Category: Event

A consortium of animation organizations presents its fourth forum on the state of the animation industry with a focus this time on gaming, Thursday, June 19, 2003 at 6:30 pm at the Glendale Public Library Auditorium in Glendale, California. Major and independent studio representatives will discuss opportunities for animators in the gaming industry, trends, concepts and stories in development. Scheduled panelists include: James Zachary, chief character animator, SPIDER-MAN II THE GAME, Tryarch; Cory Barlong, animation director at Paradox Games; and Sunil Thankamuishy, animation director, Spark Unlimited. Rita Street, publisher of ANIMATION MAGAZINE, will moderate the panel followed by an audience Q & A. Check-in and networking at 6:30 pm, panel discussion begins at 7:00 pm. Organizers request that you leave your résumés and portfolios at home. The Glendale Public Library Auditorium is located at 222 E. Harvard Ave.; between Colorado and Broadway, two blocks east of Brand. Parking is available in the city parking structure on the corner of Maryland and Harvard (entrance from each street). Free validated parking is available for 3 hours. The event is open to the public. Admission is $5 for ASIFA-Hollywood and WIA members, free for Animation Guild members and $10 for non-members. Bring membership card to expedite check-in. Reservations are not required. Tickets sold at the door. Seating is limited. For more information, go to ASIFA-Hollywood.org, womeninanimation.org or mpsc839.org.

The Australian Effects and Animation Festival (AEAF), Sydney, will be held December 7-10, 2003 at the Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour, Australia. AEAF Sydney 2003 will feature new events including the AEAF Short Film Festival and Digital Video Fest.

Digital Video Fest will showcase the latest technologies and techniques in digital video creation and post-production with three days packed with seminars from celebs in the global VFX community.

Sponsored by Houdini software-makers Side Effects Software, the next meeting of the LA Chapter of SIGGRAPH will host a screening and discussion of X2: X-MEN UNITED with visual effects wizards from Rhythm & Hues and Cinesite on May 20, 2003. Included in the behind-the-scenes discussions will be Rhythm & Hues' tornado effects lead Doug Bloom and lead effects Animator Mike O'Neal; and Cinesite's CG supervisor Greg Anderson, CG effects td Craig "X-Ray" Halperin and CG supervisor Arnon Manor. Side Effects will demonstrate its Houdini products during a reception from 6:30 - 7:30 pm, with the discussion beginning at 7:30 pm followed immediately by the screening. The event is being held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Academy of Motion Picture Artists & Sciences, 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. The meeting is free for members and $10 for non-members. For more information visit www.la.siggraph.org or e-mail los-angeles-chapter@siggraph.org.

Jerry Diaz, evp of Salsa Entertainment, is offering up some animated and sci-fi offerings for international buyers at the L.A. Screenings. Salsa, the distribution arm of TV-Loonland, will be screening series at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Los Angeles in Suite 1007 from May 15-22, 2003. The offerings include:

THE CRAMP TWINS, SERIES IIGenre: Animation, 8 years +Producers: TV-Loonland, Cartoon Network EuropeRights: Latin America & Brazil, 26x30 (or 52x30 for series I & II)

MIPCOM, the biggest international TV trade show in Cannes, will run from Friday through Tuesday, October 10-14, 2003 while the 11th kids programming mini-market, MIPCOM Junior, Youth Programs Screenings, will run October 8-9 at the Hotel Martinez. The shows normally run Saturday through Friday. This change is due to the unavailability of the convention center, the Palais des Festival, together with public holidays.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has moved its annual awards ceremony by a month to February 29, 2004, and has devised an accelerated schedule to accommodate next year's voting process.

The World Health Organization's warning urging travelers to avoid unnecessary visits to Toronto because of the risk of contracting the SARS virus is having some adverse effects upon trade shows there. The Canadian Cable Television Assn. postponed its annual convention, which was to take place April 27-29, 2003. However, the SPROCKETS Toronto International Film Festival is still underway April 24-May 4, 2003. Publicity coordinator Susan Stafford reports general attendance is not down but the industry side was effected. "We have had a few calls from out-of-town visiting industry guests who are managing local travel restrictions and will not be able to join us. Sprockets events are very full and we are looking forward to another great festival for all the children and their families who love cinema," she said. SPROCKETS did have to cancel its Animation Master Class with Loyd Price from Aardman Animations.

There have been some important changes to the Australian Effects & Animation Festival (AEAF) program May 12-13, 2003 at The Australian Center for the Moving Image in Melbourne. Randy Goux, CG supervisor on THE MATRIX RELOADED and THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS joins the program to co-present with Greg Juby, digital effects supervisor. Randy takes the place of Jay Reynolds. Randy and Greg will be take attendees through some of the signature visual effects shots created by them at ESC Entertainment in the U.S. in an exclusive preview before the film opens in theaters on May 15.

A TRON retrospective and confidential, extensive explorations of how visual effects and digital animation were achieved in films such as X-MEN 2, THE MATRIX RELOADED and FINDING NEMO will be part of the 5th Annual VES 2003: A Festival of Visual Effects line-up at The Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood from June 27-29, 2003. Presented by the Visual Effects Society (VES), the festival offers detailed, frequently proprietary, looks at the visual effects process through viewing certain segments of the works featured.

An overflow crowd stood outside the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills to catch a glimpse of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston and the various animation luminaries attending the Marc Davis Lecture on Animation April 9, 2003. Hundreds were eager to pay tribute to the last of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men." The overly-ambitious program treated attendees to many filmclips of their work, two panels, four special presentations, with the Frank and Ollie finally joining the evening's host Leonard Maltin on stage at 11:00 pm.

Learn the secrets of successful interviewing and job survival at the Women In Animation Los Angeles Chapter general meeting on April 24, 2003 from 6:30-9:30 pm at Klasky Csupo, 6353 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, California. Discussion points will include topics like what do recruiters and employers want to see in a resume/portfolio/demo reel? How can you be sure yours stands out so you get the interview? How can you make sure you don't blow the interview? Learn what you need to know to get your career on track and earn more in 2003.

PostWar Japanese Anime/Manga is an exciting exhibition running April 6-June 1, 2003 at The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the creation of anime's most seminal character, Astro Boy, the exhibition connects the roots of anime with current works of particular international popularity including DRAGON BALL Z, DIGIMON, POKÉMON, and SAILOR MOON.