Vancouver: The Canadian Consulate General in Los Angeles has sponsored a review of l.a.-based animation houses for Canadian animators seeking to forge business relationships down south.

The report – called ‘Only People Can Animate: Exploring Digital Hollywood’ – takes a non-scientific, ‘how-to’ approach to showing Canadian companies how to break in.

Based on interviews with the executives at companies such as Baer Animation, DreamWorks skg, Duck Soup Produckions, HBO Animation, Kurtz & Friends, Nickelodeon Productions and Sony Pictures ImageWorks, the report summarizes tips on, for example, presenting skills and putting together demo reels that show what they need to.

Executives were quizzed in five areas: operations, management, technology, investment and strategic alliances.

The report – free and available only to Canadian companies – also breaks down the l.a. market by what shops have in the way of technology, and their animation specialties.

‘This study examines the `behind-the-scenes’ activities of several of the main and emerging animation studios in Los Angeles,’ says report author and business development officer Thomas Palamides. ‘It probes into the ambitions of the community, the current business climate and the role technology continues to play in an industry dominated by creativity and culture.’

The Canadian Consulate in l.a. and the Canadian Trade Office in San Francisco offer services that might enhance an international marketing program for a Canadian animation company, adds Palamides.

Check out excerpts of the report on the official Website at //cdn newmediasf.com/. On the English pages, the user id is ‘allcan’ and the password is ‘foggyday’. The excerpted report is behind the Hollywood and Vine icon.

You can order the full report online or call Palamides at (213) 346-2757, e-mail thomas.palamides@lngls02.x400.gc.ca.