Meza & Markowitz: We helped create probably about 20 different series for the Web. We have been the lead animators for three different series for Broadcast TV. 1) Proud Family: four shorts (2:30 each) for the Disney Channel. 2) Wasabi Warriors: A pitch for kids television, which went to Kids’ WB! 3) Kid Notorious: Nine 22-minute episodes for Comedy Central.

Nodelman: For online, we produced the last two seasons of The Gotham Girls for Warner Bros. Online as well as our original Oh Shoot for WB’s Cartoon Monsoon. We also produced all of the award-winning animation for the General Mills kids’ Website, You Rule School!

For broadcast we did the pilot for The Venture Brothers on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, as well as our original Omega Dome for FOX Sports Net.

We have been very lucky as both client and public reactions have been very positive across the board. Venture Brothers is now in series production. All of our shorts have won a wide variety of awards, and we are waiting on word from FOX.

Schwarz: We are using Flash for broadcast and the Web. We’ve just completed 20 episodes of two original online series (Princess Natasha and Kung Fu Academy) for AOL. The client is happy with the turnaround time, the cost and the ability to make changes. Kids are hooked on the shows and are leaving tons of positive feedback on the AOL message boards. We’ve even gotten really positive reviews in USA Today and The New York Times.

We’re also completing a broadcast pilot for MTV. It combines traditional ink-and-paint techniques with Flash and it looks absolutely terrific. It’s a great show and we’re really proud of it.

Some clients like Flash because they see it as a low cost alternative to other methods of animation. We’re joint venture partners with Mainframe, Canada’s largest CGI studio. Our partnership enables Mainframe to offer alternative means of production to its clients.

Elephant Egg’s Andy Wyatt happily uses Flash to produce Animal School for CBBC in the U.K.

Wyatt: Our principle Flash animation series are Animal School (CBBC), Pop Skool (inserts in Top Of The Pops Saturday BBC1), The State We’re In (BBC3), Walkies with Lola (for Union Jack, Channel 4). The clients’ reaction has always been good, as has the public. [Editors Note: Theresa Plummer-Andrews, programming head for CBBC, reports Animal School is the channel’s first Flash series and was sold on the excellent work by Elephant on the Show.]

4. What advantages does Flash give you over other animation techniques?

Chin & Mort: Flash enables us to streamline the whole process of production. When you compare it to the traditional animation system, what you have is a more efficient and creative way of producing animation. The whole show is in the computer from animatic to final product. There is no need for voicetracks to be broken down — Flash supports audio files, which can be directly animated to (in sync).

In Flash, we can create libraries of drawn elements, which can be reused throughout the series, to keep characters on model and to cut back on redrawing time. Retakes are fast and easy — animation can be tweaked and modified up until the last minute and reviewed instantly. Basically, you can achieve quality animation in less time and with a smaller crew. The end product is vector-based, and so can be scaled and formatted for different platforms without any loss of quality.

Crown: We can work with final broadcast color and resolution in almost realtime. There is virtually no rendering time needed and we have the ability to do revisions and retakes very easily. The ease of reusing animations is also a big plus during production.

Howard: We decided on Flash because of speed. We wanted to create a show that could be fairly topical. We tackle subjects like Kim Jong Il and Martha Stewart so though we don’t aim to be day-in-date like South Park, we do want our show’s content to reflect what is current.

Lyons: It has a fresh look. It is resolution independent, which means that, properly organized, it can be cost effective. It also allows the animator to do more of the process himself. They don’t always like that! Used properly, on the right projects, it can reduce costs. A lot of Flash animation, though, is inexpensive simply because it’s very limited.