ROBERT LENCE: Every story needs to be set free
Robert Lence is behind films as different as Beauty and the Beast, Shrek and Toy Story. During his career, he’s worked in the art departments of Disney, Dreamworks and Pixar studios. What is the secret of success and quality? Are these two things related at all? How has animation changed in the last twenty years and why is it interesting to come and teach at ANOMALIA? What motivates you to come to the Czech Republic to Anomalia? I like creating stories, making them up and discussing their form. And I like helping others come up with their own ones. I like getting to know the amazing things hidden in other filmmakers’ minds and supporting them to discover their strengths and make full use of their ideas. Every story needs to be set free from one’s mind and cleaned before we can expose it. This creative process of discussion and searching is inspiring for both them and me, and that’s why I really like coming to Litomyšl. In the Czech Republic we often wring our hands over the fact that we don’t have the funds to be able to afford as expensive animation as the Americans. But people from the […] ...
Canary Islands Film: “We are animation” Inspiration for an Animation Cluster
On 26th February 2019 the Association of Czech Animation Film (ASAF) organised a meeting with representatives of an animation cluster from the Canary Islands at the Spanish Embassy in Prague. “Tourists are the main source of income for our economy. However, the government realises the need to diversify the economy and offer a perspective of interesting application to young people too, so in 2015 it decided to focus on the animation industry. This sector has a future. In addition, it is an environmentally friendly industry, which is important for our little paradise on earth here, ” as Natascha Mora explains the motivation behind establishment of Canary Islands Film. The organisation is established and run by government agencies represented by Natacha Mora (Government of the Canary Islands, Culture Sector), Pila Moreno (PROEXCA agency for the internationalisation of the Canary Islands and attracting strategic investments) and Sabita Jagtani (Canaria ZEC agency promoting investment within the Canary Islands tax zone). The main objective of the Canary Islands Film is to create favourable conditions for animation production, e.g. through film incentives in the amount of 40% to support the outsourcing of local studios or tax advantages for setting up new companies or subsidiaries. As […] ...
Czech Producers Visiting Animation Media Cluster Region Stuttgart
In connection with the Association of Czech Animation Film’s long-term strategic focus on increasing the competitiveness of Czech animation and the economic performance of individual subjects, an excursion to the Animation Media Cluster Region in Stuttgart, Germany, took place at the end of last year. Stuttgart is one of the most industrialised areas in Europe. Thanks to Mercedes and Porsche car manufacturers, many tens of thousands of people work in the automotive industry and employment in the area is predominantly dependent on this industrial commodity. The government of the German state of Baden-Württemberg is therefore trying to develop other industries too and, similarly to economists in places like South Korea, are turning their attention to the “leisure economy”: the development and production of audiovisual works, especially animation and digital postproduction. Representatives of the creative industry in cooperation with the public sector (government of Baden-Württemberg) aim to set up a cluster of companies that will offer high-quality animation and visual effects services to clients from all over the world. The idea to visit the cluster in Stuttgart (AMCRS) stemmed from a growing need to bring new impulses and trends to animation in the Czech Republic, particularly from developed markets. As the […] ...
First Edition of CEE Animation Workshop Brings Together Renowned Names in Script and Promising CEE Filmmakers
The first module of the year-long CEE Animation Workshop will take place from November 30th to December 6th in Ljubljana and will focus on content development. Invited tutors who will guide the participants are two experienced script advisors Rita Domonyi and Phil Parker. The group sessions will be led by Ewa Puszczyńska and Ole Wendorff-Østergaard. The workshop will bring together 12 animated projects, including 4 feature films, 4 series, 4 short films, and 5 participants without project. MEET THE SESSION EXPERTS Two SCRIPT CONSULTANTS will work individually or in group sessions with the project teams, helping them to formulate the voice of their story in the best possible way in terms of dramatic structure, genre and story arc. Rita Domonyi started her carrier in animation at Varga Studio, where she became the Creative Development manager of the company. She is also the teacher of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, and gives script editing lectures on the Faculty of Animation Studies. Screenwriter and creative producer Phil Parker has developed original content in over twenty countries demonstrating there is a global capacity for new concepts. His clients have included Aardman Animation (the Oscar winning Wallace and Gromit – Curse of the […] ...
Visegrad Animation Forum Is Rebranding into CEE Animation and Opens Call for Pitch of Animated Projects
Visegrad Animation Forum (VAF) has been the largest platform for the animation industry in Central and Eastern Europe. Over the course of its six-year existence, it has managed to build a strong base of film professionals and welcome over 150 participants from all over Europe in Třeboň every year. The Central and Eastern European region operates on very similar historical, artistic and economic fundaments. That’s why it is the organisers’ ambition to broaden the platform by including other countries, increase the range of activities, and umbrella all of that under the new CEE Animation brand. CEE Animation Forum – formerly known as VAF Třeboň From 6th to 9th May 2019, a traditional pitching competition of animation projects will be held in three categories: short film, series / TV special or feature film. Selected authors will have a unique opportunity to consult projects with invited experts, get valuable feedback and advice on how to improve their presentation, script, or production strategy. Competition participants can secure a chance to find a co-production partner by presenting it in front of more than one hundred film professionals – including producers, TV programmers, festival directors, distributors, investors or representatives of national film funds. They all come […] ...
Europe’s best to deliver lectures at animation distribution seminar
Among the confirmed speakers at a seminar being organised by the ASAF in three weeks’ time – on 1.2.2018 – are leading experts in the field of distribution of animated content in the EU. Participants in the seminar will therefore enjoy a unique opportunity to get insights into the strategy of a company that has won Distributor of the Year awards for a series and a feature film at Cartoon Forum and Cartoon Movie. The first speaker is television producer Tom Van Waveren, a three-time Emmy nominee. He is the CEO and creative director of CAKE Entertainment, chairman of Animation Producers Netherlands and deputy chairman of Animation in Europe, where he works to improve support for the development of the European animation industry. One example of his work is the distribution strategy of the series Angry Birds. Paris-based US producer Eleanor Coleman, of the company Indie Sales (Best European Distributor at Cartoon Movie 2015), will discuss her experience of distributing the hit animated film My Life as a Zucchini. Also sharing his experiences will be the French producer Lionel Marty, who specialises in animation for children at the distribution company APC Kids and is the recipient of numerous international awards: […] ...
Seminar on animation distribution to raise Czech films’ chances abroad
The importance and potential of distribution in the era of digitalisation will be the focus of a seminar organised by the Association of Czech Animation Film on 1 February 2018. It will present trends in animation content, models of cooperation between producers and distributors, the future of television and digital broadcasting and the prerequisites for global distribution. It will also offer insights into what type of content distributors tend to be interested in and, for instance, what European feature films need to do to succeed on international markets. The seminar is intended for specialists such as independent producers, artists and representatives of selected distribution and television companies from home and abroad. Participants will acquire know-how with regard to current trends, challenges and opportunities in the distribution of animated works. Distribution represents the deciding factor as regards the further direction of Czech animation and bears a fundamental influence on the development of story ideas and screenplays. Alongside traditional channels of distribution, such as cinema and television, a range of new distribution channels and end digital devices are developing at a rapid tempo. Being aware of them enables Czech producers to become involved in foreign co-productions and can boost their chances of […] ...
Animation film producers from Central and Eastern Europe signed the Ljubljana Accord
A new initiative under the name CEE Animation Workshop brought together twenty-four independent producers of animated films from sixteen Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries. They came to Ljubljana to network, consult, learn and share their producing experience. Throughout the workshop, all participants discussed the current situation in animation and identified potential common steps to encourage and support the growth of the animation industry. These steps and strategies have been summarised in a document signed by all participants, namely The Ljubljana Accord. This year, the European Commission developed the Animation Plan For Europe, published in September 2017, which aims to invigorate the animation industry in the entire EU. Independent producers from the CEE countries, for the past few years gathering at the Visegrad Animation Forum, share the view that steps for the future need to be defined by a common voice that would represent the specificities of the CEE region more accurately. The CEE Animation Workshop has brought producers from the CEE countries together for the first time. The degree of importance of this event was immediately recognized even by Creative Europe Desks – MEDIA offices. “CEDs from a total of nineteen countries agreed to pull their forces together, which is a clear […] ...
Mapping out the Animation Industry in the Czech Republic Has Shown the Great Potential of Czech Animation, but also Points to its Weaknesses
As a result of a survey lasting over one year, the “Mapping out the Animation Industry in the Czech Republic” report is now being published, and sums up the outcome of a detailed questionnaire survey carried out among dozens of animation studios, school representatives, and individual independent authors. The study performed in cooperation with the Creative Europe – MEDIA office is the first complex description of the state of the animation industry in the Czech Republic since 1990. On Monday, March 20th, a public presentation of the main outputs took place, including an expert debate and press conference. About seventy people active in the field took part (studio representatives, freelancers and animation students), involving representatives of the Czech Ministry of Culture; Czech Television; the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague; the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague; the Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček in Písek; the Czech Film Center, and other institutions and journalists. The survey has revealed that animation is a growing industry both in the Czech Republic and abroad. This is reflected in the demand for animated films and series, which has been increasing globally in recent years. In the […] ...
Case Study: The benefits and pitfalls of international co-productions
One of the most inspiring international speakers at this year’s Visegrad Animation Forum conference in Třeboň was Frédéric Puech, director of the French film production company Planet Nemo. The company, which has been operating on the market for 11 years and is part of the larger corporation ANKAMA, has produced over 15 successful television series with 2D, 3D, and interactive content and exports its works to more than 130 countries worldwide. In light of his position, Frédéric Puech will discuss his experience with large international projects and their distribution abroad. “A successful strategy is to move simultaneously in the field of animation and digital content,” Frédéric stated in the introduction to his presentation. In addition to various television series, his company also develops animated computer games, interactive books, and mobile phone applications. The greatest demand for this media is in Asia, where Planet Nemo does most of its sales. The demand for European partners with their own themes is enormous, primarily in China, Japan, and South Korea. In cooperation with our Japanese partners we have developed several series for preschool children, who as a target group form an immense market while constantly demanding new and original approaches. An example might […] ...
