Toon Boom News Spring 2013.Pdf

Home , Bent Image Lab, Sherm Cohen, Toon Boom Animation

Channeling Creativity Towards Inﬁ nity

Toon Boom takes great pride in developing technologies that enable anyone to express their ideas. When customer feedback praises how comfortable they feel with the products, they’re thrilled to focus on what matters—expressing themselves visually. As our modern lifestyle revolves so intensely around technology, Toon Boom strives to provide the best creative experience possible for all, on both desktops and tablets.

While the team is globetrotting the world, the company moved to a new location, right in the Plateau area of Montreal. The Plateau is one of the most vibrant and dynamic districts with an abundance of multicultural entrepreneurs and businesses. We look forward to welcoming you here!

TRADE SHOWS

Toon Boom remains rooted in the ﬁ eld, with speaking front, after attending Rio Content Market 2013 (Febru- opportunities in Canada and road trips planned to Asia, ary 20–22), Cartoon Movie (March 6–8), and AQUOPS as well as Eastern and Western Europe. Joan Vogele- (March 26–28), the team will attend MIPTV (Booth C-109) sang was a guest speaker at the National Capital India in Cannes, France (April 8–11), ExpoPixel in Bologna, Italy Forum in Ottawa and participated at the Doing Business (April 15–17), and eLearning Africa in Windhoek, Namibia in India seminar at HEC Montreal. On the industry event (May 29–31, 2013). We hope to see you soon!

AWARDS

On February 2, 2013, the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, granted the Ub Iwerks Award for the Toon Boom Pipeline at the 40th Annual Annie Awards™. As part of the juried awards category, the Ub Iwerks Award recognizes the technical advancements that make a signiﬁ cant impact on the art or industry of animation, enabling freelancers and studios to collaborate on large productions. The gala event gave the Toon Boom team a wonder- ful opportunity to mingle and enjoy the moment with its customers and friends in the animation industry. From left to right: Diedrich Bader (presenter), Francisco Del Cueto, Marisa Labrador, Joan Vogelesang, Lilly Vogelesang, Karina Bessoudo toonboom.com/professionals and Robert Dancik.

This issue’s cover courtesy of BENT Image Lab Toon Boom Animation Inc. 4200 St.Laurent Blvd, Suite 1020 Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2W 2R2 +1 514 278 8666

toonboom.com A Corus® Entertainment Inc. Company Printed in Canada

2 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 In View With Larry King Focuses On 21st Century Education Featuring Toon Boom Aired on Discovery Channel on January 28, 2013, the In View with Larry King report on 21st century education illustrated the great beneﬁ ts of using Toon Boom’s creative technology in the classroom. As a test case, Toon Boom chose Bluffton Elementary School, South Caro- lina, for their students’ impressive achievements in a very short time, right after implementing the Flip Boom line into their core curriculum. Indeed, during the ﬁ rst year of implementation, this innovative approach translated into an increase of up to 15% in overall marks throughout the core curriculum, maintaining a much higher performance than the state level. There was also an over 40% increase in science, 36% in math, 12% in social studies, and 26% in writing amongst African-American students.

Integrating the arts into education goes far beyond teaching creative skills; it ampliﬁ es students’ learning experience and opens their horizon to become whatever they aspire to be. During the 2013 Oscars ceremony, First Lady Michelle Obama clearly stated that message which positions Toon Boom’s unique offerings for education as a natural companion to reach this goal. Watch all videos at toonboom.com/bluffton

EDUCATION

2013 started off with two major announcements related to Toon Boom’s dedication to education.

First, Toon Boom has recently joined one of ICTC’s youth and education initiative programs, the Arts Schools Network (ASN) in Focus on IT (FIT). At a time when youth unemployment order to collaboratively promote the is high, FIT provides the necessary building blocks for an benefi ts of using arts as a medium of innovative learning experience and encourages students communication to teach core curriculum to acquire 21st century skills in business, technology, and while developing students’ creativity. communications while completing their secondary school During the Spring of 2013, Toon Boom diploma. hosted a series of free 45-minute webinars on Animating Meeting the FIT standards is a testament of Toon Boom the Core and The Power of Digital Storytelling. Toon Boom Studio’s signifi cant pedagogic impact not only in Canada, will also attend ASN’s Annual Conference in New York in but also in the United States and beyond. October 2103. Their community of art leaders, schools, ICTC President and CEO Namir and organizations from around the world is very open to Anani, commented, “It is through the using creative technologies to teach all subjects, engage educational innovation of organizations, their students, and stimulate their interests. such as Toon Boom, that our Cana- dian students have access to fi rst-class artsschoolsnetwork.org curriculum that prepares Canadians for the ICT jobs of the future. Toon Boom Studio engages Second, Canada’s Information and Communications students in a meaningful way, exposing them to the Technology Council (ICTC) has recognized Toon Boom possibility of working in the interactive media fi eld, and Studio and its curriculum as one of the best vehicles to teach preparing them for the workforce through instilling critical 21st century business and technology skills to Canadian business and technology skills in them.” s t u d e n t s . T o o n B o o m h a s b e e n a p p r o v e d a s a n o f fi c i a l e d u c a - This great accomplishment will be carried over all of tional resource and curriculum to support the learning of Toon Boom’s educational initiatives worldwide. leading-edge skills among Canadian students through ictc-ctic.ca

Proud recipient of:

Emmy-Award Technology

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 3 TECHNOLOGY NEWS: PROFESSIONALS

From Mind to Media with Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 4

Following its crowning with a 2012 Primetime Emmy® Engineering Award, Toon Boom Storyboard Pro has leaped forward with a new version that efﬁ ciently and elegantly caters to live-action, gaming, and animation studios alike.

• Use Storyboard Pro • Take advantage of to plan live action Storyboard Pro’s projects, camera 3D toolset to plan angles, action, scene multiplane scenes, order, and script integrate 3D integration for televi- objects, and create sion or feature ﬁ lm basic animation for production advanced animatics

• Create and draw on • Plan animated proj- pixel-based bitmap ects, from shorts to layers television and ﬁ lm projects, making use of the advanced • Create storyboards drawing tools, layer for games, planning animation, camera workﬂ ows, and cut animation, and script scenes integration

• Use the new pixel- • Export from based colour picker, Storyboard Pro to and save colours in Animate, Animate the palette for reuse Pro, Harmony, or FBX for 2D, 3D, and mixed media • Export your project projects from Storyboard Pro to Premiere, Final • Create custom Cut Pro, or Avid for bitmap-style brushes animatics and live action projects, and to PDF for print

Watch the demo video and try it now! toonboom.com/storyboardpro

4 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 TOON BOOM STAR This section is dedicated to Toon Boom employees. In each issue, we will introduce you to the people behind the technology and put a face to the voice you may have spoken to. Vladyslav Pronin has been part of Toon Boom’s Web Marketing team since November 2011. He takes care of email marketing, paid search programs, affi liate marketing, online ad placement, content marketing as well as web analytics. Targeting multiple channels, Vlad also manages the weekly campaigns, which include promo- tions, upcoming events, announcements, social media contests and advertising and electronic newsletters. To bring quality traffi c to the website, he regularly conducts keyword research for organic and paid search. Keeping Toon Boom’s electronic communications fresh and effec- tive is one of Vlad’s key goals. Subscription, engagement, and conversion form the basis of all the programs he over- sees and delivers. Recently, he worked on migrating the affi liate program to a new platform to establish a better fl ow of communication with affi liates and to keep them aware of latest sales, products and content updates. Vlad is a graduate of McGill University with a Diploma in Infor- mation Technology and Internet Business. Before joining Toon Boom, he worked for Atelier ID on brand building and online program mandates for technology companies, in particular, related to military simulation and ERP software. Originally from Kiev, Ukraine, Vlad worked in fi lm production and advertising at Gulliver Film for six years, offering production services throughout Europe. Then, he moved to New York where he worked in fashion and photography for two years. On a personal note, Vlad nurtures two passions: the fi rst one is music. Trained as a classical pianist, he is now producing electronic music. Vlad has extensively read about academic and electronic dance music history, its social impact and its culmination in rave revolution of the late 80s. His other passion is classical European cinema and conceptual fi lms featuring directors, such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Jean-Luc Godard, David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, to name a few. Quite a nice mix of personal interests and technology background!

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 5 6 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 INDUSTRY TIPS Image courtesy of the Toon Boom Multimedia and Content Creation Team Making the Most of Script Notes by Donna Lisa

For all scriptwriters, including myself, a completed to have several readers, trusted readers, read the material. fi rst draft is like a newborn. Writers tend to be protective Usually, the consensus of notes is a conscientious method of their “babies”. It’s not easy for scribes to expose their to understand what works and what fl ops.” infant scripts to the scrutiny of notes, but they know it’s the From the perspective of consultants and producers, best way to help their creations grow. constructive notes can be illuminating. Consultant Lisa Why are notes worth the risk of exposure? How can Goldman explains, “The notes you give a writer must be they help? I’ve found that insightful notes can improve in the best interest of the story and help make it stronger all aspects of my scripts: dialogue, pacing, characters, on every front. Being the fresh eyes on a script allows the relationships, humor, visual impact, and marketability. The note giver to see things the writer can’t because he/she is process of giving and receiving notes can be a graceful too close to it.” dance, when the writer and note-giver are in sync, but Producer/Development Consultant Bonita Siegel sometimes the dance can be awkward. There are things believes the core of the story is tantamount. “When to consider when working together in this reciprocal giving notes, determining the intent of the writer comes relationship. fi rst. The notes should help to achieve and strengthen that I asked three writers, a consultant, and a producer goal. When receiving notes, writers should hold onto the the same question; “What is the most important thing to core concept, but remain open to ideas that add details. If remember when giving and receiving notes?” The writers notes change the core concept, discussion is required with agreed that being open to criticism is essential. the note-giver.” Writer Mike Rabb explains, “When it comes to taking Clearly, the giving and receiving of notes can be a notes you have to have a thick skin. Don’t fall so in love wonderfully collaborative process when both the writer with your writing that you can’t hear what the person and note-giver approach this relationship with a receptive, giving notes is saying, but remember that critiques are respectful mindset. subjective. It’s up to you to use what works and ignore the rest, unless you’re being paid. Then your choice to ignore Donna Lisa's scripts and songs have been is somewhat limited.” honored by iParenting , NAPPA, and other media Writer Monique Gramby concurs, “Don’t take notes organizations. Her screenplay, Kheng Kheng Crocodile, is under Agreement with Flat Rock personally. As a children’s writer, it’s important to be Pictures. Donna’s series, Bat Cat And Bitsy, will nimble and fl exible in our ever changing market. I view be produced by Engine 15 Media. Donna has notes as another tool in my arsenal to help me deliver a been working with producer, Bonita Siegel, on better, tighter script!” her series, Toucan You Can! Her CD (same title) received twenty international awards. Donna is Writer Kevin Caruso prefers collective notes, “A writer A&R Coordinator and a contributing songwriter must be a sponge when receiving notes. It’s always better on Playful Journeys.

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 7 INDUSTRY TIPS Image courtesy of the Toon Boom Multimedia and Content Creation Team

I Don’t Own My Work? What?! by Deborah Gonzalez, Esq. You've labored for hours but it was worth it–the IF the parties expressly agree in a written instrument characters are technically perfect and artfully crafted. And signed by them that the work shall be considered a work you’ve just been informed you can’t do anything with it made for hire. (See Copyright Offi ce’s Circular #9, Works because it is not yours. How could this happen? Didn’t Made for Hire).1 I tell you in a previous article that copyrights belong to How does this play out for animators? Well if you work the "author" of the creation and you are the author if you for a studio doing animation for their projects, you would created it? In most cases the answer is yes, but sometimes fall under scenario #1 above. Disney Studios, Nickelodeon, rights of ownership and copyrights belong to someone and Cartoon Network are examples of companies that other than the person who created it. How? For many would have this as part of their standard employment artists it comes down to three dirty words–“work for hire.” contract for animators. The “work for hire” doctrine basically states that an If the work you were doing was part of a feature-length employer owns whatever an employee creates. According animation you could fall under scenario #2b above. Pixar to the Copyright Act, this can occur in one of two ways: and DreamWorks would be examples, but also small animation production studios working on a specifi c project 1. A work prepared by an employee within the scope for someone other than them. of his or her employment; or It would be important for you as an animator to read 2. A work specially ordered or commissioned for use the employment contract you are given before starting a. As a contribution to a collective work that new job at the studio and see how they defi ne “work b. As a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual for hire.” It could be pretty broad, encompassing even work things you do outside of your work hours and work place c. As a translation IF certain conditions are met–things like using the studio’s d. As a supplementary work equipment (hardware, software, tools, etc.) or if they e. As a compilation withhold taxes from your paycheck. f. As an instructional text Perhaps you’re not an employee but a freelancer? g. As a test Does your contract read “independent contractor” or h. As answer material for a test “on commission?” Even if it does, read the clauses that i. As an atlas talk about intellectual property–does it state you are

8 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 “assigning” your copyrights to the person or organization Mind Your Business that hired you for this job? Under U.S. law, unless you assign your rights in writing, you retain the copyrights even when Time to Change Pre-production Rules you hand over your physical (or more often, digital) work. by Mark Simon Another question that comes up is can you use the work as part of your portfolio? Depends on the contract I really hate when old you signed in regards to the work. If a work for hire as production standards an employee, the employment contract should lay out and union and guild rules what you can and cannot use for your portfolio. You may get in the way of a better ask about using it as “fair use.” You would need to make process. sure that the portfolio and all its contents are under your New software, like Toon complete control and it reaches a limited audience for Boom’s Storyboard Pro, the sole reason of showcasing your skills to help sell your has forever changed the process of previz, storyboarding services. Depending on what the actual work is, keep and producing animatics, and now unions and productions in mind how much of the work you are showing in your need to change with the times. portfolio. Full video clips of an animation pilot would Last year I ran into a production exec who tried to probably not be permitted, especially if the animated stop board artists from editing their own animatics. video is being promoted for purchase. Tough chance. That boat has sailed. Every artist who uses There have been some very interesting cases regarding Storyboard Pro is editing their own animatics no matter who is the author and the work-for-hire doctrine issue. what anyone says. I was down at the Digital Domain studios (remember 1. 2003, an illustrator of Tarzan books, Burne Hogarth, them?) in Port St. Lucie training the board artists on using sued Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. for copyright the Storyboard Pro software. Once they saw the power of residuals. The court decided that Burne was a work the software they were all off and running and loving how for hire and not entitled to copyrights. it worked. 2. 2002, Stan Lee sues Marvel, claiming he is a One of the execs heard me talking to the artists about copyright owner of Spiderman and entitled to a editing animatics. That exec pulled me into her offi ce and portion of the profi ts from movie profi ts. Marvel told me the story artists were not allowed to edit animatics. claimed Stan’s contributions were based on work for They had an editor to do all the editing. hire and not entitled to profi ts. The case was settled I told her that it was easier and faster for the board for an undisclosed amount. artists to edit the fi rst pass of animatics as it happens while 3. 2012, Tony Moore, illustrator of graphic novels, they draw. Plus, only the board artist knows the timing of a sues Robert Kirkland, who claims he is the creator gag as they are drawing it. of The Walking Dead, for a share of profi ts form She told me it wasn't allowed for them to edit. I told the television show as co-creator and therefore her it didn’t matter what she said, what I said or what the co-owner of the copyrights. No decision yet. rules were, the board artists will take advantage of new storytelling tools, like drawing on a timeline. I told her they So as you are putting the fi nishing touches on your were already editing while we were arguing because they project, or even before you begin it, make sure you know can. It makes them better and they want to do it. Get used who owns the copyrights to the work–you or someone else. to it, we are doing it. Always check the contract. And if there is no contract, get The power, speed, fl exibility and the ability to make one made. Don’t let your rights, and potential profi ts, fl y better storyboards exists in one program, which is quickly out over the horizon. becoming the industry standard. Why would you stand in For a good reference on “work for hire” standards in the way of progress that is truly better, faster, and cheaper? other countries, see: http://tiny.cc/s57stw Get out of the way of progress. It’s happening whether you like it or not. We are story artists and now our story 1http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ09.pdf comes to life even faster!

Deborah Gonzalez, Esq. is an attorney focusing on intellectual property in the art, music, and entertainment Mark Simon is a director, producer, board artist industries. She especially enjoys her animation clients and artist advocate. He’s worked on over 3,000 and their projects. Deborah speaks at various conferenc- es and festivals to help educate artists about their rights. productions and works with TV show creators on To learn more about her practice and for more resources packaging and pitching their concepts. for artists check out her website at www.dgonzalezesq. com. Information provided in this article is for general Go to www.Storyboards-East.com and education purposes only and does not constitute legal www.SellYourTvConceptNow.com. advice.

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 9 CASE STUDY: TIMBUKTOONS Images courtesy of Timbuktoons of courtesy Images

OPERATING A CLOUD STUDIO USING TOON BOOM FROM START TO FINISH

Timbuktoons was founded in 2003 and is an award-winning cloud-based development, pre-production and 2D animation studio that specializes in creating family-friendly media for the broadcast, education and gaming industries. They’re known for their custom art directions and Their clients include: The Discovery Channel, Extreme making clients feel like they’re in the next room even Makeover Home Edition, 5 Hour Energy, The National though they may be thousands of miles away. Archives, The Department of Veteran's Affairs, Jellyfi sh Home to an onsite core team of talented artists from Labs/JellyTelly, and Compassion International. highly respected southeastern animation schools, such as They have pitched concepts to Cartoon Network, The Savannah College of Art and Design, Timbuktoons Disney Channels Worldwide, Disney Television Animation, has the latest technology, including a robust Toon Boom The Hub, BBC, PBS Kids, Porchlight Entertainment, pipeline (Storyboard Pro and Harmony) for all styles of Mission Pictures International, and several other networks traditional, digital, and rigged asset-based animation. and distribution companies. The studio also uses cloud technology to serve This dynamic and innovative studio is led by Todd customers in different time zones and manages a broad Hampson, Founder/Owner and Chief Artistic Offi cer, distributed team (The TimbukCloud Team) for larger or as well as Sean Copley, Creative Director and Cloud- niche projects that require additional artists and produc- Team Manager. Together, they cumulate over thirty-fi ve tion capabilities. years of experience in creative development, production The team boasts a roster of award-winning layout management, and art direction. and background artists, storyboard artists, voice artists, For almost a decade, Timbuktoons used Flash and writers, 2D and CG animators, sound designers, and After Effects pipelines, but decided to make the transition visual development artists. to Harmony because they needed a stand-alone solution This approach allows for rapid crewing up and down that offered high-end, feature quality capabilities. to fi t just about any project, and allows the studio to "One of our 2012 goals was to move to the Harmony deliver content to market more quickly and cost effec- pipeline as our primary workhorse in preparation for tively without compromising quality. doing more high-end animation," Todd said.

10 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 Timbuktoons had been using Storyboard/Storyboard Pro for several years as part of their pipeline and wanted to maximize Storyboard Pro's time saving techniques, such as: splitting up and exporting scenes directly to Harmony with a single command. "Since we're a small studio, we need every time saver we can get,” said Sean. Timbuktoons had been considering Harmony (and its earlier incarnations) for several years but was waiting for the right opportunity to make the switch. "Having stand-alone versions so that our offsite TimbukCloud Team members could be easily integrated was a big selling point for us, as were many other Both projects are part of their CWAC: "Cartoons features, such as complex character rigging and deform With A Cause" initiative available on their website at tools," Todd stated. http://timbuktoons.com/2012/10/cartoons-with-a-cause/. Timbuktoons identifi ed two Harmony related goals in The company will submit both shorts for various 2012: Producing a fully animated tradigital project and awards in 2013 and has won several awards for other producing a project using Harmony's character rigging productions in which Storyboard Pro was used includ- capabilities. ing: Mae Shares A Secret (2012 Gold Davey), Vacation To reach their fi rst goal the company produced Orbie, Surprise 2 (2012 Silver Davey), six commercials for [atc] a 10-minute pilot episode for a non-profi t organization AutoCenter (2011 Gold Davey, Silver Addy, Bronze Telly), helping orphans around the world. and a series of superhero themed how-to webisodes for For their second goal, they produced another Veteran Affairs (2012 Gold Telly, 2011 Gold Addy). 10-minute short called Tick Tock: Episode 2 that teaches Timbuktoons maintains a core team of key develop- kids how to fi nd help if they’re experiencing abuse. ers, art directors, and animators at their headquarters near Augusta, GA, as well as a distributed team (known as the TimbukCloud Team) of voice artists, storyboard/layout/background artists, 2D and CG animators, and writers. In the spring and summer, there are also a few interns enjoying brief stints on the production team. “Every production is different and we custom build solutions based on budget, time, style, and type of animation (traditional, tradigital, rigged characters, motion graphics, 2D/CG mix, stop motion, etc.)," stated Sean. For clients unfamiliar with the animation process, they developed a series of characters called Action Heroes of Animation: Masters of the Pipeline to help explain the process in a simple and fun way. Check out their instruc- tive and fun blog at http://timbuktoons.com/ category/timbuktoonblog/. They’re also currently working on an iOS app and eBook to further educate clients. Timbuktoons uses Storyboard Pro for live action, motion graphics, and character animation projects. Concept art is generated using mostly digital tools including: Sketchbook Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, and other industry standard software. They use Wacom Cintiqs to draw directly into these programs, so their pipeline is 100% tradigital from the fi rst stroke, unless

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 11 CASE STUDY: TIMBUKTOONS (CONTINUED)

For the fully animated Orbie scenes, they did a rough animation pass, clean up, digital ink and paint, and then shadow and highlight effects directly in Harmony. For the rigged characters in the Tick Tock short, they received fi les from Tod Carter at Brain Freeze Entertain- ment (producer of Episode 1), then developed three more rigged characters for Episode 2. Everything was created natively in Harmony including backgrounds and effects. the project calls for traditional media or actual hand- "The fact that we could get production-ready drawn animation. Harmony assets from another studio proved to us that "We have a traditional animation desk, but honestly Harmony was defi nitely a good fi t for our TimbukCloud Harmony's drawing tools are so true to traditional media Team model," stated Sean. that we rarely use it," explained Todd. "It works as a nice Timbuktoons now uses all Adobe products for post- prop and the kids all love to play with it when they come production (Premiere, After Effects, Audition) after to the studio!" switching from Apple Final Cut Pro Suite last year. Whether the production is fully animated or rigged- "We're really glad we added Harmony to our capa- character animation, Timbuktoons uses Storyboard Pro bilities. The integration with Storyboard Pro, the amazing for boarding and animatics and export the scenes direct- drawing tools, the powerful rigging and deform tools, ly to Harmony. the 3D camera, and several other features all helped save time and have set us up to produce high-end animation affordably at a time when the economy and amount of competition demands it," stated Todd. "2012 was a learning curve year for us and there's nothing better than an actual project to force you to fi gure it all out,” he continued. “Now that we have a few Harmony projects under out belt, we're going to be aggressive about diving deeper into Harmony's capabilities, as well as marketing our Storyboard Pro and Harmony services to studios and production companies that may need help with their productions.” Timbuktoons has big plans for 2013. Preparing to cele- brate its 10-year anniversary has spurred the company to identify new goals for the next decade and thoroughly update its business plan to take advantage of the current state of the advertising, animation, and gaming industries. They will be leading workshops at CTN Animation Expo in Burbank, CA again this year and further estab- lishing themselves as a key 2D animation development and production studio. They are also developing funding plans for their IPs and will begin seeking investors for the fi rst time in the history of the company. •

timbuktoons.com

12 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 CASE STUDY: BIG JUMP PRODUCTIONS Images courtesy of BIG JUMP Productions

MIXING TECHNIQUES AND TEAMS TO CREATE HOLIDAY MAGIC

Based in Ottawa, Canada, BIG JUMP Productions is represents another attractive asset for their clients in real- a privately owned, independent 2D hybrid animation izing their projects to the screen. production house. One of their latest productions stood out and received With its 4,000 square foot facility, BIG JUMP focuses on lots of attention due to the quality of its animation and quality and undertakes an average of two to three series the innovative approach BIG JUMP took to deliver it. The per year using the entire Toon Boom pipeline–namely Magic Hockey Skates (an Amberwood Entertainment Manager, Storyboard Pro, and Harmony. Their specialty production) is a twenty-two minute television special is a seamless combination of traditional and digital tech- that is sure to charm the young at heart for many years to niques, which deliver impressive results. Led by Rick come. The Magic Hockey Skates ﬁ rst aired on the Cana- Morrison, President, Cory Morrison, Vice President/ dian Broadcasting Channel (CBC) in English. Studio Director, and Rodrigo Amador, Vice President/ The Magic Hockey Skates tells the heartfelt story of a Studio Director, BIG JUMP brings together highly accred- young boy who begrudgingly buys second-hand skates ited specialists in all elements of production, producing which turn out to make him the best hockey player ever– projects from concept to post. Their collective experience via three magical wishes. Opting for a tradigital technique, in development, distribution, ﬁ nancing, and producing this production was a seamless mix of 50% traditional and

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 13 CASE STUDY: BIG JUMP PRODUCTIONS (CONTINUED)

da’s most famous hockey fi gures. The pre-production phase took approximately seven to eight weeks and went very smoothly. Moving on to production, Harmony was put to full use for animation and compositing. All designs (location and characters) including turnarounds were fi rst done in Photoshop and then sent to their Builds Department. Props were designed and created in Harmony, so they could be broken up as they were created. The Builds team redrew the characters in Harmony focusing on extensive breakdowns for the facial features, hair, and head struc- tures while keeping the bodies (arms and legs) very simple. “There are 180 characters in total, which represents an impressive library of assets,” explained Cory Morrison. “All animators had a Cintiq pen display which allowed them to create extreme subtleties to enhance expression in the characters’ faces. The animators then hand drew the arms and legs to achieve the desired look. Each animator was assigned a number of sequences and all animation was completed within fi ve weeks,” he continued. Once design was complete, they turned their attention to colour. Working together, the directors and art directors started to fl esh out the colour palette for the show. Design was being completed during the storyboard process. The pipeline was set up so the board artists 50% cut-out animation, combining character builds with could pitch their sequences to the directors, make revi- old school drawings to create the classical look and feel. sions and implement them. Once the board was complete Spanning over six months, this production created close to and designs done, layout followed. Production layout was sixty jobs, including four storyboard artists, thirty anima- executed in Photoshop as tight roughs; once approved, tors, six builders, and four compositors. the art moved to background paint. At this stage, all lines This production was headed up by Rick Morrison, were removed allowing the BG elements to be defi ned Studio Producer; Rodrigo Amador, Technical Direc- only by colour. tor; and Cory Morrison, Line Producer. The production With over 520 shots to complete, the hockey arena crew included these talented people: Shannan Thomson, at the head and tail of the show was built and laid out Line Producer; Sarah Mercy and Jason Boose, Direc- in Maya to achieve the integrity of the ice and surround- tors; Kris Pearn, Creative Consultant; Colin Tsandilis and ing structure, eliminating inconsistencies and allowing for Azalia Shin-Chin Liu, Animation Director Assistants; Rob a timely delivery. The Maya sequences, including ambi- Lundy, Builds Supervisor; David Badour and Robyn Moir, tious camera moves, were imported into Harmony for the Art Direction; Joshua Gay, Location Design and Layout animators to complete the shots. “The most challenging Supervisor; Allan Stewart, Lead Character Designer; were those scenes that contained crowds in the arena. Darren Ward, Props and Vehicle Design; Scott Armstrong, Lead 3D Designer; Jennifer Myers, Assembly Supervisor; Sy Nguyen, Lead Composi- tor; Miranda Brewer and Mathieu Hains, Senior Animators; and Daniel Elder, FX Animation Lead. Amberwood Entertain- ment provided the team with approved script and voices—one of them being Don Cherry, one of Cana-

14 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 In addition to the 3D arena, it included the crowd cheering in-house with remote talent enables us to grow the studio animation, as well as the ten players on the ice. Over 90 as production requires, while keeping the overhead down. stand-alone characters where designed to fi ll the stands. This approach allows us to tap into talent pools throughout They were all drawn in Photoshop and individually layered Ontario that we could not access otherwise. This translates in Harmony at the composite stage. We created roughly 20 into cost effi ciencies which are passed on to our clients,” cheering cycles using deformers on the actual Photoshop added Rick Morrison. fi les to achieve the desired look without having to do new “If it was not for the Toon Boom pipeline, we would builds. We then speckled the characters in each crowd not have been able to do the project. It is so much more shot to bring the audience to life. It worked wonders,” effi cient. We created a lot of drawings during the produc- stated Rodrigo. tion and Toon Boom is by far superior with its ability to The Assembly Department managed all the assets, draw directly into the system. At BIG JUMP it is paramount carefully referencing the storyboard along with detailed that we keep the artists at the heart of the creative. The lead sheets and assembling each shot with the appropriate Magic Hockey Skates was inspired by a traditional sensibil- builds, background, and design for the animation team. ity and we strived to maintain that unique look and feel,” ”We initially focused on shots that required FX concluded Rick Morrison. elements, moving them quickly into animation. As shots BIG JUMP has its roots fi rmly planted as an animation were completed, they went to composite,” added Rodrigo production services facility and that will not change. In Amador. addition to being a source for producers and broadcast- In parallel with Harmony, BIG JUMP extensively used ers globally, they are venturing into proprietary IP. The Manager. Some of the team working on the project was transition is a challenging one to say the least, thus they located remotely, including both animation directors. They will not be venturing out alone. BIG JUMP is presently in provided each one with a stand-alone version of Harmony discussions with various partners in Canada and abroad to along with the fi les required to deliver their portion of the assist them in realizing their concepts to the screen. Look animation. “Manager has been integral in keeping every- for them at the Kidscreen Summit 2013! • thing effi cient and most importantly, keeping the lines of communication open,” shared Rick Morrison. “Combining bigjumpproductions.com

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 15 CASE STUDY: BENT IMAGE LAB Images courtesy of BENT Image Lab

MIGRATING TO HARMONY

BENT Image Lab is a Portland, Oregon based production company and creative laboratory, known for melding art, design, and storytelling. It’s a place where the brightest ideas are driven with an artist’s passion and realized through the use of cutting-edge technology.

Established in 2002, BENT specializes in wildly creative work. BENT’s long list of spots, music videos, animated spots and videos that range from the frenetic to the fi lms, and promos has earned impressive recognition from deeply moving. Koodo Mobile, Golden Grahams, Micro- top fi lm festivals and industry shows, including SXSW, the soft, Diet Dr. Pepper, Mastercard, Thom Yorke, Modest Clios, Cannes, Sundance, the Chicago Film Festival, AICP/ Mouse, They Might Be Giants, Coca-Cola, Guitar Hero, MoMA, the Rosey awards, the Broadcast Design Awards, Cartoon Network, TLC, Hallmark Channel, NBC’s Grimm, the Tribeca Film Festival, the Rotterdam Film Festival, IFC’s Portlandia and fi lm directors Todd Haynes and Gus and the Florida Film Festival. BENT’s principals are David Van Sant are just a few of the high-profi le clients that have Daniels, Chel White, Ray Di Carlo and Tsui Ling Toomer. called on BENT for some of their quirky, highly original BENT was mandated by the Hallmark Channel to create a fun animated short for Halloween using the popular ecard characters Hoops (a pink cat) and Yoyo (a green bunny). The plot brings together both characters who get trapped in a haunted mall on Halloween night. Entitled hoops&yoyo's Haunted Halloween, the 21-minute TV special aired October 26, 2012. To create this delightful project, the team included Ray Di Carlo, Executive Producer; Rob Shaw, Director; Tsui Ling Toomer, Producer; and, Sam Niemann, Animation Supervisor. On the Hallmark side, the team gathered Jodi Schade, Executive Producer; Diana Larson Stuart, Exec- BENT Image Lab Executive “hoops&yoyo” utive Producer; Shawn McClaren, Executive Producer; Producer Ray Di Carlo Director Rob Shaw and Peter Martin, Production Designer.

16 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 This was an opportunity to progressively integrate special while maintaining a relatively fl exible workfl ow,” Toon Boom Harmony into the hoops&yoyo's production added Rob Shaw. process, the team could appreciate the signifi cant benefi ts Animators extensively used some of Harmony’s inno- it could bring to this project in terms of animation quality. vative features, the fi rst one being the deformation tools. “A lot of thought and research went into the decision to “The characters in hoops&yoyo's Haunted Halloween use Harmony. hoops&yoyo’s Haunted Halloween could are very graphic, very fl at and distinct. It was a fun chal- have been done with Flash, a program and a pipeline that lenge for the animators to give these little guys life and people at the studio and freelancers were already familiar personality. Harmony’s deformation tools added fl exibil- and comfortable with. Ultimately, Harmony’s capabilities ity and allowed us a great deal of control and subtlety in made it a worthwhile decision, and I believe the cartoon their performances, helping us create fun, lively charac- we made could not have been done with Flash. Our fi nal ter animation while maintaining the character’s important product was completed on time and looks great in large graphic elements,” shared Sam. part thanks to Harmony,” stated Sam Niemann. Another great feature was the lip sync tool. hoops&yoyo Once the storyboards were approved, the editor broke have loud, funny voices and limited mouth shapes that up the animatic into individual scenes, which the animator don’t necessarily conform to the usual phonemes, (not to imported into Harmony to use for reference. “Each scene mention they often talk over each other), so Harmony’s was saved as its own Harmony project fi le. The animators built-in Lip Sync tool almost did do a perfect job for us and had access to a library of character models, rigs, props helped a lot. It could get us 80%–90% of the way there, and backgrounds, prepared beforehand, that they could making it necessary to make just a few hand adjustments import into their scene as needed,” he explained. to the lip sync,” continued Sam. The overall production workfl ow included a combination of Illustrator, Harmony, and After Effects. “The workfl ow felt a lot like a 3D CG workfl ow to me, where you’re animating assets in scenes to a camera. The team at Hallmark created illustrations and designs, which we either used or referenced in the creation of fi les for Harmony. One of the animators did a lot of scene set up where he imported layers from an .ai fi le into Harmony scenes. An animation rigger would then bring in the characters, break them into the necessary pieces and them rig them with bones and deformers in Harmony. The characters and background would be combined in each scene with a camera. The animator would animate the character and then export layers for fi nal compositing in After Effects. Animation Supervisor for “hoops&yoyo’s Haunted This allowed us to develop some moody looks for the Halloween” Sam Niemann works on the show

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 17 CASE STUDY: BENT IMAGE LAB (CONTINUED)

Then, the multiplane camera served the project very well: “The way Harmony uses the camera module and a virtual 3D space made creating convincing parallaxing motions a breeze. We had lots of fun animating our characters fl eeing ghosts in a high-speed (and slow motion) foot chase through a shopping mall, and careening dangerously through downtown in their car! There’s even a scene where they drive their car through a tunnel that looks so much better than it might have because I was able to actually build a virtual tunnel, and actually (virtually) drive the car in Z space through it,” confi ded Sam. (Fig. 1) Moving on to 2D and 3D integration, Fig. 1 Harmony’s latest version helped to push the envelope creatively. “hoops&yoyo's Haunted Halloween is a beautifully designed 2D show with a very fl at, graphic style, but we did bring in a couple of 3D elements to great effect I think. hoops&yoyo have a very handsome 3D car that zips recklessly through town! And when the script called for our characters to be running through the shopping mall while trapped inside a tent, like a hamster in a ball, it begged to be realized in 3D animation. The way Harmony integrates the 3D elements into those scenes allowed us to take advantage of some fun 3D animation, nestling it nicely in our graphic 2D world,” he continued. (Fig. 2) At this point in time, the compositors preferred using After Affects to apply the fi nal Fig. 2 compositing. However, some of them were

18 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 Fig. 3 able to experiment with Harmony’s powerful compositing ing presence in our workfl ow, as we are fi nding again and engine. “Though we left much of our FX animation to our again that it can be used to enhance the creative process compositor and After Effects, we did have the opportunity for many of our productions,” admitted Ray Di Carlo. to take advantage of some of Harmony’s effects modules. Considering the high calibre of BENT’s executive and For example, our characters’ bodies, heads, arms, and legs creative team, the Toon Boom pipeline will surely act as are a fl at shape and a solid color, so when a character’s arm their robust production backbone to create animation would pass over their head or body, it would essentially effectively and impress their customers and audiences appear to disappear. We were able to rig the characters even more. • with a set of modules (cutter, tone, shadow) so that when- ever an arm passed over another body part, it would bentimagelab.com automatically produce a drop shadow, as well as automatically trimming the arm to the body shape,” explained Sam. (Fig. 3) At the rendering stage, Harmony demonstrated again its advanced capabilities. “Since we wanted all of the elements in a scene exported separately, so they could be more easily manipulated by our compositors, rendering our scenes could have been someone’s full time job, but with Harmony’s render network, scenes were easy to set up, so that with one click all the separate elements would be exported, properly named, and where they belong,” he concluded. BENT has always been a company that has prided itself on the idea of not predetermining what technical process or software platform a project should follow until they have gathered all of the relevant information necessary to make the proper call. “Once Toon Boom got its foot in the Sam Niemann (in doorway), Director Rob Shaw, Editor Ben Blankenship (at computer) and Line Producer Michel Jackson (right) Bent door it has garnered an ever-increas- discuss direction for “hoops&yoyo’s Haunted Halloween”

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 19 FREELANCERS: SHERM COHEN

Efﬁ cient Storytelling from An Expert

OM CE BO R With nineteen years in the industry, Sherm T I N F I O E

O D

Cohen is a cartoonist, writer, and storyboard artist. He’s also Toon Boom Storyboard Pro Certifi ed. His track record and impressive career speak of his talent and love for the art of animation. Following his education at The Joe Kubert School of Cartooning, Sherm got his start in animation at Nickel- odeon on The Ren and Stimpy Show as a character layout artist, followed by a three-year stint on Hey Arnold as storyboard artist and director. In early 1998, Sherm Cohen was invited by SpongeBob creator Steve Hillenburg to be part of the original SpongeBob SquarePants crew as a writer, storyboard artist, and director. “I'm most proud Sherm CohenSherm of the work I've done on SpongeBob SquarePants—it's certainly the project that affected more people than anything else. When I see people decorating their offi ces with SpongeBob drawings, or when I see kids walking Images courtesy of around singing the F.U.N. song... it just makes me feel very know where he is going with the story. Sometimes, he will happy to know that I've made other people's lives happy write the dialog fi rst, because he can type faster than he through my cartooning. I've also enjoyed teaching story- draws. Then, he starts drawing in Storyboard Pro, rough- boarding through my online tutorials. When I hear from ing in with a big fat brush in light blue and cleaning up someone that my tutorials have made a difference, that on a new layer. Sherm will use Photoshop only to resize, makes all the work worthwhile,” shared Sherm. transform, or blur an image. “I like to keep the fi le size as After SpongeBob's fourth season, Sherm created his low as possible for imported images, so I shrink them in fi rst book, Cartooning: Character Design, published by Photoshop before importing them. Also, the Toon Boom Walter Foster Publications. Since 2006, Sherm has been perspective tool only works on non-textured vector art, so working as a storyboard artist, supervisor and director at I need to use Photoshop to transform images. On the rare Walt Disney Studios on shows including Phineas and Ferb, occasion that I need to add a blur effect (for soft focus) I Kick Buttowski and Fish Hooks. He was nominated for an will use Photoshop for that effect as well,” he commented. Emmy® for directing Kick Buttowski’s fi rst season. Sherm's Sherm keeps a well-organized library of assets, includ- latest project involves creating and teaching the Story- ing backgrounds in Storyboard Pro to conveniently reuse board Secrets Online/DVD Course. them as needed. “I started using Storyboard Pro while I was doing story- “In Storyboard Pro, using a light table and the onion boards on Phineas and Ferb. I kind of eased into it by just skinning make the drawing experience very intuitive. working on one section of the storyboard in Storyboard It really frees me up to know that I can draw big sloppy Pro, while still drawing the rest of the storyboard with roughs, and then do my cleanups on another layer. I also pencil on paper. Gradually, I felt comfortable enough to really love the animation disc feature—it's nice to be able draw the entire storyboard with Storyboard Pro, and by to rotate the workspace the same way that I would turn this now I can't imagine working on storyboards without it,” paper around for getting the best stroke,” stated Sherm. explained Sherm. Many times during the revision process, the framing “When I moved to work on Kick Buttowski, using needs to be changed. “The easiest way I've found is to use Storyboard Pro became a lot more important. At this the camera tool. Simply resizing the camera frame allows point I was working as a storyboard supervisor and direc- me to create the framing I want over as many panels or tor, which means I have to be working on many different scenes that I want,” he added. storyboards at any given time. Working in Storyboard There are several other Storyboard Pro features Sherm Pro makes it easier than ever before to create revisions, takes advantage of: “Using the Select tool to resize add new scenes, reframe shots, and rearrange panels as drawing elements has also saved me hours of time that needed,” he added. I spent going back and forth to the photocopy machine. As part of his creative process, Sherm still draws his The Library tool makes it easy to reuse a character, prop, or thumbnails on regular copy paper to let his ideas fl ow and background...especially something as tedious as a school

20 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 desk! I use a couple of custom brushes, including a brush with a semitransparent grey tone which enables me to add shading right on top of the artwork. The “draw behind” feature is also one I use all the time. With a white brush, I use this feature to paint a white backing on characters, so they stand out from the background layer and make them opaque. Many artists will cut and erase sections of the backgrounds to accommodate the characters, but for me, using the paintbrush to opaque the fi gures lets me move them around without disturbing the background,” he explained. “I feel like I draw with more boldness and confi dence than before. Having the undo feature lets me draw a bit more spontaneously because I can always just undo the line if I don’t like it. It also lets me focus more on posing and acting because I don’t need to worry about size and placement so much. I can always resize and move individual elements after I draw them,” shared Sherm. Fish Hooks is a storyboard-driven show with 10 to 12 artists on board. Storyboard artists get a complete episode from beginning to end and write up the story, including all jokes and dialogue, based on an outline. “This is creatively rewarding,” admitted Sherm. For an pass on all storyboards, making sure all compositions and eleven-minute episode, it takes fi ve weeks to complete expressions work, and listening to the audio tracks. Then, the storyboards. About one week is allocated to create the storyboards are exported in two formats: the fi rst in the thumbnails, another week for rough drawings and CSV for the production staff to type up the script and getting input from the directors and on the third week, have the voices recorded in the sound studio. The fi nal pitching to the crew and executives. The last two weeks audio tracks are then sent to the editor. The second format are spent on clean up before the revision process starts. is in TGA for the editor who can easily keep track of the As the Storyboard supervisor, Sherm makes one more scene and panel numbers. They can match the audio with

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 21 FREELANCERS

Once fi nalized, the storyboards in PDF format and animatics are sent to Mercury Filmworks in Ottawa, Canada. “They do great work. This is the only time in my career that the animation comes back better than I’d hoped it would,” confi ded Sherm. Compared to his previous work methods, Sherm experienced signifi cant productivity gains using Story- board Pro. “I don’t have piles of paper all over my desk, and I don’t need to keep walking down the hall to the photocopy machine if I need to resize a scene or reuse a background. Another huge time saver is the way Story- board Pro automatically numbers all the scenes and panels...for a 700-panel board that used to be a long and tedious task. It used to be hard to add extra panels after the fi rst pass...you had to cut up the pages and renumber by hand. Another important time-saver is the way I can type in the dialogue and action...or even use cut and paste when I was working from a script. I’ve found that all that writing puts as much stress on my hand as the drawing does, so if I can type that stuff, it goes a LOT faster and it’s much easier on my wrist! Finally, the Library is an easy way to store and reuse backgrounds, props, and visual refer- ences,” explained Sherm. “In Photoshop, you need to jump through lots of hoops to get it to do what Storyboard Pro does naturally,” he the storyboard fi les to generate an animatic. “We always added. add to the storyboards. In the editing room, the director “I love using Storyboard Pro because it is clearly can draw directly on the boards using a Cintiq to make designed as a storyboarding tool from the ground up. All improvements,” stated Sherm. the tools I need are there when I need them, and the Time- At this point, the revised animated storyboard goes line and Onion Skin features let the artist work in a fully back to Sherm. The revision team cleans up the added global way - from the beginning of the storyboard to the poses and they use the Panel tracking feature to export end, and from the top layers to the bottom,” concluded only the panels that were revised and send them to the Sherm. • editor to generate a new animatic. This process is repeat- ed and refi ned approximately three times. storyboardsecrets.com

22 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 Born in Croatia, Filip Janečić is a self-taught 21 year-old different animation techniques. As a previous Flash user, he animator. Although his primary focus is on 2D animation felt Animate Pro seemed like an easy solution to the produc- and illustration, he’s tried his hand at graphic design, tion diffi culties I was having. photography, web design, 3D animation, music production, video production, VFX, and writing. He is currently “Animate Pro is an all-in-one software so it makes it easier studying Communication sciences (Radio/TV department) to achieve what I want to create without having to use multi- and working as a freelance illustrator-animator. Filip ple programs or third party software. Also, features like uses Toon Boom Animate Pro and his top fi ve features the dynamic colour system make it easier to make changes include the multiplane and Z-depth camera animation, quickly and effi ciently,” he shared. • the colour system, the ability to create and composite 3D elements, the vector drawing tools and the ease of use for fjanecic.net ć i č Filip Jane Filip Images courtesy of

Joseph “JoJo” Baptista is a designer, storyboard artist, and animator living in Hollywood, California. He has a degree in animation from Woodbury University, and apprenticed under Stephen Worth at Animation Resources. JoJo recently completed an animated short for Ralph Bakshi’s Kickstarter campaign for the Last Days of Coney Island Ralph Bakshi Ralph Images courtesy of

project. He used Toon Boom Animate to create the animation and worked very closely with Ralph Bakshi himself to complete the project. “One of the things I learned on one scene through Ralph was the importance of anticipations and breathing spaces between actions,” explained JoJo. He’s an advocate of traditional animation and ﬁ nds Animate supports his methodology with the onion skin and x-sheet tools. “The ability to draw directly and play your animation immediately without having to go through a bunch of formatting and optimizing was a big time saver. This allows you to spend more time on the creative end of animation without having to ﬁ gure out all the technical drudgery,” he added. •

JoJo Baptista jojobap.blogspot.ca

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 23 ANIMATION STUDIOS

aims to deliver a fascinating package full of action-adven- ture, drama, and intrigue for both the young and elderly. Improve Student It is targeted at the local and international audience while also seeking to bridge the gap between cultures in Nigeria. Using Toon Boom Studio, they created an animated short titled The Rise of Kings, a prelude to the era of the chicken kingdom. It’s a tale of when the chickens were manipulated Achievement by an ancient menace, and then sought to liberate themselves in a ﬁ nal battle for freedom. •

sporedust.com Images courtesy of Sporedust of courtesy Images Located in Lagos, Nigeria, Sporedust is a digital technology and animation company providing media solutions and quality production to consumers and clients. With a passion- ate team of diverse talent spanning across various divisions and departments, the company’s mission is to create top quality content and entertainment experiences, in the likes of Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks and other great animation companies, through animation and technology. They are working on Chicken Core, a Nigerian animated feature which follows the adventures of a group of chicken warriors in their quest to rid the land of Amaji from the clutches of the tyrannous Boar King and his minions. Chicken Core

An award-winning animation company located in a castle in Burbank, California, Starburns Industries, Inc., started the way most studios have started: as a crazy idea. Found- ers, James Fino, Dan Harmon, Joe Russo II, and Dino Stamatopoulos set out to create the perfect working environment where artists could actually enjoy themselves. With projects under their belt like NBC's animated Community special, Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas, Adult Swim's Mary Shelley's Frankenhole, Moral Orel origin story, Beforel Orel, plus the original Charlie Kaufman animated feature production Anomalisa underway and Adult Swim's fi rst original half-hour primetime cartoon Rick & Morty premiering later this year, one can say Starburns Images courtesy of Starburns Industries, Inc. Industries is a success. Starburns Industries has successfully used Toon Boom Storyboard Pro on all of their stop-motion and traditional animation television projects, as well as their current stop-motion feature, Anomalisa. “We fi nd it gives our entire team the greatest creative fl exibility when it comes to incorporating notes and revisions at various stages of production and post-production,” stated James A. Fino, Partner/EP at Starburns Industries. “Later this year, we're looking forward to producing the Adult Swim sci-fi comedy series, Rick and Morty, in Toon Boom Harmony to continue the stunning visual style we established with Bardel on the pilot,” he added. •

starburnindustries.com

24 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 Improve Student Achievement

Bluffton Elementary School, located in Beaufort County, South Carolina, USA, uses Toon Boom in a cross-curricular environment, fostering creativity and heightening the desire to learn.

In the most recent (2011) state-administered standardized tests (Math, Science, Social Studies and English/Language Arts), Bluffton Elementary students achieved 15% higher test results in core subjects compared with those from other schools. “The results are outstanding,” says Christine Brown, principal of Bluffton Elementary.

The introduction of (Toon Boom) animation showed that with male students, often those at a higher 2011 risk, test scores increased by 14% in sciences and 11% in writing from those a year earlier, results that GLOBAL ANIMATION SOFTWARE earned the school awards from the South Carolina ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPANY OF THE YEAR AWARD Association for Educational Technology.

Animation Lab at Bluffton Elementary School

“Animation makes learning a lot easier… because when you put a subject into an animation it’s better than just hearing about it, or reading it in a book.” Bluffton Student

As seen on IN VIEW WITH LARRY KING Visit toonboom.com/bluffton

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 25 EDUCATION Image courtesy of the Laguna College of Art + Design

Filmmaking Approach Spotlights Students Operating for Each student creates a fi lm project up to three minutes over fi ve decades, long, using the style of his choice. All instructors are indus- the Laguna College try professionals and provide a mentorship approach, of Art + Design working with students as supervising animators. “Students (LCAD) is one of the are much more responsive and benefi t the most from this elite institutions that hands-on approach as they get feedback in real time,” has both regional continued Dave. “We feel that making fi lms reaches more accreditation from the Western Association of Schools people as student projects are sent along the festival and Colleges and national accreditation by the National route. This proves to be better than a portfolio. It also Association of Schools of Art and Design. LCAD offers demonstrates they can work to deadline and manage time fi ve undergraduate majors and a graduate department. well,” he added. They offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drawing In addition to the two co-chairs’ impressive track and Painting, Illustration, Graphic Design, Animation, and record, the instructor team brings in high caliber experi- Game Art. The graduate program awards a Master of Fine ence working in leading studios. Each instructor teaches his Arts in Drawing and Painting. Their curriculum uses the core specialty. This team includes Duncan Marjoribanks latest technology and upgrades in hardware and soft- for animation; Rick Hoppe for senior fi lm; Karen Keller for ware, including Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, Harmony, and layout; Mike Show for animation; Luc Desmarchelier for Animate. visual development; Lou Police for background painting In the Animation department, co-chairs Dave Kuhn and character design; and Glen Miller for CG animation, and Dave Pruiksma have designed the four-year program to name a few. around fi lmmaking, exposing students to all aspects of Toon Boom Harmony was chosen as the de facto stan- animation production. They cover conception, storytell- dard to teach traditional animation and introduce students ing, character design, layout, backgrounds, ink and paint, to digital tools. “Students found Harmony to work very compositing, and sculpture. “We put great emphasis on well to create their fi lm as it truly mimics the traditional teaching hand-drawn animation to ensure students master production process,” explained Dave. Last fall, LCAD all principles of animation and give them a solid founda- organized a master class to work on a collaborative project tion, no matter what they specialize in after,” explained headed by Eric Goldberg. A team of fourteen students Dave. created a three-minute short called Attack of the 50-foot

26 Toon Boom News Spring 2013 Hero, which is now showing in festivals. “Students deliv- ered Disney-quality animation in twelve weeks all using Harmony,” stated Dave. Setting the learning environment around a ﬁ lmmaking experience enables students to discover what they excel at, what they love the most, as well as develop their communication skills. “Working on a collaborative project forces them to communicate clearly and effectively. It is not just about being a great artist. They also need to work well with other artists, understanding each one’s strengths and role,” shared Dave. In its sixth year of operation in Israel, eCamp is Storyboard Pro will be integrated into the curriculum an innovative summer camp welcoming children in Fall 2013. In addition to the Animation department, and teens from thirty different countries. While this students from the Illustration Entertainment track English-speaking camp focuses on technology, media expressed an interest in using the software as well. As arts and gaming, it aims at creating the next genera- future designers, they see its great beneﬁ ts for develop- tion of high-tech enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, as ing concepts for theme parks or consumer products. well as social connections across the world. Work- In relation to Flash-style animation, students will now shops are structured as follows: Nanobyte campers, be using Toon Boom Animate. “It integrates very well into grades 2–5; Kilobyte campers, grades 6–7; Megabyte the curriculum and is very easy to adapt,” explained Dave. campers, grades 8–9; and, Gigabyte campers, grades Being an hour from Los Angeles puts students close 10–12. to the entertainment industry and graphic design studios. eCamp gave Flip Boom All-Star a test drive with They can work in internships and gain from experience two groups of ten 6–10 year old kids, who had three in a real studio environment during the school year. The hours to create an animation. “This tool is brilliant. The department also holds an open house at senior year kids were able to create very nice projects in a short to give students the opportunity to show their work. time,” stated Dotan Tamir, CEO at eCamp. “Based on Knowing their placement ratio is 92%, LCAD’s Animation this successful experience, we decided to drop Flash department is fast growing, producing well-prepared, and took the decision to make a complete transition market-ready new talent. • to Toon Boom products. We will also conduct a mini eCamp during Passover on Toon Boom Studio with lcad.edu kids who are already eCampers. For this experiment, they will attend a four-hour workshop,” added Dotan. In addition, the eCamp team was solicited by the Rishon Lezion water recycling facility to organize animation workshops on the environment and recycling. They were also contacted to be part of the Web Street Festival in Tel Aviv in May to come up with kid- oriented workshops using Microsoft tablets. eCamp trained counselors are planning to visit schools and colleges to deliver hands-on workshops and advocate the use of technology in digital media creation. Their 2013 summer season starts on July 7 and ends on August 17, delivering three 2-week sessions. ecamp4u.com

Image courtesy of eCamp

Toon Boom News Spring 2013 27 EMBRACE THE

AWARD-WINNING SOFTWARE Toon Boom® is a 2013 Ub Iwerks Award and a 2012 and 2005 Primetime Emmy® Engineering Award Recipient

Emmy® Award Technology

PAPERLESS STORYTELLING Toon Boom Storyboard Pro™ is the artist’s tool of choice for planning games, television series, or feature ﬁ lms, whether the project is for Live Action, Mixed Media, or Animation.

FROM IDEA TO REEL Toon Boom Harmony™ is the most advantageous solution, handling all steps from pre-production to design, animation, compositing and multi-platform rendering.

TRACK FROM ANYWHERE Toon Boom Manager™ is the perfect production tracking system that combines everything required for monitoring daily activities, production pace and communication between members of the team.

VISIT US AT MIPTV 2013 BOOTH C1.09 Copyright © 2013 Toon Boom Animation Inc. All rights reserved. A Corus® Entertainment Inc. Company. Toon Boom is a registered trademark of, and Toon Boom Harmony, Storyboard Pro and Manager are trademarks of Toon Boom Animation Inc. Fishtronaut artwork used with permission © TV PinGuim.