What matters?
So an interview with Pat Smith begat a comment from Amid Amidi which begat a comment from ASIFA-East President David Levy which begat much, much more from Amid who asked for comments and got them from a lot of folks, including New York filmmaker Michael Sporn. A nerve has been struck.
Interestingly, very few of the people commenting have ever actually sold a series anywhere, though I must say Ottawa’s Chris Robinson summed up my personal feeling about the whole thing best:
“This obsession animators have with getting a tv series drives me crazy. Why is it your goal to have a tv series? Who said animation has to have regular characters, actors, and narratives? Your mommy?”
I couldn’t agree more. Too many people are interesting in getting their own series rather than making great, commercial, films. Or just great films period. Me, I love commercial TV, always have, so setting that goal works for me. But, you know, I made lots and lots (and lots, I should add) not commercial stuff too, just trying to figure out how to make stuff that I loved. Without that training I wouldn’t have been able to work in cartoons. It just wouldn’t have worked.
All that being said, looking at everyone’s comments, I actually agree with everyone. They’re all right. A rare thing I must say. Go for it folks. Let’s have a few more good arguments in animaiton. Maybe we’ll even get a hit series somewhere on television again someday.
PS: Though it has nothing to do with cartoons our internet friend zefrank makes the point better than almost anyone I think.
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