I roamed through Sony Pictures Animation this morning, chatting to artists who are riding that tricky steed called "Change" at the studio.
Cloudy with Meatballs is still on course to go into production, and various other projects are in work, but it hasn't been an easy time in Culver City.
As previously noted, there have been personnel shifts at SPA, founding execs Penny Finkelman Coxe and Sandy Rabins are executives no longer, and different projects have fallen in and out of favor ...
As one artist said to me:
"Management expected more business for Surf's Up. They didn't think being the third or fourth penguin picture out there would hurt, but it kind of did. So now they're doing some second-guessing of themselves, and we've all had to work with that."
The good news is, with the changes at the top, Sony now seems focused on getting more projects in development and keeping the division in business. I'm told there's a long-term plan to get more competitive with other animation studios. If true, this is a good thing, yes?
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Dreamworks was better off when Penny and Sandy hit the pavement, Sony Animation will be better off now that they are gone from there too. Maybe the new team will know enough to hire talented artists and then LET THEM DO THEIR JOBS without a snow storm of "executive notes" for people with SVP, EVP and VP after their names.
[B]I'm told there's a long-term plan to get more competitive with other animation studios. If true, this is a good thing, yes?[/B]
Not if it means outsourcing, like DTV or Imagi.
"Not if it means outsourcing, like DTV or Imagi."
Or Disney Animation Studios (formerly Disney Feature Animation) . Why are Disney hand-drawn features being outsourced , but not CG features or the Pixar CG features ? Why second-class citizen treatment for the new hand-drawn Disney features ? Would Ed and John EVER consider outsourcing animation on a Pixar movie ?
So Sandy's completely out too? Who's in charge there now?
> Would Ed and John EVER consider
> outsourcing animation on a Pixar
> movie ?
Yes. They just don't know it yet. ;-)
Don't you think it matters a little bit which parts of a film are being "outsourced"? Is it a huge hoohah if final cleanup or inbetweens are given to people available to do this now-rare job if those people happen to be scattered to the 4 corners of the world, literally?
Because AFAIK the key animation and assistant work at Disney on their 2D feature is being done in house, not outsourced.
"Why are Disney hand-drawn features being outsourced , but not CG features or the Pixar CG features ? "
SIMPLE: because the staff to do all the CG work in-house at Pixar are already there, in house, ready to it.
At Disney there haven't been 2D animators working there for several years-almost all their former 2D animators(with some rare exceptions)are now fully engaged doing CG work on movies actively in production. So, DAS has had to go from zero to full 2D production for one film.
A totally different situation from Pixar, obviously.
A lot of the former clean up crew in Orlando switched jobs! You name it, real estate, teaching, game design. A few reamin doing clean up on who knows what....
R.
I know that this post is old and cobwebbed, but it should be noted that Jenny Fulle - the head of production over at Imageworks is resigning her post. I've not heard who they are replacing her with but lets hope this change brings a more artist friendly enviroment to what has been oft time referred to as an animation and FX "factory".
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