Month: February 2010

When I first decided to launch the “Animated Insights for Non-Artists” columns, one area I wanted to delve into was the art of post-production in animation.  However, for various reasons, nothing ever came together.  Finally, things lined up so that I could get in touch with Jason Stiff, who is Director of Post-Production for Nickelodeon Animation studios and animated programs for The National Network as of this writing.  Previous credits for Jason include Post Production Supervisor on INVADER ZIM, CHARLOTTE’S WEB II, JIMMY NEUTRON BOY GENIUS, and the FATHERHOOD pilot for Nickelodeon Animation; STRIPERELLA and GARY THE RAT for TNN; ROBBIE THE REINDEER for CBS; and KING OF THE HILL for FOX.

 First off, I asked him to define post-production.  “Well,” Jason responded,  “literally it means the work that happens after pre-production and production of the project is finished.  In the animation world, it is what happens after the initial work is finished.  Some call it the ‘fix factory’ but anyone that works in post would resent that characterization.”  He continued by describing the process.  “After the script, storyboard, character design, backgrounds, color design, and timing of the show it is sent to Korea (in most cases) to be animated.  We then get it back (in digital format) we edit it together and make any changes necessary.  Music and sound effects are added and the show is completed.  Obviously that’s an amazing simplification, but it hits the bullet points.”

When asked how he got his start in animation: “I did some freelance animatic stuff with a friend when I first moved here, but my first real job was as a post production assistant for KING OF THE HILL at Film Roman.  As for how I got it…well, I got it the old fashioned way…a friend of a friend of course!  Yes, it’s true, nepotism is still alive and well in Hollywood!  Seriously though, a friend referred me to Film Roman and I was EXTREMELY persistent to hear my previous boss tell the story.  Eventually it worked and I was given a chance.”

As to how he moved from that position to Post Production Coordinator, and later Supervisor: “The setup on the show was that there was a Post Production Supervisor, a Post Production Coordinator and then myself.  Basically I just kept taking on more and more of the Coordinator’s responsibilities and when the opportunity to advance came, I was given the job. I worked my way up from the initial PA job, through Coordinator and then finally to Post Production Supervisor for King of the Hill.  I enjoyed 4 years and 5 seasons on that show.  It was an amazing experience working on such a challenging show.  I learned more there than I would have ever imagined.  KING OF THE HILL (and THE SIMPSONS) are still done traditionally (cel based ) and since it was a prime time show on a major network the emphasis on perfection was something that I really enjoyed.

 “Also, my supervisor and mentor, Loren Smith, (the person who hired me into the business) taught me things that I don’t know that I would have learned elsewhere.  Her attention to detail, her no nonsense way of taking on situations, and her way of teaching the process and ideas of post production were amazing.  She showed me how to do things not only technically but enhanced my ability to deal with people and multi task in an environment that is not forgiving when it comes to time.”

Not too long before this interview took place, Jason received a promotion to  Director of Post Production for both Nickelodeon Animation Studios and the animated programs for The National Network such as STRIPERELLA and GARY THE RAT.  “I’m really looking forward to getting further into it.  I think it’s a great opportunity to bring a singular structure to the productions as well as furthering the ability of the Studio to compete in a broad market.  We are looking to take the studio in an even more digital direction than it is now including DVD authoring and digital transfers of materials from overseas studios.”

 When asked what he enjoyed most about the post-production field, Jason said, “Maybe it’s the German in me, but I love the structure.  I really enjoy getting things in order and finding new ways to solve problems.  The animation that is done these days is getting more and more complex utilizing 2D/3D/Flash and other mediums.  This allows for some amazing work in the end…and finding a good and creative way to get there is fun for me.”  In regards to challenges, he commented, “[a]s with anything, we are limited by time and money.  Given an unlimited amount of each, we could do some great things.  Otherwise, it’s all about problem solving.  That’s a challenge, but a fun one.  It’s almost impossible to keep up with the technology, but luckily the outside vendors can do that for us at times.  Although, Nickelodeon is a real force in house as well utilizing both talent and equipment to make really high quality shows.”

I couldn’t resist inquiring if there was any particular memorable story Jason Stiff wanted to share about how the art of post-production improved or rescued a particular show he was working on. “Oh my, I can think of a hundred.  Really,” came the response.  “It’s such an important part of the process that without it, you wouldn’t want to watch what we first get.  The editors, composers and sound designers do so much to enhance and ‘save’ every single show.  I can’t praise the work that is done by these people enough.”

Another thing I was curious about was crucial he believes formal education was to your advancement versus on-the-job training.  Jason’s response: Personally I know that it helps me in life, but I can’t give it too much credit in my work.  Sure, it helps me to communicate with people and I suppose it showed me how to be organized to some degree, but I wouldn’t say I needed it to do what I do.  A lot of the people who do what I do have not had degrees.  It is such a specific science at times it can be learned.  However, the people that bring a creativity to the work (in the art as well as the thought process of how to get things done) are really the ones that make it in the long run.”

 Finally, I asked Jason if there was any other advice that he would like to share that had not come out as a result of any of the other questions.  “No, other than to say that I really enjoy doing what I’m doing.  I think that is important to getting the job done.  If you can’t enjoy it or you stop having a good time with it, you really should try to do something else.  This makes me happy and I hope to be able to continue doing it for a long time. Thanks for the opportunity to talk with you.”

Thank you for sharing your time, Jason.

(originally released on Digital Media FX)
 

A lot of growth in animated features in 2003 seems to be in the direct-to-video sector, so I decided to connect with Len Uhley, an accomplished animation writer whose credits include several animated direct-to-video features, and find out the realities of this aspect of the business. Len was a double Emmy Award nominee in 2003 as a member of the teams for two Warner Bros. Animation series, Static Shock and Ozzy & Drix.  In addition, one of Len’s episodes for Ozzy & Drix, “Where There’s Smoke,” won a Prism Award from the Entertainment Industry Council.  Besides his work on the direct-to-video projects discussed in this article, Len Uhley has written and/or edited eighty television episodes for Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, DIC, Mike Young Productions, Film Roman, MGM, Saban, Viacom and Renaissance Pictures.

When I asked Len how he first got involved with writing animation for direct-to-video releases, he admitted it was “through dumb luck, timing, and knowing somebody.  In this case, I have to thank Ralph Sanchez, with whom I had worked when we were both on the writing staff at Walt Disney TV Animation.  Ralph later became a creative executive and held a position at Universal Cartoon Studios.  Through him, I got a chance to do some series development there, most notably on a version of the Archie Comics characters.  In the course of that, I met Suzi Peterson, who is the Senior VP for Original Programming at Universal Home Video and Family Entertainment.  Suzi was responsible for the wildly successful Land Before Time home video features, and they were looking to do sequels to An American Tail as well.  She said to me, ‘If you come up with an idea that we like, it’s yours.’  I did, they did, and it was.”  He felt his prior credits vital to getting these assignments since he “had been a staff writer and story editor at Walt Disney TV Animation.  So I had a lot of ‘funny animal’ experience by the time I did the American Tail and Land Before Time projects.”

I wondered how much input he got on the storylines for An American Tail and Land Before Time, since they were already existing franchises.  “Each assignment was different.  An American Tail III (Treasure of Manhattan Island) was based on my original pitch.  The first version of An American Tail IV was by another writer.  However, the folks at Universal decided to take it in a different direction and asked me to rework it.  I used a few elements from the previous approach — a mouse-world newspaper setting, for example — but it went from being a caper film to a kind of a horror film for kids (Mystery of the Night Monster).  Eventually I ended up with the screenplay credit.”  His Land Before Time experience worked a little differently.  “Land Before Time VII (The Stone of Cold Fire) was an amalgam of a couple of premises I pitched.  Fortunately, Suzi Peterson and her associate Patti Jackson have great story sense, in addition to being very supportive of their writers.  So their input at every stage was superb.”

The length of a direct to video script varies.  “It’s a case-by-case basis,” says Len.  “Some of the animated theatrical screenplays I’ve read (e.g., Antz) were quite short, 80-90 range, very much a reading-draft/master-scene approach.  The scripts I did for Land Before Time and An American Tail were in the 110-120 range.  Long-form scripts for DIC are 140+, because they really want everything called out shot-for-shot.”

Many people view the animation theatrical market is next to impossible to break into, unless you have pre-established relationships with the studios, I wanted to see if Len thought that the direct-to-video market was equally difficult to break into or not.  ‘Actually, I think that both are ‘next to impossible.’  Granted, the established animation studios still do a few new home video projects that are very profitable for them.”  He went on to mention a few examples.  “Warners Animation turns out the Batman and Scooby-Doo films.  Disney does sequels to their various properties and promotes them as if they are theatrical releases.  Universal is still doing Land Before Time, which, as franchises go, is up there with Star Trek.  Artisan has released Mattel’s Barbie CG films, which I assume make everyone piles of money.  Then there are the folks at Veggie Tales, who produce such wonderful, funny stuff.  But otherwise, the market is very tight.”  Len continued by pointing out that if you “walk into a local Blockbuster or Hollywood Video… I’d be surprised if you saw a lot of new product that’s not based on pre-existing properties.  The studios say, why risk spending tons of money on something new and original?  They can make more money selling titles from their library, and that costs them almost nothing.”

“I can’t say that my experience is typical,” Len said when asked what he enjoyed most about his direct-to-video projects.  “Maybe somebody else has had a terrible time of it.  Still, I’ve developed Home Video projects at Universal, DreamWorks and DIC, and in every case, I worked for really sharp people, which made the experience very pleasant.  Another nice thing about doing direct-to-video is that, for better or worse, whatever you write basically ends up on the screen..  That’s less often the case in series television, where there are story editors and producers whose job it is to revise your script before it’s recorded.

“Let’s see, what else.  The studios generally spend a little more on the animation, so you end up with a product that looks good.  Also, because there is no Network Standard and Practices Department, there is less concern about being offensive or controversial, or worrying about liability issues (imitable behavior and so forth).  You’re left to exercise your own taste and judgment.  And, lastly, while nobody gets rich doing these, the pay is somewhat better than you see in Saturday Morning TV, especially lately.”

I asked if he had any advice for someone hoping to hone their skills to write direct-to-video releases for animation.  “Well, as they say, if it were easy, more people would be doing it,” he replied. “First, get an agent, because for some reason, that proves you’re a professional.  Learn to write in a lot of different genres.  If all you do is pre-school, try writing an action piece.  I started out at Disney writing for talking bears and ducks, but once I went freelance, I ended up working on a bunch of superhero shows.  You need to have samples in a variety of genres, particularly in the half-hour format.”

 “However,” Len added,  “I’d suggest against writing a spec animation feature.  People will read a live action spec for an animation assignment, but usually not vice-versa.  Read the trades and watch the video shelves to see who’s releasing product that matches your sensibilities.  Then have your agent (see, I told you it was important) contact them and see if they’re taking pitches.  Daily Variety has a sister publication, Video Business, which is a terrific resource for anyone interested in the DVD market, both live action and animated.  And again, write as much and as often as you can.  Preferably for money.”

Thank you for your opinion and insights, Len.