*Vanimators act up

The Vancouver Film School has added an acting workshop to its popular full-time 3D Animation Program, a seemingly unusual component but one which reflects the increasing awareness of the importance of the human element in the technical animation process.

The workshop uses masks to facilitate improvisation among 3D students as a means of heightening understanding of body movement and characterization in 3D animation.

In the workshop, animation students don masks and act out the personalities represented by the various faces they put on, working under the direction of actor/ instructor Frank Rader, who developed the workshop.

Director of Animation Studies Graeme Gish cites the combination of technical and creative factors that go into 3D animation and the benefit of bringing acting and characterization skills to the process.

*Smoke drops price

Discreet Logic has announced new pricing for its Smoke online nonlinear editing system, now available for $159,000. The company says the price change will bring the system to a broader range of potential users including smaller facilities, broadcasters and offline shops looking to expand their finishing capabilities.

*Houdini is Sheridan’s software of choice

Houdini 3D animation software from Toronto’s Side Effects Software will be the one and only package used in the country’s first Technical Director’s Program (now a year old) at Sheridan College.

The program was launched by Avrim Katzman, director of Sheridan’s Visualization Design Institute, as an optional second year to the Computer Animation program to meet the need for ‘computer animators with greater technical skill and tds with a stronger artistic background.’

Houdini was cited as the software of choice due to its emphasis on procedural animation which facilitates learning on the technical and problem-solving sides of the process and the fact that it is a comprehensive animation package.

*TEC for TASCAM

Audio equipment maker tascam was recently awarded the 1998 TEC Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement – Recording Devices/Storage for the DA-98 Digital Multitrack Recorder during the 105th AES Convention in San Francisco.

*Strand road show

Strand Lighting Canada has announced the launch of the new Quartzcolor II Television, Film and Location Luminaire line and has taken the show on the road to demonstrate the new products. Strand Lighting is touring the country in its decked-out tour bus and making stops at Strand dealers, production houses and other tv and theater-related companies this fall.

After stops throughout the West, the tour travels to Toronto (Nov. 3-7), Montreal (Nov. 9-10), Quebec City (Nov. 11) and in Halifax (Nov. 13).

For info see Strand’s Website (www.strand.ca).

*Shoot Shop buys DVCPro50

Toronto-based production and equipment company The Shoot Shop recently bought into the Panasonic DVCPro50 digital production format, with the acquisition of a AJ-D900W camera and AJ-D950 player recorder.

The shop is supplying the first Canadian broadcast show to be shot entirely with DVCPro50 technology, Lynette Jennings Design Show airing this fall. The technology will also be employed on an upcoming feature from Richard Story, Echo Lake, currently shooting in b.c.

Panasonic also recently sold its first complete DVCPro broadcast equipment system to Hamilton, Ont.-based OnTv. Most of the new equipment will be used in OnTv’s downtown Toronto news bureau.