As the world continues to make itself more computer literate, the Internet has opened up a number of opportunities for all in a number of different ways. Some folks use it as a sales tool, some as a learning tool. Others, like exhibita’s Steve Hillman and Collideascope Digital Picture’s Steven Comeau, certainly hope people are using it for entertainment.

Hillman and Comeau are two animators whose work can be seen online and both have received a great deal of attention for their trailblazing on the Web. Perhaps most importantly, they see a lot of untapped potential for animators looking to get their work seen.

Hillman, founder of Toronto’s exhibita, was creating content for the Web even before he was cognizant of it. In creating his animated shorts like Tales from the Emergency Room and Animal Magnetism, Hillman managed to get his work online and create awareness of his capabilities as an animator.

Things have escalated to the point where Barry Diller, head of USA Networks, has hired Hillman and exhibita to create a number of shorts or ‘webisodes’ for an online program called Fuse.

‘It is basically stop-motion sets with cel animation characters in it, with a combination of special effects,’ explains Hillman. ‘Right now we are working on the trailer, and when that is done we are greenlit for eight webisodes. It will be an ongoing thing, but we have a whole bunch of other shows [on order].’

Each webisode is between three and four minutes, says Hillman. One of the advantages of animating or producing in general for the Internet is there is no set format, no lengths, and quite frankly, no rules.

According to Hillman, Fuse, like many Internet animation projects, is still very much in the development phase.

‘People are trying to make sure it can make money first,’ says Hillman. ‘[USA Network] is throwing some money at it to see what they can develop and to see what can happen.’

Comeau, president of Halifax-based Collideascope, says his company has been working with and animating for the Internet before the Net was cool.

‘We’ve been doing stuff pre-Flash, since the early ’90s,’ says Comeau. ‘We were actually one of the first companies to use Flash, which is an Internet animation software package, and use it for broadcast animation under the idea that if you did it under broadcast quality it is already there in existence to put on the Web. That is exactly what we are doing with the series we are doing for Teletoon.’

The Teletoon project he speaks of is Ollie’s Under The Bed Adventures and it will cross some boundaries in terms of the broadcast world being incorporated into the online realm. His plan is to take his work on Ollie’s (a half-hour children’s special for Teletoon, which will also air as 10 two-minute shorts), and make an Ollie’s world children can explore online.

‘We are doing the whole thing in Flash, then we are taking all of the Flash art assets and, since they are already Internet-ready, we are making a really cool interactive world online for kids to play in,’ says Comeau. ‘So the idea is that you get an audience relationship where the children see the short on Teletoon then can go online and play in the same worlds they saw on tv.’

Comeau is currently in production on Ollie’s Under The Bed Adventures. Collideascope animated projects already available online include The Legends of Raggot and Tongue Twister, both of which have been sold to Spike & Mike’s Sick and Twisted Animation Festival.

Both animators are extremely busy with projects, for the Internet and otherwise, and say it is now possible for an animator to make his or her living animating exclusively for the Web. Hillman says it may be a tough living, but not an impossible one.

‘Hypothetically it is totally possible [to make your living doing Web animation],’ says Hillman. ‘There are different people out there who will pay you a couple of grand to make a little short for them and then they own it outright. If you are efficient enough and can pull them out fast enough [one a week], perhaps you can make a living. It’d be tough though.’

Comeau, who has been observing the acceptance of the Internet from a short distance for quite some time, says despite all the excitement and buzz the Net has generated since it became a household word, manyanimation houses are reluctant to begin creating content specifically for the Web.

‘I see a lot of independent animators doing cool things, but the animation industry at large has been exceptionally slow to embrace this technology,’ says Comeau. ‘I think it is unfamiliarity, I think it is risk-avoidance and that sort of thing. But I also think that is starting to change.’

As the Internet ingrains itself more permanently in our lives, becoming as much a part of our world as, say, the telephone, Comeau is certain the global animation industry is going to change with it.

‘I think the Web will get fast and faster and there will be all kinds of cool stuff out there, but I think the animation industry in general is going to change because of Web animation,’ says Comeau ‘Those Web tools we use are going to make regular broadcast animation fast and cheaper. And as the Web gets faster, the difference between broadcast and Internet is going to blur until you can watch the same animation online or on your tv. It’s the whole convergence ideal.’

He adds this sort of thing could be happening sooner than some think.

‘It’s starting to evolve like that now,’ says Comeau. ‘Once set-top boxes get a little more sophisticated, once they start being able to play back Flash and things like that, you’ll see a lot of interesting things happen.’

Hillman is a little more reserved in his predictions of things to come. In his opinion, animation and production for the Web is still in its infancy, and before companies commit to producing content, they will first have to see what is in it for them.

‘It is really hard to say, because right now we are in a testing round,’ says Hillman. ‘This is still all r&d stuff right now. The companies are seeing if Web animation can draw an audience and if it is a good viable option as far as attracting people to the website so they can create revenue through advertising. It is one of those things.’ *

-www.collideascope.com