Or so a long-time board artist and animation director told me a couple of months back. He works at one of the larger studios...
(I even think I mentioned it down below somewhere. But please don't ask me to find it.)
His complete comment to me went along the lines of: "Think about it, Steve. EVERY prime time cartoon show that's been successful has been created by an ARTIST. The ones writers have come up with have tanked..."
As a long-time animation writer, I was horribly offended. But I'm a politician now, not a shaper of descriptive passages and dialogue, so I smiled and looked agreeable. He rattled off some of the recent animated television shows that have died quick deaths: "God, the Devil, and Bob," "Father of the Pride," and a couple of others.
I honestly don't know who created these short-lived t.v. half hours. I know board artists were involved in producing them. I also know that writers under a W.G.A.(w) contract wrote "Bob," and writers under a TAG contract wrote "Pride." As to who created what at their respective births, I haven't a clue.
The director went on to cite the artist who created "Family Guy" and "American Dad" (Mr. McFarlane), "The Simpsons" (Mr. Groenig) and "King of the Hill" (Mr. Judge). I know that this is at least partially wrong, because writers were involved as co-creators.
Me, I think there's room for both writers and artists in the creation of hit television shows. And I think the evidence my director-friend put forth is at least a little inconclusive. Any opinions on this?
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
"There's Never Been A Successful Animated Prime Time Show Created By a Writer..."
Or so a long-time board artist and animation director told me a couple of months back. He works at one of the larger studios...
(I even think I mentioned it down below somewhere. But please don't ask me to find it.)
His complete comment to me went along the lines of: "Think about it, Steve. EVERY prime time cartoon show that's been successful has been created by an ARTIST. The ones writers have come up with have tanked..."
As a long-time animation writer, I was horribly offended. But I'm a politician now, not a shaper of descriptive passages and dialogue, so I smiled and looked agreeable. He rattled off some of the recent animated television shows that have died quick deaths: "God, the Devil, and Bob," "Father of the Pride," and a couple of others.
I honestly don't know who created these short-lived t.v. half hours. I know board artists were involved in producing them. I also know that writers under a W.G.A.(w) contract wrote "Bob," and writers under a TAG contract wrote "Pride." As to who created what at their respective births, I haven't a clue.
The director went on to cite the artist who created "Family Guy" and "American Dad" (Mr. McFarlane), "The Simpsons" (Mr. Groenig) and "King of the Hill" (Mr. Judge). I know that this is at least partially wrong, because writers were involved as co-creators.
Me, I think there's room for both writers and artists in the creation of hit television shows. And I think the evidence my director-friend put forth is at least a little inconclusive. Any opinions on this?
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5 comments:
It's a question that's been eating at me for a while as well. I can't really give out a good answer, but I hardly watch much TV anymore. :-)
Those "Artist" creators that were mentioned... Don't they write? Are they cartoonists that write, or writers that draw? Why is it necessary to create artificial boundaries? Isn't it all about expressing ideas? Can't we all just get along?
So many questions, so little time...
There's an animosity that percolates between board artists and writers which I've observed for years. (It came to a head in the 2000 contract negotiations, which, come to think of it, is a good subject for a future post. But I've seen it at other times in other places.)
I'm somewhat of an agnostic on the subject. I can't draw a lick -- much to my artist father's sorrow -- but I made my living in animation as a writer from the middle of the seventies to the end of the eighties. I got along fine with board artists at Disney, also at Filmation, but the dynamics were different then.
The prime time animated sitcoms are especially subject to petty turf battles. Writers are king on prime time and they don't like artists interpreting their scripts. They demand 100% adherence to what's written on the page--no matter how impractical and/or prohibitive for animation. These writers, who are usually live-action turks, are quite insensitive to the animation process and see artists as trying to edge in on their considerable power base.
While it's true that sometimes artists are as ego-driven and power hungry, the equation is so tilted toward writers in prime time that if they could replace all artists with machines or trained monkeys, they would.
On the othter hand, in much of feature animation the story artists ARE the writers as well as the artists who draw the action. Fact. There are many features with screenwriters---highly-paid WGA members--on the credits, but the truth is that the majority of the dialogue and business in the film was invented entirely by the story crew.
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