STROLLING BACK TO THE EDGE?

Post-Sept. 11 simplicity has been key. "I was at the ADDYs talking to people and there seems to be a movement back to a simpler style, especially in computer animation," reports Rich Durkin, head of Manhattan's Ice Tea Productions and East Coast executive producer for Will Vinton Studios. "We just did a job for Jell-O that is kind of stick figure animation."

Beyond the style, content has also become less extreme. Ken Lidster, founder and director at London's Loose Moose (who animates Brisk for Singer and clan) finds the boards arriving, "are getting a bit less radical. I think the clients are actually becoming more conservative."

Johnnie Semerad, the quiet man behind New York's post staple Quiet Man agrees, but sees that the future may offer a different picture: "Eight months ago we had guys falling off buildings, diving into the ground, that type of stuff. After Sept. 11, all that just stopped. There was no hint of violence. But, little by little, edgier stuff is creeping back into the work."

Jeff Fino, founder and president of San Francisco's multi-media powerhouse Wild Brain, can also see the edge returning. "I see a lot of ambitious creative coming out." Fino points to a recent Target spot that integrated 3D, 2D, rotoscoping and live action as evidence. "The edginess has been ramped up over the last year. It's encouraging."

NO MONEY AND LESS TIME

"Everybody wants things done cheaper and quicker," is the summary offered by Greg Singer, partner/exec producer at JWT, New York. Singer blames lower profits and earnings on the client side: "Some schedules and budgets are becoming unrealistic, given the back and forth process of approvals needed when everyone is spread so thin."

Lidster says he's sure only divine intervention kept him on schedule with recent :30 and :15 model animation spots for Chips Ahoy! Cremewich through FCB, NY. "It was a whole bunch of characters on a bus and we had seven weeks. That is really tight." And, he warns, it's getting worse. "We're turning down work because people are asking to do stuff on a schedule that isn't suitable for any kind of animation."

Jennie Wadham, head of broadcast production at D'Arcy, NY, points to what she believes is one of the roots of the problem: "There's a real reluctance for any one person to take responsibility and make decisions. Try and get six people together to make even the smallest decision and it's going to take three days off your schedule." But she does sympathize with the client's budget dilemma. "They are under the same pressure as everybody in this market. Margins are narrower and competition is greater so they want to be absolutely sure they're getting the best value for the money they spend."

Quiet Man's Semerad qualifies the gloomy budget observations, however: "On the big important jobs the budgets are still healthy. It's the lower-end stuff where it gets scrappier."

Toronto animation icon Chuck Gammage of Chuck Gammage Animation calmly shrugs, "Sure some schedules are ridiculous, but we do it. It hasn't stopped us from doing quality work."

TALENT TRUMPS TOOLS

Where in past years 2D, CG or stop motion spiked in popularity, an equilibrium appears to have been reached among the different animation media. "The trend is not to have a trend," asserts JWT's Singer. Wild Brain's Fino goes even further: "If we're doing our job people won't comment on what technique we used."

Vinton's Durkin agrees. "Clients are concerned that the spot turns out great - not with what technology we use. We're one of the few companies that can do CG, stop motion, or cel, so they want to hear from us what's going to work." In London, according to Loose Moose's Lidster (who's shop offers model and CGI animation), "When we get boards, quite often they don't stipulate what the medium is at all."

But, there are exceptions to the rule. Says Lidster, "The Brisk guys aren't interested in the CG side of things. They had ILM do a test for them last year but came back here."

EVERYTHING. ALL THE TIME

Film Roman's Schneider says she has spotted a trend - one that her company helped create: "Animation houses buying complimentary animation houses so that they can be multi-faceted and work on any project." Case in point: after bidding on a job together, 2D animation megalith Film Roman bought Glendale animation and effects company Vanhook Studios (Ally McBeal, Dracula: Resurrection). The new division is called Forum Visual Effects and will operate out of Film Roman's North Hollywood headquarters. "Clients were asking us to do effects, and we would bring people on who were effects specialists," explains Schneider. "But we wanted to make sure we were really a one-stop shop for all of our clients."

Meanwhile, back in Oregon, Will Vinton Studios announced in April the acquisition of Denver 2D animation house Celluloid Studios (Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, Cap'n Crunch) after a recent 3D/2D collaboration on the Nissan SE-R launch anime short for TBWA\Chiat\Day. Durkin says that adding classical 2D to Vinton's arsenal of model and CG animation was the next logical step. "Vinton has always been about characterization, performance and storytelling. We wanted to offer clients that in all forms of animation."

"One-stop shopping certainly makes it easier, especially with animation," observes Hyatt Choate, VP executive producer at BBDO, NY. Choate was wowed by Wreckless Abandon (East Granby, CT) when he trusted them with the Davey and Goliath Mountain Dew spot. Choate says the studio made a 10-week schedule and "very tight" budget work by handling virtually every aspect of production. "We gave them voice records and they delivered a D1 of the spot including music and mix."

JWT's Singer is cautiously optimistic about the one-stop shops, but qualifies that he'll be selective about which he uses. "We went to Vinton for a Wisk job where they did the live action shoot and the 3D. It saves you a lot of time and money, but I would only do that with a place like Vinton or ILM because of their history and experience. I would never trust smaller shops that just decided to branch out unless they wowed you on something."

But is this trend only new to the US? D'Arcy's Wadham spent 20 years in London and thinks it's familiar. "The one-stop shopping thing has been happening over there for a long time. I'm talking about being able to do your color correct, flame work, 3D, anything you want under one roof. You get continuity on a project, you get financial savings and you can get time savings."

THE FUTURE LIES AHEAD. SOMEWHERE

Predicting the future is a slim bet any time, but getting visionary a couple months before 9/11/02 is, well... unpredictable. Ask three industry experts what they see in the future and you'll get four vaguely hopeful responses:

Film Roman's Schneider says, "My optimistic look into the future is that in the next couple months things are going to get back to normal."

Quiet Man's Semerad disagrees: "A lot of people are really under the impression that we're just going to hold on and it will be back to exactly the way it was. That's not what's going to happen."

Loose Moose's Lidster treads somewhere in the middle stating, "Before Christmas we were very, very busy on the stuff we were doing [before 9/11]. Right now, we feel like it has slowed down again."

And Wild Brain's Fino adds, "It's slower right now. But we had a great first quarter. It may take another few months to get back to what we're used to seeing."

The animation and effects industry has always lived on its toes. Dodging and weaving, scoring and retreating. New companies open every month no matter how low budgets go or how many schedules have to fit on the head of a pin. Film Roman's Schneider says she expects nothing less: "It's production. It's what we signed up for."

Alex Weil, creative guru of Charlex in New York - who has seen many trends come and go since founding the company in 1977 - wraps up with this advice for thriving in uncertain times: "Love the work that you do. Keep your standards high. Spur creative growth, and participate in technological change."

Hard to argue with that.

Webfiles:
Loose Moose> http://www.loosemoose.net
Charlex> http://www.charlex.com
Vinton Studios> http://www.vinton.com
Quiet Man> http://www.quietman.net
Film Roman> http://www.filmroman.com
Van Hook Studios> http://www.vanhookstudios.com
Wild Brain> http://www.wildbrain.com
J. Walter Thompson> http://www.jwt.com
CQ Animation> http://www.cganim.com
Wreckless Abandon> http://www.wrecklessabandon.com