★ LOOGAROO ★

WOLFIE

2010-01-03T00:02:00.000-08:00

Just muckin'

MORE TWEAKS

2010-01-02T23:10:00.001-08:00

GREEN KNIGHTS FIRST TIME

2009-12-13T23:41:00.000-08:00

YOUR FIRST TIME from Loogaroo on Vimeo.

VOTE FOR SPACE KNIGHTS!

2009-12-11T07:41:00.000-08:00

WATCH THE FRIGGIN' SHOW!

ROUND TWO, FIGHT!

2009-12-07T21:43:00.000-08:00

SITE DESIGN FOR RAPID MIND SOLUTIONS

2009-12-05T22:40:00.000-08:00

I'm designing a site for my buddy Stephen Nickerson over at Rapid Mind Solutions. These guys can make anything work! - Programming gurus!

Gene

THE MEDIA REVOLUTION

2009-12-03T18:51:00.000-08:00

GET SOME MORE NUTS

2009-12-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

Narc on Your Boss, Get Cool Cash

2009-12-01T22:55:00.001-08:00

Narc on Your Boss, Get Cool Cash

Posted using ShareThis

GET SOME NUTS

2009-12-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

FUN

2009-11-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

PREZI | ME | NB

2009-11-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

Camera mount for your Iphone

2009-11-26T17:05:00.000-08:00

Shoot like a pro!

VFX master Alex Lindsay on shooting video on an Iphone with a shoulder mount.

MY COUSIN MIKE

2009-11-25T04:52:00.000-08:00

How Smaller Facebook Game Developers Can Compete With The Big Three

2009-11-24T17:14:00.000-08:00

How Smaller Facebook Game Developers Can Compete With The Big Three

Posted using ShareThis

GOOGLE RULES

2009-11-23T17:45:00.000-08:00

BOING BOING PRESENTS

2009-11-22T17:11:00.000-08:00

CLICK-AROO

WEEZER & KENNY G?

2009-11-21T12:40:00.001-08:00

FROM THE OFFICE OF MICK HARRISON

2009-11-21T12:39:00.000-08:00

FROM THE OFFICE OF DAVID ALSTON

2009-11-20T12:04:00.000-08:00

MONSTROVILLE NEEDS HELP!

2009-11-19T17:50:00.000-08:00

I'm putting out a call for my buddy Von Kreep at Cartoon Funland. He needs a hand to finish some wicked animation goodness. I've made an arrangement where if some Loogaroo Flash Animators help out on Monstroville "pro bono", he'll spread some of the love back on some paying gigs coming down the pipe.

I only mention this because I know there are some animators kickin around No Funswick that are bored and looking to work on something cool.

Any takers? Hit me up - gfowler@loogaroo.com

respect,

gene

BEST VIDEO EVER MADE

2009-11-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

RockYou Raises A Whopper

2009-11-19T07:59:00.000-08:00

RockYou Raises A Whopper – $50 Million In Venture Capital

Posted using ShareThis

CHECK THYSELF BEFORE THY WRECK THYSELF

2009-11-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

Mark Cappello's Blog yo.

My long time buddy Mark Cappello and I used to do fun stuff together about 10 years ago. Let the visuals come to life, go on. Let it all in.

ROUND ONE | ESTEBAN VALDEZ

2009-11-18T08:08:00.000-08:00

25 Things You Need To Know To Become A New Media Mogul

2009-11-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

25 Things You Need To Know To Become A New Media Mogul

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You-Be-The-Terrorist Videogame Sales Reach $600 Million In 5 Days (ATVI)

2009-11-17T07:58:00.001-08:00

You-Be-The-Terrorist Videogame Sales Reach $600 Million In 5 Days (ATVI)

Posted using ShareThis

WHITEHEAD CREATIVE THINKTANK

2009-11-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

An enlightening experience: http://www.whiteheadthinktank.com/

Sorry, There's No Way To Save The TV Business

2009-11-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

Grabbed from here.

Henry Blodget|Jun. 12, 2009, 1:32 PM | 20,108 |96

The traditional TV industry--cablecompanies, networks, and broadcasters--is where the newspaper industry was about five years ago:

In denial.

There are murmurings on the edges about how longstanding business models will come under pressure as Internet distribution takes over. But, so far, the revenue and profits are hanging in there, so the big TV companies don't really care.

Specifically, the TV industry's attitude is the same as the newspaper industry's attitude was circa 2002-2003: Stop calling us dinosaurs: We get digital; We're growing our digital businesses; We're investing in digital platforms; People still recall ads even when they fast-foward through them on DVRs; There's no subtitute for TV ads. And traditional TV isn't going away: Just look at our revenue and profits!

After saying all this same stuff for years, the newspaper industry figured out the hard way that, eventually, reality intrudes, that you can't stuff the genie back in the bottle. And over the next 5-10 years, the TV industry will figure this out, too.

Here's the problem in a nutshell:

As with print-based media, Internet-based distribution generates only a tiny fraction of the revenue and profit that today's incumbent cable, broadcast, and satellite distribution models do. As Internet-based distribution gains steam, therefore, most TV industry incumbents will no longer be able to support their existing cost structures.

Specifically, TV business models for the past half-century, from broadcast to cable to satellite, have been built on the following foundation:

Not much else to do at home that's as simple and fun as TV

No way to get video content other than via TV

No options other than TV for advertisers who want to tell video stories

No options other than cable--and, more recently, satellite--to get TV

Tight choke-points in each market through which all video content has to flow (cable company, airwaves), which creates enormous value for the owners of those gates.

And now, slowly but surely, look what's happening:

Other simple and fun options emerging at home: Internet, video games, Facebook, IM, DVDs

New ways to get TV content other than traditional TV companies: Hulu, YouTube, iTunes, Netflix

Video-story options for advertisers beginning to emerge: Hulu shows, for example (But NBC, et al, making a lot less per viewer now than they do on TV)

More options for getting video content: telcos, cable cos, wireless cos (soon)

Fewer choke points in each market: With an Internet connection anywhere in the world, you will soon be able to get to almost anything. And not just to your computer--to your television.

Thus far, the TV industry has reacted to these changes the way most people would: By trying to port its existing model to the new world and maintain its hold on power and money. This is why we're getting so many ridiculous, consumer-unfriendly TV solutions, such as:

Market-based control over what you can and can't watch (thanks to contracts with local cable companies),

No live-streaming of lots of popular video content despite the fact that this would grow the audience (same reason),

Time-shifting of popular shows (don't want to cannibalize more profitable TV audience)

Hoarding of video libraries that could be easily available, watched, and monetized online

Single episode downloads that expire after 24 hours

$150/month "triple-play" solutions that come larded up with absurd taxes, fees, and service-charges, most of which go to pay for crap we don't want.

All these Band-Aid solutions will eventually fail. Why? Because eventually the cable-satellite-airwavemonopoly over TV content in local markets will be circumvented by simple, global Internet distribution.

You won't have 5 channels, or 50 channels, or 500 channels. You'll have millions of channels. You'll be able to watch anything you want, live or taped. You'll be able to watch it wherever you want--TV, computer, mobile device. You won't have to sorry about "slinging" video content around or programming your DVR. You'll just plug a pipe (Internet) into a box (device) and watch.

This is where the future is going. That's obvious. The only question is how long it takes us to get there--and who gets killed along the way.

A lot of this content, by the way, won't--and shouldn't--be free. But you won't have to pay your cable company for the dozens of channels you won't ever watch just get the ones you do. You may have to maintain subscriptions with several different content-aggregation companies (a pain) but this will be a lot better than paying for things you don't want. And whatever content you do pay for will--and should--cost a lot less than it does now.

And what will happen to the companies?

The best content creators will do just fine. Video storytelling won't go away. Compared to the people who produced Battlestar Galactica, the Sopranos, and West Wing, etc., the folks who post to YouTube generally suck at it. So great content creators won't have to worry about them.

The lousy content creators will disappear. No big loss. And no big change.

The cable companies will become dumb pipes, and they'll get disintermediated. We won't need Brian Roberts to negotiate a deal with the Tennis Channel for us (or, rather, to prevent us from getting the Tennis Channel because of some contract dispute). We'll just go direct.

The phone companies will remain dumb pipes.

The wireless companies will become dumber pipes.

The competition between the multiple dumb pipes will eventually, we pray, result in lower prices for consumers for the only thing we will really need: Ubiquitous high-speed Internet access.

Box and device companies will remain box and device companies. Unless Apple somehow creates a new global chokepoint via the iPhone.

Networks that produce live news, sports, and entertainment will offer the content direct to consumers. But they'll no longer get paid big carriage fees from cable companies.

A few clever online aggregators--YouTube? Hulu? Cable companies? Netflix?--will create nice video portals and build powerful new businesses. At these portals, you'll be able to sign up to watch anything in the world on any device you want. You'll be able choose among multiple subscription models (monthly, a la carte). You'll also have a basic "what's on" option in case you just want to watch TV.

When will this happen? Over the next 5-10 years. And it will leave today's TV industry looking like today's newspaper industry.

And from this TV consumer's perspective, it can't happen soon enough.

Maybe I've been wrong all this time?

2009-11-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

It’s not clear that company blogs are a good idea, despite arguments for social media generally.

I’ll give you the bad news first, dispelling some common myths about what corporate blogs can achieve, but then I’ll show you how a corporate blog can significantly increase revenue, even without 10,000 RSS subscribers.

If you follow this kind of thing, you’re already familiar with the Oct ‘08 Forrester poll that measured how much people trust various types of media.

Specifically: Only 16 percent of respondents said they trust company blogs. In fact, blogs came in dead last

in the list of 18 types of corporate communication including print ads, direct mail, and radio, the average consumer is more likely to trust a random postcard or spam email than a blog! (Well, a corporate blog.)

So you have to ask, “What’s the point of a company blog that no one trusts?”

The traditional metric of marketing success is, “How many leads did we generate?” Branding is good and all, but at the end of the day revenue requires leads and sales. Does a company blog produce leads?

My experience is: Not usually.

At this point I’m supposed to trot out the usual examples of Joel Spolsky, Seth Godin, Bob Walsh, Jeff Atwood,Eric Sink, Dharmesh Shah, and even Moby, because, gosh darn, those blogs generate tons of leads and/or product sales and/or influence for their authors.

See?!? Yay blogs!!!

But these examples don’t prove corporate blogging is worthwhile for you.

Why not?

These bloggers produce outstanding, unique content, or at least they did as they rose to celebrity status. As Penelope points out so well, you’re not that good, not that consistent, and not that committed.
These blogs are venerable and had much less competition for attention when they were building readership. You’re competing in the modern, overcrowded blogosphere; you won’t have thousands of daily hits for a long time, if ever.
These blogs are written by one person with a voice, a personality, and a perspective, not by a “company” trying to sell something. Will your corporate blog have those properties? Can you resist the urge to sell?
In many cases the writers were already famous. Moby was famous before he started blogging. Seth Godin was a best-selling author first, then captured and recycled that audience through blogging. You and your company are not a best-selling authors or platinum recording artists.
For every success story there’s a hundred companies with blogs no one reads. The odds aren’t good. Blogs are too much work for this much uncertainty.

So again I ask you, ” What’s the point of a company blog?”

Actually, a corporate blog can significantly increase revenue, even without tens of thousands of subscribers, even without generating piles of new leads, even though strangers don’t trust them.

It’s all about cultivating your cheerleaders.

Your “cheerleaders” are those rare people who are not only fans of your company, but who put their own reputation on the line on your behalf. This is the guy who single-handedly convinced his boss to open her wallet during a recession. This is the woman who took it upon herself to install your software on every computer in the company. This is the woman who emails her friends every few weeks about how awesome your Web site is.

This is Tom. This is Carol.

My assertion is that one cheerleader is more valuable than thousands of leads. Here’s evidence; all of the following happens regularly at my company:

One cheerleader can get your software installed on 800 seats at a company that your advertising, marketing, and sales reps have never cracked.
One cheerleader can promote you 50 times in forums and blogs and Tweets and emails — and that’s word-of-mouth promotion, not advertisement, which that same Forrester study showed was by far the most trusted form of communication.
One cheerleader can change jobs every two years, purchasing your product everywhere he goes, leaving new cheerleaders in his wake.

Here’s where the blog comes in. What if the point of the corporate blog is to cultivate cheerleaders? Specifically:

Write convincing and insightful articles supporting what cheerleaders are telling their co-workers and friends. Help them
“prove” their points. Help them be successful in spreading the word.
Write articles that could shift a person from being a “power-user” to being a “cheerleader.”
Highlight cheerleaders in posts. Show the Internet at large how insightful they were at implementing your product or service. Give them something they’re proud to put on their resume. This encourages others to go the extra mile so they too can be recognized.
Humanize the “corporation” so that people will want you to succeed. No one cares about some random, faceless company; cheerleaders fight for good, honest, smart people. Let your corporate culture shine through with stories, funny incidents, internal debates, philosophy, how you’ve dealt with failures, and highlight employees.
Track which articles are being spread by your readers and what commentary they add. Discover empirically which aspects of your philosophy, attitude, product features, and behavior motivate your cheerleaders; that in turn helps you recruit new ones.
Reference other blogs that support your views. Typically the authors of those blogs will start tracking yours and often will return
the favor, sending a crop of potential new cheerleaders to your blog.
Include your cheerleaders in your corporate successes. Talk about how “we” won some award, where “we” means the cheerleaders, too. In fact, use this attitude to rally them to vote so you can win that award in the first place.

Any company can do this, even a one-person consulting shop, because:

You don’t need thousands of subscribers to cultivate 10 to 100 cheerleaders.
You don’t need to post daily. This isn’t a news feed, it’s sharing a common passion.
Your existing customer base contains most (all?) of your existing cheerleaders; getting them to subscribe to the blog is relatively easy.
You just need to be yourself and talk about what’s important to you personally, whether or not it relates directly to your company.
Who cares whether topics are “too general” or whether strangers will be drawn in. Your cheerleaders love you; just be honest with them and love them back!
Nothing prevents you from expanding the scope of the blog later. Of course, you can broaden your topics, write controversial link-bait posts, and appeal to strangers. Just don’t stress about it.

Is a corporate blog necessary for every company? No. There are other ways to cultivate your cheerleaders, but blogging is an easy path to a cheerleader support system.

This doesn’t mean you should stop advertising and otherwise get in front of new potential customers — of course you should! It just means that a blog, as one of your marketing tools, is better suited for cultivating cheerleaders than for generating vast numbers of new leads.

Those cheerleaders are worth the effort.

What do you think? Do you have more tips for corporate blogging? Leave a comment and join the conversation.

This post originally was published July 18, 2009, on Jason Cohen’s blog, “a smart bear.” Check there to see comments and more tips from his readers!

Jason Cohen founded Smart Bear Software, maker of Code Collaborator, a tool for peer code review and recent winner of the Jolt Award. He took Smart Bear from start to multiple millions in revenue and 50 percent profit margin without debt or VC, then sold it for cash. He also is a founding member of ITWatchdogs, another bootstrapped startup which became profitable and was sold. He’s also a mentor at Capital Factory (like TechStars or Y-Combinator in Austin). And, he’s the author of Best Kept Secrets of Peer Code Review, the most popular book (35,000 copies) on modern, lightweight methods for doing peer code review effectively without everyone hating life. He blogs at asmartbear Email him: jason (at) asmartbear (dot) com

Marketing campaigns that spread themselves

2009-11-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

ORIGINAL POST

You know these people. They go to every social media conference. They write books on the subject and speak and get interviewed constantly about it. They network CONSTANTLY and rant about companies that don’t “get it.”

Guess what? They don’t get it because a bunch of people sitting around talking about social media is pretty lame. This is why I never have random tweetups unless there is an actual topic of conversation. It just makes life infinitely more interesting. I also like to promote things — *gasp* — outside of Twitter, and to people who wouldn’t even think to use such tools.

The cornerstone of every good social media campaign is a message. I am lucky to have learned this from Whurley, who was tweeting before you were knee-high to a grasshopper (well, not really, but he’s been on Twitter for a long time). If you are new to social media or just want a little inspiration, I suggest listening to this podcast he’s in.

Marketing isn’t about meeting everyone and going to every conference and writing every book on a topic. It’s about sharing your voice and your message with others, and then hearing theirs. If done properly, even an old school TV advertisement can be something customers can embrace and actually champion. If you don’t have a brand or a message people want to share, you will be working a lot harder than you need to reach people.

Rather than go on and on about this for ages, I’m just going to show you three examples of brands that are easy to share:

Hugh MacLeod’s “Microsoft Blue Monster”

If you can’t tell, that is a tattoo of a cartoon Hugh did for Microsoft. Someone got a tattoo of a marketing campaign. I’ve heard of Apple tattoos as well. Now bear in mind that the first prerequisite to getting your brand tattooed on their ankle is to not suck as a company which is a bit out of marketing’s hands, but having a symbol that people can proudly share with others is key.

Icanhazcheeseburger and the notorious lolcat

Tons of people can talk about building a community. Ben Huh and the gang at Pet Holdings Inc. just do it by uniting people around funny content. You know you have a happy community of users when someone gets this license plate:

Amy’s Ice Cream

I actually take pictures of their street signs and tweet them. I posted this pic to Flickr and it was viewed almost 300 times and favorited three times. It’s a tip jar. Rather than containing her employees, Amy lets them have fun with the place. They flip your ice cream like Tom Cruise in “Cocktail” and crack jokes. I know Amy’s Ice Cream is expensive for what it is but I don’t care. The experience, which in part includes the marketing, makes it a place you want to take your friends and family to.

A good brand is a thing of joy you give to someone so they can share with others. It says something people aren’t already hearing and fills a void.

This post by Michelle Greer originally was published Aug. 27, 2009, on her blog, michelle’sblog.

Michelle Greer is a Web marketing strategist/geek in Austin, Texas. Case studies of her work have been featured in Mashable, Yahoo News, O’Reilly Radar, and the Austin American Statesman. You can find her tips on marketing and social media at michellesblog.net, and her ideas about how new and traditional media are changing the lives of marketers are found at MarketIQ. Greer joined the Rackspace team on Oct. 26, 2009, with the title of senior manager for corporate development and has the pleasure of making life easier for new customers by explaining Cloud tools.

IPHONE APP | BEHIND THE SCENES

2009-11-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

Tap Tap Revenge 3, since it shipped about a week ago, has zoomed to the top of the charts and has stayed there. So we visited Tapulous’ Palo Alto headquarters and got the behind-the-scenes info from founder Bart Decrem on what goes into making this top-selling iPhone app.

Links:
http://www.tapulous.com/
http://tapulous.com/taptap3/

HOW TO GET FOUND

2009-11-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

How to Get Found

Guy Kawasaki (Alltop)

Oct 27, 2009 -

Brian Halligan is the founder and CEO of HubSpot, an Internet marketing software company that helps small and medium-sized businesses get found on the Internet and converts website visitors into leads and customers. He is also the author ofInbound Marketing: Get Found In Google, Blogs, and Social Media.

It used to be that you could efficiently grow your businesses by interrupting potential customers with outbound marketing methods like cold calls, email spam, and advertising. Today people and businesses are tired of being the targets of so much outbound marketing and they're getting better and better in blocking it out.

At the same time, people and businesses have fundamentally changed the way they shop and learn, turning more and more to Google, social media sites and blogs to find what they want. Inbound marketing helps companies take advantage of these shifts by helping them get found by customers in the natural way in which they shop and learn. The following are Brian’s five steps to help you get “get found.”

Be remarkable. Ten years ago you needed to spend gobs of money on PR and advertising to spread the word about your idea. Today the friction that marketing must overcome is very low for remarkable ideas such that they can spread on their own. Unremarkable ideas languish unfound regardless of how much PR and advertising you do. So make sure you have a unique, remarkable offering as it will spread like wildfire on the Internet if it's truly different.
Create content. Once you have your remarkable product or service, start creating lots of content about it—including blog articles, videos, podcasts, and tweets. Remarkable content about your remarkable product gets hyperlinked from other websites. Those links send you traffic, and they also tell Google that you should be higher in the rankings.
Optimize content. Before publishing your content, you need to “optimize” it for Google and for the people on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc who will spread it. For Google, you should include some of your “keywords” in the title of your content piece so it will be easier for Google to find it. For readers, you should make your titles as irresistible as possible. A good model for this is this blog that uses titles like “The Art of Schmoozing,” “MBA In A Page,” and “The Top 10 Lies of Venture Capitalists.”
Promote content. Once you have a remarkable piece of content that is optimized, start spreading it. Post it on your blog, email it to your newsletter subscribers, tweet it, update your Facebook fan page and LinkedIn profile with it. If the content is remarkable, others will spread it for you. As that content spreads, you will have more people follow you or subscribe to you, so that the next piece of content you publish will have a wider audience in the future.
Measure results. You need to measure your results for each channel. For example, you should compare your results for Google organic branded search, Google organic non-branded search, Google paid, blog, email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn group, and tradeshow campaigns to each other. For each campaign, you need to track visitors, leads, opportunities, and customers over time. Then double down on the campaigns that are working and kill the ones that aren’t.

The fundamental way in which humans shop and learn has changed dramatically the last five years because of the increased power of word-of-mouth and search. Therefore, you need to change the way you market your products to match the way people learn and find out about them

THE WORLD....SOON

2009-11-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

TheFunTheory.com

WILL ANYONE PAY FOR ANYTHING ONLINE?

2009-11-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

What will the future hold?

ANIMAL FORCES OF DIGITAL ECONOMICS

2009-11-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

Chris Anderson spent more than an hour at Revenue Bootcamp on July 10, 2009, talking about his new book, “Free: The Future of a Radical Price “ and what he called the “animal forces of digital economics” at work on the web.

The editor-in-chief at Wired Magazine joined some top-notch experts assembled in panels to share tips, hints, lessons and advice about how to increase traffic with Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing and face-to-face meetings at the conference on the Microsoft campus in Mountain View, Calif.

This more than one-hour video of Anderson, the meeting’s keynote speaker, is the third in a series of videos recorded during that one-day conference organized by Guy Kawasaki, managing director, Garage Technology Ventures. More of the videos will appear on building43 in coming days.

Here is an important link mentioned in this video: http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-03/ff_free

Detour Pilot #2!

2009-10-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

Angora Napkin! For one week only. Watch and be entertained.

FLASH ON IPHONE - GO!

2009-10-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

Adobe on Monday announced plans to roll out mobile versions of its Flash platform to several smartphones. Apple’s popular iPhone, however, is gaining a lesser Flash experience.

At its worldwide developer conference in Los Angeles, Adobe said it would be releasing Flash for mobile platforms including Microsoft Windows Mobile, Palm’s webOS and Google Android. But don’t expect Flash to come to the iPhone’s Safari mobile browser. Instead, Adobe is adding support to its Flash Professional CS5 developer kit to convert software written in Flash into standalone iPhone applications.

Let’s put it this way as an example: Ever watch videos on Hulu? If you own a Windows Mobile-powered phone, or the Google-Android G1, you’ll be able to watch Hulu videos through your phone’s browser. But for the iPhone, Hulu would have to use Adobe’s new development tools to create an iPhone appcontaining the Hulu experience.

Why the segmented experience for iPhone customers? Apple declined to comment, but some iPhone developers speculate Apple opted against a full Flash experience because of technical problems it could raise on the handset, such as battery drainage or sluggish web browsing. They also noted Flash apps could pose potential conflicts with Apple’s App Store policies. By requiring such applications to be submitted to Apple for inspection and approval, the Cupertino corporation retains control over the iPhone OS experience.

“These [smartphone] processors are going to become a lot more powerful now, but I think right now between battery and memory and raw processing power, performance is a major issue,” said Bart Decrem, CEO of Tapulous, developer of the popular iPhone game Tap Tap Revenge. “As an app developer I’m very focused on performance. I can see how Flash may not have the right performance characteristics yet.”

Many consumers have complained that the lack of Flash on the iPhone causes them to miss a major chunk of the internet. Several websites rely on Flash to support their streaming video, and a plethora of Flash applications and games are also available on the web. In the UK, two customers complained that Apple was falsely advertising the iPhone in a TV commercial by saying “all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone” when the handset does not support Flash. The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority deemed the ad misleading and pulled the ad.

In November 2008, iPhone developers told Wired.com they did not foresee a full Flash experienceappearing on the iPhone at any point. The iPhone developers’ terms-of-service agreement prohibits Flash from appearing on the iPhone.

“An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise,” reads clause 3.3.2 of the iPhone SDK agreement. “No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s).”

Previously, iPhone programmers also pointed out that supporting the Flash framework would open a backdoor for Flash apps to appear on the iPhone, which could conflict with Apple’s approval guidelines for its App Store. Third-party software that Apple would prohibit from the App Store, such as apps containing malicious code, could possibly make it onto the iPhone via Flash.

Also, Flash apps could pose competition with Apple’s App Store. And while the App Store continues to flourish, recently exceeding two billion downloads served, there’s no economic incentive for Apple to rush to deliver a full Flash experience, said Scott Meinzer, co-creator of iPhone development house Tap Tap Tap.

Meinzer added that he wouldn’t expect a full Flash experience to arrive on the iPhone anytime soon. He said even on desktops, Flash is not a smooth experience, often causing sluggish browsing and frequent crashes. Thus, running on a phone, a full Flash experience would not be any better, he said.

“It seems like for Flash to work well on the iPhone, Apple has to bless it in some way,” Meinzer said in a phone interview prior to Adobe’s announcement that it would support coding Flash apps for iPhone. This compromise of Flash apps rather than a full Flash experience, then, appears to be Apple’s blessing.

Adobe said a public beta of Flash Professional CS5 will be available by end of 2009. Some Flash iPhone apps are already available in the App Store.

The jury is out on whether consumers will find individual Flash iPhone apps a sufficient substitute for a full Flash experience. What are your thoughts? Vote in the poll or add your comments below.

What do you think about Apple's solution for offering Flash?

WATCH AND UNDERSTAND!

2009-10-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

Digital Strangelove (or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Internet)

View more documents from David Gillespie.

DAGAN'S NEW REEL

2009-10-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

My old Buddy Dagan's new animation reel, yeah, that's right, he's wicked good.

Gene

DETOUR PILOTS LAUNCHED

2009-10-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

CHECK IT OUT!

I LOVE YOU FLASH

2009-10-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

I AM MIRAMICHI

2009-10-19T12:02:00.001-07:00

A spot we finished earlier this year for our hometown.

Big shout out to everyone whom worked on it. Jeff MacTavish, Rob Anderson, Gracie Roche and Erin Glidden, my man Tavis Silbernagel, Animator magic man Pat Proulx, Devin Taylor, Cindy Plourde, Oliver Costes and of course the wonderful folks at Dacapo Productions.

Big love to everyone, it looks tight!

Gene

NICK COMES TO CANADA

2009-10-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

September 28, 2009

Nickelodeon comes to Canada

By CBC Arts

Nickelodeon in Canada will be bringing shows such as Fanboy and Chum Chum and The Troop to Canada for the first time, beginning Nov. 2. Nickelodeon in Canada will be bringing shows such as Fanboy and Chum Chum and The Troop to Canada for the first time, beginning Nov. 2. Corus Entertainment, which already owns YTV and Treehouse in Canada, plans to launch the new children's channel with a series of crossover shows shared with its other specialty channels.

Corus has struck a deal with MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, for exclusive access to animated and live action Nickelodeon programs, which are aired in more than 300 million homes across Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. MTV Networks has a significant stake in Corus. Fanboy and Chum Chum, an animated series about two boys who combine their love for comic books and their imaginations to get into bizarre adventures and The Troop, a live action series about kids who protect the world from supernatural villains, are among the shows that will air here for the first time.

The Kids' Choice Awards will also broadcast in Canada via Nickelodeon. The Canadian programs on the station include several that run on other Corus properties including:Grossology: an animated series about a brother-sister crime fighting team created for YTV. Max & Ruby: a pre-school series about a rabbit brother and sister that airs on Treehouse. My Friend Rabbit: an animated series about a mouse and a rabbit who are friends from Treehouse. Storm Hawks: an animated series that airs on Cartoon Network and YTV.

The schedule will give viewers more access to SpongeBob SquarePants, iCarly, Dora The Explorer and The Backyardigans and bring back series such as The Mighty B!, Danny Phantom and Avatar: The Last Airbender, Corus announced Monday.

NEW WEBLOG DESIGN

2009-10-07T00:33:00.000-07:00

I was thinking our studio site will try out a weblog format instead of website. Since we're all hugely into social media and update like crazy via all sorts of shit. Maybe this format is best. Anyway, what do you think of the design?

Gene

NEW MEDIA TRAINING

2009-10-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

October 2, 2009

Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) are proud to announce their latest collaboration in the form of an innovative training program that focuses on providing guidance to up and coming new media producers engaged in content creation for multi-platform delivery.

Working with an independent production company, under the direct supervision of at least one mentor, participants of this new initiative will develop their technical, administrative and creative abilities in the multiplatform content production and delivery sector. The program emphasizes one-on-one mentoring provided by CFTPA member producers, and creating enhanced professional development opportunities in a digital interactive media environment.
“In the digital era, it’s essential for producers to take advantage of the incredible opportunities presented by new innovations”, said Susanne Vaas, VP of Business Affairs, CFTPA. “We are extremely pleased to be able to work with Telefilm on helping producers hone their digital production skills and create content for multi-platform delivery ”

”Telefilm is delighted to work with one of our key stakeholders and partners to provide the training support needed for emerging new media producers,” stated Agnes Zak, Regional Director, Business Development for Telefilm’s Ontario & Nunavut Regions. The deadline for applications is set for November 2, 2009. For more information on the program, application forms and eligibility criteria, please visit www.cftpa.ca/mentorship.

The CFTPA is a non-profit trade organization that works on behalf of almost 400 companies engaged in the production and distribution of English-language television programs, feature films, and interactive media productions in all regions of Canada.

Developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industryTelefilm Canada is a federal cultural agency dedicated to developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry. Telefilm provides financial support to the private sector to create distinctively Canadian productions that appeal to domestic and international audiences. The Corporation also administers the funding programs of the Canadian Feature Film Fund, the Canadian Television Fund and the Canada

New Media Fund. Visit http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/.

For further information please call:
Canadian Film and Television Production AssociationAnne TruemanDirector of Communications & Media1.800.656.7440 Ext. 227
http://www.cftpa.ca/

Telefilm CanadaAlejandra SosaCommunications Officer & Press Attaché416.973.6436 Ext. 2505sosaa@telefilm.gc.ca http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/

THUGGIN EARLY

2009-10-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

My boooooooooooooooooooyeeee the gangsta.

INTERESTING LITTLE ARTICLE ON STORY

2009-10-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

CLICKETY CLACK

ELECTRIC PENS AND MONDO MEDIA

2009-10-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

MONDO MEDIA SIGNS CONTRACT from Loogaroo on Vimeo.

A few years ago we did a deal with Mondo Media to produce their television series of Happy Tree Friends. When we met with John at the OIAF to sign the contract, we did so in fine fashion.

This is what to expect when doing business with us. Loads of fun.

gene

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OTTO!

2009-09-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

Annalee found a baby! I think she's going to keep him. Say hi to Otto! Annalee and I have been exchanging conversations and nasty remarks for years as longtime partners in this crazy business. She's been working at Dacapo Productions in Winnipeg! BIG LOVE!

Send love and diapers!

Regional producers ready to fight back

2009-09-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

by: Cheryl Binning, Playback.comSep 25, 2009

Former Super Channel exec Nick Wry is rallying disgruntled regional producers behind a new national producers association.

Wry has launched SHERPA -- the Small Regional Producers Association -- to ensure that small producers get their voice heard at the national level.

"National organizations aren't looking after their smaller regional members and they are starting to revolt," says Wry, who has been based in Edmonton since 1974 and has been independent producing since leaving Super Channel.

Wry's beef is that Canada-wide associations like the CFTPA are forced to cater to Toronto producers because they dominate the membership in terms of sheer numbers. SHERPA will allow the voice and concerns of smaller prodcos to be heard.

"We are here to fight for small regional producers," says Wry, who is CEO of the new association. "We need an organization to represent producers outside of the 514 and 416 area code."
SHERPA will be overseen by an advisory board made up of small producers from every province. It will serve only as a lobbying organization and doesn't preclude producers from joining other national and regional associations.

"We will take positions forward to the government, the CRTC and appropriate parties on industry issues," explains Wry.

Membership in SHERPA is limited to film, TV and new media companies with up to five full-time or contract employees, and with a head office more than 150 kilometers from Toronto or Montreal.

"This is the original description of a region defined by Telefilm many years ago," explains Wry, stressing that small companies in Vancouver are eligible to join.

Wry says that the CFTPA's submission to the Canada Media Fund consultations triggered him to launch the new association.

The CFTPA filing states that the current Canadian Television Fund system provides a significant incentive for broadcasters to support projects in the regions and there is no need to make any changes in the new fund to address regional production.

"That was the last straw," says Wry. "Toronto producers don't think companies outside Toronto should be given a leg up. There are more CFTPA members in Toronto than the rest of the country, so the national association's position is we don't need a regional bonus.

Edmonton-based SHERPA's first order of business will be to lobby for the inclusion of regional production incentives in the CMF.

"We are looking for additional money from the fund for regional production and additional credit to broadcasters working in the regions," says Wry.

An additional incentive is necessary because regional producers don't have the same access to broadcasters, he explains.

"If you live in Toronto or Montreal you can go down the street to a broadcaster and if they tell you to come back next week, you say sure," he explains. "When you live in Edmonton, flying to Toronto every two weeks ends up costing you a fortune, so you don't have the same advantage. And broadcasters don't come to the regions of their own volition to talk to producers."

Wry is attending the cross-country CMF consultations and hosting SHERPA info sessions after each meeting. The cost of membership is $149 or discounted to $99 for producers who belong to a provincial association.

WALLPAPERS INSPIRED BY FWA

2009-09-27T22:33:00.001-07:00

CANADA INTERACTIVE FUND

2009-09-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

Few details on new fund

by: Marise Strauss, Playback.comSep 23, 2009

The federal government says it will inject $37.5 million over the next five years into a new fund to boost the creation of "interactive cultural content" such as applications for web and mobile platforms -- though Ottawa seems unclear where the money is coming from, and who will hand it out.

Heritage Minister James Moore unveiled the Canada Interactive Fund on Wednesday at Toronto's Seneca College. CIF is open to candidates from aboriginal and ethnocultural communities, as well as official-language minority communities and other not-for-profit cultural organizations.

The new fund is expected to "build technical capacity" and enhance Internet and new technologies within the organizations that receive funding, according to a statement from Heritage.

"With such a diverse student population, Seneca well understands the value of nurturing cultural identities," commented Seneca's associate VP of academic Henry Decock, adding that students graduating from digital media arts and animation programs are "poised to contribute to projects that cultural institutions will undertake with this funding."

It is not clear, however, if the CIF will replace Heritage's Partnerships and Gateway funds, which also back new media efforts by minority communities and non-profits. Heritage says both funds will continue to "operate through 2009/10" but gives no indication as to their fate after that period. Meanwhile, the CIF will be in place for 2010/11.

There is also no word on who will be administering the fund. Heritage did not respond to questions by press time.

ICE AGE 3 GAME

2009-08-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

CLICKITY

Check out one of the games we did, yum!

Gary Cooper did the exquisite background.

Gene

MR.BANKS

2009-08-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

The Insatiable Mr.Banks from Loogaroo on Vimeo.

HOPPER!

2009-07-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

HOPPER DEMO from Loogaroo on Vimeo.

SEASONS!

2009-07-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

SEASONS from Loogaroo on Vimeo.

MICROSOFT MUSIC VIDEO | 2006

2009-07-24T08:39:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from Loogaroo

Happy Hour is 9 to 5

2009-07-23T17:34:00.001-07:00

I did this book review for Progress Magazine about 3 years ago. I love this book, the philosophies and excercises worked marvelously at Fatkat. I need to read it again for Loogaroo me thinks!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Loogaroo

CHARACTER DESIGNAROOS

2009-07-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

From the minds of Tavis Silbernagel and I. These were for a local animated spot for the city of Miramichi.

The designs were inspried by Shane Prigmore fo' sho'.

The 40 second spot showcases some local entrepreneurs in various industries such as green energy Kevin Gallant, left and Dorothy Innis for Advanced Manufacturing. Then myself for running my animation studio into the ground but starting another about 5 seconds later.

The spot is looking real good. I hope to publish it soon!

Snufflepants.

FROM OUR PALS AT POWERHOUSE

2009-07-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

Mark Your Calendars

2009-07-17T19:17:00.001-07:00

PUPPETRY WORKSHOP
One Day Event on August 14th
10am to 5pm
At the Loogaroo Studio
139 Duke Street, Miramichi, N.B.
506.622.3333

Workshop is limited to 20 participants Max.
Act quick and reserve your place!
Email: gfowler@loogaroo.com

$25

Please Note: This workshop is a condensed but extremely in-depth version of a 5 Day Intensive Puppetry Workshop. The main difference between the two is a lack of time to explore & evaluate performance development of participants through assigned "homework" and requisite presentations. The fundamentals and a course of action to follow after the workshop will allow for continued study, practice and implementation of core materials.

The main focus of the workshop is on Puppetry For Camera. An approach to performing puppets for the camera will be presented in a series of "layers", with each new layer compounding the difficulty of what has come before and at the same time adding to the foundation of knowledge and experience that can be applied to the process.

The entire proceedings will be broken down as follows:

HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT

A history of classical puppetry in all its forms will be given, from ancient Greek & Indonesian sources; through European forms (including mask & live theatre performance); through music hall, vaudeville & silent film; and culminating with the advent of television and the growth from standard presentational styles of television puppetry to a more open form that used the camera frame as the playboard and the benefits of video playback as a tool for evaluation and critiquing the work. Subsequent developments within film and the internet will also be discussed as will comparisons with various forms of animation - classical, stop-motion, flash, CG, etc.

AN AUDIENCE OF ONE

Disposition of the camera as the singular viewpoint for the audience as opposed to the wider arc of a surrounding theatrical audience. Use of the camera frame as playboard. Physical positioning of the performer with respect to camera placement. Physical & visual coordination required to manipulate the image on the screen. Eyeline and focus of the "mask" of the puppet character. Entrances & exits - background & foreground - exploring the physical "space" of the frame. Simple exercises to demonstrate and practice will be provided throughout.

THE PHYSICAL CHARACTER

Defining the extension of the performer as the body of the character. Physical status of the performer reflected through the body of the character. Breath as expression, motivation and impulse. Body language, gravity, eye focus - all of the elements required to convincingly portray a sense of character to the audience and how best to use the performer's relationship to the camera to achieve this. Simple exercises to demonstrate and practice will be provided throughout.

LIP SYNC

Use of the hand to simulate a speaking character. Vowels, consonants, breath, emotion and more are addressed. Combine with previous exercises to complicate matters and highlight flaws, limitations and opportunities. Simple exercises to demonstrate and practice will be provided throughout.

SHARING THE FRAME

Solo composition within the frame. Sharing and balancing the frame with another character. Sharing and balancing the frame with multiple characters. Exploring the wide range of variations available through the relationship between the performer(s) and the camera. Combine with previous exercises to complicate matters and highlight flaws, limitations and opportunities. Simple exercises to demonstrate and practice will be provided throughout.

PUPPETS

All of the above has been done with naked hands and arms. Including the physical properties (advantages & disadvantages) of puppet characters adds yet another layer. Normally we conduct these workshops on our home turf with a pant load of characters to press into service. For this event a limited number of puppet characters will be available for use but we will be able to provide a grounding in understanding how the physical form of puppet characters alters the performance process.

GRAND FINALE

Now, now, that's a surprise!

*** During the sessions the group will use a camera and floor monitors to develop the interaction between performer and camera. Larger monitors allow the group to observe what the on-camera performers are seeing. Video record and playback will be used throughout to evaluate and critique the work.

*** While observers are welcome, it is actual participation in the exercises and demonstrations where the real learning occurs. Every opportunity will be made to have everyone participating get the chance to work in front of the camera.

Q & A

Rob and Karen will answer any questions about any topic related to their work, puppetry, animation, performance, etc. Pick their brains clean!

Workshop is limited to 20 participants Max.
Act quick and reserve your place!

LOOGAROO WALLPAPERS

2009-07-17T14:36:00.001-07:00

Muhammad P.I

2009-07-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

Muhammad P.I. from Ming Chang on Vimeo.

BG FUN

2009-07-15T10:36:00.001-07:00

BGs hammered out recently By the fine ladies Erin and Gracie, working on a spot for us. Works in progress, but I like the effects!

FROM THE COTTAGE OF MICKLES

2009-07-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

Some facey type changes.

COLOROOS

2009-06-30T18:13:00.001-07:00

Oooh, now doesn't this little guy have something? I didn't see it before. But this is nice and michevious!
All it needed was a bit of convincing and I got that little fellah to show his true colours.

Loogaroo | Haitian Style:
In exchange for untold powers the Loogaroo would remove its skin and carefully fold it up, hang it on a silk cotton tree, then turn into a ball of fire to go collect blood for the prince of darkness.

Shutters and boarded up windows are no protection against this sneaky blood robber as he can squeeze through the tiniest of cracks. But there is a way to protect yourself....

If he comes across a mixture of rice and sand sprinkled in front of any door or window, the Loogaroo will feel compelled to count every single grain before he enters. Be sure to aim high in your estimate then double it when you are throwing your grains down and hope its enough to keep the sucker from entering until the safety of sunrise.

What a character.

AROOoOOOoo!

2009-06-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

I think we have a winner here with this text. Now for the mascot!

GAVAROO INSPIRATION

2009-06-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Gavin in a kangaroo outfit last year during halloween. What a mascot he'd make eh?

WHATCHYA GONNA DO!?!

2009-06-30T07:33:00.001-07:00

So after our film shoot last week in Miramichi, the boys from Hemmings House Pictures high tailed it back to Saint John. But while searching for just the right song on thier ipod to jump the curb to, Lauchlin and Nick found themselves airborne a bit too soon.

It's a very important thing timing is. When you're looking to roll your car over a 50 foot cliff and tumble it down into the woods as all your camera gear explodes out the windows, you certainly want the right MP3 to go along with it. Such a chance was missed here. Well, at least it wasn't their car.

Nick shows that eating his vitamins and saying his prayers like a good Hulkamaniac can get you through the total destruction of a dodge neon, while inside it, brother.

Mean Gene

FROM THE OFFICE OF MICK HARRISON

2009-06-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

MESSIN WITH THE BRAND

2009-06-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

JOE BORER

2009-06-29T16:27:00.001-07:00

A large part of my inspiration growing up. Ladies and Gentleman, please tell me where Joe Borer is now so I can shake his hand!

THERES JUST SOMETHING ABOUT HIM

2009-06-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

MUCKIN ABOUT WITH LOOGAROO LOGOS

2009-06-22T21:16:00.001-07:00

Start-Ups Rely On Bootstrapping

2009-06-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

New cleaning businesses tend to have few financial resources. Before you sign your first client you need capital for supplies, equipment, basic start-up expenses, and perhaps even payroll. Where do start-up companies get the financing they need to set up shop? Some businesses use savings, some borrow from friends or relatives, and some get a bank loan. But many small start-ups rely on a technique called bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping means pinching pennies, cutting corners, and learning to do more with less. Using bootstrapping techniques also means carefully watching where your cash is coming from and where it is going to. Does this technique work for growing your business? You bet! Ernest & Julio Gallo, Domino’s Pizza, Hallmark Cards and Black & Decker are examples of businesses that started with $1000 or less and used the art of bootstrapping to grow and become successful.

In bootstrapping you not only focus on how revenues come into the business, but where you are going to spend the money that comes in and if there are other ways to obtain those resources.

The following are techniques that have helped businesses grow and expand.

1) Focus on the right customers. Some customers like to hold onto invoices as long as possible. Finding customers who pay immediately helps keep cash flowing into your cleaning business. Maintaining a good customer relationship will also help to get your customers paying as soon as they get their invoice.

2) Be frugal, but not cheap! Distinguish between costs that are necessary and ones you can avoid. Do you need to rent space for your cleaning business or can you begin by running the business out of your home or garage? Can you get by with used equipment? Do you need a cell phone with streaming video or just a basic model to make sure you do not miss any calls? On the same token, don’t be shortsighted (and cheap) with suppliers. Develop a good relationship with your suppliers and they will be happy to let you know when there are specials and if a lower priced item works as well as a more expensive one.

3) Create a high profile for your cleaning business. By taking on larger cleaning accounts your business projects an image of competency and that it has the skills and resources to handle the job.

4) Keep your salary as low as possible. The less cash that go out of your business the better. Cut back on your personal expenses while the business grows. Avoid buying that new car and that holiday cruise until your cleaning business has a good cash flow.

5) Get your customers talking about you. Word of mouth is the best advertising around and it doesn’t cost you anything. Ask your customers for referrals and tell them to mention your name if they know of anyone who is looking for cleaning services.

6) Keep good records and track every dollar. It is difficult to know if there are expenses that you can cut if you don’t know where your money is going or where your money is coming from. Keep more income by not giving preferential treatment or discounts to special customers.

7) There is power in becoming a partner. Find another business owner to share equipment, office space or even employees.

8) Trade for services. Are there individuals or businesses who would be willing to have you clean their offices for part or all of their payment? Large businesses and corporations may not have the flexibility to “swap” services, but your lawyer, graphic designer, accountant or other consultant may be happy to exchange services.

9) If you need employees, hire part-time or temporary help. Rather than having a full-time bookkeeper or marketing person think of hiring a virtual assistant that you can pay for just a few hours a month. Another benefit to a virtual assistant is that she will have her own equipment and be responsible for her own employment taxes.

10) If you are buying or leasing space and equipment agree to only short-term leases. This helps you control costs and keep your cash flow flexible.

11) How much inventory do you need to have on hand? Don’t tie up money in supplies and equipment that will just be sitting on a shelf.

12) If necessary, work nights and weekends while your business is growing. Many entrepreneurs will keep their full-time job and a part-time job until their own business is financially stable.

Using bootstrapping techniques mean that you are looking at more than just where your money is coming from. Earning a dollar in revenue may lead to only 20 cents in profit. But if you save a dollar in cost savings, that goes 100 percent to your bottom line. Being frugal at the start of your business can pay big dividends in the long run. Bootstrapping can be your best friend when it comes to the cash flow of your cleaning the business!

Original Post here.

A TAKE ON LOOGAROO

2009-06-18T13:40:00.001-07:00

From our friend Jon Lambe.

LOOGAROO | JALLOO

2009-06-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

Tavis can't believe it's not butter.

Those who know me, know I'm not one to sit about for very long, I think it was actually a week and a half from when we closed down Fatkat to when I couldn't sit in my house thinking of all th possibilities and opportunities that were just waiting for me if I got up off my ass.

My apologies to me partners in crime of whom I drug out of the summertime pleasantness they were experiencin' to once again thrust forth into the great world of entrepreneurship. There'll be plenty of time for restin' when you're in a pine box ya buggahs.

So, what'd we do this week, nuttin much, Jalloo'd.

Murrance P. Bain of Copernicus gives you the evil eye. He expects it back, promptly.

As for Andrew Holland's tooth, you can keep it. He'll grow another one, yes he has that ability.

David listening to my arguement on why the new Star Trek is quite possibly the greatest movie of all time.

Rob's reaction when David asked him how he liked working on Three Delivery. Kidding... ...maybe... no, probably not.

A little doodle I did of some of the friends/speakers/panelists/table dancers we partied together while we Jalloo'd. Left to Right, Andrew Holland, Gene Fowler, Rob Anderson, Murray Bain, Luke Conrad, Adam King, David Wiebe and Leslie Headrick.

I just realized I didn't draw M.A Kuttner from Collideascope. Damn, sorry M.A.

So that's it.

Gene-aroo.

R.I.P. FATKAT 1999 - 2009

2009-05-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

Well folks, that was fun.

Roughly 10 years ago a few of us Helix Animation in Halifax (Not to be confused with Richard's Company in Sydney) left the studio to form Fatkat Animation Studios, at the time we were producing flash animated training films for a client in San Diego.

In 2002 Fatkat was taken over and redubbed Trainingscape Studios Canada by our client. Then about a year later it folded leaving us in the crapper and due 2 weeks back pay. Most of that great team went to other studios in Halifax or spread out farther west. The CEO was never heard from again and we never did get our cashola. Oh well, we moved on.

In 2003 a few of us ex Training-Apes decided to raise Fatkat out of the ashes and focus on TV. We got our start with a nice reference from Ian Gallant, who referred Fatkat to a PEI producer by the name of Campbell Webster. He had a contract that saw us launch Fatkat in NB and produce the first animated series in the province for CBC. I'm thankful that I was able to repay Ian for that reference with a spot on the Happy Tree Friends series years later. So thank you again Ian and thank you Campbell for getting us started again.

Alot of stuff has happened in the 10 years that the Fatkat brand has been kicking around, though mostly all in the last half. We've produced simply a ton of commercials and interactive spots. We've cranked out series such as Skunk Fu!, Chaotic, SuperNormal and of course the straw that broke the camel's back "Three Delivery".

Don't get me wrong, all were good productions, but Three Delivery was the monster, some called it a studio killer (you were right Rick!), I just giggled it off, but I knew they were right. It'd be a miracle if we came out of that one alive. Though it certainly beat the hell out of us all, we made it though. With all 26 episodes delivered to YTV and the other broadcasters just last week. I thank the entire TD crew for that, you did what many could not, you survived the most demanding and torturous production I have ever seen and did it with a smile, albeit a few teeth are missing from your smile; my heart goes out and my hat comes off to you. I'm very proud of the work Fatkat produced and Three Delivery is an awesome show because of it.

Extra big thank yoos to Robbie Anderson & Tavis Silbernagel for making it shine and staying committed through all of it. A massive thank you to Stephen Ashe and Carol MacKinley to cleaning it all up in finance, insuring that everyone was paid in full. It was no small task and you did it all with grace and humility. I thank you.

My first round of thanks go out to senior team, Patrick Proulx, Neven Nesic, Gwen Mitchell, Mel Albert, Andrew Embury, Rob Anderson Jr., Steve Valdez, Andrew Coyle, Jon Roth, Sean Rule, Jon Lambe, Mike Concannon, Neil Davies, Heather MacDonald,Daniel Theriault, Doug Little, Andrew Blodgett, Sean McGraw, Gordie McBride, Jose Osorio, Salma Hussain, Geremy Walker and Dallas Daigle.

Thank yoos to everyone else and forgive me if I've forgotten anyone: Geri Donahue, Kate Turcotte, Paula Barry, Geremy Walker, Casey Gallant, Cliff Walker, Ryan Keizer, Nic and Tim, Dave and Cindy, Erin and Gracie, Val Cormier, Keith Dury, Oliver Costes, Sandy Miller, Darren, Casey Johnson, Jessica, Erika, Jmac, Rory, Chris Mudd, Mr. Jarvis, the one and only Leon Arispunandar, Rob Llyod, Jeremy Donovan, Kurt Peckham, Rick, the laughter of Lauren Grieman (keep smiling hun), Ryan Cole, Dave McCullough, Paul Dupuis, Devin Taylor, Alberto and Erika overseas, Mark Cappello and the great team at invisible, Randy St.Ana, Mike Fiander and all the freelancers across Canada, much thanks and respect for your hard work offsite. Big thanks to the Space Knights crew and the previously unmentioned Matt Taylor for his work on both shows. To Dave "the popcorn machine stinks" Michaud, to Matt Stroud for stickin to Eddie, Daisy, Diego and all the friggin dogs in the joint.

Big inspirational thanks go out to Mick Harrison, whom is quite possibly the world's finest cartoonist. Atomic hugs to Tony Grillo at Flinch for his years of partnership. Big laughs go out to Buddy Bolton and his weinerdogs. Super high fives to the good folks at Razor Creative, Mike Valiquette, Aaron Simpson, Nancy Mathis and my friends at the WMI, our partners at Just for laughs, Teletoon, YTV, SRC, BBC, Canal+ and Nickelodeon. Of course our amazing friends at Dacapo, Olaf, Clint and Nolan (see you in a few weeks!). Thank you to Jeff at the City for being there, Brian at Enterprize for all the great advice, Claude at ACOA, Rick at the BDC, Nan and Ross at RBC, RDC, Greg at CBDC, RCMP, CMYK and Claude at BNB for supporting us like you have. I thank you all so much for your experiences and friendships.

To the hundreds of other great artists, people, partners and clients that have made Fatkat a great company over the years and put up with all the bullshit when we were growing like mad; thanks for still making it fun with cool projects, a heartfelt thanks.

As for the future, I have gathered a few close friends from Fatkat and will be starting a new studio here on the Miramichi. It will be called "Loogaroo" . We'll be reflecting on all we did right, but also all that we lost sight of or totally messed up on. Then retooling our new shop and providing the same great service that we did for so long with Fatkat but with some mighty big changes and improvements.

We'll be looking to put the finest ex-Fatkat artists to work as quickly as possible. I urge you all to reach out early and often to keep top of mind. Thank you for staying in the area and for your loyalty to me and Miramichi. We're by no means done yet, as a matter of fact, we're just getting started!

I'm off to spend some much needed time with my family, again thank you for 10 glorious years with Fatkat. I look forward to many more as Loogaroo.

It's been a slice.

Gene

gfowler@loogaroo.com

AGREED!

2009-05-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

Film producer says N.B. government losing millions by ignoring industry

Last Updated: Friday, May 8, 2009 | 3:31 PM AT Comments3Recommend9

CBC News
New Brunswick is losing out on millions of dollars in potential revenue because the Liberal government is ignoring the film industry, says a film producer in Moncton.

Rick LeGuerrier, a co-owner of Dream Street Pictures, said other provinces realize the value of supporting film and television productions and that translates into more money for local economies.

"They'll give us $100,000, $200,000 in a project and they're an equity investor and if that project is sold and makes money after the fact, we have to return some of that money to the provincial coffers and in fact we've done that with some of our projects," LeGuerrier said in an interview on Friday.

LeGuerrier was involved in the making of Sticks and Stones, an award-winning film about a hockey team of young Americans booed in Montreal then invited to a tournament in Fredericton to atone for the poor treatment they'd received.

LeGuerrier said the film made about the incident showed the impact a film production can have.

"Over the course of a couple of months, we spent between two to three million dollars in the New Brunswick economy and particularly in Fredericton," LeGuerrier said.

"And if you look at a very conservative multiplier effect of that, even if you double it, which is really conservative when it comes to economic multipliers, you're looking at about $5 million which was spent over a couple of months in the Fredericton economy."

Sticks and Stones won the 2009 Shaw Rocket Prize, a $50,000 prize that recognizes the best Canadian television programming for youth aged 13-17, on Wednesday.

Sticks and Stones also won Best Foreign Feature Drama at the International Family Film Festival in 2008 and earned Gemini and Canadian Film and Television Production Association Indie Award nominations.

THE STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE OF

2009-05-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

At Jmac's bloggo, like it, do it, pick your nose and chew it.

HELP JESS FINISH HER FILM

2009-04-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

Attention All Animators who are killing time,

clicketh hereth.

MORE FROM THE ARCHIVES

2009-04-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

RCMP SPOT 2004 from Fatkat on Vimeo.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

2009-04-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

SOAP & PUBEY from Fatkat on Vimeo.

Warning: Strong Language and Cartoon Nudity.

PLAYBOY ANIMATION CONTEST

2009-04-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hello

I am an editor with Playboy.com and I am trying to get the word out about our 2009 Animation Contest. We are accepting submissions now (through May 31) and the winner will receive $10,000. If you could post a link to the entry form and info on our site, we would really appreciate it.

Here is the link:

http://www.playboy.com/articles/playboys-2009-animation-contest/index.html

Just let me know if you need anything else from me.

Best Regards,

Aranya Tomseth

LEO & THE PISA-GANG | DEMO

2009-04-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

Leo and The Pisa-gang | Demo from Fatkat on Vimeo.

Fresh out of the Fatkat hopper. Leo and the Pisa-gang, going into production here at Fatkat in 2009.

Gene