A Closer Look: The Brave New World of Internet Entertainment, Part 2
The past few weeks were marked with announcements regarding companiesbeginning to broadcast animation over the 'net, and this is only going tointensify...
The Acrobat issue of Animation World Magazine is now on-line!
This month Animation World Magazine is taking a special focus on AsianAnimation, especially Japan. Kosei Ono profiles Japanese artist, TadahitoMochinaga, and Gigi Hu introduces us to two of Japan's leading independentfilmmakers. A group of key creative talent from Blue Sky Studios recentlytoured Japan and have provided us with a scrapbook of photos and stories.Andrew Osmond takes an indepth look at the impact Japanese animation ishaving on animation made outside of Japan and we begin the first in a
Job Opportunities for an Academic Director and an Assistant Professor.
The Art Institutes International at San Francisco, a post-secondary,degree granting educational institution, is seeking a qualified candidateto serve as ACADEMIC DIRECTOR for its computer, multimedia and graphicdesign programs...
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Expo offers new pavilions.
ASIFA-Hollywood will host its 7th Annual Animation Expo on March 3-4, 2000,in Glendale, California...
Ottawa Festival recognizes industry achievements in animation
Ottawa '00 will take place from September 19-24, 2000. The OttawaInternational Animation Festival will recognize industry achievements inanimation with a new competition devoted solely to commissioned works...
Brussels 2000 announces official selection
Each year the Brussels Cartoon and Animated Film Festival programs the'cre de la cre' in international animation...
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'
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
Job Opportunity for an Assistant Professor of Design.
The Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning is lookingfor an Assistant Professor of Design, Digital Design for September 2000...
Imagina 2000, the rendez-vous for all Digital A/V Professionals.
The Imagina computer conference and festival is often referred to as theEuropean equivalent to SIGGRAPH. For its 19th edition, in keeping withtradition, the event will start in Monaco, January 31-February 2, 2000, butwill then continue in Paris February 2-4, 2000 with the exhibition of newindustrial developments and technologies. The events in Monaco include the"Prix Pixel-INA" awards competition, the Innovation Space, and variousconferences and panel discussions such as "2D/3D Animation," a discussion
Vanarts' Open House
The Classical and Computer Animation Graduating Class of Vancouver-basedVanArt School is holding an Open House on Thursday, December 9, from 6:00 -7:30 pm. VanArts is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at 837Beatty St. Please RSVP to Leslie Bishko: Tel.: (604) 682-2787; Email:bishko@vanarts.bc.ca. For more information on the school, visit the VanArts website.
New at Visual Magic Magazine.
Visual Magic Magazine, AWN's 3D animation and digital effects onlinemagazine, has posted five new articles...
What's New in the Student Corner?
If you are an artist, it is essential that you have an outstandingportfolio and demo reel...
Store Specials - Latest Copies of Yuri Nortsein's prints.
These limited edition autographed prints from Yuri Norstein's "Tales ofTales" and "Hedgehog in the Fog," made in Russia from the drawings Norsteinused to develop his characters, are hand signed by Norstein. Most of theproceeds from sales will go to help finance the ongoing production of"Overcoat," Yuri Norstein's famous work in progress, which he began aftercompleting "Tale of Tales" in 1978, and is based on a famous story byNikolai Gogol. This is a very limited offer, with the print value at
A Closer Look: French animation sets out to conquer the world
A year ago, French and other European animation professionals gathered atthe third "Crossroads of the Image of the Indian Ocean" to discuss Europeancartoons. At this event, financing is always a hot topic of discussion.France is the third largest producer of animation worldwide, after the U.S.and Japan. Production itself has greatly developed in recent years with theproliferation of television channels. In 1988 there weren't any 26half-hour episode series being done in Europe, now there are dozens every
