Shuriken School

[Bones3D]

Nickelodeon recently premiered a new show called Shuriken School that looks like the next sleeper hit for them since Kappa Mikey.



The show's style is sort of an odd mix of Peanuts (charlie brown, snoopy, etc...) and anime, right down to each characters' demeanor. Near as I can tell, this one comes from the same animation studio that developed the Kaput & Zosky series. (The art styling is very similar.)

And speaking of Nickelodeon, their 2006 Nicktoons Animation Festival starts this saturday on the Nicktoons Network. (Any Moho users participating this year?)

[Bones3D]

And speaking of Nickelodeon, their 2006 Nicktoons Animation Festival starts this saturday on the Nicktoons Network. (Any Moho users participating this year?)

Day one of the Nicktoons Animation Festival has passed... and it seems Moho was used for (and credited in) one of the animated shorts featured on it!

[DarthFurby]

Do you remember the name of the cartoon that used Moho? I'd love to see it.

Incidentally I live near the studio that produces Kappa Mikey. They're hiring Flash animators and I've been thinking about working for these guys. Is this a popular show?

[CrAzY Dan]

@DarthFurby:
Shuriken school is a very popular tv show here in the U.K. If that is the show that they are hiring for...

Dan

[Bones3D]

Do you remember the name of the cartoon that used Moho? I'd love to see it.

Incidentally I live near the studio that produces Kappa Mikey. They're hiring Flash animators and I've been thinking about working for these guys. Is this a popular show?

That's fantastic news. I would definitely try to get an interview with them for a job (or an internship) if you're serious about getting into the industry. It'll likely give you access to some of the larger players in the industry later on.

I've always regarded the AC group as a potential contender in the broadcast world even before they started work on Kappa Mikey. Their previous broadcasted works were mostly a series 3-5 minute shorts, such as "Leader Dog" (a dog mistakenly identified as the leader of Earth that is abducted by aliens from the planet Zmed andis quickly made the leader of their planet) and "Tortellini Western" (an Italian family emmigrates to the US after a massive pasta drought forces them to move elsewhere and start over). Both of these series are still played between shows on the Nicktoons Network.

Kappa Mikey is a bit more complicated to describe. Mikey is a US citizen that gets pulled into playing a character on the popular anime series "Lily Mu" after he gets stranded in Japan (not unlike the situation in MegaTokyo).

However, because Mikey is from the US, his character and design are dictated by common animation styles found throughout US animation history. For example, he is drawn with a heavy black outline and extremely simple eye design, and is limited to making only slightly exaggerated movements that do not alter his general body shape. (Think Hanna-Barbera style animation.)

Mikey's castmates, on the other hand, are all Japanese and conform to design and animation styles throughout Japan's animation history. As a result, these characters have thin outlines, complicated eye designs and can alter their body shapes with extreme forms of exaggeration. (Basically, if you've seen it in anime, they can do it.)

Although the show does place a strong emphasis on the anime production stuff, much of the show is about how Mikey tries to relate with his castmates outside of work, often getting them into trouble in the process.

There's actually a pattern to how each episode operates:

1. A scene is being performed for the "Lily Mu" show by Mikey and the others.
2. Mikey does something to screw up the shoot.
3. Castmates get pissed off, everyone goes off on break into Tokyo (with Mikey following along).
4. Mikey gets into trouble while out on one of these breaks, which in turn threatens the show.
5. Mikey's castmates are forced to bail Mikey out, but usually just make the situation worse.
6. The situation eventually gets resolved just before the show is going to be cancelled.
7. Mikey and the crew resume the "Lily Mu" shoot, but with some change to it, preventing another Mikey screw up.
8. The scene works and the episode ends.

While it seems a bit formulaic, it does work extremely well for Kappa Mikey. The situations the characters are placed in are often times so outlandish, you end up forgetting how predictable the show is.

Anyway, the head guy for AC is named Larry Schwarz. However, I'm not sure if he is still actively involved in the production work like he used to be with Leader Dog and Tortellini Western.

[Bones3D]

@DarthFurby:
Shuriken school is a very popular tv show here in the U.K. If that is the show that they are hiring for...

Dan

This is kind of a mixed up thread. The animation studio working on Kappa Mikey is not related in any way to studio working on Shuriken School. I believe Shuriken School and Kaput & Zosky are both created by a studio out in France.

[Bones3D]

Do you remember the name of the cartoon that used Moho? I'd love to see it.

Oh, I missed this part...

I don't recall the title, but the short was themed around dogs.

** Update **

The short was called "Dog Worries" and is in the running as a finalist in the Nicktoons Animation Festival. The short is viewable online from the animator's website:

Dog Worries
- http://homepage.mac.com/carmstrong3/mov ... orries.mov
(124MB Quicktime Movie)

It may also be shown on Nicktoons Network later this evening. The Animation Festival episode for tonight is supposed to be the "best of" episode from the last few days.

[DarthFurby]

Bones, a big big thank you for all that info. The Animation Collective seems like a very unusual studio. I'll e-mail them and post updates if anything happens.

Also thanks for linking that Moho toon. Was that intended for kids? Hard to believe that was on Nickelodeon. I expected orange juice and got coffee.

[Bones3D]

Bones, a big big thank you for all that info. The Animation Collective seems like a very unusual studio. I'll e-mail them and post updates if anything happens.

Also thanks for linking that Moho toon. Was that intended for kids? Hard to believe that was on Nickelodeon. I expected orange juice and got coffee.

Not a problem. I look forward to competing with AC in the near future.

As for the nature of the shorts, Nicktoons Network is surprisingly lax when it comes to censoring creativity. In some sense, you could regard them as "Adult Swim Lite". Fortunately, they tend to limit the more adult oriented content to late night. It seems though, that they have a much better grasp on what kids can or can't handle than some of these larger networks that tend to answer to the uber-religious groups out there.

[Bones3D]

DarthFurby, it seems AC has a website that contains a wealth of additional information about them:

- Animation Collective

It seems these guys are actually much larger than I realized, with multiple studios in the New York area. There's also about eight other shows they've developed or are currently working on for several major networks besides Nickelodeon/Viacom.

Needless to say, by 2008, AC will be a powerhouse competitor in the industry.

Anyway, here's some info straight from AC themselves on job openings and whatnot:

Do you want to be part of a unique team of creative individuals working on the cutting-edge of computer technology and entertainment? Come join us at Animation Collective! We are a rapidly-growing, young company with three studios on the west side of midtown Manhattan. As New York’s largest animation studio with multiple series in production, we are always looking for top-notch talent to join our team.

AC is currently recruiting for a diverse group of talent ranging from designers to animators to production coordinators to interns. We specialize in 2D computer animation, so if you are a traditionally trained artist, an animator with Flash skills or a producer/ director with experience managing a Flash animation series, we want to hear from you!

AC offers health insurance, paid vacation, pizza Fridays, and a chance to make a real contribution to hot, new shows for broadcast television and other platforms. These are some of the full-time, on-site positions we are looking to fill:

Traditional & Symbol-based Flash Animators
Character/Prop Designers
Background Designers
Layout Artists
Storyboard Artists w/Flash skills
Editors & Assistant EditorsProduction Staff – All levels
Directors & Assistant Directors – w/experience directing a Flash series
Interns

Our studios are entirely paperless, so even our storyboard artists and designers work directly into the computer. If you are an artist who isn’t sure if you are a fit, we encourage you to take a practice test with AC. We hire at all levels, so it never hurts to try!

If interested in any of the opportunities above, please send a cover letter with resume and link to reel/portfolio to: jobs@animationcollective.com.

Thank you!

Looks like I have my work cut out for me if I plan to compete on their level in the near future.

[DarthFurby]

I like that everything seems to be in-house and hands on.

They cover every stage of production, from pitch to post, which they could easily outsource overseas to cut costs, but for some reason they don't. Flash makes it cheaper to produce stuff, but that doesn't make it cheap, especially in Manhattan where AC has THREE studios. Talk about expensive. You have to pay $7 for a Big Mac combo around here! Oh the horror.

Anyway I'm putting the final touches on a reel which they should get by Sunday. With any luck I'll hear from them next week.

And it sounds like someone is thinking about opening their own studio, eh?

[Bones3D]

Yeah, but it may be a while yet before I get anything rolling, though. I have a few people I'm working with for voice work and what not. But at this point, it's mostly just a matter of getting the proper equipment, software and supplies I'll need together to get a basic recording and editing studio going.

I've been doing extensive research for the last few years on the the state of the animation industry, as well as improving upon various animation techniques I've picked up in the process. It's the main reason I have such detailed knowledge of so many different animation companies and the content they create. I'm not just out to make a name for myself... I'm also genuinely interested in the whole process of giving human created imagery a life of its own.

The really great thing about the industry now, is that you no longer have to be a great at animation in order to participate at the professional level. For example, just look at what Cartoon Network has managed to produce with their "Adult Swim" programming block. It's roots are based heavily in low-budget animation, yet it's managed to become highly successful in only a few short years and still maintains a heavy cult following. Now other networks are beginning to embrace similar forms of animation into their own programming line-ups. Thanks to all of this, it's now possible for any new upstart to enter the industry and be taken seriously.

And this is what makes companies like Animation Collective so amazing in my eyes. They initially started out as a mere three person group, and now they're a major player in the industry.

As long as there are people out there with great ideas, things will only continue to get better. This new flexibility of the industry has brought much hope to those who probably would have never have tried otherwise.

[DarthFurby]

You could produce a network worthy show with a laptop if you really wanted to. All you'd need is the right software and a quality mic. And I totally agree with your take on the industry. It's a completely different world from just 5 years ago, and the industry is still in tremendous flux. I wonder where it'll be in 5 more years? I think the days of giant 2d studios are done.

Anyway I got an invitation to test with AC. I'll have to see when I can get off from work but it'll probably be sometime next week. That or I fake an illness. If I'm hired they won't be able to shut me up about Anime Studio. Wish me luck!

[Bones3D]

Absolutely!

You have a fantastic demo reel, and it's right up AC's alley for the kind of stuff common to Kappa Mikey. I think you have a great chance here.

[DarthFurby]

Thanks! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!