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COLOSSAL PICTURES DOWNSIZES & GARY GUTIERREZ LEAVES THE COMPANY by Karl Cohen
News that Colossal was laying off about one third of their staff appeared in the SF Chronicle Business section April 3, 1996. The company had about 130 people on their staff before the layoffs. Since the news item appeared I've heard a dozen different rumors about what happened and that the number of people terminated was 40, 80, 100, and 120.
The company's public relations officer called ASIFA to explain what happened. The explanation isn't as dramatic as some of the rumors, but is seems quite reasonable.
A few weeks ago Quark, a computer software publisher from Denver, purchased an interest in Colossal. The new partners took a close look at the books and decided the animation production division was a financial drain that had to be dealt with.
Apparently Drew Takahashi, chairman and co-founder of the company, and his new partners decided to restructure the company and end most of the activities of the animation department. In the near future the department will think up and design projects, but will not do any productions. While they could have found people who could better manage the division (in the past year the former managers left Colossal), they apparently decided it was wiser to lay off the production staff.
People connected with the company have been saying for years that the amazing growth of the animation department wasn't planned by the company's owners. The growth is said to have been largely due to the visions of others. Takahashi and Gutierrez are repeatedly described as live action film and video people who let animation grow on its own.
People who worked for the company until recently say the animation production department and the ink and paint staff totaled about 40 people before the layoffs, so statements that 80 or more people left are wrong. The company's spokesperson said a few more people would be leaving the company in the next few months including the person I spoke with. She believed that the major cuts were over.
Although Colossal is well known for its animated commercials, the company has been producing live action ads and other projects hat get less publicity. Apparently their live action work has been profitable and they will continue to do live action production.
According to a company press release Drew Takahashi sees the future of the company in the development of material for TV, feature films and new media. He recently signed a contract with Disney Television to develop sitcoms and dramatic series for them.
Despite the fact that the company was founded to do an animation project, the opening sequence of the Grateful Dead's first feature, a former high ranking employee of Colossal said neither owner had much to do with the daily operation of the animation department in recent years. Gutierrez had been active directing live action commercials, openings for features and special effects sequences. Takahashi wishes to concentrate his efforts on designing, consulting and overseeing the production of content oriented projects.
Gutierrez has left the company. In a press release he said "It's great time for me to move on and take advantage of creative opportunities outside the scope of Colossal's revised agenda. While I remain a stockbroker and believer in its future." For years people have been saying he wants to direct a feature.
Not all animation has ceased at the company. At present there are four animation directors/designers at Colossal. George Evelyn is developing the script and storyboards for The Flying Dutchman , an animated feature for Turner Feature Animation. Jamie Baker is developing a computer project for Broderbund. Dan McHale and Carter Tomasi are also active designing projects. Colossal will continue to develop animated projects, but expect to see the actual production done elsewhere.
There are also three separate companies under Colossal's roof. Brad DeGraff heads Protazoa, a company doing motion capture footage for clients. Stuart Cudlitz and partners head Media Concrete which is designing a computer project for Broderbund. M5, headed by Jonathan Searles & partners, is doing model and stop-motion work.
The changes at Colossal came as a shock to many people. Apparently the company had too much overhead. Observers believe the company will consolidate itself into one building (15th St.).
An administrator at another company said that the animation industry has grown too fast recently and he believes many executives, especially in the CD-Rom and game industry, are getting nervous about the future. He thinks some areas of the industry might get "really weird" in the next couple of years. He expects several other companies in the US will either downsize or go out of business. Other observers are worried that if some of the new features in production in Hollywood turn out to be poorly written duds, the failures could slow down the growth of the industry.
It is sad to hear about the changes at Colossal. Fortunately the layoffs occurred at a time when other companies are growing. Almost all the former employees have found employment elsewhere.