YouTube update
Posted on 19. Oct, 2007 by admin in blog
I’m pleased to announce Mick Foley from Sumo Dojo productions is joining the panel on 2 Nov to discuss animation in the YouTube generation. Mick is becoming a regular at Flip and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge about old and new media platforms. His production company embraces the ‘hub’ ethos, I suppose some might call it a collective, but it’s something I see more of as a businesses model for animation and media production. It has the flexibility of scale (people can work as freelancers on there own or as a group on bigger projects), and it means you are linked into a ready made supply chain. It also means you can identify and bring on new talent, which is the lifeblood of the industry. This might be heavy stuff to discuss on a festival blog, but since Flip emerged out of a business support ethos, it’s actually very relevant. Currently, the West Midlands animation and media scene doesn’t tend to think in terms of hubs and collectives. They function more as closed individual units. On a slightly connected note, Chris Randall, one of the student competition judges, commented at the press launch last week that Flip’s main value was that it gave him the opportunity to view upcoming talent. Chris’ company, Second Home Productions, is a fairly recent venture and it very much embraces new talent and the collective ethos, and indeed I know Chris has already contacted some of this year’s animation graduates to bring them into the fold. I think it will be interesting to see how he develops and to see whether the region’s media does begin to embrace the hub ethos and indeed whether Flip can be a catalyst in helping to create that model. I’d welcome comments
Peter