Steve Sargent

Collective consciousness...

2010-07-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

An interesting take on collective consciousness. I believe this is happening now and is perfectly illustrated in memes and the speed at which concepts spread across the net. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/the-web-we-weave/

My second skit with Conan O'Brien...

2009-09-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.manga.com/news/conan-dubs-manga-part-deux

Back in July, the Tonight Show aired a piece about their visit to BangZoom! studios to dub select scenes from Ghost In The Shell. They liked it so much, Conan and Andy came back to give us their take on Blood: The Last Vampire.

Steve Sargent and Conan O'Brien do Manga...

2009-08-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

Steve Sargent and Conan O'Brien do Manga...

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Manga Entertainments Creative Team

2009-08-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Manga Entertainments Creative Team
Submitted by Aric on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 20:41

I recently had the chance to pose some questions to the creative staff at Manga Entertainment. Manga Entertainment is one of the largest translators of anime and manga around the world, oginally founed in London, England and currently headquarted in Los Angeles, California. They are known for translating titles like Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

1. Who founded Manga Entertainment and why?

Manga Entertainment was founded by Andy Frain for Chris Blackwell's Island Records in 1991. Our first release, Akira, was both a critical and commercial success, and led the company to license more anime for release in the Europe, Australia and, subsequently, the United States. Manga Entertainment became a hugely successful brand, consistently achieving Top 20 entries in the UK video charts

2. Why the name Manga Entertainment when your primary product is anime?

It’s a bit of a misnomer, but Manga was, at the time, synonymous with Japanese art. It was not generally known that Manga meant explicitly Book or Magazine in Japanese. That said the name is short, simple, and hard to forget.

3. For those who are still unfamiliar with anime or manga and how it differs from western comics/cartoons, how would you describe the differences to these people?

While Western cartoons/comics have started to catch up in recent years with the ideals portrayed in Eastern art, anime and Manga tend to deal with more introspective issues. They cover a wide array of stations in life from the salaryman to intergalactic hullabaloo. Regardless, they tend to heavily weigh on the big questions of life like, “why are we here?”

Read More...

2008 Share of the Comic Marketplace...

2009-07-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

Diamond Comics 2008 Sales figures show:

•Marvel and DC continue to dominate the industry: Marvel took in 41% of retail sales, DC 29% and Dark Horse 6.5%.

•Marvel Comics' Secret Invasion #1 was the best-selling comic book of 2008. The eight-issue miniseries about the takeover of superheroes by shape-shifting Skrulls took the first six spots. Only Uncanny X-Men #500 (No. 7) and DC Comics' Final Crisis #1 (No. 9) also cracked the top 10. Diamond did not release actual sales figures, but best-selling comic books (priced at $2.99 or $3.99) normally sell more than 100,000 copies.

•Among graphic novels, DC Comics dominated, taking seven of the top 10 positions. DC's reprint of Watchmen, Alan Moore's breakthrough graphic novel from 1986, was the top seller, propelled by anticipation for the film due March 6.

Conflict

2009-06-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

Labels seem to give satisfaction. We accept the category to which we are supposed to belong as a satisfying explanation of life. We are worshippers of words and labels; we never seem to go beyond the symbol, to comprehend the worth of the symbol. By calling ourselves this or that, we ensure ourselves against further disturbance, and settle back. One of the curses of ideologies and organized beliefs is the comfort, the deadly gratification they offer. They put us to sleep, and in the sleep we dream, and the dream becomes action. How easily we are distracted! And most of us want to be distracted; most of us are tired out with incessant conflict, and distractions become a necessity, they become more important than 'what is'.

For the simple reason that, consciously or unconsciously, the mind is always seeking something, and that very search brings violence, competition, the sense of utter dissatisfaction. It is only when the mind is completely still that there is a possibility of touching the deep waters.

-Jiddu Krishnamurti

Scott McCloud's Visual Storytelling Workshop @SVA

2009-05-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here's the outline of the workshop I participated in over the weekend run by Scott McCloud. This guy has worked with the best (Art Spiegelman amongst others). Incredibly succinct, he covered many topics over the two days. Check out my entries at

Day One:

* Writing with Pictures: The basics of telling stories with pictures in sequence
* The Five Choices all comics artist face: Choice of Moment, Choice of Frame, Choice of Image, Choice of Word and Choice of Flow
* Clarity and Intensity: How to balance clear communication with a compelling presentational style
* Exercises! and critiques

Day Two:

* Creating human beings on the page and connecting with the human beings who’ll be reading your work (including an examination of facial expressions and the calligraphy of body language)
* Negotiating the dynamic relationship of words and pictures and using the freedoms they can afford each other
* Tools and Techniques: A brief discussion of the tools used by comics professionals
* Creating an original comics feature
* Critiques and general discussion

http://interactiondesign.sva.edu/blog/entry/scott_mccloud_workshop_sign_up_to_enter_drawing/

new favorite track...

2009-04-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

Anime Music Videos

2009-04-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Interesting article in Financial Times about the use of Anime Music Videos (AMV) for promotion. While AMVs have been around for awhile, YouTube now allows partners to claim audio and video separately allowing for a monetizable and provides a legal outlet for AMV creators.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d55dfe52-77d2-11da-9670-0000779e2340.html

Wolverine workprint leaks online

2009-04-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

In a show of solidarity with AintItCool.com, I posted this on manga.com. While the allure of illicit downloads is hard to resist, it destroys the business that created these titles in the first place. When all is said and done, it's not a victimless crime. Artists, illustrators, producers, directors, et al, get laid off because of this kind of thing. That said, here's the post from Hitfix:...

http://www.manga.com/news/wolverine-workprint-leaks-online

Complex's Interview with Steve Sargent Of Manga.com

2009-04-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Today we examine how anime has injected itself into the veins of popular culture with this week's special guest, Manga.com digital programming manager Steve Sargent. Check out the interview below…
Complex's Interview with Steve Sargent Of Manga.com

Worldwide Anime Market Shrinking

2009-04-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

An older article, but worth posting. I'm not sure if I entirely agree with what they're asserting. Certainly, it's tough to get people to purchase content they've been illegally downloading. Tough, but not impossible. It's really the same thing that happened to music labels back in the day (and when I say day I mean 10 years ago).

What's especially tricky is that these illicit torrents often come in HD with subtitles. Something that you're only just starting to see through legal channels. The good news for distributors is that piracy tools are getting smarter. For example, YouTube has done a great job with their content management system and claim/content blocking. Hopefully, this will stem the tide enough to pave the way for the legal option.
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Iwata noted that due to market saturation, illegal downloading, the worldwide recession, and the rising yen, “It is easy to imagine the global marketplace shrinking from 2010 onward."

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/14201.html

Apocalypse Meow

2009-04-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

New series from Studio Anima in Japan. Called Cat Shit One in Japan, it's being released here as Apocalypse Meow. From what I understand, they're looking for funding. Check out this trailer. Hyper-realistic and well done. http://www.catshitone.jp/