Rita Street is an undeniable mainstay of the animation industry. A former publisher of Animation Magazine, Rita is the founder of Women In Animation, a board member of ASIFA-Hollywood, exec-producer for Nelvana’s Ruby Gloom and Cartoon Network’s Hero:108 and she’s perhaps best known as the founder of Radar Cartoons, a boutique animation consultancy firm. With all of this on her plate, Street recently found the time to direct her own animated short. Mock ‘n Boyd: Get Outta My Tree is a concept that’s been bubbling inside her since high school, and after teaming up with co-director Chris Dainty, this many-feathered project finally took flight. Here’s an exclusive sneak peek:

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This homage to classic WB cartoons drew from Street’s fascination with a particular music video. Actor Christopher Walken showed off his dancing chops in the Fatboy Slim music video Weapon of Choice, and this same rhythmic enthusiasm shows up in the short.

Street and Dainty pulled together an all-star crew to bring the short to life. Kyle Marshall helped with storyboards and design, Lauren Andersson joined Dainty, who heads up Dainty Productions, on the animation front while Gerry Dushimen managed clean-up. Street was especially thankful for Dainty’s collaborative efforts, “I was so lucky to find Chris because he has a fantastic sense of timing and camera set-up, which really shows through in the final product.”

With the 2006 Ottawa International Animation Festival only days away, we’re getting a sneak preview. Each year at OIAF, one of world’s premiere animation festivals, 2 show ideas are pitched in front of a panel of broadcasters as part of a program called PITCH THIS! In attendance are “potential buyers, financiers, partners and industry gurus.”

This year, Dainty Productions, the production company founded by Chris Dainty (’The Ren and Stimpy Show’) and Jessica Borutski (’I Like Pandas‘) are delivering a 10 minute pitch for their show called ‘The Constellations.’ The show “is about four best friends who visit us from the stars. By night they light up the sky as star constellations but by day they turn into their ‘mythical constellation’ pre-teen girl forms.” The two have been keeping a faithful production blog that features several sketches, layouts, logos and photos of themselves, and below is their pitch clip, which was animated entirely in Flash.

It’s also worth noting that Chris’ Flash-animated short, ‘Emma Graves,’ which can be seen below, will be screening at OIAF on September 24th.

The other pitch being presented this Thursday is titled ‘Jersey Fresh,’ a Flash-animated series created by Stephanie M. Yuhas that follows “the Wiccan Chicken, a tree-hugging, vegetarian pacifist who happens to be the son of the Devil - The New Jersey Devil.”

Good luck to both teams!