Vancouver: Animation house Studio B Productions and its coproduction partner, Florida-based Aston Entertainment, expect to secure syndication sales at next month’s natpe in New Orleans to cover 75% of the u.s. for their series D’Myna Leagues. The animated show about baseball playing myna birds is geared to the six-to-11 age bracket. With a greenlight, the 26 episodes will be produced in Vancouver.

Studio b’s newer homegrown project, Canvas Cat & Bongo Bat, which the company took to mip-tv in April, will make its first natpe showing. The animated series about two pseudo beat poets and the conflict of Hipsville and Squaresville is in development with coproducer Rick Mischel of Los Angeles.

In other animation news, Vancouver’s Stanfield Productions – maker of Kleo the Misfit Unicorn, the first b.c.-animated series created, funded, produced and distributed from b.c. – celebrates its 10th anniversary this month. Kleo is airing weekday mornings on Family Channel and Saturday mornings on French cbc.

At Bardel Animation, the company is restructuring and creating five divisions: animation services, productions, multimedia, distribution and international. As a result, Bardel is looking for a business development director and vp of distribution.

*From here to there

Coquitlam short filmmaker Howie Woo celebrated the international debut of his When We Were Bulletproof, about doomed lovers, in high style in November. Enroute to Toronto’s Raw Energy Film Festival, Woo talked Canadian Airlines flight attendants into screening his 20-minute effort for passengers. Applause ensued and sparked the idea at Canadian Airlines to consider offering the opportunity to other new filmmakers.

* For other b.c. movie makers, the deadline for British Columbia Film’s Applied Support Program is Jan. 4. Completed scripts for film and television projects of at least 30 minutes in length will be considered. Candidates do not require a cash commitment from anyone else but are encouraged to demonstrate broadcaster or distributor interest.

* Shaw Communications’ Vancouver Island Community Channel Network and Vancouver radio station cfox are sponsoring a 10-part half-hour series called DemoVision, which will promote 21 b.c. rock bands.

* Vancouver’s Shooters Production Services is the official b.c. provider of video production services for Headline Sports Television Network. The company also provided crew and facilities for the production Sharing the Music, a concert by Leon and Eric Bibb that aired on vtv Dec. 11.

* Finale Editworks has been completing post-production work on three documentaries: Hockey Night in Moscow (Barna-Alper Productions), about the 1972 Canada-Russia hockey series, to air on the History Network in December; Sacred Ballot (Cochrane Entertainment) for cbc’s Witness series; and David Paperny’s biography of former b.c. premier WAC Bennett for the History Network.

* Ballet documentary True Prince: Vladimir Malakhov, by Vancouver’s Avanti Pictures, won the gold honors prize at the 31st annual New York Expo of Short Film and Video in November. True Prince was produced for cbc and a&e.

*Name game

Vancouver Webcast company ITV Technologies has lost a round against WIC Western International Communications in its trademark infringement squabble even before the case goes to trial Dec. 17. wic won an injunction against itv because the letters ‘itv’ are used by Edmonton station citv in its logo and Website. The television station has a Website at itv.ca and the Webcaster has a Website at itv.net.

itv – which produces Web programming distributed through the Internet – changed its Web address to eyetv.net, but was referring users to the new address through the old address. Address manager Network Solutions shut down the old address, and now itv president William Mutual says his company is in jeopardy since no one can find it.

‘We’re going full-tilt on the defence,’ says Mutual, who alleges in a Vancouver Sun story that wic has pressured itv’s customers and suppliers to drop the Web company. ‘I think wic is acting very improperly.’

wic representatives, meanwhile, are standing fast on their claim of trademark infringement.

*Holiday Greetings

Here’s wishing you and yours the best this holiday season. May the business incentive of your dreams be under the tree. And I suggest a New Year’s resolution: ‘I promise to call Ian with ideas, news stories, quibbles, outrage and successes to make sure we are covering b.c.’s production industry the best we can.’ Hasta 1998!