The Animation Options Blog

While in Taipei this February, I had the pleasure of visiting Kim Chin, Planning Engineer at the Institute for Information Industry. The “III” has established a Digital Content Institute in Nankang Software Park for the purpose of talent cultivation, industry support, knowledge sharing and international cooperation. Kim was kind enough to make time in her busy schedule for a tour.

The Digital Content Institute has remarkable facilities and extensive industry contacts (both within Taiwan and internationally), integrating industrial and academic courses, attracting guest lecturers and instructors from around the world, and providing state-of-the-art tools and training. An “Industrial Advisory Board” and “Professional Courses Committee” supervises course design in order to ensure a curriculum that is relevant to the continued growth of Taiwan’s animation industry. Taiwanese instructors are afforded the opportunity to receive higher-level training overseas, and an extensive “on-the-job” training partnership is available for students with game, animation, A/V, internet, mobile and software companies throughout Taiwan, such as CGCG.

The progressive goal of the Digital Content Institute is to incubate the next generation of talent for Taiwan’s animation studios and academic institutions. During my visit, I was impressed with the DCI’s “Xbox Game Development Center”, state-of-the-art motion capture and bluescreen studios, multi-media production environment and digital content library.

To learn more about this remarkable institution, its mission and its many programs, check out their website at: http://www.dci.org.tw/english/index.htm

I’ve spoken a few times in the past on the topic of user-generated content & grassroots production. This morning’s Los Angeles Times covers a new angle on the subject: the increasing prevalence of online, PC and console games created by independent developers. As Jamil Moledina of the Game Developers Conference puts it: “The lines between the professional developer and the community are beginning to shimmer.”

Quirky, “low tech” games with infectious play premises - such as 2D Boy’s “World of Goo” (above), are charming an industry seeking to balance the massive productions typical of popular modern titles such as “Call of Duty 4″ and “Bioshock”. Desktop tools similar to those that enable independent animators and filmmakers now facilitate the work of idiosyncratic game creators. No less than Microsoft has released free software tools that make traditional programming tasks more accessible to artists and designers. And gaming giant Electronic Arts hopes to foster new user-generated content with the unveiling of “The Sims Carnival”, which allows users to create their own games via a drag-and-drop paradigm.

Game creation comes full circle as it returns to its bare roots. And just as on YouTube, when the grassroots emerge, the majors take notice.

Congratulations to Brad Bird and the crew at Pixar on their Animated Feature Academy Award for “Ratatouille”!

Kudos also to Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman on their Animated Short Oscar for “Peter & the Wolf”. Looks like Hugh is suffering from post-puppet anxiety.

And finally, big ups to Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, Trevor Wood and their talented teams on an inspired Visual Effects win for “The Golden Compass”. In the “rock, paper, scissors” of VFX, it appears that polar bear beats pirate and robot.

P.S. - As I write this, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova have just won an Original Song Oscar for “Once”. Nothing to do with animation or effects, but it gives me a big warm fuzzy. And good for Gil Cates to let Marketa come back out to give a heartfelt acceptance speech after being played offstage before the commercial break.

Mitt Romney came with an impressive resume. The former venture capitalist, 2002 Winter Olympic Games chief and Massachusetts state governor was on top of the issues, had formidable financial and political resources, and was the toast of Washington lawyers and lobbyists.

And yesterday, he announced his withdrawal from the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign.

Why? Because his accumulated primary delegate count was woefully and undeniably inadequate to attain the Republican party’s nomination. And why? Because despite his gifts and his resources, Mitt Romney failed to resonate with the voting public. He failed to deliver a clear message, and he failed to inspire trust.

There is a lesson here. In business as in politics as in life, resonance and gravity are critical. Trustworthiness and the ability to inspire are essential. Talent and material resources are required, make no mistake. But when push comes to shove, clients and employees are more likely to “push” for someone they trust - someone whose demeanor, words and actions resonate with them – than someone who merely has a good pedigree.

In your business dealings, do you equivocate… or do you resonate?

P.S. - In the interest of full disclosure, and in the spirit of resonance, I voted for Barack Obama in the California primary.

Marjane Satrapi’s Oscar-nominated animated feature “Persepolis“ is an unlikely and remarkable film. Imagine trying to pitch the story of a young Iranian girl growing up during the 1979 Islamic Revolution to a roomful of Burbank animation executives: descriptions of torture, animated executions, a punk & heavy metal soundtrack, and no wacky sidekicks (save for God as a comic foil). Oh, and by the way… it’ll be 2D and in black & white. You can just hear the minds (and wallets) snapping shut.

Yet with her life and graphic novel as source material, Satrapi has (for 10% the cost of the average Hollywood gag fest) created an enlightening work of truly “adult” animation: an arresting, tragicomic view of a world gone mad as seen through the eyes of a young girl and woman-to-be. And while Muslim fundamentalists have predictably been up in arms about the film, the reception throughout Europe and the United States has been phenomenal. Although ultimately nominated in the Academy’s Animated Feature Category, “Persepolis” was selected as France’s official submission in the Foreign-Language Feature Category, and had racked up numerous other nominations & awards prior to its U.S. release last Christmas by Sony Pictures Classics.

At the heart of Marjane Satrapi’s achievement is the very sort of personal filmmaking that I advocated to an audience of filmmakers & government officials in Beijing last December. By conveying an extremely political story in the most accessibly personal way, Satrapi “unveils” universal truths about the best and worst of human nature. As the director herself observes: “What is interesting to me is that anywhere we show the movie, the reaction is the same. I’ve always said that my story is humanistic. It goes beyond Iran. Even people who don’t live in repressed societies relate to the story of one family. It’s about celebrating things that we all have in common.”

Truly inspirational filmmaking in a year of surfing penguins and rodent fry cooks.