Thursday, January 28, 2010

Tax Tips of the Month!

Tax Update from OMDC
In a continued effort to decrease overall processing time on files, as of April 1st 2010 we will be implementing a new policy: the OMDC Tax Credits & Financing Programs department will only review complete applications received in our office. It is our hope that by limiting the amount of incomplete applications received and prioritizing the complete applications, we can deliver a higher level of customer service and ultimately have certificates issued sooner.

Tax Tip From PWC
This tax tip for the month comes from Price Waterhouse Coopers. Many thanks to Tracey Jennings and her team @ PWC!
Follow the link below for a full list of "Entertainment and Media Tax Clip".


http://www.pwc.com/ca/en/entertainment-media/tax-clip/index.jhtml

Monday, January 25, 2010

Canadians invited to participate in WEB ExpoForum in São Paulo

The Consulate General of Canada in São Paulo is pleased to invite Canadian companies to participate at the forth edition of WEB ExpoForum, one of the leading events on the Internet Market in Brazil, which will take place in São Paulo from March 17 to 19, 2010. This three-day event brings together key Brazilian executives that use the opportunities created by Web 2.0 in a broad array of areas: Technology, Creativity, Communication, Innovation, Education, Business and Digital Marketing.

There are no costs associated to the participation, however participants are responsible for their own travel costs and logistics.

This might be a good opportunity for companies in this sector who have shown interest in the Brazilian market and were looking at a chance to visit and develop their local networks. The Canadian Consulate will have a "meeting point" type of booth where participants will be able to introduce products and services to the Brazilian market as well as to meet key influencers in the internet sector. In addition, we will be happy to provide assistance to arrange other activities and meetings tailored to the participant's needs, during their stay in Brazil.

For more info please contact Shiryln: shirlyn@casont.ca

Interested companies are invited to contact us directly (fernanda.whitaker@international.gc.ca) before February 5th , 2010.

2010 DIGITAL VISUAL EFFECTS TRADE MISSION - LOS ANGELES, CA - February 24 – March 1, 2010

CASO, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Ontario and the OMDC, is pleased to offer our Member Companies the opportunity to participate in a Digital Visual Effects Trade Mission into the key production center of North America - Los Angeles, CA - February 24 to March 1, 2010.

MISSION PACKAGE & REGISTRATION
The mission package for one (1) company representative includes:
1. Up to $ 1000 CDN reimbursement for travel and accommodation expenses, pending receipts and cost statements.

2. One Day “Business of Producing Visual Effects in Ontario” Panel and Afternoon of One to One Meetings with over 50 Visual Effects decision makers, including Producers, Supervisors and Studio Executives

3. Group participation and networking opportunities with pre-arranged meetings at the studios, (possible options include, Paramount, Lakeshore Entertainment, Dark Castle, Summit Entertainment) and selected LA Based Visual Effects Facilities *PLEASE NOTE: meetings will be based on availability and time permitting.

4. One (1) Ticket to the VES Awards Gala - Sunday, February 28th, 2010 @ The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel, honoring James Cameron and Dr. Ed Catmull
Registration deadline is Friday, January 29th, 2010
Space is limited and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, please submit the attached Registration Form.

TRAVEL DETAILS
Mission participants will be responsible for booking their own flights. Group transportation between meetings on Friday will be provided.

ACCOMODATION
A block of hotel rooms will be pre-negotiated for the best rate. Once your participation has been confirmed, hotel contact information will be provided. At that time you must guarantee your reservation directly with a credit card.

CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions and/or require further information, please contact: Shirlyn Antonio, Manager, Business Affairs
Tel: 416.207.9142 Email: shirlyn@casont.ca

Generously supported by:
“Ministry of Culture of the Government of Ontario” and the “Ontario Media Development Corporation”

Friday, January 15, 2010

History Makers 2010 is only two weeks away!

History Makers 2010 is a conference geared towards the History and Current Affairs television industry, and is the ideal place to meet the Commissioning Editors and producers from around the world. Participants from 20 countries are expected to attend in order to learn, listen and network with the best in the their field.

Register now, and take advantage of the opportunity to sign up for History’s Decision Makers Lunches – a chance for delegates to meet one-on-one with top Commissioning Editors, pitch their ideas and receive valuable feedback in a relaxed setting. Space is limited, we encourage you to reserve your meeting today.

Whether it is the History Makers Award Ceremony, which celebrates the best and brightest in History and Current Affairs programming, a master class with the production team behind the ever popular The People Speak, or one of History’s prestigious keynote addresses, like Daniel Goldhagen’s “Worse than War”, History
Maker 2010 promises to a memorable conference that will shape the way you view
history.

Visit www.historymakers2010.com view our latest schedule, or register online.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Toon Boom Makes Harmony Available for Pilot Production

Montreal (December 16, 2009) – Emmy Award-winning Toon Boom Animation Inc. today announced the launch of its unique Pilot Production Program. This program is ideal for anyone who has a concept and wants to pitch it to broadcasters, producers, investors at industry gatherings such as Kidscreen, Cartoon Forum, MIPTV or any others.

With the Pilot Production Program, Toon Boom offers professional animators a unique opportunity to create their TV, Web or Film pilot using the most advanced animation software solution available on the market.

Why should you embark on the Toon Boom Pilot Production Program?
• Produce a high-quality pilot using the world’s best animation production software
• Create assets that can be reused once the project gets the green light
• Rely on Toon Boom’s extensive expertise in animation techniques and production

What Toon Boom provides to you:
• Free access to Toon Boom Storyboard Pro and Harmony stand-alone licenses for up to 3 months
• Access to an in-house expert dedicated to your animation project. Certain conditions apply.

"We are honoured to support the creation of pilots for TV, Film or the Web that will become excellent programming for the small and big screens" shared Joan Vogelesang, President and Chief Executive Officer at Toon Boom.

Detailed information about the Toon Boom Pilot Production Program can be found online at: toonboom.com/pilot-production-program/

About Toon Boom Animation Inc.
Toon Boom Animation Inc. (toonboom.com) is the worldwide leader in animation software solutions. Toon Boom carries user-friendly animation applications for all and develops new geographies to make the animation community as global as can be. In that market segment, Toon Boom caters to the needs of children, home users, creative professionals as well as students, educators and schools.

As importantly, Toon Boom is fully dedicated to the needs of independent animators and studios, offering a wide product range from powerful pre-production tools to leading-edge animation production solutions. Relying on its extensive expertise in animation production, Toon Boom provides consulting services in the fields of optimization, pipeline integration, production assistance and custom development.

In 2005, Toon Boom was granted the Primetime Emmy® Engineering Award by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for its significant contribution made to the animation industry targeted for television. In 2006, the IT Federation of Quebec (FIQ) awarded an OCTAS 2006 in the Multimedia – educational and cultural sector category, for Toon Boom Studio. In 2007, FIQ awarded an OCTAS 2007 in the Technological Innovation category, for Toon Boom Storyboard Pro. In 2008, Flip Boom was granted 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 prestigious Children’s Technology Review for excellence in design.

Toon Boom's client base ranges from major studios creating Hollywood blockbuster animated films to individual animators creating their first masterpieces. Market-leading studios using Toon Boom's products include Nelvana, Warner Bros., Mercury Filmworks, China Central Television, Toonz Animation India, eMation, Rough Draft Korea, Alphanim, BKN, Cromosoma and Enarmonia, to name a few. Some of the prestigious productions done with Toon Boom’s technology include Les Triplettes de Belleville, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, The Rugrats, SpongeBob The Movie, Hanuman, Curious George, Go West: A New Lucky Luke Adventure, Simpsons The Movie and The Princess and the Frog.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

CASO wants to take you to Kidscreen!

With the generous help of OMDC, we are thrilled to announce that CASO will be providing airfare, travel and accommodations to 6 CASO members to attend Kidscreen Summit held on February 10-12 in New York.
We would like to invite CASO members who have NOT attended Kidscreen Summit before to experience this great conference and meet Industry Professionals from around the world. A CASO boardmember will be attending along the group to field any questions and make your experience as informative as possible. This is a great opportunity for member who have never attended Kidscreen to gain valuable insight in the global animation and intellectual property community.

Please contact Shirlyn@casont.ca by January 22nd to book your expense paid trip.

All CASO members can apply for this initiative after January 22nd and before January 31st.

Please note that CASO members are still required to purchase a Kidscreen Summit Pass.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Happy New Year!

2010 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for the Animation and VFX industry here in Ontario. Although the CDN dollar is strong, there has been an increase in production and there is a strong indication that this will only continue over the year. VFX has rebounded and the Series Animation business continues to maintain slow and steady growth.

CASO has been extremely active in identifying project leads and in developing long term relationships with Government branches; the City of Toronto, the Ontario Media Development Corporation, Economic Development and Trade, Ministry of Culture as well as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Working together we have secured over $125,000.00 in research, marketing, and organizational development support for the 2009/2010 year. As part of the funding, CASO will lead two Trade Missions in February; one to Kidscreen Summit in NY and one to Los Angeles, CA, with additional missions with international exposure scheduled for March and April.

Most importantly, the pre-Christmas approval of two very important OMDC programs, will only strengthen our businesses and attract more production to Ontario. The OPSTC tax credit on 25% of non-Labour and the pilot IP Development Fund of a 30% repayable grant on development costs, clearly provides a distinct competitive advantage over other animation and VFX centres in Canada.

I encourage all members and non-members to participate in the various programs that CASO has worked hard to provide.

Sincerely Yours,

Michael Carter,
President, CASO

Monday, January 4, 2010

Send us your BIG news, and see it on our next CASO newsletter!

Another year has past and we want to know what you've been up to.
Win any awards? Working on something awesome? Or Maybe you just have an interesting story to share. Send us an email and let us know and we'll put your tale in the next CASO newsletter. We'd love to hear about it!

Send your big news to:

Shirlyn@casont.ca
Business Affairs Manager

CASO commissions Wesson Consulting to perform a strategic study of the Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects Industry

In November, Wesson Consulting was commissioned by CASO to perform a strategic study of the Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects Industry. The study is being funded with a grant from the OMDC Research Office. The goal of the study is to analyze the Ontario industry’s strengths and weaknesses and then develop a strategic plan based on these findings. They are looking not only at how the Ontario studios can improve their current operations serving existing markets, but also at whether alternative markets offer new opportunities to sustain and grow the industry.

At this point, they have conducted extensive interviews with opinion leaders inside and outside the industry. Working with the CASO project team, they have developed a good understanding of the current state of the industry and the challenges and opportunities it faces. In the New Year they will be conducting a focus group of industry participants and a short survey of CASO members.

Wesson Consulting has been overwhelmed by the cooperation and enthusiasm they have encountered from everyone they have talked to in the industry. They are looking forward to working with more industry members over the coming weeks. If you have comments or questions about the project or want to share your thoughts about the industry, please feel free to contact Tom Wesson at twc_tom@rogers.com.

CASO 2010 EPK - Call For Submissions

CASO is producing our 2010 Electronic Press Kit profiling member companies. This EPK will be professionally packaged and authored on Memory Stick for Domestic and International Marketing Distribution. Last year’s EPK made it onto the desks of over 500 animation and visual effects decision makers!

All interested members are asked to submit a company demo reel as well as 5 shots of your best work to be used in the opening montage. (Note: No priority will be given to member companies for the opening montage. Shots will be chosen and edited in randomorder by the editor.

Submission Requirements


• 1 Company Demo Reel – Maximum duration 3 minutes
• Best Of – submit 5 of your best animation and visual effects shots in their entirety
• Completed Submission Form with contact information and 50 word company description
(Please see attached)
• Completed Legal Clearance (Please see attached)

Technical Specifications

Best of 5 Shots

• To be supplied “bugless”. Note: supply full frame image sequences, HD 10 bit
uncompressed DPX files, 1920 x 1080, 24fps (*NTSC 30fps can be supplied if
necessary and upconverted to HD at our post facility)
• Bugs should be supplied separately as high resolution JPEG or TIFF files with separate alpha channels
• Letterboxing will be completed in the online stage
• Footage to be submitted on DVD or drive

Company Demo Reel
• To be supplied as a 3 minute edited piece. HD 10 bit uncompressed QT 1920x1080,
24fps (*NTSC 30fps can be supplied if necessary and upconverted to HD at our post
facility) or as footage on tape.
• Company logo burn in, in lower right hand corner is required
• Footage to be submitted on HDCam, HDCam SR videotape or digital files supplied on a
drive.

Please note:
*All shots/work displayed on reels must have been completed by the participating company. Submissions completed by staff members before their employment at participating companies will not be accepted.
*Entrants are responsible for their own quality control and legal clearance. CASO accepts no responsibility for material distributed without legal clearance or for work submitted with technical issues.

Entry Fees

The total fee for each company entry is $ 400.00 + GST
Payment must be received by CASO with submitted materials and forms.
Cheques can be made payable to: Computer Animation Studios of Ontario

Deadline for Materials:

Best of – 5 shots - Monday, January 11th, 2010
Company Demo Reel – Monday, January 25th, 2009

Please ship to:

ATTN: Paul Moyer
OPTIX Digital Pictures
157 Princess St.
Toronto, ON M5A 4M4

CASO will also accept additional IN KIND donations from member companies, consisting of editorial, graphic design, DVD authoring, DVD replication or similar production contributions.

For more information please contact:
Christa Tazzeo at the CASO office, 416.207.9142 or christa@casont.ca