A Personal Opinion on Passion and Commitment

According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, passion is ‘a strong and uncontrollable emotion’. This is the word that many had used to express their enthusiasm and (used generically here) love for something. The subject may range from an individual to an object or activity. It could be anything. However, since this is purely from a personal standpoint, I’ll mostly deal with the activity part, loosely based on the art discipline (again, art here is used in a generic manner). 

  Let’s assume that Oxford Dictionary is completely correct about the definition of the word. ‘A strong and uncontrollable emotion’ seems to have a negative connotation, as of the word obsession, besotted and possessed. In this sense I am referring more to the uncontrollable part. Regardless, strong is a relatively vague word too, and is dependent on the situation as presented. 

  People may want to indicate that they have the fierce love for art, and here is where the commitment part comes in. Commitment is defined as ‘the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity’. By saying that a person has passion for certain things, it mainly indicates emotional qualities, consisting more sentimental value. Commitment, on the other hand, seems to imply a psychological and physical sense of involvement in the aforementioned situation. 

  Putting both together, by saying that one has passion for art, does not certainly indicate the presence of commitment to the discipline. It simply means that one possess an intense  emotion for something, not necessarily dedication. Deriving from that, a lack of dedication also implies an absence of responsibility. That would be the problem here. 

  Passion is an emotive word, and we all know that emotion is something extremely indistinct. People can get away with things by using emotion (as observed in all complicated situations that usually involves the phrase ‘I love you’). Hence, when a person says, I have a passion, it merely states that he/ she has an intense emotion towards a subject matter. You have a passion, so what now? Having an emotion simply isn’t sufficient to make things work. 

  So far all these seems to put passion in an unfavorable light. Actually no. It’s simply the fact that we all use the word passion too dismissively, too lightly. We instantly relate passion to a positive meaning when we hear it, hence we use it. It is a straightforward word. 

  All too often, you hear people in the art discipline saying ‘I have a passion for arts, that’s why I’m here’ (every other art student, including yours truly); ‘You must be passionate about arts to do it. Live it, breathe it, shit it and sleep with it’ (every other art lecturer who is actually bold enough to use the simple word shit in a sentence. That was sarcasm if you fail to detect); and of course there’s the institute that goes ‘ We are passionate about arts and we are here to teach intelligent young minds who share the same bloody passion’. Certainly, there’s the parents ‘ I want you to study something you have a passion for’, or, ‘Passion for arts is plain ridiculous, you need an education that can get you money’.  

  ALL these people use the word passion. It’s just like the first day in art school and someone asks ‘What do you think creativity is?’. More than half the people will answer ‘To think out of the box’. Personally, I do not find ‘out of the box’ a constructive phrase, it does not explain creativity either. It’s simply a term used too unconsciously, like an involuntary action. And here we go on the improper use of vocabulary before carefully digesting every morsel of the definition. 

  So as I was saying, the word is used too dismissively. We may be saying ‘ I have a passion for arts’ without realizing we could mean: ‘I fucking love arts to bits and pieces but I could ditch it any time I want because it’s just bloody emotion.’ Inappropriate choice of word. 

  Regardless, passion itself is not a problem. I am in fact giving it credit. True, passion is emotion and emotions are unstable and not based on hard facts. Yet, let’s face it, we are all in some way influenced by emotion. A lot of things stem from emotion. Emotion doesn’t accomplish things, not directly. It is a driver.  

  We all do things because there is something inside that is driving us. Hunger drives you to leave the keyboard and make food. Sexual deprivation and mental instability drive the rates of sexual assaults. It is only because you have a passion for something and that is what’s making you do what you’re doing (hopefully). Passion is intense and it could drive people to unusual extents. That is when commitment comes back into the picture. 

  Due to this passion thing we all claim we have, it makes it easier for commitment. I’m not saying passion creates commitment, it is not absolute. If a person has the passion, committing becomes less agonizing. Committing comes naturally for some people because they want to do the thing that they love, and they are ready to take the responsibility that comes with it. 

  I know a lot of peers who have passion for arts, and they come to an art school. That was first step to commitment. Initial commitment isn’t enough. All the hours spent doing things like painting tiny squares of perfect colour value, hue and saturation can kill people on the long run, because it interferes with their online gaming, social networking, clubbing and all the normal things that normal people do. They’ll leave after a semester or two, simply because of workload and the fact that, they don’t want the commitment. Sure, passion makes it easier but it just doesn’t work if you don’t want the responsibility of being physically and mentally involved with what you do. That was simply an observation, not judgement. 

  Here’s a summary to celebrate the fact that you spent 10 minutes reading a long- winded, relatively insignificant article: One, passion is equivalent to emotion and is unstable. Two, people use the word passion too lightly. Three, passion is not commitment. Four, passion can drive us to commit. Five, commitment involves responsibility. 

  So, the next time before you say ‘I have a passion’ , it would be nice to remind yourself that out there somewhere behind the computer screen, a jobless nutcase is looking up the word definition and criticizing your inappropriate choice of vocabulary in the said context. And writing a thousand word commentary about it. 

Kevin Smith - Explaining the meaning of life as an artist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIVWjz0lidA

This is a spot on excellent inspirational talk by Kevin Smith. 

the economics of animation industry. part 2

 Its been a while since this post or even any posts..... But the industry have been changing very rapidly in the last 6 months

Dreamworks is opening in China, Rhythm and Hues opening a couple in Taiwan.

Rumors abound of more US/UK companies setting up shop all around Asia. Yes sire.. exciting times ahead for these countries.

Cheaper eager workers, no union laws, pro business environment. Higher skilled and better quality workers compared to 5 years ago. You can understand the sentiment of the companies to re-locate or move some of the operations to Asia.

Andrew Stanton: The clues to a great story (talk on TED) transcript

This is one of the best video I have heard about storytelling. The man talking in the video is of course Andrew Stanton.

Below is a transcript of the key points that he made on the video for personal use. 

Brick by Brick by Doodle Alley.

A student pointed me to this comic illustration by Stephen McCranie.


there are also these very interesting links.

http://doodlealley.com/2011/08/27/principle-vs-process/

http://doodlealley.com/2011/10/24/make-your-milestones/

Mentality.

I was over the weekend at the Singapore Toy, Games and Comic Convention helping out at the booth rented by the school where I am currently teaching.

I had a lot of chances to talk to a lot of different people. Students, professionals in other industries thinking of changing lines, and socially awkward teenagers and delusional nut cases.

And it was a shock for me, listening to a lot of people's misconception understanding of what is needed to succeed. A few came and expected to be able to just learn maya and able to make their own movies. Others want to working in VFX but not interested in knowing how it works.

There was another one who said, animation looks fun but she hates drawing and computers. well then.... But there were also fresh students in their 1st year in the different schools. And the enthusiasm a young fresh mind brings. I did consciously try to dissuade them  to get out while they still can and go into something more profitable. (I was half joking just to see their reaction).

It dawned on me that the most important thing that a person can bring to the table doing animation is isn't talent. It is mentality. It really is. More accurately, it is the HUNGER. The hunger to want to learn, to find out more. TO. IMPROVE.

And I think this is the defining quality that I think, will try differentiate those who talk and those who succeed. 

the economics of animation industry. part 1

I blogged about a very informative post from David Stripinis about the evolution of the VFX business and the current state of the industry.

I thought I investigate about the simple economics of the animation industry.1st, some background.....

We all know the most simple and basic economic model is based on supply and demand. There is a demand therefore there is a need to supply that demand. But also more importantly "they are merely 2sides of the same coin".

Supply creates demand because at the bottom, it IS demand. - Henry Hazlitt

And for this industry, this is the rule. The supply of the things we create/skills (shots, lighting, animation, coding etc..) are all that we have in offer for exchange for things that we want. (promotion, more money, etc.)

Similarly for studios it is reputation/money in exchange for shots and to be done for the vfx, cartoon, commercial, video games industries etc.....

And for the movie studios and games publishing companies, its bottomline is money for entertainment.

Of course the issue if you will is that we are working on a movie by movie basis or season by season for tv shows. Sometimes, several movies on top of one another if the going is good. The work may not be consistent depending on if your studio gets the project. And if the shows keep coming, the shots need to get delivered. Often with the release date already locked in.

The shows' release dates are locked in because they are competing against other movies to secure those seats in the cinemas. The cinema owners are assured that there are shows to fill the seats. And they all want hopefully the best selling movies to make the money.

For the movie studios, the more cinemas they get, the more chances they have to sell the tickets. Again provided the movie can sell. Hence the marketing budget for big budget movies are often huge in order to protect their investment. So for the artistes, once the release dates are set, they are often never moved.

This is the nature of the business

At the end, we are creating elements and vfx for the studios that are selling entertainment at $10 a pop to the guy of the street, his neighbour, etc. 

Similarly, animation studios pitch and create animation series. Sometimes with funding secured by the tv stations or networks. Sometimes with private investors. Toy makers etc... 

Unfortunately there are a finite number of hours programming on the TV station, finite number of cinemas and dates that the shows can run.
And there are ever increasing numbers of shows being pitched, in producing, trying to get sold etc.... all trying to compete for a finite number of options.

You would think that with ever increasing number of choices, the quality of shows out there will increase to better the competition. But as we know the inverse is true. The movie studios, the animation companies hedge their money on safe bets. Sequels, recognized names etc. It is the nature of humans to want to be safe. And this at the end of the day becomes the demand. When there is over supply, they will have to meet the demands of the networks, the movie studios etc. Which are all safe bets.

Of course on the other side is the technology of the business. The latest gizmo/CG techniques that are suppose to be on the cutting edge. Stuff that get published in siggraph papers. All these sell to the movie studios, the ability of the vfx studios and of course attempt to sell movies and games. "Come see the amazing ability to age a man digitally in reverse!" "Come see a whole planet done in the computer inhibited by blue cat like people" "See how we make a hollywood hunk turn into a 70 pound weaking." "Photoreal Realtime renders of trees and water, with everything destroyable!"

Reminds you of the circus. And it is quite a spectacle. I do not mean it in a negative connotation but more of the wonderment when u see it for the 1st time. And I think the technology plays a part in attempting to capture that feeling.Of course the quality of the game/movie is something completely separate.

The major differences between the different types of industry that you are in of course results in different demands and requirements.

And now the competition as well as career opportunities are worldwide.

Part 2 Coming soon.

Fixing it in Post (from david stripinis)

This is a really informative post by David Stripinis about the evolution of the VFX business in general to its current state. Please go over to his post to read the whole thing.

Some excerpts.
"But the real key moment was their second project as the new ILM - Raiders of the Lost Ark. Both Star Wars and Empire were done for 20th Century Fox under the auspices of Lucasfilm. Raiders was still a Lucasfilm production, but for Paramount. They made a few more films for Paramount, before MGM and Universal and suddenly the VFX Vendor System was how we worked. This system is the fundamental flaw to visual effects as a business, though it did not become apparent for many years."

Observation on the Jap Cg industry.

Just back from Japan and had a conversation with the an ex colleague over there about the state of affairs in animation. He just had a talk with a couple of schools and the students the night I arrived in Tokyo.

It seems like everywhere in the world, there is a severe lack of competent cg people out there. And not only competent, even just people with the mindset with the proper mindset to survive in this industry.

*Ahem* "Our dying Animation industry"

I came across this recent post recently about our *ahem* dying animation industry.

One of the paragraph below.

4 years ago, I, like many other animator- wannabes, joined the bandwagon of a series of upcoming courses that promised us a lot of things. They promised us that if we take their diplomas, their certificates, we will join the ranks of animators around the world. With honeyed words, advertisements and more, me and my cohorts were misled and fell into a trap, a conspiracy."

 He is bitter that what was promised to him didn't appear after he followed the prescribed steps. And he start blaming the school. And what is most funny and insulting at the same time is the phrase "Unlike most polytechnic students, I and my like-minded friends saw animation not as a fan-boy obsession but a true career."

 If this dude was serious about animation, he wouldn't have need to be convinced by *ahem* honeyed words and advertisement. And at the same time, he just dissed his own classmates by saying they treat animation as a fan boy obsession.