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:

• Tim Jones from Animax Entertainment
• Christopher Hamilton from Oddbot
• Ashley Postlewaite from Renegade Animation
• Brendan Burch from Six Point Harness
• Chris P from Titmouse Inc

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.

This Flash-animated series is being physically produced by Renegade Animation, based in Glendale, California. Below you can see a clip from the series that is formated as “the first animated program to bring sketch comedy to young children.” More videos are available at the official website.

First is ‘Re-animated,’ a feature-length mixture of live-action and animation. The project marks Cartoon Network’s much discussed foray into original live-action work. ‘Re-animated’ is “about a 12-year-old boy whose life is turned upside down after an accident at an amusement park.” The film features voice work by Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman) and Tom Kenny, who voices Spongebob.

Second is ‘Christmas is Here Again,’ which was formerly named ‘Who Stole Santa’s Sack?’ According to an article at Digitalproducer.com, the 9-month long project is currently in post production. Kathy Bates and Ed Asner provide voices, and Jay Leno delivers the voice over. In the same article, Ashley Postlewaite, Executive Producer at Renegade, offers the perfect quote:

“By applying our traditional training and employing the latest animation tools, we have streamlined animation process and made it more affordable… We believe it is the future of 2D animation.”

Many, including myself, think you’re dead-on, Ashley.

Renegade’s latest stars Jennifer Love Hewitt fondly remembering her singing debut at a state fair.

Notice how the series is sponsored by the Flash-animated commercial series from Esurance. These spots are beautifully animated by the gang at Ghostbot, and produced by Wildbrain. On that same topic, check out their latest work, a spot called ‘Basher-Bowl,’ which the Ghostbot gang call “arguably (the) most action packed Esurance spot we’ve done…” You can see it over at the Ghostbot site now, and on their blog, they’ve posted some thoughts on the production.

It’s not the first cereal commercial to call on Flash for help – Renegade Animation produced a Cocoa Puffs spot last year and relied heavily on Flash for painting and effects.