– French named VP at Alliance Animation

Indicative of Alliance Communications’ push on the animation scene, Suzanne French has been named vp Alliance Animation, responsible for the creative path of all Alliance animated tv product. French comes from the creative development and business management realm at ytv and Treehouse tv, where both coproduction and ytv’s in-house endeavors were in her bailiwick.

– Studio B growing like a weed

Studio B Productions has boosted its Vancouver base – now animating away in over 10,000 square feet in Gastown’s Packing House building – to accommodate production on Walt Disney Television’s Timon & Pumbaa, Ned’s Newt for Nelvana, Sony Wonder’s Little Witch video as well as Raggedy Anne and Andy’s Snowman Adventure for Fox Home Video.

Studio b teamed with Clint and Reg Eland’s Eland FX Group to spawn a 2D digital ink/paint and f/x house, Mercury Filmworks, which is adjacent to the existing studio space and wired to clients via T-1 lines.

The Canadian paint operation is seen as a boon to both creative control, coproduction potential and funding access, which Studio b partner Blair Peters hopes will help kick start proprietary shows such as Yvon of the Yukon, which is currently in development at ytv.