Animation Blog

Rob Mack from Sydney has posted a couple of questions upon my invitation to ask questions regarding getting cartoon series produced and funded. Below is his original post and my answers to his questions.

Hey guys, Rob Mack from Sydney here, thanks for the opportunity to discuss taking the leap. I have been chipping away at an animated music video concept for quite some time now which I plan to release by end of 2010. I have solid 3d skillset as well as fairly thorough training in aesthetics and business.

I’m leaning heavily toward edgy rather than cute and am wondering for a start what other traits a team of say 4 characters should have… I’m working on back stories and interpersonal dynamics and my goal is to have them all stylised enough to be recognised as a unit as well as empowering them each with purposeful individuality.

Also, with funding, did you sell your ideas? What rights did you retain to the Intellectual Property?

Thanks again for the opportunity to discuss this here at Mediafreaks;)

Cheers
Rob

Rob’s Question: I’m leaning heavily toward edgy rather than cute and am wondering for a start what other traits a team of say 4 characters should have… I’m working on back stories and interpersonal dynamics and my goal is to have them all stylised enough to be recognised as a unit as well as empowering them each with purposeful individuality.

Aldric’s Answer: For edgy, different people have different definitions of edgy. What is your definition of edgy? How do you see edgy? I need to know so that I can give you better feedback. On a common basis, a team of 4 characters should encompass:

1) The Alpha Male – who’s usually the charismatic leader who has a flaw in his character which he will have to overcome to become the true leader

2) The Good Friend – who’s brilliant and full of ideas, but physically weak in comparison to the rest. He might grow from a selfish, cowardly individual to become one who faces adversaries in the face to help his friends

3) The Muscle Man – who’s strong, silent and a bit slow mentally. Physically strong and powerful, but more subsceptible to being the butt of jokes by The Good Friend.

4) The Female – who’s usually The Alpha Male admirer and the most athletic of the bunch. She’s usually the calmest of the lot and in many instances, balances out the raging male egos in the group.

These are very stereotypical definitions of the characters and may not be very suitable for what you are looking for. However, there is a formula to this sort of writing. You can actually tweak and play around with the above characteristics and give them a twist to make them more unique. For example, the muscle man – instead of being dense – can be an intelligent Hercules. The Alpha Male can be a has-been hero who’s now living solely on past reputation and needs to recover himself.

Rob’s Question: Also, with funding, did you sell your ideas? What rights did you retain to the Intellectual Property?

Aldric’s Answer: With funding, there are several ways things can go. Most of the time, animation studios or producers usually want to purchase all rights off you. The first thing they usually try to do is to procure all rights from you for a fee. This means less hassle – as they would not have to work out any royalties for you in the future. If you have not done a lot of work yet you may want to consider this if the fee is attractive and fair to you. Consider it a lump sum payment for whatever work you have done so far.

If you are steadfast and do not want to give up any rights however, the funding party will gauge if they want your property badly enough to go through the pain of negotiating rights with you. This can be a very long and tedious process for both parties involved and this is best dealt with by engaging a good entertainment lawyer. Even then, you must be prepared that negotiations can break down anytime and you are left with a bill to pay to your lawyer. Many a time, studios will deal you a very lengthy contract that swings heavily towards their favour. The best way to gauge whether they are fair is again – to consult a lawyer. But if you really cannot afford a lawyer, then look at the conditions you asked for and see if they acceded to them. Of course you must be also fair in gauging if your conditions are reasonable. Chances are if you become to difficult and unreasonable to deal with the funding party will find this too much of an ordeal and discontinue talks with you.

For individuals seeking investment from funding parties, I strongly advise being more flexible with selling away your rights but retaining a perpetual royalty on the property for every single exploitation – even when the property is sold to other parties in the future. Investors want absolute flexibility in assigning the rights of a property, but they don’t mind paying a royalty.

In our case, we are an animation studio. We deal our cards differently. We do not sell away any rights most of the time. We usually want to retain ALL RIGHTS. However, we will share the revenue generated through property which resulted through the investment. For example, if we are seeking 50% investments for producing a 26 episode cartoon series, we will share 50% revenue that generates through the sales of the cartoon series. We also share revenue through merchandise that results through the cartoon series. The figure can always change and is subject to negotiation and several push and pull factors you may or may not bring onto the table for negotiation, but that’s really a complex topic.