Events: Television

Anime Vegas Convention 2007 is one of the up and coming Japanese anime pop culture events in North America. The Anime Vegas Club originally started in 2002 at the West Charleston Library, holding monthly screenings of Japanese animation. The club quickly increased its membership from nine initial attendees to a regular attendance of 100-150 each month. In 2004, the first, to be annual, Anime Vegas Convention was started and drew 1,019 attendees.The growth in popularity is attributed to its more intimate setting between the staff, guests and local and Southern Utah anime fans.

Set in the backdrop of 60th year of India's Independence, Chinh India Kids Fest' 07 and Forum is an initiative to celebrate knowledge, ideas and perspectives on culture, development and education in context of children programming. The objective of the event is to inculcate taste for quality children program and to generate awareness about new genre, innovations and formats linking education with culture and development issues among children. For more information, visit www.chinh.in.

The Hollywood Radio and Television Society (HRTS) will present "Kids Day 2007" returning to the fifth floor ballroom at the Hollywood and Highland. Now in its 13th year, HRTS Kids Day is the long-running industry organization's celebration of children's TV programming and family fun day.

Aero Theater is hosting a 7:30 pm Los Angeles premiere screening of AFRO SAMURAI, (2006, Takashi OKazaki, Gonzo/Samurai Project/FUNimation, 125 min (5 episodes)). This samurai story, with a revolutionary animation style and hip-hop flavor, tells the tale of a black swordsman set in a futuristic, yet feudal, Japan who is on a mission to avenge the wrongful death of his father. Samuel L. Jackson voices the title role of "Afro," a mysterious warrior who travels a solitary path encountering a myriad of enemies, friends and challenges beyond imagination.

SIGGRAPH 2007 will bring an estimated 25,000 computer graphics and interactive technology professionals from six continents to San Diego, California, for the industry's most respected technical and creative programs focusing on research, science, art, animation, gaming, interactivity, education and the web. SIGGRAPH 2007 includes a three-day exhibition of products and services from the computer graphics and interactive marketplace: Aug. 7-9 2007. More than 250 international exhibiting companies are expected. Registration for the conference and exhibition is open to the public.

Anime Festival Orlando is a three-day festival of all things related to Japanese animation and pop culture held at the Wyndham Orlando Resort. Ticket prices are only $45 for a three-day membership badge, $20 for a Friday or Sunday Only wristband and $30 for a Saturday Only wristband. Growing in attendance nearly 20% each year since its inception in 2000, Anime Festival Orlando has earned the title of "Florida 's Favorite Anime Convention," as well as being voted one of the "Top 10 Things To Do In Orlando" by DK Publishing's Travel Guide.

Little Airplane Academy will be conducting an intensive, three-day workshop titled "How To Make A Great Preschool Series." Participants will learn the fundamentals of creating a preschool series from pitching through writing, character design, directing and producing both live-action and animated shows.

Little Airplane Prods. is located at 207 Front Street (between Fulton and Beekman), South Street Seaport, New York, NY 10038.

The course is comprised of three full days as well as optional evening activities. The course will cost $1,500.

Ai-Kon is Manitoba's largest anime convention. An all-ages event, the goal of Ai-Kon is the promotion of Japanese/Asian animation and culture to the public. Started by the University of Manitoba Japanese Animation Club (UMAnime) in 2001, Ai-Kon took a re-organizational hiatus in 2002, returning in 2003. Ai-Kon has since become an autonomous event, run by an independent volunteer board. "Ai" means "love" in Japanese, hence Ai-Kon's slogan "For the Love of Anime." For more details, visit www.ai-kon.org/.

The Art Institute Of California - Los Angeles is hosting a job fair for companies looking for part-time and freelance positions. Employers in the areas of animation, graphic design, interactive media design, game art & design and video production will be on hand. The event is free to employers. It will take place from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at 2900 31st St., Big Room, Santa Monica, California 90405. For more information, contact Cedi Alo Rajah at (310) 314-6087 or calirajah@aii.edu. For more information, visit www.bam.org/film/series.aspx?id=87.

Starting at 8:00 pm at Stephen Parr's Oddball Films, ASIFA-San Francisco is holding its open screening. Films will include David Chai's new award winning COLE NEEDS WOMEN (prize winner at this year's ASIFA-East Annual Competition), Signe Baumane's highly acclaimed TEAT BEAT OF SEX (direct from Annecy Plus) and something totally outrageous from J.J. Sedelmajer.

From 6:00 - 9:00 pm, Gnomon School of Visual Effects welcomes back Pixologic for its first User Group Meeting since the release of ZBrush 3. Learn how two artists: Meats Meier and Ian Joyner use ZBrush to create models and illustration. In particular, Meier will be demonstrating his working processes when using ZBrush 3 for character creation and texturing and he'll show his efficient methods of base model creation using Zspheres. Then, he will take the sculpture all the way to a final model, ready to animate in an external 3D package.

Joss Whedon (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), Dark Horse and eBay have teamed to offer fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit down to a private dinner with Whedon at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Beginning on July 2, fans will have the opportunity to bid on seats at his table, all for a worthwhile cause. The charity auction also offers additional rarities, including signed editions of Dark Horse's upcoming SERENITY hardcover. For complete details, visit ebay.com/josswhedon.