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).
Celebrating its 17th year, Florida's oldest film and video festivalcontinues its commitment to encourage, support, and foster independent filmmaking. The festival will tour throughout Central Florida and include such cities as Orlando, Melbourne, Gainesville, and Tampa. The festival accepts film and video shorts and features in all formats, genres, and categories (including animation, documentary, experimental, narrative, music videos, and features). More information, including the entry form, is available at www.cffvf.org. The late deadline is June 25, 1999 (late fees apply).
Dan Romanelli has signed a new long-term contract with Warner Bros., extending his tenure as president of Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products. Along with continuing responsibility for all the business units within the Warner Bros. Consumer Products division, such as Warner Bros. Licensing and Warner Bros. Studio Stores, Romanelli adds to his charter the ability to acquire properties intended primarily for the creation of licensing and merchandising franchises.
Data Motion Arts (DMA) has created the host character "Phred" for the new Noggin network. DMA's creative director Tony Caio was asked to create a character who is interactive, works on TV and on-line, and appeals to 6-to-12 year-olds. The result is a 2D character that appears tattooed on your forehead of different live-action faces. The PHRED ON YOUR HEAD show debuted on Nickelodeon on June 6th at 12:00 pm. You can view Phred on-line at www.noggin.com/build. Noggin is an educational TV channel and website, developed as a joint venture of Nickelodeon and Children's Television Workshop.
Beginning September 6, 1999, NODDY will air Monday through Friday on PBS stations in the US as part of PBS's "Ready to Learn" service. NODDY debuted in the US in the fall of 1998. The program's success has led to the production of 25 new episodes, bringing the total number of episodes to 65. The new episodes will begin airing in the fall of 1999. Based on the world-renowned children's books by Enid Blyton, NODDY, a show for children ages three to seven, is co-produced by BBC Worldwide, The Enid Blyton Company and Toronto-based Catalyst Entertainment, Inc.
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. continues its support of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund with the 1999 Spring Breaks. Over the last several years, Diamond has redoubled its efforts to turn these regional industry gatherings into fund-raisers for the CBLDF through live and silent auctions, special giveaways, and other events. This year, the Spring Breaks raised more than $2,400 to benefit the Fund. The Spring Breaks are the natural descendants of the annual Diamond Retailer Seminars and are sponsored by Diamond in conjunction with DC, Dark Horse, Image, Marvel, and other publishers.
ASIFA-Hollywood is looking for volunteer, professional animation artists and other talent to participate in Anifest '99...
The SAFO web site has been updated. Passes for the 2nd annual Ottawa Student Animation Festival (October 21-24, 1999) are now available for sale...
Both DHIMA and AIA have new classes starting in July. Highlights on the CG side (DHIMA) - Starts the week of July 12: Maya; 3D Max; After Effects; Photoshop; Avid NT Editing; Game Design and Programming - Level 1. Special offer to new DHIMA CG July students: DHIMA will give out SIGGRAPH '99 exhibit passes to the first 50 students who register for the July session. SIGGRAPH '99 will happen at the Los Angeles Convention Center, August 8-13, 1999.
AWN has compiled a list of 65 top animation books for purchase, in association with Amazon.com, the on-line bookstore...
The Cartoon Art Museum presents a show of animation art from the collectionof Mike and Jean Glad featuring Disney villains. Marc Davis, animator ofThumper, Tinkerbell, Malificent, and many other Disney characters, as wellas other Disney artists, will appear, although they will not be doingautographs. The opening takes place on Saturday, June 19, 1999, 6-8 pm, butthe show begins on June 16 and continues through September 5, 1999. Themuseum is located at 814 Mission Street, 2nd floor in San Francisco,
The April Fool's Day episode of SOUTH PARK which starred the kids' favoriteTV show characters, Terrance & Phillip, will be available in US stores onJune 15. This is the only full-length, half-hour episode featuring the twoCanadian action stars from the "show-within-a-show" on SOUTH PARK. Theepisode was broadcast on April 1, 1998, the date viewers were expecting tosee a cliffhanger identifying Cartman's father. As a result of this AprilFool's Day trick, Comedy Central received thousands of e-mails and letters
THE IRON GIANT, which opens in the US on August 6, will be accompanied bythe following merchandising. On August 3 Rhino Records will release THEIRON GIANT soundtrack. In addition to an original score by Michael Kamen(LETHAL WEAPON, 101 DALMATIONS), this collection includes tracks such asEddie Platt's 1958 hit "Cha-Hua-Hua," The Magnificents' "Let's Do TheCha-Cha," and Jimmie Haskell's "Rockin' In Orbit." Compiled by Rhino'sJames Austin, THE IRON GIANT soundtrack will retail for $16.1998/CD,
THOMAS AND THE MAGIC RAILROAD, a live-action/animated feature length film,is scheduled to begin shooting this month in England and Canada. Based onthe TV series THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE, the film is a co-production betweenDestination Film, Britt Allcroft Co. and Gullane Pictures. Icon FilmDistribution, the British releasing arm of Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey'sIcon Productions, will distribute the film in the UK. THOMAS THE TANKENGINE began as a series of children's books by the late Rev. Wilbert
