A pioneer initiative of the Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI), Animation Fusion is a one-day workshop event that aims to combine the basic principles of animation with emerging trends and opportunities in business, content development, and technology. Dubbed with the tagline “Create. Collaborate. Level up! ”, ACPI envisions to develop and scale up the capability of the Filipino talent in animation.

The Philippines has been one of the most trusted providers of animation services worldwide. With over 30 years of experience in the animation industry, the country caters to the needs of prominent animation studios including Walt Disney, Warner Bros, and Cartoon Network. Today, there are at least 60 animation studios in the Philippines, of which more than 90% are locally owned. Around 11,000 full-time employees are recorded in the animation industry in 2015. This number is expected to grow further in the coming years.

To further develop and level up the skills and competencies of Filipino animators in line with global industry trends, a series of workshop sessions called Animation Fusion will be implemented in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology- Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO). This project will be part of DOST-ICTO’s industry development program, Stepping Up the Value Chain, which focuses on the development of the high value segments of the Information Technology Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry, including the animation services.

The first talk was conducted by ACPI Vice President Ms. Grace Dimaranan, who is also the CEO and Managing Director of Top Peg Animation. With the topic "What is Creative Entrepreneurship?” Ms. Dimaranan reiterated that when you are a creative entrepreneur, you manage talent instead of just resources. She also shared some of her experiences; from the time she got her first big client to how she was able to expand her training schools.

Mr. Ben Carandang, Managing Director of Tuldok Animation, came next with a workshop on the Business Model Canvass. The participants were given copies of the BMC and were asked to worked on groups, each given specific types of businesses to explore and to strategize with -- funeral parlor, septic tank, and pet shop. After working on their BMCs, the participants presented their works to the rest of the group.

The last talk was given by Mr. Gino Caparas, a startup studio founder, who is also a member of the Board of Trustees of ACPI. Three years ago, Mr. Caparas started his own animation company called Stream Engine Studios. In his talk, he narrated the challenges he went through, and is still going through, while building his company. He told the participants that sometimes, he still asks himself why he chose to be a creative entrepreneur. But at the end of day, he said he knows he should do it because he wants to.