Cheeky Little Media\u2019s Patrick Egerton, Ludo Studio\u2019s Chloe Hume, Princess Bento Studio\u2019s Laura DiMaio, Studio Showoff\u2019s Sean Zwan and Dave Enterprises\u2019 Michael Pattison convened in Annecy for a panel moderated by Flying Bark Productions\u2019 Barbara Stephen to discuss the global success of the Australian animation industry.<\/p>\n
Australia has pumped out several huge hits over the recent years, with Bluey<\/em> being the biggest success of all. The main takeaway from the panel is that these hits are made possible through the help of a robust government funding system at both the state and federal level, a propensity for collaboration over competition and the commitment to nurturing up-and-coming talent.<\/p>\n Hume, head of development at Ludo Studio, producer of Bluey<\/em>, noted that the series began with short-form content, which went on to win a couple of awards, which then \u201cenabled us to get enterprise funding from the government. That allowed us to get scaffolding for the business, and [allowed] the production company to take on board an idea like Bluey<\/em>. The Australian model helps us because we get that support from the government, whether that\u2019s state or federal. That allows us to put that time into development to really champion an idea.\u201d<\/p>\n The support from Screen Queensland and Screen Australia, along with the backing of ABC and BBC, isn\u2019t all that allowed Bluey<\/em> to become the phenomenon it is. Its authenticity is a key factor of its global success. \u201cCreator Joe Brumm and the team at Ludo Studio with Daley [Pearson], Charlie [Aspinwall] and Sam [Moor] and all the artists and animators set out to make something that felt authentic for them,\u201d Hume explained. \u201cThat\u2019s why it resonates with everyone because it comes from that heartfelt place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very reflective of our culture,\u201d added Stephen, CEO of Flying Bark. \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of conversations in the last couple of days about how important it is that whether we\u2019re in France or Australia, we can maintain our sense of cultural identity. Something like Bluey<\/em> opened the door in many ways to have projects that resonate globally but that can be really authentically Australian and not have to be modified for particular audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n The support of short content\u2014like with the start of Bluey<\/em>\u2014is essential in today\u2019s climate. Stephen noted that Screen Australia recently announced it is going to support short films again after a long pause. \u201cShort films are what launch creators and directors,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, where funding agencies can back that process, they can have enormous success.\u201d<\/p>\n This ties into the Australian industry\u2019s strong support for up-and-coming talent. \u201cEveryone knows that animation is difficult,\u201d noted Pattison, head of production at Dave Enterprises. \u201cYou can\u2019t just come straight out of school, straight into a job.\u201d<\/p>\n DiMaio, head of production at Princess Bento Studio, lauded VicScreen\u2019s GameChanger Academy, which allows new graduates to spend 12 weeks learning how to work in studios across different departments, develop their skills further and figure out how schedules and budgets work. VicScreen \u201crecognizes that [there is] that gap between when a new graduate finishes uni and is ready to work in our studio,\u201d she said. \u201cAs an animator, you\u2019re on the treadmill from the moment you get into the studio, and you have a quota, and we try and provide as much support as we can, but we have a schedule and a budget. It\u2019s really hard to get used to that style of working when you\u2019ve never been in a pipeline before.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been really fortunate to have very active state governments that are really enthusiastic and aware of the value of animation and visual effects in the local industry,\u201d agreed Stephen.<\/p>\n Ausfilm brings together Australia\u2019s screen business and government agencies to offer a variety of tax incentives for Australians and international producers as well. The post-digital effects offset is a federal fund of 30 percent for almost all spend in Australia, Stephen noted. \u201cIt does cover a lot of the animation workflow. If there\u2019s enough \u2018Australianness\u2019 in your show, you would qualify potentially for the producer offset, which is also 30 percent. If you\u2019re doing a feature and it\u2019s got enough \u2018Australianness,\u2019 it would actually be 40 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n On the state side, it ranges from 10 percent to 20 percent. So, overall, \u201cyou\u2019re somewhere in the 40 to 50 percent range. That is an indication of just how important our agencies and governments see investment in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n Egerton, co-founder and chief content officer of Cheeky Little Media, said, \u201cWe can put together quite a lot of finance out of Australia, which is important because, particularly in the kids\u2019 game, you have to be entrepreneurial as a producer. You have to be outward-facing, and you have to build a really important international network of contacts to be able to put together the jigsaw puzzle that is a finance plan for a show. Being able to have that backstop, that foundational support, in your own country that you can count on is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n The success of Australian animation on the global stage is also derived from the supportive nature of its creatives and their dedication to collaboration. \u201cFrom the perspective of somebody who\u2019s tried to break into that L.A. pitching circuit for many years, it\u2019s super tough, and it can feel like a really exclusive club,\u201d said Zwan, founder, producer and director at Studio Showoff. \u201cAustralia seems very supportive of its creators, even artist to artist and creator to creator. There\u2019s a great group of people.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cWhen you\u2019re pitching things as a creator, you try and fail and try and fail and keep pushing. The group of artists in Australia support each other so well. We have Loopdeloop, which is an animation even that\u2019s completely nonprofit. It\u2019s a monthly thing where a big group of artists all get together, watch each other\u2019s work and clap. You don\u2019t have to be the big kid on the block. Everybody supports everybody. That\u2019s something that\u2019s really nice about Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cheeky Little Media\u2019s Patrick Egerton, Ludo Studio\u2019s Chloe Hume, Princess Bento Studio\u2019s Laura DiMaio, Studio Showoff\u2019s Sean Zwan and Dave Enterprises\u2019 Michael Pattison convened in Annecy for a panel moderated by Flying Bark Productions\u2019 Barbara Stephen to discuss the global success of the Australian animation industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":29861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[9390,11063,11064,11065,11066],"class_list":["post-29859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-annecy-festival","tag-cheeky-little-medias-patrick-egerton","tag-ludo-studios-chloe-hume","tag-princess-bento-studios-laura-dimaio","tag-studio-showoffs-sean-zwan-and-dave-enterprises-michael-pattison","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n