Local animation industry cries for help

The Philippine animation industry is asking for an increased assistance from the government via incentives that will enable local players to capture a bigger share of the global animation and gaming market, which is seen to grow to $243 billion by next year.

Juan Miguel del Rosario, president of the Animation Council of the Philippines, said the government’s help—through fiscal and nonfiscal incentives—will give the industry a much-needed boost to tap the growing opportunities abroad.

“Yes, we need new incentives. Although for now, we are asking the government to help us in promoting the Philippines as a preferred destination for animation services. We need to be present in global conventions because if we want to make the Philippines a go-to-destination, then they need to see us with our pavilions in the different animation events abroad,” Del Rosario said in a briefing Tuesday.

He said government agencies like the Board of Investments and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should facilitate the industry’s presence in major markets such as Europe and the United States.

“We need to enhance our visibility. It’s a marketing effort that needs to be done,” he said.

Del Rosario admitted that the local industry, unfortunately, remained a “tiny speck in the scheme of things.”

Last year, the Philippine animation industry reported only $142 million in revenues.

“We’re still looking at a relatively modest growth of 10 to 12 percent growth over the next several years. We’re mainly a service industry, and we need to break out of that mold and go into developing content—that’s where we will shine,” he said.

He said they are looking at growing small animation studios to become “offshoots” of major studios in five years’ time.

At present, the Philippine animation industry is composed of 50 small and medium sized animation studios, employing some 10,000 artists and production specialists.

If the industry is able to go beyond providing services and is able to provide local content to international studios, Del Rosario expects industry revenues to easily double from this year’s forecasted revenue of $145 million.

The Animation Council has tapped the services of Tholons, an advisory firm, to create an industry road map set for completion by November this year.

This road map, which will be submitted to the DTI and the IT-Business Process Association of the Philippines for consolidation, is expected to contain the group’s targets, strategic direction, among others.

The council will be staging in October the “Animahenasyon 2015: the 9th Philippine Animation Festival,” which seeks to promote local creativity and innovation.

It will feature speakers such as Tim Brooke-Hunt, a former executive head of children’s content at ABC TV, who will talk about developing and financing animated projects for TV and the Internet.–Amy R. Remo