The Electronic Schoolhouse is a new program at SIGGRAPH providing educators and students with an environment in which they can explore and learn the many ways in which computer graphics are taught and used in the classroom. This program will launch at the 26th International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, August 8-13, 1999.
A new section has been added to the student corner. AWN is now offering Quicktime movies of student and independent animator films...
Animha Productions, a unique association of professionals dedicated to independent film production and animation workshops, recently produced "When the Water is Sick...," in association with the ASIFA Workshops Group. "When the Water is Sick..." has been shortlisted for an award at the 6th Bradford International Animation Festival (BAF!). It will also be included in a special compilation of animated films by children from around the world to be screened in Annecy, France, during the summer of 1999. Another new project has already been launched by Animha.
This Week's Special Feature In Awn's Ever Expanding Store: StarBlazers' Special Offer!
This week's comic is about the dangers of news reporting on nude beaches...
This week's updates to the Calendar of Events includes ten new animation-related events, including the London Effects & Animation Festival, ASIFA-Hollywood's 27th Annual Annie Awards and Nickelodeon's Animation Storyboard Competition...
The September edition of HOLLYWOOD SHORTS, a monthly short film series, will select ten animated shorts that will be screened at THE GIG on September 12, 1999 in Los Angeles, California. Shorts must be no longer than 30 minutes. A special edition of HOLLYWOOD SHORTS will be broadcast via the internet covering the Los Angeles fest. The deadline is July 31, 1999.
The Gathering 1999: Gargoyles World Tour, a convention devoted to Disney'sGARGOYLES TV series, will include an art show, workshops, a dealer's room,a gaming session, a radio show script-reading, a charity auction, and acostumed masquerade. Guests from the GARGOYLES show will include creatorGreg Weisman, who has also written for DC Comics' CAPTAIN ATOM and Sony'sMEN IN BLACK: THE SERIES among others, and is currently writing and editingfor Sony's upcoming STARSHIP TROOPERS CGI series; Frank Paur,
Disney's TARZAN finished second in the US weekend boxoffice race, grossingan estimated $23.5 million for a total of $77.02 million; Lucasfilm'sdigital effects-driven STAR WARS I: THE PHANTOM MENACE finished fifth andgrossed $14.6 million for a total of $352.16 million, becoming only thethird film to top $350 million in its initial domestic release and passingthis milestone in forty days, eighteen days faster than previous record holder TITANIC; Universal'sTHE MUMMY, with digital effects by ILM, finished seventh and grossed $2.1
The Third Annual MadCat International Women's Film Festival will feature independent and experimental works by women from around the world. MadCat will be featured on Tuesday evenings in September, 1999 at El Rio Outdoor Cinema, a seasonal screening venue in San Francisco. MadCat is seeking innovative and challenging works by women. All lengths and genres will be considered. Entry Fees range from US$ 10.00 to $30.00 per entry (pay whatever you can afford!). No fee is requested for international entrants. Entry deadline is July 10, 1999. For more information contact MadCat c/o A.
The 26th annual ASIFA-Hollywood Annie Awards ceremony, which honors thebest in animation, and took place on November 13, 1998, will be broadcaston TV for the first time ever on KCAL TV 9 in Los Angeles, California onJune 26, 1999 at 9 pm. The awards ceremony, which was hosted by comedianJay Thomas, was originally announced to be televised on the Fox FamilyChannel sometime last December. For more information visitwww.asifa-hollywood.org.
On Wednesday, June 23 at 7:30 pm in Burbank, California, Jerry Beck and TomSito will host a two hour presentation of the worst cartoons ever made. Theprogram will include one episode each of such cartoons as BUCKY AND PEPITO,POW WOW THE INDIAN BOY, THE FUNNY COMPANY, JOHNNY CYPHER IN DIMENSION ZERO,a King Features POPEYE cartoon, a very violent HERMAN AND KATNIP cartoon,THE BIG WORLD OF LITTLE ADAM, SUPER PRESIDENT and much more. All cartoonswill be projected in 16 mm with monophonic sound, and junk food will be
As of July 1, 1999 Graham Ralph is relinquishing his stake in London-based Hibbert Ralph Animation, which will then be known officially as HRA. This will enable Ralph to invest actively in future films and TV series' through a new company, Silver Fox Films. He will also be acquiring the rights to Hibbert Ralph Entertainment's library.
Warner Bros. is combining its feature and TV animation divisions under one roof in Sherman Oaks, California, and TV Animation President Jean MacCurdy will take on the responsibilities of supervising the production of Warner's animated features. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, President of Worldwide Theatrical Production, will continue to supervising the creative side of animated feature production.
Alias|Wavefront, an SGI company, is shipping Maya 2 for Microsoft Windows NT and Silicon Graphics IRIX workstations. Maya 2 includes a number of feature enhancements, timesaving workflow improvements, and across-the-board performance optimizations for 3D animation and visual effects. New features include Wavefront IPR (Interactive Photorealistic Renderer), a rendering technology that allows users to edit lights, shaders, textures and visual effects in a final rendered image.
Adobe has announced Adobe Photoshop 5.5 and Adobe Photoshop Limited Edition (LE) software. Photoshop LE offers tools for correcting and enhancing photos, compositing multiple images, creating original artwork with a variety of special effects, and outputting to desktop printers and common Web file formats. For graphics professionals, Adobe Photoshop 5.5 software provides additional precision and control, broader color mode support, and dynamic Web capabilities.
Macromedia Inc. has announcedthe worldwide availability of Flash 4. Flash 4 includes support for high-fidelity MP3 streaming audio and commands for creating interactive sites. In addition, Flash 4 streamlines the development process with a revamped authoring environment optimized to help developers create bandwidth-efficient Web sites. MP3 streaming audio support in Flash 4 allows designers to create new Web audio applications, such as long-form animations with voiceovers and background music, while keeping files small enough for low-bandwidth delivery.
Interactive Learning, a Division of Macromedia, Inc., has announced Attain Objects for Dreamweaver, an extension application for Dreamweaver which provides developers with a set of easy-to-use templates for creating Web-based learning and complex interactions that would otherwise be difficult and time consuming to build. The new release is compatible with Dreamweaver 2, Macromedia's software for professional Web site design.
The Moondance International Film Festival will be held in Park City, Utah, during the Sundance Film Festival in January 2000, and is open to all women screenwriters and film-makers from any country. All finalists and semi-finalists will have their work read in a public staged reading or viewed at The Moondance International Film Festival. Awards will be given for best original screenplay, best independent feature film, and best documentary, animation or short film. The entry deadline has been extended to September 1, 1999.
The London Effects & Animation Festival (LEAF) is part of Digital Media World, a creative technology event. LEAF, a leading European CGI event, will award the best work in the categories of Animated Commercials, Live Action Commercials, Short Film, Music Video, Feature Film, Student, Titles, Idents and Strings, Education and Simulation. The deadline for entries is September 17, 1999. For more information call 01244 393261; or visit www.digmedia.co.uk.
Work from the films of British animator Mark Baker will be on display as part of London, England's Museum of the Moving Image's animation exhibit from Tuesday, June 1 - Tuesday, August 31. For more information call 0171 401 2636.
AWN's 1999 Oscar showcase features "Jolly Roger," an Astley Baker production directed by Mark Baker at www.awn.com/oscars.For more information about MOMI, visit the
An animated Bill Plympton takes us through his life and career as a cartoonist and animator...
This week's comic is about various national treasures from around the world...
TARZAN, the new Disney animated feature that is based on TARZAN OF THE APESby Edgar Rice Burroughs, finished first in the weekend US boxoffice race,taking in $34,361,342. This is the second highest opening for an animatedfilm after THE LION KING which opened with $40.9 million in June 1994. STARWARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE, the digital effects driven action filmfrom Lucasfilm, finished fourth, grossing $18,859,021 to bring its total to$328,072,869; Universal's THE MUMMY, with digital effects by ILM, finished
Master animator Barry Purves will be teaching Acting for Animation at the Museum of the Moving Image in London. The class takes place from Saturday, July 10 to Sunday, July 11, from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm both days. Barry Purves is one of the world's leading stop-motion puppet animators. He began his career at Cosgrove Hall Productions working on such programs as THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. Since then Barry has gone on to write, direct, and animate several award-winning films: NEXT (1989), SCREEN PLAY (1992), RIGOLETTO (1993), and GILBERT & SULLIVAN (1998).
