Getting past the drawing board money

Not all animation companies in Ireland are as well established as Monster Productions.

Fledgling animators can experience great difficulty in getting off the ground, and a lot of them fund their projects with personal loans. They reinvest their profits and look to Europe and the United States for contracts.

But to help animators get started, there is some funding available, as Gerard O'Rourke explains: "Cartoon, an organisation funded by the European Media Programme, tries to promote the work of European animators and limit the amount of work being farmed out by the United States to Far-Eastern and Pacific Rim countries. It holds annual forums and provides development finance and networking opportunities through their seminars." Cartoon's Irish delegates also lobby the Government to ensure that any proposed tax changes do not affect financing for animation.

"There are three stages involved in getting development finance. First, treatment: this is your pitch or angle. Second, script development: this stage could see your concept `morph' into something completely different from your original idea. Third, graphic research: you get money to produce some stills. You normally get the money after you've spent it."

Another source of start-up funds for animators is the Frameworks scheme, funded by RTE, the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board. In Dublin, the County Enterprise Board also provides "mentor" grants to oversee new production companies. Arbutus Animation is one outfit that has benefited - its `mentor' was from a leading company in the food industry and guided Arbutus through business and marketing plans.

Many animators seek work experience before setting off on their own, and Eimear Joyce and Ann Tweedy of Arbutus are good examples. Returned emigrants, both of them worked for large companies in Dublin, London and Germany, including SullivanBluth, Murakami Wolf and Emerald City. This year, Arbutus has worked on The Selfish Giant, animating Oscar Wilde's short story for a 50-minute television special, and has also landed a lot of contract work. Arbutus Animation has had to carve a niche for itself in a very competitive industry. Everybody, even larger production companies, has to hustle for new contracts, in an animation industry that is not only vibrant but also a volatile sector of the Irish media.

"We all try and get jobs with the advertising agencies," says Gerard O'Rourke. "They pay well, but it's hard to get work with them. A lot of the contracts are given to English companies. "We're ticking over. The main thing is to keep paying the bills and keep the development going and hopefully get a break with one of our projects."