Animation in New York: The View From Baltimore

Last night ASIFA-East held a (very) well attended discussion panel on the state of the animation industry in New York City (read the official recap here). Thanks to the seating arrangement in room 502 at SVA, I managed to block about three rows of people, but they were very polite about it.

Linda beck acted as moderator and did an excellent job in that regard, pitching in questions and even responding to some from the audience. On the panel were Steven Conner, Howard Beckerman, David Levy and David Watchenheim (who spotted Mr. Warburton among the audience and promptly plugged his new book). All well-known in New York (especially David Levy, who apparently knows every single person in New York).   Coming from such diverse backgrounds, I anticipated a spirited discussion.

I wasn’t disappointed either (clocking in at 2 and a half hours, how could I not be). After a quick rundown on the backgrounds of each panellist, Linda threw pointed questions at them dealing with the challenges then industry has faced in the past. Howard had some of the best responses from a historical standpoint, having been in the industry for such a long time, as he explained to me himself, he’s seen it all before. There’s nothing happening right now that hasn’t occurred at sometime in the past; it’s just the industry as a whole has changed.

David Levy had some great advice from a career perspective which I’m sure the students who made up the vast majority of the audience greatly appreciated. Of course they should, David wrote this book, yes it’s an Amazon.com link. If you don’t own it already, then now is the perfect time. Another point brought up later on involved pitching ideas on which all the panellists had some good advice, and yes, David will soon have a book out on this too, you can get yourself ahead of the curve and pre-order it here.

Steven Conner started off rather quiet, but he was soon in full flow, giving his unique perspective on the industry in New York. he also provided honest advice and opinions on the current state of the industry and the very difficult challenges that he has faced in securing work, noting that New York is in competition with many other cities, and indeed countries, when bidding for work; either as TV shows or commercials.

David Watchenheim did a great breakdown on the technical side of things, explaining how flash came to the forefront as an animation tool. He also drew on his experience as a producer so that we got opinions from both sides of the fence as it were.

So what is the state of animation in New York?

Well, just like everywhere else in the world, the economic situation isn’t helping matters. With clients spending less money, budgets are down overall, but clients are also demanding more for their money. The increased competition in the marketplace isn’t healthy for business either.

TV production is also down. Nickelodeon closed their studio’s doors last year and since then, the independents have been taking up the slack (if any) in the market. On a related note, commercial projects seem to be lower. Howard Beckerman pointed out that in the past, animation tended to do better because companies spent more on advertising. However someone noted that this does not seem to be the case at the moment.

My involvement in ASIFA-East is coming up close on year (June, I think). In that time, I’ve learned that the animators of New York are an extremely plucky bunch. they’re tight knit, supportive (as Linda Beck pointed out, historically, no-one would have their own demo reel, relying instead on word of mouth), and extremely adaptive.

On a related note, Kevin Gamble brought up an excellent point on how finding people can be difficult if they don’t have a presence on the internet. he was looking for websites with demo reels. During the spirited discussion afterwards, I mentioned that at the very least, one should have a blog. Any eejit (even me) can set one of those up and get posting with artwork or demo reels and at least have a place where prospective clients or employers can gain valuable information about yourself.

So why is that New York seems to get pigeon-holed with commercials and pre-school animation? Like the panellists said, the talent for a great, hit TV show is there. All major TV networks are either headquartered or have a base in NY and are constantly on the lookout for new ideas.

I’d hate to think there is a stigmata that producing animation in New York is more expensive than anywhere else, and if there is, it’s severely misguided. Judging by rates a client was quoting to Steven Conner, New York sounds pretty good value for what you get.

Towards the end of the discussion there was a shift in the questioning towards why New York doesn’t seem to have any mainstream TV animation, such as The Simpsons. The point was quickly made that the talent is there and willing to do a show. Why the major networks (both terrestrial and cable) haven’t picked any up is anyone’s guess. I want to say that it’s location.

Viacom (or at least Nickelodeon) is headquartered in New York. That means the people making the decisions that matter are right on the doorstep, indeed you might run into them on occasion or attend the same functions they do. That can make a difference. As Linda pointed out, an executive from FOX flew over from LA and bought everyone drinks in order to get to know them. That’s fine, I do the same whenever I travel somewhere too, but unless I live in the city (or near to it) I won’t be in the regular contact with anyone, at least on a physical level. As people, we communicate a lot, but doing it in person takes on so much more meaning and creates a stronger relationship than one done over the phone or internet. I’m just gonna throw it out there that Atlanta isn’t exactly the center of the TV universe either, being far from pretty much all the main TV centres both physically and culturally.

So after all that what do i think? Well, I don’t know. Although I participate as much as I can, I’m still a civil engineer working outside the industry. All I can offer are my opinions on what I see looking in. When Howard Beckerman asked the audience if this was the 19th century and animation didn’t exist what they would be doing, I was tempted to shout out that I’d still be a civil engineer. Someone else shouted ’shoemaker’ before me however and the momentum was lost.

Let’s put it this way; if I didn’t think the animators in New York were as talented, creative and as motivated as they are, I would probably have never moved to the US. After a year and half of moving, I’d like to think I made the right choice.