Friday, March 30, 2007

comment of the WEEK

murky said...
I am an anonymous outsider who was fwded your blog with the headline, ‘This jackass lost his job cause of his blog.’

I worked for Bardel 10 years ago and made much less than what was quoted on your blog. I was shocked at the working conditions. Everyone felt like they were being taken advantage of, yet collected their paycheck and always showed up on Monday. The fact that Bardel is in business 10 years later still shocks me.

If you want money and success, move to the United States and find strong business partners. I moved here 7 years ago and in 2003 I filed my biggest tax return with an income of $267,000. Right now, I am negotiating to sell my IP for $35,000 with a salary of $95,000. I am not even close to being the most talented Animator, but I aligned myself with smart business partners in a profitable environment.

Vancouver has neither or I would move back. People make the choice to stay at Bardel and Studio B for a variety of reasons that go beyond their job, such as family, or the privilege of living in Vancouver. All of which I respect.

I am looking at this post and I am confused. If you really believe in your convictions, you’d service the Gonzo Nation better by spending your evenings getting incorporated and finding investors. You have highly talented members and with a lot of hard work you could create a demo and start a studio. Then you could show the industry how it should treat its talent…

Then you could also learn what it’s like to be a boss. There is a huge schism between the business of being an employee and the business of well… being in business. You’ll quickly learn that employees can be highly unappreciative and unreliable. You will also learn that yes, you get higher rewards, but they come at a high risk of losing everything as well. Bosses don’t get to cross the street and work for another boss.

If neither of those options are for you, then go be a surfer. There is definitely a time to tell anyone in any industry to ‘go fuck themselves.’ But to continue making inflammatory posts under the guise of humor or a “revolution” is disturbing. I’m genuinely concerned that you could have a personality disorder and therapy with medication would help you greatly.

Now I will go back to quietly trolling

March 28, 2007 8:15 AM

the GOLDEN APPLES of animation

Plus 20 seconds in a weekend isn't that hard, if you like squeezing out TURDS. Marv Newland told me once that you get 3 choices when deciding how a project will play out.

1. SPEED
2. BIG MONEY
3. QUALITY

Now pick 2, seems like most studios and the BIG industry is all about SPEED and BIG MONEY, the CANADIAMERICAN DREAM! So maybe if we all slowed down a bit things wouldn't be so painful to work on!

I think that is the true goal of the NATION!

Dallas J. Bolton
-REAL NAME, NO GIMMICKS!


a nice lil comment i saw on a previous post.

another thing i would like to comment on is a certain tracker that likes to take credit for the hard work of others, another disease that infested our business. Now this is not specific to one studio or person but there are some that do it way more than others. This is another reason the quality in our work has degraded, you have " directors" that approve animation that has already been checked by an animation director , that has already been checked by a lead animator, classic case of an inflated budget due to too much top end and fewer people doing the work on a tighter timeline for less money.

at one point at the last studio i wasted my time at the schedule was so ridculous, i was expected to work over the christmas break, do an amout of work alotted for 3 animators and upon completion was informed that i was already 2 shows behind. That is a breaking point, i have been called out for not hitting my deadlines. It's a double edge sword, impress your boss and slit your own own throat at the same time.

NOTHING to Lose


hey y'all,

so here we are another fanatastic week of animation fun. i have been busy for a guy that according to some is talentless and a bum. Oh yeah and i shoot my mouth off all the time.....BLAH ABLARGA BLAHA BLA H BALOGA BBLOG BLA Bblog, ha, yessir i am a big mouth. You BET! Some of the nation memebers invited me upto whistler for a fine day of spring riding for some research and developmet of a nifty lil project we have going called ENVICIOUS Racing. Check out LUST, Ehch and RAge there in the postcard.








Oh and check the video we did last season at Carl Kuster Montain Park.

http://www.squidoo.com/agent/
a quarter of the way down the page you will see
Carl Kuster Alpine Sledding
check it out

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

HELP wanted

the GOOD, the BAD, the UGLY

the GOOD,

Alright, finished my freelance weekend while all you employees worked another monday. In at 9ish to walk around, get coffee, settle into your desk, check your email, and one or 2 of you might have checked here.

Nothing?.....just some promotion about someone none of you know.....yet. Jeff's story is an amazing one of a guy with the courage to follow his dream and to walk away from a life that everyone conforms to because of the fears of reprocussions of pissing off their boss or missing and insanely set deadlines. He completely walks away from a "sucessful" company in urban Toronto to pursue his dream of being a pro surfer.... that right there is a role model. He knows he is doing something different and he started a social network to share his knowledge. check the site, shiftbeyond.com


theBAD,
Some have asked for an apology or a kiss and make up session.....FUCK THAT! I have nothing to apologize for, I did not start any person attacks, people taking exception to my opinion decided to make this personal. I believe, in all the things i have brought up here........

BETTER WAGES to match the insane cost of living in the most beautiful city in the world.

The RAPID growth of an industry that will not support it, not enough quailified animators will eventally water the product down . (ready yourself for the bust by cross training, be adaptable)

OVERSEAS business models for an in house business climate. (QUALITY not QUANTITY)

BLAMING a SYSTEM that is too old to change.(any business can change no matter the size, it's up to the people running it.)

OPEN SOURCE business models, non existant in animation, then we would all really know how seriously under paid we are.

Collaboration is key, shared interests mean shared profit, especially valid in a business based on creativty.

CREATE YOUR OWN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.... you have an idea, put it on a blog, on a website, in this age your idea is not original, it's just a matter if you do something about. you do not need some out of touch exec telling you to tone down you silly cartoons, if you like it there is an audience that will watch it......YOU tube is taking over the world.......how many of you are on there... virtually none..because you work so hard on your day job you can't be bothered, so the site is filled with moronic content of people getting hit in the nuts and bad lip syncing of pop music.


the UGLY,

we are society raised on drama...we love it. makes us forget how boring and mundane our jobs are.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

introducing, JK

Hey, this is JEFF KARRAM, He the man. He's on Breakbound , a show on the tube tonight on the Outdoor Life Network.

8:00 PM Breakbound Part 1
9:00 PM Breakbound Part 2
10:00 PM Breakbound Part 1
11:00 PM Breakbound Part 2

He also started a social network called SHIFTBEYOND. I signed up....ya'll should too.

http://shiftbeyond.com/

Jeff Karram, What moves you?





http://shiftbeyond.com/

Saturday, March 24, 2007

now what?


Everyone is pissed off now for one reason or another....what now?

Friday, March 23, 2007

the NATION list

Notice the link list? I have recieved calls, emails and posts from some of the people on the orignal list of animators and artists that i know and associate with and they were upset for various reasons. I am of the thought that maybe people are concerned about losing a paycheck, paying the rent......etc. So i do not want anyone to lose their jobs over my blog....no matter how ridiculous that sounds. It was not a blacklist i intended to create but a visualisation of all the amazing talent that i am surrounded by.

I am tired of being quite and feel the topics i bring up need to be heard.

a good one

this is so good it needs to be on the main page.

Cartoon bafoon said...
Wow, seems like all of the Vancouver's animation scene is reading this. If you are so high and mighty Mr. B, then why are you trying so hard to squash Dr. Gonzo like a bug? What Dr. Gonzo is talking about is nothing new, half or more than half of your wonderful employees are disgruntled because you and the other juggernaught studio have made 'skimming off the top' the norm.

Dr. Gonzo is far from a bum, he is a raw dog and maybe a bit quick to bitch about the present studio climate. He, in essence, is an artsy type, one that doesn't want to deal with the business end, and that thinks because he's creating the pieces from blood and sweat, that he deserves the bigger piece of the pie. Whether he's right or wrong is why we have such a heated debate right now. Whether he is or is not, one thing seems certain, he better be willing to go it alone, because he's just ostracized himself from you and the other 'B'.

Now you Mr.B. You and your partner made this studio from the ground up, that IS admirable. You have weathered all movements of the industry for decades, very few can say that. You've come near bankruptcy and made alot of money, all on other people's blood. You used to be an artist, now you don't even have a drawing table in your office, just a giant oak table and a filing cabinet. You have produced some Canadian A grade products in the past, and at the same time behind the scenes being a sexist, arrogant jerk. I remeber a certain someone's wife was leaving her job of producing for you after 10 years (she happened to be a woman) and all you could say was "When I think of---- I will always remember she had a great body", very classy Mr. B. When you were laying off most of your studio in the mid 90's as they were leaving their jobs wondering about rent you had movers bringing in work-out equipment. You and your studio breed elitist attitudes and brag that the other B is cheap and produces crap work, but it would seem now that YOUR studio pays even less than the other B, and has itself produced alot of crap. In the end you really don't give a shit about any of your employees, and they know that, so when something shifts and you will need to rely on them don't expect them to give a shit about you.

March 23, 2007 9:56 AM

an introduction




By popular demand i would like to introduce a bubby of mine that is an member of no dice INK and a founding father of the GONZO nation....


JOE CORDOVA
the GRAPHIC PIMP
http://thegraphicpimp.blogspot.com/

he is going to be moderating a forum, check the first discussion and blog away

Thursday, March 22, 2007

the power of the internet.

And the debate opens up.

B said...
Hey Mr. "Gonzo".

After knowing you for so long I was a bit surprised to see such bitter venom in your blog and to see another example of a weak person hiding behind their shiny little keys and stirring it up. I would have given you more credit than that. Too bad that you don't have the balls to do that stuff in person.
You should take your own advice and grow a spine.

I would also like to comment on your earlier blog, "A great opportunity to get ripped off"
To answer the question that you posed to the world," Do you know of any creator that actually got a show at Studio B"?
Aside from the fact that I could care less about what you think I want to point out to you that many people here have been a part of the creation of our shows.
The Dan vs. contest is not a call for creating the show. It's to find a cool design and pay for it, even if it's on a cocktail napkin. That is the way we always do it here and if your head wasn't so far up your own ass you would be aware of that.

More importantly Jordan, most of the shows are created by "artists" and in fact are shows that my partner and I have created.
The differnce is that us "artists" had the balls to put our money where our mouth was and created a studio that employs a lot of great people and makes a lot of great shows. We didn't sit back and gripe about the fact that the world owed us a living.
I would have thought that by now you would have realized that no one just hands you 8 million dollars to go create and produce a series just because you are SO creative.
I guess that's why you're still a bum.

Oh and by the way, regarding your little co-ordinator rant, that was a little close to home, don't you think?
Have you never heard the phrase "Don't Shit Where You Eat?

Stick your head back up your own ass and breathe deep Gonzo. The real joke of your blog is that it's all a bullshit facade anyway but you don't have it goin' on enough for anybody to give a crap.

Nice knowin' ya.

B

March 22, 2007 8:14 AM



I have gone on rants and now someone who has taken particular offense my opinion, has stepped up, mister "B". Now i could respond with personal attacks about my your ass and my bum and various things being inserted....i won't. Instead i will review some of the past.

I am extremely grateful for all of the opprutunities that every studio in town that has let me learn and grow under their systems have afoorded me. These systems started in a different time....when no one had a cell phone, the internet was non existant, and animation required an army of people to do it. This was only a decade ago. I have had the chance to learn about the net, mobiles and flash, and have seen that 8million dollars for a show is ridiculous. I'm not sure that spouting about how much money that goes through that system is a good idea ,especially when most of the artists that sit at the desks making the funny cartoons don't actually get anything propotional to what they should. So if there are 3 shows, that sounds like alot of money to me, and being an artist i can't add...but i am sure some out there can figure it out.

My first job.... great pay, an intense amount of learning, and awesome co-workers. I progressed through this system and learned as much as possible. After about 2 years i realized the system was not going to work for me. alot of political jockeying to get the dwindling wages and jobs. Then technology took over....brought all the jobs back, but keep the wages plummeting. I would have thought that a product that is supposed to make an animators life more effecient would help them be make more of that elusive 8 million. nope, the boys saw it as more room for profit, and skimmed it and called it a lower budget. You cannot use an overseas production model for show that is animaetd in house, break down the walls and communicate your staff. THEY are talented but you stuff them into a peghole that limits them to uninspired drivel that we call series work.
time to go back to being a bum with no spine.....by the way if anyone has listened to me in person the last six months they know that i say everything i write about OUT LOUD..over and over and over and over tile it get me fired, it's up to you to listen or not.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Stirring it up.

A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.
Bertrand de Jouvenal

If i was more of a professional i would be sitting a desk getting my life drained by a digital tracker, thanking the lord that i get nice pay cheque without having to exert myself. just do that staus quo that has been set oh so low by years of mediocre schedules and too much meddling by no talent directors/producers, who suck great ass.

Instead i am going to write in this stupid little blog and push these shiny little buttons. I am going to think, heehhee ha, i can't believe i have the power to say something and you are going to read it...be impacted.....some will agree, some will be upset, because i am ungrateful, or angry or bitter when in fact i am very happy. I am very proud of myself in the fact that i have caused some people to actually stand up say SOMETHING....ANYTHING, i don't care if you agree with me or not but fucking WAKE UP!!!!! Grow a spine, stand up , do something for your self. You have more ability, talent and tech savy than any artists before you. we are the cream of the crop, yet paid like slop.
Ehch 4 Oh
the blackest white cartoon you ever seen.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Sins of a GONZO nation. the Ehch 4 Oh story

Vanity of Vancity
Lust Vegas
Gluttony: Ibiza
E-town ENVY
Rage WORLDWIDE
Sloth down UNDA
westCoast GREED

these are the Chapters of the story

HICK hop ANIMATION artists plot world domination

Wu-Tang Clan
Genre: Rap
Active: '90s, 2000s
Major Members: U-God, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah
Biography

Emerging in 1993, when Dr. Dre's G-funk had overtaken the hip-hop world, the Staten Island, NY-based Wu-Tang Clan proved to be the most revolutionary rap group of the mid-'90s -- and only partially because of their music. Turning the standard concept of a hip-hop crew inside out, the Wu-Tang Clan were assembled as a loose congregation of nine MCs, almost as a support group. Instead of releasing one album after another, the Clan was designed to overtake the record industry in as profitable a fashion as possible -- the idea was to establish the Wu-Tang as a force with their debut album and then spin off into as many side projects as possible. In the process, the members would all become individual stars as well as receive individual royalty checks.

Surprisingly, the plan worked. All of the various Wu-Tang solo projects elaborated on the theme the group laid out on its 1993 debut, the spare, menacing Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Taking their group name from an powerful, mythical kung fu sword wielded by an invincible congregation of warriors, the crew is a loose collective of nine MCs. All nine members work under a number of pseudonyms, but they are best known as RZA (formerly Prince Rakeem; aka RZArecta, Chief Abbot, and Bobby Steels; born Robert Diggs), GZA (aka the Genius, Justice, and Maxi Million; born Gary Grice), Ol' Dirty Bastard (aka Unique Ason, Joe Bannanas, Dirt McGirt, Dirt Dog, and Osirus; born Russell Jones), Method Man (aka Johnny Blaze, Ticallion Stallion, Shakwon, Methical, and MZA; born Clifford Smith, Raekwon the Chef (aka Shallah Raekwon and Lou Diamonds; born Corey Woods), Ghostface Killah (aka Tony Starks and Sun God; born Dennis Coles), U-God (aka Golden Arms, Lucky Hands, Baby U, and 4-Bar Killer; born Lamont Hawkins), Inspectah Deck (aka Rebel INS and Rollie Fingers; born Jason Hunter), and Masta Killa (aka Noodles; born Elgin Turner).


Wu-TANG clan ain't nuthing ta F@ck with.
and the GONZO nation was born
nodicestudios.ca

yer SERVICES are no longer required.

time to get a real job. Now there is time to actual do something good.....instead of wasting your days on a turd that is actually regressing the art form we all know and love. It's a call to action, some would cry about losing a job, but i am actually upset at myself for wasting as much time as i did under the guise of the all mighty dollar. "don't bite the hand that feeds you?" sorry that is not being fed when they are holding you under the water at the same time...... stay tooned, this is just the begining.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

back in vancity

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

South BY

wow, what a week. it is like every creative person in the world is here. I have met so many people and had a lot of drinks, and got a lot of great ideas. now is the time to implement them. the world is in flux......times are changing. every person i have met here is knows it is happening but isn't quite sure how it's gonna end. there has been lots of speculation on the future and what the next big thing will be. any bets. my money is on the animators are gonna have something to say about it. i have seen the technology that will let us tell our stories unlike anyone ever has before. www.broadramp.com these guys are doing stuff for high quality content delivery that will destroy TV. stay tooned, my friends stay tooned.

Monday, March 12, 2007

south by southwest interactive



so far.....lotsa sessions, lotsa drinking. overall i have confirmed most of the plans for the GONZO nations scheme for world domination

Saturday, March 10, 2007

South by south west day 1


more than a 1000 words.

sketching AIRPORT GIRLS




not the best Scans.....not scans at all but pics off my cell phone of sketches i did on a 3 hour layover in salt lake city.
Has anyone else noticed that there WAY more money in enetrtainment during times of war?

Flash animation rates

Animation production rates. 800 a week
Web animation rates. 85-100 per HOUR
do the math, it isn't just the TV animation industry with lots of work.


EXPLOITED ANIMATORS UNITE.

the Journey to austin


here is phone pic from the airport and some inK and some photoshop.....MIXN it up.
Ehch 4 OH of the Gonzo Nation chillin waiting on a jet plane.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

South by SouthWEST, North West style

Tomorrow I take the nation on the road....a very important part of the war on Animation Exploitation. In Austin i am going to learn some new tricks from some other industries to help fall the giant studio system we all know and love.....the INTERNET is a very powerful tool i have not utilized to it's full potential yet.

Pack your bags, load up the Graphic Bombs.........Time to show texas some canadian Talent.

Gonzo Graphics



Wednesday, March 7, 2007

disgruntled animator needs real job.

I was in a pub, surprise, surprise, and everywhere i looked was angry animation artists.....the more i blog the more injustice i see in this biz. the last couple of days i sat at my life sucking station and made a huge effort to be positive. Didn't work. I don't want to be a whiny bastard but in a business where you tell anyone outside of it they shit there pants , and are like....OHMY GAWD, you have the best job in the world.... this is my motivation for thinking that i need to positive.

then i think of this..

Kaizen (改善, Japanese for "change for the better" or "improvement", the English translation is "continuous improvement", or "continual improvement.") is an approach to productivity improvement originating in applications of the work of American experts such as Frederick Winslow Taylor, Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Walter Shewhart, W. Edwards Deming and of the War Department's Training Within Industry program by Japanese manufacturers after World War II. The development of Kaizen went hand-in-hand with that of quality control circles, but it was not limited to quality assurance.


and the opposite, televison animation production.

If every artist i knew took this philsophy to heart we would have a world full of stories and experiences that could be shared amongst everyone without the fear of being exploited. I know that the whole blame of current state of the animation is not on the execs......in fact alot of it is on us, The artists, the creative, the talent. We will roll over , don'tt ask questions, and do what ever they tell us with out a fight..".free training"....OKAY, don't want to lose my precious job. "Work weekends, you know, cause you love your job"........sure because i love not having a social life, i love making stupid amounts of money for my boss so they can work 3 days a week.


here is a question....? what would happen if we all stood up for ourselves and said fuck you, knowing that the passion in my life, my art is worth more that some one who crushes rocks for living, selling my soul for a salary that barely makes the ends meet.

Here is a challenge to every person one of you so called creatives, say fuck them, take a day off, walk away and see how fast those shitty fucking cartoons that the kids love so much get done.....FUCK THAT. the date will be set tomorrow, the fucking walk out. Let them know, with out us there is no product. I wanna see a producer animate a war scene between 50 monsters in flash.....in a week.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Feature quality ,Television budget

Working at Tv production house for years has made me resent this particular "art form"...which really it is not. It is money making machine thinly disguised as an animation factory. The problem is that in a product that requires creativity. The schedule says it has to be done in a week, it's gonna happen, but it ain't gonna be good. The televsion industry has fooled itself into thinking that there actually is such a thing as quality tv animation. And flash has convinced the same people that it is cheaply produced. HAha the joke is on me...and you and every other animation artist, it ain't good and it ain't cheap, but it does line the pockets of the broadacst execs and it does exploit our children into becoming consumeristic monsters.

The reason i mention a feature is because of my wonderful employer has annouced it will begin production on a feature. The first 3 things that i have heard about it after i was told that i am a perfect fit for a lead animator role....
1.we want top notch animation.
2.you do at least 20hs of training on new software.
3.we have small budget and can not afford to pay for training.

BULLSHIT I say...after a quick trip to the labour bc website i forwarded my finding to the proper suit on the porduction. The resopnse....."oh, sorry you misunderstood, the is training optional."

Fine then i will train on the job....If they still want me. 15 min ago i talked to another person doing the training, who was unaware it was optional...of course, it's only optional if you ask for pay....other wise you are expected to be there.

In an industry that is completely taxed for experienced talent it is completely disheartening to see a company refuse to invest in it's future and promote and reward it 's best. Instead we are expected to bend over and do top notch work with no pay and no lube.....Sorry, if i am going to do free work i will go home and work on my own ideas. Feature my ass, don't bother, why drag the standard of another industy down....haven't exploited enough people yet? It's an amzing business plan, but what can you expect from an industry founded on overseas labour....you can always find cheaper and faster, but it ain't gonna be better.Or maybe it will because there are a ton of students willing to step up a do the FREE training.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

gangsta GRAPHICS

the Gonzo NATION is muthafuckinHERE

If you have a button I swear ta CHrist I'ma push it.
I'm in this fa FREE,
Ain't no one PAYING me

I am the product and my life is the STORY
open your eyes and LOOK @ me.
I'll take over your life
burn through ya ICe
with the new TECHNO steez

the ONLY exchange of fee'z
is to multiply the CREATIVity
a couple G's ago was the last GREAT nativity
too bad it ain't as good as DEEZ..
time to watch and see.....

from PAPER to PIXELS



back dated to MONDAY january 22,2007

Ehch for Oh and his GOZNO Nation are under the HIRE of the Mutha Fucking man as a corporate pencil Whores.......

Seperately we are isolated Islands of TALENT and ABILITY,
Together we are a CLUSTER fuck of a Dissjointed, overPRODUCED till bland MADness
and in DIRE need of a REVOLVERution.

This DIGITAL Evolution will change the BALANCE of the world,
from agressive IMPERIALIST Violence,
to creative UNITY in URBAN GLOBALness

these REVOLUTIONARIES, MASTERS of AUDIO/VISUAL ARTS will break down
the BARRIERS of LANGUAGE and SPEECH
into SEEING , FEELING and BELIEVING.....
Thorugh out history man has told his fellow men stories...
On rock walls with the BLOOD of animals and COAL at first
Evolving like the monkeys before us,
we refined our CRAFT to razor sharpness
from pencil to INK,
to cellouse, to the light beams burned in the back of our BRAINS,
(accompanied by stereo sound in the 3rd Dimension)
IS IT any wonder our children are defenseless
to the animated ASSAULT of the CAPITALIST pigs
the pigs we try so HARD not to be...
GET the fuck outta TeeVee
and tell us a STORY!

Friday, March 2, 2007

some ANIMATIONs

Notice

HILARious F@hcking shit--

Wanted:

award winning character lineup/
Prizes. $750 dollars.
no rights reserved
Studio Biatch Property.
all proceeds to the televisied society for animated welfare



guidelines.
cuttting edge style
a library of characters
"multi media"
easy monetization
Malconetent Muthafuckers/
gimmie your idea so i can fuck you with it,

Thursday, March 1, 2007

AnimationAmalgamation

The Modern day flash animator is expected to be proficient in a number of areas that were formerly left to multiple departments. Number of department eliminated by your modern day Tv flash

1.Layout/ Character Posing....who needs good posing? we have motion tweens!!!

2.Exposure Sheet.....rough timing suggested by an experienced director, now done by any student who can operate flash.

3.Key animation....force a bad flash build into a rushed board pose and call it posed

4.Animation Assisting....one button. CREATE TWEEN.

5.Clean Up.....like the dinosaurs, replaced by vectors

6.Ink and Paint...now considered animation.

7. Camera...again compositing is a job that a flash monkey is great at.

8.Effects.....well your great at 1-7, why not just do some effects to.


Now i have learned all these things at different times and been paid varying rates but today i get less for knowing more, classically and technologically and have to teach more. All the while my boss gets a bigger and bigger cut of the cash. All for the little kids sitting at home being brainwashed by an obsolete box that is an opiate to defenseless children.

Rant #1

The actions of my current employer has sent me into a fit of rage. Working as a classical animator
at Bardizzle on a chaos filled televison show, I have fostered my hate for an overinflated sytem of production that only benifits the top 1% of the work force on the production. This system is of course based on an overseas production model. Everything has to be idiot proofed and tracked to the point of redundancy. I have seen this system evolve to an exterme where in house there is a 1 to1 ratio of management/supervisors to artist.

The major problem is that technology has evoled televison animation to a point where a crew 5 can take an 11min show from script to screen ready in the span of a month and a half. Compared to a traditional model of 6months and somethimes hundreds of artists. The outstanding turnaround time is not the problem, the problem is that the corporate studios in this town have noticed this and shaved every posssible penny and every second off the schedules to slit each others throats to land that glorious television contract.

It is unbelivable that i have worked in this industry for almost a decade now and make less of an average salary than my first job out of school. All in a city with one the highest costs of living in the world. To recieve a salary comparable to 1997 i am expected to supervise up to 10 animators with less classical skill sets and almost no experience. And as supervisor your duties are almost a 100% clerical, typing notes into big brother style "tracker" is considered to be the top job. The internet and flash has made it possible for any one with a ounce of creativy to be a storyteller, yet we are all still working for the man who has told us we cannot do anything in animation with out an army of suits to filter our talent to a boring blandness. I am fucking sick of it and this the start of an effort to inspire any person with an idea to get off your ass and do it...
nodicestudios.ca coming soon
No Dice 4 life