QAS profiles more animators
The Quickdraw Animation Society web site has been updated...
New additions to AWN's Calander of Events
This week's updates to the Calendar of Events includes the World AnimationCelebration in the U.S., and Anima Mundi 2000 in Brazil. The Calendar ofUpcoming Events is a constantly changing reference source for what'shappening around the World of Animation. Use it to stay abreast ofanimation related activities across the globe. If you know of animationrelated events that we don't have listed, send an email with the pertinent
This week's Animation Trivia Quiz: Pioneers in Computer Animation
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz...
Store Special: "Setting Up Your Shots"
"Setting Up Your Shots: Great Camera Moves Every Filmmaker Needs To Know,"was written by Jeremy Vineyard, a writer and director based in Los Angeles...
Harvey Makes The Net Richer
Harvey Entertainment Company has inked a deal with San Francisco-basedSpunky Productions, Inc., a digital media company, to produce anddistribute Richie Rich Web cartoons. The new toons will be available onboth SpunkyTown.com and the Harvey site. Spunky will adapt early comic bookadventures of the world's richest kid into 2 - 5 minute episodes to startairing during the holiday season. Product tie-ins will be developed by bothcompanies to be sold on both of their Web sites. Dan March, Director of New
Heisman Tackles Web
The Downtown Athletic Club (DAC), presenters of the Heisman Memorial Trophyfor the year's outstanding U.S. college American football player, havecontracted with Lemon Custard Comics, the San Francisco-based computeranimation production house, to produce a Flash-animated comic strip for theWeb to tell the story of the trophy and football in general. The firstinstallment, "The John W. Heisman Story," will run simultaneously onHeismanMemorialTrophy.com and LemonCustard.com. DAC plans to use the Web to
LIPSinc Releases Echo
LIPSinc., the producer of Ventriloquist for 3D Studio MAX, recentlyannounced that they had launched a new lip-synching program called Echo.Whereas Ventriloquist is a plug-in for 3D Studio MAX, Echo is a standaloneprogram which outputs in flipbook, dope sheet and function curve animationdata for animation platforms, interactive 3D game engines, and multimediaapplications. Timeline Studios, a company founded by best-selling authorMichael Crichton, is using Echo in the company's first title, slated for
Cinanima Cites Best
Cinanima '99 finished its week-long run on November 14, 1999. The Espinho,Portugal festival highlights the best in animation from around the globe.This year, the International Jury gave their Grand Prize to AlexanderPetrov's film THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. The Canadian and Japanese producedfilm also won the RTP Prize, an award given by the Portuguese StateChannel's special jury, and the Best Soundtrack Prize. TheCanadian-produced film by Eugene Fedorenko and Rose Newlove entitled
The LEAF Falls On Phantom Menace
On November 18, 1999, LEAF, the London Effects & Animation Festival,bestowed their award for best effects in a feature film on STAR WARS:PHANTOM MENACE. Over 700 industry personalities watched LEAF's finale, anhour long visual effects smorgasbord from around the world. Rob Coleman wason hand to except the award for Industrial Light & Magic's work on thePHANTOM MENACE. Other winners included: AKA Pizazz's "Megalomaniac" forbest commercial animation; Jason Shulman's HOLLOW for best student film;
Girls Inc. Honors Cartoon Net's Simensky
Linda Simensky, Cartoon Network's VP of original animation, received one ofGirls Inc.'s four 1999 honors. With over 50 years of service, Girls Inc.has been dedicated to helping American girls become strong, smart and boldthrough educational programs. Each year the organization honors industryexecs who have helped challenge and inspire young girls across America.Along with CBS pres. Nancy Tellem, Lifetime VP Kelly Goode Abugov, andEntertainment VP at WB Jordan Levin, Simensky was recognized for her work
Charles Schulz Retires
Charles Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the entirePEANUTS gang, has decided that he will retire in order to concentrate onbeating his newly diagnosed cancer. This desicion will end almost fivedecades of Schulz's world-famous comic. Schulz, who has always refused tolet another artist draw PEANUTS, said he would stop producing new dailypanels as of January 3, 2000 but allow his syndicators to recycle comicstrips from 1974 if newspapers still wanted to run the strip. On a daily
Flordia-based AARGH! screams for Cold-Eeze
Florida, U.S.-based AARGH! ANIMATION, Inc., one of the largest independentcel animation houses, has produced a series of national spots for Cold-Eezecold medicine that combine live-action with cel animation. The celanimation was directed by Mark Simon and Dave Kallaher of AARGH! Nowrunning and continuing through the cold season, these spots, three :10spots and two :30 spots, are running in heavy rotation on major U.S.networks. The spots feature live-action actors whose sneezes morph theminto animated characters.
Big Anime Flicks Re-Released
Urban Vision will soon re-release Vampire Hunter D and Wicked City. The
classic horror anime D will hit streets January 18, 2000 and Yoshiaki
Kawajiri's hit Wicked City debuted December 7, 1999. Both flicks will be
available in an English Dubbed version for US$19.95 and a Japanese with
English subtitles version for $29.95. Other anime titles coming soon to DVD
are Slayers: The Motion Picture, street date February 8, 2000 for $29.98
and Legend Of Crystania: The Motion Picture, street date February 8, 2000
Disney TV Toon Boss Exits
Disney's television animation chief Charles Hirschhorn has been given theboot. The now former head of Walt Disney Television and Walt DisneyTelevision animation officially exited the position on Wednesday, December8, 1999. It's speculated that Hirschhorn's responsibilities at WONDERFULWORLD OF DISNEY will most likely be taken over by ABC movies andmini-series head Susan Lyne, while his duties for TV animation anddirect-to-video flicks will most likely be folded into the feature
Pokemon 3?
Next summer the third feature installment of the POKEMON trilogy will makeits way to Japanese theatres. POCKET MONSTER: THE LORD OF THE UNKNOWN TOWERwill introduce yet another of those little "pocket things" to kids andmerchandising execs around the world. Kunihiko Yuyama is set to direct thefilm, which will feature a short tentatively titled POKEMON 2000. If in theU.S. or Europe one may ask, whatever happened to POKEMON 2? Well, fear notCharmander chums, the second POKEMON feature, which was released in Japan
Spike & Mike Won't Mellow The Net
"Spike & Mike" fest organizers, Mellow Manor Prods. has teamed up withNetcaster IFilm to bring its twisted toon vault exclusively to Cyberspace.The two year deal will allow Net surfers the chances to see animationshorts only previously showcased at the "Spike & Mike's Classic Festival ofAnimation" and "Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation."BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD-creator Mike Judge, SOUTH PARK's Trey Parker and MattStone, TOY STORY's John Lasseter, and the NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS'
Acme Filmworks is looking for an After Effects Artist
Hollywood-based animation production company Acme Filmworks is looking for
an After Effects Artist/Manager of Digital Department...
Last call for AWN's Winter 2000 Animation School Directory.
With the tremendous response of new schools, the publication of AWN'sAnimation School Directory Winter 2000 edition has been extended to January20, 2000. Educators and School Administrators, don't miss out! If youhaven't responded yet, you've got a few extra weeks to act. Every schoolgets a free basic listing, plus a profile in AWN's on-line Animation SchoolDatabase, where students and future students can search through the mostcomprehensively indexed and categorized list of animation schools on the
ASIFA Italy presents Art and Animation meetings.
December 19-20, 1999, ASIFA Italia, with the help of the Ministry ofCultural Affairs, the Regione Piemonte and the Comune di Torino, togetherwith the support of Young Artists Circle and the British Council andPro-Helvetia, is organizing a meeting and a series of films on the subjectof "Art & Animation" in Turin, Italy. The meeting aims to heightenawareness of animation as an art form with a particular stress onindependent research, experimental and artistic short films. The event is
New additions to AWN's Calendar of Events.
This week's updates to the Calendar of Events includes ten new events for2000, including the Nordic and Baltic Animation Festival Fredrikstad(former Oslo Festival - in May); Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films(June); as well as the L!censing (June) and SIGGRAPH (July) shows. TheCalendar of Upcoming Events is a constantly changing reference source forwhat's happening around the World of Animation. Use it to stay abreast of
John Canemaker Signing
* Saturday, December 18, 1999. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
John Canemaker, animator/author/director of the animation program at NYUTisch School of the Arts, will be in Los Angeles this month to sign copiesof his latest book on animation history: "Paper Dreams: The Art And ArtistsOf Disney Storyboards." Canemaker will be available at 2 pm at the HowardLowery Gallery, 3812 W. Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank, where he will sign"Paper Dreams" and copies of any and all of his many books on animation.
Correction: Annecy Festival at NATPE.
In last week's edition of the Spotlight, we mentioned that theInternational Festival of Animated Film will be present at NATPE, in NewOrleans, January 24-28, 2000, booth #2276. The festival booth will be #2976(and not 2276) located in the Animation Pavilion. For more information onAnnecy 2000, visit http://www.annecy.org or call (+33.4).50.10.09.00 (phone); (+33.4).50.10.09.70 (fax).
Indian Kids Make Toon In 2 Days
As part of the International Children's Film Festival in Hyderabad, Indiaon November 17 - 18, 1999, 45 children ages 5 - 15 years old came togetherto create a wildly imaginative, 5 minute animated short titled TOONED IN 2DAYS. The feat was done at a 2 day workshop on animation conducted by Dr.Neeraj's Animation Studios, the digital animation production facility ofSriven Multi-Tech Limited. Twenty of the studio's top animators, led byDhimant Vyas and Rajsekhar took on the responsibility of guiding the
Plympton's Comic of the Week.
Plympton's new series of comics extracted from the comic book, "SleazyCartoons of Bill Plympton," is for ADULTS ONLY...
Monte-Carlo Names Jury
The Monte-Carlo Television Festival has announced the members of theirinternational jury for the 2nd European Television Producer Award. GuyFournier, the Canadian writer/producer, will preside over the seven memberjury. Guy Fournier has written some 2000 hours of television drama forFrench and Canadian productions, over 150 hours of films and series fortelevision, plays for the theater, feature length films (FANTASTICA, UNEAMIE D'ENFANCE) and has also published a number of books. Other jury
