“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

]]> http://word.aniboom.com/index.php/2012/03/11/giant-fuzzy-dolls-animated-with-aniboom/feed/ 0 http://word.aniboom.com/index.php/2011/11/02/animated-music-videos-are-made-easy-at-the-aniboom-animation-marketplace-2/ http://word.aniboom.com/index.php/2011/11/02/animated-music-videos-are-made-easy-at-the-aniboom-animation-marketplace-2/#comments Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:25:47 +0000 Team Aniboom http://word.aniboom.com/?p=32467764

We all know that great music enhances every animation.  But did you ever stop to think that great animation can enhance music?  Since the dawn of music videos in the 1980s, savvy musicians have known this precious secret about animation and kept it in their back pockets when implementing the best form of visual expression and promotion for their songs.  A perfect example of this is the classic Money for Nothing video by the Dire Straits, which was a first of its kind and a huge hit.  This fun, lively video combines elements of both animation and live action, providing the viewer with a real visual treat:

But the Gorillaz is definitely the best example of an “animated band,” as they have built their entire reputation on being known as such.  “The band’s 2001 debut album Gorillaz sold over seven million copies and earned them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band.” –from Wikipedia (the all-knowing Master of the Universe).  One of their most well-known and successful animated music videos (and a personal favorite) has to be Clint Eastwood:

So why not follow in the footsteps of the greats and do the same “animated” promotion for your own music?

We here at Aniboom Virtual Studio have exciting news for independent musicians and bands who would like to create animated music videos.  In our Aniboom Animation Marketplace, independent musicians can now collaborate with thousands of animation professionals from around the world to see their music video become an “animated” reality.

In this tech-savvy day and age, an animated music video has the potential to go viral and serve as a major promotional tool.  Teenagers, college students, and young professionals alike are always eager to find funny or thought-provoking animations to forward to their friends and colleagues to make themselves the talk of the water-cooler.  So as the famous lyric goes, why not “give them something to talk about” with your own animated music video?

Here’s what a current client is saying about creating a music video with the Aniboom Animation Marketplace:

“I was overwhelmed with the emails I received following my posting (in the Aniboom Animation Marketplace) of an idea for a music video.  I was impressed by several potential animators, and have followed up with them.  It feels so great to be doing this!  I decided to make an animated music video because one of my songs, ‘The Necklace,’ is a vivid story of a girl and her father that captures the emotions and the heart.  Animated videos are a phenomenal way of helping the lyrics come to life by narrating the story.”

–Jeff Jacobs, www.JeffJacobsMusic.com

In the past, Aniboom has worked with the legendary band Radiohead to find them the best independent animators to create animated music videos for their songs.  Radiohead came to us without a concept for the videos and invited the animators to take complete creative control.  The result was four vastly unique music videos all employing different styles and techniques, chosen by the band members themselves out of hundreds of submitted options.

Here is an example animated music video for Radiohead’s song Reckoner:

As Aniboom’s success with Radiohead proves, major advantages of an animated music video are its artistic freedom and cost-effectiveness with incredible results!  You can do crazy, surreal, offbeat things in animation (e.g. have a character jump out of a plane or spontaneously combust) that you couldn’t do in live action unless you had the resources of a giant studio backing you.  By using the medium of animation, you really have the opportunity to be as creative as your heart’s desire.  Want your video to pay homage to the surrealist paintings of Salvador Dalí?  Do you want it set in Italy or France?  Want it to be done in classic hand-drawn 2D, 3D, stop motion, or a combination of all three?  The possibilities are endless!

You can post your song title and track, description, video concept, character designs (or whatever you’ve got!) in the Aniboom Animation Marketplace right now to start receiving offers from qualified animators: http://www.aniboom.com/Post/Create-Task/?source=blog.

This is what it looks like to create a project in the Aniboom Animation Marketplace. It's easy!

If you have any questions about creating your video, please contact Aniboom at productions@aniboom.com.

Check out Aniboom’s Music Videos Playlist on our YouTube Channel.  Here’s one of the featured music videos.  It’s called “Le Soleil Chante / The Sun Sings” by French musician Ignatus (aka Jérôme Rousseaux) and animation by Delphine Burrus.

What do you think about animated music videos?  Which one is your all-time favorite?  I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

Rock on!

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:

Saatchi & Saatchi’s Richard Myers and Tom Eslinger Speak to Lions Daily News, Cannes Lions 2010. Yannick Puig (shown left) was the winner of the Saatchi & Saatchi Nothing is Impossible Challenge.

Uploading your video to Aniboom will help you build your animation reputation and be found online, here’s how:

You might have noticed that we’ve been pushing our YouTube Channel a lot more lately. It’s not just because we’ve reached the milestone of over 100,000,000 total views on YouTube – it’s because getting more views on YouTube brings more attention to our amazing animators. As the Director of Marketing for Aniboom I occasionally get to actually engage with our animators (say, when we’re running a campaign with a huge opportunity and people write back with their opinions about said campaign.) It’s during this time that I started chatting with a few of our more popular and experienced animators and I found out just how much our YouTube Channel has helped them.

According to Stephen Leonard being posted on the Aniboom YouTube Channel resulted in “page views on [his] site jump[ing] by about 144%, from December ’09 to January ’10. [He] also saw a jump in e-mails from random fans, so [he knew] they were real people and not just page refreshers.”

In other words – being featured really does help.

SERPs

SERPs stands for Search Engine Results Pages and it is how most things are found online. When you do a search in Google or on YouTube (the second largest search engine online) you get results – and those results are partially generated by the words in the title, tags and text of the content. If the content has a file name (such as a picture or video) then the file name is another element included. Now, when Aniboom uploads a video from one of our (fabulous and talented) animators we include their name in the file name, title, tags and text. The large daily numbers of our YouTube Channel help our results rank higher and all of that helps brilliant animators be found. And if your video was uploaded in the days before we started this practice, no worries – we can still update the title, tags and text to help you be found online – just send us an email (unfortunately we can’t change the file name as that would be taking all of your old views away and re-uploading your video.)

What does all of this mean? When Aniboom puts up an animation it will very likely get more views than someone putting it on a normal channel that doesn’t have much content.

Example: Replay – Amazing Animated Short Film by Talantis Films Distribution

This video has gotten over 1,446,868 total views as of today on our channel since June 2009. However, the video has actually been up on YouTube since September 2008 on the Talantis Channel (the actual distributer of the film – the animator had uploaded it to Aniboom.com and gave us the rights for redistribution). Note that on Talantis Channel the video has only gotten 25,166 views as of today. So if you’re looking for people to find your work – uploading to Aniboom and letting us know that you want your work to be featured on our YouTube Channel is definitely the way to go.

Are you as good as the animators featured above? Upload your work and shoot an email to maya@aniboom.com