There’s never been a better time for independent animation. The democratization of technology, streaming platforms, and screens all over have made creating independent animated movies more of a reality than ever. Yet challenges remain. Here, I’ll discuss some of the insights I learned while creating my independent animated movie The Mind Machine now streaming on Tubi.
Changing Landscapes
Around 2006, while working as a freelance animator and designer in Manhattan at studios such as Curious Pictures (and others) on commercials, television programs and independent films, I witnessed several dramatic developments to the industry. 3D computer animation already had a massive impact and was outpacing traditional hand-drawn animation (Disney’s last such feature was 2011’s Winnie the Pooh).
Previously, computer animation required expensive Silicon Graphics workstations and costly software, which were unaffordable for individuals. That changed with the port of Softimage to Windows NT along with Maya and Adobe and cheap PC workstations made it possible to own your own gear.
What Makes a Movie?
This made me wonder whether it was possible to make an animated movie on my own. I was well aware that it can take an army of people to make a motion picture — from preproduction, to animation, editing and sound — it’s a ton of work.
Yet, I stopped to ponder how, during the Renaissance, the art of painting was executed by workshops of artists, but eventually became about personal expression and the unique vision of a single artist. Might animation follow a similar path, I wondered, with computers reducing the significant burden of labor traditionally required in animation production?
Back then, the notion of making an entire movie independently was relatively new. It was famously attempted years earlier by Richard Williams with The Thief and the Cobbler (1989) but the effort had not been successful. If only he had a computer!
Getting Going
A big motivation of making indie films is doing whatever you want without having to explain yourself or being beholden to anyone. With all of this in mind, I decided I would try to do it (with a little help from friends and family). As Steve Jobs said, “The journey is the reward,” and I looked forward to taking that journey.
Step one was the script. I was inspired by The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé. I liked the premise of the protagonist unexpectedly drawn into a tangled web (Hitchcock was also a master of this) and chose an artificial intelligence theme, which proved fortuitous given what is happening today. Naturally, no generative AI was used in the making of the film since it wasn’t around yet.
Ted Blumberg, a New York actor with an amazing ability to slip into a panoply of characters, voiced many of the leading roles and the female lead was played by the talented Marci Heit. I created the musical score and theme song.
Although I flirted with the idea of making the movie in 3D, the render times themselves would have taken too long. Today, thanks to powerful GPUs, 3D rendering takes a fraction of the time it used to but back then it took ghastly amounts of time. For The Mind Machine, therefore, I developed a unique style of animation based on interpolated 2D splines which allowed for things like naturalistic head turns as well as blending facial expressions smoothly instead of the abrupt changes apparent in other techniques like cut-out animation.
Finding a Home
Making The Mind Machine was a great experience, though it was a lot of work. When finished, I proved that I was able to achieve my goal of animating, editing and scoring a movie on my own. However, it didn’t take long to realize that there was something I overlooked: Where would people watch it? This is an issue those who work with large corporations with huge marketing departments don’t have to worry about.
Some animation is made for children. Others are gag-based and far-fetched with brash humor. Still more is short-form and viral. The Mind Machine didn’t really fit into those genres. Its suspenseful plot contains scientific concepts that aren’t easy for children to grasp, it doesn’t rely on incredulous physical humor, and its length requires thoughtful concentration and immersion.
Cable networks often look for shock humor series or educational fare for children. A theatrical release seemed out of reach and YouTube seemed better for vlogs and cat videos. By the time Netflix rolled around, I didn’t know how to contact them, and frankly wondered how much an unknown independent animated title would interest them anyway.
So I tucked it away on my hard drive. By 2013, technology might have advanced to the point where someone was able to make an independent movie, but connecting it with audiences was not there yet.
An Open Forum
Earlier this year I learned about Tubi, a new streaming platform that is really shaking things up. With over 80 million monthly users, it is outperforming some established streaming services. Unlike Netflix and Disney+, there are no subscription fees. Instead, it is supported by advertising.
Tubi is accessible to independent filmmakers without the stringent gatekeeping that exists elsewhere, effectively making it a place where audiences can decide what’s worth watching for themselves, a bold new concept in streaming.
After spending some considerable time and effort reworking and enhancing the movie’s picture and sound, a few weeks ago I succeeded in getting The Mind Machine on Tubi (through FilmHub). In 2024, for the first time, I finally felt it found a good home on an independent-friendly platform dedicated to movies.
Conclusion
If you can get a corporation to invest in your project, great. However, if you feel trapped in a proverbial wild goose chase, or you don’t quite fit established molds, you may wish to take the independent journey. If you do, I salute you and look forward to seeing what you make.
In the meantime, I invite you to watch The Mind Machine on Tubi, by clicking the link below (or on the Tubi app in your Smart TV):
tubitv.com/movies/100026302/the-mind-machine
The Mind Machine is available to stream for free on Tubi. Watch the trailer below. Learn more about the filmmaker at joeherman.net.
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