Animation World Network

Avid Introduces 3-Democracy Campaign

Avid Technology announced new pricing for its SOFTIMAGE|XSI product line, ushering in 3-Democracy, the company's plan for making its comprehensive 3D content creation software accessible to all levels of CG professionals. Now a greater number of artists can purchase the award-winning 3D software in three new affordable configurations, starting with the unprecedented price of $495 for SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.4.0 Foundation.

In Technology, Visual Effects, Technology, Visual Effects | Headline News | Special Events: SIGGRAPH | Geographic Region: All

Comedy Headline News

Collateral Damages The Village

DreamWorks' COLLATERAL led the box office for the weekend ended Aug. 8, 2004, with $24.7M in its debut, besting M. Night Shyamalan's THE VILLAGE, down 67.8% in its second week with $16.4M. The horror film (with some vfx by ILM) has collected $85.6M for Disney's Buena Vista so far. Universal's THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (also with vfx by ILM) finished third with $14.3M and $124.6M.

In Films, Films | Headline News | Geographic Region: All

Headline News

McGregor Aboard Bay's Island

DreamWorks is in negotiations with Ewan McGregor (BIG FISH) to star in Michael Bay's next sci-fi feature, THE ISLAND, reports HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Caspian Tredwell-Owen (BEYOND BORDERS) wrote the spec screenplay, which chronicles a harvested being" who tries to escape the utopian facility he is housed in. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (TV's ALIAS) have been hired to polish the script. Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Ian Bryce (CATCH ME IF YOU CAN) are set to produce. Marc Haines will oversee the project for the studio, which hopes to starting filming in the fall.

In Films, Visual Effects, Films, Visual Effects | Headline News | Geographic Region: All

Books Headline News

Chronicle Books Launches Incredibles Line

Chronicle Books will produce three products based on THE INCREDIBLES, which will hit theaters Nov. 5, 2004. THE ART OF THE INCREDIBLES by Mark Cotta Vaz will be a 160-page, 11x9" hardcover with an 8-page gatefold and color illustrations throughout. It will feature concept and character sketches, storyboards and lighting studies, as well as interviews with the key personnel at Pixar, including director Brad Bird and John Lasseter. It will sell for $40.

In Books, Books | Headline News | Geographic Region: All

Headline News

Alias Descends on SIGGRAPH 2004

Alias has unveiled its line up of events at this year's SIGGRAPH tradeshow in Los Angeles, California. SIGGRAPH 2004 marks Alias' debut as an independent company following the completion of Alias' acquisition by Accel-KKR and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan from SGI earlier this year.

In Event, Event | Headline News | Special Events: SIGGRAPH | Geographic Region: All

Headline News

Disney Releases Three Musketeers' Soundtrack

Walt Disney Records will release the soundtrack for the upcoming direct-to-video release, MICKEY -- DONALD -- GOOFY: THE THREE MUSKETEERS soundtrack on Aug. 10, 2004. The film premieres on DVD and video, Aug. 17. The soundtrack includes seven comedic spins on classical favorites by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and others and features the brand-new Radio Disney and Disney Channel hit THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER by teen singing stars Stevie Brock, Greg Raposo and Matthew Ballinger. The CD will sell for $6.98.

In Licensing, Licensing | Headline News | Geographic Region: All, Europe

Series Headline News

TOKYOPOP To Publish Warcraft Manga Trilogy

TOKYOPOP Inc. and Blizzard Ent. will develop a three-book manga series titled WARCRAFT: THE SUNWELL TRILOGY. The manga will be penned by NEW YORK TIMES best-selling fantasy author Richard Knaak -- who is also writing a trilogy of WARCRAFT novels -- and illustrated by Jae Hwan Kim, artist of TOKYOPOP's KING OF HELL series. WARCRAFT: THE SUNWELL TRILOGY VOLUME 1: DRAGON HUNT debuts in early spring 2005.

In Books, Books | Headline News | Geographic Region: All, Asia

People ANIMATIONWorld

The Career Coach: Battling Shyness

The Career Coach takes on a common obstacle in any career -- shyness.

In ANIMATIONWorld | Columns: Career Coach

Film Headline News

NFB Screens Ryan & June at SIGGRAPH

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will be showing two groundbreaking animated short films at this year's SIGGRAPH Computer Animated Festival: RYAN, Chris Landreth's animated documentary about Ryan Larkin, and JUNE, Munro Ferguson's animated tribute to Joyce June Wieland. RYAN has received SIGGRAPH's prestigious Jury Award.

In Event, Event | Headline News | Special Events: SIGGRAPH | Geographic Region: All, North America

Headline News

Immersion VirtualHand Plug-In for MOCAP Certified by Kaydara

Immersion Corp. has announced that Kaydara has certified Immersion's new VirtualHand for MOCAP plug-in for MOCAP software. With this new combination, professional filmmakers, motion-capture directors, visual effects artists and game developers can use Immersion's CyberGlove hand-sensing hardware to capture hand motion, then edit and blend the animation in MOCAP. The CyberGlove provides high-performance hand measurement and real-time motion capture.

In Technology, Visual Effects, Technology, Visual Effects | Headline News | Geographic Region: All, Europe

Production Events

PhaseSpace to Demo in AMD booth at Siggraph

Begins: August 8, 2004

We wanted to extend an invitation to you and your staff to drop by & check us out at the AMD booth or at the Siggraph 04 Guerilla Studio.

to try out the latest PhaseSpace Mocap System

High resolution, real-time motion capture system. Our initial system was funded under a Navy SBIR and our current customers are deploying a wide variety of applications

In Event Types: Conferences, Exhibits, Trade Shows, Animation, Documentaries, Features, Interactive, Live Action, Licensing, New Media, Short Films, Special, Special Effects, Television, Visualization, Visual Effects

Events

SIGGRAPH 2004 "Sketches" Program

Begins: August 8, 2004

The Sketches program at SIGGRAPH is a premier forum for presentations of the latest ideas, methods, and uses of computer graphics. Topics range from hard-core scientific research to behind-the-scenes presentations of blockbuster special effects.

In Event Types: Conferences, Trade Shows, Animation, Business / Management, Documentaries, Features, Interactive, Live Action, Licensing, New Media, Short Films, Special, Special Effects, Television, Visualization, Visual Effects, Web / Internet, Other

World Events

SIGGRAPH 2004

Begins: August 8, 2004

SIGGRAPH is the world

In Event Types: Conferences, Contests, Competitive Festivals, Exhibits, Seminars / Workshops, Screenings, Trade Shows, Animation, Business / Management, Documentaries, Features, Interactive, Live Action, New Media, Short Films, Visual Effects

EIGF04 (Edinburgh International Games Festival)

Begins: August 8, 2004

EIGF04 (Edinburgh International Games Festival), running in parallel with the other Edinburgh Festivals, will continue to increase the awareness and understanding of interactive entertainment highlighting the growing bond between videogames and other entertainment industries notably music, literature, television and film.

In Event Types: Conferences, Discussion, Exhibits, Seminars / Workshops, Screenings, Animation, Interactive, New Media

Events

e-Institutions WorldExpo Hosted by WowGao

Begins: August 8, 2004

WowGao Presents e-Institutions WorldExpo, September 8 and 9, 2004, Toronto, Canada

WowGao will host e-Institutions WorldExpo, September 8 and 9, 2004, Toronto, Canada as one of its 6 IT WorldExpos(www.ITWorldExpos.WowGao.com; ITWorldExpos@WowGao.com) in 2004. e-Institutions WorldExpo will be the best & biggest global event for e-Banks/Financial Institutions and e-Governments. Tracks of the international conference will include

- e-Banking- Insurance - e-Governments- Web Services and IT Security

In Event Types: Conferences

International Events

The First International Audiovisual Festival for Childhood and Adolescence

Begins: August 7, 2004

The Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) throughout its Animations Studies invites all interested to participate in the First International Audiovisual Festival for Childhood and Adolescence (August 7-13, 2004) in Havana and Guantanamo,Cuba. The Festival`s co-sponsor are the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television, Educational Television,the San Antonio International School of Cinema and Television, New Latin American Film Foundation,UNESCO,PAHO/WHO and UNICEF.

In Event Types: Competitive Festivals, Exhibits, Seminars / Workshops, Animation, Documentaries, Television

Events

Alameda Writers Group Hosts Producer Ellen Sandleron

Begins: August 7, 2004

The Alameda Writers Group (AWG) presents producer Ellen Sandleron. She will explain how writers can develop the confidence to successfully "pitch" stories to network executives and producers. She'll cover how to prepare, quell nervousness and keep pitches short and to the point. Sandleron was co-exec producer of the CBS series EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, for which she received an Emmy nomination for Best Comedy in 1999. She was a writer/producer for the ABC series, COACH, and has written and produced many other prime time network comedies.

In Event Types: Discussion, Animation, Features, Live Action, Television

Events

6th Annual Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition

Begins: August 7, 2004

The 6th Annual Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition, supported by the Writers Guild of America, west, is quickly becoming a premiere screenwriting contest for people wanting to break into the industry. First place prize is $10,000. The contest has more than 50 production companies reading all entered scripts. All 13 winners will be considered by Scriptapalooza's participants. Four screenplays from last year's competition were requested by Klasky Csupo. The first deadline is March 5, 2004. For information visit http://www.scriptapalooza.com or call (323) 654-5809.

In Event Types: Contests, Animation, Features, Live Action, Other

Design Events

The Art Institute of Portland Summer Open House

Begins: August 7, 2004

The Art Institute of Portland Summer Open House is Saturday, August 7, 2004, 12:00-3:00pm. The Open House is a great opportunity for those interested in pursuing a creative career. You'll get the chance to find out more about the college's degree programs, career services, student services, financial aid, and to view current student and alumni work from all programs.

In Event Types: Discussion, Exhibits, Animation, Business / Management, Interactive, New Media, Short Films, Web / Internet

Show Events

G-Phoria

Begins: August 6, 2004

Carmen Electra and hubby rocker Dave Navarro hosted the original award show that toasts the year

Imagineer Systems Releases monet

Imagineer Systems announced the release of monet, its new product for broadcast, film and video post-production markets. monet is uniquely offers a start-to-finish solution for replacing elements in film and video. monet offers precision, lens distortion aware, 2D motion tracking with tools that allow accurate adjustments of the track to be made. It allows properties of the source material, such as lens distortion, shadows, highlights and grain/noise easily to be applied to the new element.

In Technology, Visual Effects, Technology, Visual Effects | Headline News | Geographic Region: All, Europe

Film Headline News

StoryViz Debuts at SIGGRAPH 2004

REALVIZ will debut StoryViz 1.0, the latest addition to its award-winning software portfolio, at SIGGRAPH 2004, Aug. 10-12, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.