Digital
Media FX News Archives
Tuesday
- April 3, 2001
- Disney to Slash Animator
Salaries!
- Film Roman Strives
for "Edgier" Animated Series
- Disney's New Marketing Concept:
Atlantis Prequel Game
- News Link of the Day
- Animators' Salaries are Next Target for Disney
Disney
to Slash Animator Salaries!
(by digitalmediafx.com) It doesn't pay to be a Disney animator
like it use to. According to the Orlando Sentinel, "In another
effort to boost its bottom line, the Walt Disney Co. is telling
its animators, including 225 Orlando artists, that it plans to
slash their salaries."
The move comes
as Disney prepares to lay off 4,000 employees in order to help
increase profits. The Orlando Sentinel points out that Michael
Eisner recently received an $11.5 million performance bonus, while
he seeks to cut animator salaries by 30%.
Laying off
animators and reducing other animator salaries could result in
lower moral and work that is not up to par with past Disney animated
productions. It can also hurt Disney's reputation within the animation
industry as studios like DreamWorks, Aardman, and Pixar (which
has a contract with Disney) continue to put out top of the line
animated productions. At the recent Animatasia Awards, which recognizes
excellence in the animation industry, Disney failed to pick up
a nomination for "Best Animation Studio," which was
won by Pixar.
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Film Roman
Strives for "Edgier" Animated Series
(by digitalmediafx.com) Film Roman is exhibiting five new animated
TV series this week at MIPTV in hopes of gaining market interest
for the productions. Each series is made up of half hour episodes.
The new series include John Waters' "Patent Leather Dreamhouse,"
Norman Lear's "'Til the Fat Lady Sings," "Hairballs,"
"Zippy the Pinhead" and "Tripping the Rift."
"These
series represent a departure from the look and feel of the prime
time and kids series we're usually associated with and offer an
edgier sensibility that will have strong appeal for audiences
worldwide," says Peter Schankowitz, President of Programming
and Development for Film Roman.
Here's a rundown
of the five animated series as provided by Film Roman:
John Waters'
"Patent Leather Dreamhouse," featuring an animated
Waters as the host to an assortment of "Hairspray"/"Pink
Flamingo"-type characters in strange and unusual plot lines.
Created by Mike B. Anderson.
"'Til
the Fat Lady Sings," Norman Lear's honest look at the lives
of a motley crew of elderly people living in a Santa Monica
Senior Center. Act III Productions will co-produce. Charlotte
Brown and John Baskin are the creators.
"Hairballs,"
a satirical twist on the classic "cat and mouse" cartoons,
revealing the dark side of three domestic cats that live together
and are desperate to get along while dealing with the daily
trials of living the cat lifestyle. "Hairballs" was
developed in house and first seen as a short on Film Roman's
Web site, LEVEL13.net, and has garnered numerous awards and
critical acclaim. Doug Lawrence is the creator.
"Zippy
the Pinhead," a dialogue between two facets of the character,
"Zippy the Pinhead." Zippy is the childlike clown
representing the kid in everyone while Griffy is the adult,
rational man. "Zippy the Pinhead" explores the pop
excesses of consumer society with a love/hate relationship.
Bill Griffith is the creator of this 30-year-old comic strip.
"Tripping
the Rift," a science fiction comedy that gives new meaning
to the word "edgy." A diverse troop consisting of
a little purple blob, an arrogant gold robot and a luscious
first officer face off against the scourge of the Universe,
the Dark Clown Darth Bobo. "Tripping the Rift" is
a funny, frank and insane series that will leave you asking
your friends, "did you see that?" Chris Moeller and
Chuck Austen are the creators.
MIPTV is a
five-day tradeshow where studios exhibit in hopes of interesting
broadcasters in their new TV series. There are hundreds of exhibitors.
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Disney's
New Marketing Concept: Atlantis Prequel Game
(digitalmediafx.com) Disney is unleashing a new marketing concept
to promote its upcoming animated feature, Atlantis: The Lost
Empire. The concept is to "give away" a prequel
adventure game that leads up to where the movie begins. The game,
titled "Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire -- Search for
the Journal" will be given away to millions of people through
the following venues:
- Specially
marked boxes of Kellogg's Corn Pops cereal will feature the
prequel CD-ROM inside the box.
- Included
with The Emperor's New Groove DVD, which hits store shelves
on May 1, 2001.
- Beginning
May 13 and exclusively at Walgreens stores, consumers who bring
their film in for development and choose Walgreens Quality Processing
will receive a prequel CD-ROM with their prints.
- Copies
of the prequel will be poly-bagged with May 2001 issues of Disney
Adventures magazines, both through subscription and newsstand
editions.
- Consumers
can receive a copy of the prequel at selected locations within
the theme parks, resort hotels and cruise ships.

The game is
described as follows:
"After
centuries of concealment, the mystery of Atlantis is finally unveiled.
The Shepherd's Journal, an ancient book holding all the secrets
to finding the lost city of Atlantis, is hidden somewhere in Iceland.
With Captain Rourke in charge, a team of skilled adventurers must
travel deep within the snowy country to find the guarded journal.
Players unlock the secrets of an ancient Viking labyrinth to battle
keepers and capture the journal in this first-person, single-
and multi-player PC action game."
In addition,
the game will feature an original animation sequence by Walt Disney
Feature Animation. The game will also include online multiplayer
capabilities.
"We believe
the future of interactive media is convergence, and we want to
make the future happen now, for this film," said Jan Smith,
president, Disney Interactive. "By creating a movie prequel
in the form of an interactive game, playable online with mass
distribution, we bring millions of people into a new kind of entertainment
experience. While millions of people have enjoyed Disney movies
in theaters and at home, now people from all over the world, simultaneously,
can interact inside a 3D world of Atlantis -- almost becoming
virtual cast members. This is a breakthrough experience in the
world of entertainment, and Disney is uniquely positioned to deliver
it."
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News Link
of the Day - Animators' Salaries are Next Target for Disney
According to the Orlando Sentinel:
"In another
effort to boost its bottom line, the Walt Disney Co. is telling
its animators, including 225 Orlando artists, that it plans to
slash their salaries.
The company
is targeting employees with salaries above the minimum guaranteed
by a collective bargaining agreement, about $1,400 a week for
the Orlando animators.
Disney's goal
is to trim 30 percent from the animation payroll..."
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