00:00 Welcome back right here on The Exchange where your business is our business.
00:13 I'm Rico Gizon.
00:21 More animated films and shows have been heading to our big and small screens, but with evolving
00:27 viewer tastes and tech trends, what does a local animation scene look like?
00:32 Let's now have an exchange with Juan Miguel del Rosario, President of the Animation Council
00:37 of the Philippines and of Toon City.
00:40 Great to have you back, Mr. del Rosario.
00:42 What is the current state of the local animation sector?
00:46 Well, I would divide it into two sectors.
00:51 One is the service sector, of which I'm part of, and then the other one is the content
00:57 creators.
00:58 For the service sector, it's actually going quite well.
01:03 In fact, we were not affected by the pandemic because we are primarily digital.
01:09 So we are continuously growing and several other studios have been coming up lately,
01:15 smaller scale, but they have proven to be quite successful because their growth is quite
01:21 immense.
01:22 For the content creators also, that's slowly coming on stream.
01:30 We don't have a specific growth yet, but right now they are also marketing their own IPs
01:36 in different fora.
01:37 So has the Philippine Creative Industries Act opened up new local and global doors for
01:44 the animation industry?
01:48 It is still at its early stage.
01:50 In fact, I think there is no funding yet because that was just approved very recently.
01:58 However, it is under the very capable hands of Yusef Fita Aldaba of DTI.
02:06 He's a PhD in research and she's very capable and she's really adopted this quite well.
02:13 And her passion towards the creative industry just shows.
02:17 Her support is just there.
02:19 Although it's quite too early to tell because there are still a lot of I guess, I's being
02:26 dotted and T's being crossed.
02:28 So the IRRs are practically finished, but we still have to meet in different groups
02:35 to make sure that this answers the problems and the supports that is needed by the sector.
02:42 And local animators like yourself, Mr. De Rosario, are no strangers to technology and
02:46 making art.
02:47 I love that poster right behind you called Curious George.
02:53 It's an award-winning animation for a large US network.
02:59 Yes, yes.
03:01 If I may say, we did seven seasons of Curious George.
03:04 We won an Emmy as a result of this.
03:07 And that's why I have this poster in my office because it's very dear to me.
03:12 Obviously it says a lot also about Philippine artists, but yeah, definitely we're very proud
03:18 of it.
03:19 But how is the industry also dealing with the rapid developments in artificial intelligence?
03:25 Is the local animation industry using it more and less people?
03:32 Not yet.
03:33 However, our attitude is we have to embrace AI.
03:38 It's a reality.
03:40 It's developing much, much faster than anyone anticipated.
03:45 But let me just tell you an anecdote.
03:47 When we started going digital, and that was about 2011, and we were even ahead of Japan
03:54 when we went digital, and I'm very proud of that again.
03:57 We lost some people, we lost some artists because they could not get rid of the hand
04:03 drawing on paper.
04:05 And it was just different for them to adapt to the software and also to draw on tablets.
04:11 But I guess AI is similar.
04:15 The other people that embrace technology has proven that it was an advantage to them.
04:21 The efficiency is much higher, their productivity is obviously much higher, and things are just
04:26 better.
04:27 So in this case, we just have to adapt to it and learn how to use it properly as opposed
04:33 to resist it.
04:34 And you're also the president of this large animation local company called Toon City.
04:40 What are some of the big projects that you've produced for many global production firms,
04:49 apart of course from Curious George?
04:51 Oh my, now that you ask.
04:55 We've been around for 30 years.
04:57 So Little Mermaid, Kim Possible, Emperor's New Groove, Lilo and Stitch.
05:07 And then if you fast forward to more recent ones, Rick and Morty, Big Hero 6, DuckTales,
05:14 name it.
05:16 We've done more than 100 titles already, Rico, and we're still going strong.
05:21 Wow, a lot of box office hits, not only in the Philippines, but around the world.
05:29 Amid these rapid technological developments and changing consumer trends, how can local
05:34 animators better compete in the regional and international markets?
05:41 Well, the Philippine Creative Industry Development Law will really help us.
05:50 One, we have already through DTI, we've already developed the Philippine Skills Framework
06:01 for animation.
06:03 So that will help standardize the training all the way up to the jobs and the career
06:08 path.
06:09 So that alone is a solid, at least, I guess, path for which people can choose right from
06:16 training all the way up to being a senior animator.
06:21 So that alone is already a big thing.
06:24 And then, of course, with the other assistance of government agencies such as DICP, which
06:31 has really been supportive in training 400 in the past year, and we're still aiming for
06:40 a few more thousands before 2028.
06:43 So the other agencies, including DTI and the Film Development Agency, Film Development
06:49 Council of the Philippines, I should say, has been supportive.
06:52 And they are also supporting us in marketing in different international markets.
06:58 Thank you so much.
07:00 And congratulations for this Animation Exchange.
07:03 Juan Miguel del Rosario of the Animation Council of the Philippines and of Toon City.
07:12 And before we go, here are words from American director and animator, John Lasseter.
07:17 The art challenges the technology, and the technology inspires the art.
07:25 And this is the exchange that makes sense of the facts and the figures and the ups and
07:28 downs of the business cycle, because your business is our business.
07:33 I'm Rico Gizo, and thanks for watching CNN Philippines.
07:36 News you can use.
07:38 News you can trust.
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