In The Swing In Beijing
- October 30th, 2008 -
Animation Options' Kevin Geiger has been settling into life in Beijing: consulting on the animated feature film "Road To Home", lecturing at various film festivals and conferences, and teaching a course on feature animation development, production and distribution at the Beijing Film Academy.
Kevin Geiger advises the "Road To Home" story team.
Kevin lectures at the Aniwow! 2008 Animation Festival.
Kevin's students learn about animation production the hard way.
Cultural Revolution, Take Two
- October 8th, 2008 -
Animation Options President & CEO Kevin Geiger shares his personal insights on the revolution in original Chinese animated content with Animation Magazine. (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.)
Challenges Ahead For China
- August 20th, 2008 -
Animation Options' Kevin Geiger was interviewed by Karen Raugust as part of her article for Animation World Network entitled, "Challenges Ahead For China", which focuses upon the state of the contemporary Chinese animation landscape.
Stuttgart Explores Its Options
- May 25th, 2008 -
Animation Options President & CEO Kevin Geiger spent a week at the fmx/08 conference in Stuttgart, Germany this May - hosting sessions, moderating a panel and presenting the latest version of his popular seminar "CG Production Principles & Practices: Keeping Your Money On The Screen And Off The Floor".
Kevin Geiger fmx/08 interview, part 1
Kevin Geiger fmx/08 interview, part 2
"A surfing penguin, an Anglo-Saxon hero and an Iranian girl enter a movie theater..." No, it's not the beginning of a joke, but the beginning of an apparent expansion in animated content beyond the realm of the cute and the Grimm. Or is it? The 2007 releases of "Surf's Up", "Beowulf" and "Persepolis" beg the question: "Is animation ready for a broader audience?" Or is it more accurate to ask: "Are animation studios ready for a broader audience?" Join us for a lively panel discussion that promises thought-provoking observations on both the question and the answers.
So went the introduction to "Is Animation Ready For A Broader Audience?", moderated by Kevin Geiger and featuring the insights of Paul Debevec (Executive Producer of Graphics Research at USC's Institute for Creative Technologies), the ubiquitous and inimitable Frank Gladstone, and Aardman Animations Co-founder David Sproxton.
An experienced and opinionated audience, including independent feature filmmaker Nina Paley, required little prompting to engage the panelists in thought-provoking dialogue on a range of issues related to the international development, production, distribution and marketing of animated films. Mr. Sproxton, Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Debevec provided an interesting triad of entertaining and sometimes sobering insights, and closed the session with optimistic outlooks on both the present and future of animated filmmaking.
How much of your money makes it onto the screen? Got a leaky pipeline? Is your workflow trickling? Does your team approach their work like a film, or like a science project? Are you paying your brain surgeons to dig ditches? Can you roll with last-minute story changes? What economies of scale do you employ? Are you satisfied with your production environment in terms of relationships, communication, adaptation and high-quality delivery?
Kevin Geiger tackled these questions and more in version 2.0 of his insightful presentation, "CG Production Principles & Practices: Keeping Your Money On The Screen And Off The Floor".
As Mr. Geiger put it, "The global animation industry is as competitive as ever, with merciless markets, unforgiving audiences and increasingly lean profit margins. Yet independent and major productions alike seem content to burn through money (and people) as though they have resources to spare. This sort of waste is so pervasive in our industry that it is routinely acknowledged with a winking “you-know-how-production-is” acceptance. However, it is not only irresponsible… it is unsustainable. It is also easily addressed through insightful, considerate and fearless assessment and action."
"CG Production Principles & Practices: Keeping Your Money On The Screen And Off The Floor" squarely addressed common production motivations and pitfalls, first examining human and organizational factors. Mr. Geiger then proceeded to cover workflow considerations and strategies, the establishment of balance, common heuristic assumptions, and the importance of clarity and adaptation within the studio environment.
A series of "Golden Rules" for production led into the characteristics of a balanced pipeline, an overview of a flexible and robust non-linear production pipeline, and specific departmental examples. Finally, the subject of asset management was reviewed with an eye towards organization, flexibility and "transparency" - Mr. Geiger's term for a clear view on the system. The presentation concluded with a "micro/macro" view on the production paradigm, and the synergistic orchestration of the parts into a cohesive whole.
An inspired audience responded to the session with an enthusiastic Q&A session, during which one European producer remarked, "This presentation should be required viewing for every industry executive, producer and supervisor."
Kevin Geiger Brings Options To China
- December 23rd, 2007 -
Animation Options President & CEO Kevin Geiger premiered his new presentation "CG Production Principles & Practices: Keeping Your Money On The Screen And Off The Floor" during a two-city speaking and consulting tour in China this December, his second visit to the mainland in the past three months.
On December 6th, 2007, an appreciative audience of Chinese animators, directors and producers eagerly absorbed Mr. Geiger's lively and entertaining insights on digital production: the distillation of years of industry experience in bringing world-class 3D animation and effects to the big screen on aggressive timetables and tight budgets.
Mr. Geiger's practical seminar not only dealt with the fundamental human factors and production principles relevant to digital animation, but also outlined scalable workflows and cutting-edge pipeline architectures designed to provide maximum flexibility and efficiency to productions of any shape and scope.
"This presentation was unlike anything I have ever seen," observed one Beijing producer. "Kevin Geiger's insights are remarkable in their clarity, and he speaks meaningfully to everyone from animators to investors."
Earlier in the day, Mr. Geiger was invited to speak at The Great Hall of the People, China's official parliament building located on the western edge of Tiananmen Square.
As a keynote speaker for The 2nd China Animation Development Forum, Mr. Geiger spoke to an audience of filmmakers, party officials and state media on the dilemma that Chinese animators face as they attempt to define their identity on the world stage while reconciling themselves to the profound heritage (and "burden") of Chinese culture - at the same time as they are drawn to an alluring but "immature" Western culture.
Mr. Geiger drew many nods of assent as he espoused the importance of "personal filmmaking" as a means not only to channel one's culture implicitly, but also to address issues common to people the world over, citing Chinese live-action director Zhang Yimou and Japanese animation director Hiyao Miyazaki as examples.
During a subsequent press interview, Mr. Geiger went into further detail on the subject, and also commented on the current state and future prospects of the Chinese animation industry.
The morning concluded with a round of greetings from aspiring animators and prominent studio chiefs.
The following evening, Mr. Geiger spoke once again at the Beijing Film Academy's 7th Academy Awards, in which he had participated as a juror.
After thanking his hosts and commending the filmmakers in competition, Mr. Geiger broke with convention and asked for the house lights to be brought up.
Mr. Geiger then asked every student in attendance to stand, whether in competition or not, and personally led a round of applause for "China's filmmakers of the future".
The electricity of this moment continued as Mr. Geiger subsequently asked the Academy faculty and staff to stand for a round of applause in recognition of their role as "the foundation upon which this future stands".
Following the awards ceremony, a beaming Beijing Film Academy Dean and Professor Li Jun Sun commented: "Kevin's speech really brought us together. It was a warm moment for everyone."
Beijing Film Academy Dean and Film Producer Li Jun Sun
After some story and pre-production consultation work for an animated feature in development, Mr. Geiger flew to the coastal city of Ningbo where he was honored as a Visiting Professor by Wenbin Wang, Dean of the College of Science and Technology.
In a more casual mode before an auditorium packed with enthusiastic students, Kevin conducted a lively session on the principles of cartoony 3D character animation, prompting one student to remark afterwards: "Kevin's talk was a lot of fun. He is like a cartoon himself when he speaks!"
The most rewarding time for Kevin came when he was able to meet one-on-one with the talented members of Ningbo University's newly-formed animation school, reviewing their work-in-progress, discussing cinematic principles and answering technical questions.
The department students and faculty were pleased to attend a press conference held in the lab with local television, radio and print media, during which Kevin publicly expressed his appreciation for the creative promise of these young filmmakers.
Finally - after two relentless weeks of speaking, meeting, feasting and traveling - Kevin took time out for an IV drip in a Beijing clinic before returning to Los Angeles.
