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Chapter 11 Brave New World

lash has been around for some time now, but only recently have producers recognized it as an alternative tool for cre- Fating broadcast-quality . For those of you who have been working in Flash, it’s a great time to catch the wave. For those of you who are new to Flash, there’s good news too— Flash is easy to learn, and the sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll be part of the new production method. As more and more TV series and features are created in Flash, more windows of opportunity will open up for those who want to produce, create, and pitch new content. Studio executives will always be looking for great story concepts, but having a project that can easily be made in Flash will be an advantage as more studio executives get savvy to Flash production.

Flash empowers talented artists and producers to compete with larger studios. As Flash levels the playing field, there remain the same snares and pitfalls that have always existed in any busi- ness. Even though Flash can enable you to be one-man show, there’s only so much one person can do in one day. Creating quality animation is a Herculean task unto itself; throwing in ©2003 WB Online balancing checkbooks, answering phones and e-mail, keeping

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Web sites updated, marketing your one-man studio, and making sure you get paid will surely wear you down in a short time. When business starts to boom and grow on a daily basis, it’s almost too late to think of a business plan, so start early! As jobs come in and the process gets more complicated, prepare yourself to take on partners, employees, freelancers, accountants, bookkeepers, and so on.

If your goal is to create original content and sell it to established studios, networks, or film distributors, then a little homework is in order. For talented artists, coming up with creative content is the easy and fun part, but how do you get your stuff off your computer and into theaters or on TV screens and videos? There is a market for good content, but even a Flash production takes time and money to produce good animation. That’s the catch 22; how can you take the time away from your livelihood to produce quality animation to sell to buyers? Where there’s a will, there’s a way; teaming up with like-minded peo- ple is probably the first step in that endeavor. Also, doing your homework to discover who the buyers of animation are and what the market is paying for ani- mated films is another piece in the puzzle.

This chapter deals with peripheral concerns related to Flash projects. Flash makes it easier to create great content, but you still have to prepare properly to pitch your Flash project. You might have an investor willing to pony up the money for a Flash feature, but where do you begin? You might have created some really great Flash animation, but you need to figure out how to get it out there to the yearning masses of animation fans; how do you market your product? Going it alone on a project is a lonesome prospect; taking on partners might alleviate some pressure, but partners can also become a nightmare you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. So how do you prepare to split the Flash pie? Pitching

©2003 Frank Forte Billy Boy

For those of you who have not experienced the pleasure of pitching an animated series or feature to a room full of development executives, it’s not as bad as you might imagine. The trick to pitching (as it is with many things in life) is preparation. What I mean by this not only pertains to the obvious preparations for material things such as pitch bibles, but also to preparation from the very inception of the project. What are you creating? Is it a series, a feature, or a series that will spring from a feature (or vice versa)? What age group is your target audience? Will it be based in stop motion, CG, or 2D? What is the buyer/studio in the market for? If getting a series on the Disney Channel is the goal, naturally you should be savvy enough to save that raunchy adult-oriented cartoon series for another studio. 198 11_Hollywoodch11.qxd 2/19/04 3:47 AM Page 199

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Do yourself a big favor and call or e-mail the development team at a studio of your choice. Development executives are busy people, but they are generally eager to answer some quick questions, especially if it will save them the agony of sitting through a pitch for a project their studio would never produce. Ask them what sort of shows they are looking for at that time. You’d be surprised by how quickly a studio’s needs change. They’ll give you exactly the age group they’re targeting and whether they need comedy, action/adventure, or educational. Once you are armed with the knowledge of what the studios want, the next big step is coming up with a great concept.

What Garry Marshall once said about pitching was, don’t wear bright clothing and occasionally use a swear word to wake up your audience. My advice would be not to go in with an attitude and immediately tell them, “Let me tell you what’s wrong with your studio.” They don’t respond well when you talk down to them. You want to be confident about your project, but don’t go in with the attitude like, “Everything you guys make stinks. What I’m selling is much better.” The other thing, too, is to try to go to smaller studios; the big studios have no backbone to try new things. Sandra Bullock, the Wayans brothers, and Mel Gibson—these people are where the energy is right now. The only reason why Curious George is going to happen is because wanted to do it and no one is going to argue with him. Wild Things is being made because of Tom Hanks. The trick, though, is to try to find these people. But they are the risk takers. They’ll take your concept, put a writer and producer on it, and go out and get funding. At Hanna-Barbera I worked on Super Friends, Scooby-Doo, The Godzilla Power Hour, and Jan in the Jungle, but my biggest regret was that I missed the chance to work on The Three Robotic Stooges. I was so bummed because it was such an insane idea. I wanted to get in on that. The guy who pitched it was some executive who got the rights from the family of the Three Stooges. He went to Bill and Joe and said, “What was the greatest show of the past? The Three Stooges, of course! What’s the greatest show of the present? The Bionic Man! We’ll have the greatest show of the future! The Three Robotic Stooges!” Bill and Joe said, “Yeah. I like it. Let’s make it.” That’s such a great pitch. Co-Director of Animation, Osmosis Jones, Warner Bros. Animation

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The Concept and the Hook If I owned a scientific formula that could spit out the best concepts for specific audiences, I’d be writing this book on my private jet instead of in some crowded coffee shop. (It’s a nice coffee shop, though.) This is the million-dollar ques- tion: What’s the concept or the hook that’s going to make my cartoon idea a sure seller? Even though you might come up with the Holy Grail of cartoon concepts, chances are you’ll have to go through quite a few pitches before a studio executive recognizes it for its genius. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all industry. A concept that is outright rejected in one studio can be received with jubilation in another.

There’s really no trick to finding a good con- cept, but finding a concept on something that is of interest to you will make it easier. Good research is another tool that will better your odds at finding the right concept. In my inter- view with Warner Bros.’ Margaret Dean (please refer to Chapter 3), she touched upon the sub- ©2003 Banga U.E., Inc. and Cursed Entertainment, Inc. Surfy’s Law ject of the “hook”—the substance of a concept that makes it outshine others. We’ve all grown up with cartoon viewing as a mainstay of our Saturday mornings. We’ve practically seen it all when it comes to cartoons. We have been subjected to thou- sands of hours of cartoon plots, slapstick, Tex Avery takes, and coyotes falling off of unbelievably high cliffs. How does a creator come up with something new, something that’ll hook an audience? As I stated, work with subjects that interest you and do your homework on the subject. SpongeBob SquarePants’ creator, Steven Hillenburg, is a marine biology teacher, and Eddie Mort and Lili Chin, the creators of Mucha Lucha, are fans of Mexican wresting. If it worked for them, chances are they’re on the right track; emulation is the key word here.

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