Last week I attended the Korea Media and Content Market sponsored by the Korean Trade-Investment Agency (Kotra).   The event was held at the Hollywood & Highland Center and was designed to introduce a number of Korean animation and media companies and their projects to interested investors and potential partners.

The conference opened with the attending companies holding brief meetings with interested attendees and then Mr. Won-Sok Yun, director General of Kotra LA welcomed everyone.  This was followed by an additional welcome from the Council General of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Yeon-Sung Shin.

Once the formalities and niceties were concluded, Jim Chabin, President of the International 3-D Society spoke about the exponential growth of that industry and how it effected the film and gaming media as well as television and mobile devices.

I thought his presentation offered a clear forecast of what we all needed to be aware of in the coming year or two.   Some of the more salient points he offered are as follows:

After looking at how Europe, Asia and the rest of the world offer subsidies to support their animation industries we turn our gaze on the good old USofA.  How do we stack up against our neighbors to the north or our cousins across the pond? Actually not very good.  Neartly all of our programs are though various states and their offerings are geared for live action - not animation.  Oh well, you could move to Australia or France, or....?

Can China, India, Singapore and other countries offering cheaper animation services lure U.S. producers away by offering subsidies, grants and equity investment in theatrical films and television series?  It seems that outsourcing, while resented by most Americans, has become more and more a way of doing business for large American corportations.  Where will this practice ultimately end?  I can't say for sure but I do know it will get worse before it can get better.  But there is hope.  If you want to read my opinion you'll have to wait until I wrap this up next week.

Everyone making a film now seems to be looking for ways to subsidize their production through government tax credits, grants or pure subsidies. Now, even if you are not a producer or investor, you might have wondered how all of these seemingly complex deals get put together where a company in Ireland does the post, a Canadian company does the pre-production and the animation goes to China. 

Some of you may have worked on a show where you only did the sheets or the storyboard and everything else was split up and done elsewhere.   What drives these deals and can cause a very awkward division of creative input and production services?  Why of course it’s money, and most often the access to soft money.

So what exactly is soft money?  Does it bend easier than hard money and by the way, what is hard money?  Does soft money fit better in your wallet or what?

Part 1 - How does this all work and who gets to participate?

You say Toe-maw-toe and I say Toe-may-toe.  Should you cast kids for kids roles or go with adult voice over actors that can be easier and faster to work with but may not be able to give you that pure kid essence in voice quality?

Talking with an old friend who has a passion for hand drawn animation made me wonder what the future holds for this old mainstay that brought us such wonderful moments over the years.  Is anyone learning to become a 2-D animator anymore?  It seems that every working in 2-D only wants to learn the basis that they can apply when they move under the big CGI tent..... Doesn't anyone still love this lovely artform for what ii is, not where it can take them?

It's clearly a love/hate thing for a lot of us.  It has become so much a part of our lives that we have a hard time looking away.  Television, we can't do without it but couldn't we expect more for this member of our family that is always there. always tempting us to sit down and let it entertyain us?

Nothing important really.  If you don't read this you won't miss a great job opportunity or any special Zen like enlightenment.  You won't get any good tips on playing the ponies or how to make a perfect souffle or even where to pick up Boys/Girls....  If you have 5 minutes to waste give it a read, otherwise go in peace and know that you won't be any less informed or likely to regret missing my secret 'Five Steps to Growth and Success in the Business of Animation Filmaking." - (Just kidding).

A number of things are far better now than they were in the 60's and 70's.  We have cable television, video games, feature films made by companies other than Disney and for many year round jobs.  But I do wonder if todays animation people are as happy doing what they do as their predessors were?

Often hated but always needed, the poor budget can and should be the best friend of anyone trying to produce a film.  But rather it is more often the target of everyone's discontent and blamed for a multitude of sins and offenses. The film's budget normally stands in the dock accused of any and all the ills plaguing the production.  "If only we could have another month we could redo that sequence."  Or, "They say there's nothing left in the budget to rerecord the orangatang!  Who in the hell said betty white could still play the ingenue?"  But....whose faults are these?  If the budget was correctly made, everyone going into the production knew exactly what they had and what they had to do.  Why blame the budget for other's failings?