technology imitating lifeÉ

We had only seen glimpses of computer animation, then 1994 witnessed the birth of the world’s first 100% computer-animated television series, ReBoot, produced by Vancouver’s BLT Productions and Toronto-based Alliance Communications (which stepped in to replace blt’s initial partner, u.k.-based Limelight Productions) and directed by Zondag Entertainment.

The concept for the show was spawned 10 years ago by The Hub, a company comprised of four of England’s top animators – Gavin Blair, John Grace, Phil Mitchell and Ian Pearson – which was working on the Dire Straits music video, Money for Nothing. But the computer technology at the time, prehistoric by today’s standards, negated such a project becoming a reality.

Fast forward – 1994.

ReBoot is ranked number one on abc’s competitive Saturday morning line-up and is one of ytv’s top-rated shows. Season two is a go, with both nets placing their orders for a minimum of 10 new episodes.

What happened in between?

Montreal-based animation software producer Softimage, now owned by Microsoft, developed computer software capable of ‘bringing the dinosaurs back to life,’ or at least making it appear so, in the Steven Spielberg dino-thriller, Jurassic Park. During production of the movie, six minutes of computer-generated imagery was in production for 18 months.

‘We can now produce 18 minutes of cgi in nine days,’ says Cheryl Blakeney, publicist for ReBoot Productions at Mainframe Entertainment headquarters in Vancouver.

blt producer Christopher Brough hooked up with The Hub, and two years ago convinced the u.k. animators to come to Canada where the talent and costs would allow their digital series dream to be realized. A new facility (for which the name Mainframe Entertainment has been registered) was created by blt, The Hub and Alliance to accommodate ReBoot production needs. All of The Hub team (except Grace who is busy with other projects and minding shop back in Britain) are now in Vancouver supervising animation of their creation with Brough, whose partner Josanne Lovich is busy minding blt’s traditional animation shop.

The series takes place in a mainframe where good computer folk battle digital foes, with the action heating up when anonymous players launch incoming games. Originally, the series was designed to take place in a computer to make allowances for the anticipated less-than-fluid quality of cgi characters’ movement. Ironically, it is the very lifelike fluidity of the Mainframe denizens that has wowed viewers, young and old.

The first episode of ReBoot took 18 months to produce. Now, it only takes six weeks to produce two episodes. The software used in tandem with Silicon Graphics hardware – about 30 machines: six Onyx and an equal split of Indys and Indigo 2s – is open-ended; the team can add on to existing programs and produce and write programs in-house. In addition to Softimage, they utilize Matador Paint.

And topping off all the technological firsts they’re racking up – presenting plenty of challenges for their suppliers – Blakeney says their’s is the only pal facility in Western Canada.

Says Blakeney: ‘The total equipment package and time it took to produce the first episode was very, very costly – but when you put that cost of that first episode over the life of the project, it’s cost efficient.’

It has been reported elsewhere that the price tag for the setup and the first 13 episodes was $11 million, but Blakeney can’t confirm this figure, saying the financial details are private information.

While the series continues to pull in fans and ratings on both ytv and abc, it has also been pulling in animators – ReBoot employs 27 of them, most of whom are in their early 20s. ‘Most of the guys learned how to do this in their basements,’ says Blakeney.

Calls have come in from ad agencies around the world wanting commercials, but the ReBooters currently don’t have time – they’re too busy producing their two minutes of cgi a day (that works out to six weeks for an hour). Besides, as the chaps from The Hub who have put in 15 years of special effects commercial work in England say, that’s enough already.

ReBoot on-line is happening, first via the Internet followed by a site on the WorldWide Web, and the data file for a ReBoot cd has been prepared.

ReBoot the feature film is also underway. Executive creative consultant Pearson says they had a script that took ReBoot further, with completely new renders that will look more featurey, but after talking to people, the Hubsters gave in to the desire for a back story, a prequel as to the ReBoot gang’s origins.

Pearson says they have expansion plans which will take them in three or four different directions, one of which is another series, if they can find a property that interests them and is right for the medium. Currently in development is a primetime series that would combine live action and computer graphics.

Given the computing power of the studio – plans are to double its size shortly – Pearson says they’re also looking at how best to handle the commercial demand that’s brewing. ‘We’re thinking about setting up a special projects division to do monthly income work, but we haven’t decided which way we’ll go yet.’ While Pearson likes the idea because it will allow the animators working on ReBoot to break into commercials, and keep everyone’s client skills up, all of these new endeavors will require more staff, which is hard to find. Pearson says they’re planning to train animators in-house.

As this is the first venture of it’s kind, there’s definitely a learning curve involved for everyone. The bulk of the animators working on the show operate like second division shooting. Pearson says most of the staff came with animation skills, but have had to learn storytelling skills, lighting, how to cut, etc. because they now have more power than traditional animators. ‘It’s almost like being the animator and the client.’

Comparing working on the series to commercials or other one-off, short-term projects typically associated with cgi, Pearson says you need more stamina, ‘you have to learn to pace yourself a little differently.’

The reward is a lot more power in the hands of the animator. ‘Working on a commercial, a lot of the questions are answered in the creative process,’ whereas with ReBoot, there’s ‘more creative buzz,’ as Pearson puts it, for the animation producers.

Part of the fun for ReBoot’s creators is all the spin-offs: everything from molds for bubble bath to pajamas is being approved for merchandising, which will begin to launch this summer (Irwin Toys wrote wanting to know if Bob’s car had a name, resulting in an impromptu ‘Name Bob’s Car’ contest). Late last year, to handle ReBoot popularity, a designated animator in a newly outfitted suite began turning out publicity and merchandising artwork.

Among the ReBootabilia being devised is the world’s first digital comic book from Marvel, launching sometime this year.

(kimberley douglass is a second year media writing student in Ryerson Polytechnic University’s Radio and Television Arts program. With files from Playback’s mary maddever.)