Plenty to write about, but lately blogging has been displaced by doing. 
During the past 30 days I’ve spent time in Yokohama and Guangshan in the midst of my ongoing producing and consulting work. The Animation Options website has been updated with the latest happenings (at least those I’m free to talk about), and I hope to address some topics of interest here soon. 
Kevin Geiger
BEIJING
Animation Options has you covered from stem to stern at SIGGRAPH 2009 in Yokohama, with courses ranging from story development to production efficiencies…
Making its Japanese premiere is “What’s Your Story?”, a condensed version of the popular three-day story development course, Wednesday, December 16th from 9:00am-12:45pm:
What’s your story? Can you explain it in a sentence? If the central idea of your film is not clear to you, how can it be to your audience? Does your story pass the “who cares” test? And do you know that story is NOT king, but character IS?
This course examines the nuts and bolts of feature film storytelling in a straightforward, accessible manner for everyone seeking to improve the resonance of their movies on the international animation market. The way to the audience’s wallet is through the heart. Is your story stuck in the head?
The course explores story loglines, genres, hooks, and twists with an eye towards a compelling stage for an appealing hero. The story-outline section addresses the foundation of a strong and flexible story “spine” and then assembles the full skeleton. In the story-boarding section, the course reviews the process for laying out an entire feature film from beginning to end by applying tried-and-true structural beats. The course concludes with an interactive audience brainstorming session and a pitch of the resulting story by presenter Kevin Geiger.
Returning to SIGGRAPH Asia by special request is “Keeping Your Money On The Screen & Off The Floor”, Saturday, December 19th from 2:15pm-6:00pm:
The global animation industry is as competitive as ever, with merciless markets, unforgiving audiences and miniscule profit margins. Yet independent and major productions alike seem content to burn through money (and people) as though they have resources to spare. Amazingly, this waste is not only pervasive, it is accepted. Not only is this irresponsible, it is unsustainable. It is also easily addressed through clear-minded assessment and informed action.
This course squarely addresses common production motivations and pitfalls. It examines the human factors and organizational considerations that are the foundation of all production (dys)function. It proceeds to cover workflow considerations and strategies, the establishment (and erosion) of balance, common heuristic assumptions and errors, and the importance of clarity and adaptation within the studio environment. A series of “Golden Rules” for production segues into the characteristics of a balanced pipeline and an overview of a flexible and robust nonlinear production pipeline. Finally, asset management is reviewed with an eye towards organization, flexibility, and transparency.
The presentation concludes with a micro/macro view on the production paradigm and synergistic orchestration of these parts into a practical yet transcendent whole.
See you in Japan!
My apologies for the dramatic reduction in blogging. The past couple of months have been a mad rush of activity, compounded by my participation in two events: the Jilin International Animation, Comics & Games Forum in September, and the 1st Zhengzhou International Animation Forum in October. And now the American Film Market in November. :-)
You can read all about the goings-on in Jilin and Zhengzhou on the Animation Options press page, including video of me trying to keep up with a young monk onstage at Shaolin Temple. ;-)
Animation Options President & CEO Kevin Geiger will conduct “dual core” presentations at SIGGRAPH 2009 in Yokohama, ranging from story development to production efficiencies.
Making its Japanese premiere is “What’s Your Story?”, a condensed version of the popular three-day story development course, Wednesday, December 16th from 8:30am-12:15pm:
What’s your story? Can you explain it in a sentence? If the central idea of your film is not clear to you, how can it be to your audience? Does your story pass the “who cares” test? And do you know that story is NOT king, but character IS?
This course examines the nuts and bolts of feature film storytelling in a straightforward, accessible manner for everyone seeking to improve the resonance of their movies on the international animation market. The way to the audience’s wallet is through the heart. Is your story stuck in the head?
The course explores story loglines, genres, hooks, and twists with an eye towards a compelling stage for an appealing hero. The story-outline section addresses the foundation of a strong and flexible story “spine” and then assembles the full skeleton. In the story-boarding section, the course reviews the process for laying out an entire feature film from beginning to end by applying tried-and-true structural beats. The course concludes with an interactive audience brainstorming session and a pitch of the resulting story by presenter Kevin Geiger.
Returning to SIGGRAPH Asia by special request is “Keeping Your Money On The Screen & Off The Floor”, Saturday, December 19th from 1:45pm-5:30pm:
The global animation industry is as competitive as ever, with merciless markets, unforgiving audiences and miniscule profit margins. Yet independent and major productions alike seem content to burn through money (and people) as though they have resources to spare. Amazingly, this waste is not only pervasive, it is accepted. Not only is this irresponsible, it is unsustainable. It is also easily addressed through clear-minded assessment and informed action.
This course squarely addresses common production motivations and pitfalls. It examines the human factors and organizational considerations that are the foundation of all production (dys)function. It proceeds to cover workflow considerations and strategies, the establishment (and erosion) of balance, common heuristic assumptions and errors, and the importance of clarity and adaptation within the studio environment. A series of “Golden Rules” for production segues into the characteristics of a balanced pipeline and an overview of a flexible and robust nonlinear production pipeline. Finally, asset management is reviewed with an eye towards organization, flexibility, and transparency.
The presentation concludes with a micro/macro view on the production paradigm and synergistic orchestration of these parts into a practical yet transcendent whole.
See you in Japan!
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.
I had the honor and pleasure of hosting the fmx/09 “Focus on China” spotlight program, featuring animation companies from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. Read all about it on the Animation Options press page.
I’ll be at the fmx/09 conference this coming week in Stuttgart, hosting the “Focus on China” program and participating in the following presentations. Don’t miss the premiere of the “Road to Home” development teaser, in glorious HD resolution.
“CULTURAL REVOLUTION, TAKE TWO” - 3pm, Meidinger Saal
When is a nation of more than 1.3 billion people a scrappy underdog? When it is China seeking to reclaim the animation legacy pioneered by the Wan Brothers in the early 20th century. Shanghaied by Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution and then crushed by the juggernaut of Japanese anime, Chinese animation has been reeling for decades in a punch-drunk, outsource-fueled haze of stifled creativity. Until now. A new generation of Chinese animation filmmakers - versed in influences from Chuck Jones to Tarkovsky - has entered the world stage, eager to reclaim lost creative territory with films that are in turn thrilling, hilarious, gorgeous and thoughtful.
“A LONG MARCH ON THE ROAD TO HOME” - 4pm, Meidinger Saal
Currently in development, “Road to Home” is China’s first environmentally-themed animated feature film. Set on the Qinghai plateau, the film portrays the unique cultural characteristics of Western China while addressing universal themes of identity and co-existence, taking the friendship of a young girl and a wolf cub as its throughline. Directed by Lijun Sun with creator Wen Feng from a screenplay by Yi Yan, “Road to Home” features painterly landscapes and engaging characters, and is representative of the new wave of original Chinese animated feature films.
“THE BEIJING FILM ACADEMY PRESENTS…” - 2pm, Raum Mannheim
The Beijing Film Academy is a world-renowned institution of cinematic education with cutting-edge facilities, comprehensive specialties, distinguished faculty, and innovative research & production. The Animation School of the Academy was one of the first nationally-accredited Animation Teaching and Research Bases in mainland China, descending from an animation specialty program established in 1952. Animation School Associate Professor Wen Feng and Guest Professor Kevin Geiger will discuss the current focus and future directions of the school, with recent examples of student and faculty work.
Hope to see you there.
Kevin Geiger
Beijing
Experts across the 3D industry reveal the tricks of the trade that can make all the difference when pitching a project to an agency, potential backer, broadcaster or movie studio - by Mark Ramshaw
The April 2009 issue of 3D World magazine features an article on project pitching that profiles the developing Chinese animated feature film, “Road to Home”, with observations on the process from Animation Options CEO Kevin Geiger. Full story here.
Ramin Zahed, Editor-in-Chief of Animation Magazine, invited me to write a byline piece sharing my personal insights on the revolution in original Chinese animated content.
That an overzealous young proofreader “corrected” the reference of Russian live-action filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky to Russian animator Genndy Tartakovsky only goes to show the unexpected sources that contemporary Chinese animation directors draw upon.
Kevin Geiger
Beijing
Karen Raugust has an article at Animation World Network (AWN) on the challenges facing the Chinese animation industry entitled, appropriately enough, “Challenges Ahead For China”. The article features some observations from moi, and makes mention of “Road To Home”, the Chinese animated feature that I am consulting on in Beijing.
