Toon Boom Animation Inc. has appointed Little Black Dot Studios (LBD) as the Toon Boom Authorized Training Center for the SADEC Region, headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. Following an intensive training in Toon Boom premises and at Nelvana early 2007, Harry Ravelomanantsoa, founder/director/lead instructor at LBD, gained invaluable experience learning Toon Booms software solutions and working in a prestigious studio environment.
LBD is offering courses on Toon Boom Studio, Solo and Storyboard on a group or individual basis. Courses can also be tailored to address special requests. LBD is also working in close collaboration with Toon Boom toward the development of a sustainable South-African animation industry. As of March 2007, LBD animators are the most experienced Toon Boom professional users in sub-Saharan Africa.
"Little Black Dot truly proved to be the perfect partner to deliver hands-on training on Toon Booms products to professionals, students, teachers and enthusiasts, said Joan Vogelesang, president/ceo at Toon Boom Animation. Their dedication to bring the South-African animation industry to the next level was only paralleled by our firm intention to make the entire African continent a major player in the global animation arena."
Little Black Dot Studios (www.thelittleblackdot.com) was founded in September 2006 by Ravelomanantsoa. Prior to the creation of LBD studios, he founded and successfully ran blurr productions for four years together with partners Rob Terry and the win win group. Blurr productions was a video and multimedia production company, servicing the local and international corporate and commercial needs of companies, such as DaimlerChrysler, Bank Windhoek, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, Air Madagascar, Nokia and many more. After successfully delivering a 15-minite 2D animated corporate film to one of its biggest client, Tyco/ADT, Harry decided to concentrate on the medium of animation and formed Little Black Dot studios.
Montreal-based Toon Boom Animation Inc. (www.toonboom.com) is the worldwide leader in animation software solutions. Toon Boom carries entry level and high-end animation software solutions for film, television, web, games, mobile devices and training applications. In 2005, Toon Boom was awarded the Primetime Emmy Engineering Award by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for its significant contribution made to the animation industry targeted for television, in North America and throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 2006, the IT Federation of Quebec (FIQ) awarded an OCTAS 2006 in the Multimedia -- educational and cultural sector category, for Toon Boom Studio V3.
Toon Boom's client base ranges from major studios creating Hollywood blockbuster animated films to individual animators creating their first masterpieces, such as Nelvana, Warner Bros., Mercury Filmworks, China Central Television, Toonz Animation India, Starbust Animation, Answer Studio, Alphanim, Cosgrove Hall, Cromosoma and Lanterna Magica. Some of the prestigious productions done with Toon Boom's technology include LES TRIPLETTES DE BELLEVILLE, LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION, THE RUGRATS, SPONGEBOB THE MOVIE and CURIOUS GEORGE.
