Catherine Winder is the CEO/Executive Producer of Wind Sun Sky Entertainment, a multi-media production company focused on building global franchises by bringing creator driven content to audiences through innovative storytelling in all mediums. She is also the CEO/Partner of Skybound North Entertainment in partnership with Skybound Entertainment. Managing studios in both Vancouver and L.A. and collaborating with partners in Europe and Asia, she has produced and is in production/development on a diverse slate of multi-platform media projects including Invincible (Amazon Prime), Super Dinosaur (SpinMaster/ Skybound), My Singing Monsters (Big Blue Bubble/Wind Sun Sky), Summoners War (Com2Us/Skybound), and The Angry Birds Movies 1 and 2 (Rovio/Sony). Prior roles include Lucasfilm Animation Executive Producer, where she set up studios in Singapore and Marin County to adapt and produce Star Wars: The Clone Wars; and Fox Feature Animation, Senior Vice President, where she oversaw the transition of Blue Sky Studios into a feature film pipeline and the production of Ice Age. Winder has also consulted, produced for and/ or worked with Illumination Entertainment, DisneyToons Animation, Hanna-Barbera/Turner Productions, HBO Original Programming, and MTV. She is a member of both the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as well as a board member of both the Vancouver Economic Commission and the Canadian Media Producers Association.

Zahra Dowlatabadi is an award-winning animation producer with expertise in feature length and series production. With content created for Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. and Comedy Central, Dowlatabadi has had extensive hands on experience producing at cutting edge studios such as Bento Box Entertainment and world-renowned boutique animation studio, Cartoon Saloon. By collaborating with extraordinary talent on independent projects as well as mainstream productions, Dowlatabadi offers unique insight into the creative realm of producing animation ranging from pre-school to adult and PG/family content.

Tracey Miller-Zarneke earned her animation production experience on the feature films Chicken Little and The Emperor's New Groove and has gained a unique perspective on the industry by having authored more than a dozen books on the history and art of animation, including the trio of DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda film series, Sony's duo ofCloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Disney's Meet the Robinsons. She put her insider knowledge to work on documentary films about the animation industry, including The Sweatbox and Waking Sleeping Beauty, and she has also served as a board member of the advocacy organization, Women in Animation.

1 Introduction

2 The Animation Producer

3 How to Identify and Sell Projects

4 The Core Team

5 The Development Process

6 The Production Plan

7 The Production Team

8 Pre-production

9 Production

10 Post-production

11 Tracking Production

12 Building a Franchise: Distribution, Marketing, Licensing, and More

Appendix: Animation Resources