DreamWorks Animation's Lakeside Building, located in the magical burg of Glendale, California.
I whiled away the morning at the cartoon studio that hugs the shore of the Los Angeles River, wandering the Lakeside building. As I've mentioned, the structure (seen above) is undergoing extensive renovation and enlargment (a bunch of hit films will do that) ...
A couple of the lower floors, still occupied by artists, have hammering, drilling and floating dust. Happily, the artists are through the worst of it as the loudest construction is done at night ... and the employees have now been offered other relief:
"We've all gotten noise neutralizing earphones, and they help a lot. Wish we'd gotten them a couple months sooner than we did ..."
So work on Monsters and Aliens continues merrily along, with the irritating workplace noises (mostly) blocked out.
I found out one other fine thing. A feature director informed me that for the past several months DreamWorks Animation has had its own Starbucks.
Its own Starbucks. This places DreamWorks on a par with the Disney lot, that has its Starbucks in the Frank Wells Building.
And people say the big corporations don't care.
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Except that the decision was made to have a Starbucks in lieu of a new exercise facility. Gee, thanks.
Glad Dreamworks is expanding. Maybe they can hire all the animators Disney just fired.
Wait a minute.
Disney just fired a bunch of animators? I thought they ramped up for Bolt and Princess?
In the meantime, PDI Dreamworks to the north (the arm of the studio responsible for most of those hit movies) is in a typical office building in a typical office park, sitting on the edge of a salt marsh. Nice.
Anonymous #1,
If they put in a gym instead of Starbucks, then maybe the employees would get in shape and be able to get their fat butts out of the chairs.
This is just bad business practice. Keep 'em weighed down with lattes and cookies, so that they can't get up from behind their monitors.
>>> "In the meantime, PDI Dreamworks to the north (the arm of the studio responsible for most of those hit movies) is in a typical office building in a typical office park, sitting on the edge of a salt marsh. Nice." <<<
Wait, there are two different DW Animation studios? Which ones did PDI Dreamworks do? And in any case, wouldn't they share?
^ I meant, "Which movies did PDI Dreamworks do?"
Dreamworks does take care of its people and has been extremely loyal to them unlike their neighbors.
Well, Panda was made "down here".
Panda was IMO the best film Dreamworks has made, so they deserve that Starbucks. ;)
And yeah, Disney just fired their animators? When was this?
Disney firing animators (after a project's completion) should not be news to anyone at this point.
Only a noobie would find it surprising.
Rufus.
Disney is not firing animators. Disney is choosing to not permanently keep the animators that it hired for Bolt's crunch time.
From what I understand these animators were hired only for Bolt with the possibility of being hired long term. Only a select few are actually getting hired for the long term.
A Starbucks, huh? Maybe that's why the films are so hyper.
the films are hyper because if you cram enough assplay gags together, six year olds won't realize there's no story or character development.
Yes, there are two DW studios. PDI became DW when they were bought out about 10 years ago.
The NorCal folks are treated very well, no argument. But the campuses simply don't compare.
The NorCal crew is just fine, thank you. But the building SUCKS, and when everyone moved in, management complained when everyone started decorating their cubicles.
No wonder there are a TON of really great caricatures around of jeffery yelling and whining about this.
Which movies did the PDI folks do? I know they made Antz at the very least.
And to 3 anonymous posters before - DWA's work with Panda is not close to the wretched quality you are descibing. Gotta give props where they are due.
When I was up at the DreamWorks/PDI building in Redwood City back on Shrek 2, I thought it was a nice facility, and I never heard anyone complaining that it sucked. I thought it was actually an advantage having the entire crew under one roof, and I absolutely loved the gym and the climbing wall (even after I ripped up my biceps tendon).
I also recall the studio sponsoring a cubicle decorating contest at the time. Did I hallucinate that?
Kevin - how dare you bring reality into this discussion when everyone would rather go on rumor
you bloated, pampered shtunks over at dreamworks should go into katzenberg's office and tell him to spend all this money on story. I'm being a dreamer here because we all know animators have no balls.
"I'm being a dreamer here because we all know animators have no balls."
You mean "animators who are at major studios have no balls" and that, i agree with.
>>"You mean "animators who are at major studios have no balls" and that, i agree with."<<
What's that smell? Oh yeah, sour grapes.
No. The cubicle decorating contest was a lame response to the fact that management had warned the artists to NOT decorate their pods, and really pissed off the artists. Hence the nasty jeffery caricatures (which made the ones of him at Disney look NICE!).
Now, back to your hallucinations.
Good gracious.
While I was out, people got snarky.
No one has sour grapes about not working at a major studio. Its the great artists that reject that status quo and the LAME ones that tow the line and convince themselves that their position in a huge conglomerate that should incite nothing but praise from all other people in the animation community.
The fact of the matter is that you are deluding yourself if you think this. Nearly all of the the greatest artists of the industry are those who bucked the system, whether its Brad Bird storming out of Disney or Nick Park washing his hands of Katzenberg's meddling and walking out to pursue his own vision(the man has garnered more Academy Awards than the entire Dreamworks studio).
How could anyone with balls have sour grapes about being a nameless faceless cog in a the machinery of a major studio. A guy making his own shorts in his free time and selling hot dogs during the day has something at the end of the day that your position will never ever give you: work that he owns.
So tow that line. Dance at the end of that string. Everyone acknowledges who runs the show at the studios. Everyone knows is cross eyed bean counters making creative decisions and at the end of your career you'll figure out whether your retirement plan compensates looking back and finding hardly any integrity in the fact that you are one small name on huge list of people who helped someone much less talented than you become rich and famous.
Or you could break out and pay your dues while pursuing your own vision, but that would take balls wouldn't it...
Ahhh, but to be so young and naive again. So full of art school BS ready to set the world on fire.
Sorry to hear you no longer work at a large studio, if you ever did. Given your justifiable pride in your personal accomplishments of creating your own work, I wait with bated breath to see the fruits of your ruggedly individual labor. Please do post a link so I can be inspired by your achievements, throw off the shackles of my corporate employment, and join your commune.
Commune? I suspect the only memebrs are him and his girlfriend Rosy Palms. It ssems clear that's the type of production he has going...;)
Keep towing that line! You're at the top of the world working at a major studio in LA!
You have no say, no voice, and no guarantee you won't get screwed(its all about leverage don't you know). Hooray for you.
...and this is how everything stays lame. The corporate dorks gang up, wink at each other, and grab their ankles tighter for a boatload of cash.
dreamworks...eh.
It all could have been so good.
The anonymous poster is right in one regard, the greats that we admire are the ones that challenged the status quo. Brad Bird is where he is because he stormed out of Disney. I don't think there is anything wrong with a gainful employment at a huge corporate studio per se(you gotta pay the bills and take care of your family), but the way those places are run... the decisions that are made and who makes them... presents a compelling case that the artists check their balls at the door.
*ducks for cover*
It makes for an interesting discussion. Not so much a heated argument.
"How could anyone with balls have sour grapes about being a nameless faceless cog in a the machinery of a major studio"
I'm not nameless, and I'm not faceless, nor are the hundreds of extremely talented animators all across the major film studios. In fact, many of them are downright famous within the animation community. (I dare you to ask a random person on the street who Brad Bird is, or even John Lasseter for that matter)
I think it's a great honor to work for many of these companies, even if some of their decisions are questionable, and driven by money. But hey, thats life buddy. Not every major film idea is a good idea, just like not every independent short film is a good one. In fact, I'd say the ratio of good films vs bad films for major feature vs independent, skews in favor of the major film studios.
And, just to point out, you only named directors in your example. If you want to be a director, yes, you have to buck the system and do some flexing to prove you have the guts to run a show. But, as for me, Im completely satisfied being a "regular old animator," breathing life into characters, day in and day out. If you call that "having no balls," then so be it. Im a eunuch. But Im a happy eunuch. And I'm extremely proud each time my name rolls in the credits and my kids point and say "dad! there's your name!"
Good luck with your short film and aspirations, I hope you do well. But please think next time before you make a crude statement about your fellow animators on a professional blog site. Dont forget, cogs that we are, we can still probably animate circles around you ;)
"I think it's a great honor to work for many of these companies, even if some of their decisions are questionable, and driven by money. But hey, thats life buddy."
Whats so honorable? Explain the honor of the Dreamworks legacy. I don't understand what it is. And come on man, lets be honest, you're working there for the money.
i know far too many artists at the major studios that are there for the money. and there's nothing wrong with that. They may not be happy but they have their bills paid.
I use to be one, but many films later I love my independence and creative freedom. But some one has to be in the herds of talent needed for these 180M plus animated features. And I'm glad we have them there as well.
Firstly, I dont work for Dreamworks. There's plenty of other "major studio, ball-less" animators you're insulting with a blanket statement like that. Pixar. Disney. Sony. Dreamworks. Blue Sky. Aardman. Vanguard. Warner Brothers. Fox. Not to mention all the other shops like Animal Logic, RH, Tippett, ReelFX etc etc etc. Im sure most of them really like their jobs.
This is a pretty immature argument I'm letting myself get into, but my point is that it *does* seem like you're trashing "big studio" animators to make yourself somehow feel better about what *you* do, and that's fine. That's why I said sour grapes. But if you really dont have sour grapes, then why bother calling other animators names at all? You think it's the animators faults that the stories at feature film studios dont match your excellent standards? It aint easy to make a film, even with complete creative control and unlimited budget. So dont go snarkin' around claiming that it's the talented animators who have the guts to buck the system, when in reality, making films is a difficult collaborative process that sometimes works and sometimes doesnt. The road to a bad film is paved with good intentions, and talented people my friend.
But the bottom line is, YES, it's an honor. It's very fun to work at these places, and the honor comes from the joy of collaboration with all these fine people, and ultimately producing something many people love. If you can't at least see that, then there's no point arguing.
I have respect for independent filmmakers AND major studio film makers, even if I dont like the films. And frankly, so should you.
it's not the animators faults and this is not the forum for the true problem. I always walk away from Dreamwork's pictures saying "Well, at least it LOOKED good. Much talent to be sure. But Dreamworks and Disney have decision makers that are hacks and don't really deserve their positions. Pixar has people that truly deserve their respective story positions and the leaders that let them shine unlike the somewhat fascist approach at Disney and Dreamworks where one stale guy at the top is experimenting clumsily but has the advertising strength to cram the mediocrity down the public throat.
I think we're all missing the point here...THE DREAMWORKS COMMISSARY FOOD IS FREE!!!
As Disney tanked at the B.O. with Treasure Planet and Home on the Range, people there still fanned the flames of their pride at being part of the magic, when it was just part of the tragic. The sad meeting with the directors of HOTR asking ANYONE to come up with story ideas that would save the film was scary. That film cost $110 million? And this was AFTER the artists got cut back to scale? Uh-huh. We were far along in production when this happened. Originally titled "Sweating Bullets" with more of a ghostly air to it, the film got mangled and watered down by the politically correct cowards to the point where it was a stagnant mess. THEN they call us, the great unwashed masses of pencil and mouse pushers, to attend a meeting to listen to the directors ask us to do THEIR job for them (i.e., save the film). "We know you're busy cranking out animation to meet the endless drumbeat of QUOTA, but in your spare time could you feed us your ideas that we'll make sure you don't get any credit for to save this film before we lay you off?" Hmmm...this is getting snarky. What was the original topic? Starbucks? I'll take a grande latte with two extra shots.
>>Dont forget, cogs that we are, we can still probably animate circles around you ;)<<
Are circles really that hard to animate?
"But Dreamworks and Disney have decision makers that are hacks and don't really deserve their positions"
EXACTLY.
That is why i think criticism of the big studios is valid and needed. I didn't denigrate studio artist insomuch that I was denigrating whats was stated there(and in the the last post above.
but ANY criticism of the big studios in here, get met with a venomous string of anonymous posters alleging that anyone who dares to criticize their workplace simply isn't good enough to work there. And anyone who calls bullshit on the process that heaps money and credit on those executives without any visions gets lambasted by the insecure thralls from the halls of Dreamworks or Disney.
Its like that post from weeks ago where a writer confided online about how backwards the production was on Kung Fu Panda and a half dozen petulant pricks from Dreamworks chime in to defend the honor of Jeffrey Katzenberg. Why?!? Jeffrey Katzenberg doesn't need you to defend him. He doesn't even pay you enough to defend him.
Here's a fact: when you reach your autumn years and you look back at a body of work consisting entirely of studio films, you aren't going to be so eager to heap adulation upon those studios.
Take/make time to create work of your own(while still working at a studio). You'll be swimming in regret if you don't - and the industry suffers when you don't as well.
Do;t be a company man. Don't be complacent with the output of the huge studio.
All you art critics can simmer down. I'm being creative. I've just written dreamworks next feature. Working title: "Caffeine stoked high polished turds." It's about chocolate bunnies who do alot of yelling but never develop. It won't be memorable but parents can use it to distract their kids for two hours!
I agree. But what got me riled was an anonymous poster targeting the ANIMATORS, and implying nothing good comes from major studios because they wont "stand up" to the shot callers.
>All you art critics can simmer down. I'm being creative. I've just written dreamworks next feature. Working title: "Caffeine stoked high polished turds." It's about chocolate bunnies who do alot of yelling but never develop. It won't be memorable but parents can use it to distract their kids for two hours!<
You wish you could write a film...this thread is pretty much cooked thanks to hacks like this. Good night, Dave Bower, National Comedy Inc.
...and scene.
On the issue of wether it's an honour or not...studios bank on their reputation to offer as little pay as they can. As if it's such a privilege to work there...
Ask Pixar, or Dreamworks or Disney.
Rufus.
Actually Disney laid off a great many animators that were staff, not just project hires. Management came up with a “new and improved” review process that gave them free reign to ax many people, regardless of seniority, talent or skill. After praising the animators for their amazing work on BOLT, certain underhanded supervisors rewarded their peers with what amounted to career-damaging, terrible reviews. We suppose this was to further their own careers, and prove to management where their loyalty lies. Supervisors were also to be reviewed as a matter of fair policy, but somehow that didn’t quite happen before more than a third of the animators had already left.
The bloodletting was astonishing, even for Disney. Some of the most experienced (and therefore most costly) animators were systematically chosen for the chopping block to improve the studio’s current bottom line. They were summarily shown out the door with a coke and smile. Other talent escaped to other companies when they saw an opportunity. Interns are replacing their mentors in a cost-saving measure. Naturally, morale has hit the sub-basement level. It could not be any lower.
Sadly, despite the Pixar acquisition and celebrated proclamations that promised a “new culture at the Studio”, Disney continues to cut artists instead of mid-level management. It was, after all, mid-level management that made catastrophic decisions prior to the Pixar acquisition. Now that mid-level management has succeeded in entrenching itself deeper than ever, the future of animation there looks bleak. The dysfunction pervades every nook and cranny, and lurks behind every cubicle. THAT part of the Magic Kingdom is more like an Evil Empire – hardly the happiest place. So watch your backs, friends. When mice feel threatened, they eat their young.
And Walt has left the building.
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