REanimate..?

1
REanimate..?

• The uncertain future(s) of British filmed
  animation

2
The Competition is scary and it wants us to wear
funny glasses.

• Hollywood enforcing stereoscopic 3D as the new
  gold standard
• CG animation lends itself naturally to 3D far
  more so than live action (colour spectrum loss)
• 3D animated features take between 3 to 7 times
  box office of standard versions
• Europe has only managed one 3D animated feature
  so far
• Is it too late to Fly to The Moon..?

3
The Competition is scary and they get help !

• 191 Animation hours produced in the UK in 2008
  for a value of 102 million
• Compares with 330h in the US, 282h in Canada,
  259h in France
• French tax credit 20 saving on production costs
  Ireland 28
• Subsidies and tax breaks enable non-Hollywood
  industries to compete except in the UK

4
The Competition is scaryand we cant home-grow
the right kind of animators

• As animated feature output in the UK has
  declined, courses training animators have
  increased (250 grads per yr).
• But are they the right kind of graduates, from
  the right kind of schools?
• CFC Framestore, UKs no.1 VFX company says UK
  graduates are only 30 of their recruits today,
  vs 95 a decade ago. Aardman needs well-trained
  post-grad animators, not being produced in
  quantity in the UK
• Foreign universities more adept at training
  graduates for specialist skills and career
  awareness
• And the workforce is becoming itinerant

5
Artists or gamers? ...what would inspire the next
generation?

• UK still steeped in the tradition of the
  animator as auteur/craftsman/artist encourages
  individual vision, and a cottage industry
  mentality
• Wins prizes at festivals too. Isnt this
  important for the image of UK animation from
  Richard Williams and Bob Godfrey to Ruth
  Lingford, The Quays and Aardman
• Or will new generations just go into game
  design with higher earnings, stronger
  prospects, stability of employment?

6
The competition is scary and its making our own
TV shows for us!

• UK renowned the world over for its lead in
  pre-school animation series for TV
• Thomas the Tank Engine, Fireman Sam, Pingu..!
• Today, all these shows are produced abroad, in
  countries where workforce combines high technical
  skills and lower wages UK is becoming
  uneconomic as a production base
• The UK retains the IP but for how long?
• UK animation graduates gaining experience at
  non-UK companies In 10 years, these countries
  wont need our IP they will have their own
  creative/innovative engines

7
But wait a minute We do have assets!

• Significant British animation studios still
  making features here (Aardman, Astley Baker
  Davis, Chapman Entertainment, etc)
• Innovative multiplatform series, like Sean the
  Sheep, helping to keep UK animation afloat.
• UK still world n02 in VFX industry strong
  industrial base from which to develop animated
  work (e.g Framestore)
• Pioneering performance capture and other hybrid
  technologies (Andy Serkis)

8
So what do we want from British animation?

• UK originated features made by UK talent?
• Sparky, original short animation, able to win
  awards?
• Animated TV series, which might produce feature
  spin-offs?
• OR
• Made for hire work for studio features and
  series
• Hybrid forms, new technology apps, games
  cross-over

9
For features, the challenge is steep

• Average UK independent animated feature is 5 to
  6 million (the European average)
• Average Hollywood animated feature starts at 50
  million with at least as much in home market pa
• Animated features for the family market require
  considerable upfront spend
• Marketing tie-ins a key ingredient for visibility
  in the marketplace Hollywood has a monopoly on
  those deals

10
Are we loosing our RD engines..?

• Channel 4 as sponsor of new originated animated
  feature shorts is the shadow of its former
  Oscar-winning self
• Award-winning UK animation often has darker, more
  adult-oriented themes/tone
• Tradition of satire and parody irreverence and
  pessimism
• And PSBs are loosing their ability to serve as
  RD environments for the British animated feature
  brands of the future

11
TV series

• 5 years ago, 84 of all animated kids shows
  broadcast in the UK were British.
• In 2008, it was down to 23
• PSBs have either emphasised pre-school TV
  products or arty/experimental films
• no commercial vision linked to feature animation
• But successful long-running animated TV shows
  need experienced writers as well as animators
  look how many The Simpsons and South Park use.
• We dont have that kind of experience

12
Work for hire?

• Is there a future in work-for-hire productions
  for Hollywood?
• Tale of Despereaux was a moderate success for
  Framestore on behalf of Universal
• But could be made more cheaply elsewhere
• Can our original brands control their IP and the
  upside on commercial successes ?

13
And why chase the family market when Hollywood
can do it on a bigger scale?

• Asset or liability?
• South Park and others have proven there is a
  strong potential market for adult-oriented
  animation
• Why cant we achieve the US success in converting
  TV-branded shows into feature successes
  (Simpsons, South Park)?

14
Learning from Japan and elsewhere?

• Japan has a self-sufficient animation industry
  why?
• One reason is the manga tradition with its vast
  domestic as well as export market
• Another is that Japan takes graphic fiction
  seriously, like France, Italy and Belgium but
  unlike Britain

15
Game set and match?

• Britain has a successful video game industry.
  US and Japan are no.1 and no. 2 in the CG gaming
  market. UK was n03 in 2008 but could slip to 6th
  place by the end of 2010
• Does this translate into building animation
  capacity? Income from game pre-licensing on
  larger animation features feature version of
  hit games?
• Maybe though the skills and creativity needed
  for games are different from those needed in film
  animation
• However the basic training and production
  incentives needed could be common to both
  industries, to ensure talent not diverted solely
  into game sector

16
So does it matter if we dont have an animation
industry?

• Given the accelerating convergence of live
  action and animation (Avatar classed as
  animation in France), it does matter
• Only retaining animated feature production will
  create job opportunities and make economic sense
  of u/grad and advanced p/grad training
• Ultimately, games and animated fiction do
  support each other, industrially and culturally
  we need both
• Successful, exportable animation requires many
  skills, but above all characters and stories
  its about creativity, and being able to deliver
  in the long term. We cant afford to give up on
  these!

17
But does it matter if we dont have a feature
animation industry?

• US and Japan are n01 and n02 in the CG gaming
  market (UK was n03 in 2008 but could slip to 6th
  place by the end of 2010)
• Both countries are also leaders in animated
  features
• Creative and technological cross-pollination
  between those two sectors strategic income from
  game pre-licensing on larger animation features
  feature version of hit games
• Differentiated tax break will accelerate
  migration of UK animation talent to gaming
  higher rewards potential
• Is this a cohesive strategy, given the bridges
  between the two sectors? Shoudnt bespoke support
  for animated feature also be considered?

18
Its all about hairs

• The number of CGI-rendered hair on Andys head in
  Toy Story I (1995) was 12,000
• The number of hair on Despereauxs head (2008)was
  413,138
• CG processing power has mutiplied by about the
  same rate over the past 15 years
• CG animation technology is in constant and rapid
  change
• Implications for capital costs and RD favour
  large scalable studios
• UK had 300 animation companies in 2008
• Cottage industry structure makes it difficult to
  concentrate capital and expertise