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What Kind Of Animation Talents Does China’s Animation Industry Need?

Animation talents are not only the propelling power to the development of animation industry, but also the sources of animation creativities and creators of the animation industry. The college students are the back-up and the emerging power of the animation industry. China’s animation education cultivated plenty of animation talents for the animation industry. The development of China’s animation industry is strongly supported by the government. What kind of animation talents do we need today? What kind of talents should be cultivated from animation education? 2008 China International Student’s Animation Festival had become the showing arena for new stars of animation talents. During the festival we saw some original creative animations. Also we saw the effort of China’s animation education for cultivation of the animation talents and rocky road that animation companies lead under the environment of international animation industry.

a. The situation of China’s animation industry amid the world
Under the internationalizing industrial environment, the animation industry develops along with America’s animation-films industrialization, Japan’s animation-TV-programs integration and Korea’s gaming-promoted industrialization, China joined in the development of commercial animations in the 1990’s. After several years of contribution, we might not achieve the success that we had expected. Once upon a time, our animation industry lived on processing and foreign orders under the international environment. Yet we could still see the fruits carried out by the animation-industry promoter’s efforts. Although animation film is not the big winner for the box-office and animations did not give birth to celebrate cartoon stars, we are still taking delight in talking about the cute cartoon figures on the web. China’s animation industry is just in its infancy. We should be patient to see it growing.

b. The living status of China’s animation companies
From 1990’s when we started animation processing, we stepped on the road of animation processing and became a part of international animation industry. China’s animation companies lived on animation processing, learned basic animation producing techniques, and cultivated the first group of producing talents for computer animations.
China’s animation companies made their living by animation processing. They realized their shortcoming: the lack of core technology, marketing and scheming for the animation industry. The task for China’s animation enterprises is to look for suitable situation and direction for its development amid the market and the environment of international animation industry.

c. China’s animation-education insisting on original animations
China’s animation-education supports and promotes original animations in colleges by stimulating student’s imagination and creative power, focusing on cultivating on artistic character, artistic culture and animation spirit. The aim of China’s animation education is to cultivate China’s talents for original animation creation.
Within a short period of time, animation education booms around the country. Until now there are hundreds of colleges which opened animation subject or related courses. The teachers mainly came directly from students graduated from animation schools. How do the teachers, who have little practical experience and are lack of deep understandings to animation industry, cultivate animation talents who will face practical problems? And how do they lead students to understand China’s animation industry and to explore successful operation on commercial animations? The animation education in many colleges is just started, with little mature teachers and a few chances for students to practice. How could the students touch and experience the animation industry deeply? There are prominent problems such as unclear cultivation directions in course-system arrangement, over-technification, over-theorization, over-miscellaneous course-arrangement… Thus, how could the quality be guaranteed for China’s original animation talents cultivation?

d. The living status of China’s animation companies vs. China’s animation education origination
Animation processing causes urgent need for skilled talents by China’s animation companies to fulfill the need for growing orders. Thus social animation education booms. Short-time trainings release the pressure of the need for processing talents, increase the scale of processing-style companies, and accumulate some animation resources.
With the change of global economic situation and the need for animation companies’ development, questions emerged that what kind of situation that animation companies lie in and which road is suitable for the long-term development of animation industry. It is also asked how to raise the quality of animation products. In recent years, China’s animation film products are continually exploring. We could see China’s animation films many years after the prosperity of China’s traditional 2-D animations. Some excellent web animation figures are welcomed by young people. Those animations have close relationship with internet-lifestyles. It could be called a successful model for animation figures through new spreading channels.

e. The Student’s Animation Festival – a platform for the dialogue between animation companies and animation education
The works by Chinese students shown on 2008 International Student’s Animation Festival let us see the rapid growth of China’s new animation-talents. We could see the overall quality kept rising. The competing works paid more attention to original features and outstanding visual experience. The future animation talents that we expect mainly come from students in animation colleges nowadays. They will be elites in animation industry after several years of practice and promote the development of animation industry. Under the environment that China’s animation industry was at the beginning, they discussed during the student’s animation festival that how China’s animation education and animation companies would implement their missions.

i. What kind of talents do animation companies expect?
China’s animation companies are in the style-shifting period from processing to creating. They are choosing the mode of development. Companies expect a new employee could enter the production flow rapidly to fulfill their need of animation production. If the animation company is in the stage of processing, it does not need much creative expression, which is more suitable to animation talent’s re-training by company or specialists trained by social education who could conduct animation production or other tasks.
China’s animation companies are kept style-shifting and start the road of animation creating. In recent years, we have seen some original works. Students trained by China’s animation education have better basis and creative abilities. Their creative abilities bring birth to original animation works. It is requested by the change of global economy and China’s economy that we must come out of animation processing, create our original works, owning the intelligent rights, owning our publication rights, and build our own culture industry.

ii. More patients is needed for animation talents
When we cultivate students in school, we spend more time on their creative abilities, and relatively less time on their technical abilities. Like the situations in many other professions, there is little possibility that students graduated from animation subject become the main force or elites very rapidly. They need time to practice in the professional field, accumulating experience in animation practice, theory, experimental film and commercial animations.
Companies are requested to properly handle the relation between the time needed by students in practicing and commercial time. It is needed to view from a further aspect to the permanent propelling power to enterprises within animation talents. A talent’s training time is equivalent to his value. Especially for the style-shifting companies, it is the important period to cultivate animation talents.

iii. The growing practicing step in animation education
The exchange between animation education and animation companies has been strengthened, with more practicing co-operation. Students have more chances to understand animation industry and flows. The Student’s Animation Festival is a platform for the dialogue between animation companies and animation schools and students, providing chances to inter-active exchanges and promoting co-operations. It serves as a connecting point between talent’s cultivation and usage, promoting the talent’s flow within the industry.

iv. Multiple mechanisms in cultivating animation talents
There is a serious phenomenon that China’s animation education became more and more similar. Each sector on the chain of animation industry needs plenty of talents, especially for the pre-phase and after-phase nowadays. Characteristic talents for sectors in middle-phase are also needed. Every animation school’s course-arrangements are the same, so do the cultivating directions. It is hoped that students could express their characters and creative power with respect to their different styles. Each animation school should develop their own teaching character and that of talent-cultivating directions. The content of animation education should not be the same, nor should the education structure. Thus animation talents could find their own way in animation industry, improving the chain of the industry, and promoting the development of the industry.