Date: January 19th 2009
The Animation Options website has been updated with new information on our services. Please refresh the pages at http://www.animationoptions.com/ for the latest, including our popular new seminar series on animation story development. And be sure to check out our blog for the latest posts on the Chinese animation market.
Kevin Geiger
President & CEO
Animation Options LLC
kevingeiger@animationoptions.com
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YOU HAVE OPTIONS.
That's more that just a slogan or even a philosophy: it's a promise. My mission with Animation Options LLC is to share the production values that I have successfully applied throughout my own career - CLARITY, CREATIVITY, EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVITY and QUALITY - with keen insight, straight talk, constructive action and results.
In my work around the world, I've seen major resources sunk into uncompelling stories with no heart and no market position. I've seen production workflows that neither "work" nor "flow". And I've seen independent animation producers slog through the bloody trenches of production with no distribution strategy in place - no light at the end of the tunnel. You might be the CEO of an animation startup, looking to make your mark in the global industry. You might be the head of production at a major studio, seeking to optimize your legacy infrastructure and reinvigorate your team. Or you may be an independent content creator, in need of business guidance to accompany your creative development. Whatever your place in the inspiration economy of animation, I encourage you to entertain the possibilities of world-class results under any circumstances.
You've probably heard the phrase, "There are no magic bullets." - an epithet typically spouted by those who have run out of ideas, or are content to preserve the status quo in the guise of "realistic assessment". I can tell you from experience that there are magic bullets: proven strategies for transformative results in short order.
Are you ready to pull the trigger?
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ANIMATION PRODUCTION CONSULTATION
One stop shopping for comprehensive coverage.
Want to ensure that your production dollars stay on the screen and off the floor? Then put yourself in the hands of the animation industry veteran who can guide you from development and production, through crunch time, to the wrap party and beyond. Animation Options President & CEO Kevin Geiger has experience with the most demanding artistic criteria, technical challenges and delivery dates. He's been through it successfully from stem to stern, with the know-how to achieve world-class results within any parameters.
Surviving in today's animation industry requires fresh perspectives and visionary approaches: candid production insights delivered with straight talk and fearless application for improved quality, efficiency and profit. Animation Options' consultation services bring a unique breadth and depth of experience to the table. AO works collaboratively with your team to identify opportunities for improved quantitative & qualitative results in the near term, while keeping an eye towards future adaptation and growth in the long - all within the context of your particular goals, legacy infrastructure, schedule and budget. Serving as objective counsel, Animation Options LLC enables you to focus upon your core business, pursue your passion, and exponentially improve your internal conditions and your market position.
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GLOBAL NETWORK ORCHESTRATION
The global scope and complexity of today's animation industry depends more than ever upon fundamental values of trust and personal relationships: guanxi as the Chinese refer to it. This concept goes beyond mere referrals and rudimentary outsourcing to embrace short-term and long-term reciprocity within the context of cross-cultural business relationships.
Animation Options LLC maintains an extensive network of personal connections with highly-qualified and motivated artists, executives, technicians & service providers throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, India and the Middle East. Whether you're a content creator, production studio, investor, distributor or some combination thereof, AO can situate you within an orchestrated network of "best-in-class" professionals.
Global network orchestration consists of anticipating needs, assessing capabilities, forming relationships and serving markets. Animation Options' Kevin Geiger has his ear to the ground of a changing world in which a critical mass of talented individuals, enabling technologies and flexible organizations are creating a new paradigm for animation development, production and distribution. The world is your orchestra. Let Animation Options LLC help you conduct.
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PRESENTATIONS, SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS
Animation Options President & CEO Kevin Geiger's background in the traditional and digital arts & sciences combines with years of experience working on feature animation & effects films, teaching at the most prestigious art institutions, training traditional artists in digital technology within the major studios, and lecturing in such venues as SIGGRAPH, The Beijing Film Academy and the fmx conference in Stuttgart. The result is a wealth of artistic, technical, conceptual and organizational information delivered in contexts ranging from small group discussions to dynamic multi-media presentations before large audiences. Kevin Geiger's ability to verbalize complex visual and conceptual information in a clear, engaging manner is unsurpassed.
Featuring the latest:
"STORY, STORY, STORY!"
"Story, story, story!" You hear it all the time, but what does it really mean? What goes into a good story, and how do you create compelling content and characters that resonate not only domestically, but internationally? Why do some films break out, while others break up? Animation Options President & CEO Kevin Geiger presents the subject of story and character development from the independent producer's perspective - from the POV of the person responsible for facilitating the work of a story team.
The script is the soul of a film, and the quality of a script directly influences the success of the movie. At the heart of storytelling are the common appeal of stories, and the ability of stories to fulfill the human need for resolution. The desire to be a storyteller must be present. It cannot be taught, but it can be inspired. The screenwriter's life experiences make the story accessible, while technical knowledge and research of the subject are required for believability. Mastering the craft of storytelling is fundamental for the writer and the storyboard artist. Cultivating the craft of storytelling is essential for the director and the producer.
A well-written script remains true to its purpose. A potent scenario sets up a story's dramatic concept, its progression and its resolution. Effective story structure arranges dramatic, humorous and emotional elements for maximum impact: a sense of story "movement" is essential to a strong screenplay and dynamic storyboards. A good plot merges the concerns of the characters with the purpose of the story. The characters in a film must make the story's movement visible and tangible. A good screenwriter understands how the hero's point-of-view can make the story's path and resolution more fulfilling for the audience. In this respect, the storyteller is ultimately an architect of dreams.
"Story, Story, Story!" consists of the following three half-day seminars:
Story Concept & Characters
What is your story about? Who is your hero? And why will anyone else care? Find out why a great logline that hooks your interest and paints a compelling mental picture of the entire film is essential before you start writing. Examine the primary film genres, and more importantly - how to twist them. Learn how to create memorable characters who offer the most conflict, are in need of the most growth, have the most primal concerns, and are the most appealing: heroes we can identify with, cheer for, and learn from. And finally, get "the treatment" on the treatment.
Story Outline & Structure
Every story has a dramatic core - the foundation of tentpole "beats" that support the fabric of your film. See how this core and these beats exist in popular animated feature films, and how they can (and should) be applied to yours. Learn how to outline and interweave a film's "A" story against its "B" story, and examine the eight keys to great scenes: clear emotion, motivated conflict, visual storytelling, irony, mid-action start, forward momentum, dramatic finish, and sequential texture.
Story Boarding & Pitching
The script may be soul of a film, but cinema is a visual medium that ultimately benefits from a visual approach to story development. Find out how "story boarding" can be applied not just to the drawing of animated sequences, but to the foundational beats themselves - providing a "bird's eye view" on the structure of your film before and during the screenwriting process. Of course, after the "wind-up", you need the pitch! What goes into a great story pitch, and how can you tailor yours to the board room, the coffee house, and even the elevator? In this final seminar, we bring all the tools together and not only create a collaborative feature animation story from scratch, but then pitch it... live and unrehearsed!
See why Animation Options President & CEO Kevin Geiger was voted "Best Instructor" by the professional attendees of the Beijing Film Academy's 2008 National Senior Research Class in Animation Script Writing.
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