00:41.3
How much funding did CCP give you that allowed you to complete this project?
00:46.2
Yeah, we were fortunate enough as a group, we applied for the grant as a group,
00:53.6
as TULDOC Animation Studios. It's a non-profit organization
00:57.6
focused on original Filipino animation.
01:00.6
And as a group, we were able to get around 500,000 pesos to create three projects.
01:10.6
So, to be honest, it's not much but we pursued it like passion projects.
01:18.6
It began during the pandemic and we continue to work on it for on and off.
01:27.6
While we were also working on other things.
01:29.6
Alright. And Blug, you know they say there's no business like show business?
01:35.6
And this is really an interesting part of show business, animation.
01:39.6
How is the animation industry today? Is it harder to land projects?
01:43.6
Is it harder to sell and to offer your creations? Is money harder to come by?
01:50.6
Yeah, I think traditionally the Philippine animation industry has been linked as
01:56.6
a service provider for foreign animation studios.
02:00.6
So, traditionally that has been the role of many of our fellow Filipinos working in the industry.
02:08.6
I think the current thrust lately has been more towards creating our own content,
02:15.6
creating our own intellectual properties.
02:19.6
It hasn't yet bloomed yet the way that the service provider industry has bloomed.
02:25.6
But I think it is the path forward when it comes to generating more opportunities for our local animation artists.
02:34.6
Alright. And so, let's talk about your own content, your winning content.
02:42.6
This is the story of Indara Patra and Sulaiman.
02:45.6
It is actually a Mindanao folklore.
02:48.6
I know it's a story about two brothers.
02:50.6
The king had asked his brother Sulaiman to check out another story.
02:54.6
He wanted to check out another island or province where big birds and monster animals were attacking.
03:00.6
Very quickly, tell us the story of Sulaiman.
03:03.6
It has been told and retold many times in many different ways.
03:07.6
What makes your version different, unique?
03:11.6
Yes. The thrust of our proposal to CCP when we engaged in the CCP Innovation Grants
03:20.6
was to promote local myths and legends.
03:24.6
So, I was tasked to create the animated short film based on a Mindanaoan folktale.
03:30.6
My interpretation for this one was I simplified the story out of necessity
03:37.6
because the story is only eight minutes.
03:40.6
So, it was also a bit of a technical challenge.
03:43.6
So, I needed to compress the story. I simplified it.
03:46.6
I mainly focused more on Sulaiman's adventure and his sacrifice, his heroic sacrifice.
03:54.6
So, it is a more concise version of the folktale,
03:58.6
but I still made sure that the heroic side of the characters is in full display,
04:06.6
especially when it comes to these adventurous actions.
04:09.6
How many artists worked on this eight-minute film?
04:13.6
And for how long?
04:17.6
Since this is comparatively speaking a low-budget passion project,
04:24.6
the majority of the work was made by myself for the most part.
04:31.6
A lot of the rough animation has been made by myself.
04:34.6
But I also had some assistants, particularly interns,
04:40.6
and a couple of professional friends that were pitching in here and there
04:46.6
with a little bit of tasks that they were helpful enough to help me out with during their free time.
04:55.6
So, Sulaiman, since you're a winner, where do you take this next?
05:01.6
Yup. Sulaiman right now is currently on its film festival tour.
05:07.6
I have been submitting it to various film festivals.
05:11.6
And so far, it has been accepted into 18 international film festivals.
05:18.6
I have been submitting since September last year.
05:21.6
So, currently, the count is around 18.
05:24.6
18 international festivals.
05:26.6
And I still aim to continue submitting it to festivals.
05:32.6
And when its festival run ends, I hope to also promote it online.
05:37.6
All right. All right.
05:39.6
Blug, I'm very curious how you feel artificial intelligence will change the game
05:45.6
for animation artists like yourselves.
05:48.6
I mean, the founder of DreamWorks, I think last year said that,
05:53.6
it used to take us five years and 500 artists to create one world-class animated movie.
06:01.6
With artificial intelligence, it's going to take us less than 10% of that.
06:05.6
Expect a 90% cut in costs.
06:08.6
While the idea will come from individual creativity,
06:11.6
the execution can be carried out by machines.
06:14.6
What are your thoughts on this?
06:16.6
And should artists, you know, Filipino artists who are just about to come out of their shell start to worry?
06:23.6
They will be crowded out.
06:25.6
Yes. Actually, this is a currently hot topic right now,
06:29.6
especially among us artists just in general.
06:33.6
Not just animators, but just artists in general.
06:37.6
There's a lot of debate about AI.
06:44.6
It has arrived and I think it's here to stay.
06:47.6
So, it's just a matter of navigating around it.
06:51.6
Now that this technological phenomena has already arrived.
06:55.6
I have been talking to other famous directors, animation directors and local animation artists.
07:03.6
And to be frank, they are worried.
07:09.6
If we want to be optimistic about it,
07:12.6
maybe we can coexist harmoniously with this new technology
07:17.6
and the job market would not be disrupted.
07:20.6
But I think, to be honest, I think it will disrupt the job market.
07:25.6
Especially here in the Philippines that the local animation industry
07:29.6
is primarily geared towards being a service provider.
07:33.6
So, I think the challenge now, especially to local artists,
07:38.6
is to maybe shift the focus to content creation.
07:43.6
Especially if AI's positive impact to the industry is that
07:48.6
it would make the production side less painstaking
07:53.6
and there's less investment in terms of manpower and labor.
07:58.6
Maybe we could refocus and shift towards IP development instead.
08:04.6
But again, there's no clear answer right now.
08:09.6
And I'm sure that when, especially a few years from now,
08:13.6
it's really going to affect our media landscape.
08:19.6
Final question, Blog.
08:21.6
There's a saying, the starving artist.
08:24.6
They say that artists don't really make a lot
08:28.6
until they make a very big boom.
08:31.6
Until their name really explodes in the scene.
08:34.6
I wonder, what can government do for you?
08:37.6
Because we haven't really seen the Philippine animation scene
08:41.6
go full blast yet.
08:43.6
It's been trying to take off.
08:48.6
Is there anything that you think this government can do,
08:51.6
not just grants, not just a 500,000 grant for example,
08:55.6
but to push for you guys to finally hit inflection point
09:00.6
and just go, wow, explode?
09:04.6
Yeah, maybe I could speak on my recent encounter
09:10.6
with another opportunity with CCP as well.
09:15.6
This artwork, by the way, in my background,
09:18.6
this is the project that we are currently producing right now.
09:22.6
It is another animated short film based on Lola Basham.
09:27.6
This is funded by CCP as well.
09:30.6
And it's already near completion.
09:32.6
It's 99% complete.
09:34.6
I think we will be finished by May.
09:39.6
So by May, we will already be finished.
09:42.6
The budget here is, I'm happy to say,
09:45.6
is a bit more improved compared to the CCP Innovation Grant.
09:52.6
So we had better budget now.
09:54.6
We had more finances and resources to gather people to help us.
10:00.6
But again, to the question of what more can the government do,
10:07.6
and I think a more sustained effort because right now,
10:11.6
it's somewhat sporadic when it comes to support.
10:16.6
The support does exist.
10:18.6
But it's a bit more sporadic here and there.
10:20.6
So I think a more sustained effort and a more long-term view
10:25.6
about how we can get a return on investment
10:31.6
with regards to these projects because it is a big risk
10:35.6
because animation typically is more expensive
10:38.6
and more time-consuming than live action projects.
10:41.6
So I think when we're tackling this type of project,
10:44.6
we have to think more, a couple of steps ahead
10:48.6
when it comes to getting our investments back.
10:51.6
Blog, we don't have much time but thank you so much
10:53.6
for sharing with us this passion,
10:55.6
the projects that you're working on,
10:57.6
and congratulations again.
10:59.6
You make us proud.
11:00.6
Thank you so much.
11:01.6
Thank you for having me.
11:03.6
Now before we go,
11:14.6
we're going to take a short break.
11:16.6
We'll be right back.
11:17.6
We'll be right back.
