by the fans for the fans

Very interesting reading. Coincidentally, today I unintentionally clicked a link on TuRR (all it needs is a "D" hehe) and ended up reading Kev's job qualifications and read (twice) how he got his job at robotech.com. I put ANN answerman's post in spoiler box.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010
WORKING IN THE ANIME INDUSTRY (REPOST FROM THE OLD BANK OF KEV PLATFORM)
NOTE FROM KEV: This post was originally posted on Friday, 22 October 2010 on the now abandoned Bank of Kev platform. There is an update from me below.

Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to expand ] [ Click to hide ]

This interesting post comes from the always entertaining Answerman of Anime News Network.

Today, you'll notice, there are no questions about working in the anime industry, be it as a translator or animator or manga artist or author or anything. NOTHING. Unfortunately that meant I had to skip two rather well-written and well-meaning questions on graphic design and screenwriting in the process.

Because, you see, I'm just tired of it. Absolutely tired. Every time, it's always the same answer. So, here we go, real quick before I get to the questions at hand: Do you want to turn your love of anime into a career? A career in anime as a writer or an artist or a translator or a web designer or a mid-level marketing executive? Sure. You bet.

It will take a lot of work and you will need to prove to (anime/manga company) that your work stands outside the anime fandom and can succeed on its own terms. You will need to get noticed. So just hunker down and do the best damn work you've ever done. And then your dreams will come true! It's just like Luffy wanting to be King of the Pirates! Only instead of beating up people, you'll be working your fingers to the bone on your desired field and craft.

People are often shocked when I tell them it was not my love of Robotech that got me hired at Harmony Gold. What got Harmony Gold interested in hiring me was my professional experience working at places like Fox, Paramount, Universal, MTV, Godspeed Opera House, Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun over the past 15 years. (they were and still are all interconnected.

[image] sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs0...727666_2543891_n.jpg
The Mohegan Sun Casino

My Robotech.com work bio... [I'm inserting his work bio here]

Kevin McKeever
Also known as: Bank of Kev
Marketing Coordinator

STATISTICS:
Robotech Commission Date: 2004 Sept.14
Original Commission Date: CLASSIFIED
Original Site of Manufacture: CLASSIFIED
Academy: Emerson College - Boston, MA
Academy Attendance Dates: 1991-94
Academy Major: B.F.A. Lighting Design
Academy Service: Emerson Majestic Theater

DESCRIPTION:
A graduate of the lighting design program from Emerson College, Kevin has been working in the entertainment industry for nearly 15 years. He has worked in theater production at world class venues such as the Goodspeed Opera House, the Emerson Majestic Theater, Foxwoods Casino, and the Mohegan Sun Resort which he helped open in 1996.

His television production credits include Jackass, Kids Say the Darnedest Things, Guinness Book of World Records, Krypton Factor, Farmclub.com, The 60's as well as various television commercials. His film credits include Mystery Men, For Love of the Game, and Billy Frankenstein. Kevin has also served as Assistant VP of Production for feature film producer and New York Times best-selling author Lynda Obst.

Kevin's first official assignment in the Robotech universe was as an audit of Robotech's television ratings and viewer demographics during its original run in the 1980s. Kevin's analysis of the ratings in a cost effective manner along with his years of production experience made him a natural candidate for the Robotech team.

ALSO VISIT:
- Kevin's Robotech.com fan page . [Did you know Kev is "THE most hated person on Macrossworld."?]

...ties right into the Answerman's point work that stands "outside the anime fandom"

Kevin's first official assignment in the Robotech universe was as an audit of Robotech's television ratings and viewer demographics during its original run in the 1980s. Kevin's analysis of the ratings in a cost effective manner along with his years of production experience made him a natural candidate for the Robotech team.

When I did the R&D audit back in late 2003 (you can see some of the results of that work here )... [inserting his results here]

Robotech Ratings History: (highlights at a glance)

JULY 1985: LOS ANGELES, CA (KCOP) Mon-Fri @ 4:30pm
After only five months on the air, Robotech becomes the highest ranked non-news program in its timeslot, beating out shows such as KNBC News, Little House on the Prairie, What's Happening, and Plastic Man. While Robotech is ranked number 3 overall, it is only a mere 2% from the number 1 spot.

JULY 1985: SACRAMENTO, CA (KRBK) Mon-Fri @ 7:30am
Despite a highly competitive morning timeslot in this market, Robotech is also the highest ranked non-news program in its time period. Robotech actually beat out the CBS morning news by a full 10% while only slightly behind Good Morning America by a mere 3%.

NOVEMBER 1985: NEW YORK, NY (WNBC) Sat @ 7:00am
In the nation's number 1 television market Robotech is the number 2 ranked show overall behind the well-known Tom & Jerry by only 3%. Robotech also beat shows such as Davey and Goliath, Patchwork Family, New Jersey People and Terrahawks.

FEBRUARY 1986: NEW YORK, NY (WNBC) Sat @ 7:00am
Robotech rockets to the number 1 overall slot with a whopping 20% of the New York City television viewers watching. Robotech also ranks number 1 in this market for the Teens 12-17 and Adults 18-49 demographics sought after by advertisers.

MALE TO FEMALE RATIOS (April 1985 - May 1986)
Teens (12-17) : Male: 70%, Female: 30%
Adults (18-49) : Male: 47%, Female: 53%

LEAD-IN/OUT PERFORMANCE (April 1985 - May 1986)
Robotech shows its strength on the syndicated stage. Not only would the series hold its lead-in, Robotech would actually add to its audience by 1.6% in its first year on the air.

©2008 Harmony Gold USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
By using this Web site, you are agreeing to the Terms of Use.

...it was something very important to the Robotech franchise but it would turn off nearly all anime fans due its "boring" nature. Doing the audit required hard-core number crunching off spread sheets (think pages and pages of endless rows of numbers) that would put almost anyone to sleep, it also required a distinct skill to audit the reams of data. However, doing that audit showed Harmony Gold that I could very easily produce “work stands outside the anime fandom and can succeed on its own terms.”

[image] www.robotech.com/images/content/GIM_968_2_9305.jpg
Its show business with an emphasis on business.

People who want to work in the entertainment industry in general and the anime industry in particular must understand that its called show business with an emphasis on business. Thinking like a fanboy will only get you flattened and puts you on a one way ticket to the unemployment line.

For those who want to really work in anime or the entertainment industry you in many ways stop being off your fanboy and start thinking in a corporate sense. On the surface that might sound like a bad trade off, yet I can tell you that if you do it right it will be far more rewarding for you as fan than you can ever imagine.

[image] www.robotech.com/images/content/GIM_1809_2_7351.jpg
One of the rewards was taking the tour to China in 2007.

UPDATE FROM KEV: IF you ever get a chance please check out my "How I Broke Into The Anime Industry" panel on the Robotech Convention Tour. I go into great detail on how it was not my love of Robotech but my work for over 15 years in the entertainment industry that got me into Harmony Gold.
Posted by Kevin McKeever at 11:43 AM

LOL! I cannot believe that he's actually seeking self justification.

blackconvoy_D01 wrote:

LOL! I cannot believe that he's actually seeking self justification.

Yeah
What gets me is his profile/resume is so vague, it doesn't really tell what he did for those theaters and tv productions. His degree is in lighting design, maybe he adjusted the lights or even just a reflector, who knows from his info. He doesn't tell how he is qualified for his current job or any job at HG's Robotech division.

So this is the famous 1985 data analysis, seriously? He's comparing Robotech to news broadcast and shows a decade or two older that might not even appeal to the same audience.
Where's comparisons to Transformers, Gobots, MASK, GIJoe, Thundercats -- in other words popular shows that would appeal to the same audience that were aired in syndication during the 84/85/86 seasons? Guess Kev never has understand what Robotech's competition was and would be if it was returning to tv this or next season with the other 80's shows.
Since he's comparing oil and water he could have at least explained why he was comparing shows that aren't competitors and what those numbers actually mean in viewership, commercial placement, production profits, tie-in exposure, etc. It looks like all he did was make direct time slot comparisons then compute numbers in a vacuum based on that data.

I just remembered that Little House: A New Beginning aired through 84 and What's Happening Now started airing in 85. So there were sequels to both series airing in primetime while the older syndicated versions ran against Robotech in the afternoons. I still have to wonder if they appealed to the same audience as Robotech.
At least Terrahawks and Plastic Man are comparable shows, just wish he would have given us some numbers instead of the general "beat/beat out". Guess that's better than "gangbusters".