Welcome to the Fourth Issue

Ahoy, me fellow bilge rats! Thanks for reading our fourth issue of the Atomic Cartoons Newsletter.

We have been burning the midnight oil these last few months with some great new shows; including our first hybrid offering,  I Can Dance!, and there's still lots of excitement to come this year.  This month alone will see our very own captain Trevor Bentley sailing the seven seas all the way to India. We'll also be sharing our treasured proprietary series, Pirate Express - featured above - with the industry at MIPCOM.

So read on smartly, me mateys, for more juicy details.

Atomic Heads to India

Premier Christy Clark will lead her sixth international trade mission this month, this time to India. Organized by the province, in cooperation with Creative B.C. and CMPA, the Premier will be joined by our very own President of Atomic Cartoons, Trevor Bentley.

India is an emerging trade partner for B.C. and this trade mission will focus on a number of key areas including education, natural gas, clean technology, life sciences, film and digital arts, and finance.

As part of the B.C. Film/Television and Digital Animation Delegation, Trevor will travel to Hyderabad and Mumbai from October 9th to 18th to engage with the South Indian film industry.  Topics such as how federal and provincial tax incentives work and the advantages of India/Canadian co-productions will be highlighted, as well as B.C.'s sector advantages such as talent, variety of locations, studios and expertise.

Atomic Goes Hybrid with I Can Dance!

Rachel Franco is the I Can Dance! host

We're dancing our way into hybrid animation techonology by creating our first animated show to integrate a live action component.

 I Can Dance!, which went from pitch to production in a record eleven months, features 65 two minute episodes showcasing a “fantastical world of nature and colour” where the on-screen host (played by show creator and line producer, Rachel Franco) teaches a cartoon character how to dance, while their own movement creates the world around them.

“Our main goal is to get children up off the couch!”, says Rafael Ziah Franco, co-creator and director of I Can Dance!. “Combining a live-action character with a cartoon will give both children and their caregivers something to relate to. This gives our audience a means to engage with the show and each other.”

The show is scheduled  to air on Knowledge Network and BBC Kids in late 2015, and will feature a digital media component in the form of a downloadable creative movement curriculum and a mobile game.

Artist Profile: Darren Bachynski

Image from an upcoming project Darren is working on called SPRIG

This issue we're showcasing the talented Darren Bachynski, one of Atomic's editors and an assistant director on Marvel Experience.

When we asked one of Darren's co-workers what he was like to work with, they wrote this ...  "He has not only a creative mind but a technical mind -a killer combo.   He is capable of handling many projects and keeping his cool no matter the deadline.  Darren is a great artist to collaborate with, he knows there are many different paths to walk down to make a great product and is willing to venture down many routes with his team"

What do you do at Atomic?

I'm currently working as a co-director on our motion-comic video series for Marvel.  I'm editing the animatics in Premiere, leading the animation team in After Effects, and I'm in charge of preparing all deliveries and final outputs.  I've worn many hats here over the years, including being the animatic editor for a while on both Rocket Monkeys and Pirate Express, designing motion-comic opening title sequences for Marvel (and animating on the series'), and helping out with the development team on various projects.

Describe your typical day working at Atomic.

A typical day in my Atomic life begins with a walk to work.  I check all renders that happened overnight and either send some revisions back to the team, or I approve scenes onto the next stage.  I then spend most of my day within After Effects, doing a mix of 2D motion-comic character animation and effects - taking the awesome art that our team has prepared and putting it to life.  I love getting so much creative freedom, and projects like the motion-comic ones we've done for Marvel the past few years. They have really been a great chance to try out some new techniques, and basically push everything to look as cool as possible.
I also try to get to the foosball table about once a day... I really have to stay on top of those skills.

How long have been at Atomic?

I've worked here for just over three years.

How did you get into Editing?

I began editing professionally while I went to film school, learning most of what I know on-the-job. I knew I wanted to get into the film/video industry in some capacity, and when a close friend connected me with an editing opportunity I jumped in and discovered that I enjoyed it quite a bit.

What Post Secondary School did you go to? Why did you choose that school?

I went to Emily Carr, here in Vancouver. I chose it because I was living in Edmonton at the time and I really wanted to move to the coast. That...and it was the only school I got into.

Where are the other grads from your class working?

In addition to my work at Atomic, I run a small video production company with a couple of fellow Emily Carr graduates called Combination Films. So I know at least a few are working there.

As far as the film program (the program I graduated from) I'm unsure where a lot of people ended up, though I do know several other graduates from my year in Emily Carr's animation program that also work at Atomic.

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