Bringing Cartoons to Life: Toonstar Animates Young Audiences -- John Attanasio & Luisa Huang (Co-Founders, Toonstar)

John Attanasio and Luisa Huang are the co-founders of Toonstar, a mobile app that allows creators to live stream as cartoon characters. John and Luisa are veterans of the Hollywood studio system, who prior to Toonstar, spent 15+ years developing franchises for Disney, DreamWorks, and Warner Bros. After discovering a gap in animation programming for teens and tweens, they designed Toonstar as a mobile app for young audiences to easily create and share cartoon content, unencumbered by the expensive and time consuming process of traditional animation. In this episode, we discuss what motivated these traditional media alumni decided to launch a business at the intersection of technology and new media based on their thesis that future entertainment franchises would emerge from the digital ecosystem. We also discuss how to harness live video to create “destination viewing” experiences, new media trends to make content more snackable and interactive, and Disney’s recent acquisition of FOX at a time when traditional media continues to consolidate. Host: James Creech ABOUT THE SHOW All Things Video is a podcast dedicated to uncovering the past and charting the future of the online video ecosystem. Listen to interviews with founders, executives, and thought leaders from the world’s leading video networks and engage in thought-provoking debates about the key issues shaping the next generation of entertainment. From the short-form content revolution to the rise of multi-channel networks (MCNs) and the fragmentation of video viewership in an always-on world, All Things Video reveals the key trends and insights from the world of digital video. Subscribe for new episodes and updates! ABOUT THE HOST James Creech is an entrepreneur focused on technology, online video, and digital media. He is the Co-Founder & CEO of Paladin, the essential creator management platform for next-generation media companies. OUR SPONSOR This episode is brought to you by Epidemic Sound, the company reimagining music licensing for the digital age. Epidemic’s library contains tens of thousands of tracks that you can license a la carte or on a subscription basis. Unlike other music licensing companies, Epidemic Sound owns its entire catalogue and makes tracks available via one straightforward license to cover all your needs, worldwide and in perpetuity – no headaches around usage reporting, performance royalties, or murky rights ownership. It’s better for the artists and better for you, the creator! So whatever your music needs, Epidemic Sound has got you covered!