Buzz Potamkin

Buzz Potamkin, principal of Project-X and CEO of Visionary Media, is one of animation's most respected and honored producers. Recently Executive Vice President, Executive Producer & Head of TV at Hanna-Barbera in Los Angeles, Potamkin founded Project X, Inc., the independent animation company through which he manages his creative output, after leaving Hanna-Barbera. Potamkin joined the board of directors of Visionary Media LLC in 1998. Visionary Media is the parent company of the animated WhirlGirl, the futuristic, action-adventure series, which chronicles the exploits of Kia Cross, a 20-something superheroine who fights, even on bad hair days, to save the world from the clutches of an evil, mediatech empire.

Potamkin's output is prolific. Via Project X, Potamkin produced Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night, a direct-to-video hour starring Marie Osmond, Phil Hartman, and Tom Arnold released through Columbia Tri-Star Home Video in October 1998 in addition to serving with Roy Disney as honorary executive producer for the UNICEF Animation Consortium. At Hanna-Barbera (1991-96) he created its highly praised Shorts unit, personally producing four shorts which have become series on the Cartoon Network: Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, and Powerpuff Girls. He was the only person ever to work as Co- Executive Producer of The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, and Johnny Quest with Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. He was Executive Producer of Dr. Seuss' award-winning Dayzie-Head Maysie. As founder and president of Southern Star Productions (1984-91) his series included CBS Storybreak, Peter Pan, Teen Wolf, and the Berenstain Bears. In 1990 with Roy Disney as executive producer, Potamkin produced the TV Academy's Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, the only non-news program ever to be seen simultaneously on all four major TV networks.

In 1968 Potamkin founded Perpetual Motion Pictures with two employees. Over the next decade it became Gotham's largest animation studio with 110 employees. He produced hundreds of TV commercials including the Hawaiian Punch series. In 1981 he produced the famous "I Want My MTV" campaign. His awards include four Clios, the MTV Video Award, more than 20 ASIFA commendations, the Cannes Gold Lion, the Venice Silver Lion, the Cable Ace, the Peabody, the Scott Newman Award, two New York Festival Gold Medals and three Silver Medals, The Child in Our Time Award from MIFED, two Humanitas and seven Emmy nominations. Potamkin was instrumental in developing the animation categories for the Prime Time Emmy Awards administered by the Hollywood-based Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and now serves on the Board of Governors of the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Potamkin played a key role in Visionary's development of FlashCast (TM), a proprietary system for elevating Flash animation to broadcast TV quality standards.