Search form

AWN Headline News

Studio Headline News

Turbo Squid Releases Flight Studio 1.5

Turbo Squid recently announced the release of Flight Studio 1.5 from Bluerock Technologies. Flight Studio 1.5 offers visual simulation professionals the ability to:

* Import, edit and export OpenFlight scene graphs and databases from within 3ds Max easier and more efficiently* Quickly and efficiently build accurate models and complex scenes* Leverage features such as an easy-to-use hierarchy browser, familiar user interface controls, and direct node attribute editing* Retain scene graph structure and attributes

Motion Headline News

Vicon and Curious Pictures Expand New York Market for MoCap

Vicon, developer of Academy Award-winning motion capture technology, has sold Curious Pictures in New York a top-of-the-line 16-camera Vicon MX 40 motion capture system. This marks the first sale of Vicon motion capture to the New York television and commercial production market, and underscores the recent advancements in Vicons realtime technology to meet the challenges and demands of creating and directing motion capture animation for broadcast.

Home Headline News

DisneyToon Studios Folk Hammer Habitat for Home in Glendale

Executives, filmmakers and animators from DisneyToon Studios are donning hammers, nail, paint and brushes to lend a hand to Habitat for Humanity by building a home in Glendale, California for a needy family. The crew started work today (May 10, 2005) at 8:00 am and will continue on until Friday, May 13.

Film Headline News

Production Starts on Conan: Red Nails 2D/3D Animated Film

Sherman Oaks, California-based Swordplay Entertainment Inc., has begun principal production on the animated feature film, CONAN: RED NAILS, based on the classic story by the best-selling fantasy author Robert E. Howard, a new 2D/3D animated feature film, targeting a fall 2006 release on video/DVD, with a theatrical release pending test screening. New Line Home Entertainment has acquired all North American distribution rights to the animated feature film.

Film Headline News

George Lucas to Be Saluted by Cannes

The 58th Cannes Film Festival will honor George Lucas for his film career with the celebrated "Trophy of the Festival" onboard Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2, on May 15, 2005, to an audience of hundreds of Cannes attendees.

On that same day in Cannes, Lucas will debut the long-anticipated, worldwide preview of STAR WARS: EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH. The film opens in theaters worldwide on May 19.

Series Headline News

PorchLight Unearths 13 New Episodes of Tutenstein

PorchLight Ent. has announced that Discovery Kids and Jetix Europe have ordered 13 new episodes of the Emmy award-winning animated series, TUTENSTEIN. The new episodes are scheduled for delivery in 2006. Discovery Kids Channel and Jetix Europe are the series partners in the U.S. and Europe respectively. In the U.S., Tutenstein airs on the Discovery Kids channel and the Discovery Kids Saturday morning block on NBC.

Media Headline News

Off your Box Deadline Nears!

Off your Box CompetitionWest Midlands, U.K. May 20, 2005Deadline: May 20, 2005

Screen Media Lab is holding the first annual Off your Box competition and it needs talented, creative people to get involved and win great prizes. Prizes include Sony PSP, Apple Mac mini and Apple iPod shuffle. Short films, animation and interactive media are all eligible. This years theme is Future Living or City Culture. For more information, visit www.offyourbox.co.uk.

Animated Headline News

Mexico’s Anima Estudios Launches Second Feature

Anima Estudios has announced with the support of Fidecine Mexico the release of its second feature animated film, IMAGINUM. The film will be released in theaters nationwide in August 2005, distributed by Videocine, the movie production and distribution company of Televisa.

The main characters are voiced by Eugenio Derbez (Mexico´s most popular comedian), Giovanni Florido, Ilse Olivo and Ruben Trujillo.

Comics Headline News

DC Comics Unveils a New Company Logo

DC Comics unveiled a new DC Comics company logo that will appear on comicbooks, graphic novels and, for the first time ever, on films and television series based on DC properties. The new DC logo will make its first appearance on a DC Comics cover May 25, 2005, when the company publishes DC SPECIAL: THE RETURN OF DONNA TROY #1 and will then appear on the entire DC line the following week.

Animation Headline News

AWN Discussion Forums - What's New? for May 9, 2005

This week in AWN's Forums, a new member asks questions about quality issues regarding the transfer of Flash animation to video. More second Flash question comes in the form of a member wondering why his animation looks like trash. Another post asks: whats the difference between cartooning and animation? Theres a thread asking users of XSI for help. Another blogger wants to know how you can teach yourself 2D. In addition, theres a question about where are the best places on the Web to view animation.

Production Headline News

IDT’s Anchor Bay Closes $50M Credit Agreement with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank

IDT Ent. announced that its subsidiary Anchor Bay Ent. has closed a credit agreement with a bank group led by J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. The credit agreement provides for a $50 million, five-year, secured revolving credit facility which may be increased to up to $75 million.

Headline News

Don’t Miss Out on AWN’s Annecy & Licensing Flash Newsletters!

Continuing our special event specific Flash Newsletters, AWN has added a new mailing for Annecy International Animation Festival and will continue with its coverage of Licensing. These two important events are fast approaching and our editorial and advertising staff is gearing up for the Flash Newsletter series. Please send releases to editor@awn.com. Here are the dates for the publications.

Annecy 2005May 24, 2005

Licensing 2005:June 7, 2005June 14, 2005

Headline News

Ten Commandments Mini Cast Written in Stone

ABC and exec producer Robert Halmi Sr. have announced the international cast for its miniseries THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, reports the trades. Dougray Scott, Omar Sharif, Naveen Andrews, Mia Maestro and Linus Roache will headline the big-budget, four-hour telling of classic biblical tale of Moses. Ron Hutchinson (THE JOSEPHINE BAKER STORY) wrote the screenplay and Robert Dornhelm (TVs SPARTACUS) is directing.

Post Headline News

Post Logic N.Y.C. Appoints Manny Fernandez Managing Director

Leading post-production boutique Post Logic Studios has appointed Manny Fernandez to the newly created position of managing director of its Manhattan-based satellite Post Logic N.Y.C. Opened in March 2004 with a focus on long form work, the New York operation has flourished since its inception and will now broaden its client base to include television and commercial projects. To accommodate its new clientele, Post Logic N.Y.C. has added a second Spirit HD/SD telecine.

Headline News

Fox TV Signs Deal with American Dad Guys

20th Century Fox Television has signed a two-year overall deal with Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman, exec producers and showrunners for Fox's new animated comedy, AMERICAN DAD. As part of the seven-figure deal, the duo will continue on AMERICAN DAD if it is renewed in addition to developing other half-hour projects for the network. Barker and Weitzmans credits also include NBCs FATHER OF THE PRIDE and the WBs OFF CENTRE.

Software Headline News

Perforce SCM 2005.1 Embraces Digital Content Creation

Perforce Software announced that the 2005.1 version of its software configuration management system (available beginning May 16) enables users to preview multiple versions of an image and increases productivity for technical and non-technical users.

Animation Headline News

Appleseed Released on DVD

After a limited theatrical run in the U.S. earlier this year, Geneon Entertainment releases APPLESEED on DVD May 10, 2005 with the UMD format to come out July 5.

This sci-fi anime the film is based on the manga story by Masamune Shirow (GHOST IN THE SHELL) and directed by Shinji Aramaki (BUBBLEGUM CRISIS). APPLESEED features a groundbreaking animation style, "3D Live Anime," blending motion-capture technology and 3D computer animation, and enhanced by the latest in 2D character animation.

Animation Headline News

Noodlesoup Adds to Animation Roster

Noodlesoup Prods. (NSP) has signed 3D director/animator Doug Johnson. Johnson has directed spots for such clients as Novartis, IBM, Nabisco, SBC, Combe Inc. and Nickelodeon. He has also been a lead CG animator on numerous award-winning spots for Orkin, Primeco, Sci Fi Channel, AT&T, Bell South and others.

Framestore Headline News

Framestore NY Creates CG Envoy Denali for GMC Spot

Framestore NY has completed work on POETRY, a :30 spot for GMCs new Envoy Denali via agency Carol H. Williams. POETRY, which develops around the visual motif of materializing fantasies, features underground hip hop artist Mos Def and began airing May 7.

Universal Headline News

Jeff Herrera to Head Multicultural Marketing for Universal Studios Home Ent.

Jeff Herrera has been appointed to the newly created position of vp multicultural marketing for Universal Studios Home Ent. (USHE), to oversee the crafting and implementation of marketing strategies aimed at Latinos, African-Americans, and other ethnic groups. Herrera will work closely with USHE's sales and marketing departments to develop strategies and programs as well as play a key role in identifying and implementing partnership opportunities between USHE and its NBC Universal sister company, Spanish-language television network, Telemundo.

Cartoon Headline News

Cartoon Network & MLB Team for Second Season

Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) and the Major League Baseball Players Assoc. (MLBPA) have joined with Cartoon Network for the second year of a program designed to promote youth interest in baseball and baseball card collecting by reaching out to the millions of children who watch Cartoon Network original programming. The partnership, designed to engage children in the game of baseball via non-traditional media partners that speak directly to youth audiences, features characters from the popular Cartoon Network program CODENAME: KIDS NEXT DOOR.

Pages