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Animated Response to Security
From: InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 21:32:06 -0600
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,42578,00.html by Robin Clewley 2:00 a.m. Mar. 27, 2001 PST Imagine working in a place where your desktop computer restricts access. No personal e-mail. No Internet. Imagine rules enforced where -- not only are you not allowed to tell outsiders what goes on within your walls -- you're not even allowed to tell colleagues working at the same place on the very same project. Tough new security precautions at the FBI? Nope. Just standard procedure in the paranoid world of animation. "We don't want the rug taken out from under us," said Ken Schretzmann, an editor at Pixar Animation Studios. Animators say tight security is necessary in the business, in large part because much of a film's success is dependent on how fresh the latest technology or innovation is. Schretzmann noted that the length of time it takes to create an animated film -- often three or four years -- means much more security is needed to prevent leaks. For projects that can cost more than $100 million to produce, this is a high-stakes business. So while most technology-dependent businesses ask employees to sign strict confidentiality agreements, the animation business routinely goes the extra mile. Companies place long-distance restrictions on telephones, limit Internet access and, occasionally, forbid communication between employees working on the same project. A screenwriter hired for a live-action film or a television episode works with a faster turn-around time from development to production than for an animation project. This causes animation confidentiality agreements to be more complex and strict, said Paul Husband, an attorney and agent whose clients include Disney, Warner Bros. and the Cartoon Network. "Contracts for live-action can be as short as six months," he said. "Animation contracts can last two to three years." Husband said while not all animation companies force their employees to sign strict contracts, "as painters have different styles, so do animation companies and how they deal with contracts for their employees." This may be true, but Disney's contracts are among the stricter types of contracts Husband puts together. Disney and Pixar have an ongoing partnership. "One of the reasons that makes the animation world less happy is Disney's insistence on having the lock-hold on animated film," said Harry Knowles, editor-in-chief of Ain't It Cool News, an entertainment industry insider website. According to Knowles' sources within Disney, security is so tight that animators don't have access to other story reels to see if their animation fits into the overall project, he said. Also, inter-department talking is not encouraged. "All of the animosity that we see in the animated area doesn't really come from the animators itself," he said. "It's more of an executive thing." An example is when Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney to start Dreamworks. A Bug's Life was in production when he left Disney, but Antz (created by Katzenberg's company) beat the other film's release date by one month. "I never really saw the problem because both films were really different," Knowles said. "But the thing that drove (Disney) nuts was that it was a slap in the face. Basically, Katzenberg said, 'We will challenge you to the marketplace.'" Tight security also permeates the special effects arena. At Industrial Light & Magic, certain employees do not have access to the Internet on their computers, nor do they have long-distance phone service. "Since we are a service company, and we must provide the best possible service to our client, we must ensure confidentiality," said Hael Kobayashi, director of digital artists production. Of ILM's 1,300 employees, approximately one third have desktop Internet access, and two dozen "Web terminal kiosks" can be found throughout the company, said Ellen Pasternack, a publicist for ILM. Kobayashi said by providing kiosks away from employee work stations, ILM increases productivity, increases security and reduces repetitive stress injury by forcing them to get up and move about. Kobayashi said there seems to be a sense of entitlement for Internet access from the younger generation of workers who grew up with it. "I don't think we're inhibiting people from doing their job," he said. "Not everyone is doing research-related work." Not all animation companies have these sorts of restrictions. Eric Jennings, an animator at Tippett Animation Studios, said his company provides Internet access, but did say there seems to be tight security in the animation industry. He said he's never heard of anyone stealing proprietary information. Jennings said the industry is small, and reputations can be easily tarnished. He said a typical situation would be someone with prior knowledge of the cost of a project "out-bidding" a competitor. Employees at Pixar have Internet access at their work stations also. "Anyone could post secretive information on the Internet," Schretzmann said. "But it's an honor system. People feel an allegiance to Pixar." ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com --- To unsubscribe email LISTSERV () SecurityFocus com with a message body of "SIGNOFF ISN".
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