Last night’s One Plus Hub Flash Animation event was a huge success. Thanks to all who came out, the Formosa for hosting us, and the biggest thanks to Jill Gilbert, who organized and brought us all together.
We estimated around 175 people made it to the rooftop bar in West Hollywood to hear us celebrate the advances Flash has made in the animation industry in recent years. The speakers included the chiefs of the five major Digital 2D shops in Los Angeles:
Some of the themes that were touched upon included that while we all love what Flash can do, that it’s just a tool, and it shouldn’t define our world, or our budgets and expectations. Ashley wished that anyone on the hunt for the right studio approach the 5 Digital 2D shops listed above with an open mind, and let us suggest a solution. We all work with a variety of software options, production designs, artists and budget ranges, so nearly every conceivable look you may be after should be achievable. As Brendan pointed out - we Flash folk often find ourselves fighting off pre-conceived notions of what is achievable in the software. The best answer is - it’s whatever you want it to be, and for those in attendance in West Hollywood, it was a topic that helped get us all together for an amazing night.
Thanks to Heath Corson and Marianne Hayden for the photos.
Animax Entertainment, an animation and interactive studio based in Los Angeles, created this clever holiday short below. The lush backgrounds were brought to life by Kat Kosmala, who also added her Flash animation skills to the piece. She was joined on the animation front by Russell Jamison and Al Rosson. Barry Kelly and Adam Martin added their After Effects magic and thus was born Just Your Typical, Run-of-the-Mill Christmas Story.
The Emmy-award winning team from Animax have collaborated on a new Flash animation book. CHF regular Dave Wolfe has teamed up with Tim Jones, Allan Rosson and Barry Kelly to write a 350-page book titled Foundation Flash Cartoon Animation, which is now available for $26.39 from Friends of Ed.
The book is split into three phases - pre-production, animation and post-production - and focuses on “real-world issues facing today’s Flash animators.” The authors also touch on After Effects tips, and offer that sometimes this software package is a better option for certain situations.
Seth Kearsley, one of the Executive Producers of ABC Family’s Slacker Cats, has offered up a behind-the-scenes look at his character designs for the series. In these web-exclusive clips created for the website (created by Animax Entertainment), you see how various characters evolved during development. In this clip below, you see Tabitha, easily my favorite character in the show (voiced by Kiersten Warren), transform from a crack baby into her current design.
Seth, who has directed multiple Family Guy episodes, is also working on a new project that we hinted at back in September. Below is the final vlog clip for Adam, one of the leads. Soon he’ll be releasing another Flash-animated clip from the Eve character. Keep your eyes here for further info.
For those planning on being in the Los Angeles area next weekend, FITC Hollywood 2007 is being held at the Hilton in Universal City. This event aims to “facilitate the interaction of key content industry drivers with the best content delivery technology in the capital of entertainment and rich media.”
On Sunday, October 21st, a Flash Animation Workshop is being hosted by Tim Jones, Barry Kelly, Al Rosson and Dave Wolfe, authors of the upcoming book Foundation Flash Animation Techniques. The 10-5 session is a pre-festival workshop that will walk “step-by-step through a “typical” Flash animation project, giving you hands-on experience at each phase of the production.” Tickets are $199 and $125 for students.
The 4th season of Off Mikes has launched at ESPN.com. The series, which is animated by Culver City-based Animax Entertainment, has already earned two Emmy nominations and one win. This season features a new cast member - Hummer. The auto maker is sponsoring the 4th season of this Flash-animated project, which is a spin-off of the Mike & Mike in the Morning radio show. According to AdAge.com, you can now view Off Mikes on your iPhone.
Last week, the first promo clip from ABC Family’s new show Slacker Cats was posted here at CHF. In recent nights, a second promo of this Flash-animated series has been airing on ABC, which you can view below:
Last night’s One Plus Hub Flash Animation event was a huge success. Thanks to all who came out, the Formosa for hosting us, and the biggest thanks to Jill Gilbert, who organized and brought us all together.
Some of the themes that were touched upon included that while we all love what Flash can do, that it’s just a tool, and it shouldn’t define our world, or our budgets and expectations. Ashley wished that anyone on the hunt for the right studio approach the 5 Digital 2D shops listed above with an open mind, and let us suggest a solution. We all work with a variety of software options, production designs, artists and budget ranges, so nearly every conceivable look you may be after should be achievable. As Brendan pointed out - we Flash folk often find ourselves fighting off pre-conceived notions of what is achievable in the software. The best answer is - it’s whatever you want it to be, and for those in attendance in West Hollywood, it was a topic that helped get us all together for an amazing night.
For those planning on being in the Los Angeles area next weekend, 
The 4th season of 
