My Animation Era

What kind of job is irresistible? What kind of treatment can be called generous?

The answer is simple...

More money, less things to do, and close to home!

After Gu Miao used these three axes, poaching became easy. He didn't even talk about the work content, but the other party readily accepted Wanbao Animation's invitation.

It turns out!

No matter which country they work in, they cannot resist the temptation of "more money, less things to do and close to home".

The last day of July.

Wanbao Animation (North America) Branch was established in Glendale, a small town in southwestern California, 12 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles.

Forehead? Why not Los Angeles?

That’s a good question!

Gu Miao originally thought of Los Angeles. After all, for such a large company as Wanbao Group, it always felt strange that its North American branch was not located in the main urban area of ​​Los Angeles.

But this "Oscar" level animation team originally lived in Glendale.

In addition, the transportation in this place is relatively convenient, the infrastructure is complete, and it is not far from the airport and the main city of Los Angeles, so Gu Miao has no objection.

It doesn't really matter where.

Wasn't Wanbao's headquarters located in the center of Jiangchuan in the first place? As a result, the employees thought parking was inconvenient and the city was too noisy and the roads were congested, so why not move to the Animation Industrial Park in the new city?

The Neon Division is even funnier!

I originally rented an office building in the city, but the landlord made trouble with it. I felt that Wanbao was a big mistake and should be able to get a lot of money.

Seto and others failed to gain popularity, so they simply rebuilt the branch building in the suburbs.

For companies engaged in animation production, it actually doesn’t matter where the company is located. Living in a remote area can produce world-famous animations, and living in a building in the city center does not necessarily mean that your works will be popular.

Of course, except those engaged in finance!

Although the Wanbao North American branch in Glendale was officially established, it is actually very small, with only a few dozen employees in total.

To put it bluntly, it is still an empty shell.

Fortunately, Gu Miao didn't expect to make money from them. It was the same regardless of the number of people. Otherwise, these dozens of people would not be enough to fill the gaps between teeth.

"Boss!"

"Thank you very much for the working environment you provided us, but I have to remind you that we are not good at making Chinese-style animation...well! And neon-style animation."

Dave Smith, head of the North American branch and leader of the core creative team, who has been on the Oscar stage three times, told Gu Miao on a video call.

"So... I'm not sure if you know this, but the problem right now is that we are not suitable for participating in all of the company's... I mean existing projects."

"Dave, I know what you mean."

Gu Miao nodded and affirmed: "Don't worry, I will not force you to participate in existing animation projects."

He had already considered this.

Dave and the core team led by him are essentially following the American animation route. Let them make JK beautiful girls? Let them do 3D Fruit Attack?

Stop being funny!

Even if Dave himself didn't mention it, there was no way Gu Miao would do such a stupid thing like letting the cook drive the excavator.

It is clear that they are not the same style, and if they are put together forcefully, they will only become a piece of shit, and there will be no second result.

Gu Miao has better arrangements.

In fact, he had already sent Dave an email about his ideas and plans for the animated "Tom and Jerry".

His requirement is to keep improving!

From the day the North American branch is established, the headquarters will continue to provide all-round support to this project, including financial and human resources.

The project has no time limit.

Three years to sharpen a sword? Five years to sharpen a sword? These are not problems. As long as the quality of the finished film is high enough, no matter whether it takes three years or five years, Gu Miao can afford to wait.

Anyway, he is still young, so there is no rush!

…

"Isn't this too extravagant?"

After learning about the conditions that Mr. Gu offered to the North American branch, Huang Kun couldn't help but exclaimed: "If there is no construction period, how many years will it take in the end?"

"How would I know?"

"As long as you don't deliberately mess it up, but keep polishing the work, then I don't think the length of the construction period is particularly important." Gu Miao pursed her lips and said.

If he remembered correctly, the "Tom and Jerry" animation originally released by MGM was the one with MGM's iconic "Lion's Roar" in the title sequence.

18 years, 114 episodes of animation, 7 Oscars for Best Animated Short Film!

emm...six episodes a year?

All right!

This was the "purely handmade" standard from decades ago and cannot be compared with today's animation production standards.

Generally speaking, with the improvement of technology, it is much easier to produce animation now than it was back then, and the corresponding construction period will also be shortened.

However, if you want to polish a high-quality "Tom and Jerry" animation that is not inferior to the original, even if the times are different, the required construction period will still not be too short.

It has nothing to do with budget.

Even if the budget is in place, can a "fast food" version made in one year be on the same level as a version that has been polished for three years?

Nowadays, fast food animation is popular.

Almost every animation company is constantly compressing the construction period and budget. There are very few animation teams that do not care about the length of the construction period and focus solely on polishing their works.

Beautiful?

In those days, it was indeed possible to have an iron rice bowl.

Gu Miao's request for the North American branch is to turn a deaf ear to what's going on outside the window and focus on making animations. If you want to create animation that can go down in history, time is absolutely essential.

"Don't talk about this..."

Waving his hand, Gu Miao raised his wrist and glanced at the time, then asked Huang Kun: "At twelve o'clock tonight, it should be the premiere of the movie "Lotus Lantern", right?"

"That's right!"

Huang Kun took out two tickets from his pocket as if he were offering a treasure, shook them and asked, "What do you mean? Do you want to go and see them together?"

"Go! Of course you have to go and see."

"It has been promoted for so long and the momentum is so great. I really want to know what the movie will be like." Gu Miao said with great anticipation.

"Then you have to prepare tissues!"

Huang Kun winked and said: "I heard that when Plum Blossom Animation held an internal preview, many people cried while watching it..."

Really? I do not believe!

After all, Gu Miao is a steel warrior of pure love who has been tested by Huang Mao for many years. What tearful scenes have you never seen? After killing tauren for so many years, his heart has become as cold as a blade.

You like to stir up tears, right?

It’s not that he’s bragging, but it’s an anime that can make him cry. Apart from “That Rabbit That Year”, he has never seen the second one!

It's just "Lotus Lantern", it can't trouble him at all.

Gu Miao, who was full of confidence, took out a premiere movie ticket from Huang Kun's hand, held her head high and said: "Just wait and see, you may not know who will cry like a dog tonight!"

"Ha! Fill the cup?"

Huang Kun sneered: "Then let's make a bet. Whoever cries will post on Weibo: I'm a dog?"

"It's a deal!"