Join us for the next installment of our Visionary Lunches with Daniel Gregoire, CEO and Previsualization Director for HALON Entertainment LLC.

Justin conquers Germany, UK, Belgium, and Estonia with new TV deals.

Toronto, ON – September 5, 2012 - Justin Time, the popular animated preschool adventure series from Guru Studio is set to make more friends around the world! The new series, which made its U.S. debut in April on PBS’s Sprout^®and is seen in other countries, including Latin America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, has been picked up by Super RTL (SRTL) Germany. The largest kids TV network in the country, SRTL has acquired the first two seasons and will bring the imaginative series to viewers throughout German-speaking territories, beginning in December 2012.

“SRTL is the destination for quality programming for kids and families in German-speaking territoriesand we’re thrilled to share all the charm and wit of Justin Time with viewers all across the country,” said Frank Falcone, CEO of Guru Studio.  “Justin Time has been on-air in the U.S. for less than a year and has already built a solid fan base.” 

Frank Dietz, Head of Acquisitions & Co-productions at SRTL, commented: “We are very excited to be the new home for the show in the German speaking territories and to introduce our pre-school audience to the fantastic adventures of Justin and his friends. Guru Studio stands for quality animation made in Canada.“

In addition to its new partnership with SRTL, Guru Studio has sold Season 1 and 2 of Justin Time to the U.K.’s Pop TV for its Tiny Pop channel aimed at 3 to 7 year-olds, a growing player in the U.K. kids TV arena. The series premiered on Tiny Pop on September 1^st, 2012.

To read the full press release please follow the link to our Resources page.

Hello everyone, yes, it's not a rumour! After three decades of dedication to
our Community, Peter has retired.  No tears please...

Peter's contribution has been immeasurable and too numerous to catalogue.
He was tireless in his quest to make Ontario a centre of Creative Excellence
in many areas and especially in Film and Television.

Please come and celebrate with us Peter's contribution over the past 30
years.

Some of Peter's colleagues at the City have organized a casual get together.
No cost, no rsvp needed.  Just come an have a drink.  Catch-up with old
friends.  

Tell anyone who you think might like to visit with former colleagues
from the 70's to 2000's.

DATE:  Thursday, September 13th
PLACE: Hardrock Café upstairs (Yonge at Dundas Square)
TIME:  5:00pm to 7:30 pm or so..

I am sure it will be a most memorable night...See you there!!!



NEISHAW ALI  | PRESIDENT | CASO

  Toon Boom CEO Joan Vogelesang, and CTO Francisco Del Cueto, will present “More for Less with Toon Boom.”

As the animation software global leader, Toon Boom acts as the glue that binds content creators, producers and educators together. Come and learn about the current state of the animation industry, and discover the role animation plays in all levels of education. Let us present the benefits of implementing a solid pipeline using a self-servicing technology, one that opens a new world of possibilities.

Francisco will demonstrate the new Toon Boom Harmony 10 solution running on 64-bit, along with Toon Boom Manager, Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 3D and Redboard. Starting in pre-production with boarding within a full 3D stage and pre-visualizing concepts, and moving onto production with drawing with textured pencil lines, deforming vector and pixmap images, and applying particle effects, come and discover all the outstanding capabilities the Toon Boom pipeline brings to your productions.

Drinks and light bites will be served prior to the event.

Attendee Raffle Prizes Give Away

One copy of Toon Boom Harmony stand-alone valid one year and 10 copies of Flip Boom Cartoon to be awarded at the end of the event.

Date: Monday, September 17, 2012 – 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: Westin Harbour Castle
1 Harbour Square • Toronto, ON M5J 1A6

To pre-register follow the link: http://toonboomevents.com/3/rsvp.htm

Good morning Members, hope you had a great weekend and for those of you who
took advantage of the TAAFI festival would agree that it was an amazing
event, full of talent and inspiration!! Congrats TAAFI Staff for organizing
such a wonderful event.

As per my email last Wednesday, July 4th, we have reviewed the rates for
2012 and feel that it will be in the best interest of our members to
maintain the status quo.

During our review, it became apparent that in a given year, a member company
might scale their resources up or down due to production requirements which
may last for one or several months.  As the rates are based on the number of
artists, it would seem that some member companies fees may inaccurately
reflect this fluctuation.

There is no clear cut solution at this moment.  We will save this as an
Agenda item for our next Members Meeting in several weeks and discuss with
you all and agree on a consensus.

Thus, for greater clarity, the rates for 2012 will be as follows:

* More than 50 artists (full-time employee contract): $2,500 + HST per year
* 11-50 artists (full-time employee contract): $1,750 + HST per year
* 2-10 artists (full-time employee contract): $500 + HST per year
* 1 artist: $100 + HST per year

If anyone has any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact
me.

Thanks

Neishaw


NEISHAW ALI  | PRESIDENT | CASO
 

Hello everyone,

Although this is my first communication as President of CASO, I want to
assure you that over the past several months the Board has been actively
reviewing and planning activities that would best serve our members.

It has been a busy time and at this point I would like to share with you our
Plan for 2012/2013.  We have discussed this plan with the all Government
offices and The Toronto Film Commission and they are very excited and happy
to be a part of this mission. Upon review, I will be happy to answer any
questions that you may have.

In our effort to streamline administration, we are cleaning up our records
and we do want to provide to our membership quarterly financial statements.
This led to a review of members current status and rates for the new year. I
do know that there have been various conversations and concerns over what
the changes might be.  We are reviewing the rates and I want to reassure you
that the changes when finalized will in no way negatively impact our
members.  

We are constantly seeking ways to create benefits to our members and we
understand that member rates is not a way to finance our Organization.
Thus, we are looking to find effective ways of increasing our revenues
through private and Corporate funding while maintaining a rate that is
manageable to both our small, medium and large company members.

I will be sending out an email notifying our members when we have resolved
this item.  In the meantime, those that have vetted their concerns with
Board members, rest assure that you have been heard and your thoughts will
be reviewed.

Take care for now.

Neishaw



NEISHAW ALI  | PRESIDENT | CASO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FROM CLASSIC CARTOONS TO R-RATED ANIMATED FEATURES - TORONTO’S FIRST EVER ANIMATION FESTIVAL HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Toronto Animation Arts Festival International
TICKETS ON SALE JUNE 1st

To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/LvIvwK
 

Toronto, ON (May 30, 2012) – Tickets for the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI), celebrating the best of animation arts from around the world, go on sale June 1, 2012. Widely supported by the Toronto animation industry, the three-day festival features screenings of shorts <http://taafi.com/events/taafi2012/films/> &nbs p;and full-length features, plus intimate and exclusive workshops and master classes. The exciting new festival that showcases the local and international animation industry comes to the TIFF Bell Lightbox, July 6-8, 2012.

For complete programming information, go to: http://taafi.com/events/taafi2012/schedule/

Festival highlights include talks and lessons from trailblazing cartoonist John Kricfalusi, creator of The Ren and Stimpy Show, on July 7, at 9:00 a.m. Festival goers will also get the exciting opportunity to sit in on a live cartoon script read featuring Sean Cullen.
 
Other highlights include a showcase and presentation from the world’s largest online archive of animation and visual effects, Stash Magazine, a special screening and workshop for kids at the National Film Board of Canada’s Mediatheque, plus over a 100 local and international short films.
 
TAAFI offers a collection of some of the finest work in animation, for audiences of all ages. With over 50 successful studios, 10 schools of animation arts and a passionate community of enthusiasts, independent artists and professionals, Toronto is the picture-perfect location to play host to what is sure to become one of North America’s leading animation festivals.
 
TICKET DETAILS: All advance tickets are available for purchase by phone or online through the TAAFI website starting June 1st: taafi.com <http://www.taafi.com>
 
Festival Pass: $99
·   Includes Admission to all gala and regular screenings and The Nelvana Bouncing Ball TAAFI Party at Corus Quay

Screenings: $15 (Kids screening prices are $5 for children ages 3-13; free for children under 3)
 
Workshops: Range from $15-90
 
Pitch-a-Palooza: $90
·   Includes admission to Pitch Lab and Monkeyworks

The Nelvana Bouncing Ball TAAFI Party at Corus Quay: $15 in advance/$20 at the door
 
Gala Screenings: $20

Other TAAFI highlights include:
 
Animated Shorts:
·   Shorts 1 – Straight Up Toons – Top notch animation and classic cartoons

·   Shorts 2 – The Reflecting Pool – Artistic masterpieces set to an introspective frequency

·   Shorts 3 – Stylin’ – Innovative ideas and original techniques

·   Shorts 4 – Good N’ Weirdy – Pure, chaotic enjoyment

·   Student Shorts – S’cool – A collection of Canadian and international student works

Feature Films:
·   North American Premier of Ronal the Barbarian in 3D (Denmark, 2011) – Produced by Einstein Film

Retrospectives:

·   Rosto: So Far, So Evil – A program compiling the best of Dutch artist and filmmaker Rosto’s work

·   Kaj Pindal: A collection of his most popular films, including “I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,” followed by a Q&A with the living legend

About the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI)
Set to become Canada’s premier animation festival, the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI) is launching in July 2012 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox to celebrate the many forms of animation, including long- and short-format film and television, gaming and interactive, and the industry that creates the animated arts.

For more information visit: taafi.com <http://www.taafi.com>  
 
Social media links:
Twitter: twitter.com/thetaafi <https://twitter.com/#!/thetaafi>  
Facebook: facebook.com/atthetaafi <https://www.facebook.com/atthetaafi>  
Vimeo: vimeo.com/thetaafi <http://vimeo.com/thetaafi>  
RSS Feed: feed://taafi.com/blog/rss