The cost of technology is so much lower now to set up a studio for high-end graphics, observes Reach Games’ Rick Mischel, former ceo of Mainframe.

Over the last five years or so, a number of independent studios have entered the animation business. Headed and staffed by people who formerly worked at the major studios or the larger independents, these new entities are light on their feet and flexible enough to weather the ebbs and flows of the business.

Improvements in technology have driven this trend, at least in part. Software and hardware have become less expensive, more sophisticated and more accessible to all. In fact, studios can come close to emulating many of the features of the larger studios' proprietary systems with off-the-shelf products. "The cost of technology is so much lower now to set up a studio for high-end graphic work than even five years ago," says Rick Mischel, president of Vancouver-based Reach Games.

Mischel is the former ceo of Mainframe, a 300-person-strong, publicly held 3D animation company. When Rainmaker Ent. purchased Mainframe from IDT Ent., Mischel spun out Mainframe's 12-person games division, which did service work for other companies. The new firm's goal is to be a North American source for high-quality, timely service work. "Everyone thinks of Asia for outsourcing, but with the right overhead structure and the incredible talent we have in Vancouver, we can provide high-quality work at only a slight premium over the cost in Asia," Mischel explains. Reach produces mobile, casual and handheld games from beginning to end, and provides animation and modeling work for console titles.

Paul Golden, founder of FFAKE, which creates animation for commercials, television, features, interactive and online, says it's encouraging that a new studio no longer needs a half-million-dollar edit suite or million-dollar Flame for compositing. But he, like other independent studio heads, points out that picking the right people and the right projects is key. "Anyone can buy a hammer, but not everyone can build a beautiful cabinet," Golden says.

FFAKE's projects range from manga-style PSAs for Partnership for a Drug-Free America, in conjunction with Maverix Art Collective, to creating Flash animation for interactive book titles published by LeapFrog. Golden, who was most recently president of ads at Vinton Studios (now Laika) and has worked at Broadcast Arts (now Curious Pictures), VFX house Dream Quest (now part of Disney), Colossal and Wild Brain, formed FFAKE six months ago.

Technology also has made it easier for independents to discover new talent and collaborate with talent in multiple locations. Dominic Carola, president and co-founder of Project Firefly Animation Studios, formed by a group of ex-Disney Orlando employees in 2004, says he has worked with people from California, Chicago, Brazil and Virginia, often collaborating through videoconferencing and iChat after an initial period on-site.

FFAKE’s projects creating Flash animation for interactive book titles published by LeapFrog. Little Leaps Winnie the Pooh courtesy of FFAKE.

Some of Project Firefly's projects have included several DVD features for Disney, 25% of the animation for Universal Pictures' Curious George movie, and a TV pilot, Farm Force, for which Porchlight Ent. just signed a development and distribution agreement. The studio also has worked on a number of Internet and interactive projects for companies such as Polygon Web Creations.

Funny Pages Prods., co-founded by former Disney Orlando employees Tom Bancroft and Rob Corley, is located in Franklin, Tennessee. The Internet has not only enabled the studio to work with clients and animators who are based far away, but has allowed it to find new talent from around the world. Recently, for example, it mined the blogosphere to discover an artist in Poland who had a unique style for a specific project. "We're able to find talent immediately," Corley says. "You can find artists you'd never have known about."

Funny Pages' projects have included several for the Christian market, such as directing six of 22 episodes for the next season of 3-2-1 Penguins on NBC and illustrating 15 Big Idea-licensed VeggieTales books for Scholastic. It also recently signed an eight-book deal for an original manga-style property called Tomo with Zondervan.

Meanwhile, technology also has given rise to more demand for content. Many of the new indies are supplying entertainment for broadband, mobile phones and other portable devices. The Tornante Co., a firm started by former Disney ceo Michael Eisner to make investments in and incubate companies in the media and entertainment space, recently launched Vuguru, a studio focusing exclusively on new media production. Its first webisodic series, the 80-installment Prom Queen, premiered in April.

Focus on Flexibility
One thing all these independent studios have in common is their desire to maintain flexibility. They work in many genres and for a wide variety of distribution channels, and they're positioned to quickly staff up and down as schedules dictate.