For many years, one of our biggest challenges was the process of getting our animations from Flash to a high quality video format. We’ve tried (and purchased) many different converters, but none of them can compare to Newgrounds’ Swivel. The best part? Swivel is absolutely free!

It only took a few minutes with Swivel to realize that it was by far the best converter that we have ever used. Swivel allows the conversion of SWF files containing not only ActionScript 2 coding, but also ActionScript 3. So, every version of VCAM worked flawlessly. No dropped frames, fast conversion, and absolutely perfect!

If you’re a Flash animator, then you should definitely check out Swivel and give it a download!

To learn more about Swivel, visit: http://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/creator-resources/flash-resources/swivel

And for a quick peek at out it works, check out this demo:

Brent Galloway (one of the masterminds behind Waterman Studio’s current website design, and many more) recently launched a new website of his own that promises to provide essential resources for freelancers of all kind. Aside from that, he also offers his incredible design services!

Be sure to check him out at: brentgalloway.me

Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats had tweeted little nuggets of wisdom that she had picked up over the years about storytelling. Those tweets were eventually compiled and labeled as “The 22 Rules of Storytelling”. They’re definitely good to keep handy if you’re writing a story!

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

It’s information like this that inspires and pushes us to do better and better with every single project. Being completely self taught, this kind of information is extremely valuable to us!

A couple of years ago, our good friend Allison Frost participated in the Punk Your Chuck/’My Chucks’ design contest hosted by Eastbay, Converse, and Kyle Korver. The winning design would be sold exclusively on eastbay.com. Allison – with her bottomless well of talent – totally won this contest and her shoe is finally available for purchase!

If you’d like to read the official Eastbay blog post about the shoe’s availability, then you can view it here:
http://blog.eastbay.com/all/converse-all-star-punk-your-chuck-now-available/

Allison created two amazing pairs of custom 2nd Avenue Chucks for us last year, as well as recently designing an epic 2A Boom-themed hat!

Big congratulations to Allison Frost and her continued success.

Sad news, but the MyToons website seems to have been shut down for good.  There was a lot of talk about company mismanagement and employee neglect, which is never a fun position to be in. But it’s unfortunate for the website and those who worked there. MyToons was a great growing community full of animation students and professionals alike, along with a lot of other creative people who just enjoyed being in such a creative environment.

Best of luck to those who were laid off, and hopefully everyone is able to get back on their feet sooner rather than later.