Comments on: Dear Sesame Street

By: Fantomex

Fantomex — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:34:06 +0000

This assumes that all of the characters on Fox’s animation block are offensive (Homer Simpson is a pussycat compared to Hank Hill, Peter Griffin, and the main character on American Dad.)

By: Fantomex

Fantomex — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:15:30 +0000

This ‘local children’s programming’ wouldn’t be all of those afternoon & morning shows that were all mostly called ‘Captain….’, showed Warner Bros./Terrytoon animated shorts as well as Our Gang shorts and had ads during the show that were put out of business by Peggy Charren and ACT, I presume?

By: footagehead

footagehead — Mon, 17 May 2010 22:09:08 +0000

winners announced. please check it out. opinions?

By: footagehead

footagehead — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:31:59 +0000

So now that the rules are published, what do you all think? It’s pretty obvious to me that it’s not spec work.

By: Meredith

Meredith — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:20:24 +0000

The submission agreement and rules have now been posted:

http://www.aniboom.com/Competition/Awards4/submissionagreement

By: Chandra

Chandra — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:51:54 +0000

@ Amid

It sounds as though the petition is trying to discourage anyone from taking part, implying that it is a mistake on both ethical and legal terms. Suggesting that the quality of the submissions is going to be compromised just because there are parameters and prizes involved is INSULTING and HURTFUL. It’s a chance for freelance animators to make a buck and grab some exposure. If you’re a Sesame kid like me, it’s also satisfying on a creative level as you get to tip your hat to some of the geniuses who made children’s media possible in the first place. I understand the concern for the future development potential (or lack thereof) for these entries, but Cartoon Brew seems to be assuming that EVERYONE is in this contest for the future development deal. But we’re not – some of us are in it for the experience, the fun, the cash prize, who knows…?

But it also sounds like this petition is intent on getting Sesame Street to reconsider not only its contest terms, but its involvement altogether. It sounds like Cartoon Brew is trying to put a stop to the contest. If the petition was really intended to look out for fellow artists as you assert, perhaps it shouldn’t have been formatted as an open letter to Sesame Workshop with signatures on the bottom. Am I really to believe that those names are all people looking out for me? I’d love for that to be true. But could it also be that the names on the bottom have signed to protect and preserve their spots as animators in an otherwise hard-to-break-into, slightly elite field? Why must all opportunities be offered to only the upper echelons? Why not break off a chance for us here below, who have yet to break thru? Just askin’…

By: Bob Harper

Bob Harper — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:55:15 +0000

I didn’t read this topic as an attempt to trample on dreams, and feel that this has been a positive and informative exchange of ideas and opinions. Amid and Cartoon Brew are passionate about animation and artists. I feel they were informing artists of the pitfalls that exist in these kinds of endeavors. And there are plenty of pitfalls. Artists should be informed of what’s going on and be left to make their own decisions. Cartoon Brew provides a good service.

On that note, however, I feel that this petition should’ve waited until the terms and conditions came out before declaring it spec work.

Spec work is when you create work specific to a brand or client with the hopes of getting paid if the client likes the work. the problem with spec work, which I am opposed to, is that it usually means that you are creating work so specific that you couldn’t exploit it in other markets, and many times clients will demand ownership of the work, even if they don’t use it. This is a practice that I think needs to end.

I don’t see this contest as spec work, since arteists aren’t asked to do brand specific work, although after rereading the categories the pinball recreation would be something specific that you couldn’t exploit somehwere else. Otherwise the categories are wide open and artists are asked not to do Sesame Street branded characters or items. If they are to claim full ownership of all entries, then it would be very much spec work.

Hopefully they have read the petition and this exhange here and will adjust their terms accordingly.

By: amid

amid — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:09:08 +0000

Chandra – Your comment puts words in our mouths and completely misrepresent the issue. Nobody is trampling your opportunity, squashing dreams, or refusing you a chance to be a part of Aniboom’s contest. If you want to enter, be our guest. This post was intended for artists who want to understand more about the contest and its ethical ramifications. If you’re not interested, there’s no need for rudeness.