ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

10 years, 5 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

The great thing with animation is that it's international (easily dubbed, especially if you can provide an M&E mix) - however, series might be an easier sell than a one-off. If you're winning festival gongs, and they're good festivals with real buyers attending, that's probably your best time to try to sell the film.

10 years, 5 months ago - Marlom Tander

Examine the market.

How many one of animated shorts do you see in Cinemas?

How many on TV?

How popular are they on VOD (and what is the revenue?)

Are other countries more animation friendly (I'm sort of guessing France and Japan perhaps but I don't know). If so those are comps you really want to win.

Estimate the cost of sale. (Which is the cost of attending festivals to pick up your gongs over and above the costs you'd be prepared to pay simply to pick up the gongs. Maybe an extra day or two for meetings?) 200 here and 200 there and a few festivals in you're talking real money, so do the math and be able to write it off. And if you can't afford it, stick to the festivals you'd attend anyway, for the time you'd attend.

Personally I think that such a high profile prize winning short would be much more powerful as a marketing tool, a calling card, for something more commercial - adverts perhaps (lots animated) or of course, a series.

A channel with an arts brief might go for a series along the lines of "Modern Animation", so if you know other prize winning people doing good work that could hang together under a common series title, sound them out so you have a response for the C4 or Sky Arts guy you meet at Cannes cocktails when he tells you he loves your film but can't buy a one off animation...

good luck

10 years, 5 months ago - Trevor Hardy

Hi Beau, I see you are from the UK, in short, UK funding for animation is almost gone. This country is a joke when it comes to supporting up and coming talent. I too have tried to find possible funding for an idea I had, I know it is hard to hear but in this country this is how I see it. If you are an established compant like aardman, then the likes of Ch4 or bbc wil give you a very special little 'Aardman' budget, because they know they will get there mnoney back on world sales and royalties. If you are new,,,,F..K off!!!! They do not care how good the story is, they do not care how passionate you are, they do not care you are struggling...there questions, "How much can we expect to receive on merchandise rights"? What is the expected veiwing figures on this (So they can get advertising on board) again me and you, the first answer they hit is "Don't Know"? still trying to make it in the industry....What's the target Audience figure on Wallace and gromit...Shit loads, what's the mechandise return figure on Wallace and Gromit, Shit loads....OK let's make another Wallace and Gromit. Harsh but true mate. Look up Animation funding on google, they give you 'Crowd Funding as a funding example...bloody cheek, in other words, Go and sponge off ya familyand friends....Good in it. My advice would be, if your idea can transfer across to a different country, in other words thier humour, thier tastes, I woiuld shoot it in that direction. Good Luck. Trev.

10 years, 5 months ago - Animate Projects

There's chance of some financial return, but how much use that is to you depends of course on how much you've spent making and marketing in the first place. And as Marlom says, attending festivals isn't cheap. I'd say there's minimal chance of a UK broadcast sale - C4's Random Acts is the main place for animation shorts on UK tv (if there's any other place at all) - 3' max.

Elsewhere - http://eu.shorts.tv/ http://en.unifrance.org/catalogue/acheteurs-CM.pdf