February 2014

Taking Gender Out of the Animation Equation By Simply Ignoring It

Analysis /

Gender is a topic in animation circles that is gaining more traction lately mainly thanks to a growing realisation that for all the talk of an industry that has less sever gender segregation and under representation than live-action, it’s still  a heavily male-dominated industry. That translates into the programming and associated merchandise so easily that it’s long been simply taken for granted. In recent years, the problem has attracted more attention as viewers, consumer groups and activists look to balance the equation for women and females in animation. For an example of a possible fix, we turn to the east, and the hit anime show Attack on Titan.

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Taking Gender Out of the Animation Equation By Simply Ignoring ItRead More »

Taking Gender Out of the Animation Equation By Simply Ignoring It Read More »

Is There an Impending Apocalypse in Animation Studies?

7 Comments / Questions /

Over on the Society for Animation Studies blog, Lauren Carr writes about what she perceives as a crisis in animation studies stemming mainly from a desire by students to simply learn the software tools rather than the technique and theory behind animation. If that’s true, then we are heading for an impending apocalypse in the field from which it will be very difficult to recover.

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Is There an Impending Apocalypse in Animation Studies? Read More »

Hank Azaria’s Lawsuit Details What Defines A Character

9 Comments / Analysis /

Voice acting isn’t Hank Azaria’s only talent. He’s also an actor and comedian who just happens to excel at creating great characters. One of those creations got him into a bit of difficulty when it emerged that someone else had created something very similar first. Cue a lawsuit to sort it all out that also reveals (at least in the legal sense) what defines a character.

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Hank Azaria’s Lawsuit Details What Defines A CharacterRead More »

Hank Azaria’s Lawsuit Details What Defines A Character Read More »

Frozen on iTunes Finally Reveals Disney Strategy

Analysis /

This morning it was announced that Disney has released Frozen for digital downloading through iTunes. What makes this all the more astonishing is that the film remains in general release in cinemas and indeed, remains well inside the top 10; grossing over $4.5 million this past weekend. So why is Disney doing this now? Are they striking while the iron is still hot, or are other motives in play?

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Frozen on iTunes Finally Reveals Disney StrategyRead More »

Frozen on iTunes Finally Reveals Disney Strategy Read More »

Does More = Good When It Comes To Animated Features?

3 Comments / Opinion /

Over at Pando Daily, David Larkin has a really interesting piece about the intersection of art and business that is films and takes a look at how the increasing supply of films does not necessarily mean better films, or indeed, better returns. Animated films have always been few in number but recent years has seen an explosion in features with lots of success. With even more being announced, is it all for the best?

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Does More = Good When It Comes To Animated Features?Read More »

Does More = Good When It Comes To Animated Features? Read More »

Does Pixar Really Have a Technological Advantage?

7 Comments / Analysis /

There’s an annual report called the Global Animation Industry Report: Strategies, Trends & Opportunities. I wrote about it last year, but since there’s a new report for 2014, I’m writing about it again. While the $5,000 price is a bit too steep for me, you can view the contents online for free, and that’s where one sub-heading picqued my interest: ‘Pixar’s Technological Advantage’. While that may have been true many years ago, does it still hold up?

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Does Pixar Really Have a Technological Advantage?Read More »

Does Pixar Really Have a Technological Advantage? Read More »

Culture Matters in Animation, But Not As Much As You Might Think

1 Comment / Analysis /

Animation is a cultural thing, and like anything related to culture, there is national delineations and boundaries. For example, American animation is very, well, American. Canadaian animation is distinctly Canadian. Irish animation probably isn’t really coming from anywhere other than Ireland. And so on. However, the country of an animation’s origin is not the be all and end all of what it means to be animated.

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Culture Matters in Animation, But Not As Much As You Might ThinkRead More »

Culture Matters in Animation, But Not As Much As You Might Think Read More »

The Creators of The Nut Job Open an Incubator For New Ideas

Business Models /

It seems that the world and his dog is jumping into animation right now and while some are floundering, others are making a decent go of it. One of those with a surprise hit on their hands is the group behind The Nut Job. Despite mostly negative reviews, audiences seemed to like it and a sequel has already been announced. Whether the feature animation bubble will survive until its release is unknown right now, but that’s a discussion for another day.

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The Creators of The Nut Job Open an Incubator For New IdeasRead More »

The Creators of The Nut Job Open an Incubator For New Ideas Read More »

Why do you Animate?

2 Comments / Questions /

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In a brief, but all too painful and to-the-point post over on Tumblr, Keith Lango lays out what it means to create animation for mass consumption. It’s an eye-opener but one that could be said to be necessary for many people working in the industry. The bottom line:

Audiences. Do. Not. Care. About. “Quality”. Animation.

It almost hurts to read but it is absolutely something you should if you want to confront a lot of truths about the animation industry as we know it today.

Of course, why should audiences care. They don’t particularly care about how live-action is made because despite their thirst for making-of extras on DVDs, they remain quite ignorant of what really makes films happen. Why should animation be any different?

Why do you Animate? Read More »

What Next Media Animation Gets So Right

Business Models /

You’ve probably already seen at least one of their videos, you know the kind. If something gets the ‘crazy Taiwanese animation treatment’ it’s guaranteed that Next Media Animation (NMA) are the ones behind it. So the animation itself isn’t going to win any awards, but what does the company get so right that they might?

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What Next Media Animation Gets So RightRead More »

What Next Media Animation Gets So Right Read More »

Using The Croods to Explore Necessary Changes In Key Art

Analysis /

Marketing and promotional art is a key piece of the entertainment puzzle and has been a feature of the promotion business since long before film. Film posters are an art in and of themselves, but as Bill Cunningham points out in a guest post over at Truly Free Film, they haven’t kept up with the times.

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Using The Croods to Explore Necessary Changes In Key ArtRead More »

Using The Croods to Explore Necessary Changes In Key Art Read More »