It’s hard to get into television animation these days with the amount of talent, politics and high pressure, however the generation of talented animators is ever increasing with each one wanting to fulfil their dreams of creating a successful animation. With this in mind, lately we see a lot of artists leaning towards the YouTube Community.
It’s easy to see why these budding animators would bypass the pressure and the politics of television in favour of the internet. Taking a cartoon from concept to production is incredibly tough, requiring a huge amount of commitment. Bringing that into the television network world can result in a lot of stress as some animations never see the light of day.
YouTube is the invaluable resource that young animators need. It provides the medium for cartoons that might never be seen on TV so that they can grow as well as allow the creators to maintain their vision and decide on its own future. There is no team to impress or create conflict. With YouTube animators are able to make something that they want and if it grows it grows, if it doesn’t then the animator has the freedom to change it up and play with the idea.
The timeline from creation to reaching the audiences is accelerated vastly through YouTube. It operates on a much smaller sale and provides less risks and a free and open environment for animators to experiment with different styles.
A perfect example of this would be “Simon’s Cat”. With over 2.9 million subscribers it is the second largest animation channel on YouTube. Simon Tochfield’s creation blew up online in 2008 with later years bringing books, apps, and plenty of merchandise. His creation and success really stands to the freedom that YouTube allows. There is no strict schedule and the animation can be totally unique and wonderful. It is unlikely that an animation in black and white with no dialogue would see the TV but it works as a 4-5 minute short where people can view a history of animations at their leisure.
Another animator who sees the benefits of YouTube is Natasha Allegri with her show Cartoon Hangover. The show following a twenty something year old woman named Bee and her cute space type animal PuppyCat, has been watched over 4 million times and this is just after the second instalment ! Allegri writes, designs and produces the entire show herself and although YouTube lacks that prestige and big name company stability, it can provide a medium that won’t cause problems for executives, or conflict in time slots.
Creating an animation based on the creators vision, rather than the vision of the larger network is what brings the likes of Allegri, Tochfield and others like Sminky Animations and Pendleton Ward into the YouTube Community. The fact that YouTube have this constant presence and traffic is what draws animators to it. It gives small projects and visions a chance to live with more mainstream and viral things.
Saying all this though it has to be said that YouTube is not necessarily a television killer. Popular cartoons like Adventure Time, Bob’s Burgers and The Regular Show offer some of the best story-lines and ratings in years. The role of YouTube is that it offers an amazing ground to scope the market and offer a great foundation for the shows and their creators. Animations are constantly evolving and although YouTube can result in animations being short and non-linear, indie animators are willing to experiment and expand and grow from this. The medium doesn’t matter as long as it engages the audience.
Given the ever increasing talent and popularity of animations it will be no surprise in the future that animation is only to become more popular over time.
