Animation In Cannes
(continued from page 1)
Further the proliferation of potential outlets
is not an advantage for independents: broadcasters and other buyers
naturally have greater difficulty in contracting with an individual
producer, no matter how solidly financed, whereas dealing with the
specialist distributors across a package of programmes is all part
of the process. Finally, of course, budgets per minute of broadcast
time continue to shrink.
For all these reasons, independent European producers have a great
advantage with the now well established CARTOON
FORUM, held this year in Spain. New projects can be presented
in an exclusive environment to a wide cross-section of Europe's
broadcasters and financial partners. An independent with a solid
project and the right supporting materials can mold a financial
base to their new programme, and perhaps have a choice of financial
(and other) partners -- even negotiating options.
Of course the above commentary pre-supposes it is best to remain
the owner, or majority stake-holder, in projects. Many producers
might well take the view that their priority is achieving a profitable
(i.e. financially viable) production, not worrying about the copyright
or even the back-end. Especially at the beginning, this makes great
sense. Yet, as day follows night, a producer with a consistent track
record will desire more control and ownership.
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Another
view of the expansive area where global television business
is done.
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A Necessity
The key to so much of this is co-production. Producers cross
borders and even continents, working together to improve the financial
base and international appeal of their programmes. Animation has
always found co-production a natural method of both producing and
financing projects, and it is here that such markets as MIPCOM come
into their own. One example easily demonstrates this process: an
animated series based on the Marx Brothers. It would be difficult,
it would seem, to devise a more American oriented project. The reality
is different: developed in France by 2A Productions from scripts
written in Hollywood, where the lead writer is Englishman Steve
Roberts (Max Headroom, Men in Black), and pen and
inked in Poland, with post-production in Paris, The Marx Brothers
Show sums up the realities of animated co-productions. Of course,
the flow can be either way: the very English (at least in origin)
Watership Down has just been developed into an animated series
by Decode Entertainment in Toronto, complete with title music by
Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Overall, there has been strong growth in the interest in animation,
as the statistics from MIPCOM JUNIOR demonstrate. One impression
was that there were too many programmes chasing the pre-school slots.
This is a further example of the programme-maker following the market,
as new channels continuously announce themselves.
This leads to the questioning undertone of my perceptions: all too
often, one feels, innovation and imagination are not given the priority
they deserve. Design might be good, but rarely do the scripts follow.
The new technologies available to producers do not encourage any
emphasis on this. As the market expands, and the budget per minute
produced shrinks, who has the time to actually develop and consider
the story content when all the emphasis is on first impressions?
One thing you can be sure of at MIPCOM -- nobody has time to read
the books frequently displayed, behind glass cases, on the stands.
Iain
Harvey of The Illuminated Film Company is an independent producer
who first visited MIP-TV in the early 1980s when trying (successfully)
to sell The
Snowman. His most recent productions are T.R.A.N.S.I.T,
directed by Piet Kroon, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar &
Other Stories, directed by Andrew Goff. He is currently developing
an animated feature.
