On July 11, 2007, we uploaded our first animation on YouTube:

I remember the day like it was just yesterday and I’m proud to say that after 1,772 days, we have hit our 1,000 animation on our YouTube channel. A lot of our animations went viral and reached over 1 Million views and some of our animations barely made 10,000 views, some videos made you laugh, while other made you cry, either way, it’s been quite the journey!

We want to thank our amazing audience who take the time to watch our animations and write comments that share their..sometimes too honest opinion…. we love you! Yes, even those “First!” comment’ors
We also want to thank our team of amazing animators from around the globe who upload their animations to Aniboom and give us the chance to show the world that animators are pretty awesome people!

So… I’m holding a glass of champagne as as I write this… cheers to us all and to another 1,000 animations ahead!

“As a startup, we don’t have a large marketing department with a lot of existing connections to get things like animation done” says Zoe Fraade, a Creative Lead for Squishable.
Like many companies and entrepreneurs around the world, Zoe understands the power of animation as a powerful, eye catching, and fun way to promote a product, or get a message across.

But, as others from outside the animation industry have come to realize, getting an idea animated means finding the right professional to take the lead.

She continues: “Short of Craigslist, we really had no idea where to turn to get some fast turnaround on the videos we wanted. On Aniboom, the animators came
pretty much overnight and picking the one we wanted was fairly easy”.

Using the Aniboom Animation Marketplace, the squishable brand got 2 animated videos ready in no time, and 3 more are in production, all done by Ronen Zhurat, a member of aniboom’s freelance animator s community.

All Zoe had to do, was open an animation project, post it on aniboom’s marketplace, and wait for the professionals to propose themselves. After she found Ronen and agreed on the terms, it was, as Zoe puts it, a breeze :”It was a pleasure to meet someone who got the style we were going for so well.  Payment has been as easy as paypal can make it, which has been great”

Check out another funny video done by Ronen Zhurat for Squishable

or visit Squishable’s Youtube channel 

Check out Squishable  - They’re giant round fuzzy stuffed animals. Hug them

With the 10^th year anniversary of 9/11 approaching, we here at Aniboom Virtual Studio wanted to do something special and unique to commemorate this tragic attack on US soil.

So when Gideon Amichay, one of the leading Communication Artists working today (Chief Creative Director at Young & Rubicam and winner of 8 Clio Awards, 13 Cannes Lions and 1 One Show Pencil), came to us with the idea of bringing together animators from all over the world to honor the upcoming 10^th anniversary, we didn’t hesitate for a moment.   Gideon’s idea was simple yet complex at the same time: He envisioned each animator would create a ten-second animation inspired by the title:

9/11.  It’s been ten years.

The message of each ten-second animation is completely personal to each individual, which I find extremely refreshing.  Whatever connotations each animator drew from the title is what they were encouraged to use for inspiration when creating their animations.  There is no right or wrong answer, no valid or invalid opinions or emotions.  It’s amazing how people from all over the world with such diverse cultural, religious, and social backgrounds can interpret the same theme in so many different ways.  For example, Vlad Grausbard of Kazakhstan created a rather thoughtful animation: Two identical towers of pink roses in crystal glasses are seen at first from an aerial point of view of a rescue helicopter (in my interpretation).  A single drop of water falls between the two crystal rose towers and then we see the towers standing straight up, in the shape of an “11” (eleven), with the words “September” coming into view.  It’s an interesting idea to juxtapose such delicacy with such a harsh reality.

And then there are sweet, heartbreaking animations like the one by Erin Thweatt of the US.  Thweatt created an animation of a young girl putting the finishing touches on her American flag and photo collage to commemorate the passing of her mother during the 9/11 attacks.  The young girl stands with her grandmother and they hug.  These are just two of the 40 animations featured in the collection.

This collection of 9/11 animation shorts will be screened in its entirety on the Web on Aniboom’s 9/11 YouTube channel, in different forms on television, and in real-world venues.  All animation clips are signed with the artist’s name, followed by the flag of his/her home country — an added touch that  really makes me feel as though we are all united as one against terror and injustice in the world.

This is a not-for-profit effort.  Any proceeds generated by screenings on television or other media will be donated to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund and the Tuesday’s Children Organization.

More animation artists (all genres: 3D, 2D classic, stop motion, and motion graphics) from all over the world are invited to join the project in the service of our shared humanity.  Please click this link for the specifics and details: http://www.aniboom.com/september11

To view the “9/11.  It’s been ten years” animation shorts, check out Aniboom’s 9/11 YouTube channel.

Have I got some exciting news! The Aniboom Virtual Studio is expanding to include the Aniboom Animation Marketplace, where anyone can post an animation-related project and get it done by our qualified animation professionals from around the world.

Projects in the Marketplace can be as small as creating a background design or as big as a complete animated clip. This means it can be used to help out with a task on an ongoing animation project, or to actually make the whole project. Our pool of thousands of animation professionals allows the Virtual Studio the ability to find the best creators to work on each task. Among the professionals available are storyboard artists, concept art, character and background designers, 2D/3D animators, modelers, riggers, texture artists, matte painters, lighters, supervisors, production managers and more.

Final say on choosing the creator to work on a task goes to the producer who posted the project. After receiving a list of suggested eligible professionals, the producer decides who to work with, based on skills, experience, previous work and the creator’s demo reel.

This is good news for creators as well. The Marketplace offers a wide range of projects to work on and the option to browse through those that are offered to them and choose the ones they are most interested in and are available for.

I can’t wait to see the cool projects that come out of the Aniboom Animation Marketplace! What do you think about the idea? Please share your thoughts.

The prize for the Aniboom and Saatchi & Saatchi Nothing is Impossible Challenge was the opportunity to work with Saatchi on a project somewhere in the world. Yannick Puig, the winner of the award, was flown with his family to work with the Saatchi LA office on their new Toyota “Auto-biography” campaign. What a brilliant campaign! What a brilliant animation! As everyone has a story about their car (goodness knows I have plenty…) Saatchi had people write their “auto-biography” on the Toyota Facebook page.

The full story behind the campaign according to Tom Eslinger’s blog: “Based on the premise that every Toyota owner has an anecdote about why they love their car, Mike McKay, Executive Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi L.A., came up with ‘Auto-Biography’, a Facebook community where Toyota drivers can share their stories. In an effort to connect with Toyota owners, ‘Auto-Biography’ enables people to upload videos and post photographs of experiences associated with their vehicle. Using real Toyota owners as its inspiration, the campaign has amassed a range of intriguing tales, from the everyday to the fantastical. To visit the Auto-Biography community, click here. In all 10,589 Toyota owner’s stories were submitted through Facebook, and the Toyota USA page where the shorts are hosted has more than 292,345 members.

This is a brilliant commercial. The animation is brilliant and fits the storyline perfectly – I loved it.

It’s opportunities like this that are the reason why I love our awards so much. Most of the time we (people) find work through who we know. It’s not easy to be discovered when you’re one in thousands going after a job, you’re not located in NYC/Hollywood and you didn’t go to school with the director. But the people at Saatchi & Saatchi watched every single video that came through for the Nothing is Impossible Challenge and Yannick was awarded with a dream come true for his hard work.

Aniboom will be at the Kidscreen Summit February 15-18, 2011. Leeor Goldberg, Aniboom VP of Production and Gal Oron, Aniboom VP of Sales will both be attending.

Aniboom will be meeting with studios, media companies, broadcasters and producers – showcasing the Aniboom Virtual Studio, our industry changing production methodology and our shows available for development.

Leeor explained, “Kidscreen is a fantastic venue and I’m looking forward to going.” He added, ” The Aniboom Virtual Studio keeps me in contact with animation professionals from all over the world on a daily basis, but it’s always nice to get some face-time.”

If you would like to meet with Aniboom in New York please contact Maya.

I (Maya Shapira) recently uploaded a great animation about Red Riding Hood, with a clever twist in the story line, to our YouTube Channel. The video was getting positive responses at first, but after a few hours viewers started commenting furiously that the animation is copied from work done by Button Films. Jonathan Button of Button Films commented too, as well as sent us a personal message expressing his indignation regarding the unauthorized reproduction of his animation. He requested that we remove the video, understanding that Aniboom was not aware of the problematic aspects of the upload.

After receiving notice from Aniboom that her animation was being showcased on YouTube and reading the outraged viewer comments, the animator of the Red Riding Hood video asked to have her work removed. She willingly admitted to have been inspired by Button Films’s animation, and had no intention of infringing on copyrights or stealing other people’s work. The animator apologized for Aniboom being held accountable for her mistake, and said that she planned on updating her work to feature credit where due. She expressed regret and explained that she has learned a valuable lesson for her career through this experience.

Watching other creators’ work is a great way to learn, get inspired, and improve your own work. You have to study the masters and explore what is out there before you can put out your absolute best. The animator in this incident is just starting out with her animation career, and is still learning and honing her skills. She made her own version of “The Girl and the Wolf” as a way to practice. This is a common assignment for beginning animators, as it is a way for them to compare their work and receive evaluative feedback. Being exposed to various styles of work can also help you figure out what you gravitate to and discover your unique style.

Having said that, there is a difference between being inspired and using someone else’s ideas with the intent of taking credit for them. Inspiration should guide you through a train of thought; opening doors of your imagination that you haven’t noticed were there before. It should accompany you towards your own original ideas and let you move on beyond it.

I removed the ‘inspired by’ animation, as soon as the issue was brought to my attention. Button was contacted by our Marketing Director and apologized to. She also watched his work, and was seriously impressed. Following that, she encouraged him to upload his animations to Aniboom.com and asked if we could feature them on Aniboom’s YouTube Channel. Button enthusiastically agreed, saying he would be honored.

I was not familiar with Button’s creations before all this happened, and so I saw no reason not to showcase the Red Riding Hood video. It would be quite impossible to be able to have seen and recognize every animation out there. Nonetheless, I have since been trying to figure out methods through which to avoid similar events in the future.

Even though this event was unpleasant at first, I was lucky to have had it occur. If it had not happened, I might have never been exposed to Button’s awesome animations, and wouldn’t be able to share them with our YouTube viewers. What’s more, the experience has made me that much wiser.

What are you inspired by? Please share in the comments section.

If you haven’t seen The Simpsons Banksy Intro clip by now, scroll down, watch it – and then come back up and read.

When I first saw this clip I got very excited. Not the jumping up and down kind of excited, more the eyes-wide “ZOMG they went there!” type.

The intro is a statement on outsourcing. According to BBC News, “The extended sequence was apparently inspired by reports the show outsources the bulk of their animation to a company in South Korea.”

(Admittedly I have to wonder about that, as Pandas are from China, not Korea.)

BBC went on to add, “According to the street artist, his storyboard led to delays, disputes over broadcast standards and a threatened walk out by the animation department.

“This is what you get when you outsource,” joked The Simpsons executive producer Al Jean.”

Aniboom is an animation production studio that media companies outsource to, and by that logic I should be upset by the anti-outsourcing statement that Banksy is making.

But I’m not. Because our methodology for creating animation is different. Completely different, vastly different. Our methodology of production is working on giving animators location independence and personal freedom. And because we’ve been asking animators who have worked with us in the Aniboom Virtual Studio how we’re doing, and the answer is pretty good. Not perfect yet, mind. But we’ve got a nice start, and the fact that most would work with us again is a great thing.

This last bit has nothing to do with animation or work, but I was going through Banksy’s site and fell in love with this: