Animation productions are quite different from live-action films in the factors that influence a project’s budget. There are many elements that determine the budget size, and in this short summary I’d like to go through the most important ones. If you think I have left an important one out, please reply in the comments!
Script – Complexity. The more characters you have on screen at the same time, the more work it will be for the animators to co-ordinate and animate the movement. There is a reason why crowd animation and crowd simulation software is a good business. Also, the more action the script and storyboard call for, the slower it is to animate and the more it will cost. Talking heads are cheap, especially if they have no lips that need to be lip-synced to the dialogue. Complexity also includes the amount of characters, locations/backgrounds and props in total, as all those have to be created from scratch.
Script – SFX. The amount and complexity of special effects called for in the script and its interpretation by the director, Art Director and storyboard artist, directly affects the special effects budget.
Script – Running time. The longer the film, the more animation will have to be produced and financed. This is the reason for many animated features having a running time of 75 minutes instead of 90, as you can tell a complete story but save 16% in your budget. Also see “Storyboards and animatics”.
Storyboards and animatics. These are your most important tools in controlling costs! Full blown animation is not a medium to experiment with, unless you do it on your own money. Unlike live-action, you can’t just do a different take to see what works best – it would blow any budget. With storyboards and animatics however, the cost for changing things around and trying different approaches is next to nothing. Use this to your advantage, make a perfectly timed and framed film at this stage and your accountant will thank you for it.
Technique – Manpower. It is a very different thing to make an animated film with CGI, puppets, pixilation or the good old paper and pencil. The largest cost factor in any film project is manpower, and the various techniques differ in how work intensive they are. There’s no easy rule to say that one technique is cheaper than the other, it always depends on the specifics of a project.
Technique – Equipment. The choice of animation technique will also affect your needs for hardware, software, render farms, studio size, prop and puppet department, etc. Again, you have to choose a technique that does your script and target audience justice, so keep them in mind.
Production design. It starts with the script and the level of detail put forward in the director’s and AD’s plans. If your characters have four instead of two legs (or are octopi!), your animator’s will have a lot more to do. The more intricate the textures and surfaces, the more details on the characters, the more work it will be to create, animate and possibly render them (if the project is CGI). Fur, water and fire for example can be major headaches in CGI animation.
Camerawork. You can do a lot to make an animated film cheaper with smart use of the camera. This is where good planning and an excellent animatic pay off, as you can possibly save days worth of animating legs, if you frame your shots right.
Coproduction. I have discussed the added costs of coproduction in a previous post. Of course you only enter into a coproduction if it enables you to raise more money than what you could raise on your own. However it is good to keep in mind, that some of that money is never seen on screen. Animated coproductions also have a different structure from live-action ones, so I find it important to list this point here as well.
In closing
The idea should never be to kill all possible costs, that would only leave you with a bland film. It is however imperative for a producer to know what elements affect the budget and what can be done to keep costs on an acceptable level. In the end it is a matter of finding the right balance: Producing the perfect animated film in a way that it can be financed.
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