– I.I. New York

Toronto-based International Image, which facilitates worldwide program deliveries for international producers and distributors, has opened a sales and marketing office in New York. The company, which recently opened a 20,000-square-foot facility in l.a., is undertaking the New York expansion in response to the increasing number of New York-based producers and distributors who send projects to i.i.’s Toronto and l.a. facilities. The New York office will be headed by the director of sales for eastern u.s., Louise Cote, who is also responsible for i.i.’s Quebec customers.

– There’s no biz

Coinciding with the Toronto International Film Festival, another entertainment event, Showbiz Expo, is coming to Toronto Sept. 7 and 8.

The conference and trade show will cover many aspects of production and post-production, focusing on an exploration of new technology. Conference seminars include interactive storytelling, discussions with top animators, a look at the studio of tomorrow, and a comparative demonstration of different film, video and digital video formats. For Showbiz Expo information call (416) 491-7565.

– Waveform expands

Toronto post facility Waveform Digital Productions is expanding its facility and its repertoire with new equipment, new people and a foray into feature film.

Waveform, launched almost a year ago, is undertaking a half-million-dollar upgrade, including the addition of a speedy Discreet Logic Flint suite running on a new R10000 processor-based sgi impact and the expansion of its space to include the second floor of its current Queen Street location.

Waveform will target smaller compositing jobs with the new Flint suite, says Waveform’s Stephan Cam, giving producers a cost-effective yet quick effects option.

Waveform is currently working on effects for Producers Network Associates’ The Cusp, a sci-fi effects feature starring Michael Pare that’s currently shooting in Toronto. Waveform hooked up with digital effects director Keith Hamilton to work on the picture.

Waveform will bring on freelance compositing artist Paul Cormack to take control at the Flint and will also train an operator in-house. The facility has also hired animator Nordin Rahhali, a junior animator, and is in the process of bringing on a producer. Meanwhile, Waveform head Dave Geldart is in l.a. working on a project with l.a.’s Digital Domain.

– A capital move

Toronto-based software supplier The Bulldog Group has secured $6 million in outside financing to back its efforts in the media asset management software category. The company recently launched its media asset management product for the manipulation of digital media assets like audio, video, html and graphics, and will utilize the new capital to expand sales and marketing initiatives in North America, Europe and Asia, as well as for research and development.

– Smashing ATOM

Toronto-based Soundmaster Group, a manufacturer of sound post-production hardware and software, recently released atom, the hardware base for the company’s ION Studio Operating Environment. atom incorporates Soundmaster’s syncro fast-locking synchronizer and smart sync, a patented varispeed lock feature. It is designed to exploit the capabilities of modular digital multitracks and nonlinear disc-based devices like digital dubbers and starts at $413,995.

Soundmaster will demonstrate atom with Avid Technologies’ AudioVision in the Avid booth at the fall Audio Engineering Society convention in Las Vegas.

– Web conference

Web Developer Canada ’96, a three-day conference for advanced business and technical training for Web site and intranet developers, is taking place at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre in Vancouver Sept. 16-18.

The conference features keynote presentations by Netscape Communications Canada president Todd Finch, Walid Mougayar, president of CyberManagement, and Natalie MacLean, Silicon Graphics Canada Web marketing manager.

Seminars will cover topics on Java, vrml, and Shockwave as well as Web strategies for businesses. For information call (203) 226-6967.

– Now you see it

Toronto’s Side Effects Software will announce at siggraph this year that it will begin shipping its Houdini 1.0 3D animation software. Houdini represents the next generation of animation environments, following up on the popular Prisms product. Houdini is a nonlinear animation system, which integrates 2D and 3D compositing and features a set of 60 modeling tools including nurbs, polygons, metaballs and particles.

– Legacy Alliance

Also at siggraph, Markham, Ont.-based Legacy Storage Systems and Indiana’s Imagine Products announced a strategic partnership to market Legacy’s Vastnss network storage server with Imagine’s Executive Librarian and Executive Producer video production and image management software systems.

Vastnss is a network storage server with a hard disc cache and linked tape array, with each tape drive capable of storing 50 gigabytes of uncompressed digital information.

Executive Librarian Version 2.0 is an asset management tool for storing and accessing all types of media, and the Executive Producer provides an image-enabled log of video footage.