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Integrity!

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Integrity!

Integrity or rather the lack thereof is one of the things seriously plaguing Indian animation. Animators discussing salaries and bonuses, moving jobs without notice periods etc. Generally a fairly mercenary attitude.

I know this is an animator board, so producer level problems aren't quite the ones empathized with but i think the general lack of professionalism and cynicism is what is keeping animation in India far behind.

What are your takes on - experience with Indian animators if any as well as generally on what sort of an environment and practices keeps an industry going?

If a person's word means nothing, then they mean nothing.
As hard as it can be to keep one's word, its really the only measure of trust you can offer someone else.
Without it, you are utterly valueless.

Industry, society......personal dealings with other people......the core trait we depend on is trust.

The way to gain trust is through honesty.
Even if the relationship/arrangement you have with another person is going to work against you ( or them), being totally honest with them about it from the start can keep trust intact.

Its not a hard thing to figure out but its lost on so many people.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

If a person's word means nothing, then they mean nothing.
As hard as it can be to keep one's word, its really the only measure of trust you can offer someone else.
Without it, you are utterly valueless.

Industry, society......personal dealings with other people......the core trait we depend on is trust.

The way to gain trust is through honesty.
Even if the relationship/arrangement you have with another person is going to work against you ( or them), being totally honest with them about it from the start can keep trust intact.

Its not a hard thing to figure out but its lost on so many people.

Ken,

I absolutely agree with you on that. It is unfortunate that the nature of the industry in India (permanent jobs vs. freelance professionals) has really turned things on its head.

I have had trouble on and off but some revelations from studio staff (who have problems against each other) have really disappointed me a great deal. I am taking it with a pinch of salt but the truth is after giving so much to people in terms of time, money and effort its really a slap in the face.

I feel foolish for going after peoples welfare, i think it would be smarter from now on to consider the business is business mentality...

But i am sure that animation in India is going to go nowhere fast because of the mercenary nature of its artists..

I think the solution is to demand a higher standard from them, and be prepared to offer them a higher standard in return.
That's the only way things will change in any human interaction.

If a freelancer or employee will not accept a high standard asked of them, make it clear that is what you seek, why you seek it, and what you offer in return.........and then let the loser go.
Humans tend to do more to avoid loss ( or a perception of loss) than they will to gain something. If you present a perception of genuine measurable loss ( something more than just employment) to someone, if they are at all intelligent, they will realize that where they are nets them more than whatever else is out there.

Sadly, we all have to accept that there are stupid, selfish people out there, who have drives that go only as far as sating themselves. Those people are weeds in our industry and society, and the best option is to get rid of them--fire them out the door.

Sure, they will bad mouth you. You best weapon is unflinching consistency and congruency--which is where integrity comes from. Even in spite of whatever crap they will throw at you, however they will would you .....if you remain consistent......anyone else can see that and admire you for it.
That will attract people with integrity to you and, over the long-term, benefit you and others in the industry because you have raised the bar.

As far as business being business.......I think the better tact would be to investigate a bit about human nature and address that in a way that benefits you, rather than just segregating talent as being unreliable. You can still play hardball with them, but if you can do it with a crafty smile they will not realize it. PM me if you would like a couple of books that you can reference on this.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

Growing Pains

The animation industry in India is just suffering growing pains. By the year, 2010 or 12 the industry has a goal to employ 300,000 people. With that kind of growth - it is an animator's market.

The kinds of abuses mentioned in the initial post will come back sooner or later. As the industry grows, some of these more experienced animators may find themselves being undercut by cheaper labor.

As with some of Ken's comments - for years folks worked on footage amounts...16 frames to a 35mm foot (8-10 drawings per foot). Of course, the footage was rated by difficulty (acting, action, number of characters, etc.)...and the animation had to be approved by the director before payment was authorized.

Maybe some of the old ways would help India's young industry.

Folks like Ken and me got into this industry long ago when the standard was a passion for the artform and not the money. Not that folks today don't have passion - it seems a fair amount of folks saw the opportunity to make money...and not much else.

Thanks.

Thanks guys for your thoughts. I agree with what you are saying. a shortage of animators is probably responsible for people jumping from here to there without any responsibility.

Complete lack of quality training does not help matters either i reckon. its quite sad but that is how it is. Dont know what the long term effects of this will be but i doubt it will be good.

I agree with Ken that one's word is all one has. It's unprofessional to jump ship in the middle of a production, and those who do so will earn the reputation they deserve soon enough.

However...

What's wrong with an animator wanting to earn as much as possible, even if that means comparing salaries and entertaining higher offers? Studios aren't in the business for the art of it; they're in business to make money, presumably as much as possible. It's illogical to assume employees aren't also interested in earning every cent they can.

Any time you have more job openings than people to fill them, there's going to be upward pressure on salaries, and people willing to risk their reputations to take advantage of that pressure. It's not mercenary, it's economics. It is a business - you really shouldn't be surprised when your employees also treat it as such.

Hey DSB

Hey DSB,

I agree with everything you said...it is a business!

Hmmm...

Might have to grab that Rosetta Stone program and learn some Hindi...

Interesting stuff going on over there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood

Follow @chaostoon on Twitter!

I agree with Ken that one's word is all one has. It's unprofessional to jump ship in the middle of a production, and those who do so will earn the reputation they deserve soon enough.

However...

What's wrong with an animator wanting to earn as much as possible, even if that means comparing salaries and entertaining higher offers? Studios aren't in the business for the art of it; they're in business to make money, presumably as much as possible. It's illogical to assume employees aren't also interested in earning every cent they can.

Any time you have more job openings than people to fill them, there's going to be upward pressure on salaries, and people willing to risk their reputations to take advantage of that pressure. It's not mercenary, it's economics. It is a business - you really shouldn't be surprised when your employees also treat it as such.

i think there is absolutely no problem with wanting to make money, Yes - people are in it as a business. but the trend as of late is that a lot of bigger non animation companies have jumped in and thrown money at folks.

so the wages have gone up and people are jumping ship. some have already bounced back because some of these companies (wont call em studios) dont have a plan, they just jumped on the bandwagon.

however folks returning from these studios dont want to work for less than what they left for..

its quite fu***d.

I agree with all the comments. i am an Indian and have big aspirations when it comes to animation. i tried getting into animation since i was in 9th grade , i saw the status here , the quality here , its pathetic...... this gives me motivation to get in this field even more, to learn the proper way from somewhere , come back and set things right...
its just business here and they are mixing it with religion, animation movies only related to god and godesses are being made, blind faith drags people to the theater. this is not animation this is superstition....
wish people would realise this and lay more emphasis on quality rather than cheap market stunts..
and this goes for the graphics industy too, i bet we still cant put better graphics in movies than what hollywood used in 'indipendace day' or something. animation industry has the same future unless people realise it soon .....

hi there

Integrity or rather the lack thereof is one of the things seriously plaguing Indian animation. Animators discussing salaries and bonuses, moving jobs without notice periods etc. Generally a fairly mercenary attitude.

I know this is an animator board, so producer level problems aren't quite the ones empathized with but i think the general lack of professionalism and cynicism is what is keeping animation in India far behind.

What are your takes on - experience with Indian animators if any as well as generally on what sort of an environment and practices keeps an industry going?

hi there. i can understand the agoney of being a producer. well can i know ur mail id?