Liao Xiangzhong: Higher Levels of Animation Creativity are Needed

There\'s been a significant improvement in the number of overseas animation productions progressing through to the finals in this year\'s Shanghai TV Festival. In terms of number of countries, quantity and quality, the 19th STVF has the highest degree of internationalization of many festivals. The themes and style of nominated animations are diverse: popular productions such as Bluecat and Dian Dian Travel Around the World, Seer and The Growban are all in the finals. Animation Jury President Liao Xiangzhong said the quality of domestic animation has improved steadily in recent years. However, he said gaps still exists between domestic and overseas productions. He suggested domestic animation could be revitalized if focused more on artistic aspects. However, he continues to have strong confidence in the future of Chinese animation, especially in the new media age as its popularity grows via the Internet.

Daily News: As the animation category Jury President, what do you think in general about the nominated productions?

Liao Xiangzhong:The overall quality is quite good. Twelve nominated animations come from six countries, and their themes are diverse. Junkyard (2012) from Netherlands has a comparatively higher artistic level. It was the grand prize winner of the 2012 Ottawa International Animation Festival and is now a finalist in the Shanghai TV Festival.

Daily News: What is your evaluation of the overall trend of Chinese animation in recent years?

Liao Xiangzhong:The overall quality is improving steadily, but there is no outstanding work and Chinese animation hasn\'t reached public expectations. On the one hand, although Chinese producers have the same approach as their international competitors, the level of domestic creativity does not measure up. If we look closely at the professional standards, there is definitely a gap between our expectations and the reality. On the other hand, many works are produced impatiently and impetuously. Some people think creativity is making up stories and that humor comes from excessive dialogue. Some plots do not follow the main theme. We need to settle down and do this with some heart.

Daily News: In comparing domestic works with first-class overseas productions, what do we lack?

Liao Xiangzhong: There are gaps in the overall style, content, production, plot and structure. Most of the cartoons shown on TV are for children. We are not confident with our level of creativity. It\'s enough to fool kids, but not adults. Indeed, it\'s not an issue to let young kids be the target audience, but it\'s a problem for all the animations to target young kids. We have to appeal to all generations of the audience. This is about the creativity of a country. Why do we target young kids? That\'s because kids can accept almost all sorts of cartoons, but adults are much pickier.

Daily News: So, do you mean that we don\'t fall behind in the aspect of technique? What would technical innovation, such as 3D and 4D, bring to Chinese animation?

Liao Xiangzhong:Our techniques are ok. However, due to limited funds and other reasons, we usually stop at the halfway point when we can actually reach our ultimate goal. In my perspective, every improvement in technology can promote art design, but the emotional elements in the film are decisive. People are tired of watching American movies with fantastic techniques. However, some works using simple techniques can move and touch people so much. Why? In a word, emotion! I like those films which are emotionally accessible like Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki and some other European films that can make you weep in just a few minutes.
 
Daily News: Many animations from Europe and some favorable works by Pixar Company are short films.

Liao Xiangzhong: In China, many people nowadays focus exclusively on full-length films. Nevertheless, we should not overlook short art films. Many of these from Canada and Europe, especially Eastern Europe, are very touching. Art is a language that is accessible across borders. I always believe that we should start with short art films. In particular, in the era of new media, short art films have as great an ability to transfer artistic information as those fancy techniques. And new media provides a platform that is able to magnify this capability.

Daily News:Back to the old days, we once had an era of short films, such as Baby Tadpoles Look for Their Mother. Why did these short films disappear from our sight?

Liao Xiangzhong:The business model of short art films in China has not completely matured. How do producers generate income from them? In the cinema, or somewhere else? We haven\'t figured it out. Also, professional production companies are not willing to make short films, and those unprofessional companies are incapable of doing so. That\'s why I suggest the professional companies allocate some of their budget from now on to making short films.

Daily News: Many people cherish feature films, such as The Monkey King (1961). However, there have been no films with such impact since then. In your opinion, what are the reasons?

Liao Xiangzhong: The Monkey King has had a large impact on the development of Chinese art. All of us, including our creative teams and academia, cherish this film. But, unfortunately, make no serious reflection. The problem in the industry is the main reason. The rate of return is too low, and charging a fee to television, as we used to get a return, is a long way from enough. The shortage in other skills and the rampant piracy of films set up a vicious circle, and people formed an idea that making animation was not profitable. Because of this, many great teams left the animation industry and began making TV series and films. One TV show could generate over RMB 100,000 which was much higher than what one animation could make. That was the reason professional people left.

Daily News: But a popular cartoon, like Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, can make a significant economic return.

Liao Xiangzhong: The Pleasant Goat series is a special case. First, it created a new model for the Chinese animation industry. In addition to the tons of episodes of TV cartoons, it also released a film each year. Children liked it and they would bring their parents to watch. Second, it ignited hope and injected confidence into the Chinese animation industry. I prefer the Bears series they made. It\'s like an upgraded version of Pleasant Goat.

Daily News: What do you think about the popular power generated by the Internet in the age of new media?

Liao Xiangzhong: Admittedly, it\'s the hope for Chinese animation. As I said previously, I don\'t propose making features like some western countries. The Internet expands the media space for the animation industry. One important thing is that public creativity can be represented here, and the degree of convergence of creative power and business values is immeasurable. Thus, more and more general public animation lovers can post their work through new media. If we can make better use of the available platforms, I firmly believe it would significantly improve our overall level of creativity.