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Toon Boom

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Toon Boom Animation Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustrySoftware
Founded1994; 30 years ago (1994)
HeadquartersMontreal, Quebec, Canada
ProductsAnimation and Storyboarding software
ParentCorus Entertainment
(2012–present)
Websitetoonboom.com

Toon Boom Animation Inc. is a Canadian software company that specializes in animation production and storyboarding software. Founded in 1994 and based in Montreal, Quebec, Toon Boom develops animation and storyboarding software for film, television, web animation, games, mobile devices, training applications, and education. It was acquired by Corus Entertainment in 2012.

Toon Boom software is used in over 130 countries, and was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award in 2005 and 2012,[1][2] among other awards.

Notable users include Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation, Pixar, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation, Fox, Rough Draft Studios, Nelvana, Xilam, Mercury Filmworks, China Central Television, Toonz India Ltd, Digital eMation and Gaumont Animation.

History

Toon Boom logo used from 2001 to 2017.

In 1996, Toon Boom purchased the software development business of USAnimation studio. Its animation production services were to be merged into CST Entertainment according to a premature press release from CST. That merger never took place, and USAnimation's studio changed its name to VirtualMagic Animation in 1996 and operated independently. Toon Boom Animation continued the development of USAnimation software which became Toon Boom Opus. It has since become Toon Boom Harmony.

In 2006, Toon Boom acquired French company Pegs'n Co,[3] developer of the 2D bitmap animation software called Pegs. Since the acquisition, the software has not been updated and can no longer be purchased.

In 2009, Toon Boom acquired the British company Cambridge Animation Systems, developer of Animo.[4] Since the acquisition, the software has not been updated and can no longer be purchased.

In 2012, Toon Boom was acquired by Corus Entertainment.[5] On March 9, 2016, Toon Boom acquired all the related IP for the TACTIC Studio product, an asset management, production tracking and review tool from Toronto-based Southpaw Technology Inc. and planned to re-launch the product as Toon Boom Producer. On June 13, 2017, Toon Boom re-branded and launched Producer.[6]

Historical products

  • Toon Boom Opus (1996-2008) - formerly USAnimation, it was used in the traditional film/TV animation industry.
  • Tic Tac Toon (1996-2001) - succeeded by Toon Boom Studio.
  • Toon Boom Studio (2001-2015) - aimed at home users and individuals. Succeeded by Toon Boom Harmony Essentials.
  • Toon Boom Concerto (2004-2005)
  • Toon Boom Solo (2005-2007) - aimed at small studios. Succeeded by Toon Boom Digital Pro.
  • Toon Boom Digital Pro (2007-2009) - succeeded by Toon Boom Animate Pro.
  • Toon Boom Pencil Check Pro (2008-2014) - a line testing software product.
  • Toon Boom Animate (2008-2015) - aimed at professional animators, boutique studios, students, and educators. Succeeded by Toon Boom Harmony Advanced.
  • Toon Boom Manager (2009-2014) - a production tracking system for the entertainment industry.
  • Toon Boom Animate Pro (2009-2015) - aimed at animation studios and freelancers.
  • Flip Boom product line (discontinued in 2014) - entry-level animation software.
  • Garfield's Comic Boom (discontinued in 2014) - a comic strip or album creation software product developed with cartoonist Jim Davis. The application included built-in video tutorials by the cartoonist.

Products

Harmony

This software is used in the film and TV animation industry for its professional-quality 2D animation production capabilities. Harmony contains the tools required to handle cutout (puppet), paperless frame-by-frame and traditional animation workflows from scanning to compositing and 2D/3D integration. Its toolset includes pencil lines with textures, deformation tools, morphing, inverse kinematics, particles, built-in compositor, 3D camera and 2D-3D integration. When used as a paperless animation solution, users can draw animation directly into the software, using a graphics tablet. Harmony is available in three editions: Harmony Essentials, Harmony Advanced and Harmony Premium where each addition offers progressive functionality.

Harmony has been in continuous development since 2005 and has been used on productions like The Simpsons, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, The Congress and My Little Pony: The Movie, among others.

Harmony Server

This software provides additional capabilities for teams of animators using Harmony who want to share files and manage assets from a central database that is located on a server. Its centralized database system allows the sharing of assets between scenes and enables the workload to be shared across a studio or between studios. It also includes production controls for managing rendering jobs and coordinating batch scanning of paper drawings. Harmony Server is available as an add-on for users of Harmony Advanced and Harmony Premium.

Storyboard Pro

This software is used in pre-production to create storyboards for a wide variety of project types including 2D and 3D animation, stop motion, and live action productions. Storyboard Pro contains all the tools required to create storyboards and animatics. Its toolset includes vector and bitmap drawing tools, pencils and textured brushes, a built-in camera, audio tools, a timeline for timing control, and a 3D toolset to integrate imported 3D models.

Storyboard Pro supports Final Draft scripts, image file formats, vector graphics and sound for easier integration into an existing production pipeline. Storyboard Pro projects can be sent to Harmony for animation production, exported to popular 3D formats and sent to NLEs.

Producer

Producer is a web-based production tracking and digital asset management tool which dramatically improves workflow and communication throughout the animation pipeline. Producer seamlessly integrates with Harmony and Storyboard Pro and fits into all types of animation production pipelines.

Awards

  • In 2005, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded Toon Boom Animation a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development for USAnimation Opus.
  • In 2006, the IT Federation of Quebec (FIQ) awarded an OCTAS 2006 for Toon Boom Studio in the Multimedia – educational and cultural sector category.
  • In 2007, FIQ awarded an OCTAS 2007 for Toon Boom Storyboard Pro in the Technological Innovation category.
  • In 2008, Flip Boom was awarded a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and a New Canadian Media Award in the Excellence in Children’s category.
  • In 2009, Flip Boom was selected as Editor’s Choice by the Children’s Technology Review for excellence in design.
  • In 2010, Flip Boom All-Star was granted a Parents’ Choice Silver Award, the NAPPA Honors Award and the Tech & Learning Award of Excellence.
  • In 2011, Toon Boom won the HSBC International Business Award in the small and medium size category.
  • Flip Boom Classic and Flip Boom All-Star Curricula were granted the 2011 Distinguished Achievement Awards in the Art category, for K-5 and 6-8 markets by The Association of Educational Publishers (AEP).
  • Garfield’s Comic Boom was awarded the 2011 Preferred Choice Award granted by Creative Child Magazine, the 2011 NAPPA Honors Award and the 2011 Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval.
  • Flip Boom All-Star received the 2011 Media Of The Year Award, granted by Creative Child Magazine and the 2011 Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval.
  • Toon Boom Studio received the 2011 Tech & Learning Award of Excellence.
  • In 2012, Frost & Sullivan granted Toon Boom the 2011 Global Animation Software Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award.
  • In 2012, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded Toon Boom a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development for Storyboard Pro, recognizing its significant impact in the industry.
  • In 2013, the International Animated Film Society awarded Toon Boom Animation an Annie Award, namely the Ub Iwerks Award for Special Achievements in Animation.

Films

Walt Disney Studios

Warner Bros. Animation

Nickelodeon Movies

20th Century Fox Animation

Universal Animation Studios

Other

TV series

Disney Television Animation

Nickelodeon

Cartoon Network

20th Century Fox Animation

Nelvana

Gaumont Animation

Xilam

Other

Music Videos

Video Games

See also

References

  1. ^ Creative Arts Primetime Emmys' winners
  2. ^ Olivia Munn hosts the 64th Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards
  3. ^ (Jun. 6, 2006). "Toon Boom Animation acquires Pegs’n Co’s" [Studio Daily]. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  4. ^ (January 8, 2009)."Toon Boom Acquires Cambridge Animation" [AWN]. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
  5. ^ "[1]" [PDF]. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  6. ^ (June 13, 2017)."Toon Boom Answers Growing Demand for Animated Content" [Toon Boom]. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Toon Boom Customer Productions". Toon Boom Animation.
  8. ^ "Leading the Animation Revolution in South Africa with Toon Boom". Toon Boom Animation.
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