'Pet Alien' — Anatomy of an Emerging Brand
Fresh, new and branded. This is a line that is being uttered by acquisition and development executives at both NATPE and KidScreen Summit. What in tar-nation does this mean? How can something fresh and new be branded? Is Taffy Entertainments latest hit, Pet Alien, a brand?
Brand by its very nature is an established production that is consistent in delivering to its audience a quality product that is always the same like Coke or Pepsi. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Brand is a class of goods identified as a product or a particular firm or producer.
Can a new show like Pet Alien be classified as a brand so early in its life?
Taffy Entertainment/Mike Young Prods. has built a reputation of delivering shows that are appealing to their target audiences. Shows like, Jakers!, He-Man and Clifford the Big Red Dog are projects that have set the brand benchmark for the studio. Whether work-for-hire on pre-existing brands, such as He-Man or Bratz, or original productions like Jakers! or Pet Alien, programming executives expect a level of quality from MYP, which translates into viewership.
Gang of Seven Goes Employee-Owned Route
Marisa Materna talks with the artists behind Gang of Seven, a collective of animators who have pooled their talent to form their own privately owned studio.
Children and Animals (and Reluctant Animators): The 2005 Oscar Nominees for Best Animated Short
Taylor Jessen previews all the Oscar nominated shorts, highlighting the wide array of styles and origins among the nominees.
Fresh from the Festivals: February 2005’s Reviews
Taylor Jessen reviews five short films: Guard Dog by Bill Plympton, Fallen Art by Tomek Baginski, The Revolution of the Crabs by Arthur De Pins, 9 by Shane Acker and Its the Cat by Mark Kausler. Includes QuickTime movie clips!
Cowboys and Indies: The Vertically-Integrated Individual — Part 3
In Part 3, Christopher Panzner focuses on new financing issues as he looks at how independent producers have to be a vertically-integrated individual as well as a little of a cowboy to survive in the industry.
For Artists/Entrepeneurs
Animal Logic creates a series of interstitials to complement Cartoon Networks international rebranding effort. Includes QuickTime clips!
Trouble in Toyland
Karen Raugust looks into how studios are reevaluating licensing strategies in the face of toy industry struggles.
Make It Real — Part 2: Marks in the Sand
In Part 2 of this series, Ellen Besen sits down with former Disney animation artist Charlie Bonifacio to consider the changing role of 2D in a CG-dominated world.
Sundance Animation Spotlight Shines the Light on Top Notch Animation
Mary Ann Skweres reports back from Sundance the premiere U.S. film festival regarding the animated encounters she experienced.
'Sprung! The Magic Roundabout': Classic Cartoon Goes CG
Christopher Panzner chronicles the ride taken to bring The Magic Roundabout to the big screen in CG.
Purple Heart: 'Pooh’s Heffalump Movie'
With friendly new additions to the Hundred Acre Wood in Poohs Heffalump Movie, Greg Singer reports that the demise of hand-drawn animation has been exaggerated.
Slamdance: Sparky Honors Animation
Mary Ann Skweres visits Park City and reports on what animation the upstart Slamdance Film Festival featured this year.
'3D for Beginners:' Basic Buttons — Part 1
In this first of a series of excerpts from 3D for the Web, Carol MacGillivray and Anthony Head cover the basics of 3D for beginners and explain why we all love buttons
Dr. Toon: The Bomb Squad
Dr. Toon asks, “Hey, hey, hey… why make Fat Albert into a LAAF?”
Career Coach: Long-Term Relationships
The Career Coach reminds you to acknowledge the long-term partners in your career on this Valentines Day.
'American Dad' Touchdown
Janet Hetherington chats with Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman, who along with Seth MacFarlane, are the co-creators of FOXs newest cheeky animated series, American Dad.
Dossier: American Dad
Christopher Harz reports back from CES about what new electronics will be animating our lives in the near future.
My Loving Fans
Gene Deitch looks at his diverse fan base, which ranges from lovers of Tom Terrific to his work on Weston Woods Studios projects.
The Animation Pimp: Frolicking in the Tent
Sean Wagstaff reviews MotionBuilder 6, which remains unmatched at manipulating, re-using and blending animation data from multiple sources, and creating character performances from scratch.
The Future of Flash
Greg Singer speaks with Cartoon Network, Atomic Cartoons, Augenblick Studios, Six Point Harness, indie animators Michel Gagnand Jayson Thiesson, Sandro Corsaro and Cliff Parrott, authors of the new book, Hollywood 2D Digital Animation, to learn how they make Flash animation look so good.
Internet Name Brands: Mondo Media and JibJab Media
Rick DeMott talks with Gregg and Evan Spiridellis of JibJab Media and John Evershed of Mondo Media about how two firms vastly different during the dotcom bubble of 2000 have survived and now thrive on the Net.
From On-Air to Online and Back Again
Karen Raugust looks at how networks and studios look to the Web to support on-air programming, enhance their brands and generate revenues.
Taking Care of Business
Nancy Cartwright writes about the true meaning of taking care of business, with tips on how to keep your career, and life, on track.
Toons Go Mobile
More animation content providers are exploring the wireless frontier. Karen Raugust chronicles how wireless is creating a quiet animation boom.
Fresh from the Festivals: January 2005’s Reviews
Taylor Jessen reviews five short films: Gopher Broke by Jeff Fowler, In the Rough by Paul Taylor, Suite for Freedom by Aleksandra Korejwo, Caroline Leaf and Luc Perez, Oedipus by Jason Wishnow and A Bucks Worth by Tatia Rosenthal. Includes QuickTime movie clips!
