Runaway Production
A few short weeks ago, striking animators went back to their drawing boards in Los Angeles. At least some of them did. Others who had joined the picket lines found they were not needed. It seems that the main purpose of the union action was to gain acceptance of a clause in their contracts, with producers of animated television entertainment films to limit runaway production but during the course of the strike some of these producers completed their network obligations overseas. This ironic twist has caused much unhappiness in a field that has already been jeopardized by demands for programs to be completed on shorter deadlines resulting in expanded layoff time between seasons.
One studio, Hanna-Barbera, which is a subsidiary of the Taft Broadcasting company, has attempted to maintain a staff throughout the years by putting theatrical features into production. One such effort, "Heidi's Song" will open during the coming holiday season, and another film, "Rock Odyssey" is being animated currently. Both films are fully animated, a departure from that studios traditional limited movement techniques employed to satisfy the huge footage demands of television. In fact one animator reports that the latter production is the heaviest animation he has ever had to contend with in a career that extends more than 30 years. All this production, no matter how complex, will not satisfy the job needs of the approximately 1600 animation workers in the Los Angeles area.
One woman who will not be returning to studio work after the strike and who is still annoyed at the producer's insistence on overseas productions, is studying to be a nurse. "I doubt they will be sending bedpans to Taiwan," she jokes.
A great deal of work has been sent to studios in Australia, Korea and Taiwan. The recent Disney film, "Tron," was made almost completely outside of the home studio. While much of the special effects work was done in California and New York, other aspects of the production employed scores of artists in Taiwan as was indicated by the many Chinese names listed in the film's credits.
Sending work overseas is obviously an attempt to get cartoons done at cheaper rates than are paid American animators. Perhaps the only way the strike could have been effective would have been if related television technicians refused to project American productions made overseas.
There is a bright side to this situation. Look what the Japanese have accomplished by adopting American business practices. They have become so successful that we look to them for guidance. I always thought that if it were possible we should have given them the transistor in 1938 and thereby avoided World War II.
The Japanese have succeeded because they not only manufacture good products at reasonable prices, but they have the vast American nation, the largest consumer country in the world to purchase their output. Unfortunately some of our own industry is suffering because of this competition, but there is a possible solution to the problem.
Japan now wealthy and prosperous must give us a helping hand. They should have us do their Saturday morning animation. We could be the recipients of RRP, Reverse Runaway Production. We gave them the transistor they should give us Speed Racer.
We could throw all of our knowhow into the breach. We wouldn't have to worry about unemployment in Detroit, we'll continue to buy Toyotas and Datsuns and simply put all of our auto workers into the animation business.
Working together in the good old fashioned American way, we will become the masters of Kung Fu and Samurai pictures. If this plan sours there is an alternate solution. As long as producers are sending animation overseas, why not give the Russians a chance to join the interchange. I always figured that if Russians were able to sell something in the American marketplace, they could become as successful as the Japanese and the West Germans, and they wouldn't have to worry about what happens in Poland and places like that. I suggest we give the Russians our television commercials to animate. It would be a lift for the stagnant Soviet economy and might create a renewed interest in commercials for a jaded American public. What television viewer would not perk up upon hearing those timeless advertising slogans given a new life. For American Express there would be, "Don't defect without it!," Eastern Airlines advertising department might wince at, "The Wings of Marx" but it might get recognition when placed adjacent to "The Detente Skies of United." Burger King could gain strength by the insistence of, "Have It Our Way!" I suppose the Telephone Company would feel a bit uncomfortable to see a Soviet tank turning the corner of a Warsaw street with the slogan, "Reach Out And Touch Someone" scrawled on its side, but just think how helpful it would be to have all of that military might on their side when they approach the Public Service Commission for an increase in phone rates.
Much of what I have proposed will probably be rejected by experts who refer to economies as the "dismal science." I'm sure we can come to some meeting of the minds once the experts admit that economics is no science, and, as you can see, it doesn't by necessity have to be dismal.
No comments:
Post a Comment