Podeloy Productions Blog

I recently blogged that those who care about keeping entertainment jobs in Los Angeles should vote for Paul Krekorian in the Council District 2 election coming on September 22.  I think Krekorian and others in Hollywood are more concerned about live action productions, but animation has been hit by a related problem that has been around for at least two decades: outsourcing.  Friend of Podeloy Productions, Marlene Sharp, wrote a pretty good article/interview for examiner.com about outsourcing animated productions to India.  Half of the article is about the concept of outsourcing and the big studios who practice it.  The second half was a short interview with Gaurav Jain, a producer at an animation studio in Mumbai.

Jain says optimistically, “Outsourcing strengthens the industry by allowing it to grow at a greater rate.  The western artists should never forget that they have always been the primary content creators, and that position is not threatened by outsourcing, but strengthened by it.” I agree with him, but outsourcing is a double-edged sward and Jain is only describing one of the two edges.  While outsourcing allows the animation industry to create more content faster, it also makes jobs that were once done by western artists to be done on the cheap in India and other countries where wages and working conditions are of a lower quality.

While I don’t see the outsourcing business model to be reversed any time soon (its way too profitable), I’m glad to read Jain say:

“In 5 years I see the animation industry creating content for the indigenous market with less reliance on outsourcing.  … In 10 years I see Indian studios as stakeholders in international productions, offering creating insight and co-owning prestige productions.  I see online and web content becoming more important with greater broadband penetration, and I see licensing and merchandise becoming a major revenue source.”

I’m all for the growth of the indigenous Indian animation market and I’m even in favor of international cooperation.  Slumdog Millionaire was the result of such cooperation between western and eastern filmmakers.  I just wish American studios would keep as many jobs in the U.S. (and especially Hollywood) as possible.

San Fernando Valley residents should know about the upcoming election for Los Angeles city Council District 2 on September 22. Last night, I attended an event at the Adat Ari El synagogue in North Hollywood to hear the candidates speak. I am not an expert in local politics, so some of what they had to say went over my head. The main topic that concerned all of them was recent actions by the DWP which seemed to waste taxpayer money or be corrupt in some way.

I went to the event to make sure that the candidates had an opinion on runaway productions—film and television produced outside of Los Angeles in order to cut costs. Other places like Massachusetts and Georgia have big tax incentives that bring Hollywood productions to their state and away from the heart of the entertainment industry where people like us depend on our livelihoods. Not only are entertainment industry personnel affected by runaway productions, but also local businesses such as restaurants, rental companies, caterers, etc. are affected.

After each of the ten candidates had a chance to speak for five minutes, the moderator asked for questions from the audience. I was able to state my case and ask what specifically each candidate planned to do to combat the trend described above. It seemed to me that most of the ten candidates did not have this issue very high on their priorities list. The candidate who answered the question most satisfactorily to me was Paul Krekorian, who made reference to a program he spearheaded this year as a member of the California State Assembly to give tax incentives to projects that shot in California. You can read more about it here.

Don’t forget to vote on September 22.