AWN Headline News

Nichimen Graphics, Inc. (Nichimen), a manufacturer of technology for the 3Dcontent creation market, and Viewpoint(R) Digital, Inc. (Viewpoint),creator and publisher of a 3D digital content library, have releasedNendo(TM) & LiveArt(TM) SE Workshop, a combined graphics software packagethat provides 3D modeling and rendering tools for $99 (suggested retailprice).

The Workshop consists of Nendo v. 1.1, Nichimen's award-winning 3D modelingand 3D paint software, and Viewpoint's LiveArt SE software, with the

D.FILM and The New Venue in association with Atom Films and Evan's StarWars Cinema present a new online Star Wars-inspired filmmaking contest. Toenter, send in a short script for a Star Wars spoof. Short means very short- a story that can be told in two minutes or less. A panel of celebrityjudges (headed by a prominent member of the original Trilogy cast) willreview the scripts. At the end of April, the judges will select a script,and hand it over to a team of innovative digital filmmakers, including

The Cartoons on the Bay International Festival of Television Animation will be held April 20-24, 1999 Positano, Italy.

BBC1 has bought another season of New York-based BKN's POCKET DRAGONADVENTURES. The first season currently airs in the U.K. Monday and Thursdayat 3:45 pm on BBC1, averaging 1.3 million viewers, which represents about a37% share. The series features the mischievous little Pocket Dragons whoseek adventure in a magical world of wizards, knights and gargoyles.

Action's New Independent Talents Contest is aimed at the independent 3Dartist. Prizes include hardware and software as well as transfers to 35 mmfilm so that films may be shown in movie theatres. There is no entry fee.Deadline for entries is October 10, 1999. For more information visitwww.club-internet.fr/films-action.

TOPIX/Mad Dog has completed the animation for "Stick People," a :30 spot,with a :15 lift. The colorful, playful spot, which promotes Crayola ColorWipeoffs, removable water-based magic markers, for TBWA/Chiat Day (Toronto,ON) and Binney & Smith Canada (Markham, ON), rolled out throughout CanadaMarch 15th and will continue to air through the end of the year. In it, aboy's stick figure drawings come to life. "With Photoshop I drew thefigures, frame by frame, so that it's a bit like cel animation, but not

Yale University's Child Study Center, a division of Yale Medical School,has chosen New York's School of Visual Arts' Animation Department to createan animated film for use in autism research studies. The animation willtest the brain systems involved in social understanding, allowinginvestigators to test specific hypotheses about autism. The animatedexperiments will portray human interaction with geometric shapes. ReevesLehmann, Chair of the School's Film Video and Animation Department, is the

* Tuesday, April 27, 7:30 pm. San Francisco, California, USA.

ASIFA-San Franciso presents "Basic Principles of Traditional CharacterAnimation" with Mark West at the Exploratorium's McBean. Admission is free.This evening's event is the first in a proposed educational series byASIFA-SF, designed for people with a limited knowledge of animationtechniques. Mark West will present an illustrated lecture demonstration,using film clips to illustrate his points. West has been working as an

* Friday, May 7th, 7:30 pm. Los Angeles, California, USA.

The Film Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will present "ATaste of Tashlin: Early Hollywood Cartoons," cartoons by Frank Tashlinwhich he made before turning to live-action and going on to direct severalof Jerry Lewis' best films. The program includes PORKY'S POULTRY PLANT,PORKY IN THE NORTH WOODS, PORKY'S ROMANCE, THE MAJOR LIED TIL DAWN, THE FOXAND THE GRAPES, SCRAP HAPPY DAFFY, PORKY PIG'S FEAT, A CORNY CONCERTO,