The Animation Options Blog

The 12th Shanghai International Film Festival and market wrapped this week. It goes without saying that many great films were screened. But what I found most intriguing was the festival’s FORUM program, which provided lively discussions on a range of topics related to Chinese film production and international co-production - including story development, financing, and IP protection.

Sunday’s keynote address, “Made In China: What Kind of Films Does the Chinese Market Want?”, provoked a lively debate among the directors and producers on the panel. Director Ning Hao provocatively declared, “Movie makers in China lag behind the U.S. and lack certain fundamentals. The American filmmakers plan much more in advance before shooting.” Most concurred that the next 5 years will be pivotal for the Chinese film industry as the attention of the world turns to the mainland. Yu Dong, CEO of the Polybona Film Company, forecast that it is only a matter of time before a mainland Chinese film turns in a $100 million USD box office. To put this in perspective, there are currently only a handful of Chinese directors in China’s “Million Dollar Club”, and that’s 100 million RMB, not USD (the exchange rate being about 6.84 RMB to 1 USD). Nevertheless, Yu Dong soundly observed, “You cannot force distributors to support you. You need to attend to your presentation.” Certainly, a dramatic increase in China’s 4,000 movie screens will be required to realize this prediction (the U.S. has 10 times as many screens with less than 1/4 of China’s population). As this blog observed in “My Forbidden Kingdom For A Screen!”, the mainland Chinese audience continues to be remarkably untapped. Chen Guowei, Vice General Manager of the Wanda Cinema Line Corporation, remarked that films must be entertaining and resonant in order to do well in the market. In other words, they should not only be tasty, but also nourishing. Director Wei Te-Sheng noted ruefully that, “Everything beautiful is being measured.” He blamed “market rules” for overwhelming producers and “killing” the creation and distribution of independent films. “And if you successfully break these rules, ” he laughed, “they call it an exception!” In China, as in Hollywood, some things never change.

Monday morning’s roundtable discussion on “Asian Regional Cooperation” covered the ins and outs of Chinese co-productions, including the importance of matching story to partner, and the pros & cons of written vs. oral agreements. Many on the roundtable concurred that while a good contract is essential to a successful co-production, not every contingency can be adequately covered on paper - mutual respect and trust are paramount. To this point, producer Wang Zhonglei candidly admitted, “When China began to collaborate with other countries, we didn’t take many things seriously.” Corona Pictures’ Julian Alcantara brought his experiences with the Indian film industry to bear, noting how the Indian government moved from recognizing film as an industry only 10 years ago, to quickly adopting a more Western style of planning, production and distribution - with multiple international co-production treaties. The remarkable example of “Slumdog Millionaire” was raised, where an Indian story, cast and crew combined with an English director (Danny Boyle) and production leadership. Yet Mr. Alcantara cautioned how close “Slumdog” came to never even making the theaters. He mused how many other wonderful films audiences will never see due to the vagaries of international co-productions and independent filmmaking in general. Polybona’s Yu Dong repeated that China’s cinema lines must be more productively arranged in order to capitalize on market potential and stated: “I think Chinese filmmakers should collaborate with overseas distributors before movies are made, to ensure a better product.” Julian Alcantara seconded this notion, which this blog has long advocated: “Distributors often complain that producers don’t come to talk to them sooner. The earlier producers and distributors correspond ensures the success of both sides.”

Monday afternoon featured a high-octane keynote entitled, “Soft Power: Financial Innovation & Cinema Expansion”, helmed by none other than MPAA Chairman and former Clinton cabinet member Dan Glickman. Mr. Glickman’s amusingly direct speech went straight after the issues of piracy and market access restrictions on the Chinese mainland - not only linking the two, but noting the negative impact to domestic Chinese filmmakers as well as foreign filmmakers. Said Glickman, “If you don’t give audiences the front door, they’ll take the back door.” IDG’s Patrick McGovern, the “father of venture capital in China”, revealed that almost all of his company’s VC is vested in Asia. Touting the focus and benefits of IDG’s China Media Fund, McGovern remarked, “This is an opportunity for us to work with young directors and producers in China.” IDG is a founding investor in China’s Sohu.com, among other “community-based” media enterprises that target shared experience. Wellington Fung of the Hong Kong Film Council commented on the advantages of Hong Kong’s status as a “free port city for creation and investment”, but cautioned, “Small and mid-sized movies with lesser actors and new directors are higher risk - they attract fewer investors and need more support.” Lawyer Stephen Saltzman of Loeb & Loeb (who will open a Beijing office soon), followed up on this point with the observation that film financing and insurance sources are drying up for independents in the face of the global economic crisis (tell me about it). In a nutshell for Hollywood, foreign money was replaced by Wall Street money, which then fell out. And while Chinese banks and distributors are beginning to get on board with their domestic films, U.S. banks and distributors are conversely pulling back. Said Saltzman, “You might get 20-40% of your funding without a presale, but how do you get the rest?” Responded Patrick McGovern, “Private equity.” IDG typically looks for an average annual rate of return of 30-40% on their investments (to the amusement of some Chinese executives on the panel), but McGovern confided his faith in the principle that “20% of your investments will make 80% of your returns” - hence the importance of a diversified portfolio of media investments. The necessity of completion bonds as a reassurance to investors was discussed, but this concept seemed foreign to most of the Chinese filmmakers, who typically create their domestic movies without them. On the topic of intellectual property protection Stephen Saltzman remarked, “If children grow up thinking that content is free, content providers will have to make their revenue through other streams”. (We’re already seeing this scenario come to pass.) One audience member raised the ominous question for filmmakers of what will happen when these self-entitled children grow up to be the next generation of lawmakers. In closing, the most encouraging observation with respect to co-productions is that the “passive” nature of these relationships has become an increasingly “active” partnership - to the creative and financial benefit of both sides.

The co-pro mojo continued on Tuesday with the “Chinese-Foreign Film Co-Production Forum” keynote panel. Director Han Sanping noted China’s 30 major-market cities and bravely predicted that box office on the mainland will be 30 billion RMB in 10 years time. Julian Alcantara continued his poignant mantra: “We need to appreciate how easy it is for a film the world knows to be a film the world has never seen.” Alcantara declared that co-productions must not only encompass the financial, but also the organizational, artistic and technical. Noting that many non-U.S. filmmakers must go outside of their country to achieve success, he asked provocatively, “Are you Chinese filmmakers… or are you filmmakers who happen to be Chinese?” Zhang Zhao, president of Enlight Pictures, commented that regional distribution systems are required to achieve the box office numbers hoped for in China. On the subject of the global appeal of Chinese film he remarked, “Animated characters may have an international appeal that exceeds that of live-action actors.” This led to the question of whether Chinese audiences themselves like to watch Chinese films. Legendary director John Woo declared (to the appreciative laughter of the room), “We used to have good films, but no audience. Now we have a huge audience, but no good films.” Woo continued: “Most Asian audiences are not interested in Chinese-made epic films. They are considered too heavy. Hollywood is considered ‘The Best’. People will watch Hollywood films in the theaters, and watch their own country’s films on DVD. So, how do we make films that bring audiences to the theaters?”

That’s the $100 million USD question.

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!

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.

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.

Don’t start your independent animated feature film without a review of this handy checklist covering the business of formation, development, production & post-production.

Nota bene the importance pitching your film project to distributors early on, and conducting test audience screenings prior to release.