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  • Battlestar Galactica Writer and Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore Joins Banff World Television Festival Master Class Lineup

26th March 2009

Battlestar Galactica Writer and Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore Joins Banff World Television Festival Master Class Lineup

Banff World Television FestivalToronto – Ronald D. Moore, Writer and Executive Producer of “Battlestar Galactica” is joining the Master Class speaker lineup at the Banff World Television Festival (BANFF). BANFF celebrates its 30th edition at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Canada, June 7–10, 2009.

Ronald D. Moore

Ronald Moore

“Banff’s Master Class series host some of the world’s most talented and successful TV creators,” commented Peter Vamos, BANFF Executive Director. “This is the place to hear firsthand the incredible knowledge and experience directly from the industry’s leading producers.”

“Battlestar Galactica” has been honored with a prestigious Peabody Award and twice as an official selection of the AFI’s (American Film Institute) top television programs. In 2006 Moore was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Dramatic Series, and in 2008 he won an Emmy for the “Battlestar Galactica” webisodes.

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26th March 2009

Audiokinetic unveils new partnership with McDSP

New effect plug-ins to be available for Wwise

audiokineticMontreal/San FranciscoAudiokinetic Inc. and McDSP announced today that they have entered a technical partnership. As part of this agreement, McDSP will develop plug-ins for Wwise, Audiokinetic’s audio pipeline solution.

Audiokinetic is the leading audio solution provider for the video game industry. Its flagship product, Wwise, revolutionizes the traditional game audio development process and allows users to audit, profile, and modify sounds in real-time within the game itself.

McDSP, a California-based software company, has been providing high-quality effect plug-ins for the last 10 years. Products like ML4000 (Multi-band Dynamics and Mastering Limiter) and Revolver (Flexible Convolution Reverb) reflect the company’s reputation of excellence, and have won several industry awards. Until now, McDSP plug-ins were available for Pro Tools only, and targeted the film and music industry.

As part of the partnership with Audiokinetic, McDSP will provide Wwise users with a selection of effect plug-ins, which will be accessible directly in Wwise’s user interface. Details about the plug-ins that will be available, as well as licensing particulars will be made public shortly; the plug-ins will be available in Wwise later in 2009.
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26th March 2009

A New Leader For Challenging Times – Dynamic Industry Professional Named CFTPA President and CEO

CFTPAOttawa – The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) is pleased to announce that Norm Bolen is joining the organization as President and CEO, effective April 15th.

Norm Bolen

Norm Bolen

Mr. Bolen is the former Executive Vice President, Content, for Alliance Atlantis Communications where he had overall programming responsibility for thirteen Canadian specialty networks, and where he led Alliance Atlantis’ web based and emerging new media content and all broadcast operations. Prior to joining Alliance Atlantis, Norm spent 21 years at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a journalist and executive. In his last position at the CBC he was the head of Network Television Current Affairs.

Mr. Bolen is currently Chair of the Banff World Television Festival, co-Chair of the Hot Docs International Documentary Festival and a Director of the National Screen Institute. Most recently, he has been a media consultant and a director of mDialog, a web-based high-resolution video distribution platform.

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26th March 2009

Voice Actors Honored Through 3rd Annual Voicey Awards

Voicey AwardsToronto – Voice actors around the world are taking note of news hot off the press, released on Voices.com’s blog, through an article indicating who the winners are of the industry’s coveted Voicey Awards. Voice overs are spoken word recordings performed by voice actors, perhaps better known to the world as unseen narrators, breathing life into every digital medium imaginable. The Voicey Awards pay tribute to works and contributions made over the year by individual and collaborating voice talent.

Winners of the 3rd Annual Voicey Awards include:

Best Male Voice: Dave DeAndrea
Best Female Voice: Amy Taylor
Best New Voice: Michelle Ann Dunphy
Best Foreign Voice: Wuzhi Lu
Best Child Voice: Grace Taylor
Best Teen Voice: Sophie Neveu
Best Voice Team: Robert Jadah and Diane Havens
Best Personal Branding: Julie Williams
Lifetime Achievement: Don Morrow

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26th March 2009

SEGA Speeds up Game Development with FileCatalyst Workflow

FileCatalystOttawa/San FranciscoUnlimi-Tech Software, the pioneer in accelerated file transfers is pleased to announce the selection of FileCatalyst Workflow by SEGA® Corporation. The deployment of FileCatalyst Workflow allows SEGA to successfully manage and transfer game development files, including game-supporting multimedia files, raw and binary game code.

The FileCatalyst Workflow software application is a unique file-based workflow solution that offers comprehensive tracking and management of files as they are processed through a digital workflow. The uniqueness of the application is exemplified by its ability to accelerate file transfers as they move from one project node to the other. Advanced acceleration algorithms allow for improved bandwidth utilization and data reduction – leading to file transfer rates of 100x faster than traditional FTP.

SEGA employs a global network that spans around the world with headquarters in the US, Japan, and Europe. File transfers between these locations were slow until now, due to high network latency, and tracking/workflow was non-existent.
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26th March 2009

Kids Help Phone Participates in YouTube Safety Centre

Kids Help PhoneTorontoKids Help Phone announced today that it is participating in Google’s launch of the YouTube Safety Centre in Canada. Kids Help Phone will be featured as a resource for kids on the dedicated Canadian pages containing online safety tips and resources for young people across the country.

“Kids Help Phone is very excited to be involved in YouTube’s new Safety Centre for Canada,” says Meghan Reddick, Director of Marketing, Kids Help Phone. “Our counsellors connect with kids from across Canada every day about issues like cyber-bullying, online safety, abuse and more. Through the YouTube Safety Centre, online users will have easy access to our counsellors and to information on our website – 24 hours a day, 365 day a year.”

YouTube users will be able to access the Safety Centre in the Help & Information section located in the bottom navigation bar of YouTube.com. When they click on Safety Centre, users will be directed to information about online safety as well as content from Kids Help Phone and other support organizations about issues like cyber citizenship, child and teen safety, hateful content, harassment and cyber-bullying and suicide.

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26th March 2009

PROTOTYPE To Be The First Title To Use DTS Neural Surround Sound

DTSVancouver/San Francisco – The next generation of video games are wowing gamers with unprecedented high def graphics and gameplay that pushes the boundaries of what the new systems have to offer. An exciting new technology now promises to bring game audio to the next level as well. At this year’s Game Developers Conference, DTS Inc will educate developers on their PROTOTYPEcutting edge DTS Neural Surround Sound technology that enables games to present real-time, discrete 7.1 soundtracks on the Wii, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and via PC.

“Our goal is to give developers the audio tools to help them create gaming experiences more immersive than ever before,” says Mark Tuffy, Director of Business Development, Interactive Media at DTS. “With our DTS Neural Surround technology, games will deliver true 360 degree gaming for the first time ever. The potential here for what sound does in a game is almost limitless.”

By using existing technology built into the systems, DTS Neural Surround is able to convert the 5.1 signal into a true 7.1 surround experience. Whether the signal is digital or analog, DTS Neural Surround is able to convert the sound into rich, fully immersive 7.1 channel surround sound. Now, when gamers hear something creeping up behind them, the sound will really be there.

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26th March 2009

Prince of Persia Wins at GDC Game Choice Awards

UbisoftMontreal/San FranciscoUbisoft Montreal’s Prince of Persia was the recipient Prince of Persiaof the Best Visual Arts award at last evening’s 9th Annual Game Developers Game Choice Awards, held at the Moscone Convention Centre in conjunction with the Game Developers’ Conference. The artwork in Prince of Persia is hauntingly beautiful, with rich, highly detailed environments. We at Village Gamer were lucky enough to have attended a recent SIGGRAPH Vancouver event which featured the artwork and creative processes used in developing Prince of Persia, and we extend our congratulations to the many artists who worked on the title.

Game Choice Awards Winners’ List

Game of the Year: Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)

Best Game Design: LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Writing: Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)

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26th March 2009

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor Goes Gold

THQ and Relic Entertainment to Deliver “Direct Fire” Control and Intense Combat in Newest Installment of Award-Winning Company of Heroes Franchise

Relic EntertainmentVancouverTHQ Inc. today announced Company of Heroes®: Tales of Valor™, the next chapter in the critically-acclaimed Company of Heroes franchise, has Company of Heroes Tales of Valorreached the gold master stage of development and has entered manufacturing. Developed by award-winning Real-Time Strategy (RTS) developer, Relic Entertainment, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor offers three, intense single-player campaigns, three new multiplayer modes and an innovative “direct-fire” feature that offers an unprecedented amount of control on the battlefield. Scheduled for a nationwide release at all major retail and online outlets on April 9, 2009, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor will be available as a Games for Windows® PC title for a suggested retail price of $29.99.

“Building upon the recent critical and commercial success of Dawn of War II, Relic Entertainment is set to deliver the next great chapter in the award-winning Company of Heroes franchise,” said Kevin Kraff, vice president of global brand management, THQ. “Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor strengthens Relic Entertainment’s reputation as a leading RTS developer, with an unwavering dedication to innovative, ground-breaking gameplay experiences.”

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25th March 2009

Delvinia shares insights that uncover and understand the nuances of Canadian consumers

Delvinia InteractiveToronto – Today, Delvinia has launched the first in a series of published insights that will help understand the digital behaviours and attitudes of Canadian consumers. The insights, driven by their proprietary Insight Engine will give a breadth and depth of understanding, that until now, not offered by digital marketing services firms.

“Given the economic slowdown of recent months, Delvinia recognizes the need to provide a tool that would uncover and understand what drives consumers,” said Adam Froman, President and CEO of Delvinia Group of Companies. “The insights can then be harnessed to create meaningful digital customer experiences that will engage and are relevant to various Canadian demographic groups across a number of consumer sectors. The data uncovered can be a real eye-opener.”

The first insights that Delvinia is releasing looks at two important consumer segments that warrant understanding and continue to represent a great deal of spend potential: Baby Boomers, those aged 45 to 65, and adults who Don Tapscott referred to as the Net Generation (NGen), classified as young, tech-savvy adults between the ages of 18 and 30.
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