Check out the new Animation on the Sunset Strip!
Animation World Network co-founder and president OF ACME FILMWORKS RonDiamond has begun curating "animation art" to be presented on Los Angeles'Sunset View Plaza Electronic Video Billboard on the world famous SunsetStrip. The video billboard provides all Sunset Boulevard west-boundtravelers an eyeful sampled from the world's most beautiful and evocativeanimation. Premiere, featured animation filmmakers are Aleksandra Korejwo,Poland; Raimund Krumme, Germany; Susan Loughlin, United Kingdom; Bill
September Acrobat Issue of Animation World Magazine Now Online!
It's fall and that means new TV! In this month's issue, Amid Amidi tells usabout the newest shows hitting the air. Sharon Schatz gives us insight intothe world of interactive television. Interactive television has beenavailable around the globe for years, but has only just come to the UnitedStates. We also go behind the scenes of Bob Clampett's "Time for Beany,"one of television's first daily live puppet shows, Japan's Toei AnimationStudios and one of France's hottest pilots, "Fats and Moe." We also have a
AWN welcomes new Affiliate - animation desk manufacturer AllenWood
Since 1994, AllenWood has been addressing the needs of the animationindustry, developing and manufacturing Animation Desks and Specialty WorkStations...
SAFO '99 Schedule and Workshop Program Now On-Line!
The 2nd annual Ottawa Student Animation Festival, scheduled for October21-24, 1999, has announced its schedule of events and workshop program...
DHIMA fall classes announced
The Fall semester starts October 6, 1999 at Santa Monica, California-basedDH Institute of Media Arts. Classes include: "3D Character Design(Sculpture)," "Basic Painting," a professional presentation: "Sell Yourself In Presentation," and "Storyboarding."...
Ecards.com is looking for FLASH DESIGNERS!
Set your own hours. Work on your own projects. Be your own boss. Becreative. This company is taking greeting cards to a new level of artistryand interactivity. Ecards.com utilizes Macromedia Flash technology toproduce the most dynamic and exciting electronic greeting cards on the Net!If you are proficient in Flash and can artistically conceptualize, here isa variety of creative jobs for you. Ecards.com offers freelance FlashDesigners the creative freedom to design compelling and entertaining
Plympton's Comic of the Week: "Samurai Clientele"
This week's comic is about the dangers of having a Samurai clientele...
This week's Animation Trivia Quiz: Animating Women
This week's AWN Animation Trivia Quiz features questions about animating women...
Store Special: Videos from Renowned Brazilian Animator
Now available in the AWN Store are two exclusive videos from renowned Brazilian Animator Marcos Magalhaes....
A.D.V Films releases more anime for fans
A.D.V. Films is releasing the following anime titles in the US. On November9: MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO VOLUME 1 - INVASION! - An unorthodox crewfights to save Earth from annihilation by Martians; COMPILER 2 - It'sCompiler versus Compiler in deadly showdown!; and ORIGINAL DIRTY PAIRVOLUME 4 - Kei and Yuri stumble upon a child who is the sole survivor of amass murder committed over twenty years ago. November 23: BUBBLEGUM CRISISVOLUME 2 - TRIAL BY FIRE - Sylia's brother Mackey joins the team as the
SONY FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP appoints five
SONY PICTURES FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP has appointed five key developmentexecutives. BOB HIGGINS has been promoted to Senior Vice President ofCreative Affairs; STACEY ATTANASIO has been named Senior Vice President ofProduction; JOE D'AMBROSIA has been named Executive Director of CreativeAffairs; TARA POLACIK has been promoted to Director of Creative Affairs andGRACE BENN has been named Creative Executive. Prior to his new appointment,BOB HIGGINS served as Vice President of Creative Affairs for Columbia
CARTOON NETWORK promotes MARK NORMAN
CARTOON NETWORK has promoted MARK NORMAN to senior vice president ofbusiness operations for Cartoon Network USA and BOOMERANG. Norman will beresponsible for long range strategic planning and forecasting, includingnetwork investments in original programming and program acquisitions. Hewill also oversee all business and operational aspects of the new CartoonNetwork Studio in Los Angeles, as well as orchestrate the launch and manageall operation of Boomerang, the network's new classic animation channelwhich will launch on April 1, 2000.
MILIA D'OR 2000 calls for entries
MILIA 2000, the World's Interactive Content Marketplace, will take placeFebruary 14-18, 2000 in Cannes, France. The sixth edition of the MILIA d'OrAwards - The World's Interactive Content Awards will be sponsored for thesecond consecutive year by DVD FORUM, an international associationdedicated to developing DVD formats and promoting its broad acceptance.Awards categories include interactive (games, family entertainment andlearning), as well as Interactive TV, e-commerce and online entertainment.
Disney launches Walt Disney Family Museum Website
A website devoted to Walt Disney has been launched atdisney.go.com/disneyatoz/waltdisney/home.html. The site coversDisney's entire career, and features clips from Disney's animated andlive-action films, as well as family photos and home movies.
PUFFIN DESIGNS announces COMMOTION DV and KNOLL LIGHT FACTORY
Sausalito, California-based Puffin Designs has announced Commotion DV, aprofessional image editing and effects program for digital video artists.Commotion DV is ideal for creating original stylized motion graphics andfixing image problems such as video dropouts. The SuperClone brush allowsusers to move and duplicate objects such as mountains, trees or clouds tocreate just the right background; fill in crowd scenes; or remove visualdistractions such as power lines or a wayward microphone. Playback controls
PIXELS: 3D V.3.2 is now shipping
San Diego, California-based Pixels, Inc. is shipping version 3.2 of PiXELS:3D for Power MacIntosh. The new version is 25% faster than the previousversion. Among the features are: an Inverse Kinematics system that lets youdraw bones and create joints; Organic Modeling that enables users to moldprimitive objects like clay; a MorphMaker that allows for multi-targetmorphing and an Animation Timeline that lets you fine tune the movement ofobjects. PiXELS: 3D 3.2 Studio version sells for US$299.00 and PiXELS: 3D3.2 Studio Pro version sells for US$499.
IRON GIANT comes to home video
Some fans, who are still shaking their heads over the poor boxoffice performance of the critically acclaimed THE IRON GIANT, director Brad Bird's adaptation of the children's book by British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, have suggested that Warner Bros. should re-vamp their publicity campaign for the film by targeting a larger audience than the young kids that were originally targeted, and re-release THE IRON GIANT theatrically. Such a scenario appears unlikely now that Warner Home Video has announced THE IRON GIANT for home video and DVD.
McFarlane releases YELLOW SUBMARINE action figures
McFarlane Toys is releasing four dual-packed assortments of action figures based on characters in YELLOW SUBMARINE featuring The Beatles, John, Paul, George and Ringo. Each card comes with two figures and accessories. John comes with Jeremy, the Nowhere Man; Paul comes with Glove, one of the Blue Meanies instruments of evil; George comes with the Yellow Submarine; and Ringo comes with a Blue Meanie. The figures will be released in late September or early October, and retail for between US$8 and $11.
Learn to write for TV Animation
Craig Miller and Marv Wolfman, who created and produced POCKET DRAGON ADVENTURES, are offering THINKING VISUALLY: HOW TO WRITE FOR TV ANIMATION, a single session class at The Learning Annex in Los Angeles. Topics to be covered include what's required to break in; what extra things you need to think of when writing animation; writing the premise, outline, and script; writing with your intended viewers in mind; working with story editors; and humor and action, how far can you go. Handouts will include a sample story premise, outline, and script.
Adobe announces new version of After Effects
San Jose, California-based Adobe Systems Incorporated has announced Adobe After Effects 4.1. After Effects is a tool for motion graphics designers and visual effects artists working with film, video, multimedia and the Web. Among the new features are: support for enhanced media exchange, performance enhancements, workflow refinements, and extended creative options and control. Adobe After Effects 4.1 will be available in September 1999 in the US and Canada for an estimated street price of US$699 for the standard version and US$1,499 for the production bundle.
Netscape to carry two animated series by Mondo
San Francisco, California-based Mondo Media, Inc. has announced a one-year deal with Netscape Communications, a subsidiary of America Online, Inc., to provide Netscape's Netcenter Web site with two weekly animated shows which will be presented under the banner of MONDO MINI SHOWS. LIKE, NEWS is written and directed by Don Asmussen, a regular cartoonist for TIME and GEORGE magazines, and features a sarcastic teenager with a nose ring who "interviews" newsmakers such as Saddam Hussein and Al Gore.
Dreamcast debuts with a glitch
Tens of thousands of gameboys in the US and Canada flocked to retail outlets early on the morning of Thursday, September 9 as the Sega Dreamcast videogame console was made available for the first time in North America. As Sega expected, sales for the console during the first 24-hours set a new record for biggest 24-hours in entertainment retail sales with a total of $97,904,618.09 (about 500,000 players at a retail price of $199). The previous record was held by STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE, with its $28 million boxoffice on its first day of release in May 1999.
New version of TICTACTOON 2D software released
Montreal, Canada-based Toon Boom Technologies Inc. is now shipping version 2.3 of TicTacToon. Some of the features included on this new version are the ability to: customize and modify the aspect ratio of each scene at any stage of production; work on up to three levels of animation simultaneously; drag and drop entire columns of drawings with their cel names and timing to and from the Animation and Exposure Sheet modules; make order and timing changes quickly in either module through insert, replace or append options; and draw paintable rectangular zones to close outer edges of any drawing.
THE SIXTH SENSE drops to second at US boxoffice
Buena Vista's supernatural thriller THE SIXTH SENSE, with visual effects byDreamQuest, finished second at the US weekend boxoffice after topping thelist for its first five weeks of release, grossing an estimated $17 millionover the weekend, for a total of $198.2 million. No other animation relatedfilms finished in the top ten.
New version of Toonz 2D software released
Italy, Rome-based Digital Video S.R.L. has announced Toonz version 4.3,which provides 2D users with new tools to be more creative and efficient ontheir job. The digital exposure sheet is much more user friendly, includingmany new special effects, complete keyframe capabilities on all parameters,and enlarged number of mathematical expressions for more controllablemotion. Enhancements of display features include icons in the level headerarea for quick reference of elements. Texture mapping has been strengthened
