Published by Joe on 16 Nov 2009 at 11:31 am
November 16, 2009
The Gatekeepers are on their way out.
Not to take anything away from the animated shows that slip past the gatekeepers, ( which many are great) But do you know what you are missing? You wouldn’t believe the great content that does not make it.
Let me give you a recent picture of executives at the top of a major network that used to make lots of cartoons. Shortly after arriving and clear cutting almost every show that wasn’t protected by a contract, they proceed to spend a million dollars on lavish offices for themselves, so they could say no in comfort while they were laying off artists by the truckloads.
Meanwhile, television budgets are getting slashed while executive pay goes up. What are we seeing on the screen? The burned out artist writer doing what they can to make something funny while these executives, who have no experience in animation themselves, scrutinize every panel and give notes.
Just like the way the consumer has started to vote with their dollars to make food healthier, ( Walmart is actually beginning to introduce organic foods) the cartoon fan should have a say in what they watch. That’s the beauty of this democratic forum called the internet. The people are slowly dictating to the gate keepers. Shouldn’t it be that way?
An executive at FOX at one point decided to cancel “Family Guy” ( and it was) but a huge response in sales of the Family Guy DVD showed them the fans didn’t want that. They brought it back and now Seth has his own stand-up comedy show. ( Don’t know how much I like that, but,,,, well,,, good for Seth).
If you don’t like my new stuff, fine,,, I’ll live with that, but at least I’ll put it out there with the money I have to work with and give it my best shot. You the audience will decide whether it lives or dies. But I’ll give it my all. And hopefully I’ll take some advertising away from the big boys. But more important, I want to create a place where I can give other creators a shot at providing some great entertainment for viewers.
I don’t want to diminish my gratitude for the networks that have picked up my shows in the past, I just get ticked when I want to continue creating stories with these characters and I can’t. ( Or fans of the show keep asking me to make more episodes, and I’m powerless.)
I guess I’m ticked off today about huge conglomerates control over our lives. We need to take it back.
Greg on 16 Nov 2009 at 11:51 am #
The creative field always seems like it’s dictated by execs who don’t really know anything about the processes involved. In my field (Flash development for medical eLearning), I’ll get a request for an animated piece with very loose guidelines. I’ll create something to show them and they’ll give me a list of 50 changes. I’ll make the changes and re-submit then they’ll give me 50 more. This process will continue until they get angry and outsource it to another company or finally settle on something. To them it’s just a simple “Well, make it completely different and we’ll let you know if we like it at the time.” but for me it’s a “Spend the day trying to create something they might like even though they don’t know what they like.” I guess unless you work for yourself you’re always just making what appeases the customer, though.
Corey on 16 Nov 2009 at 1:07 pm #
Amen sir!!
My question then is, if I am a creator, & I want to tell stories through animated characters, how do I then find the time / money to do it if the higher ups don’t have faith in me or my ideas? You have to make a living, right? I have a full time animation job right now, & I work on small bits of character animation after work & on weekends. It would take me a year to do just an 11 minute cartoon on my own.
It has to become a labor of love, but after time you may lose steam, have second thoughts about it, or life will just get too busy.
Anyways, I’m looking forward to your new cartoons !
Charles Brubaker on 16 Nov 2009 at 1:51 pm #
FYI that Seth MacFarlane stand-up was just a one-time thing that aired last Sunday.
But he’s more than well-off, since he has three animated shows going on at the same time (4 if you count his online-only show). Not to mention he’s the highest paid TV show creator right now. One could learn from his business practice, I guess.
Too bad there’s no Leon Schlesinger in TV now. Okay, I hear Fred Seibert’s hands-off, but he doesn’t have much power these days.
Joe on 16 Nov 2009 at 3:31 pm #
I know what you are talking about Corey. It takes persistence. Maybe break it down. My first film was two minutes, and did better in the festival circuit then my next film which was 11 minutes.
And, so Charles,,, how was it? Seth’s thing?
Joe Murray
Rich on 16 Nov 2009 at 6:15 pm #
Conglom-O…”we own you”
…Sounds about right
sarah on 16 Nov 2009 at 6:33 pm #
yes!! this is true it’s something that has always well and truely confused me. i have always seriously wanted to know the answer to this question; where do the big guys live? under rocks? because it baffles me how they only ever seem to produce mostly stuff which is, to be frank, shyte- and it just makes me think- surely it’s more simple than that- surely it’s as simple as- if you are REALLY that obsessed with making money ONLY, aren’t you going to make more money producing animation that animation fans are going to enjoy??? surely!! because the animation we tend to enjoy tends to be liked because of its god quality! i mean that being said i really ont know much about how it works, so maybe there is much more to it than that- but i still would like to get an answer one day.
it just completely and utterly baffles me how they see to think h, this will make us money over this, and i see stuff that is just clearly shite- no matter what age i am, i would not enjoy it. this is not to say however that there are a lack of good shows out there, we d get our fair share of good stuff i have to say- it’s just a real shock that there isn’t a lot of it!!
i’d honestly like to know the answer!!
i’m so sorry to rant! Dx \
and of course you are never going to make something that everyone can enjoy- but i think that people can respect other people’s work if there is some kind of quality to it. (although i dont know that family guy has much quality to it’s animation- and the jokes are pretty much re-hashes;;;; – but still, he makes people laugh- he makes me laugh! its entertainment for dull and rainy days, and i think that counts as a kind of quality.
Joe on 16 Nov 2009 at 6:40 pm #
You brought up a good point Sarah, about making a show everyone will love. Many times television will steer a show from a passionate niche piece, into a diluted mess to try and get it to appeal to ‘everyone’!
One of the nice things about the web is we can offer up content that may not be for everyone, but there will be enough viewers around the world to make it feasible business wise.
Thanks for all of these posts.
Joe Murray
John Joy on 16 Nov 2009 at 6:42 pm #
Hi Joe,
I have been following your blog for about a year, and have posted a few times in the past. I am impressed with your creative drive, something that I know is hard to keep alive when the harsh winds of criticism and human pessimism try to prevent any new growth out of fear and false assumptions.
I have some knowledge of the process of starting a business, and am aware that it takes a lot of hard work and patience to see it through. As you allude to in your post, sustainable, forward-thinking entertainment ventures must carve out a new path in light of current business practices that undercut the health of the entire industry and its future to ensure profitability for the few execs at the top.
If there are any ways to help support this new outlet, whether specifically KaboingTV.com or just a way to create animation that is fair to artists and allows the craft to thrive in new markets, please let us know.
Again, I respect your perseverance, and your decision to not merely complain about the current state of animation, but to use your talents to make a difference and inspire others.
Thank you!
John Joy
Joe on 16 Nov 2009 at 6:45 pm #
Thank you John. I appreciate this post.
Joe Murray
Arturo on 16 Nov 2009 at 9:52 pm #
Hey Joe! I know this has nothing to do with the things you’re talking about, but I really want to ask you this.
How do you keep your concetration in being an artist? How do you keep up the inspiration and the cheers up to continue your proyects? I have this problem with being constant with my proyects. I start them with full energy, coming up with many ideas, and when I’m at the middle, I loose all my inspiration and my cheers and my stories, (cause I animate and build the story at the same time) stay inconcluded and forgotten.
Also, I wanted to ask you, from your experience if it’s worth to take the risk to leave so much things to become an artist. I’m not sure if I must stay where I am, have a stable job and house or to take the risk and make the sacrifices it takes me to become one. And a last one, How do you start your proyects? Do you write first the story animate it and then colour it or do you draw and finish every single frame? I think that’s enough questioning for this time.
Finally I want to thank you for keeping this blog, you are a great inspiration for me, and i find your posts very helpful. Salutes from Mexico.
P.S. Although i said it was enough questioning, i promise this is the las one, What happened with “Fishead”? Is it going to be watchable at KaboingTV.com?
Bill Cass on 17 Nov 2009 at 1:47 am #
So the stories about the boneheaded execs ruining cartoon studios from the top down are true? Here I thought a certain other animator, who preaches about that almost daily, was just exaggerating or off their rocker somewhat.
Maybe it’s a good thing I held off on moving down to LA to pursue a career. Joe, I’m really glad you’re going the internet route, it seems like the healthiest choice for anyone who wants to do what you do. If you’re still accepting indie submissions into Kaboing! when I’m finished with my pilot, I’d love to submit it.
Joe on 17 Nov 2009 at 2:07 am #
I’d love to see it.
Joe Murray
Mr. Semaj on 19 Nov 2009 at 8:00 am #
The story of Family Guy is quite an interesting one. It was cancelled at a time when FOX was doing away with many other shows that were already finding an audience, including Futurama. Having watched both from the beginning, FOX HAS made it a chore to find either show, after they themselves greenlit them in the first place, yet the fans never gave up.
I don’t know. It’s almost like these people who are hired to manage entertainment companies don’t believe in entertainment.