Starting an animation studio

[Daniel_Camp]

Hello guys,

I am looking to start an animation studio with a friend of mine. Wanted to know what is the best way to go about it. We both have no training in animation though both of us write comics and have worked in the film industry. Any advice would be appreciated.

[madkap75]

Study animation history and learn as much as you can about the studios of the past, and how they rose and fell throughout the years. Analyze events like the Disney strike and the closing of Warner Brothers, why they happened, and how they worked their way out of it.

The more you know about the triumphs and pitfalls of the past, the easier it will be to avoid some needless disasters.

-Ken Priebe

[Ken Davis]

If you have no training or direct experience in animation, then I strongly reccomend getting some.
There are small things that can sack your efforts if you make the wrong judgement call, and there's jobs/tasks that you'll be called upon/expected to know and if you are not intimate with the whole production process then it'll affect your business.

I used to own a studio, for only a couple of years before I bailed out, and it was a complex endeavour.
I learned it wasn't my cup of tea and going back to being a contractor or employee of another shop served my needs better.

To be successful at it, you really need to know your stuff--if not you are in for some bumps.

--Ken

[altar]

please explain how you plan to start an animation studio if you have no experience in animation? And I suppose you're talking about a production studio, not a service studio.
Ok, you have a great idea for a series in writing, right? And your plan is to convince a tv exec with that idea, take his money and then hire the best animators to actually start preproduction, is that it? Well, I don't meana pee in your korn flakes guys but that's not how things happen in this business.
My advice: if you think you have a great idea for a series and that you really have what it takes to write a scenario, scripts and all, then try to pitch that idea to an animation producer. TV's will never get into business with guys who have no background whatsoever and only an idea on paper.
Hell, there are dozens of seasoned animators and service studios who can't get TVs to buy their projects even though they have great ideas, bibles, character sheets, pilots... You can't really start a production house like you start a pizza restaurant!
If you want to set up an animation production studio, you have to really understand the business of animation, plus preferably have a rolodex full of people in the tv industry whom you know and who are prepared to listen to you because you have some credit.
However, if you're talking about a Flash series, a machinema series or even puppet animation or something like that, then if the result is fun and the budget tiny, you may convince some cable channel. I mean, it's been done..
Aaah kids nowadays!
Good luck anyway

[Daniel_Camp]

Thank you Ken and Madkap75 for the advice I have done that and I do plan to take some courses but I also plan a few things but thank you.

[Negative Sheep]

Man, Altar you really know how to dash people's hopes. So he should just not try, right? The truth is that alot of people who aren't "seasoned animators" have gotten the green light from the TV/Cable industry. In fact many of the most successful cartoons were created by people who did not have extensive backgrounds in the industry (Beavis & Butthead & South Park are great examples of this), which shows that it really comes down great ideas/concepts. Although there is a great deal of "Who you know" involved in this business (which might explain why there is so much garbage on TV) you can get noticed if your talent and ideas stand out above the rest. Go for it though, even if you start one just to have a studio to create/learn and not nessesarily make money right away.

[Ken Davis]

Advising caution in something like this is sensible.

There's been lot's of endeavours that kicked off with lots of hope and vigor, only to amount to piss and vinegar.
The scope of resonsibility that a studio owner has is not only to talent, but to suppliers, the landlord, banks, and even networks.
Not having experience in this field can mean the difference in success or failure, and at the least, it can be mean being around in 2-3 years or having some sly weasel abscond with the money.

It is, to be sure, not something to begin lightly, frivilously or without doing all the homework.

Like I said, I've done this before, my hat gets tipped to anyone who can pull it off successfully.

[Daniel_Camp]

Not to hurt anyone feelings but first there is a difference between helping and being rude. Alter was rude. First off I asked how to do a studio. No offence but I wanted to know just the basics before I go deeper.

Just to make things clear. I take classes before jumping into anything. Truth be told before I begin asking anything I do some research on what I want to do. Also what he said was rude. I do not know about anyone else but I am a 30 year old man that rns a publishing company. Even if I was 18 asking about this I would expect people to treat me with respect.

But Alter since you wanted to ask those things. I have people in the industry, I have actors of well known series and I think you need to start acting your age if you are older than me and if you are not then show some respect.

As for anyone else. Thank you. Ken thanks again. I understand I need training some but I plan to do it at the same time. I would like to know what you think of a CGI animation studio and would love to hear your opinion about it and what is the best way it could be set up.

[Ken Davis]

To be candid, I don't see anything Alter said as being rude.
I see it as being honest and blunt.

How sensible your idea is in reality will depend upon the business plan.
In this case a "few" pages document will not suffice, it'd be more like several dozen...or even a 100 page business plan. A 1000 page plan might even be the most sensible. At least.

I'm dead serious.

A CGI studio is going to require high-end equipment to get anything off the ground. True that a lot of it can be found in regular PC's and software, but for industry compatible set-ups, it'll take bucks.
That's a given.
I'd guess probably around $250K-$500K in gear at the outset. That's mean coin.

To my mind, a publishing venture is not a adequate prep for animation studio.
I just cannot see the comparisons between the two, and I've tried both.
The technical demands are far different and the education in the latter can take years.
I'd at least make a dedicated study in film first--all aspects of it, from editing to set design. Yes, even if you intend to do virtual material.

The real challenge is how to manage the work--that is to know how its being done right. If your start-up costs are limited, that all falls on your shoulders.
You going to focus on character animation, or effects?
Know what an exposure sheet is? Understand how to synchronize dialogue to lip movement ( lip synch)? Do you animate it in the box, or do you use motion capture? Those kinds of things ( and muuuuuccccccchhhh more)are important to know and understand--especially if you have new (inexperienced) talent working on the venture with you.
You can blow hundreds of thousands of dollars stumbling over the answers to these questions( on the job)--and they may not be covered in schooling.

I'm not trying to dissuade you........and I'm not trying to encourage you either.
You can make the choice to move forward on your own. I do think that giving you the favour of expressing "realism" is more valuable than "pats on the back" and "good luck".

--Ken

[Wade K]

Now I will offer my advice...

I have just put my studio "on ice". My friend and I had the same hopes as you do now, Dan. We have a combined experience of over 35 years in the business, him as a producer, me as a director. We had dreams of opening a studio, and producing QUALITY animation, in retrospect to the poor quality dribble that is produced in mass by most studios nowadays. We had contracts in the works (negotiation). It all seemed like it was going to work.

HOWEVER... An animation studio is a long-term investment. You cannot expect to open your doors, and clients will start coming and spending their money in your establishment, like a corner store, for example. Contracts take months, if not YEARS to lock down. A great deal of money is needed to finance an animated project, and clients do not come across that kind of dough overnight. After close to one year of negotiations and living with no income, and our down-payments being chewed up by the cost of living, we decided to throw in the towel and find jobs working for "the man" again.

I too do not want to dash your hopes. I would love to see you do it, but unless you are independantly wealthy, it is a pretty tough thing to do. Even with all of our experience, we were unable to make it work, and for you guys with none, I suspect it will be even harder. While I commend you on taking a couple classes, etc., to learn a bit more about animation, experience is KEY in the eyes of prospective clients. They want to know what projects you have directed/produced in the past, and will want to see your company demo (which I know you have not got). If you are going to do this, if I could suggets one thing, hire some really experienced people in the key positions (producers/directors/sales), so that you can use their experience as your selling point.

At any rate... I just wanted to further justify why others in this thread have been a tad blunt with you in their responses. They are just not beating around the bush, and I admire that, as that is how I too deal with people... It is EXTREMELY tough to make something like this work, and they are trying to help you out, and inform you of that before you invest a lot of time and effort and MONEY (you will need to invest a LOT) to try to make this happen. I would hate to see someone else try this, unaware of the set-backs, and have it blow up in their faces as it did in our faces. We thought we were aware, but I am afraid we were not, my friend.

Cheers, and good luck in whatever you decide.