My Thoughts on Indie Animation
Get ready because this is a long-ass post (read: essay).
This is something that's been bugging me for the longest time, and that's how indie animations (mostly series on YouTube) have such high quality, sometimes surpassing the animation from actual professional studios. That's not a problem in of itself, but I feel like there are several effects that can arise from that. Allow me to explain.
Quick Disclaimers - This isn't knocking indie teams. They're all doing amazing work. Also, I'm just one person with opinions, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm laying this out here so I don't need to put "in my opinion" in front of every sentence.
Time constraints - One reason a show with a bigger budget and a larger workforce might have "worse" animation (stiffer motion, less lighting/shading, etc) is because they're often working with deadlines. Meanwhile, indie studios usually set their own schedules and can be more flexible with deadlines. On one hand, this means series can get the time and attention they deserve. On the other hand, the audience can be left hanging for long periods of time.
This really is a YMMV issue and doesn't just apply to indie animation (I'm waiting for updates from several abridged series). It just depends on whether you prefer a show with higher quality that releases one episode every year or a show with slightly lower quality that releases monthly. Also, some teams do manage to release high quality episodes on a frequent basis, but I'll get to that (see: The High Bar).
What I find annoying is when deadlines are constantly getting pushed back or are straight up ignored, although everyone under the sun is guilty of doing this (myself included).
Restrictions - One big pro of indie animation is that there aren't any censors or restrictions imposed by major studios/corporate executives, which means creators are free to make their dream show how they like without having to compromise for the sake of appealing to the widest demographic possible or meeting a bottom line. The indie animation community does a good job of blowing past the cash-grabbing shovelware in favor of propping up passion projects with something to say.
If I did have to mention one con, it's that sometimes restrictions can push a person creatively and those same executive curveballs can shape a show for the better. However, for all the good that comes from studio meddling, it's vastly overshadowed by the bad, from the censorship of the LGBTQ+ community (which indie animation has gone lengths to correct) to turning what might have been a decent project into an absolute mess (*ahem* Suicide Squad, 2016) to outright cutting down/canceling amazing series (we've all got our lists and Inside Job is at the top of mine). Plus, I've noticed indie teams often make an effort to include diversity (race, gender, sexuality, history), but without the added baggage of a major corporation constantly peering over their shoulder, tallying up how many brownie points they've earned so far.
Plus, the biggest restriction a lot of indie shows already have to work with is resource availability (budget, staff, skill, time), which leads me to my next point...
The High Bar - I think the expectations people have of indie animation keeps getting higher and higher, and that's not necessarily a good thing. With huge projects constantly pushing what can be done with a small team and a couple of dreams, it's becoming harder for people who just don't have the time, the artistic skills, the manpower, etc to keep up.
For me at least, some of the initial charm of indie animation comes from janky anatomy, weird audio quality, awkward movements and all those rough edges you can only get from one guy in a closet with an old Wacom and a cheap mic. I'm not saying indie animation has to start downgrading. Not by a long shot. Please funnel that smooth animation right into my equally smooth brain 😁.
What I mean to say is that as the bar gets raised, more people struggle to keep up and end up falling behind, kind of negating what I see as the point of indie animation: to give people with less skills and resources a chance to prove themselves and build up a community.
(Also, in my personal experience, I've ended up discouraging myself from starting projects I'm passionate about due to the anxiety of getting compared to an indie series with fluid animation and shading that wasn't done exclusively with the airbrush tool on a multiply layer. I only bring this up because I'm pretty certain I'm not the only one.)
One Small Personal Gripe - Okay, this is very much a "me" issue, but the constant smooth animation and the fact that motion almost always seems to be happening at all times really grates on me. Characters don't have to always be moving. They can just be static for a few seconds, y'know?
If you've read to the end of this post, holy moly you've got endurance. Thanks for bearing with me. Cheers!
