Todd Ramsay an Animation Director who has worked at several of the major Flash animation studios in Canada, recently released an original short titled Honkbarn!

Ramsay graduated from the Vancouver Film School in 2000, and has since worked on a variety of Flash-animated TV projects including Being Ian, Edgar and Ellen, Stroker and Hoop and Mucha Lucha.

Flash-animated projects faired well at this years’ Leo Awards, which took place in Vancouver on May 12th and 13th. The Leo Awards are “where the best and brightest film and television talent and programs in British Columbia are honoured for their work,” according to the awards website.

Best Animation Program or Series
Being Ian
Kathy Antonsen-Rocchio, Blair Peters, Chris Bartleman – Producers

Best Screenwriting in an Animation Program or Series
Colin Yardley, Larry Raskin
Pucca – A Force of Won, Cat Toy, Noodle Round the World

Best Overall Sound in an Animation Program or Series
Marcel Duperreault, Todd Araki, Jason Fredrickson, Kirk Furniss
Pucca – A Force of Won, Cat Toy, Noodle Round the World

Best Musical Score in an Animation Program or Series
Hal Foxton Beckett
Edgar and Ellen

Congrats to the winners, and all the nominees (including ‘Atomic Betty‘).

Tonight, I’ll be joining a panel discussion at Cartoon Network
Studios in Burbank, California called ‘The Evolution of Flash.’ Joining me on the panel will be Flash animator Alx Meza; author, Producer and Director Clifford J. Parrott; Renegade Animation Executive Producer Ashley Postlewaite and JibJab co-founder Evan Spiridellis.

In thinking about tonight’s discussion, I figured it might be a good time to look at where Flash stands in the TV animation world. I’ve broken the list down into three categories – 1) Flash shows that are currently on the air and also in production, 2) Flash shows that are in pre-production or production and will be airing within the next year and 3) Flash shows that have completed their production runs and are currently on the air. This list is certainly incomplete, as I’m sure your emails will prove, so please send along anything I’ve missed or reported incorrectly. And let’s remind ourselves that this list is TV-centric, telling only half the story. Web-only projects like ‘College University,’ ‘Making Fiends’ or ‘Ninjai;’ or DVD/Internet shows like ‘Mr. Wong‘ or ‘Broken Saints‘ – these shows are almost more important, because they represent the new models of delivery.

And as we celebrate the rapid emergence of Flash animation production, let’s also remember that this amazing software is but a tool – and the real story here is the creativity, inspiration and vision that brings us armfuls of fun shows to work on and watch.

IN PRODUCTION AND CURRENTLY AIRING
01) Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi Show – Cartoon Network
02) Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends – Cartoon Network
03) Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law – Adult Swim
04) Atomic Betty – Cartoon Network
05) Bruno and the Banana Bunch – Nickelodeon
06) Being Ian – YTV
07) BB3B – BBC
08) Happy Tree Friends – MTV Int’l

IN PRODUCTION AND AIRING SOON
09) Coconut Fred’s Fruit Salad Island – Kids’WB!
10) Wubby Widget & Walden – Nick Jr.
11) Squidbillies – Adult Swim
12) Shuriken School – Nicktoons
13) Kappa Mikey – Nicktoons
14) Princess Natasha – Cartoon Network
15) The Wumblers – 4Kids TV
16) Captain Flamingo – YTV
17) George of the Jungle – Teletoon
18) Katbot – Disney
19) Omega Dome – Fox Sports Net
20) The Buzz On Maggie – Disney TV Animation

CURRENTLY AIRING
21) Mucha Lucha – Kids’WB! & Cartoon Network
22) Incredible Crash Dummies – 4Kids TV
23) Yakkity Yak – YTV

The Flash/CG animated show, ‘Being Ian,’ which was recently picked up for a second season on Canada’s YTV, is now viewable on the Studio B website in the form of 4 quicktime clips. This is good news for those outside of Canada who haven’t had a chance to see this unique blend of Flash and 3D, which is now in production at Studio B’s Vancouver production facility.

CLIP 1: ‘Being Ian’ title sequence
CLIP 2: ‘Being Ian’ gets a visit from the punk band GOB
CLIP 3: Hockey star Trevor Linden gets green
CLIP 4: Global TV’s Tony Parsons joins the cast