AWN Headline News

SCI FI Channels highest rated tale of intergalactic survival continues when BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON 2.5 debuts on DVD on Sept. 19, 2006 (Universal Studios Home Ent., $49.98).

This month we turn our VFXWORLD focus on TV, as Ellen Wolff starts things off by speaking with Entity FX president/vfx supervisor Mat Beck about raising the bar in the upcoming sixth season of SMALLVILLE.Meanwhile, in terms of movies, Alain Bielik explores the WWI aerial exploits of FLYBOYS with vfx producer Peter Chiang and Double Negatives vfx producer Fay McConkey, as well as the inventive animation and vfx turned in by Partizan Lab in Michel Gondrys THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP. Both open Friday, Sept. 22.

Bill DesowitzEditor

The Killers, the hot band from Las Vegas, has lured Tim Burton to direct his first music video for the new song, Bones, from the forthcoming album SAMS TOWN, IGN Music reports.

The bands L.A. concert in August has been filmed and Burton is working with animators in London. The band confirmed that the video would incorporate many of Burton's trademark styles, including models, mini-sets based on bygone Vegas landmarks and skeletons.

Moving Picture Co. is providing post work for the video.

The Force will be with the Tournament of Roses in 2007, as George Lucas is selected as the next Grand Marshal.

Tournament of Roses president Paul L. Holman was joined on stage Tuesday (Sept. 19, 2006) by Chewbacca and Wicket to announce the celebrated filmmaker as Grand Marshal, who will lead the New Year's Day celebration in Pasadena. As Grand Marshal, Lucas will ride in the 118th Rose Parade in front of a worldwide television audience, and toss the coin before the 93rd Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1, 2007.

Gradient Effects and Eyetronics will present an overview of proprietary scanning techniques at eDIT 9. Filmmakers Festival in Frankfurt, Germany. Scanning For All Purposes will look at how consumer demand for realistic imagery has driven scanning technology. The panel and presentations will be held on Sept. 26 as part of the festivals Media Industry track.

Framestore CFC has named U.K. Film Council commissioner Steve Norris md of its film division, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

Norris has held the lead Film Council post since 1997, overseeing a period in which more than 200 international films with budgets totaling around $6 billion were filmed in U.K., including several vfx heavy productions such as the HARRY POTTER franchise.

AJA Video, a leading manufacturer of professional video interface and conversion solutions, has entered into an agreement with Autodesk. AJA's award-winning video technologies have been integrated as part of Autodesk's advanced visual effects and editing and finishing solutions, allowing the systems to tap AJA technology for input and output of SD, HD and 2K files. AJA OEM solutions are now used across the Autodesk Inferno, Autodesk Flame and Autodesk Flint visual effects systems, as well as the Autodesk Fire and Autodesk Smoke editing and finishing systems.