Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/4522
November 2009 33 Chris Bailey [Oscar-nominated short film director] on the jury, and they interacted with the animators, which was wonderful. ey really enjoyed giving people pointers and ideas about their submissions." Once the jury and Landau picked the winners, Landau and an animation direc- tor at Reel FX in Dallas worked with the animators to refine the performances and make them consistent. Reel FX also han- dled final rendering and compositing. "We plugged them into Reel FX's pipe- line remotely, and spoke with everyone by phone," Landau says. Some animators needed to do multiple iterations; others had simpler shots or a better sense of how to use the animation software. Translators were on hand when needed. "It was interesting that since we didn't assign shots and everyone could pick the shots they wanted, the strongest animation submissions we got were around the two leads," Landau says. "e moments where the characters connect were the moments we saw the animators most strongly con- necting to the story." Ready for an Encore Landau plans to repeat the performance with another Facebook contest scheduled to start in November. is time, he's work- ing with a game company, and the hive mind will create a short film that will also be an in-game animation. "From the ani- mation challenge standpoint, it's a step for- ward," he says. Landau is also planning to shop a script to distributors for a feature film based on "Live Music" that he hopes to create using the same process. And, he's looking at cre- ating shorts for mobile platforms. "I'm putting my efforts into [Mass Ani- mation] because it's a chance to direct and produce and do my own thing without a giant studio," says Landau. "I think this idea can go in any number of directions on a con- tinuing basis as a personal creative platform and as empowerment for other people." Some people, however, take exception to the idea and charge that Landau is ex- ploiting animators by asking them to pro- duce spec work and then paying relatively little for a final product that he accepts. Mass Animation paid the animators $500 per shot. "e animation guild has posted unflat- tering pieces, and people have attacked me personally," Landau says. "ey miscon- strue what we're providing." When Landau began getting negative re- actions, he surveyed the people involved in the project. "e response was overwhelm- ingly positive," he says. For students, the credit on a theatrical release would be a powerful addition to a demo reel—and a clip for which they even received payment. For others, the motivation varied. "A freelance artist in Chicago said he did the math, looking at the time he spent and how much we paid him, and this wasn't the most he'd gotten per hour, but it was far from the least," Landau relays. "He sub- Australia Belgium Brazil Canada Columbia England Greece India Indonesia Italy Kazakhstan Mexico Russia Scotland Thailand USA Venezuela Global Collaboration Animators from 17 countries collaborated with producer/director Yair Lan- dau on Mass Animation's "Live Music." "We had a huge following in Mexico and Brazil, and in the UK," he says. "Manchester, England, was our most popular city." Because the Web site didn't include translations for Asian countries, few submissions rolled in from the Far East, though. Among the submissions that came in, Landau spotted some differences in attitudes. "I noticed that the Europeans and Latin Americans responded more to romance and sweetness, and their submissions were more for those shots," he says. "The Americans leaned more to the comedic beats." Here's the final list: Reel FX refined and rendered performances created by animators from 17 countries who initially participated in the process via Facebook. Animation n n n n