I have been going to Comic-Con on and off since ’94 and I have seen the change.  Up to a few years ago, the Con, as it is now know, was the celebration of the comic book artist and writer.  It celebrated a genre that had sustained since the turn of the last century.

Now that sunlight is being cast on my KidScreen notebook I am assessing the results.  I must say it was a more positive event then in the past.  One major player asked me for production bids for a television series. Another company asked for a client to quote on a style of animation for a DVD feature.

My ears are still ringing from attending E3 last week.  But this time I came away with a much different perspective on the industry. 

I attended the very first E3 way back in the dark ages of 1994.  I ventured into a male dominated world of shooters, racing and “boobalicous” avatars (as well as booth babes).  I was one woman out of maybe a hundred or more young men to attend.  I was there to see what the animation potential from this renegade group from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), would have for a mere mortal animation studio. 

You just don’t make animation and then play it, in the game business.  It is a unique combination of equipment, programming/technology and art. 

Every one of my content client’s goals is to get their show on a US network, first and foremost.  This is when I ask the question, “Are you willing to sell your rights away?”  Many stop short and say “Hell NO!”  

Many will have a real clear idea of what networks they would like their shows ultimately to land on. But not all of them have analyzed if their type of show is the kind of show these networks like. They just know they like that network or know that it is number 1.  

Commercials have the highest budgets above any other type of production. The advertiser only has 30 seconds to convince the viewer to buy their brand of toilet paper.   Frame for frame a commercial costs more then even LORD OF THE RINGS. 

Thirty, forty and even fifty meetings in four days is nothing.  But the question is the quantity yielding the quality?  The more people you meet with the more information gathered, but if your purpose is to sell a show to a distribution company, then targeting distributors early in the appointment making is critical. 

Your series has been sold to the network and you get to guide it creatively and nurture it.   It’s like having a baby and putting it up for an open adoption.  You will take care of it everyday, but will not own it.  You can love it, take care of it, but at the end of the day the adopted parents will make all of the life’s decisions.

The market is hungry for new content.  Networks and broadcasters are eager to show something new to their audiences and were buying up lots of stuff this time around.  This made my heart jump for joy. Over the years I have built great relations with distributors and sales agents. This year each of them said that it was their best year in a long time. I don’t think they were saying that to buoy themselves up.  It was the mantra with all the distributors I talked with.