A new era Begins.

Con4erence , in Orlando, January 21-24, Texas Computer Education Association , in Austin, February 2-6, KidScreen in New York, February 11-13, Design Inda- ba in Cape Town, February 25-27, FESPACO in Ouaga- dougou, February 28-March 7, Cartoon Movie in Lyon, March 4-6, and the Game Development Con4erence in San Francisco, March 23-27. Make sure our paths cross soon and have a wonder4ul and animated 2009!<br><br> With the release o4 Toon Boom Animate , time has come 4or all digital animators to experience animation creation 4ollowing the Three F Formula : Freedom, Fluidity and Friendliness. Freedom comes 4rom the ability to create any style o4 animation you want, using symbols and pegs with bitmap and vector art, and to export your project in HD or 4or your mobile simultaneously. Fluidity results 4rom the beauty o4 creating content, animating and compositing all within one single application and relying on the most advanced animation technology available on the market.<br><br> Friendliness is the attitude Animate brings to the table thanks to its adaptable user inter4ace, its openness to Adobe ® products and its smooth integration into your toolkit. Animate comes with a Personal Learning Edition that will quickly convince you this is the best way to create digital animation. Check it out at toonboom.com/animate A n 0 6 e 4a B 0g 2 3s.<br><br> 3 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 tOOn BOOM StAr This section is dedicated to Toon Boom employees. In each issue, we will introduce you to the people behind the tech- nology and put a 4ace to the voice you may have spoken to. Gordie O 9Ishizuka Jr.<br><br> rst joined Toon Boom Animation in 2001 as the web integrator and designer. Since late 2006, Gordie has been the webmaster and principle web developer providing web-based support to Toon Boom clients and the Toon Boom team, developing Content Management Systems and other internal tools. A highly respected and integral member o9 the Toon Boom 9amily, Gordie works closely with the marketing department and the web designers, introducing new web 2.0 technologies and developing ways o9 enhancing the user 9s experience when they visit toonboom.com.<br><br> Most recently with the introduction o9 Toon Boom Animate, Gordie designed the web in9rastructure to handle the new licensing activa- tion process which will eventually be deployed with other Toon Boom products. Prior to Toon Boom, he worked at Bell Canada 9or ten years in Computer Systems Operations supporting and maintaining nancial applications. Gordie holds a Bachelor o9 Fine Arts 9rom Concordia University, Montreal and a College degree in Ceramics.<br><br> In his 9ree time, he nurtures his passion 9or pottery. Gordie pres- ently shares a studio with three other ceramists where he creates ceramic art and 9unctional ceramic wares. Clean 4un On the Awards side, Flip Boom continues to garner recognition and reap rewards!<br><br> Flip Boom won the Canadian New Media Award in the Excellence in Children 9s category, while the toy version o9 Flip Boom, which comes bundled with a tablet, received the highest rating given by the Canadian Toy Testing Council and a Recommended mention by Protégez- Vous 2009 Toy Report. The Flip Boom toy version was developed in conjunction with Maison Joseph Battat Ltd. and is marketed in Costco Canada stores.<br><br> To celebrate the Animate launch, Toon Boom toured North America throwing launch parties in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto. These events, hosted by Aaron Simpson , 4ounder o4 ColdHardFlash.com and Lineboil. com, were a great opportunity to meet and greet hundreds o4 digital animators and the 4eedback we received was overwhelmingly positive.<br><br> 4 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 4 CONSUMER NEWS Janet Perlman is a director o9 short animated lms and is based in Montreal, Canada. With 35 years experience in the industry Janet has a panoptic perspective o9 animation. She has worked extensively 9or the National Film Board o9 Canada, and 9or Acme Filmworks.<br><br> Her most recent lm, Hot Seat was done at Acme Filmworks using Toon Boom Studio and is 9eatured on Liberty Mutual 9s cResponsibility Proj- ect d website. She also has her own company which devel- ops animation 9or various plat9orms. Her work has received international acclaim, including an Oscar ® nomination in 1982 9or The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin and in 1984 she received an Emmy ® as an animator 9or working on R.O.<br><br> Blechman 9s The Soldier 9s Tale . Janet has also won several grand prizes at 9estivals throughout the world. Janet believes that, cToon Boom Studio has an e99ect on the overall look o9 a lm, and that the results are unique.<br><br> It gives a certain line quality that I think works well 9or very fat bold graphics. I love the direct connection 9rom rough to nished animation, all in the same program. d Her experience with Toon Boom Studio was a positive one and made the production process much 9aster and more economical. _________________________________________________ __ ________________________________ Living and working in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA, Leo Winstead is a 9reelance illustrator.<br><br> Leo 9s experience has taken him 9rom a production intern in Dreamworks Feature Animation 9s FX department where he learned 9rom noted animation talent, Tom Sito, to teaching clay animation in junior high school, to working on the live-action short This is My Body just last summer. Leo has worked in the pro9ession 9or the last seven years and has also done work 9or design rms, game developers, and book publishers including: Fleer, Z-man Games, Hinterwelt Enterprises, New World Publishers, and Purple Dragon Games. At the moment he is studying to become an Art Instruc- tor.<br><br> For the most part, Leo works alone so his workfow is somewhat non-traditional. cI storyboard right into the so9tware. Then I copy each board and create layouts by adding each scene, duplicating the boards, adding details and key poses.<br><br> Once I 9ve got the animation roughed in, I in-between on a separate drawing layer, combine every- thing and do some clean up work. For the 11th Station, I added in a shadow line so that I could show volume in the characters d he shared. Leo nds Studio 9s Scene Planning tools very easy to handle to make complex camera moves and use o9 multiple elements.<br><br> He also is enthusiastic about the time saved by using a Wacom tablet to draw directly in Studio and not having to scan paper drawings. _________________________________________________ __ ________________________________ Based in New York, Jonathan Charles Doyle is a Painter, Sculptor, Animator, Director, Set and Lighting Designer. With a quality and 9reedom o9 brushstroke in his art, Jonathan is not only an incredibly talented, outspoken and proli c artist, but can seemingly turn his hand to anything.<br><br> The animation he creates contains both humor and action. cThe drawing style is loose and trying not to be boxed in by a rote styl- ized 9orm, d he shared. Jonathan 9s experience with moving images is based on video production and he uses Final Cut Pro 9or editing videos, so he was pleased to learn that it was compatible with Toon Boom Studio.<br><br> Prior to using Studio, his animation experience had been 9airly limited and the method used was time consuming as he would draw each individual 9rame by hand on paper. cStudio allows me to work at light speed compared to my original work process, c he continued. cMy drawings can now be instantly duplicated, attached to motion pegs, I can use automatic lip sync, manipulate my drawings with intuitive drawing tools, add 3D camera move- ments and apply dynamic drop-shadow e99ects that instantly Image courtesy of Janet Perlman Image courtesy of Leo Winstead Image courtesy of Jonathan Charles Doyle 5 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 add dimensionality to my work, d enthused Jonathan.<br><br> cToon Boom Studio provides me the ability to realize projects 9ast- er and more e9 ciently. The Toon Boom technical support sta99 is very help9ul in aiding my education every step o9 the way, sometimes overextending themselves to help bring my project to 9ruition. I have learned much about how Studio works by using the well structured and easily understand- able tutorials provided on their website. d _________________________________________________ __ ________________________________ Daniel Tello is a Graphic Designer based in Falls Church, Virginia, USA.<br><br> From an early age Daniel has been interested in graphic design, he made his rst webpage in the 7 th grade and went on to study graphic design at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio. A9ter graduating in 2007, Daniel accepted a position with JDG Communications in Virginia. Although Daniel is a relative newcomer to the pro9ession, with just 3 years under his belt, he has already made a mark with the work he did on the U.S.<br><br> Federal Trades Commission project You Are Here. The mandate 9or this project was to construct an interactive educational website to teach middle-schoolers about being smart consumers. One o9 the bene ts o9 work- ing on You Are Here was that Daniel discovered Toon Boom Studio.<br><br> Initially, he had tried to use Flash on the project, but soon realized that with such an animation-heavy project it was going to be a daunting task. When Daniel 9ound out how easy it was to rig and animate cut-out animation char- acters using Toon Boom Studio he was delighted, and c& When I saw that the program had automated lip-syncing, I nearly 9ell out o9 my chair, d he said. It didn 9t take Daniel long to come up-to-speed on the program.<br><br> Daniel 9s experi- ence with Toon Boom Studio has led him to exclusively use it when he creates animation. O! a Pag a$s: B$ e!g e!g Ou& &h a B as& Heather Kenyon is a consultant specializing in the development and production o# animation. For fve years, she worked at Cartoon Network, where she was the Senior Director o# Development, Original Series, leading the development o# all series #or children 6 3 11 years o# age.<br><br> She is also the #ormer editor-in-chie# o# Animation World Network. / heatherkenyon.com At this year 9s MIPCOM, Joan and I were looking over some one pagers 9or up and coming projects. At a result, I thought a great place to start would be with a 9ew tips on how to make your one pagers come to li9e and really help sell your show.<br><br> " Broadcasters and co-production partners are drawn to new, unique and unusual projects. There9ore, avoid being bland and generic at all costs! Highlight what you think are the most interesting and distinc- tive 9eatures o9 your show.<br><br> Being mild or cautious will not help you break through all the market noise and get noticed. " Always include a log line, or a one-sentence descrip - tion, o9 your show. " Be concise but include a sense of your show 9s one- o9-a-kind tone and world.<br><br> " As you are describing your project hint at the types o9 episodes we could expect to see and what sort o9 adventure, drama or humor could happen. Avoid nonspeci c phrases like, canything can happen, d or cadventure and mayhem ensue. d " Include several pieces of art that re\xcect the tone of the show and also illustrate the relationships between characters. There should be one image o9 the entire cast together, then include a number o9 smaller images that show the characters interacting and moments o9 extreme action or comedy.<br><br> This helps give the viewer a better sense o9 the show. " Finally never be afraid to have a voice and a point-of- view! Have 9un with your one pager.<br><br> You don 9t need to include everything&just enough so someone says, cI want to know more&do you have a bible? d INDUSTRY TIP By Heather Kenyon Images courtesy of Daniel Tello 6 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 6 Clockwork Zoo 9s partners Vince Gibbons and Sean Rogers have been making television in South A9rica 9or 25 years. By investing in solid long term relationships Clockwork Zoo, based in Cape Town, has become one o9 the most highly respected production companies in A9rica. Their under- standing o9 the production pipeline is key to their success.<br><br> Through the youth magazine shows, HIP2B2 , Destina- tion South Africa , the teen talk show, Keeping it Real , their basketball show, Slam Dunk and the daily live co-production, Hectic Nine-9 , they produce over seven hours o9 program- ming each week. The critically acclaimed animated show URBO: The Adventures of Pax Afrika is currently airing with it 9s second season o9 52 episodes and they 9ve just complet- ed the pilot episode o9 Deadbeats , their adult show about slacker zombie housemates. Clockwork Zoo recently made the move 9rom Digital Pro to Harmony with 53 seats in the rst phase.<br><br> The company originally made the decision to move to Toon Boom a9ter completing 104 episodes o9 their series URBO: The Adventures of Pax Afrika in Flash. All new 2D development and production will be done in Harmony. cThe upgrade to Harmony has ensured a smoother, 9aster pipeline with 9ewer xes, and that means a better result 9or the client d, says Clockwork Zoo 9s head o9 Animation, Matthew Brown.<br><br> Sean Rogers, Clockwork Zoo 9s Manag- ing Director, says: cToon Boom has invested heavily in the South A9rican industry putting in place a regional o9 ce and special training o99ers. Joan really believed in our company and now its paying o99. d Led by Creative Director Wayne Brejcha and Executive Producer Sean Henry, Calabash Animation, Inc. is the Chicago based animation production studio, known 9or its award-winning cel, 3D and stop-motion animation 9or the advertising and entertainment industries.<br><br> Calabash Anima- tion is perhaps best known 9or their creative development o9 some o9 America 9s most beloved brand icons, including a comprehensive campaign 9or General Mills that includes both on-air and online components. The studio has made several signi cant investments in new animation talent and technology. cThis has been an amazing year 9or Cala- bash, d Henry said.<br><br> cThe assignments we 9re getting have been more exciting and challenging and it was the right time to reinvest in 9resh animation talent and some state o9 the art technology, including some tools that allow us to move to a more paperless workfow. d Speci cally, Cala- bash has welcomed animator Jessica Plummer, an accom- plished designer and animator hailing 9rom New York. The company has also recently taken delivery o9 several new Cintiq tablet display systems 9rom Wacom, as well as the latest versions o9 the Toon Boom Harmony so9tware. cToon Boom Harmony is a revolutionary team-based in9rastruc- ture 9or animation production that increases productivity, encourages creativity, perhaps most importantly, enables a paperless workfow.<br><br> These tools are incredibly power9ul and in the hands o9 our great animation team will allow us to deliver a superior product 9or client while also helping re ne our workfow so that it is more e9 cient, d said Henry, cand it also allows us to waste less paper in our produc- tions, so it is more environmentally sound. d _________________________________________________ __ ________________________________ Based in Ecuador, Quemacoco (Headburn) is a group o9 producers working together to make dreams come true, without limiting their creative inspiration. With this mission in mind, Quemacoco has become an audiovisual produc- tion and communication laboratory, bringing together a team o9 young pro9essionals who combine their experienc- es, knowledge, and, mainly, their desire o9 communicating c9resh ideas d and breaking stereotypes. The management team includes Renato Salazar, Creative Director; Daniel INDUSTRIAL NEWS Image courtesy of Calabash Animation Image courtesy of ClockWork Zoo 7 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 Jácome, Director and Fabricio Ulloa, Animation Director.<br><br> Quemacoco develops high quality products 9or TV, inter- net, multimedia, printed media, and mobile devices. Their services include creative assessment, art direction, commu- nication, animation, video production and post-produc- tion. Having a social responsibility has been important during the growth o9 the company.<br><br> cWorking with children made us understand that we don 9t have to think as adults, d shared Fabricio Ulloa. cToon Boom has become an impor- tant competitive advantage 9or the studio. The compatibil- ity with the SWF 9ormat has allowed us to create e-learning and multimedia systems with better interactivity.<br><br> The abil- ity to mix animation styles such as cut-out and classic, the auto lip-sync and the scene manager 9eatures reduce and improve radically the time and e99ort invested in our proj- ects. Toon Boom Animate will de nitively enhance our situ- ation and o9 our positioning in our country, d he added. _________________________________________________ __ ________________________________ Founded in 2007 by Carlo Harrietha and Jean-Mathieu Bérubé, En Pleine Face o99ers turnkey post-production services 9or audiovisual projects.<br><br> Whether it implies live- action shooting, animation creation, or a combination o9 the two, En Pleine Face takes care o9 all post-production steps, 9rom editing to audio mixing and mastering, compositing and 2D animation, all in one studio. In addition to creating several TV commercials, the team has started working with the stand-up comics Les Chick N 9Swell on Une année Chick N 9Swell , a 9eature length lm 9or Super-Écran. The team also works on Les Sans-Fils , a Teletoon series directed by Michel Courtemanche 9or which they extensively used Toon Boom Storyboard Pro.<br><br> cThis project is a puppet show targeted 9or teens and adults. Storyboard Pro o99ered us great fexibility at the level o9 work planning and reuse o9 assets, d shared Jean-Mathieu Bérubé. In 2008, the team was proud to pres- ent their rst 9eature length project.<br><br> Titled Cul-de-$ac , the 9eature has hit the 9estival route and took its spectators by surprise due to its breathtaking Asian-style action scenes. This daring approach is a rst in Quebec and opens the door to independent lmmakers to create any genre. Not only it is the rst local production with martial arts but also it is the rst one to combine live-action with animation, packed with special e99ects and stunts.<br><br> The animated sequence combines 2D and 3D and was done using Digital Pro. _________________________________________________ __ ________________________________ As summer approaches in the Southern hemisphere, there is more than the summer warming up Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2DLabs , a 9ull service studio that promises to serve cAnimation with a Tropical Twist d is gearing up to what will certainly be their hottest year yet!<br><br> With production o9 Jobi 9s Room (104 eps x 1 minute) in 9ull swing and pre-production 9or My Big Big Friend (52x11) just around the corner, things are getting busy! cWe are using Jobi 9s Room as a ramp up 9or My Big Big Friend. The one minute 9ormat is great 9or training and to get the new guys to cut their teeth into Digital Pro, d says animation director Andres Lieban.<br><br> The studio will triple its size 9rom 25 to over 75 people over the next 9 months. It will move 9rom Digital Pro to Harmony. André Breitman, the studio 9s head and executive producer to both series is looking 9orward to the change.<br><br> cA so9t- ware like Harmony will allow us to grow without losing control over the quality o9 our work. d My Big Big Friend will be co-produced with Breakthrough Entertainment and has been sold to Treehouse Television. cWe are proud to have been chosen by Treehouse. We admire their work and we are con dent that our show will dazzle them. d Image courtesy of Quemacoco Ideas Frescas Image courtesy of 2D Labs Image courtesy of En pleine face 8 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 TECHNOLOGY NEWS An Easy-to-Use Addition to the Existing Arsenal Toon Boom Animate 9s user 9riendliness and advanced creative capabilities make it a cool addition to your anima- tion toolkit.<br><br> Its shortcut sets seamlessly replicate the most standard animation environments. The Best Animation Toolset. Period.<br><br> Animate brings together the most advanced animation 9eature set available on the market, all embedded in a fexible environment: vector, bitmap, symbols, pegs, camera, morphing, inverse kinematics, advanced lip sync to name a 9ew. No Need to Cheat Animate adapts to your creative ways whether you are trained in traditional or digital animation. It also supports most standard 9ormats 9or seamless asset trans9er and multi-channel digital output.<br><br> Packaged in a streamlined user inter9ace, Animate o99ers power9ul vector-based drawing tools, superior timeline with symbols support, a robust library structure and interactive camera tools. In addition, Animate includes morphing, inverse kinematics and compositing capabilities conveniently set within one application. Animation unlimited.<br><br> Toon Boom just released Animate , a unique animation software that combines the best of digital cartoon animation with a creator-friendly attitude. No matter what your animation habits are, Toon Boom Animate knows how to take care o4 a 4ull project 4rom asset imports and content creation up to animation and compositing. Vectors, bitmaps, symbols, pegs, Animate combines them all 4or maximum 4reedom and per4ormance.<br><br> Animate 9s 4eatures and shortcut sets ft so nicely into your 4riendly circle o4 Adobe ® products and animation techniques that you will 4eel com4ortable in minutes. Set the action in style with its multiplane camera, Animate enables you to set up your scene in 3D, access a power4ul Graph editor and apply accurate Ease control on your action. 9 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 learning edition FREE ))).&oo!boom.com/a! ema& a Explore true digital animation Animate enables you to create tradigital and bitmap animation as well as combine both styles.<br><br> You can access advanced lip-sync and cell swapping tools to give an extra edge to your content creation process. Unleash your creative style Re ne your artwork style using multiple brush tools, textures and gradients to get a unique look and 9eel. Vector Art combined with bitmaps deliver a more pro9es- sional looking animation.<br><br> Animate #aster Symbols and pegs work in unison. Key9raming in cut-out and tradigital animation is a breeze. Easily ne-tune your animation to get the result you have imagined.<br><br> " Resolution-independent scenes combining vector and bitmap animation " High Resolution compositing engine with 16 bits per channel bitmap rendering " OpenGL accelerated 3D Space environment 4or accurate multi-plane camera setup and easy depth positioning " Automatic updates to all View windows when changes are made to drawings " Reusable elements and template stored in library " Unique real time anti-aliasing technology in working canvas Propel your animation to the next level Take a leap 9orward in your animation creation, thanks to morphing, inverse kinematics, library building, colour ID and the 15 most commonly used special e99ects built in Animate. Enjoy a smooth integration Animate can import leading le 9ormats, including MOV, SWF, PSD, AI and PDF, as well as export to video in MOV and FLV. Animate outputs 4:3, 16:9 and 9ull-HD 1920 x 1080 video 9ormats.<br><br> Get started immediately Animate is delivered with a host o9 practical extras, including a Getting Started Guide covering the various workfows you can explore to create animation, video training and many ready-to-use templates 9or a speedy learning experience. Take a leap 4orward in your animation creation, thanks to morphing, inverse kinematics, library building, colour ID and f4teen most commonly used special e44ects built into Animate. Whether you want to create artwork, set up your action or add special e44ects, or customize your workspace as you need, each tool comes with a contextual inter4ace that will let you set your pre4erences in a click.<br><br> 10 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 10 Case study House o9 Cool provides concept and pre-production envi- ronment and character designs, digital storyboard, and story development services 9or a host o9 clients in commer- cial, television, 9eature lm, gaming and interactive media. Broadening the scope o9 their services, House o9 Cool acquired high-end CG studio, Red Rover in June o9 2008. Red Rover Studios provides their clients with a variety o9 9ull CG and graphic design production services to complete the pre-production and production li9e cycles.<br><br> cWe 9eel it is a natural t as both studios are committed to quality and creative excellence as well as artistic and technical innova- tion d explained Wesley Lui, Co-9ounder and Director o9 Operations at House o9 Cool. Since opening the studio doors in June o9 2004, House o9 Cool has grown 9rom two employees to 65 artists, producers, production managers and management both at House o9 Cool and Red Rover Studios. House o9 Cool 9s rst big break came 9rom Nelvana.<br><br> They both worked together to develop a pre-production plat9orm, which would allow them to 9ocus on digital storyboards and designs. It was with Nelvana that they were introduced to Toon Boom and its array o9 so9tware capabilities. cToon Boom was an emerging 9orce in animation so9tware and is now the lead- ing innovator helping artists to create content while mini- mizing IT hiccups.<br><br> Toon Boom, primarily Toon Boom Story Board Pro, has allowed us to develop creative story in an e9 cient manner without sacri cing quality in our boards d continued Wesley. In the past, House o9 Cool created a show 9or Disney Television titled Lumber Jacksons . More recently, House o9 Cool developed kids television series Betty Banner Party House o4 Cool Sizzles on Storyboard Pro House o4 Cool Inc.<br><br> is a pre-production studio with a #ocus on the development o# original content. Their business is built on trans#orming their client 9s most valued intellectual properties into compelling and marketable products. They have developed and designed content #or Pixar Studios, Blue Sky Studios, Laika Entertainment, Universal Studios and the Weinstein Company.<br><br> They have also completed television series projects with Disney Studios and Nelvana Limited. Images courtesy of House of Cool Ricardo Curtis, Wesley Lui 11 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 c Chromaconcerto has triggered huge interest 4rom the music community. We are discussing the idea o4 making animated shorts as well as musical works 4rom two or three composers available on the net 4or people to create their own musical experience. d Planner and El Hombre La Mancha , signing a distribution agreement with DECODE Enter- tainment.<br><br> The team looks 9orward to gearing up 9or production on these properties as well as launching a number o9 new properties in the near 9uture. They are currently in develop- ment on two more children 9s animated series, Spaghetti West , a series o9 26 twenty minute episodes and Roboyo , a series o9 26 eleven minute episodes. The team behind the company is as cool as its name.<br><br> Let 9s introduce Ricardo Curtis , the Founder and President o9 House o9 Cool. Ricar- do has over eight animated 9eature lms under his belt as an animator, supervising animator, story artist and head o9 story distinctions on such lms as Monsters Inc ., The Incredibles (Pixar Studios) and Horton Hears A Who! (Blue Sky Studios).<br><br> He has taught at CalArts and Sheridan College 9or Animation and Story Development. Wesley Lui is Co-9ounder and Director o9 Operations. As a graduate o9 Wil9rid Laurier University with a degree in economics and with his past experience in commercial lending and investment advisor positions, Wes played an integral role in structuring the acquisition o9 high-end CG studio Red Rover by House o9 Cool, leading negotiation and valuation o9 the deal.<br><br> Andrew Ng is the Television Story Supervisor at House o9 Cool and attend- ed Sheridan College Classical Animation Program. He has worked in the industry since 1995 in various departments o9 pre-production and has been storyboarding since 2000. He is responsible 9or overseeing storyboards on series produc- tion, and producing high quality and consistent storyboards 9or all clients.<br><br> House o9 Cool has been using Toon Boom Storyboard Pro since 2007 in series production and has integrated it into their production pipeline. cThe program is very easy to get accustomed to since most people are computer savvy these days, and a9ter a day o9 training most board artists are up and running by day two. With the tools available in Storyboard Pro, we are better able to concentrate on story- telling and not the peripherals that make the job tedious, d commented Wesley.<br><br> cThere are numerous advantages to Storyboard Pro, the biggest being able to work more e99ectively with numer- ous board artists both in-house and 9reelance. Whereas storyboards are normally a solitary job, we can now build an e99ective team o9 artists that can maintain quality and consistency 9or our clients. Working with Directors has been simpli ed as they can now draw right onto the le instead o9 writing their revisions, which can be vague or misleading at times. d cBeing able to create one le that can be used 9rom the rough stage through to the nal board is very convenient.<br><br> It 9s a lot more di9 cult to have something go wrong with a computer le, which can be backed up numerous times, than a paper board where spilling a cup o9 co99ee on it can ruin weeks o9 work. By using a server, artists can now check their boards to previous boards to maintain a consistent look to a show, which is a big priority to clients who ask us to deliver season 9s worth o9 shows. d cThe 9ormatting tools in Storyboard Pro have been a great time saver in tight-deadline shows. Just re-numbering a storyboard 9or delivery can be a real messy and tedious chore, but with the renumbering tool, that stage is now an a9ter-thought.<br><br> I 9ve seen a lot o9 boards where something as important as Action Notes are illegible because artists tend to have messy handwriting, but being able to type it out saves us a lot o9 time and clients big headaches. d cThe turn-around on a board is much less complicated speci cally in regards to revisions. Being able to work on the original board to do the revisions, and not have it get muddled as it would on paper is great. Normally we 9d have to use post-it notes all over a revised board in order to save time, but that creates a cumbersome board.<br><br> And in practical 11 Andrew Ng 12 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 terms, getting a board with lots o9 post-its and tape through a photocopier is a real chore. d cBy having the digital board, we are now able to upload boards to multiple clients at the same time. This is especially use9ul when dealing with clients in multiple time zones, and o99ers a huge savings in time and shipping costs. Now every- one can get the board at the same time. d cStory artists are always trying to nd ways to be 9aster.<br><br> Since the job is repetitive in many respects, saving a minute here or there on a task can prove to be very bene cial in the long term. Not having to erase is a big one, now control z allows us to draw as 9reely as possible without having to worry about a misplaced line. We just get rid o9 it and start again. d cAnother thing clients love is that all the panels o9 a story- board now have a background in it.<br><br> Being able to drag a background layer into multi- ple panels makes the board aesthetically pleasing and much better to view during the leica stage. The transition 9rom paper to digital was very easy as most people these days are pretty savvy with comput- ers. Most people are up and running within a day, so there is very little learning curve. d cThe key 9eatures we are using the most are probably the Light Table tool, as well as the Onion Skin tool.<br><br> The Onion Skin tool is great 9or syncing up poses through long animation scenes, and the Light Table tool is great 9or when we go to clean-up. These tools allow us to concentrate on the actual drawing instead o9 worrying whether or not the character is getting bigger, or i9 the draw- ing has moved over time when it shouldn 9t. d cWe are also using the Library and Import 9unctions to bring in actual backgrounds to use in the board. This stops us 9rom wasting time re-draw- ing things that don 9t need to be reproduced 9or a storyboard, as well as ensuring that characters are acting in the actual environments that they will be inhabiting.<br><br> This is something that is bene cial all the way through production 9rom story- boarding to layout and to animation. d cWe have storyboard teams 9or shows that involve multiple episodes and the tool has allowed us to be a more e99ective team. Where be9ore, having someone help out on a board could sometimes be more trouble than it was worth, in terms o9 maintaining consistency, we can now have multi- ple people working on one board. We can then take those individual segments and place them back into the original le.<br><br> This allows us to hand out the board to multiple clean up artists and then recompile the board into one le. Since we can send them the whole le, they have an idea how their section is working with the rest o9 the board. This is espe- cially use9ul with 9reelance artists who would normally just receive their section and have no idea how it relates to the other parts. d cWhen Exporting, we normally use the PDF 9ormat since that is universally accepted.<br><br> Also, we export JPEG les to the clients so that they can create animatics. This is a huge time saver on their side, instead o9 having to scan in the paper boards and then li9t o99 each panel to go into their editing suites. d House o9 Cool and Red Rover 9s current plans include an ongoing drive to cross-pollinate the two studios creative and technical capabilities, as well as reaching more clients with innovative, high-calibre production and creative services. House o9 Cool also seeks to work with clients and strategic partners to develop its own library o9 extraordinary IP, push- ing entertainment content to new heights.<br><br> 13 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 14 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 Big Soul has developed and produced several award-winning television series, such as Moccasin Flats and numerous short lms such as Thomas King 9s I 9m Not The Indian You Had In Mind . Moccasin Flats 9 three seasons aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and Showcase Televi- sion and were the most success9ul Aboriginal programme, in addition to being the rst Aboriginal created, produced and controlled dramatic series in North America, to receive the distinction as a Best Dramatic Series Gemini nominee. In 2007, Big Soul started its rst animation project, titled By The Rapids .<br><br> It tells the story o9 a pampered urban teen, Cory Littlehorn, who has no choice but to adapt to li9e in the odd little Mohawk community o9 cBy The Rapids d when his parents 9ail to return 9rom a luxurious retreat to collect him. An hilarious comedy-animation, By The Rapids was creat- ed, written and directed by Mohawk lmmaker, Joseph Tekaroniake cDega d Lazare 9rom Kahnawake, a Mohawk community located just south o9 Montréal, Québec. Season One will consist o9 seven episodes and will air in Winter 2008.<br><br> Another six episodes have already been given the green light and another seven scripts are currently in development to complete Season Two. By The Rapids is available in both Mohawk and English languages. Additional team members include Peter Jensen - Producer and Production Manager, James Kinistino - Editor, Bojan Redzic - Animation Supervi- sor and Beverly Maguire - Animation Studio Coordinator.<br><br> Despite his young age, Dega Lazare brings a wealth o9 experience to the team. His story is a testament that dedi- cation, passion and talent can make dreams come true. At age 13, he created his rst short lm which received great reviews in Kahnawake.<br><br> Sel9-taught, Dega went on to produce two additional shorts which earned him an invitation to the 2002 Sundance Film Festival where he was noticed by Big Soul. He started working at the studio as an intern and took this opportunity to success9ully pitch and produce Might of the Starchaser that would make him, at the age o9 19, the youngest lmmaker at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Led by Laura J.<br><br> Milliken , the accomplished producer and entrepreneur, Big Soul Productions is celebrating its tenth anniversary, with a very impressive track record. Since its inception, the Toronto-based studio has been a leader in Aboriginal screen based content programming. Building its strength in live-action, the studio o##ers a complete range o# services #rom creative development, to pre-production up to post-production, #or #eature flms, series, documenta- ries, music videos and shorts.<br><br> Case study Images courtesy of Big Soul Productions Big Soul Animates Aboriginal Values and Humor using the Toon Boom Pipeline Dega Lazare, Laura Milliken, Peter Jensen, James Kinistino 15 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 While working as an intern at Big Soul, Dega pitched his By The Rapids idea to Laura Milliken, who a9ter seeing his 9our minute pitch, promoted the show to broadcast- ers. This is how the animated adventure started. During the summer o9 2007, Dega had to create a thirty minute pilot using entry-level animation so9tware that made his task quite challenging.<br><br> cThis is why we started to look at other options in the market place, either outsourcing to another Canadian studio or using better technology. On the costs side, it made more sense to equip ourselves with the right tools and all roads led to Toon Boom d shared Peter Jensen and James Kinistino. cWhen I started using Digital Pro, I really appreciated nding all the 9eatures I needed, d commented Dega.<br><br> cToon Boom was instrumental in making the show success9ul. The challenge was not to compromise any creative idea. The technology enabled us to match the vision with reality and deliver high entertainment value in each episode, d he continued.<br><br> By the Rapids uses a combination o9 traditional and cut- out animation techniques, and requires the team to work on both a part-time and 9ull-time basis over two shi9ts, seven days a week. The production team includes a studio coor- dinator, three background artists, three storyboard artists, six character designers and layout artists, six colour artists, three riggers and twenty animators. During the summer o9 2008, Big Soul hired hal9 o9 Max The Mutt 9s third year interns and many o9 them moved to di99erent tasks to devel- op their experience.<br><br> During pre-production, the main tool Dega uses with the team is Storyboard Pro, as he explained cOur storyboard artists work remotely so we send them the scripts; they create the boards and send them back to us 9or comments and approval. Storyboard Pro makes this process much 9aster. d Once the boards are approved, they are export- ed in the Digital Pro 9ormat to be used as a re9erence 9or timing and animation creation. Characters are drawn on paper and then scanned in to start building the library o9 assets.<br><br> cDigital Pro is a very power9ul animation so9tware. We make great use o9 the colour palette, camera, special e99ects and morphing capabilities throughout the project. All these advanced 9eatures save us a lot o9 time, especially when there are revisions that can be implemented in real time, d commented Bojan Redjic.<br><br> The team delivers 10.5 minutes o9 nal animation per week and the animation creation process becomes 9aster 9rom one week to the next thanks to the reuse o9 assets. With an additional six episodes recently approved, the team can 9oresee even more reuse and greater quality as the time savings will enable them to be more creative. As animation is a new eld 9or Big Soul, their goal is to build a strong capac- ity internally and position the studio as an animation 9acility as well.<br><br> They have additional animation projects in the works, among them a TV Christmas Special titled Coyote Solstice , to air on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2009. It is worth mentioning that Big Soul plays an active role on the training 9ront, injecting the production industry with a young talented 9orce coming 9rom the Aboriginal community. Big Soul is committed to creating capacity in the Canadian lm and television industry 9or Aboriginal people, who represent an extremely small percentage o9 pro9essionals in the eld.<br><br> The studio delivers its own custom designed lm and televi- sion empowerment training programs 9or Aboriginal youth entitled Project One Generation . So 9ar, over three hundred young people have been trained on skills related to live action production, both on camera and behind. In the eld o9 anima- tion, Big Soul is working closely with Max the Mutt to make sure the trainees learn all the animation principles and techniques.<br><br> Big Soul shows a lot o9 wisdom in its strong desire to make Aboriginal talent shine through live-action and animation proj- ects. It is important 9or them to present a di99erent side o9 the community than the more common one we see. Their mission is commendable and we wish them the best o9 success.<br><br> 16 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 Lead by Alex Gueriguian and David Nadezhdin (co-9ound- ers), Fidel Studios team is comprised o9 a variety o9 talent such as 2D animators, multimedia designers, developers and producers. What makes Fidel Studios di99erent 9rom other companies is its ability to o99er a range o9 services, 9rom traditional to emerging media such as animated content, graphic design, online virtual worlds, online games, interac- tive applications, and more recently mobile applications 9or the iPhone. The ability to combine quality animations and interactive applications makes Fidel Studios appealing to advertizing agencies and entertainment industries.<br><br> cIt 9s not about traditional vs digital. It 9s about change and we have noticed that the advertising and the entertainment industries are 9aced with new ways when creating and plan- ning projects. We believe that a collaborative approach to engage the consumer into an experience is relevant 9or the success o9 any project.<br><br> Our expertise in the eld o9 anima- tion, interactive and entertainment provides great insight on the strategy to adopt and deliver quality work all under one roo9, d stated Alex Gueriguian. cOur cross-discipline approach takes into perspec- tive multiple aspects o9 a brand, business, experience and environment allowing us to break the boundaries between di99erent mediums, d he continued. Fidel Studios o99ers a complete digital animation pipeline (paperless and 9ull animation process).<br><br> Their philosophy is based on the methods o9 the Golden Age o9 1940 9s Cartoons. To do so, Fidel Studios has equipped itsel9 with Toon Boom Digital Pro and Storyboard Pro. Each unit is appointed a Director with their own team to bring out the most o9 every project and the most o9 every team member.<br><br> Their objective is to produce long lasting projects and develop talent that will grow creatively together. Fidel Studios team relies on three main attributes which makes it innovative and consis- tent with the market 9s need to have its content evolve across multiple plat9orms. Alex Gueriguian , co-9ounder and digital director, has served the lm and advertizing industries in terms o9 digital content.<br><br> With a background in storytelling, design, anima- tion, online gaming and entertainment, his expertise come to play in terms o9 how to develop and deploy content across digital plat9orms to maximize exposure and user experience. David Nadezhdin , co-9ounder and interactive director, was a previous owner o9 an interactive rm be9ore co-9ounding Fidel Studios. His expertise in user experience, technical knowledge, and creative execution allows 9or every digital and interactive project to come together and attain its objectives.<br><br> Fidel Studios is an independent animation and interactive studio based in Montreal, Canada that produces evocative, expressive and relevant content #or a variety o# plat#orms such as, advertising, online gaming, entertainment and multi- media. With a background in flm, animation and multimedia combined with agency and production experience, Fidel Studios 9 goal is to provide clients and talent with an intimate environment #or ideas to be developed and achieved. Case study Fidel Studios Creates Engaging Content Using Toon Boom Paperless Pipeline Fidel Studios Viviane Collette, Alex Gueriguian, David Nadezhdin, Alberto Gonzalez, Andrew Fraticelli, Chantal Bédard, Alex Boyer, Rémi Joanettte, Jean-Laurent Ratel Images courtesy of Fidel Studios 17 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 A wonder9ul asset newly arrived at Fidel Studios is Chantal Bédard , a veteran and leader in the anima- tion industry.<br><br> She played an impor- tant role in helping the cartoon industry adopt digital technolo- gies. Over the last 12 years, Chan- tal has directed and produced many animated television series. Chantal also headed Oasis Anima- tion one o9 the largest animation studios in Montreal.<br><br> Some projects include, the popular series 6teen and a daily episode On s 9écoute parler (François Perusse) as a direc- tor. Fidel Studios is currently developing PedPals , an online virtual world 9or kids (ages 6 to 12) that provides them with the ability to create their own avatars, explore the world, play online games and join a social network. The project o99ers a back door approach to education, well-being and the discovery o9 new cultures with 9un and games.<br><br> For PedPals Fidel Studios used a paperless process in Digital Pro to design rich and detailed characters, props and backgrounds helping to achieve the level o9 detail required 9or the project. cThe project could have been drawn and animated in Flash, but Toon Boom o99ered more possibili- ties in the long run 9or the overall scalability o9 the project, d shared Chantal Bedard. The Fidel Studios team o9 2D artists was split into di99er- ent groups.<br><br> cA part o9 our artists would work on game play, backgrounds and props, while others, on the avatars, inte- rior and exterior locations. This simple structure helped us achieve an e9 cient production pipeline and reach the expected quality 9or the overall project. The lead artist collaborated with our interactive team to ensure a quick and e9 cient integration 9rom all o9 the animations into the plat9orm 9or development, d she continued.<br><br> Parallel to this project, Fidel Studios is also developing an animated teaser to promote the plat9orm. cIt is a great challenge to combine an interactive and animated experience using a compelling story to promote the online content, d stated Alex. In addition, Fidel Studios is currently nalizing the produc- tion o9 Eagle Creek , an animated 9eature lm 9or a mature audience.<br><br> Eagle Creek is a conceptual road movie that takes place on a gol9 course 9airway where playing gol9 leads to a high body count. The lm was produced using Digital Pro with a team o9 six animators over the course o9 15 months. It was a rst 9or Fidel Studios.<br><br> Unique in its genre, Eagle Creek is sure to catch the atten- tion o9 its audience with its edgy content and visual style. Using painted backgrounds and realistic looking characters, the director and lead animator, Keven Synnott, a Montreal based artist, tackled the project with passion and dedica- tion. cIt was possible to achieve such a surprising result in such a short lapse o9 time because our animation unit was providing creative and technical insight at every stage o9 the production.<br><br> Toon Boom provided us with the ability to create a traditional animation style that was very fuid, d explained Chantal. Fidel Studios 9 success is primarily based on the 9act that they take the time and make the e99ort by investing into their talent and projects. cAllowing time 9or research, develop- ment and optimization gives us an overall edge in deliver- ing memorable projects that are high in quality, scalable and cross-plat9orm, d concluded Alex.<br><br> Fidel Studios has certainly set a solid 9oundation to create unique content ready 9or delivery on-air, online and on-device, which per9ectly 9alls into current and 9uture entertainment needs. Congrats! Image courtesy of PedPals 18 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 SCHOOLS ON BOARD Founded in Lausanne in 1980, the school o9 visual arts Ceruleum has been 9ocusing mainly on developing work- shops and 9oundation class.<br><br> In 2005, two new programs were launched in the elds o9 Classical Animation and Illus- tration. The complete course o9 these programs takes place over three years, 36 hours o9 classes per week, ten months per year. A Master 9s in directing animated movies, spread out over two years, complete the o99er o9 the pro9essional programs.<br><br> The Classical Animation Program proposes to learn all the process o9 creating an animated lm, mainly 9rom the animator point o9 view. Most o9 the time is spent drawing on paper, observing and learning to understand the motion o9 li9e. They also approach the peripheral elds such as the storyboard or the character design and di99erent tech- niques like 3D or the stop-motion.<br><br> Toon Boom Digital Pro and Pencil Check Pro are the two principal tools used by the students. At the end o9 the three years, the students have to demonstrate their skills and abilities to work as animators. The Master proposes to go 9urther in storytelling, art devel- opment and production management 9or those who want to tell their story more than animate the stories o9 others.<br><br> _________________________________________________ __ ________________________________ Founded in 1991, Princess Sumaya Univer- sity 4or Technology (PSUT) is the non- pro t private Jordanian university. It is a leading university in in9ormation technol- ogy, communications, and electronics. It is regarded as a centre o9 educational excel- lence and recognized as a pioneer and an advanced Arab university in the domain o9 ICT.<br><br> In 2006 academic year, PSUT initiated the Computer Graphics and Animation program as the rst o9 its kind, not only in Jordan, but also in the region. The program was designed to o99er students a joy9ul, yet an artistic experience, in a scienti c plat9orm. The main goal o9 the program was to provide the students with the theoreti- cal background needed in the eld o9 digital graphics and the scienti c knowledge that exists behind the concept o9 computer animation.<br><br> PSUT has integrated Digital Pro and Storyboard Pro as the main tools to deliver their animation courses. The students are allowed to produce traditional and paperless animation 9or their class projects and to learn how to meet the standards o9 actual production in terms o9 quality and speed and to experience the 9ull production o9 animated movies in their nal projects. _________________________________________________ __ ________________________________ The animation program at Cégep du Vieux Montréal (CVM) will celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2009!<br><br> Since the begin- ning, two main objectives have guided the training program: develop strong traditional animation skills in students and meet the market place 9s requirements. At the end o9 the program, each student creates his/her own short, extensively going over all animation production steps, 9rom character design, to storyboarding, background design, animation and compositing. As the students have to meet the highest quality standards during the production o9 their shorts, Toon Boom technology was the most sensible choice.<br><br> In addition to Harmony, CVM has also integrated Pencil Check Pro 9or line testing and Digital Pro to introduce the cut-out animation techniques. At the end o9 the three-year program, gradu- ates leave with a solid knowledge in animation production, having developed a strong sense o9 versatility, competence and autonomy. These assets represent a solid 9oundation to build their own career and become key players in the anima- tion industry.<br><br> The year-end Gala is a great opportunity 9or the industry to express its appreciation o9 CVM graduates 9 excel- lent work, thanks to its strong and enthusiastic participation at the event year a9ter year. Image courtesy of Ceruleum 19 Toon Boom News winter 2008/2009 Earlier this year, Toon Boom Animation began a campaign to save the man behind the voice o4 the Toon Boom Animation tutorials, Emru Townsend . He was diagnosed with an aggressive 4orm o4 leukemia in December 2007, and in early 2008, he discovered he needed a bone marrow transplant.<br><br> His only sibling was not a match, and he quickly learned about the unrelated registries o4 donors worldwide, and the lack o4 visibility o4 accurate in4ormation about registration as a donor and the dona- tion process i4 someone proves to be a match. Emru treated his search 9or an unrelated donor in a similar manner to how he met new 9riends and colleagues in the anima- tion world. He reached out to other people, and was always glad to lend a hand, without worrying what he might get in return.<br><br> Emru 9ound a potential match in June, and in Septem- ber, the donor was still committed to providing a donation. Emru received a trans9usion o9 the donor 9s stem cells the day be9ore the Ottawa International Animation Festival, ttingly, at the Ottawa Hospital 10 minutes away. For this reason only, he missed his rst Ottawa 9estival in 20 years.<br><br> Despite his trans- plant success9ully engra9ting to his body, his cancer proved to be too resistant to chemotherapy and stem cell therapy, and he died peace9ully on November 11, in the presence o9 his 9amily. In addition to Toon Boom, he 9reelanced as a writer 9or So9timage and Autodesk. He 9ounded Frames Per Second magazine in 1991, which later became a website in 2003 that still runs today.<br><br> Emru was a vital part o9 the Montreal and international animation community, in person and online. He has asked that people learn more about becoming regis- tered donors, and sign up i9 they can. Toon Boom Animation is committed to helping get Emru 9s message across, even though his voice is now silent.<br><br> Here are some common 9acts about stem cell registration and donation that are o9ten unknown or misunderstood. 1. 70% o4 people requiring a stem cell transplant need an unre- lated donor.<br><br> The rst choice is a 9amily member, but more people will have to rely on a stranger. 2. Register by providing a blood sample in Quebec or the UK, or a cheek swab sample in the rest o4 Canada or the US.<br><br> In the US, UK and most o9 Canada, you can even ll in your registra- tion online and get a kit sent to your home. This is a 9ree service in Canada and the UK as well as many other countries. In the US, there are ways to register 9or 9ree.<br><br> 3. Donation is sa4e, 4ast, and not risky. You never donate stem cells or bone marrow at risk to your own li9e.<br><br> What- ever is donated replenishes itsel9 naturally in the body. There is a myth o9 extreme pain, which is one o9 the major reasons people do not donate. In 9act, the donor may 9eel achy and sore, and possible fu-like symptoms be9ore or shortly a9ter donation, depending on the process used.<br><br> 4. There are 2 ways to do it. 70% o9 people will donate in a process that takes a 9ew hours and is similar to donating blood.<br><br> For a 9ew days leading up to the extraction process, the donor receives injections to produce additional stem cells in the body. 30% o9 people will donate by having liquid marrow extracted 9rom within the back o9 the pelvic bone. The donor will be under general anesthetic or an analgesic will be applied in the area o9 extraction.<br><br> 5. Many people cannot fnd matches. There are 8 blood types, but 9or a stem cell match there are several million combinations o9 possible human leukocyte antigen (HLA) pro les - 150 billion di99erent possibilities in theory.<br><br> Blood type does not a99ect a matching. When a donor has a di99erent blood type, i9 the transplant works, the recip- ient 9s blood type will change! Even though blood is impor- tant, and people who need transplants (in addition to many other people) need donated blood to survive, people with a rare blood type can probably nd a match in a room with 100 people o9 di99erent ethnicity.<br><br> For someone looking 9or a stem cell match, they may need a stadium o9 20000 or 50 stadiums (or more) to nd a match. Then they have to hope that person is on the registry. The most likely match within the general population is someone o9 the same or similar ethnicity.<br><br> Many donor pools are severely underrepresented, including donors o9 A9rican, Aboriginal, Asian and Latino descent. It is vital 9or these numbers to increase to help more people nd matches. So 9ar due to the e99orts o9 many people who have continued to support this awareness campaign by spread- ing the word and getting registered, two matches other than Emru 9s have occurred.<br><br> To learn more, go to www.heal-emru.com. Questions can be directed to in9o@healemru.com. Resources: OneMatch (Canada): www.onematch.ca National Marrow Donor Program (US): www.marrow.org Anthony Nolan Trust (UK): www.anthony.nolan.org.uk Other registries: www.healemru.om/registries.php Image courtesy of Vicky Vriniotis REGISTER FOR LIFE Animating the world.<br><br> Animation unlimited. D escov a$ a )o$ld o b e!f! e& a poss eb el e& e as. / toonboom.com<br><br>

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