Randall William Cook Speaks

He won three little gold men for his work on three Peter Jackson epics, and has this to say about CG effects animation.

... To the average person who is not in the film business, what is the most misunderstood part of your profession?



I suppose it's the notion that everything that goes through the computer is untouched by human hands.



If a studio is rushing to complete a Christmas release, they'll hire all the animators they can get a hold of, so they'll all fly to wherever, work on the project then they'll fly to another hemisphere to work on the summer releases. The studios can't really publicize their personnel, so they have to publicize their technology.



As a result, this emphasis on technology is generally the thing that's talked about the most, to the devaluation of the artist, because the artist is just a temporary hire.



If you're painting a house, it doesn't matter if you have Picasso or Diego Rivera or some schmuck from down the street. You're going to have a painted house. And a lot of the big movies are painted houses - some of them well-painted houses, but still - if you're doing a heartfelt character there has to be not only guidance from a good director and animation director or supervisor, or whatever the DGA will let us call ourselves these days, but also guidance from top notch animators. So it's a collaborative work. This all of course builds on top of a performance that may have come from an actor, and it may not have. ...

I've known Mr. Cook a long time (like even before he worked at Disney Feature Animation) and would love to get him to do a TAG podcast. Until then, this interview -- and you should read the whole thing -- will have to do.

And the Newest Lawsuit

The second in September.

Former animator Georgia Cano’s class-action suit filed Tuesday is the second in two weeks over alleged anti-poaching policies at major animation houses.



It targets many of the same defendants as former VFX worker Robert Nitsch Jr.’s lawsuit—including Sony, Dreamworks and Disney’s Pixar and Lucasfilm divisions—claiming they forged non-competitive hiring agreements that “metastasized over the years into an industry-wide wage-fixing cartel.” The difference is, while Nitsch’s proposed class covers animators employed by the studios since 2004, Cano wants to represent those like herself who’d been hired before 2004.



Her lawsuit is one of several cases to spring from a 2010 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against Pixar, Lucasfilm and technology companies including Google, Apple and Adobe. That litigation ended when the companies agreed not to enforce anti-poaching agreements for five years. ...

People ask me, "You think there was price-fixing wage-fixing? You think there's fie under this smoke?"



I always answer in the affirmative, mostly because the usual suspects have admitted it. The question is, what are the remedies? The game was rigged (I think), and people were wronged. How much money people might get in a settlement is anybody's guess. but nobody will end up wealthy. They might be awarded enough for a nice downpayment on a new car.



Nobody's world, however, will be transformed. Especially not the offending corporations.

Fresher's Week at Bucks!

Welcome to Fresher's Week!  Our new students arrive on campus today and we will soon welcome back our Level 5 and Level 6 students at the end of this week. Summer is over; the university now kicks into the its busiest part of the year.

Induction and the return to your next year of study can be a stressful time. There is a lot to arrange and sort out outside of University with accommodation etc, so we do try to make the process at University as painless as possible.

For our Freshmen (Level 4), the priority is on getting you settled in and enrolled. At the start of the week you'll meet your personal tutor, get your computer account sorted and should get your timetable for the year. Your personal tutor should be your first port of call as you settle into your classes and regular sessions should be available for you to ask any questions related to your studies. Personal tutors at Level 4 will be me (Alex Williams) and Nick Brown. We have two cohorts starting with us in Animation and VFX so we will splitting our freshers into two groups of around 14 each.

G1.13

We'll be starting everything on Monday 22nd of September at noon in G1.13, our main computer room in the Gateway building (the one that looks like a big blue TV set). Don't forget to get yourself at map at reception!

You will be meeting with personal tutor for one to one meetings on Wednesday September 24th, also in G1.13, so we can meet you personally and get to know each other.

Formal enrollment takes place on thursday at 1.30pm in the Events Hall. After that is the Graduate Panel, in the General Lecture Theatre (GLT) when industry professionals will come and talk to all our students about the world of professional work in creative media.

University life is a different experience for everyone. If any part of your time outside of Bucks starts to affect your studies then you need to let your personal tutor know. Its easy sometimes to get stuck in thinking about your tutors like teachers from school, but really the relationship is different and changes over your study period. The staff team is here to help and wants you to succeed.

For students at Level 5, your priorities are different as you already know what life at the University is about, so there's less need for an introduction. However, some short sessions on what to expect in your new year of study have been scheduled and you'll be able to meet new lecturers and ask questions of them. We want you to be comfortable and informed about the coming year, so do ask questions and make use of the time.

For Level 6 students, the start of your final year is very important. The vast majority of your final grade is determined by your level 6 modules and the year is very much about you creating the work that you want to be known for when you begin your career.

If you can't make the induction sessions for any reason do let us know.  Emailing tutors is a good idea; then we can try to help you get up to speed.

For more on starting out at Bucks, see this post.

Foreign Box Office

Animation's performance around the globe:

Foreign Weekend Box Office -- (World Totals)



Guardians of Galaxy -- $5,200,000 -- ($632,269,000)



Teenage Ninja Turtles -- $7,300,000 -- ($333,317,989)



Dawn of Planet Apes -- $8,150,000 -- ($683,661,593)



The Boxtrolls -- $4,000,000 -- ($11,000,000)

As the trades tell us:

... 20th Century Fox’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” picked up $8.1 million after opening to $3.7 million in Japan. That marks the last international market for the simian sequel, which has nabbed $681.5 million globally, easily trumping its predecessor 20th Century Fox’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” picked up $8.1 million after opening to $3.7 million in Japan. That marks the last international market for the simian sequel, which has nabbed $681.5 million globally, easily trumping its predecessor. ...



Paramount Pictures’ “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” grabbed $7.3 million from 50 markets, driving its worldwide haul to $333.3 million. ...

Sixty-nine Years Ago Today ...

... Disney released Hockey Homicide.







Milt Kahl and John Sibley were two of four animators; Bill Berg was one of the story artists.



Bill was a good friend of my father's, and was up at the house all the time. He and my dad collaborated on a live-action piece for the Mickey Mouse Club, "How to Draw Donald Duck" which feature Bill and a lot of small kids trying to draw the duck. (One of the small kids was moi).



In the fifties, Bill had a thick thatch of blonde hair, thick bushy eyebrows, and furry forearms. But all the hair went away when he contracted a virus in the late sixties that turned him into a twin brother of Mr. Clean/Yul Brynner. (No hair on arms, head or above the eyes). Bill drew the "Scamp" strip for many years. He passed away in 2002 at the age of 84.



Hockey Homicide's background artist was Art Riley, who had a reputation for living frugally (he lived with his mother for many years), investing in the stock market way before it was fashionable, and driving an ancient Cadillac that he babied along. Vance Gerry told me that Art didn't get out much. Vance once gave him a lift home from the studio (the Cadillac must have been in the shop) and stopped at a supermarket on the way. Art accompanied Vance into the market and stared at the rows of food, polished floors and fluorescent lights and said:



"Wow, this is something. What do you call this kind of store?"



Art left the studio after thirty years employment. He died in Monterey California, still living on his stock holdings, in the late 1990s. He was 87.



H/t Tom Sito.

Book Review: The Webcomics Handbook

While comics are not animation, there is a great deal of overlap, both in terms of artists as well as how artists are marketing their work these days.  In this way, animation artists who are interested in using the web as a revenue source, or are interested in self publishing or exhibiting at conventions can find a wealth of advice from Brad Guigar's The Webcomics Handbook.

Guigar has been doing webcomics since 2000 and is the founder of Webcomics.com, an online site dedicated to sharing knowledge with artists who are marketing and selling their work online.  He is the co-author of How to Make Webcomics, a book I plugged earlier.

The value of Guigar's latest book is how incredibly specific it is.  If you're looking to create a website with earning potential, Guigar will talk about various hosting sites and their relative advantages and disadvantages.  He lists the various approaches to securing advertising for sites.  He even has tips for speeding up page loading.

Guigar talks about the pitfalls of collaborating and how to avoid them.  He has a chapter devoted to self-publishing, including information on print-on-demand vs offset.  He has a chapter devoted to conventions and how to best present yourself at them as well as the economics of attending shows.

Other topics include copyright, contracts, insurance, search engine optimization, collectives, merchandise, and booth barnacles (fans who hang around your table at cons and monopolize your time without buying anything).

I have never seen a book about artists using the online world with as much practical advice.  My only complaint is that the book lacks an index.  However, that is a small complaint.  If you have ever considered using the web as a revenue source, there is something in this book that will help you. 

Bucks Lecturer Allen Stroud Explains How to Finance Your Project at Kickstarter

Kickstarter

Writer and film-maker Allen Stroud, author of Elite: Lave Revolution, and also head of Film and TV at Bucks explains how to get a Kickstarter project off the ground. The rules of raising finance for film projects is changing fast. If you have a good enough idea, there is no reason why you cannot crowd fund your project and get fans all across the globe to make your dreams come to life. Here is how it is done.

What do you need to succeed at Kickstarter?

You need rewards. This basically means free stuff to give investors. By way of example, you can offer free signed books, free drawings, a screen credit, eBooks - anything that you can give that will get investors excited.

How does it all work?

Remember that a Kickstarter campaign is not a linear curve. Campaigns tend to open well, and then run out of steam. Fortunately,  lots of stuff comes at the last minute. Campaigns often close well - but with a big (terrifying) dip in the middle.

You have to understand the Psychology of Kickstarter. There is a comments page for your project, but no-one can comment, unless they have first backed it - this incentivises investors to pay up if they want to voice their opinion. Also, investors don’t pay anything until the funding is closed. So, it doesn't feel real until the project has reached its goal (which it might not). Yet. Again, this encourages people to pledge - they might not have to pay anything. And, investors can adjust their pledge up or down until the funding is closed. If they start to lose confidence, or they don't like what they are seeing, they can withdraw their pledges. Nothing is fixed until the end, when payments are cleared through amazon and credit cards.


What if you reach your goal? Can you ask for more money?

Once you reach your additional funding target, you can ask for more. You can add “stretch goals’ to add extra stuff that you would like to have. A Kickstarter campaign can takes 30 days, or 60 days - it's up to you. Remember that this may well be “the most tortuous time of your life” - but can be very rewarding. And, if you don’t make it, nothing happens. The project just ends. “That is it”.


What are the secrets of success?

Once you launch your project, you need to the following:

• Talk about the project a lot - don’t be quiet. You must communicate with them. Be engaged with them
• Encourage a sense of community. This is your team, your fanbase
• Until it’s funded, it’s not over. You must keep producing new rewards, keep exciting your fans
• You must make videos. Lots of videos. Keep up the momentum 
• If you have a physical thing you are selling, you must make a prototype of it, so people can see it
• Be generous! You must not appear cheap, or let down your fans. You must avoid bad press at all costs - your pledges will start to disappear. 
• Be realistic, especially with stretch goals. Don’t offer rewards you cannot deliver.
• Get a bidding war going if you can - a first edition of your book, for example, will sell for a lot.
• See what others are doing. Copy stuff that works. 
• Hit the ground running – keep up the momentum! Update every day, update comments.

Other sites worth knowing about

www.kicktraq.com - gives you daily data on your project. It is a statistics site. Gives you a chart which shows your progress.
www.thunderclap.it  another useful site for Kickstarter projects.
Indiegogo.com This site is like Kickstarter, but offers "experienced ambassadors" to support you in your goals.
Patreon – Like Kickstarter, but with more of a focus on the arts.


Here at Bucks we think every good animator has a story to tell. We encourage all our students to come up with ideas, and make their own films. Kickstarter can be a great source of possible funding for your projects.