Forum - View topicINTEREST: Foreign Animators in Japan Weigh in on Industry Conditions Part 1: Cedric Herole
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residentgrigo
 Posts: 2544 Location: Germany |
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I got to read actual investigative journalism on ANN? Oh my. More of this and less on who will or won´t be in Tekken and i may find respect for the site yet and part 2 should be advertised a bit better if you ask me.
2D art has been dead for a decade the US/Europe there i agree and unpaid internships are the patches that hold all sorts of industries together as a lot of manga assistants are that too. Marvel comics is also every good @ that recently. Well done Disney... |
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Hoppy800
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Le Gall was lucky, he had it good from start to present, nothing too unusual or unsound about his working conditions either.
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Via_01
 Posts: 551 |
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This. I believe it applies both for people from outside of Japan who want to work in the anime industry and those from the inside as well. It's an advice I usually hear from people related to all forms of art: working fast is certainly something good, but you need to have a style that differentiates you from others if you want to be successful, one that can make people knowledgeable about the subject go "yeah, this guy did it; can't be anyone else." |
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Karlz
 Posts: 13 |
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Good article.
Speaking of No Game, No Life, remember that the author of the LN is a foreign himself. He's brazilian. |
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Marimai
 Posts: 13 |
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I disagree with you on 2D animation being dead in the US and Europe, just because Disney abandoned it and other major studios don't invest in it, the US has great (and really the best are 2D) animated tv series. Also, Europe has been thriving more and more in 2D, especially France continues to create amazing animated films, recently 'Ernest and Celestine' (which had a fairly big release around the US) and 'The Suicide Shop' which went pretty unnoticed outside of France unfortunately, critics saying it was too gory and scary for children when obviously not made for them and the whole family, if the title didn't pass across the message(I even read a review that said it liked it because of it's 3D animation, and yes, they weren't just referring to CG backgrounds or small tweaks...) . The problem isn't that 2D is dying, the problem is that the original and innovative stories in 2D don't seem to captivate as much right now as their 3D counterparts. So to say it's dead outside of Japan is rather exaggerated. |
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Tempest_Wing
Posts: 305 |
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I think these articles have been kind of a bust. We've been reading so much about how anime employees are being payed paltry sums of money, working long [expletive] hours and live poorly, but in these three articles, the people that were interviewed have actually lived moderately to exceptionally comfortably during their times working in anime. These ended up being bad examples if ANN was trying to further shed light on industry conditions for Japanese animators. From just these three articles, it seems more that anime companies treat foreigners a bit better than Japanese animators and employees. I certainly thought the point of these articles was to further solidify the unsustainableness of anime production, but instead we got short paragraphs of each person's life story that hardly play a part in the bigger picture of this evolving problem occurring in Japan. They hardly mentioned what they were paid during their times, which is pretty much the heart of this entire matter since they were at the forefront of the anime industry and have seen first hand what it can be like. I also think more questions should have been asked than just 8,8 and 6 for this last one. I also think a fourth part should be made to tie these all together, interviewing a Japanese animator as well. It wouldn't make sense NOT to since at the end of the day it's about the plight of Japanese animators, who more appropriate than a Japanese animator to interview?
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5914 Location: Virginia, United States |
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If I was asked what my salary was, I wouldn't say either for a variety of reasons. ANN probably asked non-Japanese animators, because they might be more likely to answer such personal questions. While actual Japanese animators might not be able to speak so freely, even if they wanted too. |
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 3014 Location: Email for assistance only |
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TarsTarkas is correct in this assumption. Everyone I attempted or successfully was able to interview were asked the same questions. Some, like MacDonald was very up front with pay while others were only comfortable saying "it was hard but I managed."
You'll get more from the interviews by reading in between the lines. Most worked six days a week for more than 10 hours a day. MacDonald admitted that his co-workers had points where they were sleeping in their office, including himself. The first interview stated when the animator went freelance he survived, almost entirely for a year, off savings. He didn't tell you how much he made but that should give a decent hint. Almost all stack contracts to make ends meet or at one point were working evenings doing entirely other work, like tutoring English. What they do have in common is that they came out the other end, more or less. They aren't beginners anymore so they're doing okay. Edit: Scott addresses this himself over here animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=4540015#4540015 |
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Hameyadea
 Posts: 3679 |
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Part 3:
The interview with Yann Le Gall, while interesting, was shorter than the other two's. Last edited by Hameyadea on Sat May 16, 2015 9:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Yause
Posts: 97 |
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Well, they're interviewing people who've "made it" and are capable of providing the demanded skills, so their incomes are naturally going to be better than for those who haven't been as successful. IIRC, one of the interviewees mentioned that his pay was very low in his first position. However, it improved after he advanced and joined another company. This is more or less in line with what Japanese animators have said. There are large numbers of "unskilled" workers (in their opinion anyway. Some acknowledge that the rates are miserable but still claim that most aren't doing anything worth paying much for. Their main gripe is that the conditions at junior levels may deter untapped potential that could develop given adequate incentive to improve and stay in the industry) pulling the average down, but those who progress and can contribute in a more important way make enough to live on. |
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jdotaku
Posts: 32 |
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I was also disappointed by the lack of numbers regarding income. Based on the other interviewed talent though it is plain to see this is a challenging field to enter and remain in both financially and just stamina wise. They should be given more credit (and if this isn't an example of why we as fans should financially support the industry I don't know what is!) that said I too have worked these kind of hours for similar pay. My room mate moved here from korea and has been working similar hours and living off savings as he tries to climb the ladder at HP and he is having success.
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residentgrigo
Posts: 2544 Location: Germany |
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The weekly hours the 3rd interview listed are interesting and the biggest problem low(er) level personal in the business probably face isn´t quite the money but the stress and lack of life outside of the job as they do such a demanding task for 6 days a week. How did i watch all of Basquash?
Cedric got at least to work on interesting anime. |
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13597 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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If you broke it down into paragraphs, you're posts would be easier to read. |
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Mr. sickVisionz
 Posts: 2175 |
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It seems really bad when you just see a raw salary figure but these interviews don't make the reality of it seem that bad at all imo. It sounds a lot like the music and movie industries where you hear all the time about how someone got their foot in the door by working low pay or no pay gigs for a few years to establish a body of work or land that one thing that gets their name out there.
I thought it was interesting that the conditions sound unbearable when the article is primarily a report on something a Japanese person said but when it was an interview of Westerners, they describe the same high work, low pay scenarios but they just view it as like a 2-year getting your foot in the door and paying dues period and didn't position it as this employee abuse horror story. I thought if anything, the Westerners would view it as unbearable while the Japanese wouldn't think there was anything particularly egregious about the situation. Especially considering what I've always heard about Japanese salarayman and their views on what's a proper work-life balance. |
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Tempest_Wing
Posts: 305 |
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My apologies. I didn't think my post would be that long and didn't consider breaking it up in paragraphs once finished. |
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