Disposable Animation: More Prevalent Than Ever?

5 Comments / Opinion /

Art is always held in high cultural esteem, yet only the best and most widely acclaimed retain any kind of longevity. The rest is quite literally disposable as any dumpster behind a library will happily attest to. Animation is no different than any other art, and just like them, the internet has brought about an even greater degree of disposable animation and produced a real struggle to create cartoons with any sense of quality, and timelessness.

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Disposable Animation: More Prevalent Than Ever? Read More »

Some Thoughts on Producing Animation

5 Comments / Opinion /

As I prepare to produce a series of very short, er, shorts, I find my viewpoint of animation as an art and industry being forcibly changed. Not necessarily in a bad way mind you, but rather that it’s breadth and scope have changed as the reality of production becomes my greater focus. Here’s a few thoughts in no particular order.

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Some Thoughts on Producing Animation Read More »

TV Animation Is About to Dive Off a Cliff

7 Comments / Business Models /

The production of animated TV programs has never been greater. All three kids channels have full slates, numerous cable networks have their own shows, and FOX continues its long tradition of animated programming on Sunday nights. It’s a good time to be an optimist, yet it’s never been more important to be pessimistic about this sector of the business, because it’s about to go barrelling over a cliff.

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TV Animation Is About to Dive Off a CliffRead More »

TV Animation Is About to Dive Off a Cliff Read More »

The Podcast: Episode 3 with Helen Haswell

Podcast /

In this month’s podcast, I chat with Helen Haswell. Helen is a PhD candidate at Queens University in Belfast, who’s area of research happens to be the merger of Disney and Pixar that took place back in 2006. We discuss that, and lots more in this episode. Just excuse the error in the opening; this is the third episode, not the fourth!

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Copyright Shmopyright and 90s Kids’ Lust for Nickelodeon Nostalgia

4 Comments / Business Models /

If the events of the last 15 years have taught us anything, it’s that young people in particular, really don’t give a damn about copyright. What it stands for, why it exists, and the purpose it serves are so lost on the youth that they often act as if it isn’t even real. Unfortunately for one upstart streaming website, the corporate parent of Nickelodeon begged to differ, and wasn’t afraid to sue to remind them either.

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Copyright Shmopyright and 90s Kids’ Lust for Nickelodeon NostalgiaRead More »

Copyright Shmopyright and 90s Kids’ Lust for Nickelodeon Nostalgia Read More »

Why do People Continue to Offer Up Excuses?

11 Comments / Opinion /

The rise in popularity in using technology for animation has brought about a subsequent explosion in creative output. For decades, animation was the preserve of a few who had the right resources and location to do it. That’s all changed though, and while today anyone can create, produce, and distribute animated content, many offer only excuses as to why they’re efforts do not produce results.

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Why do People Continue to Offer Up Excuses? Read More »

The ‘You’ in YouTube is Following the ‘M’ from MTV into Irrelevance

18 Comments / Opinion /

Although the company hasn’t got as far as MTV when they chopped-off the ‘Music Television’ part of their identity, YouTube is nonetheless following them down the same beaten path. Anyone can still post content for free of course, but it is everything that surrounds that tenant of the service that has changed, and not necessarily for the better.

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The ‘You’ in YouTube is Following the ‘M’ from MTV into IrrelevanceRead More »

The ‘You’ in YouTube is Following the ‘M’ from MTV into Irrelevance Read More »

Is The Nickelodeon OTT Service Bad for Animation?

8 Comments / Business Models /

Nickelodeon is launching an OTT service. Yes, basically it’s like Netflix, but just for Nickelodeon shows. That should be an awesome announcement, right? Well, in theory, yes, it should. However the reality is different. Nickelodeon is a major producer of animation in the US, and by launching an OTT service, it endangers the future of the artform.

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Is The Nickelodeon OTT Service Bad for Animation?Read More »

Is The Nickelodeon OTT Service Bad for Animation? Read More »

The Podcast: Episode 2 With J.K. Riki

1 Comment / Podcast /

After a break for the holidays, the podcast returns! This month I chat with animator J.K. Riki who also runs Animator Island.

We touch on a wide range of topics including but not limited to, why people become passionate about animation, is CGI quality an issue in features, and did the Lion King ruin 2D theatrical animation.

As ever, leave a comment below or send me an email to offer any feedback you have. Apologies for the muffled sound; Verizon DSL does not tolerate cold weather very well.

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Six Questions Every Creator Needs to Ask Themselves

10 Comments / Questions /

Everyone can create, but should everyone create? Plenty of great ideas never get off the drawing board, and seemingly terrible ones manage to make it all the way to YouTube. Everybody is different of course, but before they even start creating, here’s six questions every creator needs to ask of themselves.

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Six Questions Every Creator Needs to Ask ThemselvesRead More »

Six Questions Every Creator Needs to Ask Themselves Read More »

Why Any Great Film Will Imitate This Song

5 Comments / Analysis /

One of the perennial struggles that I seem to have when it comes to feature films is that they often lose my interest well before the climax, or even the third act. The only difference that truly defines films are their length; everything else is relative, and animated films are no exception. However, there’s a simple trick to making a really great film, and all it involves, is listening to a song. …

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Why Any Great Film Will Imitate This Song Read More »