Hybrid biology
With the Annecy Festival back this week, Patrick Eveno, CEO of the event’s organiser Citia, suggests that although hybrid live-action/animated shows are in vogue, broadcasters are yet to be convinced.
Animation is a language. More than fiction and documentary, it is a genre that’s able to construct a story that overcomes time and all forms of reality reproduction. It is a genre that recognises dreams and personal transformation. It is a wonderfully poetic vehicle.
Hybrid programmes, in terms of animation, refer to the use of multiple production techniques, including live-action and documentary, to achieve a frame-by-frame treatment that borrows from several genres to create a unique aesthetic.
The genre allows viewers to keep a distance from the truth so they can comprehend tough subjects that live images make incomprehensible or unbearable. Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman’s 2008 film Waltz with Bashir, about the 1982 Lebanon War, is a leading example, and one that has since influenced animated features for adults.
For children, hybrid programmes are great for comedy but less so for more difficult subjects. Live-action images and funny animated characters make for an interesting design, for example.
There are many feature films in the genre in development, but TV programmers have also been creating such content. Companies like Futurikon (Les Européens, Minuscule), Autour de Minuit (Babioles) and Salambo Productions (Têtes à Claques) have been working on impressive formats.
But as we all know, producing and financing animated programming is difficult for everybody, and that includes producers and channels. It is necessary to manage the projects as well as possible. Studios need to research the best ways to produce and not think only of profit, and the project has to be great in the first place – that’s for sure.
The situation in Annecy’s home, France, is a little different because we have a very strong system of help from the state and great partnerships with the broadcasters. But there are many producers and not so many slots on France Télévisions, TF1 and the other channels. It’s still very tough and it can take a long time to get a final decision over TV series.
But France is the exception in Europe. Channels there have obligations and it’s more comfortable for the production community, but elsewhere it’s really hard to produce shows. Germany, for example, has lost a lot of producers to other countries because there is no industry support and not enough routes for them to create exciting programmes.
But even French producers know it’s absolutely necessary to look to the coproduction market. When German companies are having real difficulties, for example, they can look to have a small part of the production done in France. This is true for mainly preschool programmes but for big 26×26’ series it’s impossible. The international economic crisis is here and everything is tougher.
One answer to all of this is finding new forms of production. Animation is too expensive on its own in some cases and if it’s possible to use different techniques without betraying the themes of the programme, mixing in live-action or documentary footage can make it easier to fund.
But channels are not running more hybrid programming. It’s still a small part of a broadcaster’s schedule, even though they are putting more money into new media production. It’s hard to programme a slot for hybrid shows and specials work best. There are success stories, such as Minuscule – The Private Lives of Insects, from Paris-based producer Futurikon, which will be at Annecy this year and has been sold into 13 countries. But there is still a long way to go. The US studios are generally not looking for these types of shows at the moment (though Cartoon Network has had great success with The Amazing World of Gumball) and independent directors and studios are leading the way. Hopefully, we’ll see more Gumballs and others choosing this path, too.
We’ll be exploring hybridisation at this week’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market. Key animation figures such as Isaac Partouche and Emmaneul Linot from France’s SolidAnim, Ole Wendorff-Østergaard from Poland’s Platige Image and Raul de la Fuente from Spain’s Kanaki Films will discuss the genre. All are welcome, whatever their choice of medium.
The festival will be at the L’Impérial Palace, Annecy, this week until June 9. It will include conference sessions and production masterclasses, a focus on Irish animation and screenings of projects.
