Where can I find a list of cheap animation studios who will do a good
job making a cartoon film from a screenplay and audio that I provide?

Most animation production companies or animation studios seem to only
want to animate their own screenplays. All I want to do is make a
movie with no more graphical complexity than e.g. an episode of the
Simpsons or Family Guy.

I have a screenplay. I can do all the voices and make all the sound
effects on a CD. All I need someone to do is to animate the action
described on the screenplay to match the noises and sounds heard on
the CD. I'd like to outsource that to a cheap cartoon house.

I understand North Korea has a cheap one but I don't know how to find
them to ask their price.

The best answer would give me a list of 5-10 companies that have some
sample work online and would provide at least a ballpark of prices
that could depend on quality, detail, etc. I could pay more for 3d
animation or CGI but just the basics would be great too.

I've searched everything I could think of e.g. "animation production",
"animation studio", "turn screenplay into cartoon", etc.

Thanks!

---

Clarification of Question by philm2005-ga on 24 Nov 2005 00:06 PST

To clarify: international locations are fine, in fact, Russian would
be preferred, but whereever it is most affordable is what I'm really
after. Thanks!

---

Request for Question Clarification by easterangel-ga on 01 Dec 2005 23:23 PST

Hi!

The main problem here would really be the presence of a ballpark
figure. Usually service companies do not do provide such pricing
unformation until they see the scope of the work.

Furhtermore, aside from Russia and Korea, would you be interested in
India as well and in other Asian and European countries? it seesm that
US companies are setting their sights in India and the rest when it
comes to outsourced animation work.

In light of this, how do you want us to proceed with this project?

Thanks.

---

Clarification of Question by philm2005-ga on 02 Dec 2005 05:19 PST

India and others are fine too if they speak English and if I don't
have to travel there.

How about an indicative range instead of a ballpark figure? I.e., how
much would it cost for the typical complexity of say a Simpsons
episode, but stretched over the length of a feature film?

The importance here is not to get a firm bid, I will go through that
separately with the best ones, but to winnow out those companies e.g.
Pixar or Dreamworks that won't do an outside project at all, and also
to winnow out super-expensive companies such as one-man shops. I want
companies that do this regularly.

Does that clarify the question for you?

Thanks for the response.

Hi! Thanks for the question.


I was able to find the following animation studios wherein you can
contact for outsourced projects and the ballpark figure for a typical
company. Whenever possible, I will be linking directly to their sample
works.

Since you were looking first for Russian and North Korean animation
studios, I will start with them. After that it will be good to take a
look at both India and the Philippines for outsourcing your animation
projects since these two countries are active in this field and are
quite good with the English language. We will also cover China since
the animation industry is great there as well and the cost they say is
affordable.


----------------------------
Russia:

Ballpark Figure: ?Tatarsky's partner Georgy Vasiliev, of production
company Aeroplan, estimates costs at between $10,000 and $20,000 per
minute of animation work, depending on technique, making the budget at
least $7 million -- steep by Russian standards. ?

?'Gems' unlocks wealth of toon talent in Russia Project has spent over
two years in development? by TOM BIRCHENOUGH
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117932826?categoryid=19&cs=1

The company mentioned there was Pilot Animation and here is the link
to their website.

?Pilot Animation?
http://www.pilot-film.com/main_e.html 

Another well-known company which has produced a full-length cartoon of
the Nutcracker according to news reports is Argus International.

Source: http://www.kinokultura.com/reviews/R7-05shelkunchik.html 

Argus International Website
http://eng.argusinternational.ru/about/films/ 


Here are other Russian animation companies.

diForma
http://www.diforma.com/index_en.php?

Korolevskaya Gora CGI production studio
http://www.korolevskayagora.com/kg_main_showreels.htm

Media Art
http://www.mediaart.ru/multimedia_3d_graphic_animation.html 


-------------------------------------
North Korea:
Ballpark Figure: Sample Cost of $190,000 for 18 episodes of cartoon.

?PYONGYANG WATCH Axis of ... cute?? By Aidan Foster-Carter
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/DK13Dg03.html 


Only one company has been mentioned most of the time and that is the
government supported SEK Studios.

SEK Studio
Central District, Pyongyang, DPRK
Tél : 850-2-18111-3818332
Fax : 850-2-3814757


------------------------------
India:

Ballpark Figures: ?The main reason why foreign entertainment firms are
flocking to India is the cost advantage the country offers. For
instance, in the US, animators can cost about $125 an hour; in India,
they cost $25 an hour. Toonz Animation offers animation at 25 per cent
to 40 per cent lower rates than other Asian studios and much lower
than those of American studios.?

?The total cost for making a full-length animated film in America is
estimated to be $100 million to $175 million. In India, it can be made
for $15 million to $25 million.?

?If it's animation, it must be India!?
http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/mar/16spec1.htm 


?A 3-D animation film can cost US$70,000 to produce in India, half the
price of the same product in the US; and it is even cheaper in China.?

?Xing Xing: An Outsourcing Star?
http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/en/beijing/cib/2005_10/xing-xing-an-outsourcing-star.html


The following are the top animation studios according to the first
article about India.

Toonz Animation India
http://www.toonzanimationindia.com/fhome.htm 

Crest Animation Studios
http://www.crestindia.com/projects.htm 

Maya Entertainment Limited
http://www.mayaent.com/showreel/index.htm 

UTV Toons
http://www.utvtoons.com/ 

Zee Institute of Creative Arts
http://www.zeetelevision.com/html/Business.asp?Content=6 

2NZ
http://2nz.com/portfolio/films/sfilms.htm 

Pentamedia Graphics
http://www.penta-media.com/main.htm

Color Chips
http://www.colorchipsindia.com/2d_showreel.html 


---------------------------------
Philippines:

Ballpark Figure: ??in the Philippines, the local animation industry is
emerging as a strong alternative to Hong Kong?s services. Providers
are highly competent in terms of artistry, creativity and pricing: 2D
price per minute is 15%-20% lower than US costs, while 3D direct to
video is 25%-30% lower than US costs.?

?OVERVIEW OF THE PHILIPPINE OUTSOURCING INDUSTRY?
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:7oWT4i2qjeQJ:www.disini.ph/res_phil_outsource_III.htm+Philippines+animation+cost&hl=en
(Google Cache)


The following companies are members of the Animation Council of the
Philippines Inc., an organization cited by the article as regards to
the Philippines.

Creative Asia
http://www.creativesasia.com/flash.html 

Geebo Digital
http://www.geebodigital.com/main.htm 

Holy Cow Animation
http://www.holycowanimation.com/main.html 

NAVEL Productions
http://www.navelprod.com/ 

TOP PEG
http://www.toppeganimation.com/ 


--------------------------------
Finally, another source will be China.

China:
Ballpark Figures: ?Low costs almost guarantee the Chinese a major
impact. "Thru the Moebius Strip," for example, required a mere $20
million to make, according to Ellen Xu, a studio manager, and much of
that cost included the creation of a studio from scratch. By
comparison, she said, Pixar's films cost an average of $80 million to
make, while "Final Fantasy," which was a major disappointment at the
box office, cost a reported $120 million.?

?China Hurries to Animate Its Film Industry? by HOWARD W. FRENCH
http://www.fantasticfilmsinternational.com/nyt-article.html 


?Production costs for each minute of TV animation are between 10,000
yuan and 15,000 yuan, for which not even CCTV, the national
broadcaster, will pay more than 1,000 yuan per minute.?

?Animation Industry Seeks Lift-off? by Daragh Moller
http://www.btmbeijing.com/contents/en/btm/2005-09/coverstory/animationindustry 


Here are some sample companies.

Shanghai Animation Studio
http://www.ani-sh.com/ 

Xing Xing
http://www.xing-xing.com/ 



Search terms used:  
?North Korea?, Russia, India, Philippines, China animation production
cost companies studios

I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
                                                          
                              
Regards,                              
Easterangel-ga                              
Google Answers Researcher

There must be some guy in the world who can give me a better and more
direct answer to my question but given the thoroughness of
easterangel-ga's answer, I doubt that hypothetical guy is on the web.
I couldn't imagine a better answer given what is online, though I wish
there was a way to extend the research to include telephone follow-ups
with all the companies to get ballpark numbers.

Italian studio:
http://www.aenima.it/

There is also an excellent service just recently started to help
producers and animation production companies in the U.S. get hooked up
with appropriate companies abroad. I agree that the above answer was
very thorough and applaud the research efforts. If you want to avoid
doing all your own legwork and research, etc., cut to the chase by
going to an outsourcing professional. I would guess a company such as
OutsourceAnimation.com (http://www.OutsourceAnimation.com) would do
the job for you without really affecting the budget process
negatively. My impression is that generally brokers / reps / agents
take a cut off the total budget that you were going to pay to the
animation studio regardless.

I think it's pretty unusual that you would want to go off and hire an
overseas animation company and spend $100,000 or more for something
that you don't know if it has commercial value or not.  You could
partner with a college student or a budding animator to do a demo or
rough-cut of your cartoon.  You can then send it off to various
production companies and see if they want to fund a full-fledged
version.

Otherwise, a South Park-like cartoon can be done by most animation
students on a computer for a lot less money.  If you have some art
talent, you can do it too.