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AWN Headline News

Studios Headline News

U.K. ‘VFX|Production Grade’ Course to Launch in October

CG training facility Escape Studios offered new details about the new VFX|Production Grade initiative previously announced last spring. Launching in October 2005, this new course, which is funded by the Skillset Film Skills Fund, offers the most intensive and focused production training available for the aspiring CG artist. The free program consists of five months of full-time training at Escape Studios working on production projects followed by a two-month work placement at a top U.K. post-house.

Digital Headline News

Digital Musings From the Editor:

We turn our attention to digital art this month good timing with Comic-Con happening this weekend in San Diego (for those attending, please stop by our booth, #418). Ellen Wolff gets great insight from ILM concept artist Ryan Church on what it was like working on both REVENGE OF THE SITH and WAR OF THE WORLDS. Mary Ann Skweres gets a sneak peek at what we can expect at the SIGGRAPH 2005 Art Gallery next month. And Henry Turner catches up with the talented and tireless Syd Mead. Have a good show at the Con!

Bill DesowitzEditor

Headline News

Madagascar Waves Among SIGGRAPH 2005 Sketch Highlights

The SIGGRAPH 2005 Sketches program is a premier forum for presenting the best new ideas, methodologies and cutting-edge applications of computer graphics and interactive techniques taking place at SIGGRAPH 2005, the 32nd International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques being held July 31 through Aug. 4 in Los Angeles.

Sketches cover a broad spectrum of topics in art, design, science, and engineering, and include academic research, industrial development, practical tools and behind-the-scenes explanations of commercial and artistic works.

Software Headline News

Side Effects Used for Advanced Feathering on Valiant

Side Effects Software announced that U.K.-based Vanguard Animation utilized Houdini software to create new levels of realism in the 3D-animated VALIANT, which Disney will release domestically on Aug. 19, 2005.

Key to the believability of this bird-centric world about carrier pigeons in London during World War II was the feather effects needed for virtually all of the characters. In order to create this visual effect, Vanguard selected Houdini software to achieve realistic motion in the feathers while providing an efficient and cost-effective pipeline.

Movie Headline News

Looney Tunes DVD to Strike Gold a Third Time

Warner Home Video will soon announce the fall release of the four-disc LOONEY TUNES GOLDEN COLLECTION VOLUME 3 ($64.92), reports TV SHOWS ON DVD. The set will include 60 cartoons, nine docs, 32 commentary tracks and 11 music and sound effects-only audio tracks.

WHV will also release THE LOONEY TUNES MOVIE COLLECTION, a two-disc set containing THE BUGS BUNNY/ROAD-RUNNER MOVIE and Bugs Bunny's third movie: 1001 RABBIT TALES.

Series Headline News

‘90s Fantastic Four Series on DVD

Coinciding with the release of the FANTASTIC FOUR live-action feature, the complete FANTASTIC FOUR animated series recently arrived on DVD in a four-disc set (Buena Vista Home Ent., $49.99). The 30-minute series aired from September 1994 to February 1996 as part of the MARVEL ACTION HOUR along with IRON MAN. Produced by Genesis Ent., Marvel Prods., New World Ent. and TMS Ent., 15 of the 26 episodes were direct remakes of episodes of the 1960s Hanna-Barbera FANTASTIC FOUR series.

Headline News

Runemaster Invades Comic-Con

For the first time ever, Kent, England-based Runemaster Studios Jack Lawrence, Mike Bullock, Theo Bain and Scott Kinney will be together at a major convention signing, sketching, unveiling new properties and making announcements regarding the future of the popular studio best known for its all-ages comic work.

Theo and I really cant wait to just take it all in, said LIONS, TIGERS AND BEARS artist Jack Lawrence. Weve heard what a huge event the convention in San Diego is and just knew we had to make sure we were there.

Comics Headline News

Banner Year for SLG at Comic-Con

Comic-Con International 2005 will be the event of the year for readers of SLG Publishing's comics, as SLG pulls out all the stops to bring fans their favorite creators and comics, news about new projects and portfolio reviews for aspiring artists. At the year's biggest comicbook convention, which will take place in San Diego from July 14-17, nearly 40 comicbook creators will be appearing at SLG's booth including the company's two top artists, Roman Dirge and Jhonen Vasquez who will be on hand to meet fans and sign books.

Comics Headline News

DC Comics Unveils Panels For Comic-Con

Along with the vast list of DC Comics writers and artists set to attend Comic-Con International: San Diego 2005, DC also offers a full slate of programming. Panels at the convention cover new projects and coming events from the DCU, WildStorm, VERTIGO, CMX and more.

Thursday, July 14:

Headline News

Paramount Pictures Robert G. Friedman Steps Down

Robert G. Friedman will step down as coo/vice chairman of the Motion Picture Group of Paramount Pictures to pursue other interests, it was announced today (July 12, 2005) by Paramount Chairman and CEO Brad Grey.

Friedman, vice chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Group since he joined the studio in 1997 when, and later coo in 2002 to oversee all domestic and international marketing, publicity and distribution operations at Paramount, as well as Paramount Home Ent. and specialty division Paramount Classics.

Entertainment Headline News

Entertainment Rights Strikes He-Man PSP & UMD Deals

Entertainment Rights (ER) has signed a deal to make HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE the first-ever classic animated series to be released in Universal Media Disc (UMD) format in the U.S. This follows ERs agreement with U.S. HE-MAN DVD partner, BCI Eclipse (a Navarre Corp. Co.) for the U.S. PlayStation Portable (PSP) rights to HE-MAN. The first two HE-MAN titles will be released on UMD video in August 2005.

Film Headline News

Five European Shorts to Compete for Cartoon d'Or Award

Five European short films have been selected to compete for the 15th Cartoon d'Or award to be handed out at the awards ceremony September 24, 2005, at Cartoon Forum, which takes place Sept. 21-24 in Kolding, Denmark.

The films were chosen by a jury from a field of 26 projects that won prizes at Cartoon's partner European festivals: Annecy, Bratislava, Bristol, Brussels, Espinho, Genzano di Roma, Fredrikstad, Stuttgart and Utrecht.

With this prize, the filmmakers will obtain 15,000 euros to put toward production of a series or a feature.

Digital Headline News

Fincher, Digital Domain Create All-CG Nine Inch Nails Music Video

The idea had been swimming in the back of David Finchers mind for a number of years. On many occasions the cutting edge director discussed it with his longtime collaborators at Digital Domain.

David and I talked about a scene that takes place entirely in the confines of an executives workspace, explained Ed Ulbrich, Digital Domains svp/gm. He envisioned the objects in the office coming to life under the right circumstances. The difficulty was finding the right project.

Effects Headline News

RE:Vision Effects Releases FieldsKit 1.5

RE:Vision Effects now offers FieldsKit version 1.5 for After Effects-compatible applications (Adobe After Effects, Autodesk Combustion, Adobe Premiere Pro, Digital Fusion and Apple Final Cut Pro, among others).

At the heart of FieldsKit is FieldsKit Deinterlacer, which deinterlaces video imagery with superior results. Using proprietary field reconstruction and adaptive motion techniques, FieldsKit Deinterlacer can build full frames from fields that are of much higher quality than the standard approaches available in most effects and video editing applications.

Headline News

Pixel Corps Provides New Open Enrollment Policy

Pixel Corps, the global learning guild for aspiring and professional digital craftsman, has launched a new open enrollment policy. For a nominal monthly fee, Pixel Corps now offers its members unrestricted access to advanced digital media software (valued at more than $20,000), a comprehensive global learning community and extensive online training on a variety of products ranging from Adobe Photoshop and Apple Shake to Luxology modo and SOFTIMAGE|XSI.

Headline News

Vintage Mickey on DVD

In case you dont already own all of the black-and-white Mickey Mouse shorts on the two Walt Disney Treasures DVD sets, you can get a glimpse of the early mouse on the new VINTAGE MICKEY compilation disc (Walt Disney Home Ent., $19.99), which streets July 12, 2005.

The mischievous Mickey appears in the following nine seminal shorts directed by Ub Iwerks, Wilfred Jackson, Burt Gillett and David Hand:

* STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928)* PLANE CRAZY (1928)* THE KARNIVAL KID (1929)* THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (1931)

Films Headline News

Bitfilm Deadline This Week!

Bitfilm Festival 2005Hamburg, GermanyNovember 2-6, 2005Deadline: July 15, 2005

The Bitfilm Festival for digital film and new media shows films that use digital technology in a creative and innovative way. There are six categories:

* 3D SPACE Computer-generated 3D animations * FX MIX - Digitally composed hybrids, mixing for example live action and animation * FLASH ATTACK - Films produced in Macromedia Flash * MACHINIMA - Movies made in real time with game engines

Films Headline News

Glitch Fest Calls for Entries

Glitch Fest 2005Montreal, Quebec, CanadaNovember 2005Deadline: August 1, 2005

The Glitch Fest, is comprised of short films of three to 10 minutes in length and in all categories: French or English, from Quebec or elsewhere, be they parodies, fake publicities, dramas, horror films, press reports, animations, trash, etc., so long as the short films are interesting and innovative.

Books Headline News

Chronicle Books Brings Mutts & Optic Nerve Creators to Comic-Con

Chronicle Books will host signings with the creators of MUTTS and OPTIC NERVE at Comic-Con, July 14-17, 2005. Chronicles booth is #1135. Patrick McDonnell, author/illustrator and creator of MUTTS will be signing his Chronicle Books gift items (blank journal, postcard box, 2006 wall calendar) from 2:00-3:00 pm on Thursday, July 14. Adrian Tomine, author/illustrator and creator of OPTIC NERVE will be signing his Chronicle Books gift items (blank journal, postcard box) from 11:00 am - noon, on Saturday, July 16.

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