animated mascot nicknamed Mobda conceived to improve relations between children and the Dubai police force.
Animator/designer Huy Dang has joined Concrete Pictures, reporting directly to Andy Hann, vp of creative services. Dang will assist the companys creative directors and producers in making animation and design for broadcast work.
I have always wanted to be part a companys success story, Dang said. Concrete Pictures is not only an award-winning company, but a company that is enjoying rapid growth. I look forward to a long career with them.
Pixars landmark TOY STORY, the one that started it all, as they say, returns in a new and improved two-disc set in honor of its 10th anniversary (Buena Vista Home Ent. $29.99), Sept. 6, 2005.
For those who already own THE ULTIMATE TOY BOX, rest assured: theres still plenty of new material available, in addition to improved picture (increased bitrate of 7.5mbps) and audio (including the first DTS track for a Pixar DVD along with Dolby Digital 5.1 EX) both remixed by master sound designer Gary Rydstrom, now a Pixar staffer.
Nickelodeon Europe has purchased the VITAMINIX series from Barcelona-based Icon Animation for the broadcast on Nickelodeon channels airing in Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Holland and Flemish-speaking Belgium after a successful run on Nickelodeon channels in Latin America and Spain, of the 2D Flash animated shorts (104x2), which aim to teach children about the nutritional value of food, minerals and vitamins.
THE INCREDIBLES was the big winner at 2005 Home Entertainment Awards, garnering three awards the 2005 Home Entertainment Awards, presented by the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) in recognition of outstanding achievement in home video. The awards were announced at VSDA's Home Entertainment 2005, which took place at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. VSDA's Home Entertainment 2005 is the annual convention of the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA).
Animation channel TELETOON has struck seven new development agreements with Canadian producers for a diverse slate of titles that reflect the network's core programming blocks, including its kids and after-school lineup, as well as its successful Teen/Young Adult option, The Detour on TELETOON.
Midway Games Inc. a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer, has secured the U.S. and Canadian publishing rights for EARTH 2160, the highly-anticipated sequel in the top-selling and critically-acclaimed EARTH series of realtime strategy (RTS) titles. The game will publish in the U.S. and Canada in November 2005 for the PC.
