Video In

by Charles Fulton
Winter 2001

Animation Sites
When you think of Web sites that look great on TV and require little intervention, you probably think of movies, movie trailers and TV shows. But what if you don't have the time to watch a whole movie or TV show, or you don't have the meaty Internet connection required to watch video? Take a look at an animation site. There are a surprising number of sites out there, and the best part is that you need only the ability to play Macromedia Shockwave or Flash files on your computer to view most of the content on these sites.

Hellomonkey.com
[www.hellomonkey.com]
Here's a showcase of member-submitted Flash animation, writing and graphics. The site is not well-organized and descriptions tend to be vague, but everything here is creative. Works are rated on a scale of one to five, including comments and constructive criticism. If you enjoy what's here, you can become a member and post your own!

Looney Tunes
[looneytunes.warnerbros.com/web/home.jsp]
Enjoy all-new adventures of your favorite Looney Tunes characters, like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Road Runner. There are also games, and a section of character biographies, which includes sketches and other artwork, as well as production notes. The icing on the cake is an interactive section for kids, with interactive stories, activity sheets, jokes and instructions on how to draw some of the characters.

Muffin Films
[muffinfilms.com]
If you've got a hankering for baked goods, Muffin Films is right up your alley. These are 12 creative Amy Winfrey animations, ranging from simple to complex. You might find youself asking if those muffins on the counter are really of this earth or whether muffin trees can grow in your soil.

Toon Network
[www.toonnetwork.com]
This site features original Web cartoons of Tuttle and Snappy the Postman. Also available is a large clip-art gallery from which you can download Flash animations for your own Web site at a reasonable price. The site loads pretty quickly, and is very inviting and colorful. The Toon Network is not to be confused with Cartoon Network, a division of Time Warner.

Pork and Beans Productions
[www.porkbeans.com]
This comes from the Canadian animation studio, best known for its original Stan & Stan, as well as its work on Mondomedia's God & Devil and Like, News. Also showcased: info on its TV spots and its other creative ventures. An appropriately loud design and other goodies, like screensavers and desktop images, help to make this site a must-visit.

Dilbert
[www.dilbert.com]
Aside from the comic strip archive and reflections on the big business culture's impact on the white-collar workforce, dilbert.com includes a page of Shockwave animation. More Dilbert cartoons (as well as a huge archive of other Shockwave and Flash animations) reside on Macromedia's Shockwave site, at www.shockwave.com.