Animators are drawing, or pointing and clicking, as fast as they can at Decode Entertainment these days as the Toronto-based animation house launches – not one, not two, not three, but four new shows. The company delivered episode one of Girlstuff/Boystuff to YTV in mid-August, just in time for its Sept. 6 airdate, and will roll out the remaining 25 half-hours through the fall. The series, described as ‘an animated tween Friends’ by Decode VP Beth Stevenson, will include more than 300 rock tunes licensed from various indie labels in the U.K., thanks to music supervisors Ron Proulx and Chris Robinson, both of whom worked on the MTV cartoon series Undergrads.

* Director/writer: Keith Behrman * Producer: Trish Dolman * Cinematographer: Steve Cosens

Congratulations – your film’s a big hit at the festival! The public adores it and a distributor wants to make a worldwide deal.
All of this is great news, and exactly what you wanted to happen. Now everyone wants to rush to sign a contract so that the deal can be announced while the press is still around and paying attention.
In all the excitement though, don’t forget to watch the fine print. Remember – once you’ve signed that contract, it will be your only legal ‘link’ to your film.
Here are some key areas to look out for:

* Director: Weibke von Carolsfeld * Writer: Daniel MacIvor * Producers: Julia Sereny, Brent Barclay, Bill Niven * Cinematographer: Stefan Ivanov

Vancouver: Unlike most every producer in Vancouver these days, Dufferin Gate’s West Coast office is multitasking again, with three pilots for Showtime and a TV movie for Lifetime underway at press time.
Earthlings, starring Jennifer Beals, wrapped Aug. 28. The pilot for Showtime is about the ‘lives and loves’ of a group of Los Angeles lesbians.

* Director/writer: Thom Fitzgerald * Producers: Christopher Zimmer, William Ritchie, Ann Bernier, Bryan Hofbauer * Cinematographer: Thomas Harting

* Director/writer/lead: Daniel MacIvor * Producer: Camelia Frieberg * Cinematographer: Rudolf Blahacek

* Director: Mina Shum * Writers: Mina Shum, Dennis Foon * Producers: Scott Garvie, Christina Jennings, Raymond Massey * Cinematographer: Peter Wunstorf

* Director: Soo Lyu * Writers: Soo Lyu, Edward Stanulis * Producer: Edward Stanulis * Cinematographer: D. Gregor Haney

* Director/writer: Rodrigue Jean * Producers: Rodrigue Jean, Ian Boyd, Phyllis Laing * Cinematographer: Yves Cape

Spotlighted in TIFF 2002’s Perspective Canada, deadend.com is an audacious feature directorial debut by S. Wyeth Clarkson of Toronto’s Travesty Productions. Clarkson shot a huge amount of video footage on a miniscule budget in telling the semi-improvised story of three teens who drive from Halifax to B.C. with the goal of committing suicide at journey’s end.

Alliance Atlantis Communications is set to take its broadcast division into the international market and could use its BBC Kids digital channel as the vehicle to get it there.
While the Toronto-based media company has long been a player in international markets through coproductions and its U.K.-based distribution business, Momentum Pictures, the broadcast unit has remained firmly entrenched on Canadian soil.
In an exclusive one-on-one interview with Playback, AAC Chair and CEO Michael MacMillan says that the broadcast unit will likely soon follow suit.