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The Animation Industry: Technological Changes, Production Challenges, and Global Shifts

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The Animation Industry: Technological Changes, Production Challenges, and Global Shifts THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY: TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES, PRODUCTION CHALLENGES, AND GLOBAL SHIFTS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Hyejin Yoon, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Edward J. Malecki, Adviser Professor Nancy Ettlinger Adviser Graduate Program in Geography Professor Darla K. Munroe ABSTRACT Animated films have grown in popularity as expanding markets (such as TV and video) and new technologies (notably computer graphics imagery) have broadened both the production and consumption of cartoons. As a consequence, more animated films are produced and watched in more places, as new “worlds of production” have emerged. The animation production system, specialized and distinct from film production, relies on different technologies and labor skills. Therefore, its globalization has taken place differently from live-action film production, although both are structured to a large degree by the global production networks (GPNs) of the media conglomerates. This research examines the structure and evolution of the animation industry at the global scale. In order to investigate these, 4,242 animation studios from the Animation Industry Database are used. The spatial patterns of animation production can be summarized as, 1) dispersion of the animation industry, 2) concentration in world cities, such as Los Angeles and New York, 3) emergence of specialized animation cities, such as Annecy and Angoulême in France, and 4) significant concentrations of animation studios in some Asian countries, such as India, South Korea and the Philippines. In order to understand global production networks (GPNs), networks of studios in 20 cities are analyzed. Animation studios in these cities have formed different types of networks - some global, some local, and some both global and local. In addition to ii seeking lower production cost, other factors, such as institutions, business culture and cultural contents have affected the geography and strategies of animation studios throughout the world. Keywords: cultural industries, animation industry, world city networks, global production networks (GPNs), technology, computer graphic imagery (CGI), globalization iii ACKNOLEDGEMENTS I could successfully complete this dissertation thanks to my advisor, Dr. Edward Malecki. This dissertation would not have been possible without his patience, encouragements and thoughtful guidance. He is not only a great advisor but also a wonderful person. He is the reason that I joined the program in the Ohio State University. I am deeply indebted to him. I am grateful to my committee members, Dr. Nancy Ettlinger and Dr. Darla Munroe. They provided me with invaluable advice and inspiration, and encouraged me to succeed in a whole new environment. Particularly, Dr. Ettlinger encouraged me to think and look outside the box and Dr. Munroe was so great in supervising me that I could stay on track. I thank Dr. Becky Mansfield and Dr. Larry Brown for their thoughtful comments at the early stage of this research. I also thank Dr. Kie-joo Hyung and the faculty members in the Department of Geography Education at Dongguk University for their mentoring and support. I express my thanks to the Department of Geography at the Ohio State University for the support. I also owe a lot to my friends, Jae-Yong, Hyowon, Myong Jin, Hyun, Yongwan, Ho- Seop, Gunhak and their family. In addition to these people, I am also grateful to my iv colleagues in the department. I also wish to thank to my friend Eunhye for her cares for me. Upon completion of my dissertation, I would like to thank my parents who gave birth to and raised me, and my parents-in-law who did the same thing for my husband Woonsup. My beloved husband and my family including Hye-eun, Joon-han, Yuna and Yu-seung deserve my sincere gratitude for their support and sacrifice throughout my life. v VITA March 18, 1972 Born – Seoul, Korea February 1996 B.A. Geography Education, Dongguk University, South Korea February 1999 M.A. Geography, Dongguk University, South Korea 1997~1999 Administrative Assistant, Department of Geography Education, Dongguk University, 2000~2001 Researcher, Department of Urban Management, Seoul Development Institute 2002~2003 Research Associate, Center for Urban and Regional Analysis, The Ohio State University, 2003 Teaching Associate, Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, 2004-2005, Research Associate, Center for Urban and Regional Analysis, The Ohio State University, 2005~2007 Teaching Assistant, Department of Geography, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS Research Publication Park, S.A., Lee, S.H. and Yoon, H., 2001 The Policy Alternatives for Government Contracting Out in Seoul, Seoul Development Institute, 2001 vi Shin, C.H., Kim, R.H., Yoon, H. and Oh, E.J., 2000, Promotion Strategies of Cultural Industry in Seoul, Seoul Development Institute, ISDN 89-8052-212-6-93320. Park Y.G, Kang, H.S, Song, Y.P. and Yoon, H., 2000, The Research of Agglomerative Venture Firms Region in Terms of Ecosystems, The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Yoon, H., 1999, The network formation of small agglomerative industrial district, Space and Environment, 63(3): 41-52. Yoon, H., 1997, The understanding of producer services, Journal of the Association of Korean Women Geographers. 3(2): 33-36. FIELDS of STUDY Major Field: Geography vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................... iv VITA.................................................................................................................................. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................viii LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi Chapters 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................ 5 2.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 5 2.2. Cultural industries................................................................................................ 6 2.2.1. The growth of cultural industries.............................................................. 6 2.2.2. The distinctive characteristics of the cultural industries........................... 8 2.2.3. Cultural industries vs. Creative industries .............................................. 12 2.3. World cities and global cities............................................................................. 14 2.4. Global production networks............................................................................... 17 2.5. Summary............................................................................................................ 19 3. THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY ............................................................................... 22 3.1. Introduction........................................................................................................ 22 3.2. Cel Animations .................................................................................................. 24 3.2.1. From New York City to Hollywood (1887-1930) .................................. 24 3.2.2. Expansion of the Market: depression of theatrical market and increasing demand on TV (1940s-1988)............................................................................ 26 3.2.3. The second heyday of the animation industry (1988- ) .......................... 29 3.3. CGI (Computer-generated Imagery) animations (1990s-2007)......................... 30 3.4. Worlds of animation production ........................................................................ 34 3.4.1. The diversification of animation production........................................... 34 3.4.2. The diversification of animation production........................................... 36 3.4.3. The characteristics of animation production........................................... 42 3.4.4. Other production places: China and India .............................................. 45 3.5. Conclusions........................................................................................................ 51 4. DATA AND METHODOLOGY............................................................................... 53 4.1. Introduction........................................................................................................ 53 4.2. The Animation World Network Data Base........................................................ 54 viii 4.3. Methodology...................................................................................................... 58 4.3.1. Business type .......................................................................................... 59 4.3.2. Animation specialty, style or technique.................................................. 60 4.3.3. Types of animated work.........................................................................
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