ANIMATION TRIBULATION

Despite layoffs and cutbacks worldwide, Singapore animators are not giving up on their dreams

- Teo Kai Xiang

There may not be a worse time to be an animator than 2024.

The global animation industry is experiencing a "bloodbath" of layoffs and cutbacks, and Singapore's nascent animation sector has not been spared, according to animators who spoke to The Straits Times.

Iob prospects and funding are at an all-time low, they say, leaving many animators jobless or compelled to leave the field or country.

Globally, layoffs swept the sector in 2023, impacting even industry stalwarts such as Pixar and Dream Works Animation.

Even producers of critically acclaimed shows - such as Riot Games, the creators of the Emmywinning animated series Arcane (2021-2024) - have cut back on their entertainment divisions.

The downturn has also come to Singapore, with American company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) shutting down its Singapore visual effects and animation studio in 2023, affecting more than 300 workers.

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated a shift already under way from traditional cinema to streaming platforms and short video creators.

At the same time, the pandemic-driven boost to film and TV budgets deflated in 2024 due to Hollywood strikes and lower-thanexpected earnings on big projects.

Mr Phil Pham, founder of Island City Solutions, a computer graphics technology company composed of former ILM engineers, says Netflix having its first quarter of decline in 2022 showed that streaming platforms' big push into original content was unsustainable.

The 48-year-old adds that a storm of bad circumstances has clouded the sector. "Studios had made too much content, shareholders wanted to see more value, subscriber numbers were down and the Hollywood strikes meant that you couldn't get any projects greenlit."

Many visual effects and animation companies shuttered. Mr Pham points to the closure of his former employer, ILM, in Singapore as an example.