Why are they so short? On the Duration of Domestic Animation Production

Why are they so short? On the Duration of Domestic Animation Production

For the second generation in China, the biggest problem of domestic network animation now is that it takes too long. Short? . This impression is largely due to Japanese preconceptions, and the second generation has become accustomed to the 20-minute animation rhythm in Japan.

In view of the length of online animation, I interviewed many domestic animation directors and production team leaders. It is found in the interview that the animation duration is basically the final result of the animation production team adapting to the market environment. The reason why it is generally short is actually the lack of animation production ability. I explain this deficiency from four aspects: user habits, production cost, content reserve and production team level.

Cultivation of user habits

? If we compare the domestic animations from 20 12 to now, we will find that the early ones are particularly short, and the recent ones are all lengthened. ? Xiao (a pseudonym) who works in Tencent said to me:? Because when domestic animation just started, to be honest, the audience was very narrow. ?

In my opinion, the primary task of domestic animation is to attract users: if a 5-minute video, most people will think it looks ok, but a 20-minute video will feel too long. In order to attract users, expand the influence of domestic animation and change the appearance of domestic animation in the audience's mind, it is necessary to lower the audience's viewing threshold. ?

As users gradually began to accept domestic online cartoons, the update frequency of online cartoons also changed from 20 12 "100,000 cold jokes"? Geng Yue? Now it has developed to a large area? Zhou Geng? The duration of a single animation has also been improved to a certain extent. The famous animation director @ Lu also said to me: From "Ten Cold" to now, China animation has found a breakthrough in the network and started to make progress. ?

It can be said that low-duration network animation is actually an effective means to cultivate the user market.

Production cost control

Of course, with the maturity of the market, the animation production team has to start to face an important problem, that is, cost. Earlier, a demon told the media that the production cost of Burt's Bees was more than RMB 30,000 per minute, but even this budget, in the field of 2D animation, is actually only the general level of 2D animation.

You know, the quotation of animation production is calculated by minutes, which does not mean that the more you do, the cheaper it will be. This problem is particularly prominent in the field of 2D animation (only when 3D animation does not build a new model can the cost be reduced by increasing production). Therefore, how to make these capital inputs have greater value output is a problem that more animators pay more attention to.

? For example, a team that can only do animation for 40 minutes a month can only do animation for 1 0 minutes a week if it wants to work overtime. I think most people choose 10 minutes for weekly viewing of four episodes and 20 minutes for biweekly viewing of two episodes. ? Xiao B (a pseudonym), the head of an animation production team, said to me: Biweekly fan aggregation is too slow, and now most video platforms begin to require weekly viewing. Only in this way can we quickly enhance word of mouth and open the market. ?

? As long as you feel that the production is careful and the plot is compact, even if it is only 10 minutes, fans are still willing to keep chasing. ? In Xiao B's view, the animation content itself is still more important. For most network animation production teams, they are actually more willing to do the weekly work first, and then strengthen the content quality. It is not a cost-effective way to make a 20-minute animation without a solid foundation in all aspects of animation works.

Insufficient content reserve

The quality of animation works is determined by the content. Only a strong content reserve can lay a good foundation. Whether in China or Japan, comics have always been the largest source of content for animation works.

? Actually, to tell the truth, China's cartoon production is much faster than Japanese. Many comics can already reach two classes a week, such as Under One Man, or even three classes a week. This speed is definitely not slow, but it started late. Little ah shook his head helplessly.

? Animation often takes 1 season, and the amount of comics is killed every year or two. In fact, the shortage of comic books has always been a problem, and it has gradually improved in the past two years, hoarding more new works. But in the early years, all kinds of animations ran after comics. In this case, it is certain that taking short shots can make you catch your breath for a while. ?

The lack of animation content has seriously restricted the development of animation. In order to cultivate the user market, the domestic original comic platform has to do animation under the premise of incomplete comic content. Of course, the quality of animation produced in this state can only be said to be very general, even some? Rotten? .

? Hoarding or waiting can't wait for users. You have to keep doing and trying, and the result is that the more you wait, the less you wait. After the author saw this type of animation, it was actually a powerful explanation for the magazine authors who were still hesitating at that time. ? Xiao believes that only by expressing the determination of animation to users and authors can we really attract a large number of authors to join in comic creation, thus improving the content storage of animation.

The animation team is not good enough.

However, even with a strong content reserve, the animation production team's production ability is insufficient, which also determines that the domestic 2D network will still be at a disadvantage in a short time. How long has it been? The state of.

I understand that although it takes a lot of time to model 3D animation in the early stage, it can still maintain high production efficiency because of the assembly line, whether it is the animation process or the training speed of components. But 2D animation is different, because they are all hand-drawn, which requires a lot of group members. What about the original online animation at present? How long has it been? , or mainly concentrated in the field of 2D animation.

? 10 minute 2D animation is easier to use. No matter how to control the rhythm and grasp the plot breakpoint, there is already a ready-made mechanism, which makes it easier to bring new people. ? The little boy who has participated in many animation projects said:? The difficulty of 20 minutes is completely different. There are 300 starts, which is different from 10 minutes. The original painting and sound effects exploded. So we are now based on 10 minutes and follow the plot. ?

These interviewees also admitted to me that the length of time is mainly arranged for the comfort of the team assembly line. In Japan, a mature industrial production system has been formed. Under the framework of fixed time, how many original paintings and animations are needed has formed a routine, and quality control will become easier. For the construction of the animation industry assembly line, the standardization of the process is correct and needs to be continuously optimized, but we can't mechanically copy the Japanese practice. After all, the market environment is different.

? Industrial upgrading should be holistic, not just on the screen. ? Lu stressed to me: the key is not the length of time, but? Does it look nice? And then what? Not good-looking? . The production capacity is insufficient, so choosing the current duration requires accumulating the production capacity bit by bit on the one hand, and finding the duration habit suitable for China audience on the other hand. ?

The founder of Tian Kai, chairman of artistic painting, and the producer of Crazy Hero @ 京京京京 also expressed the same view to me:? Now we need to make good use of the advantages of various durations to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. ?

I am also surprised that a small animation duration problem actually involves the cultivation and standardized operation of the whole market. In the interview, I saw more about these people's views on the second world? Love? Their enthusiasm for animation creation and deep thinking about the future of the industry.

Perhaps, this is the charm of the second world.

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