Animation via an Independent Route

The N.Y. Times tells the story of a shoe-string cartoon -- in actual fact a descendant of Clutch Cargo -- that is trying to find love in Mainstream Hollywood.

... Dane Boedigheimer has created an online sensation that struck a pop cultural nerve. The “Annoying Orange” Web videos that he’s been rolling out for the last two years have racked up more than 800 million views on You Tube ...

But TV channels and movie studios have yet to bite on Mr. Boedigheimer’s videos ... “The reaction is always, ‘I see why it resonates in a bite-sized way on the Web, but how is this a full-blown TV show?’ ” said Dan Weinstein, one of Mr. Boedigheimer’s managers ...

Far be it from me to second-guess what will or will not click with internet viewers, but I can understand studio execs who might be a bit shy about green-lighting a half-hour of prime-time entertainment featuring cheeky citrus fruit with a superimposed mouth. An orange on a countertop works like gangbusters for two minutes on the laptop, but aboard the fifty-inch flat-screen in half-hour chunks, the static, verbal hilarity might be a tad tougher to sell.

But Annoying Orange highlights the challenges for any independent animator or film-maker: most of the pathways into Big Time Show Biz have gates and gatekeepers and lots of watch towers (with focus groups.) If you're a creator inside one of our entertainment conglomerates, you have at least a vague inkling about the right doors to knock on ... and the executives who might be receptive to your hot idea. And every so often in Cartoonland, studios actually solicit* story pitches from staff.

However, if you don't have a pre-punched, studio ticket or an agent, then YouTube becomes the way you market yourself. And maybe it leads to something and maybe it doesn't. But at least you have a goat path to success that isn't superintended by some thirty-year-old in a necktie and shiny jacket.

* Fred Seibert did the open pitch session thingie at Hanna-Barbera, Nickelodeon and elsewhere. Cartoon Network has also pursued open pitches from time to time. Imperfect though they may be, they have provided a way to climb the ladder for a number of animation creators.