Le Petit Spirou Gets the Harmony Treatment

files/pictures/picture-35.jpgPress Release from Toon Boom

Montreal (October 3, 2011) – Toon Boom Animation Inc. announced today that Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel (France) along with Luxanimation (Luxembourg) and Aranéo (Belgium) have chosen the Toon Boom pipeline to produce a new series titled Le Petit Spirou. The series is based on the highly popular comic book collection created by Tome and Janry. This 78x7’ series is produced by Léon Perahia (Dupuis) and Eric Anselin (Luxanimation) as well as directed by Virginie Jallot. Each producer assigned a local animation studio and shared the production deliverables among them. The three studios include HLC in Paris, Dreamwall in Marcinelle and Luxstudio in Doncols.

Combining cut-out animation with traditional animation in certain parts of the series, the team at Luxanimation determined the production methodology in order to keep the overall quality level as high and as consistent as possible. In addition to maximizing the integration between Storyboard Pro and Harmony, Luxanimation built upon Harmony’s robust Central Library to make reuse their rule of efficiency. During pre-production they created 110 backgrounds, of which only 40 needed to be redrawn from one episode to the next, they also prepared a bank of poses for the 22 characters; this groundwork set a solid basis for reuse and the easy addition of new assets as they were needed.

“Not only does Harmony cover the entire production process which translates into significant savings and efficiencies, it also enabled us to keep the project in Europe and hire over 100 people between Luxembourg, Belgium and France. Our turnover is faster and the proximity to our two partners means greater flexibility and higher quality,” stated Eric Anselin, CEO and Producer at Luxanimation.

Initial broadcasters for Le Petit Spirou include M6 and RTBF. International distribution is handled by Mediatoon Distribution.

About Toon Boom Animation Inc.
Toon Boom Animation Inc. (toonboom.com) is the worldwide leader in digital content and animation creation software. Toon Boom carries user-friendly animation applications for all, catering to the needs of children, home users, creative professionals as well as students, educators and schools.

As importantly, Toon Boom is fully dedicated to the needs of independent animators and studios, offering a wide product range from powerful pre-production tools to leading-edge animation production solutions. Relying on its extensive expertise in animation production, Toon Boom provides consulting services in the fields of optimization, pipeline integration, production assistance and custom development.

In 2005, Toon Boom was granted 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 2006, the IT Federation of Quebec (FIQ) awarded an OCTAS 2006 in the Multimedia – educational and cultural sector category, for Toon Boom Studio. In 2007, FIQ awarded an OCTAS 2007 in the Technological Innovation category, for Toon Boom Storyboard Pro. In 2008, Flip Boom was granted a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and a New Canadian Media Award in the Excellence in Children’s category. In 2009, Flip Boom was selected as Editor’s Choice by the prestigious Children’s Technology Review for excellence in design. In 2010, Flip Boom All-Star was granted a Parents’ Choice Silver Award, the NAPPA Honors Award and the Tech & Learning Award of Excellence. In 2011, Toon Boom has been a HSBC International Business Awards winner as well as an OCTAS 2011 finalist in the Commercial Success category. Flip Boom Classic Curriculum has been a finalist at the AEP's 2011 Distinguished Achievement Awards and Innovation Award for excellence in educational resources. Flip Boom All-Star Curriculum has also been a 2011 AEP finalist

Toon Boom's client base ranges from major studios creating Hollywood blockbuster animated films to individual animators creating their first masterpieces. Market-leading studios using Toon Boom's products include Nelvana, Warner Bros., Mercury Filmworks, Yowza Animation, Bento Box, China Central Television, Toonz Animation India, eMation, Rough Draft Korea, Alphanim, Cromosoma and Enarmonia, to name a few. 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, Hanuman, Curious George, Go West: A New Lucky Luke Adventure, Simpsons The Movie, Chico & Rita and The Princess and the Frog.