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http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2004/03/29/story6.html
Article in part from the Orlando Business Journal:
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
From the March 26, 2004 print edition
Firefly flits from Disney to Universal
Cindy Barth
Managing Editor
ORLANDO -- Out of the still-warm ashes of Disney's defunct local animation unit comes a new venture: Project Firefly Animation Studios.
Based on Universal Studios Florida's backlot, five former Disney animators-turned-entrepreneurs plan to produce animated features and shorts using both traditional hand-drawn and computer-generated animation.
"The training we got from Disney was the best there is, the best in the world," says Firefly President Dominic Carola. "Now we look forward to using what we learned there to build our own creative success."
Staying local, staying alive
Since the Disney Florida animation division officially closed its doors in early 2004, new companies have sprung up, much like the tech startup flurry in the late 1980s, as large defense companies faced contract slowdowns.
Among Project Firefly's other new competitors on the local front: Legacy Animation, a new animation company launched by former Disney animators in Winter Garden, and Raven Animation, a subsidiary of Raven Moon Entertainment, which has hired a number of former Disney animators.
"There's a lot of us who worked for Disney who would really like to stay in the area," says Gregg Azzopardi, co-founder and director of animation for Project Firefly. "The quality of life is good here, our kids are happy in their schools, and there seems to be plenty of work."
The decision comes as no surprise to John Fremstad, vice president of technology business development for the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.
Fremstad says the beauty of animation and other digital media companies is that they are not businesses dependent on population growth.
"These smaller companies have more flexibility and smaller payrolls," Fremstad says. "Many parts of the entertainment industry have gone to outsourcing, so it's no problem to stay in the area."
Perhaps even more important is that keeping the animators in Central Florida helps reinforce the area's creative expertise, notes Pamela Tuscany-Warren, senior director of marketing and business development for Universal Studios' Florida Production Group.
Article in part from the Orlando Business Journal:
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
From the March 26, 2004 print edition
Firefly flits from Disney to Universal
Cindy Barth
Managing Editor
ORLANDO -- Out of the still-warm ashes of Disney's defunct local animation unit comes a new venture: Project Firefly Animation Studios.
Based on Universal Studios Florida's backlot, five former Disney animators-turned-entrepreneurs plan to produce animated features and shorts using both traditional hand-drawn and computer-generated animation.
"The training we got from Disney was the best there is, the best in the world," says Firefly President Dominic Carola. "Now we look forward to using what we learned there to build our own creative success."
Staying local, staying alive
Since the Disney Florida animation division officially closed its doors in early 2004, new companies have sprung up, much like the tech startup flurry in the late 1980s, as large defense companies faced contract slowdowns.
Among Project Firefly's other new competitors on the local front: Legacy Animation, a new animation company launched by former Disney animators in Winter Garden, and Raven Animation, a subsidiary of Raven Moon Entertainment, which has hired a number of former Disney animators.
"There's a lot of us who worked for Disney who would really like to stay in the area," says Gregg Azzopardi, co-founder and director of animation for Project Firefly. "The quality of life is good here, our kids are happy in their schools, and there seems to be plenty of work."
The decision comes as no surprise to John Fremstad, vice president of technology business development for the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.
Fremstad says the beauty of animation and other digital media companies is that they are not businesses dependent on population growth.
"These smaller companies have more flexibility and smaller payrolls," Fremstad says. "Many parts of the entertainment industry have gone to outsourcing, so it's no problem to stay in the area."
Perhaps even more important is that keeping the animators in Central Florida helps reinforce the area's creative expertise, notes Pamela Tuscany-Warren, senior director of marketing and business development for Universal Studios' Florida Production Group.
