Fast, Cheap & Good: The Key Lesson I Learned from Rusty Mills

One of the most enriching experiences I’ve had in the world of animation was working under the headship of Rusty Mills, the director of Pinky and the Brain and many other cartoons. Rusty had a grasp of animation production, particularly digital animation production, beyond anyone else I’ve worked under. His 30+ years in the industry ranged from the lowest grunt roles to the top of the production ladder, through which he gained some great stories and keen insight. Something he said once has stuck with me very closely all these years and I quote him on it often:

“Fast, Cheap & Good: Everyone wants all three, but at best you can only have two, and you have to decide which two before you even start.” – Rusty Mills (1962-2012)

This likely applies to almost every industry from fast food to luxury products and services, but I’ll focus on animation since it’s what I know, and I’ll allow you to find your own application. I take this into consideration before beginning any project.

So, which two do we want? Often our situation decides for us. For example, if you don’t have much time or money then you can get Fast and Cheap, but it won’t look very Good. If you need it very Fast and it has to look Good, then it won’t come Cheap. Finally, you can get a Good looking animation for Cheap, but you won’t get it Fast. If your budget is zero then your timeline stretches into infinity. If your timeline is immediate then the cost becomes infinite. If you demand perfection then you’ll have to wait until Eternity. This isn’t bad news; it’s actually nice to have limits as it helps us manage expectations. So let’s consider what our options might look like in practice and results...

Fast and Cheap but not Good

Of all three choices, Fast and Cheap is the situation we don’t want but it’s also the most common we find ourselves in. We’ve been asked to make something for a specific event or campaign and the timeline doesn’t allow much room for production. At the same time, we’ve been given a budget to work with that prevents us from making something that looks stylistically Good. The goal here is to make something that delivers our message but isn’t distracting in its lack of visual quality. Most often this is where Whiteboard style animations are chosen. Whiteboard or stick-man animations can get the idea across, be produced quickly and don’t cost very much, but they aren’t visually memorable. Instead of having characters or objects that are animated, they are usually still illustrations and text that appear and disappear while the primary motion is done with the camera. While this type of production gets the idea across it won’t cause someone to say, “That was beautiful, I need to share this!” But they might say, “That was good info presented in a way I can understand quickly, so I’ll share it!”

Here’s a great example of a “Fast and Cheap” video by Rob Ludacer: 

Good and Fast but not Cheap

I have often received inquiries about animation that required quick turnaround time in a “Disney-style”. With serious dedication and the right group of amazing animators it is possible to produce a glorious animation in a short amount of time. However, to get the right people to drop everything and dedicate themselves to your project comes with a hefty price tag. I've had the pleasure of working with Disney and Warner Bros. animators on quick projects for special events and the results were great, but they didn't come cheap.

An excellent example of Good & Fast but not Cheap is the Christmas Ad: Bear and the Hare which was produced by multiple studios:

Cheap and Good but not Fast

Believe it or not, this is the type of project I prefer to work on. It might not pay as much, but the pressure, stress and coordination that comes with Good and Fast sometimes makes it not worth it, even with the bigger budget. Working on a slow moving project allows us to get to know it well and it becomes an extension of the artist in a way. The Good, Cheap & Slow project is one filled with heart and that shows in the final piece.

An outstanding example of Cheap & Good but not Fast would be the Short Film Teaser made for Klaus by The SPA Studios:

BONUS CHOICE: Balanced

This is the option that I didn’t mention before. Though you can’t have ALL 3 options, you can choose to have zero. Something like this will have a pretty OK budget, a decent timeline and the results will look pretty good. One of the shining examples of this that I’ve seen is The Bible Project. This series is essentially a Whiteboard animation with well-drawn still illustrations but the motion is limited to camera motion and some interesting fades (“good enough”), and the pace at which they are releasing each episode tells us that the production timeline is not too short, but certainly not long (“fast enough”), and as a nonprofit organization, they do not have a blockbuster budget (“cheap enough”). The results are visually engaging, educational and share-worthy. Kudos to their team for keeping things balanced with solid result that people want to share!

Here’s an example: 

Where Should We Start?

I learned so much from Rusty, but this is the lesson I use the most. Let's not overlook the point that we have to know which two options we have before we even start. When we know up front what we have then we know what we need and what to expect. If we have a small budget, and a short timeline then we can’t expect the animation to look Good. At the same time, if we have a big budget and a long timeline you better believe the results should be beautiful and you shouldn’t settle for less. As I said in a previous article, How Much Does an Animation Cost?, start out by establishing what your financial budget is. Knowing how much you can spend lets you know if you have to settle for Cheap. Then assess your time budget. If you need it done soon you will have to settle for Fast. If either budget or timeline is strong then you should expect the results to look Good.

Even if you can’t have visually Good animation, because you need Fast and Cheap, don’t worry! Focus on what you can get and try to meet or get as close to your goal as possible. Is your goal to educate the audience? Sell a product? Simply entertain? All of these can be achieved with any 2 of the 3. Just be sure that you know what 2 you’ll be able to get before the project begins. If you’re interested in making an animation, please send me a message and I’ll be happy to help you assess your situation and get the best results for your 2 of 3.