The fourth annual Rome International Film Festival (RIFF) is now accepting entries for the 2007 event, scheduled for Sept. 6-9 in Rome, Georgia. For film submissions, go to http://www.withoutabox.com/login/3360 or visit the RIFF Web site at http://www.riff.tv. RIFF screens animated, experimental, documentary and narrative films, both short and feature length. The deadline for entries is 1 June 2007.

Quark VS InDesign.com (www.quarkvsindesign.com), the Authority on the War Between Desktop Publishing Giants QuarkXPress® and Adobe® InDesign®, today announced an open competition to redesign the icons for Adobe Creative Suite 3, CS3-version, and other Adobe software products. The contest is open to graphic designers, illustrators, interface designers, and skinners anywhere in the world. A cornucopia of software, books, and videos are offered to three winners in a prize chest valued at more than US$7,000.

In late December 2006, Adobe revealed a portion of its branding scheme for the next generation of Adobe applications, including the upcoming Creative Suite 3 and all CS3-version point products like Photoshop, InDesign, InCopy, Illustrator, and Acrobat. Except in a few instances, the branding scheme, which incorporates all the formerly Macromedia-published products, foregoes the symbols and iconography familiar to creative professionals from previous versions of the applications of the last 20 years in favor of color-coded, two-letter symbols for each application. The branding change has met with passionately polarized opinions—some creative professionals adore the new icons while others despise them. Without taking sides or expressing its own opinion, Quark VS InDesign.com created the Design Your Own Creative Suite 3 Icons Competition to give users of Adobe products the opportunity to express their visions of the perfect Creative Suite 3 application icons. Read the rest of this entry »

Deadline Reminder: Abstractions due Tuesday, 6 February 2007.

New Call for Entries: Interactions: Images of How People Interact With and To Each Other. Deadline 13 March 2007

Early Announcement: International Student Exhibition. Deadline: 18 April 2007. High School / College & Trade School Categories, Prospectus and online image submissions beginning 10 February 2007. Gallery Exhibition: June 7 through June 10, 2007; Online Exhibition: June 7 through December 31, 2007.

Awards will include: Scholarships and Photography Equipment; Inclusion in Artists’ ShowCase, the feature section in CameraArts magazine. Portfolio reproductions of Artists’ ShowCase for artists whose work is published. All work will be exhibited matted without frames to reduce exhibitors’ costs.

Details for all of the above Calls for Entry at The Center for Fine Art Photography.

All FIRST teams are invited to create a 30 second animation submission for the Autodesk Visualization Design Competition using Autodesk 3ds Max software that was donated by Autodesk. Teams are challenged to design an animation that best demonstrates the concept of the theme, showcases creativity and technical execution. The Autodesk Visualization Award recognizes outstanding student achievement in animation. Autodesk challenged teams to use Autodesk® 3ds Max® software to produce a 30-second animation that best depicts the theme assigned in the Autodesk competition. This is a terrific opportunity to see how imaginative teams can be using one of the greatest imagination tools in the world. The judges look for concept, creativity, and technical execution. Visit this page for your rules and regs.

Autodesk would like to honor those young inventors and engineers that make the FIRST Robotics Competition possible at Autodesk. Autodesk Inventor allows you to quickly and easily design and modify your robot using the same iterative techniques employed by professional engineers.The Autodesk Inventor Award recognizes outstanding student achievement in mechanical design of the team robot using Autodesk Inventor® software. The software gives teams the power to test designs and check for interferences in a virtual environment so issues can be resolved without creating a physical prototype. The judges look for quality of robot design, technical expertise, and presentation of the final design. Visit this page for your rules and regs.

At Left: “Arctic Antics” was the 59th consecutive entry into the parade. Ideas are being sought for next year’s float design.

Want a front row ticket to the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade and prime seats for the Rose Bowl game? Submit an entry into the Cal Poly Universities’ 2008 Rose Float concept contest.

The winning float concept will become the Cal Poly Universities’ 60th consecutive float in the Tournament of Roses Parade. Aside from having their float seen my millions around the world, the contest winner will also receive two tickets to the Rose Bowl and four tickets to the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena. The winner may also choose to forego the tickets in exchange for a $1,000 cash prize. Read the rest of this entry »

Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock’s artful, sometimes literal, sometimes distorted use of San Francisco architecture and geography in his 1957 suspense movie “Vertigo” is the topic of “The Architecture of Vertigo,” a free lecture by Sandy McLendon at 6 p.m. Thursday, 1 February, at the Speed Art Museum, 2035 S. Third St., Louisville, Kentucky.

McLendon is an architecture and design writer; editor of www.jetsetmodern.com, an online design magazine; and author of “PreFAB Elements” (HarperCollins: 2005). The talk is presented by the Hite Art Institute as part of the Frederic Lindley Morgan Lecture Series at the University of Louisville.

Screamfest prez Rachel Belofsky and partner Stan Winston (yep, the FX guru) have made their annual call for entries. There are three deadlines to mark on your calendar: For film submissions, 15 June is your early deadline, 15 July is the normal deadline and 15 August is the late deadline. That latter August date also applies to late screenplay submissions, while 15 June is the targeted normal deadline for you writers out there. So get crackin’! Visit the sitetitle for details and entry form.

At Right: “Long Days Short Life” is nationally known skateboard artist Patrick Jilbert’s first solo show.

“Long Days Short Life,” a first solo show for nationally known skateboard artist Patrick Jilbert, opens Friday with a 6 to 10 p.m. reception at Louisville’s Butcher Block Gallery, 931 E. Main St. Jilbert’s work has been included in many West Coast shows, including “Skate or Die” and “Blood Is the New Black.”

The Louisville exhibit, which continues through Feb. 28, is sponsored by Blood is the New Black, the company that sells T-shirts featuring Jilbert’s drawings, including his “Louisville Is for Haters” design. More of Jilbert’s work can be seen at www.patrickjilbert.com.

Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Saturday. The gallery, in the former Cinderblock gallery building, is operated by artists Lindsey Dobson and Matt Dobson and photographer and Louisville-based Bejeezus ‘zine founder Hillary Harrison.

The PLATFORM International Animation Festival will debut June 25- 30, 2007 in Portland, Oregon. The new, boundary-breaking festival and competition will feature films, installations and exhibitions.

Looking to fill the need for a major animation event in the U.S., the PLATFORM International Animation Festival will be a literal platform for artists, innovation, debate and discussion as well as set the stage to explore new developments in animation. The Festival program will feature premieres and retrospectives, exclusive screenings, guest speakers, exhibitions, workshops with leading artists, parties and networking opportunities with industry insiders. The Festival is being solely sponsored by Cartoon Network. Read the rest of this entry »