-dc-
01-09-2005, 08:37 AM
Have you ever been suddenly struck with what you believed was a brilliant and original idea? Perhaps you were watching TV, eating breakfast, driving to work, standing in the shower, sitting on the john, about to fall asleep, exploring a new place, traveling, hanging out with friends, drunk, high, writing, drawing, acting, or whatever it was that you were doing at the time. Whatever "it" is or was, "it" seems to happen to everyone. You don't think so? Ask around, dig deeper, pry into people's heads - they have ideas too (unbelievable isn't it? You're not alone!).
So maybe you actually start to believe in your idea and you follow through with it, or maybe you forget about it and it becomes one of things you wished you had done if you had more time. Maybe you realize your idea was dumb, unoriginal, just a rehashed version of someone else's idea, or maybe you're too scared to share your idea for fear of what other people might think of it. What if they don't like it?
But what if they do? What if the mass market eats it up and everyone involved gets rich? What if they hate it and it flops? What if, what if...
You could spend all day asking these questions really, and at the end of the day you end up in the same place you started, back at square one.
It's not what the idea is, it's how you go about doing it. I'm convinced that the business of animation and storytelling is just that - a business. Cynical? I hope so, it would be a relief! No really though, how many good ideas never see the light of day, even with all the right people and all the right contacts, how many just never get made? Then think about how many terrible ideas DO get made, DO get funding, DO get exposure - and think about the ratio of success to failure, which is unimpressive because acknowledging failure means accepting that it is the winner, that sucess is lucky and not a result of carefully planned actions.
In other words, do you think that Pixar sat down and planned the level of success they're acheiving? Steve Jobs would say yes, but the truth is they have far exceeded anyone's expectations. Why?
Do you think Michael Eisner realized that when he agreed to distribute 5 Pixar films that he would be relying on those earnings to be profitable as a result? No, that's luck. The 2D animators who lost their jobs as a result - bad luck. Bad management, bad everything.
They'll have their shot again, but not in 2D, those days are gone.
I believe that good stories get made as a result of luck. Those who've proven they can make good stories that sell get the chance to make more. I believe that understanding that this is a business and that no story is appealing to a producer unless it appeals to a mass audience is also something to consider when coming up with the original ideas. I believe that the story makes the film, but the film must also be visually interesting, and that story can be second to the visual appeal if it is subjected to the viewer appropriately (example: Cathedral). Pixar is 6 for 6, a record held by no other studio in the movie business - ever. No flops, 6 tries, 6 major sucesses. Was it all because of the great stories?
Who would've thought a movie about talking toys would be so great anways?
What are your thoughts on the business of animation and how it affects storytelling?
So maybe you actually start to believe in your idea and you follow through with it, or maybe you forget about it and it becomes one of things you wished you had done if you had more time. Maybe you realize your idea was dumb, unoriginal, just a rehashed version of someone else's idea, or maybe you're too scared to share your idea for fear of what other people might think of it. What if they don't like it?
But what if they do? What if the mass market eats it up and everyone involved gets rich? What if they hate it and it flops? What if, what if...
You could spend all day asking these questions really, and at the end of the day you end up in the same place you started, back at square one.
It's not what the idea is, it's how you go about doing it. I'm convinced that the business of animation and storytelling is just that - a business. Cynical? I hope so, it would be a relief! No really though, how many good ideas never see the light of day, even with all the right people and all the right contacts, how many just never get made? Then think about how many terrible ideas DO get made, DO get funding, DO get exposure - and think about the ratio of success to failure, which is unimpressive because acknowledging failure means accepting that it is the winner, that sucess is lucky and not a result of carefully planned actions.
In other words, do you think that Pixar sat down and planned the level of success they're acheiving? Steve Jobs would say yes, but the truth is they have far exceeded anyone's expectations. Why?
Do you think Michael Eisner realized that when he agreed to distribute 5 Pixar films that he would be relying on those earnings to be profitable as a result? No, that's luck. The 2D animators who lost their jobs as a result - bad luck. Bad management, bad everything.
They'll have their shot again, but not in 2D, those days are gone.
I believe that good stories get made as a result of luck. Those who've proven they can make good stories that sell get the chance to make more. I believe that understanding that this is a business and that no story is appealing to a producer unless it appeals to a mass audience is also something to consider when coming up with the original ideas. I believe that the story makes the film, but the film must also be visually interesting, and that story can be second to the visual appeal if it is subjected to the viewer appropriately (example: Cathedral). Pixar is 6 for 6, a record held by no other studio in the movie business - ever. No flops, 6 tries, 6 major sucesses. Was it all because of the great stories?
Who would've thought a movie about talking toys would be so great anways?
What are your thoughts on the business of animation and how it affects storytelling?