HOLLYWOOD, CA — Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire DreamWorks SKG for $1.6 billion in cash and assumption of debt. The deal brings Paramount key assets, including:

· All of DreamWorks’ current projects in development;
· An ongoing production partnership with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen;
· An exclusive, worldwide distribution agreement with DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) beginning in 2006;
· DreamWorks’ live-action library;
· DreamWorks’ television division and its properties; and,
· Exclusive rights to future DreamWorks Animation characters in TV shows.

The announcement was made today by Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures.

Paramount also indicated that it is in advanced discussions with identified investors to sell DreamWorks’ film library, promptly after closing. Paramount would continue to have distribution rights to the film library. (Read the article)

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[ http://www.animonger.com/flashtools.html ]

by Rob Kohr

In the animation industry there exists a driving force to always do stuff cheaper and faster without sacrificing quality. About 5 years ago most independent animators began to make films using the computer, and little has changed over the years expense wise. Either you shell out the big bucks for animation packages such as Toons or Harmony or you look to the cheaper applications such as After Effects or Flash. More and more the industry is moving to these cheaper applications to do everything from TV animation to web. However these programs generally mean more complex workflows as well as longer production schedules.

Flash has a little known ability that allows those that know how, to program plug-ins to improve the workflow. In my search to save time at work I found this neat little plug-in for Flash MX 2004 and Flash 8 called the AnimSlider. (Read the article)

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