INDEPENDENT'S WAY
Is theatrical really the way to go? One must admit that Phil Nibbelink did an amazing job of self financing and getting any level of distribution for a movie the studios were not interested in. This same task faces anyone who wants to have total creative control over their work and no interest in doing yet another talking animal film. After all, the studios will only jump into the "trend of the month" type of movie.
Nibbelink wanted to do 2D. The studios say 2D is dead. Well naturally, self financing his film meant that Nibbelink could do whatever he wanted, and that he did. Anything outside of the narrow window of what studios can see as profitable is only going to see the light of day as an indie project. The real question is how do you go about it? What if you are very far outside that window, like doing mature subject matter or serious animated drama?
We all know that the current technology, the falling cost of animation production and outsourcing in Asia has made many independent projects possible, taking great animated content out of the exclusive domain of Dreamworks and Disney. Still, most seeking entry into this market, for all their talk of creative control, are eyeing that major theatrical distribution and thus creating more of the same thing the studios believe could sell. Talking animals and comedies. One company, Sandman Studios, according to AWN, is even going about it in a way that I personally could never trust.
Sandman's goal for most of its projects is to raise $1 million or so privately for development of a five-minute animated short, and then use that to pitch the project to investors or possibly studios. Most of its films are expected to have budgets in the range of $20 million to $25 million.
I've been through this process, twice, at two different studios. It doesn't work! There may be some potential with private investors but with studios they are merely dreaming or asking to get their asses handed to them and end up with next to nothing in the end. With planned budgets so low, the studios may not even take them seriously. Just like I thought when I was at Rainbow Studios, if you can raise the $1 million in private investment, do something with that!
Theatrical distribution is part of an old closed system. In fact, it's like the Holy Grail. We all know what happens to those who chase after it. Few ever find it. Many have never returned. The most important thing about Phil Nibbelink's quick theatrical stint is that it enables him to contend for the animated Oscar, but I believe his real audience will be found on DVD. The indie needs a different way. If you can muster what it takes to privately make the film and keep control, then seriously consider finding an independent path the getting it to an audience as well.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a great example of a privately financed film and what can be achieved in the DVD market. It's marketing, while we must take to account its connection to a huge game franchise, was almost entirely internet and trade show based, and yet to one of the top selling animated DVD titles of all time in Japan.
Of course, none of us have the money Square has to throw at a production, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot we can learn from them in terms of finding the way for our products to get made and find an audience. Square built on something. It was their brand. Something they had developed while almost going out of business years ago. That brand is an important part of the equation. Do you have a brand to capitalize on?
Nibbelink wanted to do 2D. The studios say 2D is dead. Well naturally, self financing his film meant that Nibbelink could do whatever he wanted, and that he did. Anything outside of the narrow window of what studios can see as profitable is only going to see the light of day as an indie project. The real question is how do you go about it? What if you are very far outside that window, like doing mature subject matter or serious animated drama?We all know that the current technology, the falling cost of animation production and outsourcing in Asia has made many independent projects possible, taking great animated content out of the exclusive domain of Dreamworks and Disney. Still, most seeking entry into this market, for all their talk of creative control, are eyeing that major theatrical distribution and thus creating more of the same thing the studios believe could sell. Talking animals and comedies. One company, Sandman Studios, according to AWN, is even going about it in a way that I personally could never trust.
Sandman's goal for most of its projects is to raise $1 million or so privately for development of a five-minute animated short, and then use that to pitch the project to investors or possibly studios. Most of its films are expected to have budgets in the range of $20 million to $25 million.
I've been through this process, twice, at two different studios. It doesn't work! There may be some potential with private investors but with studios they are merely dreaming or asking to get their asses handed to them and end up with next to nothing in the end. With planned budgets so low, the studios may not even take them seriously. Just like I thought when I was at Rainbow Studios, if you can raise the $1 million in private investment, do something with that!
Theatrical distribution is part of an old closed system. In fact, it's like the Holy Grail. We all know what happens to those who chase after it. Few ever find it. Many have never returned. The most important thing about Phil Nibbelink's quick theatrical stint is that it enables him to contend for the animated Oscar, but I believe his real audience will be found on DVD. The indie needs a different way. If you can muster what it takes to privately make the film and keep control, then seriously consider finding an independent path the getting it to an audience as well.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a great example of a privately financed film and what can be achieved in the DVD market. It's marketing, while we must take to account its connection to a huge game franchise, was almost entirely internet and trade show based, and yet to one of the top selling animated DVD titles of all time in Japan.
Of course, none of us have the money Square has to throw at a production, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot we can learn from them in terms of finding the way for our products to get made and find an audience. Square built on something. It was their brand. Something they had developed while almost going out of business years ago. That brand is an important part of the equation. Do you have a brand to capitalize on?
12 Comments:
Sorry, but the process that Sandman Studios uses to pitch films is something I'd never trust in a million years - there's too much to lose with a system like that.
Than again, my biggest question about it is, "Why the hell do they need to raise a million dollars to produce an 5-minute animated short?" :/
Hell, I'm sure that I (and many others, too) could produce an excellent, high-quality full-length film with a million dollars. :D
Exactly my point! I really don't get that mode of thought in this day and age. $1 million and a small crew could go for two years, which I don't think is absolutely necessary, and create something very cool. Many of the Sci Fi original pictures are made for not much more than that and they are done in 6 to 8 months!
Bit OT but have you seen Channel Frederator: http://www.channelfrederator.com/index
Very cool podcast of animated shorts. It led me to this which you might find enjoyable: http://www.laika.com/house/?m=bookmark&g=illustrators
Look under Directors: Eric Wiese: Nissan Master of the 6th Speed
It is a commercial but done anime style with a mix of 2D/3D.
My guess is that Sandman Studios is going to contract out production of the 5 minute shorts (maybe to a place like LAIKA) which means it is going to cost them lots. I agree you could do much more with that. I think the thing to remember is that these guys seem to be after the big brass ring of a theatrical feature. I don't see their set-up as an artist/visionary driven type thing. Maybe part of that million is to wine dine and schmooze their way into a deal.
As you say it is a lost cause. If Blur and R&H and numerous other studios are still trying to get deals for features what makes them think they can get one without a track record? Even the place I linked to above (LAIKA) is only just doing a feature and they have been around and have talent and financing.
Of course there are tons of people out there that do stupid and hard things and somehow a few make it. It is just too bad to see so much money wasted.
One of the things that has been bugging me is the apparent desire of everyone to get away from theatrical releases and move everything to the home and ipods. I think the theater can be a special place with the right film and audience. The experience can certainly be more epic since most people have nowhere near the setup. If theaters can get that magic back it would be nice, but the distribution needs to be cracked back open. Corporations in the distribution/showcase side of things are hurting movies just as much as big hollywood.
If more theaters were more open to showing independent stuff then going through a studio becomes a non-issue (if you are trying for that type of scope).
How about this TW $1 Million two small crews two projects? The point being is the traditional old ways don't work any more, but you can't convince them of that.
The problem here is tradition; but there's Error in that tradition so when a studio operates in tradition they also operate with the error in the tradition.
What will it take to bring about a paradigm shift into the conciseness of big movie/animation making?
paying 1 million dollars for a 5 minute animated short is mobiddly obease...WTF???!? are kidding me.
I am rather depressed about all the anoyying animated movies that are about talking animals and nothing more...what are the studios thinkng??
Why can't they just make a film that shows levels of extreme killing with futuristic weaponry(killing the talking animals) and advanced lighing(mixed with a decent,intreging story) and other crap?? all right thats enough for my rant.
I enjoy this blog. Keep up the good work terrance.
Yeah this guy Nibbleton or forgot his name, did a great job, but at the same time conformed to the talking animal formula.
5 years of work and all you can come up with is the run of the mill talking animal.
Great feat though, much respect and props to this man.
I would love to get 1 million dollars to work on my film. I could really get to crackin and get my movie done. Mocap animation, voice actors and a renderfarm. Wow!! I would love that. Terrence you know how to get that kind of funding? You know I always thought indie's should pull their resources together and make a team.
Of course most of us indies only interest lies in our own projects. :)
I like that you mentioned Sci Fi channel production time. I think with a few speed artists dedicated to the movie for 2 years you could make a great looking movie. A little mocap and a ton of shortcuts it could be done so well.
I hope someday I get that million for the film.
I know how to get that kind of funding. Not for my film, but I know how to get it. You see, in order to attract investment a film has to have a draw. Our indie animated projects have no such draw. Only completed and screened do they have a chance. You want to get a million dollars? Try this:
Make a great demo reel that shows off the quality of your animation in general. Now, find a children's book (yes unfortunately, it must be a children's book) which has sold at least a few hundred thousand if not a million copies and the rights haven't been snatched up by one of the majors. Cut a deal with the author or publisher to option it for an animated film. This can be all deferred. Talk specifically to the author and make sure she's behind the project and will stand with you on getting it out there. If all you want is $1 million, it will not be hard to come by at this stage. Attach a name actor to voice the lead character and you got it made.
The problem is, you're no longer doing your project. I could give a you a few other scenarios that would make it easy to get that money, but as you might guess, none of them lead to doing your project.
I've been offered that kind of money from certain "producers", but their projects had no more draw than any of my own, so they had just as little chance of ever getting made.
Well, I don't really think the fact that Nibbelink made a "talking animal" movie as being a bad thing - it's a standard type of fantasy story, one used with much success in film and novels for children. Also, I see his film more in the same vein as Don Bluth's animated films like "Secret of NIHM" or some of Disney's work rather than the type of "animal" films we've seen come out this year.
I think maybe the reason why you don't like it is because the theme of "talking animals" has been literally beaten to death by the sheer amount of animated films released this year which use that type of fantasy. Too much of anything, regardless of what it is, will lose it's origninal appeal and become boring and uniteresting.
Motion capture... I don't know, I've only seen a few instances of it being used successfully in an animated film. Of course, it also depends on if that level of realism is best suited for the visual style of the film; celshaded works that use mo-cap (like "Appleseed" or "Skyland") don't visually "work" as well as those celshaded works that use tradition pose-to-pose animation (like "Kakurenbo" or "Ultraviolent")
Also, be wary of shortcuts: used in moderation, they're great for the production, but use too many of them and the quality of the film will suffer.
Terrence,
Thanks for sharing bro. I figured that much, lol.
@jasonn
I love shortcuts but only for the base, not the end result. Tweaking is alot more fun.
That's pretty much what I figured you'd do to get that kinda money;work with someone's established book which definitely takes away the whole indie thing away from you... except if you have a brother/uncle/cousin/father/mother who has way too much money to burn. On short cuts, they are necessary but there has to be a limit. Mocap can be combined with key frame for a stunning result.
Terrence,
you said:
"I know how to get that kind of funding. Not for my film, but I know how to get it. You see, in order to attract investment a film has to have a draw. Our indie animated projects have no such draw. Only completed and screened do they have a chance. You want to get a million dollars? Try this:"
Well, but, I've been told one should try to market one's film to distributors, before going off to make the whole thing. One can make a short and package it to show them,
but not waste money on it if htere are no distributors interested.
There was a discussion aobut htis recently on a screenwriitng usenet gorup:
http://tinyurl.com/ymnyh4
Pay attention mostly to posts by nmstevens, and perhaps captain cough. nmstevens is a working writer
(13 ghosts, and more).
Also, there's this film:
http://www.zambeziamovie.com/v5/default.asp
I don't know if they got distribution, but they do have funding, and they are doing it with
a small crew and just Lightwave and messiah.It's practically Pixar quality, but they don't have major stars. This studio is in S. Africa.
What nmstevens writes about bait simply confirms exactly what I said about getting that money.
You say: "Well, but, I've been told one should try to market one's film to distributors, before going off to make the whole thing. "
That's the system. That's the way its done now. And suppose no one wants your film, are you done then? NO ONE and I mean absolutely no one wanted a little inspiration film called Hustle & Flow. They pitched it around for years to nothing but doors closing in their face. FInally John Singleton commited a Hollywood NO-NO and put up his own money to get the film done. Word is Paramount paid $9 million for that completed gem.
If you have to run theatrically, then you're stuck playing their game and I guess need to worry about what distributors want. But why play that game? I'd rather worry about what the audience wants.
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