Short-sighted:
In some more relevant news, I was recently in contact with a few local businesses in the television & online media industry here in Australia. They usually help fund creative works such as mine, and with some of the more expensive work coming up to the Demo Reel, I thought now might be a great time to reach out and see if they could offer any support.
I got some incredibly positive feedback when they looked over my current pitching materials. They believe me to be ready to present my works to studios and licensing companies now, insisting that I don’t need any extra polish to my demo reel, such as professional editing or official music. While it was encouraging advice, it also came across a polite way to decline putting any financial aid into a project that’s likely to end up in another country. Even if I were to take their advice at face value and assume that I’m ready, I’d still go ahead with my current plan to put the finishing touches on the Demo Reel, and here’s why…
There’s a saying that you’re never going to be 100% ready, but I subscribe to a different way of thinking:
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“Don't aim for perfection. Aim for 'better than yesterday'.”
― Izey Victoria Odiase
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This is a hard road that I’m choosing to walk down and if I wanted easy, then I’d make something else…something that my country is already invested in like beer, cars or sports. Instead, I’m choosing to make an Anime, something not within our immediate cultural sphere. Never-the-less, in the last 10-15 years, the Anime phenomenon has taken the western world by storm, inspiring hundred of thousands and a source of inspiration to many.
Now, streaming giants such Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Crunchyroll (and the like), are all dipping their toes in the “original anime” market. The Internet has also made the world a much smaller place… with forums for creative writing and artwork, video streaming giants like YouTube, and even manga / comic sites like Webtoon giving everybody a platform, it’s never been easier for “the “Average Joe” to bring their stories to life and have the potential for a global audience. However with that accessibility, comes an abundant of choice and it’s easy to get lost in an ocean of original content.
My point is that I have no illusions about how hard this will be and in order to succeed, I need to give myself every opportunity to make my work as professional and appealing as possible. A white boy from kangaroo country wanting to make an Anime is no small feat, so if I have an opportunity to work with a phenomenal composer, and have my demo reel cut together by a pro…you bet I’m going to do it.
If you don’t want to help fund the project and would prefer to invest locally, go for it….I’ll fund the damn thing myself if need be.
Still though, these companies offered to connect me with some studios and other creatives here in Australia and I’m still really grateful and overwhelmingly happy for their time and feedback. That said, it can also be a major drag when I keep getting stuck in the Groundhog Day-like repetition that is every Australian company wanting me to make Millennium Exile here in Australia.
Thus limiting their support for anything outside of that scope.
I know it might seems as though there’s a chip on my shoulder, and you know what? Maybe I need some salsa to go with it, but once upon a time, I applied for a grant that was given out to Australian residents for artistic endeavours.
I got through to the final round, where I was informed that I would be eligible for the 8-10k, but ONLY if I ceased working with artists outside of Australia. Obviously I declined this, and passed on the grant money, instead, choosing to fund the project myself.
This was before the days of Patreon and donations, so I was working as many as 3 jobs that I hated, just to pay for everything.
The funny thing is, the actual people of Australia have been simply incredible.
I have received so much love and support from fans around the world, many of whom are from the good ol land of “Down Under” and wanted to express their passion for what I’m doing. Understandably, it’s harder to sell yourself to a company than to a few individuals, but never-the-less, it’s incredibly frustrating to try and do something in a truly collaborative spirit, only to be constantly told:
“Yes, but only if you make it here”.
Fuck that noise.
If I made Millennium Exile here in Australia it would be nothing short of an imitation or a homage at best….and that’s not what I’m aiming for. It’s nothing against Australia per-say, but it’s no secret that our animation industry is almost non-existent (given a few exceptions).
So when people who represent large companies casually mention how easy it would be for Australia to make their own “Anime”; on par with the quality that Japan or other Asian countries are currently putting out, I can’t help but snicker at the naivety.
It’s certainly not impossible to see a boom in the Australian animation industry, and I truly hope that it happens…I really do. But I take issue when these companies try and make it sound so easy in an attempt to stop me from taking my product elsewhere.
If it were that easy, we would be doing it by now.
It also comes across incredibly disrespectful to see an art-form and style that has been honed for over 100 years, with such a deep cultural heritage and historical significance - to then just casually state: “ We can do that just as good as they can”.
That’s the equivalent of telling a world class photographer that you can take the same quality of photo as them, without any real prior knowledge of photography, lighting or composition other than: “Photos are taken with a camera”.
Sure, technically it’s possible by some metric…but by stating so casually that you can do it too, you have unknowingly belittled all the time, effort, practice, money and study that person has put into their craft.
But to play devil’s advocate, let’s put that aside all that and simply look at Australia’s history with animation, using the historical evidence to base a sound opinion. After all, Millennium Exile is 10 years of my life manifest, so obviously I’d want to make sure I’m making it with the people who are “right” instead of “right now”. Have you ever tried Googling “Australian Cartoons”?
Don’t worry….I’ll wait.
You could throw a hand full of rocks into our animation industry and still only hit the same 1-2 shows, with nothing even remotely similar to Millennium Exile or a Japanese Anime.
So how about we try building bridges instead of putting up walls.
Who knows, maybe I’m the one being naive at the end of the day….
