Village Gamer

Disney XD is putting the ‘fan’ in Fangbone by giving viewers the power to call the shots for its latest pilot. The network’s new animated adventure follows the epic journey of a nine-year-old barbarian warrior and is getting an early start on DisneyXD.ca, where viewers can influence the pilot’s creative direction by voting for what they want to hear. Feedback from Disney XD fans on the interactive website will be incorporated into the show ahead of its network premiere in late January 2014. Read the rest of this entry »

The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, has announced that Studio Mokko Inc. has been granted financial assistance for the implementation of a structured marketing strategy, which will include the opening of a sales office, in China. Read the rest of this entry »

DigiBC is proud to present The Animation Show of Shows, a travelling selection of the year’s best animated short films, curated and presented by Ron Diamond, founder of California-based Acme Filmworks. The show’s mission is to bring exciting, groundbreaking animated short films to big screens around the world. Celebrating its 15th year, the tour will stop in Vancouver, with the event being hosted by Capilano University’s Bosa Centre for Film and Animation. Read the rest of this entry »

DHX Media and Walker Productions, a global division of the Walker Books Group, have won a CBBC commission for Hank Zipzer, which is to be produced by the UK’s Kindle Entertainment, DHX Media will handle international sales for this children’s show which will air on CBBC early next year. Hank Zipzer will feature multi-award winning actor Henry ‘The Fonz’ Winkler and is inspired by the book series Hank Zipzer: The World’s Greatest Underachiever, written by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver and published by Walker Books. Read the rest of this entry »

Today at Unite 2013 in Vancouver, California-based developers of award-winning facial animation and 3D real-time software Reallusion showcased the latest edition of iClone Animation Pipeline, which now includes the first universal facial control system for any 3D character. Once requiring a team of animators and weeks of work to bring characters to life, game developers who work in Unity are now able to accomplish their goals in a matter of days and with minimal production staff using the iClone Animation Pipeline. Read the rest of this entry »

From Unite 2013 in Vancouver: American 3D character animation pioneer Mixamo has announced the launch of Face Plus, a technology that brings facial animations to 3D characters with just a simple webcam and the Unity editor. Independent developers can now enrich their games with emotional experiences without the high cost and complexity of existing facial animation solutions.  With Face Plus, developers are now able to capture their own facial expressions via standard webcams and transfer them in real time onto a 3D character. A Unity plugin, Face Plus leverages the upcoming Unity 4.3 blendshape technology. Read the rest of this entry »

SIGGRAPH 2014 will take place next 12-14 August in Vancouver, and if you book your space now, you’ll pay only $37.00 USD per square foot with a 10% deposit due on booking. The price goes up on September 4th to $38.00 per square foot, and a 50% deposit will be required to secure your space if you apply after September 12th. Exhibit applications submitted after February 15, 2014 will require payment in full. SIGGRAPH 2014 in Vancouver is an incredible marketing opportunity for Canadian companies – this is your chance to show off Canadian talent and innovation to a global audience – on our own turf. Personally I hope to see a much higher percentage of Canadian companies exhibiting at SIGGRAPH 2014 than in 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

Unity Technologies has announced the long list of amazing projects included in the 2013 Unity Awards taking place during the company’s signature Unite 2013 conference taking place in Vancouver this August 28 – 30. Additionally, more information about the conference session schedule and sponsors has been released. The Unity Awards celebrate the talent and creativity from the Unity community, comprised of more than two million developers. Read the rest of this entry »

A world-renowned creative laboratory making breakthroughs in animation and stereoscopic 3D (S3D) cinema, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will showcase its auteur animators at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with four new films. Taking place September 5 to 15, the festival will feature premieres of NFB S3D animated shorts in its Short Cuts Canada program, with The End of Pinky by Claire Blanchet, Impromptu by Bruce Alcock (Global Mechanic Media/NFB), Gloria Victoria by Theodore Ushev and Subconscious Password by Chris Landreth. Read the rest of this entry »

Vancouver Animation School, a Canadian educational institution offering entry level and advanced programs for the animation, visual effects and video game industries, announced yesterday that the school has received its official accreditation from the accrediting body of British Columbia. Read the rest of this entry »