The number of Web sites dedicated to animation is impressive and growing rapidly as more artists and writers join the trend. So why is animation, thought to be a dying art just a few years ago, so popular again?
To try to answer that question, the Digital Hollywood conference in Beverly Hills, California, brought together a panel of some of the biggest players in Web entertainment to discuss "Animation on the Net--The Web's Hottest Entertainment Content" on Wednesday afternoon.
The participants were: Gary Levine, president of Icebox.com; Jeff Fino, co-founder and executive producer of Wild Brain; Kevin Bermeister, president, Brilliant Digital; John Evershed, CEO of Mondo Media; Johan Liedgren, CEO, Honkworm; Fred Angelopoulo, CEO, Pulse Entertainment; and Michael Yanover, vice president and general manager, series and show content, for Shockwave.com.
Bob Weis, head of creative content for Z.com, moderated the panel, which included one clip showing an example of content from each of the sites involved. Because there were so many of them, and each wanted time to demonstrate one of their shows, the participants gave speeches rather than holding a true discussion panel.
Levine started the session by stating that in the 10 months since Icebox (http://www.icebox.com) was founded, the company has learned that a rule in the old media business still applies.
"It is all about the writing. We have 112 of what the industry labels 'A-list' writers working for us. We have about 30 series, 16 of which are on our site. We are proud of both the volume and quality of our series. We give our writers complete creative control. Some of our series seem like they could live on TV. In fact, 'Starship Regulars' was just sold to Showtime."
Fino described Wild Brain (http://www.wildbrain.com) as an animation provider for all media.
"We did the 'Rocky and Bullwinkle' movie this year, and we do a lot of commercials. On the Net, we have 11 original series, most of which are on the Web site. We play to our strengths as writers, directors and animation people. Animation is the perfect medium to tell our stories."
Bermeister said that Brilliant Digital (http://www.brilliantdigital.com) delivers interactive content in a variety of ways.
"We offer multipath movies. We have syndicated content through premiere content partners including Warner Bros., Universal and the rock band Kiss. Our distribution partners include Yahoo, Excite At Home and RoadRunner. We are using permission marketing to drive usage."
Mondo Media's Evershed said that his site (http://www.mondomedia.com) distributes shows by syndication.
"The Internet is an entertainment medium. Our three most popular series are 'Like News,' 'Thugs on Film,' which has been picked up by the BBC, and 'The God and Devil Show.' Mondo also syndicates Honkworm's 'Fishbar' series. Much of our content has been described as violent and mindless, so we have new shows targeted at teen girls."
Evershed played a clip of Mondo's brand-new show, "Heavy Metal Guy."
Liedgren explained that Honkworm (http://www.honkworm.com ) started with "Fishbar," a series that features fish standing around a bar talking about life. "Now, we do animation and stop motion, live action and interactive. What it takes to make the art of animation different on the Web is interactivity."
According to Angelopoulo, Pulse Entertainment (http://www.pulsenetwork.com) tries for "broadcast-level quality in small files so the masses can use them. In the early days of TV, it was basically radio on television. There was one camera, and the person would talk or sing into the camera. It was not innovative. Pulse wanted to take advantage of the new medium. Jim Henson Studios brought the Muppets to the Web in 3D on our site."
Representing the popular Shockwave site (http://www.shockwave.com), Yanover commented that going last in a panel with each person explaining what the goal of his site was really allowed him to think about how many things Shockwave had in common with the others.
"Shockwave is a production company, we make some content in-house, and some comes from outside. We are also a destination site. The Internet is a place that really needs to be distinguished from TV and the movies. With interactivity, you do not experience content by sitting back in a chair in passive mode, you are active. If you are watching a show that you like, you can send a viral piece of info, like a trading card about the character, and enjoy the experience with your friends."
Digital Hollywood concludes on Thursday, September 28, 2000.
More information on the Digital Hollywood conference can be found on the Web, at at http://www.digitalhollywood.com.
Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com.