Toon Boom Technologies announced back in spring 2000 that it was teaming with Stan Lee Media to develop Web-based software for the creation of slm’s Web comics or ‘webisodes.’ Nearly one year later, the Montreal-based 2D animation software company was as shocked as anyone to read reports from the Animation World Network that slm, which has fired nearly all employees, is under an informal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for stock trades and alleged misuse of company funds.

It initially seemed a promising partnership. By focusing on online content, slm seemed the answer for the flagging comic book industry. Fronted by Stan Lee, the Marvel Comics icon who co-created The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, The Hulk, The X-Men and many others in the 1960s, slm was guaranteed interest from legions of fanboys. Following these new revelations, however, Toon Boom’s future involvement with slm is up in the air.

‘It’s on hold until we see what unfolds,’ says Joan Vogelesang, coo of Toon Boom. ‘We don’t have any more information than is public right now.’

Vogelesang explains that Toon Boom’s participation with slm was primarily a marketing arrangement whereby slm was using its product. The association did bring a good deal of attention to the company, especially at SIGGRAPH 2000 in New Orleans.

‘Stan Lee came to our booth and we had several thousand people show up to shake his hand,’ Vogelesang recalls. ‘He signed 700 autographs. From our point of view it worked very well, and on that front I’m really sorry to see what’s happened. I’m hoping they manage to come through it.’

Otherwise, Vogelesang reports things are rosy for Toon Boom, which recently released version 5 of usanimation, its flagship 2D system, which it believes puts it in a unique place in the industry.

‘We have our breakthrough vector-based technology and are taking it the next step forward, combining it with hardware technology so we can have realtime system operations,’ explains Francisco Del Cueto, usanimation product manager. ‘We are the only ones in the market who can achieve this.’

One of the most attractive features of usanimation in this era of multi-platform delivery is its capability of exporting material to Macromedia Flash, the standard format for Web animation. Internet animation can be moved the other way as well.

‘A lot of the people doing things for the Web in the Flash environment have plans to move [their work] upstream later to film or tv, and [with usanimation] they can re-purpose the assets to do that.’

Aspect ratio options

usanimation V5 also keeps the future of tv in mind.

‘Based on the vector technology, the new version of the software is capable of realtime previews of multiple aspect ratios for multiple productions,’ Del Cueto says. ‘This fulfills the needs of the upcoming hdtv, tv, film and Web productions – all with the same tool.’

Last year’s Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, produced by Klasky-Csupo [a beta site for Toon Boom] and Nickelodeon Movies, is one project that took advantage of usanimation’s new advances.

‘The substance of that movie, as well as the time and price to do it, would have been overwhelming without the capabilities of the software,’ Del Cueto says.

Canadian Toon Boom customers that have been pivotal in usanimation’s development include Vancouver’s Mercury Filmworks and Studio B Productions, producers of Yvon of the Yukon; Montreal’s Covitec and Cinar (Caillou, Paddington Bear), Mimosa Productions and La Fete (Turtle Island); and Toronto spot shops The Animation House and Red Rover.

Toon Boom has enjoyed a premier marketing position in China, Taiwan, Korea and the Philippines, and over the past nine months it has made significant inroads in India as well. Dataquest Management and Sriven Multitech’s Webtoons India facility, two major studios in Hyderabad, have installed usanimation as their software of choice. Vogelesang sees these partnerships as potentially beneficial to animation shops back home as well.

‘What this does for Canadian studios and producers is open up huge opportunities for us to assist them in putting together appropriate relationships,’ she says. ‘We know the people on the other side that have funds and want to get connected with some good production.’

Toon Boom’s interest in foreign markets is so strong right now that it is taking a pass on the nab trade show in Las Vegas this April.

‘There are some regional shows that are extremely productive for us, like Bombay, and we just couldn’t do it all,’ Vogelesang explains. ‘I said ‘Okay, I’m going to have to forego nab,’ but only because when you’re developing a market like India, you get a huge benefit from the regional shows. Their population is so large that the numbers of people that go through them are mind-boggling.’ •

-www.toonboom.com