Forum - View topicINTEREST: Japanese Government Hopes Drawing Software Standard Bolsters Anime Production
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MarshalBanana
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Crext
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They should make a complete anime about animators that are portrayed in the same manner as Hayate the Combat Butler aka. constant "cause you're poor" jokes.
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Mr. sickVisionz
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I don't understand that as a solution to the poor working conditions. Or just interesting that they thought if we could just get file conversion down... |
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Primus
 Posts: 2761 Location: Toronto |
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inb4 toonboom becomes software of choice in japan
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Dr.N0
Posts: 149 |
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I am curious to see if Dwango will participate with OpenToonz.
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HannoX
Posts: 194 |
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I think one thing that needs to happen is for the anime studios to be partners (either as part of the production committee or partnering with one or two corporations) so they aren't just hired guns on a fixed contract, but get a share of any profits. That way the successful studios can get on a better financial footing and hopefully pay the animators more. Paying more will attract the better artists, which will result in a positive feedback of better productions more likely to turn a profit and a bigger profit, which in turn will attract more partners with more money, etc. But that would be a process that would probably take at least several years to make a real difference.
However, it seems the current model is not sustainable for the long haul. One big problem with the production committee is that too many are involved and have a say in the process. EVERYBODY has to okay just about everything. That not only slows things down, but can result in compromises that aren't in the best interest of the anime itself. Two sayings to remember: "A camel is a horse designed by a committee." "Too many cooks spoil the broth." I think a better method would be one or two corporations with money backing a studio, either financing the studio's original production that the corporation(s) thinks will turn a profit or taking their concept and money to a studio. Either way, a partnership is formed with the studio so it can get a cut of any profit. However, I think at least for a while there's room for both the production committee and partnership models. Eventually, the better model will win out and that could be a third model that arises. |
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hissatsu01
 Posts: 963 Location: NYC |
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If they had the funds available to be on a the production committee, there's nothing stopping them from being on it right now, and occasionally they are. But being on the production committee means risk. Whether or not the anime is a commercial success, as contractors they get paid either way. As members of the production committee, it means taking a loss. Given the shoestring budgets of most anime studios, a few failures, or even one particularly bad failure could put them out of business. So we're stuck in the current system of low risk and low reward. There are no simple solutions. If it was a simple problem to solve, it would be in everyone's best interest to solve it, but that isn't happening. The situation is frankly a little grim. |
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Haterater
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Seems like wanting more to cut out the middle people or just fewer people involved for more breathing room.
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HannoX
Posts: 194 |
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A studio wouldn't necessarily have to bring money to the table--they're bringing the talent to make the anime. One possibility would be they get paid to make the anime (the animators have to be paid whether it's a success or not) and then get a cut of any profits. It wouldn't have to be a large cut, say 10%. A studio with one of the better track records might get 15%. Once a studio builds up some cash reserves they might be able to bring money to the table as well for a larger share of any profits. The anime industry might be able to stagger along under the present business model for years yet, but there are plenty of stories about the present model not being sustainable in the long haul. The article we're commenting on states that's why the Japanese government is doing what it is in regards to a standard. Changes are already underway with Crunchyroll and Netflix not just buying streaming rights but investing money in the production of anime in return for streaming rights and I would guess for a cut of any profits like any production committee member. But the production committee model will hang around for years yet. Most Japanese companies are very conservative. But the industry will change and evolve or whither, though it won't die. The production committee model hasn't always been the way anime was made and it's unlikely to always be the way anime is made. The questions that have to be addressed and answered is what will replace it and when. |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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I think a prerequisite to improving pay is that the studios must remain profitable. You can't improve junior animators' pay while putting their employers out of business.. Currently it's not like the rest of the studio managers and salaried staff are making a killing either, as given how labor intensive animation (especially anime) production is, the money budgeted to them is thinly spread. The overall business model is a very tough to tackle so the lower hanging fruit is to ask, given a fixed amount of money provided by the producers, how do studios make better use of it? And one way is to address is the portion the man hours wasted just physically passing stuff back and forth, the old style of scanning in drawings, which need to be digitally processed anyways (i.e. the lines are cleaned up and modified digitally, digital painting, etc) and part of the impediment to that is forming a standard for intermediate working formats that animation software all agree on. Here is one sponsored article about an anime studio (established by a westerner) going paperless and making the production environment less stressful in the process with ToonBoom. They compare it to the dominant player in the industry, Celsys' Retas which had a market share of about 95% https://www.cartoonbrew.com/sponsored-by-toon-boom/toon-boom-harmony-brings-traditional-anime-life-digitally-156439.html |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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Like hissatsu01 mentioned, there's absolutely nothing prventing that from happening and indeed a handful of studios do finance their own projects. But let's look at that fact and some of the investment made by local publishers. Out of 200 anime shows every year how many do they finance and not just license? Literally just a couple. That's it. And of the very small handful shows they finance what has changed? Well, as far as we know, nothing has changed. And even for those, they don't fully own or even get a voice on production of the IP either (it's mostly they pay in return for exclusivity in distubition) I mentioned all of this before, but production committee model will not ever go away. It's just any other business. Many businesses are funded from outside startup capital because few can start up on their own. Any other business model will complement it, as it currently does and can right now. Even the previous article about producer of the Kemono Friends mentioned that it will compliment rather than replace this model. You have to think of this from the investors' point of view: what incentive there is for them to do anything different? Also, the fact that we have so much quantity and such a huge variety of anime is due to the current model. If you want to see a world without a production committee at all and where studio's fully produce and own their titles and provided staff royalties with high union pay, look no further than the commercial American animation business and what kind of shows they produce. If we apply it to Japan, then Instead of anime like Chihayafuru and Shirobako, all you'll get is companies like Toei literally just making Pretty Cure and Sunrise will only be making Gundam. |
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hissatsu01
Posts: 963 Location: NYC |
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That sounds like a fantasy. Why would anyone be so kind (and extremely charitable) to anime studios? They're not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, it's a business. They don't have hearts. In the end real money has to be used to pay for things. Suggesting that anime studios should get a cut of the profits without having to put up capital for the production of the anime is going to be met with a lot of derisive laughter at the first production committee meeting where that suggestion gets brought up. You're asking companies to give money away because it would be a nice thing to do for the poor animation studios. To expect that to happen seems naive at best. |
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Mr. sickVisionz
Posts: 2173 |
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The first issue they address to improve working conditions is one that suggest that animators aren't productive enough to have better working conditions so if we can just get them to be more productive... Maybe that actually is the issue, but from all the articles I've read it never really seems like animators just aren't being productive enough and that's why the working conditions are so poor. |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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No you misunderstood me or I wasn't being clear. I meant that in order to improve working conditions, the studios need money and/or time. Since they aren't going to change the business model anytime soon (and any other different negotiations will likely just be a handful of cases), that means the only way to gain extra money or time when the studios--the animator's employers--can't increase the budget since the producers--the studio's employers--won't increase it, is to get that extra money or time by being more efficient. It's not a matter of working hard, since everyone already is very much, but rather trying to do more with less. |
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