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Drive-Thru Animation: FableVision Serves Up TV Spots for Cumberland Farms in Record Time
Paperless Digital Animation Accelerates Production Process
BOSTON, MA Omega Advertising's Creative Director Andrew Fruit and Project Manager Liz Keefe worked closely with FableVision, one of the only completely paperless digital animation studios in the country, to produce the cel-style animation. The spots were inked and painted in just two and half days, which is considerably faster than traditional animation methods. The unprecedented production speed was made possible by FableVision's purchase of Toon Boom Technologies' US Animation System. The vector-based, multiplane US Animation system is capable of global effects and instant palette changes. FableVision's Lead Animator Matt Ducharme agrees, "I've stepped through the animation looking glass - I've got the technology to do virtually anything." While FableVision has made an international name for itself in the festival and educational media markets, director Gary Goldberger explains, "As the "Robin Hood" of the animation business, we are aggressively pursuing spot work - it allows us to flex our creativity, explore production breakthroughs and bring these commercially-funded innovations into the more budget-sensitive markets we serve like schools and museums." The FableVision team includes Director Gary Goldberger, Art Director/Character Designer Noah Z. Jones, Lead Animator Matt Ducharme, and Producer Alice Duhamel. Cosmic Blender provided digital post production for all spots with off-line editorial by Keri Green and on-line editorial by Patrick Gaspar using Quantel's Editbox, the world's first "loss-less" digital, nonlinear on-line edit system. Soundtrack Studios provided sound design and audio mix.
"The star player on this project was clearly Noah Z. Jones," says FableVision's Goldberger, adding "Noah did all character design, key frames, storyboards, and backgrounds." The animation was then handed over to one of FableVision's Senior Animator's Matt Ducharme who drew the line test and did the coloring. Led by Peter Reynolds, FableVision Studios (http://www.fablevision.com) leverages multiple media platforms including animation, books, CD-ROM, and the web to create "stories that matter, stories that move" for children, adults and families, museums, publishers and broadcasters.
ess as well as launching two original animated series with Sesame Workshop/Nickelodeon's new television/on-line network, Noggin.
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When Omega Advertising recently needed animated spots for Cumberland Farms convenience stores, they turned to Boston-based FableVision Studios - which proved "quite convenient." The project highlights FableVision's Emmy Award-winning character design and animation, as well as the studio's pioneering use of digital technologies to accelerate traditionally time-consuming, labor-intensive animation techniques. The five spots, which feature a cast of animals and aliens, have already begun airing in the Northeast.
Ducharme adds, "If the client suddenly needs to change the color of the alien at the last minute, I make one palette change and the computer searches out and changes everything for me. That still blows my mind."
Omega's Fruit wrote all the spots and provided strong creative direction, which FableVision's team then brought to life. Liz Keefe served as client producer, coordinated the Cumberland Farm-Omega process and provided editorial input straight through post production.
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