Fred Seibert (SIGH-bert) makes original cartoons and television networks. He's the founder of Frederator Networks, the Chief Creative Officer of WOW! Unlimited Media, and a serial media entrepreneur.
He was the first creative director of MTV and the last president of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. Fred founded Next New Networks (acquired by YouTube). He’s on the board of directors of Sawhorse Media and was the first investor in Tumblr.
It’s was a pleasure to listen to his history in the industry and to his thoughts on what he’s doing now and what may happen in the future.
Here are takeaways from the evening:
Another favorite thing said by Seibert—“I don’t understand why anyone would want to be an employee.” WOW, that one REALLY spoke to me! I'm always surprised that so many animators desperately want to work for Pixar considering the number of Pixar employees who make personal projects! That's a clear indication that Pixar employees—like most creative employees—are not entirely creatively satisfied with their day jobs. And if that's the case, you might as well go it alone!
I asked Seibert if it's valuable (although I actually phrased the question as “does it make sense,” out of nervousness!) for an independent animator focusing their attention on creating their own work versus pitching. He paused briefly to think of an answer. He said he would never say what makes sense, that it’s individual. He feels creators should ALWAYS be creating. But pitching, despite its low success rate, can be beneficial, too. Ultimately, it can be good to do both because a failed pitch can be turned into a successful short.
I feel lucky to have met Seibert and to have seen his wonderfully designed offices. I wish him the best in his future endeavors and I appreciate him sharing his knowledge and experiences with us. Thank you, WIA!
It’s was a pleasure to listen to his history in the industry and to his thoughts on what he’s doing now and what may happen in the future.
Here are takeaways from the evening:
- The presence of craft in an animated short is not relevant as long as people like it
- Seibert HATES pitch bibles and believes the pitch should be whatever best shows off the idea
- Now there are narrower groups of people who like a work deeper [this is related to Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 True Fans” idea. Read it HERE]
- VR is not a storytelling medium. We’re years away from people caring about it
- No one knows anything (screenwriter William Goldman said the same thing)
Another favorite thing said by Seibert—“I don’t understand why anyone would want to be an employee.” WOW, that one REALLY spoke to me! I'm always surprised that so many animators desperately want to work for Pixar considering the number of Pixar employees who make personal projects! That's a clear indication that Pixar employees—like most creative employees—are not entirely creatively satisfied with their day jobs. And if that's the case, you might as well go it alone!
I asked Seibert if it's valuable (although I actually phrased the question as “does it make sense,” out of nervousness!) for an independent animator focusing their attention on creating their own work versus pitching. He paused briefly to think of an answer. He said he would never say what makes sense, that it’s individual. He feels creators should ALWAYS be creating. But pitching, despite its low success rate, can be beneficial, too. Ultimately, it can be good to do both because a failed pitch can be turned into a successful short.
I feel lucky to have met Seibert and to have seen his wonderfully designed offices. I wish him the best in his future endeavors and I appreciate him sharing his knowledge and experiences with us. Thank you, WIA!
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