More big projects

Last year, bigstudios’ graphics for Super Bowl XXXVII earned the Toronto shop its third Emmy win. The facility expanded with five designer/animator hires, and rang in the new year with gigs for NBA on ABC, ABC Sports’ College Football and a redesign for MuchMoreMusic.

Other recent projects include the HD broadcast of the MuchMusic Video Awards, College Football/Bowl Championship Series and the 2004 Monday Night Football season for ABC Sports, World Championship Boxing for HBO (also in HD) and the NBA Finals for ESPN/ABC.

Big is starting on a Canadian network redesign as well as its first project for MTV in the U.S.

-www.bigstudios.com

Trace draws U.S. clients

Trace Pictures out of Toronto reports a busy slate, mostly for American customers. With design packages for Nickelodeon, OLN U.S., Sundance Channel, HBO, Fox Sports, Cartoon Network, Food Network U.S., and Biography Channel, Trace has amassed impressive credits since launching two years ago.

The shop recently acquired more gear and is now a fully loaded post house. New gigs in the expanded facility include an HD graphics package for the History Channel series Things that Move and a national U.S. milk spot.

Trace also recently completed a zombie/sci-fi/horror music video for The Rheostatics starring Frank Bonner (Herb Tarlek on WKRP in Cincinnati).

-www.tracepictures.com

Busy on all Fronts

Blowing out five birthday candles, Toronto’s Front has a growing reputation that has attracted a variety of clients from around the globe.

Front recently broke ground for a Canadian shop by branding First Channel, First News and Other Channel for pubcaster TV Georgia in the Republic of Georgia.

Back home, Front created hip packaging for MTV Canada’s 969, while rebranding bpm:tv, Canada’s dance diginet, with a live-action/3D campaign comparing music to water. It also rebranded i Channel with a new logo, on-air identity and IDs, and provided a graphics package for CPAC’s recent federal election coverage.

-www.front.tv

Guru lends expertise to Teletoon, WB

Last year, Toronto’s Guru Animation brought new looks to Teletoon’s The Detour programming block as well as to Kids’ WB! in the U.S. Both projects required extensive character and environment design as well as story and concept development.

For Teletoon, Guru created the geek-chic Lambretta-bound ‘D’ character and his robot-duck-monkey ‘b’. Kid Koala scratched up the music and sound effects.

The 15 on-air branding bumpers for Kids’ WB! and L.A.’s Riverstreet Productions involved the design of 10 rubberized CG cartoon tweens with live-action heads taking part in various leisure activities in an infinite Warner Bros. Studio backlot.

-www.gurustudio.com

Head Gear brings theater floor to life

Toronto’s Head Gear Animation recently finished designing the complete on-air environment for PBS Kids GO! as well as the show packaging for YTV’s weekly movie program 3 Hairy Thumbs Up.

The PBS environment features real kids alongside popular show characters in a surreal world of stop-motion animation. The YTV project, meanwhile, recreates the murky netherworld of a movie-theater floor come-to-life, featuring a talking piece of popcorn and a company of monsters.

Head Gear also recently completed spots for American Express and Excel Mints, a music video for Destiny’s Child and a Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts campaign.

-www.headgearanimation.com

Cuppa serves Yanks, Canucks

Among its various projects, Toronto’s Cuppa Coffee Animation provided complete station branding for the recently launched Gospel Music Channel in the U.S.

Closer to home, it provided the title sequence for the CBC medical MOW Open Heart, juxtaposing delicate, fleeting type with the cold surgical palette of an operating room. It also created titles for the CTV black comedy MOW Zeyda and the Hitman, referencing vintage signage from the film, adding texture maps, lighting and graphic elements to foreshadow character development.

The studio has been hard at work on redesigning its website, to launch this month.

-www.cuppacoffee.com

The Circus Upstairs

The Studio Upstairs, the design-specialist division of Toronto’s Creative Post, reports last year as having been its busiest yet. The shop provided IDs for a number of clients, including Comedy Network, The Movie Network’s fall launch, and the CTV boxing special In the Corner.

Upstairs also recently entered a creative alliance with L.A.-based design shop 3 Ring Circus, and as a result is now able to offer Canadian clients more design and effects capabilities as well as artists.

Studio Upstairs also offers editorial for television and film, with a strong focus in high definition.

-www.thestudioupstairs.com

Ten Loopy years

Loopmedia celebrated its 10th anniversary with a New York Festival 2005 gold award with Astral Media for a website promo piece for movie channel Mpix.

For specialty Bravo!, Loop recently wrapped on a show opening and ‘endpage’ for Bravo!News, emulating newspaper type and headline design.

It has also provided several full-graphics packages for U.S.-based DIY Network, on shows Fresh Coat, Bathroom Renos (plus full design) and How to I Do.

Loop is currently working on a logo design for a featured program on HBO Sports, and will provide the opening design for the forthcoming 2005 Juno Awards on CTV.

-www.loopmedia.com

Two for triangle

Toronto’s triangle has been busy with openers and title design for shows including Take This House & Sell It, developed by UpFront Productions for W Network. The piece has a playful opening sequence that comes off like an animated oil painting.

Triangle is also wrapping up motion graphics on the HD series Nature of the Beast for Ellis Vision, to air on Discovery Channel. The shop describes the opener, title design and episode graphics as having a ‘high-tech grunge’ look. Motion graphics for both projects were designed by triangle’s Glenn Parsons.

-www.trianglestudios.com

Ghostmilk flowing

Ghostmilk Studios has expanded to a two-floor space on Toronto’s Queen Street West, including more office room, an editing suite and shooting studio.

Broadcast packages include show opens for Restaurant Makeover on Food Network and Fandemonium on MuchMusic, both produced by Tricon Films and Television. Ghostmilk’s slate has also included work on a PlayStation ad campaign and contributing design, animation, effects, production, editing and direction to a variety of music videos.

The shop took home the Jury Award at RESFEST, the international touring digital film festival, for its short design piece Small Pulse.

-www.ghostmilk.com

4stroke unleashed

4stroke is the new Toronto shingle for creative director Tony Cleave, who previously plied his trade at cross-town Soho. The shop opened its doors more than three months ago, offering design and animation for broadcasters and agencies. 4stroke reports that its newly launched website has attracted inquiries from Indonesia, Switzerland and the U.S.

In January, Cleave was elected vice chair of the Broadcast Designers Association, where he has held a board-of-governors position for four years.

4stroke is showing its chops with an identity sequence, an exploratory character design piece, and on a reel for commercial clients. *

-www.4stroke.tv