What do BATMAN BEGINS, LAND OF THE DEAD and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY have in common? All three summer films employed high-resolution scanning services from Eyetronics to create digital effects in less time.
Eyetronics offers lightweight 3D scanning equipment that can produce a full body scan in 90 seconds, versus the 20 to 30 minutes normally required.
Avid Technology is showcasing its new facial animation technology, Softimage|Face Robot, for the first time publicly this week at SIGGRAPH, where attendees can preview the system at the Avid Computer Graphics booth #1401. Blur Studios, which is using Face Robot, will be at the show exhibiting some of the work it created with the software.
Navarre Corp., a publisher and distributor of a broad range of home entertainment and multimedia software products, has promoted Ward Thomas to svp of sales and operations for FUNimation, a subsidiary of Navarre Corp., and upped Joyce Fleck to vp of sales & marketing for FUNimation.
While head of sales for Navarre Distribution Services, Thomas is credited for leading and developing the distribution sales team so that the division experienced triple-digit growth.
BEN 10 is a new sci-fi action/adventure series set to debut on Cartoon Network in May 2006, featuring Ben Tennyson, a seemingly normal 10-year-old boy who, with a flick of his wrist, can transform into any one of 10 alien beings with amazing superpowers, like the powerful Four Arms or the slime-spitting Stinkfly. Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, California, is producing 26 half-hour episodes of the series, created by Man Of Action (Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau, Steve Seagle).
Toy Play will release a new line of Color-In Cardboard Playhouses featuring many colorful animated cartoon characters. These unique playhouses allow kids to color in their favorite characters and then build their own playhouse, decorated with their designs. These kid-sized playhouses are made of durable cardboard and styled in iconic shapes and come with five colored markers.
wondertouch has released a Mac OS X version of its particle effects creation tool, particleIllusion 3.0. The new version offers the same features as the Windows version of particleIllusion 3.0, including super emitters, forces to improve integration into existing production environments, new color options and rendering engine improvements.
New Lines WEDDING CRASHERS, overtook Warner Bros. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE for the top spot in the box office for the weekend ended July 31, 2005. The R-rated comedy gathered $20M for a three-week cume of $115.6M. The Tim Burton movie (with delightful vfx from MPC, Framestore CFC, Cinesite and Digital Domain) settled for second place with $16.3M and a total of $148M.
Avid Technology Inc. launched version 5.0 of the companys flagship SOFTIMAGE|XSI 3D animation software. This latest version includes new tools that set industry benchmarks for performance and creative flexibility. As a key component of Avid's integrated computer graphics solutions, SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.5.0 introduces 3D teams to new features, such as Ultimapper, a map generation tool for producing cinema-quality maps in a few clicks; and GATOR, a unique property transfer system for merging fully textured and animated 3D models.
Eric Roth, exec director of the Visual Effects Society (VES), has signed a three-year contract with the organization. Roth joined the VES a little more than a year ago and is responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the organization including strategic planning, fundraising, membership outreach and communications. Said Carl Rosendahl, chairman of the VES Board, The VES has enjoyed tremendous growth under Erics leadership this past year. Were thrilled to have a long term commitment with him in place and look forward to the future.
Massive Software announced Massive Jet, a new autonomous agent 3D animation application that enables the creation of large-scale, believable digital crowd shots "out of the box" with high quality and a low learning curve. A full-functioning package priced under $6,000, Massive Jet leverages the company's Academy Award-winning artificial life-based technology, pre-built Ready-to-Run Agent library and GPU-accelerated rendering support to allow animators and artists at any facility to quickly and easily produce highly realistic Massive scenes.
Autodesk 3ds Max 8 software, the latest version of the award-winning 3D modeling, animation and rendering solution, was announced at SIGGRAPH 2005. Designed to provide the most comprehensive and advanced 3D design tools and pipeline workflow, 3ds Max is one of the industry's most popular solutions for games production, film and video production and design visualization.
NVIDIA Corp. announced three new additions to its suite of professional software products for the film industry:
* Gelato 2.0 rendering software, the latest major release of this product for film studios.* Amaretto, an Autodesk 3ds Max rendering plug-in for Gelato developed by Frantic Films.* Sorbetto lighting technology, an interactive tool that significantly accelerates the creation of realistic lighting.
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) members voted by a margin of 81.2% to 18.8% to overwhelmingly approve the proposed Interactive Media Agreement recently negotiated with videogame producers. In accordance with a national board decision on June 29, the referendum was sent to Screen Actors Guild performers with earnings under the previous three-year agreement with the videogame industry as well as any eligible, paid-up SAG member in good standing who requested a ballot. The new contract will go into effect on Friday July 29, 2005 and run through December 31, 2008.
Speaking at the First Chinese International Animation, Cartoon and Game Fair, which opened yesterday in Shanghai, head of the animation department at Nanjing Normal University Wu Yue said that after decades of slumber, Chinese animators have begun developing new products, reports CHINA VIEW.
Since 2000, more than 100 university animation programs have formed and graduates have gone on to start their own businesses, mostly in the Yangtze River Delta.
"There are many small studios," Wu said. "They are clustered in East China."
Adams Media Research has reported the top 10 direct-to-video titled for the first quarter of 2005. Leading the pack in total units sold and rental revenue was Disneys MULAN II with 56.8 million. In a distant second was Lions Gates BARBIE: FAIRYTOPIA garnering $17.4 million. Following that was Universals BALTO III: WINGS OF CHANGE, rounding up $14. 2 million. The rest of the top included Warner Bros. SCOOBY-DOO: ALOHA SCOOBY-DOO!
Screamfest Horror Film Festival Universal City, California, USAOctober 1423, 2005Deadline: August 15, 2005
Screamfest Horror Film Festival is the largest genre film festival in the U.S. The festival takes at Loews Universal Studios Cinemas at Universal CityWalk. Winners will be announced at the Dinner Award Ceremony to be held on October 23 at Maggiano's located in The Grove. Screamfest is an internationally recognized showcase for independent filmmakers and writers of the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres.
IMAGINA 2006Monte Carlo, MonacoFebruary 1-3, 2006Deadline: November 30, 2005
New and returning celebrity guest voices coming up for the 17th season of THE SIMPSONS are Alec Baldwin, Kelsey Grammer, William H. Macy, Joe Mantegna, Michael York, Ricky Gervais, Terry Bradshaw, Lily Tomlin, Frances McDormand, Terry Bradshaw, boxer Joe Frazier, former basketball great Dennis Rodman and Yankee pitcher Randy Jackson. THE SIMPSONS airs Sundays 8:00 pm on FOX in the U.S.
The TOKYOPOP Group has bolstered its worldwide finance and accounting infrastructure by appointing Cary Tan vp/controller of TOKYOPOP U.S. and Cathy Liu as group finance & administration director at TOKYOPOP K.K.
Activision Inc. has extended its license with Marvel Enterprises to expand their long-term, broad-based strategic alliance through an additional license agreement for a non-persistent role-playing game (RPG).
According to leading marketing information provider, Sonys GRAN TURISMO 4 for the PlayStation 2 ranked top in sales for the first half of 2005. The NPD Group also reported retail sales of U.S. console and portable videogames hardware, software and accessories saw an increase of 21% during the first half of 2005 (January June), compared to the same time period last year. The videogames industry saw sales figures rise to more than $4.1 billion in the first half of the year compared to $3.4 billion in the first half of 2004.
Paramount has announced that Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello have been cast as the wives of Port Authority officers rescued from the World Trade Center in the studio's untitled Oliver Stone project, reports VARIETY. Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena have already been cast in the respective roles of Sgt. John McLoughlin and Officer William J. Jimeno. The film is scheduled to start filming in New York this fall.
Jeff Bridges will lead a cast that includes, Shia LaBeouf, Zooey Deschanel, James Woods, Jane Krakowski, Jon Heder, Mario Cantone, Brian Benben and Michael McKean for Sony Pictures Animations upcoming CGI feature SURFS UP.
it was announced today by Penney Finkelman Cox and Sandra Rabins, executive vice presidents of Sony Pictures Animation.
Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. announced that it has hired Christian (Chris) Kubsch, a production and animation exec with more than 20 years of experience, to helm its animation studio in Singapore. As gm of Lucasfilm Animation Co. Singapore B.V., Kubsch will pull together and oversee all elements of the digital animation studio, including recruiting key talent and running its day to day operations. Kubsch will report to Gail Currey, head of animation.
Turner Classic Movies is expanding its classic cartoon franchise, Cartoon Alley, from once a month to once a week, to air every Saturday morning at 11:30 am, beginning Sept. 3, 2005. Cartoon Alley, hosted by TCMs weekend daytime host, Ben Mankiewicz, is a half-hour programming block featuring three classic cartoons themed around a particular subject.
