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.

Been lots of Flash animated series activity in recent months, and I’ve been slowly pulling together a list.

PBS KIDS GO! just started running The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl, a Flash-animated series of 2-minute shorts that run been episodes of Maya & Miguel. The series was created by Soup2Nuts, which is part of Scholastic Media.

Animax Entertainment and ESPN just launched the third season Off-Mikes with a new episode titled Casting Slouch. The Flash-animated series takes audio from the Mike & Mike radio show and re-imagines them as animated moments. Off-Mikes recently won the Spots Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Content for Non-Traditional Platform.

26-episodes of Edgar & Ellen, the Flash-animated series produced by Star Farm Productions, has been acquired by Nickelodeon channels in France, Italy and 7 other markets. The series, which started in book-form, also has a 6-book series in place with 14 international publishers.

As announced in Animation Magazine, Lola and Virginia, a Flash-animated series co-produced by Icon Animation & Millimages, has launched on the Animania HD channel. The 12-minute episodes follow Lola and Virginia, who live in the same neighborhood, but have vastly different lifestyles.

Pucca, the Flash-animated series produced by Studio B Productions, has received a second season order by Jetix Europe. The series is based on characters created by Vooz out of Korea. Pucca also airs in the US on Jetix blocks on Toon Disney.

Cartoon Network Europe has announced a new Flash-animated series for January 2008 - Best Ed. It’s aimed at the 8-12 market, and it’s being developed by Teletoon and Cartoon Network UK and animated by 9 Story Entertainment. The story centers on the unlikely relationship between a dog named Ed and his friend Buddy, a squirrel.

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‘).

‘Ricky Sprocket’ is the latest Flash-animated TV show to be announced, and it’s headed for Canada’s Teletoon network in the fall of 2007. It’s a co-production between Bejuba!, Studio B and Snowden Fine. According to Kidscreen Magazine, the premise looks at why “being a celebrity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be for the world’s biggest superstar Ricky Sprocket. Sure, he’s got a gaggle of adoring fans, but he still has to do his homework, deal with an annoying younger sis, and juggle a regular life with one that’s constantly in the spotlight.

According to World Screen News, the Nicktoons Network has broadened their relationship with ‘Edgar and Ellen,’ the childrens property owned by Star Farm Productions. Twelve shorts were originally aired on the network, but now a series of “broadcast specials celebrating back to school, Halloween, Winter Holidays, Valentines Day and April Fools Day” will lead up to the launch of a half-hour series.

There’s an interview with Jon Izen, one of the creators of ‘Yam Roll,’ over at the Vancouver Film School website.

Rebel Static Studios is using Flash to create a new hip-hop cartoon called Turntable Timmy. Illustrator Doug Cunningham, who art directed ‘Wave Twisters,’ teamed up with children’s book author Michael Perry to write the original 32-page book, and now with Rebel Static’s help, the property is coming to the web. A slide-show teaser can be seen over at the official website (MP4).

Kappa Mikey, which has been debated here a bit lately, was recently picked up for a second season. Like ‘Edgar and Ellen,’ the show airs on the Nicktoons Network. That’s 26 new episodes for a total of 52.

Animax Entertainment was recently nominated for a Sports Emmy for their work on ESPN’s ‘Off Mikes.’ Congrats guys

‘Edgar & Ellen’ are hoping to haunt their way into your house, one way or the other. There’s the book series, the Nicktoons Shorts and now the feature-length movies are being planned. Star Farm Productions, the Chicago-based entertainment company, surely sees a ‘Harry Potter’ trajectory for this book series published by Simon & Schuster, and I’d imagine they’re on the right track.

‘Edgar & Ellen’ follows the adventures of a set of twins who torment the people of Nod’s Limbs. Nicktoons recently got into the game, airing 12 Flash-animated shorts that were produced by Studio B Productions. According to Screenmag.com, “The whole process took about five months to complete, including both creation and editing. Each short averages out to about two minutes.”

You can watch two of the shorts over on the ‘Edgar & Ellen’ website - ‘Winter Blunderland’ and ‘SPF Twins.’

A few weeks back, Animation World Magazine posted a lengthy article by Janet Hetherington, titled ‘Canadian Scene: Animation Independents’ Day,’ which touches on the topic of Flash animation throughout.

I counted a total of 8 Canadian Flash studios that were highlighted in the article, and below are a few quotes, listed by studio, and related links.

CHESHIRE SMILE ANIMATION
“Computer Flash and 3D animation is in demand and the demand is growing,” says Tyler of Cheshire Smile Animation. “Flash animation is great because it works well in long-distance production partnerships where the Internet can be used to keep clients, partners, and other stakeholders like distributors or broadcasters in the loop with a project.” Cheshire Smile Animation is providing animation services to Waterfront Kids for Fairy Tale Christmas, a 48-minute classical and Flash animated film. “We recently completed a series of six 30-second series of classical/Flash animated commercials for the Valley National Bank of New Jersey,” Tyler adds.

STUDIO B PRODUCTIONS
“We are also working on ‘Edgar and Ellen’ with Starfarm,” - Blair Peters, Studio B.

FOWLER CARTOONING INK
Fowler is completing an independent animated film called The Picture, due for release in September 2005. “It is a non-narrative Flash animated short film about a parent’s loss of those he loves after divorce,” - Mike S. Fowler.

For Canadian animators, Flash does not appear to be a mere flash in the pan. “Demand for Flash product has increased significantly while the price paid for it has dropped,” says Fowler.

BRADLEEZ CARTOONS
“Tons of studios are doing 2D shows using Flash,” - Bradleez Cartoons’ Brad Trofin

BARDEL ENTERTAINMENT INC.
Barry Ward, president of Bardel Entertainment Inc., Vancouver, says his company has also embraced Flash.

TRAPEZE ANIMATION STUDIO
“Our main production environment is Flash and we have created a number of proprietary tools that help us do things better, faster and cheaper,” says Trapeze Animation Studio’s Rob Balfour.

MAN GONE MONKEY STUDIOS
“We have found that Flash animation is mainly in demand in the overall design of many websites, not content” - Jason Ryan and Hugh Jackson.

SMILEY GUY STUDIOS
“Smiley Guy, a studio from Toronto did the opposite and took their web show Odd Job Jack onto the Comedy Network,” - Kelly Neall, managing director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival.