HEIL HICKNER [3]
THE FOLLOWING large piece ---written by myself, as per usual---represents something of a 'first' within this site, as it is the very first---and more than likely very last-------example of a previously-screened, 'cut-and-paste' job, it having first appeared on the AMAZON USA site, [in fact it still exists on there]:
Cartooning is a cool and fun part of life and there are lots of decent folks involved in the game---but there is no doubt there is a fair few dodgy cartoonists and contrbutors out there, also.........I have most certainly encountered untrustworthy and disreputable 'professionals' within the business.
I often recount on here about good artists who have advanced the art of cartooning, but also about the awful scenarios within the cartoon community -------there is loads on this subject within these postings-------- however the horrendous experience I encountered in a cel-animation studio owned by Amblin Entertainment and run by one Mr Steven Hickner remains, by far, the absolute nadir of anything I ever encountered within the business of making cartoons.
The following piece is directly culled from a book review on a 'how-to-succeed-in-the-cartoon-biz' I wrote about Dreamworks Producer Mr Stephen Hickner on the American version of Amazon Books, and as such, is more than likely to be as yet unread by regulars to this site.
I exchanged words with Mr Hickner over a few heated exchanges on youtube comments [of all places] around 5 years ago: sadly I neglected to save these writings: I regret not having the foresight to transfer them onto here [the whole original thread is long-deleted]: it was pure dynamite stuff I assure you!
Anyway, THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS are directly lifted from an AMAZON REVIEW I wrote , which goes into considerable detail as regarding the pitfalls that sometimes exist within the Motion Picture Industry: this took me several drafts to write, back in 2014, but still reads as quite potent, hence my decision to add this work on here:
The petty irritations engendered by the dubious MAGGIE THATCHERS' STARCHED UNDIES forum-site pale into insignificance, when compared to the Mercenary Establishment Lorded over by Mr Hickner!: here is the Gen.................
Cartooning is a cool and fun part of life and there are lots of decent folks involved in the game---but there is no doubt there is a fair few dodgy cartoonists and contrbutors out there, also.........I have most certainly encountered untrustworthy and disreputable 'professionals' within the business.
I often recount on here about good artists who have advanced the art of cartooning, but also about the awful scenarios within the cartoon community -------there is loads on this subject within these postings-------- however the horrendous experience I encountered in a cel-animation studio owned by Amblin Entertainment and run by one Mr Steven Hickner remains, by far, the absolute nadir of anything I ever encountered within the business of making cartoons.
The following piece is directly culled from a book review on a 'how-to-succeed-in-the-cartoon-biz' I wrote about Dreamworks Producer Mr Stephen Hickner on the American version of Amazon Books, and as such, is more than likely to be as yet unread by regulars to this site.
I exchanged words with Mr Hickner over a few heated exchanges on youtube comments [of all places] around 5 years ago: sadly I neglected to save these writings: I regret not having the foresight to transfer them onto here [the whole original thread is long-deleted]: it was pure dynamite stuff I assure you!
Anyway, THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS are directly lifted from an AMAZON REVIEW I wrote , which goes into considerable detail as regarding the pitfalls that sometimes exist within the Motion Picture Industry: this took me several drafts to write, back in 2014, but still reads as quite potent, hence my decision to add this work on here:
The petty irritations engendered by the dubious MAGGIE THATCHERS' STARCHED UNDIES forum-site pale into insignificance, when compared to the Mercenary Establishment Lorded over by Mr Hickner!: here is the Gen.................
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful
on June 2, 2014
Why have I put forth this particular title-heading?
Quite simply, the vast majority of Hollywood productions---whether live-action or animations------are very formula-driven, derivitive enterprizes, which is not surprizing, considering the ever-escalating costs of making movies [especially fantasy films].
The main reason so many modern movies look so interchangable and lacking in distinction is largely due to most [modern] movies' refusal to take risks, resulting in a very unhealthy, often bloated method of carbon-copying established hits, producing endless sequels, etc, etc.
Animation studios run by folks like Mr Hickner are not really interested in innovative new ideas: they desire surefire hits ---being only human------and therefore rigid templates are struck, which most of the animation artists are required to adhere to ------only the artists at the very top are doing the real creative work: some modern movies can employ up to 1000 technicians, so naturally there are hundreds of artists employed to do the fill-in, non-creative frames---there are hundreds of thousands of such 'inbetween' images-----and this work is about as 'creative' as painting-by-numbers, or join-the-dots.
Walt Disney used this assembly-line approach to great success, and it is still very much in use today: these studios require many 'lesser' artists to render imagery originated by other, more senior artists.
This is still the reality of what to expect, if you fancy joining a large established studio.
How do I know this? Well I worked in Steves' London studio in 1990, and then [as now] you had to start at the bottom, as an inbetweener----a drudgerous, irritating job, that paid OK, but is a world away from creating bold new cartoons from scratch.......if you join a large established studio like Steves,. this is what to expect-----just don't go up to producers/directors like him with a stack of your original drawings-----he won't be interested, you are expected to spend a fair time [in some cases, a few years] doing the donkey-work before they will let you loose on real creativity ...........I actually used to go into Steves' studio at weekends to do my own unpaid test animation, and Steve made it perfectly clear he was displeased to see me there. In other words, don't bother trying to get ahead by originality alone, it is not what they are looking for at Dreamworks if you are a new employee. They want conformity, end of story----they don't want you coming up with new ideas,----and this was stated quite clearly by Steve himself when confronted by myself with this observation------- which I discovered for myself in Steves' Amblin regime.
Steve H wouldn't even look at the test drawings he knew I was working on.
In the London area during Amblin [run by Steve and his yes-men] , his studio had a bad reputation for supressing employee talent [another symptom of 'not taking risks'] and many cartoonists left to work at another studio in Battersea---there was a real exodus to there at one point, I remember. I doubt very much if this severely restricting outlook imposed by Amblin is any different in 2014; a lot of the same personnel from that time are still in charge at Dreamworks.....and the stifling quality of their output looks no healthier today [yes, I see these movies, but they don't stand out the same way as, say, Pixar entries do.]
I have worked for a fair few diverse art establishments in my time as a pro cartoonist, and the studio run by Steve remains the ONLY , solitary, 'art studio' I ever encountered that actually punished originality, and rewarded mundanity and conformity: a somewhat curious state of affairs for an animation studio, but this gives a good indication of the blinkered outlook of the unimaginitive people who were running this place. Any quality output from a studio run by Steve is soley due to the efforts of the talented people working for him: he has been described [not by me, but by a well-known animation historian and insider] as a 'studio hack' or a 'glorified 'TV animator', and perhaps this critic has a point. His 'sausage factory' approach to making movies---and simultaneously trying to please his paymasters-----is one of the symptoms of the stunted growth in creativity Hollywood seems to be permanently stuck in nowadays.
Steve sacked one guy [presumably on a whim] saying 'other people never wanted to work with him' which in all liklihood was a fantasy manufactured by Mr Hickner: there was nothing at all wrong with this guys' artwork--he was better at that particular job than I was-----but Steve said to him he 'couldn't draw' straight to his face, then started laughing. This poor guy [with no other cartoon experience, unlike me] was crushed and devastated, and probably never worked as a cartoonist again [unlike me]----this guy was sacked for being innocent other than Steve never liked the look of his face.
I refrain from putting on spiteful comments on Amazon, but you can decide for yourself the calibre of Steves' personality, from his actions described in the previous paragraph.
Mr Hick is by no means the only[ quote:] 'studio hack' [: unquote] out there [going by the dire state of many Hollywood movies this past 20 odd years] but he and his ilk are certainly a big part of the problem, regarding the wasting of resources [studio and employee] that typifies many mainstream movies.
Here's my own story, one of lost opportunity, and frustrated ambition, brought on by an uncaring, visionless studio system:
I was regarded by the bosses of this studio as one of their worst artists, however I blamed the system for dumping me on inbetweening,a method of filling in frames which requires nothing in the way of using artistic imagination. I enjoy drawing direct from imagination because it's genuinely natural and inventive, and also, I admire originality and drive. I went into the studio at weekends to start on my own original animation, and I was delighted when a seasoned assistant Animator mistook my original poses for professional animation: her words on seeing my stuff:
'Wow! Who's stuffs' that?'
This incident was the only time at Steves' studio when I felt happy and valued: however both the Production Co-ordinator and Steve himself either never acknowleged, or recognized, talent when they saw it, or wouldn't actually look at the original animation they knew I was working on, and in fact Steve made it plain he was unpleased to see me coming in to do my own unpaid stuff. As far as they were concerned, I was a no-hoper inbetweener, and they wanted me out the door to bring in other inbetweeners who were good at copying the work of others.
I was replaced by someone who was good at copying the work of others, it's unlikely that the person who replaced me ended up doing anything other than put out mechanical fill-ins, perhaps he was 'priveliged' enough to do this task for many years.
I got sacked, without my stuff being looked at.
You can make your own conclusions from this regarding the outlook of the 'creative people' running this studio.
To be fair, many starry-eyed beginners never seemed to mind doing the non-creative drawings in his studio, but anyone who desires to come up with their own original strong fantasy imagery [from scratch] is not advised to enter the animation industry the way it is run by folks like Mr Hickner------best to try and get financial backing to control your own short movie. That way you can forge ahead with your own vision, instead of being forced to crank out identikit fodder like many [probably in the hundreds] employees at Dreamworks.
All companies employing cartoonists are not as bad as this one, though: thankfully, other film studios or publishing houses will encourage more in the way of individuality, so there are still a few opportunities for work if you are good enough and you wish to proceed with your own unique style; however starting at the bottom at Dreamworks is fine if you are happy just to embellish the existing artwork of others: for example, if you are good at copying, but perhaps lack the 'original spark' then working for Dreamworks might suit you and the Company fine......such a sterile-minded place is no use for an artist with a powerful personal style of his or her own, though [the dilemma I experienced at Amblin]
But if you're OK with going along with this basically non-creative studio outlook, by all means read this book.
I doubt if this book would help me personally.
Some of Steves' original cartoons are in his book, and although his level of drawing is perfectly acceptable, it's nothing really outstanding, and I'm not convinced he can draw better than I can: but it's people like him ---of modicum talent-----who sadly wield the power as regarding who does and doesn't get a career in animation.
When I joined this studio 24 years back, never, in my worst nightmares, could I have even imagined that such a [allegedly] creative concern [of 300 artists, not counting trace-and-paint] would have been run by unimaginitive, accountant-like non-visionaries, but that was the grim reality of my experience working there. The place was a shambolic nightmare, [the 1930s wiring system failed, to cite one example] though in all fairness there were bound to be teething problems in setting up a new studio. The bludgeoning 'sledgehammer' solutions used by Steve to overcome his many problems [I was one of his many victims] was crude and pragmatic.
I ADMIT I was doing substandard work there: but I wasn't content to put out sub-par cartoons, and got no help from this uncaring, dubious studio to break out of the studio-made rut I was in, and unhappy as a result----- the shackled environment endured by many there was a direct result of Mr Hickners' oppressive, factory-like outlook. By refusing to encourage his employees' strengths, he was in effect retarding the entire animation industry.
A well-run studio would see employees provided with an environment where they are free to embark on their very best work for the benefit of the whole studio: the reality in Mr Hick's studio was to force everyone to churn out everything from the same machine-like approach, irrespective of individual strengths and weaknesses. This 'like-it-or-you-know-where-the-door-is' approach just creates resentment for many cartoonists who feel they are stuck on an inappropriate job where they cannot function to their best ability. Even worse, when an artist is under-performing as a result of this oppression, the actual artist gets the blame for putting out 'substandard artwork', which ironically has been a direct result of the studios' lack of vision and 'zombie factory worker' outlook.
I picked up a DVD copy of the movie I worked on at Amblin , for four bucks, in Woolworths, 10 years ago, and it still remains in it's sealed box, unplayed---I just can't bring myself to watch the cartoon, just too many bad memories of this badly-run studio: and indeed, my time at Amblin is the only period of my cartooning employment history that is never mentioned at all on my resume when I apply for art jobs even today. My own website--which is where I am able to generate most of my paid work---- shows my all-original cartoons only, and no frames I put out at Steves' studio.
Steve---if you are reading this---I did see Bee Movie at the theater, it looked very slick and nice, but I'm darned if I can remember a single setpiece or name any of the characters...you STILL ain't producing any 'household name' characters, old son... not like Disney did.....go on. prove me wrong....give us some Cinematic History, instead of these unmemorable features that hardly anyone---even toon-heads---- seem to care about.
Steves' had over 30 years to come up with a single 'household-name' character , and we are still waiting [I think Shrek was dreamed up by someone else]: your paymasters must have surely noticed your un-Disney-like failure to create cartoon 'stars', Steve! Even Rocky and Bullwinkle are known to millions: but who the Hell can reel off the names of the long-forgotten characters in 'We're Back' or 'Bee Movie'? Your features LOOK very cool but for some reason or other, the personalities in your movies are not exactly gelling with the public: wonder how many truly famous characters Disney had struck, by the time he was your age?
'Nuff said.
Mr Hickner sure knows a heck of a lot about the animation industry and how it works, but going by what I have personally experienced working in his studio, he doesn't appear to be especially adept at encouraging raw talent, and he sure does not show any indication of having the artistic vision of a Walt Disney.
Quite simply, the vast majority of Hollywood productions---whether live-action or animations------are very formula-driven, derivitive enterprizes, which is not surprizing, considering the ever-escalating costs of making movies [especially fantasy films].
The main reason so many modern movies look so interchangable and lacking in distinction is largely due to most [modern] movies' refusal to take risks, resulting in a very unhealthy, often bloated method of carbon-copying established hits, producing endless sequels, etc, etc.
Animation studios run by folks like Mr Hickner are not really interested in innovative new ideas: they desire surefire hits ---being only human------and therefore rigid templates are struck, which most of the animation artists are required to adhere to ------only the artists at the very top are doing the real creative work: some modern movies can employ up to 1000 technicians, so naturally there are hundreds of artists employed to do the fill-in, non-creative frames---there are hundreds of thousands of such 'inbetween' images-----and this work is about as 'creative' as painting-by-numbers, or join-the-dots.
Walt Disney used this assembly-line approach to great success, and it is still very much in use today: these studios require many 'lesser' artists to render imagery originated by other, more senior artists.
This is still the reality of what to expect, if you fancy joining a large established studio.
How do I know this? Well I worked in Steves' London studio in 1990, and then [as now] you had to start at the bottom, as an inbetweener----a drudgerous, irritating job, that paid OK, but is a world away from creating bold new cartoons from scratch.......if you join a large established studio like Steves,. this is what to expect-----just don't go up to producers/directors like him with a stack of your original drawings-----he won't be interested, you are expected to spend a fair time [in some cases, a few years] doing the donkey-work before they will let you loose on real creativity ...........I actually used to go into Steves' studio at weekends to do my own unpaid test animation, and Steve made it perfectly clear he was displeased to see me there. In other words, don't bother trying to get ahead by originality alone, it is not what they are looking for at Dreamworks if you are a new employee. They want conformity, end of story----they don't want you coming up with new ideas,----and this was stated quite clearly by Steve himself when confronted by myself with this observation------- which I discovered for myself in Steves' Amblin regime.
Steve H wouldn't even look at the test drawings he knew I was working on.
In the London area during Amblin [run by Steve and his yes-men] , his studio had a bad reputation for supressing employee talent [another symptom of 'not taking risks'] and many cartoonists left to work at another studio in Battersea---there was a real exodus to there at one point, I remember. I doubt very much if this severely restricting outlook imposed by Amblin is any different in 2014; a lot of the same personnel from that time are still in charge at Dreamworks.....and the stifling quality of their output looks no healthier today [yes, I see these movies, but they don't stand out the same way as, say, Pixar entries do.]
I have worked for a fair few diverse art establishments in my time as a pro cartoonist, and the studio run by Steve remains the ONLY , solitary, 'art studio' I ever encountered that actually punished originality, and rewarded mundanity and conformity: a somewhat curious state of affairs for an animation studio, but this gives a good indication of the blinkered outlook of the unimaginitive people who were running this place. Any quality output from a studio run by Steve is soley due to the efforts of the talented people working for him: he has been described [not by me, but by a well-known animation historian and insider] as a 'studio hack' or a 'glorified 'TV animator', and perhaps this critic has a point. His 'sausage factory' approach to making movies---and simultaneously trying to please his paymasters-----is one of the symptoms of the stunted growth in creativity Hollywood seems to be permanently stuck in nowadays.
Steve sacked one guy [presumably on a whim] saying 'other people never wanted to work with him' which in all liklihood was a fantasy manufactured by Mr Hickner: there was nothing at all wrong with this guys' artwork--he was better at that particular job than I was-----but Steve said to him he 'couldn't draw' straight to his face, then started laughing. This poor guy [with no other cartoon experience, unlike me] was crushed and devastated, and probably never worked as a cartoonist again [unlike me]----this guy was sacked for being innocent other than Steve never liked the look of his face.
I refrain from putting on spiteful comments on Amazon, but you can decide for yourself the calibre of Steves' personality, from his actions described in the previous paragraph.
Mr Hick is by no means the only[ quote:] 'studio hack' [: unquote] out there [going by the dire state of many Hollywood movies this past 20 odd years] but he and his ilk are certainly a big part of the problem, regarding the wasting of resources [studio and employee] that typifies many mainstream movies.
Here's my own story, one of lost opportunity, and frustrated ambition, brought on by an uncaring, visionless studio system:
I was regarded by the bosses of this studio as one of their worst artists, however I blamed the system for dumping me on inbetweening,a method of filling in frames which requires nothing in the way of using artistic imagination. I enjoy drawing direct from imagination because it's genuinely natural and inventive, and also, I admire originality and drive. I went into the studio at weekends to start on my own original animation, and I was delighted when a seasoned assistant Animator mistook my original poses for professional animation: her words on seeing my stuff:
'Wow! Who's stuffs' that?'
This incident was the only time at Steves' studio when I felt happy and valued: however both the Production Co-ordinator and Steve himself either never acknowleged, or recognized, talent when they saw it, or wouldn't actually look at the original animation they knew I was working on, and in fact Steve made it plain he was unpleased to see me coming in to do my own unpaid stuff. As far as they were concerned, I was a no-hoper inbetweener, and they wanted me out the door to bring in other inbetweeners who were good at copying the work of others.
I was replaced by someone who was good at copying the work of others, it's unlikely that the person who replaced me ended up doing anything other than put out mechanical fill-ins, perhaps he was 'priveliged' enough to do this task for many years.
I got sacked, without my stuff being looked at.
You can make your own conclusions from this regarding the outlook of the 'creative people' running this studio.
To be fair, many starry-eyed beginners never seemed to mind doing the non-creative drawings in his studio, but anyone who desires to come up with their own original strong fantasy imagery [from scratch] is not advised to enter the animation industry the way it is run by folks like Mr Hickner------best to try and get financial backing to control your own short movie. That way you can forge ahead with your own vision, instead of being forced to crank out identikit fodder like many [probably in the hundreds] employees at Dreamworks.
All companies employing cartoonists are not as bad as this one, though: thankfully, other film studios or publishing houses will encourage more in the way of individuality, so there are still a few opportunities for work if you are good enough and you wish to proceed with your own unique style; however starting at the bottom at Dreamworks is fine if you are happy just to embellish the existing artwork of others: for example, if you are good at copying, but perhaps lack the 'original spark' then working for Dreamworks might suit you and the Company fine......such a sterile-minded place is no use for an artist with a powerful personal style of his or her own, though [the dilemma I experienced at Amblin]
But if you're OK with going along with this basically non-creative studio outlook, by all means read this book.
I doubt if this book would help me personally.
Some of Steves' original cartoons are in his book, and although his level of drawing is perfectly acceptable, it's nothing really outstanding, and I'm not convinced he can draw better than I can: but it's people like him ---of modicum talent-----who sadly wield the power as regarding who does and doesn't get a career in animation.
When I joined this studio 24 years back, never, in my worst nightmares, could I have even imagined that such a [allegedly] creative concern [of 300 artists, not counting trace-and-paint] would have been run by unimaginitive, accountant-like non-visionaries, but that was the grim reality of my experience working there. The place was a shambolic nightmare, [the 1930s wiring system failed, to cite one example] though in all fairness there were bound to be teething problems in setting up a new studio. The bludgeoning 'sledgehammer' solutions used by Steve to overcome his many problems [I was one of his many victims] was crude and pragmatic.
I ADMIT I was doing substandard work there: but I wasn't content to put out sub-par cartoons, and got no help from this uncaring, dubious studio to break out of the studio-made rut I was in, and unhappy as a result----- the shackled environment endured by many there was a direct result of Mr Hickners' oppressive, factory-like outlook. By refusing to encourage his employees' strengths, he was in effect retarding the entire animation industry.
A well-run studio would see employees provided with an environment where they are free to embark on their very best work for the benefit of the whole studio: the reality in Mr Hick's studio was to force everyone to churn out everything from the same machine-like approach, irrespective of individual strengths and weaknesses. This 'like-it-or-you-know-where-the-door-is' approach just creates resentment for many cartoonists who feel they are stuck on an inappropriate job where they cannot function to their best ability. Even worse, when an artist is under-performing as a result of this oppression, the actual artist gets the blame for putting out 'substandard artwork', which ironically has been a direct result of the studios' lack of vision and 'zombie factory worker' outlook.
I picked up a DVD copy of the movie I worked on at Amblin , for four bucks, in Woolworths, 10 years ago, and it still remains in it's sealed box, unplayed---I just can't bring myself to watch the cartoon, just too many bad memories of this badly-run studio: and indeed, my time at Amblin is the only period of my cartooning employment history that is never mentioned at all on my resume when I apply for art jobs even today. My own website--which is where I am able to generate most of my paid work---- shows my all-original cartoons only, and no frames I put out at Steves' studio.
Steve---if you are reading this---I did see Bee Movie at the theater, it looked very slick and nice, but I'm darned if I can remember a single setpiece or name any of the characters...you STILL ain't producing any 'household name' characters, old son... not like Disney did.....go on. prove me wrong....give us some Cinematic History, instead of these unmemorable features that hardly anyone---even toon-heads---- seem to care about.
Steves' had over 30 years to come up with a single 'household-name' character , and we are still waiting [I think Shrek was dreamed up by someone else]: your paymasters must have surely noticed your un-Disney-like failure to create cartoon 'stars', Steve! Even Rocky and Bullwinkle are known to millions: but who the Hell can reel off the names of the long-forgotten characters in 'We're Back' or 'Bee Movie'? Your features LOOK very cool but for some reason or other, the personalities in your movies are not exactly gelling with the public: wonder how many truly famous characters Disney had struck, by the time he was your age?
'Nuff said.
Mr Hickner sure knows a heck of a lot about the animation industry and how it works, but going by what I have personally experienced working in his studio, he doesn't appear to be especially adept at encouraging raw talent, and he sure does not show any indication of having the artistic vision of a Walt Disney.
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