High-end animation moves towards profit: less Mickey Mouse, more workflow and ROI--Richard Dean confronts the business face of modern animation.

Industry wags joke that innovations in this industry have to go through two distinct phases of development before achieving reality--first the careful honing of buzz phrases, followed by the perfection of systems to deliver it.

Whether they have to or not remains a moot point, but this year's distinctly business-orientated NAB in Las Vegas seemed to suggest that after years of bandying around terms such as streamlined workflow and return on investment (ROI), it's time to start putting both into practise.

One example in animation is the emergence of Hybrid Film Production ...