Sharjah (Al Ittihad)
The audience of the Sharjah Animation Conference got acquainted with the most important steps for converting written stories into animated films or audio-visual works, in a session hosted by Stefano Di Laporta, a lawyer working for the “Galafuti Bernardini & Partners” Foundation in Italy, and an expert in the field of media and creative works. and film distribution, and Moanis Al-Hattab, founder and director of the “Alef Baa Taa” house for children’s books.
Text selection
The two guests emphasized that the first step in the process of converting illustrated or written books into audiovisual works and high-quality animated films is to choose the written texts with great care and attention, taking into account that the text with its characters is distinctly drawn and expressive of what is written, and that the written text meets the creative aspects. And all the artistic, at the level of suspense, the strength of the subject, the language that attracts children, and the uniqueness of the characters and the heroes of the story.
Intellectual property rights
The two guests highlighted the legal aspects that must be taken into account during this process, while not neglecting the intellectual rights of the author. Stefano de Laporta started the session by talking about the importance of guaranteeing the rights of all participating parties, the most important of which, from his point of view, is the copyright of the work owner, which must be compensated properly. Kamel, pointing out the need for a clear agreement between the writer and the party responsible for turning his work into a movie.
De Laporta discussed the challenges facing workers in the animation industry to adapt the book in an audiovisual format, and explained that the most common of them is embodied in editorial control, as the original vision of the author may not be consistent with the vision of the producer and director, and in this case a way must be found to balance and resolve matters, Pointing out the need for the contract to include a clause that gives the writer the right to participate in the editorial processing of the texts to be converted into films, and then touches on the policies, agreements and contracts for the distribution of the visual product, to ensure the distribution of the film in the markets, and to give each person his legal right.
Subtraction force
Moanis Al-Hattab explained that the most prominent elements of writing distinguished children’s stories include primarily the power of subtraction, taking into account what is presented to the child, as the publishers of children’s books must focus on the power of subtraction in what they present, taking into account the techniques of writing for the child, as the quality of the stories will not reach the required level of Without balancing these two issues.
He added: «After choosing a good text with an idea that is suitable for turning it into a movie based on the quality of the writing and taking into account its various techniques, starting from the language to the dramatic aspect and other elements that must be available in a good text, we should cooperate with a talented painter who is able to transfer the written story into expressive images. Because relying on a professional animator makes it easier for the animators to make the decision to convert the written material into a movie.
Al-Hattab concluded his intervention by discussing the details of material wages and how they are calculated when converting written stories into visual cartoon films, and the need for wages to achieve the principle of justice for all parties, and for wages not to vary between one party and another to ensure that each party receives its entitlements in full.
The activities of the conference, organized by the Sharjah Book Authority, continue until May 5 at the Sharjah Expo Center, in conjunction with the 14th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, and include a series of workshops, creative and dialogue sessions, and the participation of animation stars, such as John Nevarez, an artist. Academy Award-winning film “Coco,” Sandro Cloiso, animator and character designer who won the “Annie Award” for “Mary Poppins Returns,” and Takahiro Yoshimatsu, director of “Dragon Ball” and “Dragon Ball Z.”
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