The Animation Options Blog

The SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 course notes from the popular presentation “CG Production Principles: Keeping Your Money On The Screen & Off The Floor” are now available on SlideShare.

Animation Options LLC devises 2D & 3D production plans tailored to your specific artistic goals, format, schedule and budget. Contact us for further information on how you can increase quality and profit margins.

If you have certain ways of approaching things, you tend to view the problem at hand as being related to your tried-and-true solution. Here is a great example of how we can get stuck in our preconceptions. Can you tell what the relationship is between the numbers above?

You might look at these numbers for a very long time before you arrive at the answer (or at least, this answer): they are in alphabetical order. While people usually attempt to divine some mathematical relationship between the numbers, once you make a lateral move to another logic system, the “non-intuitive” suddenly becomes obvious.

This brings us to the subject of heuristics. Heuristics are simple rules for making decisions and solving problems – “shortcuts in thinking”, essentially. Heuristics are generally good: we utilize them, and they have their place. They can be inherent or learned, and they work well under most circumstances. But they can unfortunately result in systemic cognitive biases (which is a fancy way of saying “preconceptions”).

Some common heuristic errors…

• The anchoring error: drawing premature conclusions based on the first piece of information, and holding to those even when contradicted by subsequent findings
• The availability error: mistakenly applying mental models and conclusions from apparently similar previous situations, based upon findings in the new situation
• The attribution error: using the information to make gross generalizations confirming what you already “know”

I often see these in action with my consulting clients. Some will say, “We know what our problem is. It’s this,” and they’ll haul out data to back up their conclusions (which they may seem to be more interested in validating than challenging). While this might be comforting on some level, it is ultimately a disservice to the goals that they are trying to achieve.

So, it’s really important to be clear-minded on the following: what you want, where you are, the resources you need, and the need to adapt… to keep changing, moving and growing.

Here’s a snapshot from 2002 during the opening of the “Chicken Little” production pod in the Walt Disney Feature Animation “southside” building. That’s Director Mark Dindal on the left. On the right is Producer Randy Fullmer. They say that tone comes from the top, so you probably wouldn’t be surprised if I told you that the working environment on “Chicken Little” was pretty fun - even during some fairly stressful and volatile times at the Mouse, with a lot riding on the film.

A couple of years before my departure from the company, I made a list of every production executive and producer that I knew, and began inviting them to lunch to pick their brains. I eventually worked my way up to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook, and in the process of more than two dozen meals received quite an education on the business of animated film production. Randy Fullmer was the first to accept my invitation, and he prepped our lunch with a few pages of typed notes that I take the liberty of sharing with you now, reprinted from November 29th, 2005. Here’s Randy on producing - speaking plainly, but with resonance:

Assemble the best dog-gone crew in the whole world.

Only hire nice people who don’t freak out when things get tough.

Stay calm even when you’re not.

Learn not to say everything that’s on your mind.

Stay positive.

Don’t think you have to be the smartest voice in the room.

Learn to ask simple story questions. Who should we care about and why? What does our main character want, and why can’t they get it? Is there a goal for our main character to achieve? Do we have action to watch? Is there something visual about this story that we can show? Is this movie entertaining, or does it just line up logically? Can you describe the movie to anyone in one or two sentences and make them want to see it?

Don’t get caught up in the minutia and forget the fundamental building blocks.

Ask questions and invite participation. At the same time, protect you and your director’s ability to calmly think. Don’t send out any message to anyone that you’re closed to new ideas. This is a hard one. There are many times when you just want to be left alone.

Making a movie is a marathon. Don’t get too up or too down.

Keep in mind that it’s your job to hand the investors/studio a great FINISHED movie on a date and for a price. Stay open to everyone’s idea on how to make the movie better, but handing the studio a brilliant half-finished movie when time has run out will not be appreciated.

Treat your superiors with respect. They have a tough job too. At times they may seem in your way. You must figure out ways to work with them or it will be horrible.

Public stock companies must give their honest assessment of how their company is doing every quarter. It’s the law. As a producer, you must do the same with your superiors. If they have any experience at all, they will know that it’s a difficult task to put together a movie. Avoiding all problems is impossible. The true measure is how you solve problems while keeping things moving in the right direction.

Constantly try to define what the issues are and what the problems are. Having a clear idea of what you’re trying to fix is critical. Most suggestions have their roots in trying to fix an unarticulated problem. If everyone can at least agree on what the problems are, then you have a fighting chance of solving them to everyone’s satisfaction.

Smile and acknowledge people. Everyone’s most basic work instinct is to be relevant to the task and to be acknowledged. Be a cheerleader, but don’t overdo it. People crave honesty and genuine support. Support when you’re just going “blah blah blah” means nothing.

Make sure that everyone has a clear job description. This will avoid many disputes.

90% of your job is human nature and instinct-based. If you have lined up the best dog-gone crew on the planet, then you don’t have to know everything yourself. In fact, it works better if you don’t. The biggest turnoff to a crew is to have its leader tell them exactly what to do.

Learn the lesson that “I assumed” is the worst thing that you can say.

Understand the potential for disaster with talent. They are called talent usually because there is only one of them. You need them. They are human beings and just want to be treated with respect. If you need to kiss their feet to get them to do their job, then you probably hired the wrong “talent”.

Don’t make enemies. These films are really difficult to make. You need all the good will you can muster.

The Producer’s job is all about the gray areas. Almost never do you get to make a decision that you’re 100% sure is right.

Try to get the same joy that a teacher would get from his or her students. No one drops by on a regular basis and says, “Hey, nice producing!” The joy you will receive is seeing the power of a team and seeing people grow to do things they and you could never have imagined.

Treat success and failure as the imposters that they are. Your job is to make a good movie.

Words to produce by. Thanks, Randy!

Today’s thought is from that old salt Cicero, who knew a thing or two about leadership:

Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well: for as a whole city is affected by the corrupt passions of great men, so it is likewise reformed by their moderation.

As it goes for Greek city-states, so it goes for animation studios.

The Animation Options “Independent Animated Feature Film Development & Production Plan” has been updated, with additional checklist items added to take you from post-production through delivery. Check it out, and check ‘em off.

This and other handy aids for independent animation producers can be found on the Animation Options “Resources” page.

It’s not Chinese New Year yet, so the “real” one will have to do.

Best wishes for a prosperous 2009 from Animation Options!

Best wishes to everyone for a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever floats your boat!

Here’s to health and happiness in the New Year!

Kevin Geiger
Beijing

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.

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.