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.

Professional - Perspectives on Work - Takehiko Inoue Subbed

You write about yourself when making a story. If you are unfamiliar with a subject matter,  you can't write about it. As a result, all you can do is pull out the wisdom, beliefs and truths that resides deep within. - Takehiko Inoue


This is a Japanese documentary about Takehiko Inoue. "A very inspirational show that focuses on work ethic, career development and pursuing one's dream. The show follows an individual who is at the top of their industry and briefly delves into why this person is successful." (Part one is embedded below.)

It kinda of explains the reasons I feel like a 2nd class citizen in my own fucking country.

Nothing directly related to CG/3D but this post really struck a chord with me. 

" Our political elite decided long ago that the best solution to the problem of "The little island that could" was to have a powerful government, ruled by the PAP that is for all intents and purposes, THE government. And this government, presumably staffed with the most talented people, would run the country in the best way possible. And politically, this government would be unfettered by irksome little opposition parties that in more democratic inefficient countries, would have to be dealt with, or heaven forbid, accommodated."