Animation

Hey, Cyrus Sales. I think you all did a great job on the commercial! I like the animation style, but I'm not really a fan of the shadows on the characters. No offense, but the shadows make the characters look dirty.

Hey Cyrus Sales great job. I don't have an issue with shadows, but these shadows like Maurice Vaughan said look dirty. If the shadows have too much blur they can take away from the aesthetic, also as best as possible you want to use coloured shadows and not black shadows. Using blue shadows or shadows that are a variation of the skin our outfit colour. I can tell you are using software generated shadows, so the softness of the shadows really make a difference here. Try turning the blur down a lot or manually adding the shadows for personal projects. For a commercial I would not recommend manual shadows if the time is tight.

Outside of that, nice walk cucles and timing for the most part.

Serhan Yorganci - please keep me/us updated on how the films do in the film festival! Funny enough, I've hard someone say the exact same thing about being careless with selecting film festivals.

hi James Wunderlich I’m not entirely sure if my film fits the style of your festival, but I truly admire Serbia and would be honored to see my work screened at your event.

If you have a moment, I’d be very grateful if you could take a look at the film through this link:

Thanks Cyrus Sales One of the festivals will be screening my film for a full week this July on MYmovies.it, which is one of the major film platforms in Italy.

That’s the latest update for now, but I’ll definitely keep you posted on any new developments.

Thanks so much for your interest!

Serhan Yorgancı, I don't see the link included in your post. I'd be happy to check out your film. Don't sell your film short - we aim to show animated films in all styles. Please feel free to submit your work to us next season when we open our month long submission period in May at www.filmfilmfreeway.com/animacinefest. I'll keep an eye out for you. Good luck with your festival submissions this year!

Serhan Yorganci congratulations on the screening! Absolutely, look forward to hearing more from you!

Thank you for sharing and might I add this is right on time Sydney S. Currently in the pre-production stage for a animation series and had the conversation of pitching it to a streaming platform. This should be insight information for us to use.

Thanks so much, Cyrus! I’m so glad the timing worked out. That’s incredibly exciting about your animated series — pitching to a streamer is a big step, and it sounds like you're right on track. Cheering you on all the way and can’t wait to see where the project goes! I’ll see you at the webinar!

Thank you Sydney S for the encouraging words. Look forward to seeing you on!

Hey, Ashley Renee Smith. The link doesn't work, but I found the article online (https://deadline.com/2025/06/matt-groening-on-the-simpsons-success-and-m...).

One of the things I think makes a long-running animated show work is trying new things with the show.

My biggest takeaway from the storytelling legacy of The Simpsons is what Matt Groening says in the article ("The secret to the 36-year-old animation stalwart’s 800-episode longevity is never to be lazy and keep layering the humor"). I can use those things in my stories. And I can use "keep layering the humor" in scary stories, action-packed, etc. I'll just change "keep layering the humor" to "keep layering the scares," "keep layering the action," and so on.

Another big takeaway is making the audience care about the characters.

I believe The Simpsons continue to thrive because, much like South Park, they comment on the current state of society while maintaining their evergreen core set of characters and comedic point of view.

Ashley Renee Smith - I just want to know who is still watching The Simpsons ... matter of fact Bob Harper - I would also like to know who is still watching South Park. I need a head count lol. Between them and family guy, they have done a great job with locating their core audience and delivering time and time again.

Cyrus Sales oh, I for sure still have friends who watch both! But I agree with Bob Harper, it's the topical nature of the series that keeps them relevant, and they're always managing to find and connect with new and younger audiences.

Thanks for sharing the article, Ashley Renee Smith. I loved watching Dexter’s Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls growing up, especially Dexter! His sister, Dee Dee, bugged Dexter so much. "Dee Dee, get out of my laboratory!" Haha

I was a huge Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon fan growing up. The cartoons were so wacky and so fun. I'm sure I was influenced by them, and I wouldn't mind writing a wacky, fun 2D cartoon like one of them. I aim for wacky/weird and fun with all my scripts really.

Hey, thanks for sharing Ashley Renee Smith. Dexter's Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls were my jam back in the day (90s kid)! Like Maurice Vaughan - I was a huge Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon fan. I would wake up on Saturday with my older sister, grab a bowl of cereal and watch cartoons in our living room until our friends came knocking to go outside.

I don't think the cartoon's influenced me into animation however I do look back at them now and use them as references. I found a new love and appreciation for them as an adult. I see how they shaped my childhood, connections with others like yourself and how it did impact certain animators on my team to follow their passion in animation.

Maurice Vaughan, I know what you mean. Those shows struck such a perfect balance between chaos and cleverness, totally wild, but grounded in great characters and sharp comedic timing.

Cyrus Sales, I love this so much! Fellow 90s kid here too! I lived for Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network growing up. I actually had a Powerpuff Girls backpack in 2nd grade that I wore with total pride. For my 32nd birthday last month, we did a Cartoon Network pub crawl with over 200 people, and no characters were allowed to repeat: full costumes, wild energy, total nostalgia overload. It was incredible!

It’s amazing how those shows still connect us today and inspire new creativity. I completely agree, there’s such a deeper appreciation for them as an adult, especially seeing how much heart and innovation went into shaping our childhood worlds.

Thanks for sharing the article, Bob Harper. What Howard Wimshurst said is incredible and true! ("The technology is a vehicle for exploitation. It’s a vehicle to extract data that people have worked their entire lives to create, they put everything into that data. It’s not just data. Data is such a reductive word, but unfortunately that is how it can be exploited. So don’t listen to them."). I'm glad to hear so many organizations signed the letter! Hope it makes a big difference!

Bob Harper - thanks for sharing! I haven't had too much of a stance on AI. I like creators being creatives and believe AI can handle daunting task but I absolutely agree individuals have spent their entire lives creating, refining and developing their craft and at some point it becomes exploitation. I'm grateful people are standing and voicing their concerns with AI.

For posting on social media, it looks fine and interesting.

A thought has just occurred to me. Doing this kind of short visual joke is ideal for SM posting. However what if it were able to be ported to both vertical and horizontal formats? Now that I watch this I'm thinking centre framing is the way to go for this stuff. So exporting to vertical doesn't cut off anything important.

Thanks for the insight. Also I shot you a message, Cyrus.

Laurie Ashbourne - I'm not too sure how to resolve the issue. I'll be sure to share a link once it's posted on social for those who cannot see it on stage32.

Justin Groats - and sometimes good enough is good enough lol. Bob Harper - thank you. I'm a stickler with quality but feel like quality keep me/us from posting and getting content out there.

Simon Turnbull - I took note of that as well. We often times add a rotate screen for horizontal content (I personally like horizontal) but I also understand vertical is ideal for social media. I gotcha, sending message back now.

Can we get him on Stage 32?

Okay, at least one of his Reps?

Ashley Renee Smith - this is indeed a big move for Netflix and Animation. I hope this opens up the door for studios to partner with Netflix or originals or bring new ideas to the table.

Gregory Bonds, we’re always working to bring in high caliber executives like Amir to the community. If you reach out to our Success Team (Success@stage32.com), they can provide you with insight on the current Animation professionals that are already available here on Stage 32. As an executive and not a creator, Amir does not have reps.

Thank you, Ashley, I am currently engaged with Cyrus Sales!

All points to AI production.

I know that California is still a powerhouse in sheer animation creativity. However, which other states are best for producing quality animation, no matter the cost? Which nations are now most popular due to lower costs? Plus, are these nations able to produce high quality work despite lower costs? I ask as someone who has three planned animated series and two animated films.

Laurie Ashbourne - I almost forgot about that! You are absolutely right. It's interesting because I hear stories like the one I posted but then I also hear about how animation is growing and how projections for the future are looking up. Is it that California film/animation is losing ground while the outside world is growing?

Wyman Brent A lot of animators have continued to work remotely across the globe. There's also a difference between artist and location. One does not beget the other. That said, there are small studios in Austin TX, Georgia (Savannah and Atlanta) and the Northeast, Philly, NY, NJ -- there are some residual artists in the Connecticut area from when Blue Sky was there and some in Orlando. The article and report is in reference to why the states have lost a lot of business, and it all has to do with tax incentives, not talent.

Outside of the US, Canada, France, Spain, Brazil, Ireland are the hotbeds. But really inexpensive studios are in Abu Dhabi, India, Pakistan, Egypt. You just have to sort out the style and quality that's suitable for the project.

As I've said many times, the animation industry is comparatively small to live-action, and if you want to be a part of it, it is far more welcoming, you just have to immerse yourself and educate yourself on the various service providers and studio structures.

Hi Laurie,

I wanted to sincerely thank you for your kind and thoughtful response on Stage 32. It meant a lot, especially coming from someone whose creative journey I truly admire. Your Benjamin Franklin quote also struck a chord with me — my life has definitely been the kind of story people write about, and now I’m pouring that same energy into writing stories of my own.

I’ve been developing several original series (both animated and live-action), a stage musical, and a substantial catalog of over 200 original songs — many written in under ten minutes, thanks to what I call my “creative synesthesia and ADHD with hyperfocus.”

I’d love to connect more directly if that ever feels appropriate. I think we may share a belief in building things that matter, and I’d be honored to share more about what I’m working on when the time is right.

Maurice Vaughan - Thanks for sharing!

Regardless, wondering what the game plan is now that the process he is referring to is a standard feature in most if not all AI tools nowadays, but I don't think there's much real knowledge about how an anime film is really created in house. A cartoon filter does not an anime film make.

Terence Daniels The reality might be that while the tech is evolving quickly, it’s still not ready to fully replace the creative, emotional, and narrative complexity that audiences expect from a feature film.

This is such an interesting moment to reflect on the tools we use and the stories we tell. Take Flow (2024), for example, the animated feature that won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It was created entirely using the free, open-source software Blender, which is a huge accomplishment considering that most major animated films rely on software like Maya or Houdini.

What makes Flow even more remarkable is how the team streamlined the production process: instead of traditional storyboarding, they built full 3D animatics directly in Blender, using the same tool for modeling, animation, and rendering. And despite its minimalist, non-verbal storytelling, it captured global attention with its emotional depth and distinct visual language.

So while there’s a lot of noise around AI and how fast it can generate content, Flow is a powerful reminder that innovation doesn’t have to come from automation. Sometimes, it comes from resourceful creators using accessible tools to tell stories that resonate on a deeply human level.

I truly hope that the human heart is never removed from animation. My various animated series come from my heart and from my warped imagination. Tools that use A.I: are not able yet to fully recreate the human mind`s many twists and turns that bring true originality to life.

Ashley Renee Smith I've worked with a lot of AI tools and gotten many outputs of different quality over the years. I'm interested to know what you mean by complexity. I don't mean to make light of the issue of AI replacing actors and many other professionals and even though there is hate for AI film, there has always been a desire for fairness within the industry. A stagnancy that created a content machine that kept a lot of smaller and newer talents from any hope of ever being created. A lot of information circulating about the capabilities of AI is just fear or denial, but I feel empowered. Wyman have you experimented with any of the video generators for some desired goal or output to place with stock or time ran dry.

I have not experimented with anything as of yet. I am a songwriter who also came up with several film and TV concepts. These are not vague ideas, but have been fully formed and fleshed out. Just waiting for the right people to find them. I am most definitely not a tech person. I am on the extreme spectrum of creative synesthesia. I also have ADHD with hyperfocus. I literally create all day long. However, my gifts are on the creative side and definitely not technical.

Thanks for sharing the original pitch, Laurie Ashbourne. It'll come in handy when I put together pitches for my animated stories.

"...me dragging Chris to a national forest where we got eaten alive by the bugs but managed to escape a pack of wild boars that had us surrounded." There's an animated movie in there somewhere.

Thank you so much for sharing this story, truly inspiring.

It’s amazing (and a bit wild) to see how close such an iconic film came to never happening. Stories like this give me real hope and motivation to keep pushing forward with my own pitch, even when things feel “too different” or outside the usual mold.

Grateful for the insight — and the reminder not to give up.