Producing Animation (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation Series.)

If, like me, you're someone who needs to learn about how this business works – in a hurry – you couldn't ask for a better book. Thorough, illuminating and very well written. Worth every penny.

Disappointing.

Okay, you bought every book out there on how to create animation and you have a project you're trying to produce. Well, up until now you would have to track down [costly] freelance producers to put together your budgets and schedules and lose a big percentage of your creation to people who don't hand out trade secrets for free.Not anymore! This book is packed with charts and diagrams of animation production that can be fit to whatever type of project you are planning on pitching. To the purist this book would seem to be the end of the world. Just because the book describes top heavy management doesn't mean we are obligated to follow [along]. "Producing Animation" lists every job out there, so we can pick and choose which ones are redundant and need to be streamlined.This book has no place in a purists library. If all you want to do is have your work viewed at experimental film festivals keep working with your small group of volunteers. But those of us who need a resource to take our ideas to TV or the theater need look no further, because as of yet there is nothing else.Thanks to Catherine and Zahra, you've probably taken much flack for putting this info out there for animators to buy.

I am an animation artist who has also worked as a producer and production manager. PRODUCING ANIMATION attempts to explain an under-researched topic, but also helps perpetuate the idea that you need to have five managers for every artist on an animated picture. Top heavy management and overproduced films that are in production before their story is set are the true reasons for the skyrocketing costs of animation in the past few years. There are some horror stories here, such as the 'executive' who thought he could rewrite dialogue...after the picture had been animated. The authors also decry an 'artistic supervisor' (could that possibly be a director?) who (oh dear) wanted to make changes. The executive got his changes. The artist, they imply, did not. They also claim that artists have to be told by production people when to give up their artwork so that they can meet the production schedule. So the blame for production delays is invariably placed on the artists, who are a 'rag tag team', not highly trained professionals. Portions of the book are useful: blueprints for schedules (nothing about 'complexity of the film' setting the neat little figures back though.) Anyone who wishes to produce animated films and who does not have any idea what the artists do on the project (and sadly that describes a good many producers) would do well to read the sections on the PRODUCTION PLAN and PRODUCTION CREW.There is one helpful quote at the beginning of this book from Warner Television executive Ken Duer. "...it would only make sense to let the directors direct and be creatively responsible for the project and let the producers manage and create a 'stage' for creative artists so that the artists can do what they do best."They didn't need to write any more about the 'function of the producer' after that. But it was amusing to see the authors attempt to justify the existence of a 'line producer' whose job descriptions are duplicated by the associate producer; and they actually admit that the associate-executive-in-charge-of-assistant-to-the producer titles are more a product of 'what an agent or representative is able to negotiate for their clients, wholly independent of their actual ability.'Artists, buy this book and read it. Know who you are dealing with. Producers, read it and learn, but have some respect for the artists. They are, after all, the ones actually producing something.

First off, it is important to note that this is not a How-To book on creating your own animation. Rather, it explains how an animation studio runs.This is an extremely helpful guide for those interested in learning the production process of an animated television show or film. The book begins with the development of the concept and describes the steps all the way through post production, also detailing the various people involved in each step and their specific roles. It distinguishes the differences between traditional 2-d vs. 3-d animation, and is also careful to point out differences between television, direct to video, and feature film. Also included in "Producing Animation" are helpful schedules that outline when different departments (such as backgrounds, animation, ink and paint, etc.) are working in relation to the the overall production schedule. The information on budgeting is limited, but overall a great way to start for the aspiring animation producer or production manager.

This is a truly path cutting, edge of the envelope publication for the industry. Well written, informative, accurate and incredibly well presented with useful graphs, tables, examples, etc. The industry has been begging (or too short-sighted to beg) for such a book. Though the authors obviously have a great appreciation for the most important part of animation, the artists (note the industry in which they've chosen to work, and the wonderful projects which they've help facilitate - IceAge, Land Before Time, Spawn, Aeon Flux!!), this is focused at helping to dispel the great lack of knowledge found in management and executive circles. This book is simply an amazing and critical compilation of knowledge about how animation gets produced. Everyone in the "business" of animation must read it, so that they better understand the world in which they live/work, and any artist working in animation would be better off with a greater understanding and appreciation of this side of the process!