2013 – Page 19 – The Animation Anomaly

Animation Industry Strategies Trends & Opportunities

Have you ever heard of a report entitled “Global Animation Industry: Strategies Trends & Opportunities 2012“? It’s a rather serious-sounding affair with a pretty serious price too, €5,350.00 (or $5,000.00…hey, wait a minute, that isn’t right, is it?). Click here if you have any doubt. The report is put out by Research and Markets who bill themselves as “the leading source for international market research and market data”. Basically they provide data for market research purposes, the gist being that you can just pay them for it instead of having to conduct it yourself.

The description contains some fairly bland and generally known information about the industry (“animation is increasingly used in video games, and movies are also increasingly reliant on animation and computer graphic special effects”) but also lists the chapters of the report.

Now while I was all up for reading and reviewing the entire report. sadly $5,000 would create a sort of a cash flow, uh, crisis for me in this quarter and for possibly a good few after that, so instead, let’s see if I can’t come up with my own report instead. I’ll even leave it here for you to read, free! OK, let’s go!

1. Animation Segments

When you think of “animation segments” what do you think of? If you thought theatrical, TV, web and so on, guess what, you’d be wrong hahaha. You see the report considers animation “segments” to be different types of animation. I.e. flash, 2D, 3D CGI and stop-motion are all considered different “segments”.

Hmmm, that doesn’t make a lick of sense to me. Visual FX may get a pass because the nature of that work does differ from traditional animation. So let’s re-write these animation segments shall we:

Theatrical films
TV shows
Shorts
Web series
Commercials
Video games
Visual FX
Etc. (educational and so forth)

These are the technique’s main areas of proliferation. They are where you can expect to find it, and they are where you should consider when deciding to create animation.

2. Forecasting Animation Content Demand

This chapter looks at animation demand around the world. Needless to say, things have been on the way up for many years now. North America has a decent market driven by features and TV shows.

Europe remains a very strong market thanks to various indigenous cultures, languages and producers. Of note is the industry in Ireland which has grown from near nothing to worldwide powerhouse in the space of 20 years. Creators in France and Italy continue to produce works for broadcast at home and abroad.

Markets in the far east are a bit trickier to say (at least from my place in the world) but one would assume that markets there, being significantly more developed than those in the west, are staying the course for the most part.

As for forecasting demand? Moderate growth in all markets would be a very conservative estimate.

3. Future Developments

A bit vague this one, but again, it can be broken down into a few easily digestible areas:

Technology – Expect ever more reliance on technology in all aspects of the business; from design, to animation to distribution. Digital platforms will become ever more a part of the overall content strategy for all ages and genres. It would be wise not to discount the effect it will have.
Audiences – Audiences won’t change drastically in terms of size (a steady growth as mentioned above is most likely) but I predict a greater number of young adults demanding good quality animated content and who are currently underserved.
Revenues – As I’ve talked about before, the revenue model for all forms of entertainment has been upended by the internet. Traditional models of licensing to networks and broadcasters is disappearing and will likely be replaced by online viewing or pay per view in some form. Extracting revenues from audiences will command the successful creation and exploitation of a fanbase. That’s fairly tricky to accomplish but is not impossible. Either way, it is how things are going.

4. Animation Software Market Landscape

Much is given to the kinds of software that are available (there’s an entire section dedicated to plug-ins) but the gist of the matter is that software will continue to proliferate, but a gradual consolidation will begin to occur. Simply put, with an increase in complexity comes an increase in the amount of experience that is needed. More experience means higher wages. As a studio, it will become impractical to use software that is not in widespread use. The result is that the larger players (Adobe, Autodesk, Toon Boom, etc.) will corner the market. One will eventually get bought out.

That said, there could always be open source alternatives on offer…

5. Animation Content Creation

You know what’s going to change here? Not much, besides the increased use of digital and online tools for collaboration. Having animators in multiple locations working concurrently is nothing new. It stands to reason that the traditional methods of producing animation will continue in the same vein that they already inhabit. Interestingly enough, ‘ink and paint’ is a section here. Must be a ton of traditional animation being produced somewhere…

6. Audience Dynamics

Because your audience is always moving, eh, eh? No? Oh well, Pixar is the poster child here for obvious reasons. Marketing and audience targeting get a mention, but c’mon, the easiest way to gain an audience is to simply create good quality content. Market research is a great tool, but it will only tell you so much, and it can so easily lead you astray.

Of note here is ‘Pixar’s Technological Advantage‘. While we don’t know what this section says, it is known that whatever advantage they did have has been eroded significantly since the heady days of the 1990s. While Pixar may continue to produce stunningly beautiful films, the competition has worked hard to catch up. Both camps are rapidly approaching photo-realism anyway, so on-screen advantages are mostly moot at this point. Interestingly though, DreamWorks has worked quite diligently to create and foster their IT platforms and software and they may hold an advantage over Pixar in ways that are not visible on-screen.

7. Economics of Animation

This one should be simple right? Make animation > sell for money > profit!

Things aren’t so simple though, and by the looks of things, the report goes into detail about licensing (pay to use my work), merchandising (pay to put my creation on your product), distribution (getting your work seen in different places) and exhibition (getting your animation on TV, DVD, etc). All of these require lengthy and costly negotiations and it’s well worth noting that even with the internet, these systems remain very much in place around the world.

That said, times are changing and it’s very much worth your while to keep in mind alternative options like YouTube and digital distribution. The report does not devote a section to it, but it is absolutely the single most volatile part of making animated content at the moment not only commands attention, it requires it.

Two sections are given over to copyright. Again, what they contain I do not know, but I’ve discussed copyright before and I would caution that relying on copyrights alone as a tool for extracting compensation or revenues is a false hope.

8. Guidelines for Setting up an Animation Studio

Already covered by this post!

9. Managing an Animation Studio

It’s just like any other business! Take in more than you spend, and make sure you have enough money to pay the bills as they arrive. Other than that, there really isn’t something in this section that you could not learn from a good business book down at your local library.

10. Animation Content Outsourcing

Ah, a contentious one this. Should you outsource? Are the cost savings worth the extra hassle? Which country should you outsource too?

These are all questions that will very much depend on the circumstances. It would be unwise to delve into them here.

The Rest

The remainder of the report goes through different global areas such as Europe, the USA, Korea, Japan and so forth with sections on how the industries operate, how large they are, how they do business and so on.

Conclusions

The bottom line is, this report is only worth paying for if you wanted to set up a studio and had absolutely no idea what the heck you are doing. Is it worth $5,000? I don’t think so. (I could easily do a detailed blog post on each and every section with what’s freely available on the internet.)

What does the report prove? Why that there’s a ton of money in animation of course!

Would you pay $5,000 for a report like this? Explain why with a comment!

Animation Industry Strategies Trends & Opportunities Read More »

Sita Sings the Blues Enters the Public Domain

1 Comment / Animation / Charles Kenny

Nina Paley has jumped through so many hoops for her feature film Sita Sings the Blues that at this point, she may as well have her own circus. The latest tribulation was caused by, of all people, the National Film Board of Canada, who requested rights for referencing Sita in a film being made by Chris Landreth (amusingly, a bunch of Candians apologise for the NFB’s actions in the comments of the original blog post). Nina, fed up with having to fill out paperwork rendered useless by the Creative Commons license she placed Sita under promptly moved it to the public domain.

If you’re not familiar with Nina’s struggles to make Sita Sings the Blues, I highly encourage you to check out the FAQ page that details pretty much every aspect of the film. (The section of interest to today’s post is the copyright section a wee bit down the page.)

Long story short, Nina was forced to pay enormous sums for the right to use the music she wanted to for the film. The experience turned her into a free culture activist and resulted in her releasing the film online for any and all to view and share.

The Creative Commons License

Initially, Nina released the film under a Creative Commons license that permitted sharing and derivations provided attribution was given and that the resulting works were placed under the same license.

This particular license has numerous benefits insofar as it maintains the link between the work and the creator and ensures that their work is not placed under a restrictive license that runs contrary to the CC one.

Now that Sita Sings the Blues is in the public domain, anyone and everyone can see, share, remix, alter and otherwise do what they please with it without having to adhere to any restrictions. It was a regrettable final step that Nina felt forced to make though.

The Problem

What Nina ran up against wasn’t so much that people didn’t want to use Sita or screen it, but that some of those that did, couldn’t see around the fact that they could without needing to go through the usual legal channels. The result was that they simply decided not to use it altogether.

That represents a significant problem for those of us who wish to see copyright reform. Traditional copyright is too severely restrictive in terms of permitting others to see and use creations but the CC licenses negate certain rights in favour of imposing others. I.e. you can use this film, but you must release your work under a similar license. That can turn a lot of potential users off as they may not share similar views on copyright.

This question of copyright is not unknown throughout the animation universe (pioneer Fred Seibert acknowledged as much a while back) but what is unknown is how to rectify it satisfactorily.

Creators naturally wish to be compensated for their hard work (because everyone has to eat) but the digital era has rendered traditional copyright much harder and prohibitively expensive to enforce. The result is that even the largest corporations fail spectacularly and even then that is after millions are spent on legal fees to fight infringements.

I use a CC license for all original content posted on this blog, but the written word is much easier to attribute than a visual image let alone moving animation or artifacts in the background.

The Solution

With Sita Sings the Blues in the public domain, the regrettable result is that someone could take parts of it and place them under traditional copyright without needing to attribute Nina or even acknowledge her as the creator. Such a possibility harms her as well as her work.

What is needed is multi-layered system where there are various levels of restrictions placed upon works. Those who prefer traditional should receive it, but for a markedly reduced timeframe (say 10 years) with the possibility for a single renewal. Those that wish to let their work spread around a bit could use a CC-esque license but that is simpler than what we have today and with standard attribution methods. Lastly, the public domain should remain as it is because it is too valuable to lose altogether.

Believe it or not, the current system is far more complex than the one I just described and what results is that people cannot be bothered to navigate it. Attitudes play a part, although it is important to note that while plenty choose to ignore CC works because of restrictions, many more simply ignore copyright’s ones altogether; effectively rendering it a pointless idea anyway.

Creators need to be aware of these issues because ultimately, attitudes will change. Networks that decline to screen a film like Sita because of the lack of an “exclusive” license will have not choice; they will either be driven out of business or the playing field will be levelled to such an extent that competition will mandate it.

Creators must be willing and ready to adapt to whatever new system presents itself and to capitalise one it. Sita’s entry into the public domain is merely the opening salvo of the long battle over content that is about to begin.

Does copyright get your goat up or are you out to smite the filthy pirates? Let us know with a comment!

Sita Sings the Blues Enters the Public Domain Read More »

Cyanide And Happiness Opt Out of Old Model For Animated Show

7 Comments / Business Models / Charles Kenny

Via: Cyanide & Happiness — Via: Cyanide and Happiness

For those not familiar with Cyanide and Happiness, it’s a webcomic that often focus on black comedy and sardonic humour with a distinct hint of questionable morals. The series is a collaborative effort and has become one of the most successful webcomics since its launch in 2004. As with many creative properties of this nature, a move beyond the static world of comics and into the dynamic world of animation is a natural one that has been on the cards for some time. The difference is how the creators approached it and what they learned from the process.

The Traditional Route

Initially, the creators (Kris Wilson, Rob DenBleyker, Matt Melvin and Dave McElfatrick) ventured down the traditional avenue for developing an animated project: they talked to some TV networks. This tried and trusted method has been used by countless people since creator driven shows came back into vogue just over 20 years ago. As a result, this seemed like a sensible option. As Rob outlays:

…it feels kinda natural for us to get back into animation, because we all started out as amateur animators when we were kids. Because of that, over the years we’ve built up a wealth of ideas that don’t really work as comics; they need to be animated.

However, what the group discovered as they jumped through the many negotiation hoops was that the way networks operate and how the web operates are entirely different. As Kris explains:

We walked away from the first two due to rights and creative control issues.

As you may be aware, when a network acquires the show, they assume control over it. The vast majority of the time, they will hire the creator to ensure that his or her vision makes it to the screen. This arrangement benefits both parties and almost always passes without incident. However, anyone who is familiar with the saga of Ren & Stimpy and John Kricfalusi will know that creators are merely an employee on their own show and can be removed by the network for almost any reason.

The C&H guys weren’t too comfortable with this. They inhabit a realm (the internet) where the creators have complete and total control over what they create (although not necessarily how it received or distributed.) Not liking the idea of losing control, they have started to look at alternatives to this traditional route.

The Alternative Route

As with many similar projects over the last year or so, haute couture site Kickstarter is mentioned as the likely platform from which they will launch the alternative series. Although that aspect is an indicator, it is what they hope to actually produce:

We’ll be using Kickstarter to raise money for production. We firmly believe the entertainment industry is changing, and the Internet will eventually become the only way people watch shows.

This route will involve raising funds, deciding on what exactly to produce (length, no. of episodes, etc.) no details of which are available yet. Nonetheless the move represents only the latest in a wave of properties that have become popular on the internet and have shown a reluctance to relinquish some of the freedoms that the platform offers.

Why Their Decision is Significant

While it is tempting to brush off the C&H decision as merely the latest in a long line of internet phenomenons whose creators are unwilling to bend to the demands of traditional business models, that isn’t the case. The decision to go the alternative route was not rushed by any stretch of the imagination. Rob:

The four of us traveled to LA twice, and spent many more days in phone calls with over a dozen networks. A few of the discussions got pretty involved, lasting months and even years.

And Kris:

…we’ve been negotiating a Cyanide and Happiness TV show with a cable network for a while now. What you guys may not know is that this is actually the latest of three TV show talks we’ve been in. We walked away from the first two due to rights and creative control issues. We thought that we could settle those issues in the third deal, but things didn’t quite work out as we hoped.

Today, we are letting you all know that we’ve officially walked away from this TV deal as well, for similar reasons as the first two.

Oftentimes web success stories receive a bit of a drubbing for their propensity to misunderstand traditional models, but not the C&H guys. To their credit, they understand where the networks are coming from:

Every single one of these deals, after much back and forth, eventually came down to the same basic problem: Television networks don’t want to take much risk when it comes to new shows. Nor should they have to. It’s entirely their investment; we’re just the writers. This manifests itself in a lot of scary ways when you read a typical TV contract. Stuff like giving up the rights to existing characters in order to feature them in the show, no final say on what gets removed or changed, even potentially being fired as writers from our own show. Not to mention the fact that good shows get cancelled all the time.

What is interesting though, and something that they picked up on while undertaking the entire adventure, is that they realised that what the networks were attempting to produce and what the C&H guys felt they needed to produce were too entirely different things:

As Rob notes, TV networks undertake a significant amount of risk when it comes to a TV show. They must invest a lot of time, money and resources and the payoff will not become known until vast amounts of all three have been spent. In a capitalistic society, risks like those are generally undertaken with the acknowledgement that whatever rewards (or pitfalls) that are to be had belong to the person or entity undertaking the risk.

That’s a fair arrangement that has underpinned the nature of business in free economies since day dot. The C&H guys simply discovered the entertainment version and what it entails, read: giving up the rights to your creation.

What makes their decision significant is that they also realised that they don’t need a traditional network to get an animated Cyanide and Happiness series off the ground (Kris):

We’re starting to realize that TV as an industry just isn’t compatible with what we want to do with our animation: deliver it conveniently to a global audience, something we’ve been doing all along with our comics these past eight years. That’s just the nature of television versus the Internet, I suppose.

Why You Should Pay Attention

The developments that are about to happen would be significant anyway, but you should pay particular attention to them for the following reasons:

This WILL Set the Pattern For Future Projects

Plenty of people have run successful [animated] Kickstarter projects. Plenty of people have created successful animated web series. However, we are about to see how someone can successfully leverage a successful existing property into a Kickstarter project into a web series.

What the C&H decision will do is cement the pattern for creators wishing to create their own animated series. Plenty of animators are trying their hand but few consider the following:

the need to be a goal-oriented creator
the need for a fanbase to build with
the knowledge that a demand for an animated series exists
the huge amounts of energy needed to create a series

With a successful campaign and series, expect many to mimic Cyanide and Happiness. My money is on creators needing to (not having to, needing to) develop a fanbase prior to attempting an animated series. Even those that have pulled off an entirely new series, such as Cartoon Hangover’s Bravest Warriors have not been shy about leveraging any connection to an existing, successful property and its fanbase (in this case, Pen Ward and Adventure Time.)

Fans

Networks have been clever at leveraging fanbases to drive ratings and merchandise sales but when it comes down to it, few actually respect them. Consider delays in getting DVD boxsets out, issuing takedowns to fan creations and actively blocking access to online streaming. Yup, networks love fans, but only for their money.

In contrast, the Cyanide and Happiness guys practically love their fans. As Kris explains:

We firmly believe the entertainment industry is changing, and the Internet will eventually become the only way people watch shows. Especially the people that make up our awesome fanbase. The Internet is already the largest network, available when you think about it. Why go anywhere else?…..The prospect of doing an uncensored, unaltered Cyanide and Happiness Show and giving it directly to the fans is an incredible opportunity. We’re really excited to see how far we can take things.

Look at that! They actually considered their fans in their decisions. They anticipated that if all their fans are already on the internet, why go to TV just because?

That represents the other facet to the emerging internet generation: the desire not to alienate the very fans that support them. Take heed, because fandoms created on the internet have been known to desert their favourite things when they feel they are being unnecessarily trodden upon. Digg is (and should be) the poster child for this.

Audiences

Lastly there is the audience itself. It’s widely acknowledged that they are moving not so much online as they are acquiring content from the internet. The television set remains the dominant screen when it comes to consumer’s entertainment source but how the content gets to that screen is changing.

Services like Netflix, Amazon, Boxee and others are shifting audiences away from a schedule-based viewing regime to an on-demand one that conforms to consumer’s unique schedules. A Cyanide and Happiness show broadcast on a cable network may have had the potential to reach millions, but if the show’s fans mainly congregate online whenever they choose, it is quite unlikely that they will switch to tuning in at a particular time.

The decision to remain online serves the needs of the C&H audience and won’t hinder the show’s ability to reach new fans either, seeing as the people most likely to start watching are already online. Sooner or later, those new viewers that reside on the fringes will be brought into the fold.

What this proves is that it is foolish to chase after an audience you only think you need. This consideration of the audience beyond the fanbase will dictate how and where new web series’ emerge and proliferate. This is the biggest one to keep and eye on because it is, as of 2013, the only one that does not have a recognised strategy behind it.

Cyanide And Happiness Opt Out of Old Model For Animated Show Read More »

Treasure Planet And the Failure To Advance Creatively

4 Comments / Analysis / Charles Kenny

Last weekend I decided to watch the film Treasure Planet. I hadn’t seen it before being, well, outside the target audience when it was released back in 2002. I started on Saturday evening and, well, had to give up after just under an hour. I made sure to finish it the following morning, but I couldn’t help but notice that the film proves what can happen when you rest on your creative laurels.

The Film’s Faults

As far as I was concerned, Treasure Planet is caught between a rock and a hard place. It came well after the storied Disney Renaissance of the late 80s and early 90s and was also made 7 years after Toy Story brought the storytelling bar to a whole new level of sophistication.

The Visuals

The visuals are stunning, but it was far too obvious that CG was in use everywhere, even where it wasn’t necessary. OK, I get it, you can use CG in a traditionally animated film, but the use was gratuitous in far too many circumstances and does nothing to advance the plot or improve the viewing experience. This is the film’s more egregious error; eye candy for the sake of eye candy. Yes, Beauty and the Beast did the same with the ballroom scene, but at least that had never been done before. By 2002, Disney films had a legacy of being visually stunning but always within the reason that it added to the viewing experience. In the case of Treasure Planet, having a CG prop fall of the table does not add to the viewing experience. In other words, CG was nothing new and couldn’t be relied upon to sustain an audience’s attention on its own. Miyazaki does it right; CG so subtle, you never notice it.

The Story

The plot of the film is nothing remarkable save for the fact that it places ~~Jules Verne’s~~ Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island in space. As mentioned above though, Pixar had already exhibited a knack for creating superb stories from elemental parts and proved that a complicated and outwardly sophisticated story isn’t necessary to make a great film. Treasure Planet follows in the footsteps of previous Disney films, but by 2002, audiences were being wowed by a different style of story emanating from Emeryville that has persisted ever since.

The Songs

Let’s just say that Disney’s hit songs were missing from their films long before Treasure Planet was released.

The Characters

This, at least for me, was the most disappointing aspect to Treasure Planet. TV Tropes identifies Treasure Planet as the film where Disney reacted to shifting market forces. Giving the characters a darker subtext (read: a dysfunctional family) was their way of becoming more identifiable with audiences. In addition to that, the remainder of the cast while complex in their own way, are never given a chance to shine; instead being slaves to a plot that dictates their roles. Case in point is Captain Amelia, who undoubtedly a strong female character (albeit with a very stiff upper lip), is nonetheless rendered useless in the latter part of the film. In a similar vein are Morph and B.E.N. who serve no purpose except as catalysts for the plot. All in all, the characters in Treasure Planet offer nothing exceptional outside of the film.

External Factors

The Competition

First and foremost, it has to be noted that by 2002, the feature animation landscape had changed, and by changed, I mean moved on. Pixar hadn’t so much shifted the goalposts as they had moved to another field entirely. Their storytelling combined with the CGI animation had won over audiences before Treasure Planet’s debut.

In a similar manner, DreamWorks’ Shrek gave audiences the send-up of Disney films that they never knew they needed. Suddenly animated films could be full-blown comedies rather than serious dramas.

Both these shifts leave Treasure Planet looking somewhat dated and belonging to another time, which undoubtedly it does.

Conclusion

Treasure Planet is far from a terrible film. Plenty of talented individuals worked on it for a long time and it is always disheartening to see an animated film fail to find success. However, the film proves in more ways than one that if you fail to progress creatively, someone else will rise up and overtake you.

Pixar has been quite successful are constantly upping their game, but even they are in danger of falling into tried and trusted routines (read: sequels) and stand to lose should someone else catch them unawares.

Treasure Planet should serve as a warning that even with everything going for it, a film that presumes success can, and most likely will, fail.

Treasure Planet And the Failure To Advance Creatively Read More »

Week Links 02-2013

Week Links / Charles Kenny

Time for another roundup of week links I read this week and that you should too!

Oskar Fischinger: the animation wizard who angered Walt Disney and the Nazis

The Guardian has a fairly detailed look at the life of artist and proto-animator Oskar Fischinger. He is perhaps most remembered to animation people for his early (and albeit, short) role in the creation of the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor segment of Fantasia.

Murphy’s Irish Stout Commercial From the Late 1990s

Thanks to Danny Spencer for the tipoff, here’s a commercial for Murphy’s Irish stout that’s well, not very Irish looking.

They don’t make ’em like they used to, do they?

Danger Mouse: Natalie Haynes’s guide to TV detectives #23

AAA-Danger Mouse

Another one from the Guardian, our favourite James Bond-esque rodent comes in at no. 23 on a list of TV detectives. A quite detailed article that details exactly why the show is so good and remains popular after so many years.

Who Invented The Golden Globes

Not strictly an animation-related article, but it’s well worth reading this piece by Edward Jay Epstein (a.k.a. The Hollywood Economist) if you don’t know much about the background to the Golden Globes.

10 Girl Cartoons (That Guys Secretly Love)

This list may stray a bit wide of the mark (were the Care Bears really a girl cartoon?) but there are a few shows on it that did manage to cross the gender divide. I’m currently making my way through number 3, which probably makes it not much of a secret any more.

A Skin-Tight Totoro Full Body Spandex Suit

And now, this blog presents to you some nightmare fuel in the form of the ever-loveable Totoro:

Click through to see the [ahem] reverse.

Tweets of the Week

David OReilly up to his old tricks again.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/davidoreilly/status/291087065444134912″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/VertMB/status/290889293583503362″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/nicterhorst/status/291910189148405761″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/MediaReDEF/status/291096324110184449″]

Week Links 02-2013 Read More »

The Most Underrated Man in Hollywood

Analysis / Charles Kenny

Let’s not spoil the surprise just yet, but see if you can guess who the most underrated man in Hollywood is before the reveal.

His Achievements

This person’s list of achievements is long over the course of his career. He has received numerous Academy Awards and has risen to a prominent place within a large animation studio.

He has been instrumental in the development of technology that has played such a significant role in the history of animation that without it, things would be quite, nay, substantially different than what we know it as today.

In addition to these achievements, he is also known as a man with a clear vision of the future. He was quite literally decades ahead of his time and his vision for animated entertainment was proven exactly as he envisioned. Naturally, he was astute enough to place himself in roles that would serve this purpose and his arrival at certain companies at particular times was quite fortuitous for both parties.

Today, his technological achievements continue to find widespread use throughout the world, and the films that he helped create rank among the highest grossing animated films of all time.

Although well known within the animation community and afforded some recognition outside of it, this relatively quiet intellectual does not enjoy the same celebrity status that some of his contemporaries do. As such, while his achievements, creations and the films that they have enabled have become synonymous among the public with quality entertainment, this man remains somewhat of a mystery to many of ordinary folks who enjoy his films.

Can you guess who it is?

Yes, it is of course, Ed Catmull.

You probably know who he is, and you definitely know the studio he helped found (Pixar), but his 34 credits on IMDB enormously belie his contributions to contemporary animated films and even to the wider movie industry itself.

Why He Deserves the Title

His Influence is Felt Everywhere

As one of many people behind Pixar, Catmull could be construed as being one of the backroom boys, but this is far from the case. While John Lasseter and others were forging ahead on the creative side, Catmull was heading up the technical side that was making the films possible.

That alone would make him noteworthy if it were not for the fact that he was instrumental in seeing how the technology he was developing could be applied to entertainment. That action puts him right up alongside Walt Disney in his forward thinking. Heck, he was mulling CG animated films in the 1970s, but had to wait until technology advanced enough to make it economical and until he found someone willing to give him the resources necessary to experiment. That person was George Lucas, who was apparently (thankfully) blind to the fact that a rogue computer animator was running around at Industrial Light and Magic.

Although initially Catmull’s software was only suitable for purely animated films, it has since found its way into special FX and today, CG FX often form so much of a film’s on-screen visuals, that they are considered fully animated.

Today, CGI animated films are prevalent. They dominate the American box office and have proliferated into TV shows too. At one point, they were considered to be the sole future for animation with result being that Disney shut down the traditional animation department that made them famous.

His Foresight Rivals His Patience

Although Catmull knew where CG technology would eventually go and what it could potentially achieve, he showed enormous patience as he wound his way through various universities and ILM before Pixar was spun off in 1985. Even then, his goals were not within arms reach. It took a few more years before Tin Toy debuted and showed that computers could make high quality animation.

Catmull’s goal ramained a few years away though. Finally, Toy Story was put into production and became the world’s first entirely CGI-animated film. This was Catmull’s ultimate goal and he only had to wait, what, nearly 20 years for it to reach fruition? That’s a heck of a lot of patience that most people in entertainment could stand to learn from.

His Passion For The Animated Technique, Not Just the Technology

It may be surprising to learn that Ed Catmull has a passion for all animation, not just the CGI stuff he helped develop, but also the traditional stuff too. In fact, when installed as the president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, in conjunction with John Lasseter, he was instrumental in getting traditional features going again at a time when many thought the technique was a dead as silent films.

Why He’s Underrated

As mentioned way up at the top, Catmull resides much more out of the limelight compared to his more publicity-friendly compadres like John Lasseter, Pete Doctor, Andrew Stanton, etc. Many people acknowledge his contribution to what Pixar became, but few seem to acknowledge the wider contributions to animated films and animation in general. Yes, he was not alone in this work, but he is the single link between otherwise disparate people and studios.

Ed Catmull’s grand contribution to modern film should not be overlooked, and that’s why he’s the most underrated man in Hollywood.

The Most Underrated Man in Hollywood Read More »

Are You Thinking Globally?

Questions / Charles Kenny

A silly question perhaps, but a serious one. If you’re reading this in the United States, then congratulations! You’ve already achieved something that a lot of people in other countries would give their right arm for. Another question: how often do you think about those countries outside American borders? In other words: are you thinking globally?

Why Does This Even Matter?

The reason I pose this question is that animation, as an industry is global. Unlike, say, teaching Polish, there is an animation presence in almost every country. It may be very large or it may be very small, but I guarantee you that someone somewhere in every country, they are practicing animation in some form.

Why should you, as someone in the US care about this? Well, we’re just about at the stage where US films and TV shows are taking in a significant proportion (more than half in some cases) of their revenue from outside the country. That in itself is an important fact. (Ever wonder why a show like Heroes went on as long as it did? It was partly because its popularity abroad was bringing in profits for NBC.)

What Does It Have To Do With Animation

Large-scale animation (read: Disney, DreamWorks, etc.) have to make their content suitable for foreign audiences. They have no choice in the matter any more. American audiences have shrunk to the point where they cannot sustain most blockbuster-sized films on their own. So, naturally, studios look abroad for the necessary box office and home media monies to make up the rest of the profits.

The same goes for TV shows, although with smaller budgets, selling them abroad simply increases revenues for the studio. The difference also plays through in that there is also a significant amount of animated TV shows that are imported into the US. The one shown at top is a prime example.

So Why Should I Start Thinking Globally?

Ah, a good question indeed. Just why should you think and know about all this? Well, it’s because whether or not you are involved in the creation or selling of animated products, the fact of the matter is that the internet makes international barriers non-existent.

How many hurdles do you think you’d have to go through using the traditional channels to get your content shown in another country? Besides finding a distributor, negotiating with them and then finding someone to broadcast it, that takes a heck of a lot of time and money.

With the internet, you can throw the content up yourself and immediately have an audience from around the world. It would be like me trying to get a newsletter published in multiple countries around the world for my readers. It simply isn’t feasible, but, with a blog (and the internet), I can do it for next to nothing and have a platform that encourages interactivity.

The Other REALLY Important Thing

Yes, there is one other thing: the content itself. America is really a very insulated country in the cultural sense. Yes, it is great at exporting it’s culture abroad, but when it comes to letting others in, it’s,well, a bit selfish. That’s hardly a conscious act though; the country is huge, and there are a lot of people here.

The problem is that what may work well content-wise in America may not work so well abroad. Think of The Office, the classic BBC comedy that had (absolutely had) to be remade for US audiences despite sharing a common language. Why? Well when shown to network executives, they thought it was a real documentary, not a spoof.

Pixar is acutely aware of some of these cultural issues and they make a point of ensuring that text within a film (newspapers, etc.) are shown in the local language rather than English.

Why should this concern you? Again it comes back to the internet. Could you grow a substantial audience abroad if you only create something with American audiences in mind?

It’s not likely at this early stage in the game, but expect it to become just as much of an issue for new media creators as traditional ones. At a time when YouTube series’ budgets are hitting hundreds of thousands, earning that revenue back is going to be rough going if you depend on audiences in only one country.

Do you pay attention to foreign content? Do you create with foreign audiences in mind? Let us know in the comments!

Are You Thinking Globally? Read More »

Female Demographics Neglected By Animation

5 Comments / Analysis / Charles Kenny

Daria Morgendorfer — This character should be a hint.

When we think of animation, or indeed any form of entertainment, there is a propensity to think of it only in terms of how it already exists. What I mean is that animation, for a staggeringly long time, was considered as belonging in the kids’ realm (I’m afraid I can’t source the famous “we’re the babysitter” quote that I thought was attributed to Wollie Reitherman.) and it’s only very recently that we’ve started to see it slowly away from that perception. What I’m curious about though, is are there female demographics neglected by animation at the moment, and if so, why?

Who IS Covered

First though, it’s important to look at who is currently covered:

Boys aged 0-12
Girls aged 0-12
Boys aged 16-29

Now before you get out the pitchforks, bear in mind that I’m talking specifically about animation that is aimed at a particular demo. Yes, The Simpsons can be, and is enjoyed by everyone; the same goes for Pixar films, but if you were to collar someone from the responsible marketing department and ask them nicely (or maybe rough them up) they will tell you that either animation is marketed with one demographic in mind.

Which demographic that is will depend heavily not only on who is expected to watch the show, but also who is expected to support it. Examples are pre-school and pre-teen shows. Neither has an audience with any meaningful disposable income but both possess parents who do!

So even though the pre-school show will appeal to kids, you find that it is specifically tailored to what parents desire in their kid’s entertainment. In the case of pre-school that is partly the reason why almost all of them contain a heavy emphasis on education over pure entertainment.

Moving up the age scale, kids aged 6-12 do get more of an emphasis on entertainment because their ability to sell their parents on supporting merchandise is much stronger and by the time they make it to the top, they are practically mini consumers; a.k.a. tweens.

Boys and young males aged 16 and above are adequately catered for through the likes of [adult swim], anime (if they are so inclined) and whatever other kinds of animated entertainment they can dig up for themselves.

Who is NOT Covered

Where things tend to fall apart is once the teenage years kick in. Based on what is currently out there, there is a glut for both genders around the 13-15 mark. That’s pretty natural though as kids get caught between a rock and a hard place in regards to content; too old for the younger stuff, too young for the older stuff. I don’t foresee this gap being narrowed substantially any time soon.

What is noticeable though is that while boys have options once they hit their mid-late teens, girls do not. In other words, boys are brought back into the animation fold through the likes of [adult swim] and anime (plenty of guns, violence and giant robots), girls don’t have anything (or very little) comparable to that at all.

Seriously. Close your eyes and think of a current, animated TV program (or animated film) that’s aimed specifically at mid-late teenage girls or those in their early 20s. I can easily name a dozen live-action shows but nothing animated even comes close to mind.

Again, this is not to say that girls in that age range can’t enjoy animated programming or films; a heck of a lot of them do, but a glance around the TV schedules and cinema listings reveals a glaring gap in animated programming tailored to them.

Oh, and as for Brave, well again, you’ll have to corner our marketing friend, but I would be greatly shocked if that was being tailored for anyone over the age of 13.

So could it be that girls are ‘dropping out’ of the animation scene in their teenage years because there is nothing to pick them up at the other side of the lull around 13-15? The signs currently point to yes, and there are many, many reasons behind it.

Standard arguments that get trotted out for this kind of thing is that there is no market for it, that girls genuinely have no interest in animated programming once they near adulthood and (most egregiously) that they simply enjoy the same content as guys. All are false. Audiences can only watch what they are given, so saying they don’t want to watch something that doesn’t exist is a load of hogwash.

What About Daria?

Ah yes, what about Daria. The MTV animated show could be said to aim precisely at the very audiences discussed in this post. It had a female lead(s) and tended to adhere to the social and moral quandaries that many teenagers face. The show also achieved all this while bridging the gender divide and appealing to all teenagers.

However, the show has long since departed from the airwaves and nary a replacement has been seen since. As of 2013, it regretfully resides in the nostalgia zone, where only those who originally watched it will seek it out in any meaningful numbers.

What Can Be Done

It’s a topic that’s been covered here on the blog before, but the bottom line is that there simply is not enough animated content being made for girls at all ages, prepubescent or otherwise. Even the comics industry has seen an increase in this kind of content with plenty of female comic artists and writers getting works out that is more likely to appeal to that kind of audience.

Animation retains a kind of stigma when it comes to this, and my guess is that no-one of the powers that be are willing to make the right move to get the shows that are needed, made and broadcast.

The simple answer is to make the content and make it well.

Female Demographics Neglected By Animation Read More »

A Venn Diagram of Animated Films

7 Comments / Analysis / Charles Kenny

Click to mammothly enlarge.

This Venn diagram of animated films represents three groups connected with an animated film (animators, fans and studio executives) and which film identifies with them in the most accurate way.

Do you agree or disagree with any of them? Leave a comment with your choices!

PS. Please feel free to share this around 🙂

A Venn Diagram of Animated Films Read More »

When Lois Lane Was Cool

Animation / Charles Kenny

Here’s a few GIFs (via) from the Felischer Superman short ‘Billion Dollar Limited‘ where Lois Lane is travelling on the bullion train that is hijacked by hoodlums. They exhibit the quintessential traits of a strong female character; ingenuity, bravery, courage and thoughtfulness.

SM-BDLtumblr_mduum6xGY61qi2csno1_250

SM-BDLtumblr_mduum6xGY61qi2csno2_250

SM-BDLtumblr_mduum6xGY61qi2csno5_r1_250

SM-BDLtumblr_mduum6xGY61qi2csno8_r1_250

SM-BDLtumblr_mduum6xGY61qi2csno6_r2_250

SM-BDLtumblr_mduum6xGY61qi2csno9_r2_250

When Lois Lane Was Cool Read More »

Week Links 01-13

Week Links / Charles Kenny

In other words, articles and posts that I read this week and so should you.

Disney Freaks Out Over Patents That May Mean It Can’t Keep 3Ding Old Movies

In a shocking turn of events, the sale of the remnants of Digital Domain mean that the licensing agreements that Disney had on the patents used to 3D-ify old movies may no longer apply. Fears that the studio may have to stop the practise were quickly proven as the court sides with the patent holders.

Should movies with smoking be rated R?

Erin McNeill discusses the presence of the habit on-screen with animated films coming in for some criticism.

Studio Ghibli Zippo Lighters

While we’re on the subject of smoking, how about a Zippo lighter featuring a character from your favourite Studio Ghibli film? I somehow can’t see Disney releasing similar merchandise here in the States.