Business / Singapore's Animation Industry

ANIMATION / SINGAPORE

One Animation’s CEO Sashim Parmanand and Creative Director Richard Thomas with the Oddbods

WORDS NELISSA HERNANDEZ PHOTOS KESHAV SISHTA

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ONE ANIMATION IS OUT TO PROVE THAT THE REPUBLIC’S CGI INDUSTRY IS READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD

SEVEN ODDBODS

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IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD, YOU KNOW YOU’VE ARRIVED WHEN YOU HAVE A MASSIVE YOUTUBE FOLLOWING, AND WHEN THE INSTAGRAM HASHTAGS ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR SHOW YIELD SURPRISING, OFTEN HIGHLY INVENTIVE, CREATIONS. IN THE CASE OF ODDBODS, THE ANIMATED SERIES’ WORLDWIDE FAME HAS GIVEN WAY TO #ODDBODSCAKES. “There are custom-made Oddbods cakes on Instagram!” declares Richard Thomas, creative director of the animated series. It’s rather modest of him to highlight the #oddbodscakes Instagram traction, as the show is currently experiencing an unprecedented success on another slice of cyberspace: YouTube.

Not a lot of new series can boast 155 million views (and counting) on the videosharing platform, let alone an increase in views by 300 per cent in the last two months.

What’s more, in the past year, Oddbods’ 36 | SILKWINDS

YouTube views have increased exponentially – garnering a daily average of more than a million – resulting in a bigger following and catapulting the series’ seven characters into household favourites of children around the world.

A non-dialogue animated show that’s now on various TV channels in 150 countries, Oddbods wins hearts through its adorable characters and storylines that mirror everyday life. What’s fascinating to note is that it is not created by animation giants

such as Disney or Pixar, but by a company “born and bred” in Singapore.

Established in 2008, One Animation is the creative force behind Oddbods. Founded by two directors with animation background and a Singaporebased venture capitalist firm, the company has grown to more than 100 employees of 33 different nationalities, and is supported by a team in Jakarta, Indonesia.

It is arguably one of the most prolific in the country, and boasts a team that has worked on blockbusters such as Harry Potter, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Happy Feet and Mulan.

Thanks to its portfolio of original content, One Animation is paving the way for Singapore’s CGI industry to be recognised internationally. CEO Sashim Parmanand admits that “there is not much of a CGI industry in Singapore” presently. Despite the Lion City’s strong IP protection laws and robust support from government bodies, its CGI industry has not hit its peak, and the few other animation companies here mainly work with

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BRINGING THE ODDBODS TO LIFE

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STORYBOARD Once there’s a locked script, development of the storyboard begins where the team visualises the words in picture form – this gives the first pass of the movie as a 2D comic strip. Once the team is happy with the flow of images, they will be put into an edit suite to create a seven-minute video clip. Each episode usually comprises 600 individual storyboard drawings.

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LAYOUT The seven-minute clip is then given to the layout department which will then recreate each drawing using a 3D software. At this juncture, the team can block out the whole episode, define camera positioning and lensing, from close-ups to wide-angled establishing shots, and lock down compositions for all the key shots and locations.

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ANIMATION The animation team will then breathe life into the characters using a series of controls and schematics. These controls drive an invisible skeleton, allowing the animator to manipulate the movement just like a puppeteer. With non-dialogue shows, strong poses and facial expressions are absolutely crucial in communicating complex ideas and themes.

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SET DRESSING The scene is then handed over to the asset department for polishing and an additional pass of set dressing. This adds an extra layer of finesse to the story and helps create a more immersive experience for the viewer. Once complete, the files are then handed over to the lighting and visual effects department to prepare the final render.

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FINAL RENDER This is the last part of the animation process. Lights are added into the scene to help enhance the overall story, and achieve the best dramatic effect, if needed.

The positioning and number of lights can vary depending on the complexity of the shot. This process takes place precisely 10,800 times for every single episode of Oddbods!

MEET THE ODDBODS Watch their antics and adventures at: oddbods.com

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ANIMATION/ SINGAPORE

Clockwise from top: An animator polishing a scene with Newt, one of the Oddbods; candid moment with the team; bringing a sketch to life; Insectibles, also created by One Animation

other studios abroad instead of making their own shows.

“As a company, we’re trying to add value and create an industry by having our content go global,” explains Parmanand. “To build an industry, you have to have success stories.” If Oddbods is anything to go by, One Animation is clearly on the right track.

day they are best of friends.

We wanted these seven unlikely friends with really strong personality traits,” he says.

The universal appeal of the characters contributes to the relatability of the content, as the audience finds a sense of “them” in one character or more.

In fact, the impetus behind One Animation homing in on creating shows for children and families is to reach as wide an audience as possible. An approach that’s proved effective. The company is currently the only Asian content creator outside of Japan to place their shows on Disney in the US, with Oddbods now shown across Asia, Latin America and Europe.

OPENING SPREAD MONTAGE BY ONEANIMATION

CREATING A BLOCKBUSTER The team behind Oddbods taps into its extensive featurefilmmaking background and 3D animation expertise to produce a season in 14 months, roughly 10 months less than the usual timeline. With a robust research and development and a wellstreamlined production, they work on a pipeline similar to a feature film’s, from script to storyboards to final renders (see previous spread

for the Oddbods journey from sketch to scene).

Undeniably, the series banks on the charms of its characters.

Thomas, who is one of the founders, created the seven Oddbods with inspiration culled from classic TV shows.

“We wanted to create characters that on the surface look very similar but have very distinct personality traits, just like Snow White’s Seven Dwarfs,” he says. Oddbods too has seven characters: the selfie-loving Newt (pink), forever-angry Fuse 9 (red), lazy Zee (green), hipster Slick (orange), pranskter Pogo (blue), fearless Bubbles (yellow) and meticulous Jeff (violet).

“They also have the Tom and Jerry dynamic, where they are constantly at odds with one another, but at the end of the

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PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES The animation series is also an overnight success, as far as funding is concerned. Some shows take years to get funding, but Oddbods secured it in four months. Parmanand says it can be a reflection of the changing times.

“Sometimes, with certain shows or characters, there’s the right time and place for them and that’s when they become big. If you look at what’s going on, nondialogue content is a big thing right now, with Minions, Raving Rabbids and others,” she explains.

Parmanand, who was in charge of promoting The Powerpuff Girls in a previous role, sees a trend at play. The aforementioned three superheroes came out at a time when “girl power” was the prevailing pop culture mantra, and

their rise coincided with, and was partly fuelled by, the popularity of the all-girl band Spice Girls and the movie Charlie’s Angels.

Oddbods seems to be following a similar trajectory.

“This is a piece of content that’s come out at the right time. If you look at the theme of the show, its true essence is “Celebrate your inner odd” – we’re all odd in our own ways. And if you look at what’s coming out of Disney, a similar theme has been resonating for the last 20 months.” She pointed out the atypical storylines of Frozen and Zootopia – both celebrate the characters’ innate strengths and are a departure from the usual Prince-Charming-saves-the-day arc – are a sign that producers are now pushing the boundaries with themes and content, and Oddbods is riding this wave.

The series isn’t the only feather in One Animation’s cap.

Its other shows are equally big; its Rob the Robot adventure series is now broadcast in 78 countries, and the comedy show Insectibles is distributed worldwide. The company also recently signed deals to launch a line of merchandise by the end of 2016. With these shows going primetime, One Animation is well on its way to drafting a compelling storyboard for The Little Red Dot on the CGI world map.

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