The Animation Options Blog

No, that’s not me sucking the marrow from the bones of my enemies. It’s an image of guanxi in action.

Guanxi (”relationships”) is the foundation of business in China: nothing happens without it. Most Americans understand the value of networking, but the Chinese take the importance of personal connections to a whole new level. The currency of guanxi is reciprocity, which has its roots in the Chinese notion of filial piety: paying tribute, honoring your hosts and guests, giving gifts, doing favors, sharing meals, picking up the tab (especially when it’s substantial). This notion has been extended in modern times to include relatives, friends, their friends, and business associates - both active and potential.

Your ability to exist harmoniously within the Chinese social network is paramount, and your prosperity is directly tied to this reality. So when you drink bone marrow from a straw, or consume powerful glasses of baijiu (120 proof Chinese firewater) in rounds of toasts to your companions, you’re not just checking off items on your “bucket list”… you’re doing business.

If I needed any confirmation of this, I got it when I raised a glass to my host from the Ministry of Culture, and asked what his advice was for Americans aspiring to do business in China. “Exactly what you’re doing now”, he replied as we polished off our drinks.

In short: if you can say “hello” and “thank you” in Mandarin, use chopsticks, eat anything that’s put in front of you, hold your liquor and smile the whole way through - you can get things done in China.

Unfortunately, Walt Disney Animation Studio’s “Bolt” opened this weekend to a relatively anemic $26.2M.

Keep your eye on “The Princess and the Frog”, and your ear on John Lasseter.

I have been pleased to serve as the American co-host for the National Administration of Culture’s 2008 National Senior Research Class in Animation Script Writing, held at the Beijing Film Academy. Although my responsibilities have severely cut into my blogging time, it has been a remarkable experience. In addition to my seminars on story development, I delivered the following address at the opening ceremony:

Good morning. It is my great honor and pleasure to welcome you to the 2008 National Senior Research Class in Animation Script Writing, sponsored by the National Administration of Culture.

The Chinese animation industry is in a state of cultural inheritance and continual innovation. China is now the fastest growing animation market in the world, with rapid development in creative production capacity. The Chinese industry and market is prized by media giants here and abroad.

However, the Chinese animation industry faces a series of challenges, such as a shortage of professionals, limited financing channels, and a relative lack of original content. The most pressing challenge to be faced is how to write good scripts that appeal to global audiences while staying true to the rich history of Chinese culture.

Truly, the script is the heart and soul of the film. The quality of the script directly influences the success of the movie. Excellent scripts require not only inspiration, but also skill and structure. Accordingly, the National Administration of Culture is proud to present this exclusive series of animation screenwriting and story seminars at the Beijing Film Academy for our select group of conference attendees.

Each one of you is an experienced professional in your own right. At this conference, you have the benefit of sharing information from a notable group of speakers with backgrounds in film, animation, comics and games. The goals of these sessions are threefold:

• To improve the theoretical and practical abilities of Chinese animation and media professionals
• To apply successful development strategies and experiences from China and abroad
• To enhance and promote animation screenwriting, marketing and sales

There is a common human need for stories. Good stories fulfill human aspirations and the desire for resolution. In this regard, screenwriters are truly the architects of dreams. It is our hope that this conference will give today’s film architects the materials to engineer the dreams of tomorrow.

With this in mind, we wish you a productive and fruitful experience at the 2008 National Senior Research Class in Animation Script Writing.

An article on the event (in Chinese) may be found here.

Cheers,
Kevin Geiger

What in the world does the situation above have to do with production? Everything.

In addition to consulting and producing in Beijing, I’m currently teaching a class entitled “Inside Hollywood Animation Production” (you’ll have to forgive the cheesy title, but like “Kung Fu Panda”, it plays well here). During our first session, I had the students (a group of animation teachers) play a game that I learned at bang improv studio in Los Angeles. A group of 10-12 people stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a circle, and then join hands across the middle with two other people. The goal is simple, but seemingly impossible: untangle yourselves without letting go.

The first reaction is usually disbelieving laughter - especially when everyone is cinched in a tight knot. But gradually, the group begins to work together and figure things out. The teachers managed to completely untangle themselves within 10 minutes, to their great delight. Afterwards, I asked if anyone could see the relevance to production. “Teamwork” and “patience” were offered immediately. We also noted differences in personality: some participants took charge while others waited to follow orders, some kept their sense of humor while others grew frustrated. But the most important lesson was this: we are often faced with situations (such as filmmaking) which appear “impossible” - but with teamwork, insightful observation and cooperative action the “impossible” can indeed be made possible.

Cut to later in the week, as I was teaching the same section to a class of graduate students. Due to the size of the class, two groups of 10 competed against each other. Unlike the teachers, the graduate students did not wait to hear my instructions before grabbing hands willy-nilly. One group was free in under 5 minutes, while the other group (pictured above) was unable to completely untangle themselves. They were truly stuck, and after 20 minutes of suffering, I cut them loose. Another improv principle is to work with what you’re given, so I quickly amended my lesson on the fly. In addition to the observations shared with the teachers, I added this: sometimes, a situation appears impossible because it IS. The difference between success or failure, in games as in production, is usually in how you begin. A student correctly observed that if more than one person grabbed hands with a colleague too near to them, as opposed to across the middle of the circle, a true predicament could result. Even so, the “failed” group still managed to untangle themselves about 90% of the way. So even if you can’t get as far as you might hope, with faith and perseverance you can still get a lot farther along than you may think.

Something to think about as America celebrates a remarkable new president.