Women In Animation

by Bret Wilson

Presenting the rebirth of the Women In Animation’s Writers Round Table! We meet the first Monday of every month from 7 - 9 PM at:

Join us on Monday, December 3rd, from 7 - 9 PM at The Animation Guild, as we welcome Emmy-Award winning guest speaker, Jeffrey Scott, writer of over 600 animated TV series including Muppet Babies, Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more, as well as author of, “How to Write for Animation.”

The mission of the WIA Writers Round Table is to educate, motivate and support animation writers of all levels with script and character development, structure, dialogue, bible/presentation fundamentals, as well as, other essential skill sets by featuring professional animation writers as monthly guest speakers covering one of these subject matters each month. Make sure to bring a note pad, pen, gazillion questions, a fellow writer, but most of all bring your enthusiasm and support!

WIA/LA’s General Meeting:
by Linda Miller

Short films used to be the red-headed stepchild of the animation business. Everybody had a story they wanted to tell (that Christmas elf tale you came up with in the Eighties, for instance), but there was no market for them and no funding to make them, so ideas languished in desk drawers all over town.

That was five minutes ago. Suddenly, shorts are hot. Shorts have EXPLODED onto the Internet and television. Did you know that Disney has aired 17 brand new five-minute shorts since last fall, mostly from creators outside of its own studio?! So how do you get a piece of this action? How can I get my Christmas elf on the air?

What you need to do is come to WIA/LA’s next General Meeting: “So You Wanna Make A Short?” We’ve gathered a terrific panel to discuss the artistic and pragmatic issues of short film creation:

Nick Conafalone, Development Coordinator, Walt Disney Studios shorts program

Peter Gal, Vice President of Animation Development, Nickelodeon

Kevin Geiger and Moon Seun, Animation Co-op

Eric Homan, Frederator Studios

Rusty Mills, MyToons

Moderated by Sarah Baisley and Jessica Kreig.
If you’ve ever wanted to create something that’s ALL YOURS, don’t miss out.

Join us at Dreamworks (1000 Flower Street, Glendale, California) on Friday, October 26th, 2007. Schmoozing and networking begins at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting proper starts at 7:00. Food and soft drinks should be available.

To RSVP, please call the Hotline at (310) 535-3838 or email
LAchapterrsvps@aol.com before Wednesday, October 24th. Non-members are asked for a $10.00 donation: members are free. We look forward to seeing you!

New Writer’s Round Table:
by Bret Wilson

The NEW WIA Writer’s Round Table will meet on Monday, November 5, from 7 to 9 p.m.
at the Animation Guild, 4729 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. Bret Wilson is hosting the meeting.

The Roundtable is up and running again and better than ever! Craig Miller is kind enough to be our first guest speaker and I’m very excited about having him and I know other WIA members/animation writers will feel the same way. We will be meeting in the same room Jessica Kreig holds for Storyboard Pitch Night.

This evening will be very informative and it marks the rebirth of the Writer’s Roundtable. The Roundtable will have a different theme each month catering to animation writing and development along with Q&A. The next meeting is scheduled for December 5. Speaker TBA.

Be on the lookout for a Roundtable blog (similar to Jessica Kreig’s Pitch Night blog). It will be a place where you can get updates on what the Roundtable will be doing in the future. Ideas are welcome. In the meantime, please email wiawritersrt@gmail.com to RSVP and get more information about the meeting.

Storyboard Pitch Night:
by Jessica Kreig
Has it already been a month?!! Well, then it must be time for another pitch night! Stop by the Animation Guild THIS Thursday, Oct. 18th. to get all your questions answered!

Sign up to reserve a spot in the audience OR for pitching. E-mail me at jesskreig@gmail.com to RSVP today.

Storyboard Pitch Nite
meets NEXT Thursday, Oct. 18th
7 pm to 10 pm at the
Animation Guild
4729 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood 91602

As always this event is FREE to WIA members, and only 5 dollars for non-members.
See you there!

by Jessica Kreig

We had a GREAT pitch night last month with new faces in the crowd, and LOTS of creative ideas pitched. Let’s keep ‘em up, people! Just in time for Comic-Con, it’s pitch night- next Thursday, July 19th. Want to warm up before showing your portfolio at Comic Con? Have you tweaked your story since the last time you pitched a board? Show us what you got!

Sign up to reserve a spot in the audience or for pitching. E-mail me at jesskreig@gmail.com to RSVP today. Storyboard Pitch Night meets:

Thursday, July 19th
7 pm to 10 pm
Animation Guild
4729 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood
91602

As always this event is FREE to WIA members, and only 5 dollars for non-members.

Storyboard Pitch Night
Thursday, May 17th at 7:00 PM

Last month we had a nice, relaxing break from pitch night. I hope you all had a chance to take a look at the optional assignments I emailed out in April. If you’ve been working on one of them, or just doin’ your own thang, bring it in to our next Pitch Night May 17th with special guest, the ever fabulous Llyn Hunter!

Llyn just started back on the second season of “Ying Yang Yo”. She most recently finished a stint on the second season of the tv show “Curious George”. She has over a decade of experience as a board artist, so if you’ve got questions, she’ll be happy to help.
Pitch List so far is open!!!
Sign up with me if you’d like to pitch a board-
E-mail me at jesskreig@gmail.com to RSVP today.

Storyboard Pitch Night
meets Thursday, May 17th
7 pm to 10 pm at
Animation Guild
4729 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood 91602
$5 for non-members, FREE to WIA members.
~Jessica Kreig

The Voice Acting Group
Friday, May 18th at 7:00 PM

The Women in Animation Voice Acting Group will be starting Friday, May 18, at 7:00 p.m.. We’ll be meeting on the third Friday of the month at RBC Studio, 5723 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA, between Gower and Vine. The meeting will last for three hours. We’ll do warm-ups, a little improv, and booth time. One meeting will be $15 for non-members, and $10 for members. More details will be provided soon. The group will be moderated by Wendell Washer. People may bring copy, our Women in Animation Writers’ Group is invited to supply copy, and copy will be available to use. RSVP to Wendell Washer at wendell@wendellwasher.com.

Women In Animation LA’s next General Meeting:
“Hearing Voices: Your Career as a Voice Actor”
Thursday, June 28 at 6:30 PM

You know animation’s not just about the pictures. Somebody’s got to supply a voice for that capering squirrel from the Bronx, or that cryptoid from the Planet Xircon. If you want to be that vocal acrobat, come to Women In Animation LA’s next General Meeting:
“Hearing Voices: Your Career as a Voice Actor.”

On Thursday, June 28, we’ll present a panel (moderated by Wendell Washer, leader of our newly revived Voice Acting Group) with five accomplished professionals in the voice acting business: MJ Lallo, Charlie Adler, Susan Blu, Ginny McSwain, and Pat Fraley. We’ll have a table or two to sell and give away books, DVDs, flyers, etc. to provide further information on a career in vocal acting.

Join us at Dreamworks (1000 Flower Street, Glendale, California) on Thursday, June 28th, 2007. Schmoozing and networking begins at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting proper starts at 7:00. Food and soft drinks will be available.

To RSVP, please call the Hotline at (310) 535-3838 or email LAchapterrsvps@aol.com before Tuesday, June 26th. Non-members are asked for a $10.00 donation: members are free. We look forward to seeing you!

by Rochelle Perry

Stephanie Graziano coordinated this special event commemorating the many generations of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. The panelists included Jerry Eisenberg, designer and artist; Susan Blu, voice actor and voice director; Dennis Venezelos, artist/art director; Jayne Demente, gender educator who at one time was a secretary at Hanna-Barbera and later created their production library; and Iraj Paran, art director and graphic artist.

To kick off the discussion, it started with how working at Hanna-Barbera impacted their careers. The panelists agreed with Jayne: “[Working there] imparted a strong work ethic and a sense of teamwork.” Truly, Hanna and Barbera put their whole hearts into their projects, generating a work ethic that their workers adopted.

They also encouraged creative freedom, whether it be with the simple design of the characters, the pioneering techniques involved, the humorous stories, or the charm in the acting. Susan recalls the freedom to suggest a voice she thought would suit a character. Mentoring and promoting growth within the studio was common. After applying for a summer job, Iraj went on to becoming an artist, along with many other talented individuals. And from all the art produced, Jayne went on to creating “one of best production libraries in the world.”

With passion driving the production, the studio soon evolved as a powerhouse for children’s entertainment, trudging along to what we call the “cartoon baby boom.” They were producing so many shows at once that the demand for artists grew; thus, they outsourced their animation overseas, the first of its day.

But even with the help overseas, eighty hours a week was still normal in-house. Stephanie remembers looking forward to the layoffs. And despite rumors that the studio was a sweatshop, Dennis comment, the crew still spared time for fun, playing pranks on each other after hours. “It was a very lighthearted place, very much like a family.”

Work hard, play hard. That was a motto by which Hanna-Barbera lived. Never has this motto been more prevalent than in the Hanna-Barbera days, one by which every studio should live, and one which earned them their success. Both men had a lot of heart and passion, which has reflected in the hearts of their employees. With this backing them up they have created some of the most memorable animated cartoons to date.