CHESHIRE SMILE ANIMATION AND STUDIO B PRODUCTIONS TEAM UP TO PRODUCE 1 HOUR ANIMATED CHRISTMAS SPECIAL FOR TELETOON.

For Immediate Release

CHESHIRE SMILE ANIMATION AND STUDIO B PRODUCTIONS TEAM UP TO PRODUCE 1 HOUR ANIMATED CHRISTMAS SPECIAL FOR TELETOON.

Television movie’s development, pre-production and post-production at Cheshire Smile Animation’s new Saskatoon Animation Studio, to be animated in British Columbia at Studio B Productions.

24 March 2008 – (Saskatoon, SK) Producers Cheshire Smile Animation and Studio B Productions announce the beginning of production on The Side Show Christmas, an animated Christmas special following The Most Unbelievable Show on Earth, a Side Show facing foreclosure on Christmas Day. Written by Jeff Martel and Directed by Tim Tyler (The writer/director team from A Fairy Tale Christmas, 2005), The Side Show Christmas will be in production from January – September 2008 in Saskatoon and Vancouver. The Side Show Christmas will be broadcast on Teletoon Christmas 2008.

The production is executive produced by Blair Peters and Chris Bartleman of Studio B Production and is produced by Tim Tyler of Cheshire Smile Animation.

“We are thrilled to be producing The Side Show Christmas in Saskatchewan and British Columbia” says producer Tim Tyler of Cheshire Smile Animation, “our partnership with Teletoon, Canada’s Animation Station, and Studio B Productions, a world leader in the production of quality children’s television, represents a significant opportunity for the evolution of the animation industry here in Saskatchewan.”

When Sandwell Shanks, the owner of The Most Unbelievable Show On Earth, hypnotizes Santa, turning him into the star of a wildly popular Side Show attraction to stave off foreclosure by the Bank on Christmas Day, it is up to his son Jason, with a little help from his friends at the Side Show and North Pole, to save Christmas and his fathers beloved Side Show. The Side Show Christmas is a story about family, friendship, and what it really means to give in these modern times

“This is an exciting project for Studio B,” states Blair Peters of Studio B Productions, “The Side Show Christmas promises to be a great success, as already demonstrated by the commitment from TELETOON. We are delighted to add this to our 2008 production slate, alongside Kid vs. Kat and Martha Speaks.”

Established in 2000, Cheshire Smile Animation is an award winning animation and interactive production studio located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Cheshire Smile Animation specializes in animation development, production and management services for the creation Broadcast Television and Interactive Media. The company website is www.cheshiresmile.com.

Colin Murdock and Cathy Weseluck perform during the recording of The Side Show Christmas at Dick and Rogers in Vancouver BC.

The Side Show Christmas is produced in association with Teletoon, with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund License Fee Program, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program, the Saskatchewan Film Employment Tax Credit Program, and the British Columbia Production Service Tax Credit Program. The Side Show Christmas was developed with the assistance of SaskFilm and the CTV Saskatchewan Program Development Fund.

About Studio B Productions Inc.
Headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Studio B Productions Inc., a production subsidiary of DHX Media Ltd., is a leader in the field of kids’ entertainment. Studio B is the producer of such popular and award-winning properties as Ricky Sprocket – Showbiz Boy (seen on TELETOON and Nickelodeon worldwide), Being Ian, The Amazing Adrenalini Brothers!, Class of the Titans and George of the Jungle®, a co-production with Classic Media, Inc. on Cartoon Network U.S. In addition, Studio B will launch two new properties in 2008, Kid vs. Kat, an original series with YTV and Jetix Europe and Martha Speaks, a co-production with WGBH Boston. For more information, please visit www.studiobproductions.com

About DHX Media Ltd.
DHX Media Ltd. is a leading international producer and distributor of film and television programming and interactive content with an emphasis on children, family and youth markets. DHX Media Ltd. shares are listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange, AIM and the Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX. In addition to Studio B, DHX Media’s other production companies, Decode Entertainment and Halifax Film, are the producers or co-producers of 14 original television series and theatrical releases currently commissioned for production and maintain a growing library of over 1,750 half-hours of mostly children and youth-oriented television productions. DECODE Enterprises is the distribution subsidiary of DHX Media Ltd. It handles programme sales for third party producers and for DHX subsidiaries DECODE Entertainment, Halifax Film and Studio B Productions. www.dhxmedia.com.

For more information about The Side Show Christmas, contact Tim Tyler, Producer, Cheshire Smile Animation Inc., 306-652-2102 or by email tim@cheshiresmile.com

 

Cheshire Smile Animation inks development deal with CBC Kids.

Cheshire Smile Animation Announces Development Deal with CBC Kids on the 13 x 3 minute live action animated series Toby’s Canada for CBC Television and SCN.

14 November 2007 - (Saskatoon, SK) Producer Cheshire Smile Animation announce the beginning of development on Toby’s Canada, a television series for 2 – 6 year old children starring Toby, a digi-savy seven year old who makes and stars in his own short docu-videocasts about his experiences discovering the magic and diversity of Canada.

Toby’s Canada is produced by Tim Tyler of Cheshire Smile Animation Inc. and Mike and Mark Birkland. It features the writing talents of Darwin C. Vickers (Ned’s Newt, Jimmy Neutron, Pelswick), and will be developed for production in the summer of 2008.

“We are excited to be working with CBC Kids and SCN in the development of Toby’s Canada” says producer Tim Tyler of Cheshire Smile Animation Inc., “We have been working for a long time on the development of this property, and it is great to see an appetite at the from CBC Kids for original Saskatchewan television content with a National Focus.”

Toby is an inspired, animated (literally and figuratively) child in a live-action world who is passionate about discovering the many facets to life in Canada. As a roving vid-caster, Toby travels the nation finding entertaining educational and cool stories about Canadian geography, locations and life for his friends watching on television and the internet at home. Children love Toby. They look up to him because he is versatile and talented with computers, cameras and technology and he uses those skills, along with his natural curiosity and good humor, to explore the Canadian places and stories that children want to learn more about.

Established in 2000, Cheshire Smile Animation Inc. combines broadcaster focused development and production of animated entertainment properties with service animation and interactive production.

Toby’s Canada is developed in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Saskatchewan Communications Network, with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund.

 

Side Show Christmas - Animation Designs V

A concept design for an icicle forest on the journey to the North Pole.

 

Side Show Christmas - Animation Designs II

Amongst all the other insanity, I have been busy trying to get the designs wrapped up for Side Show Christmas so that we can move the project forward for production this winter. Chris Steininger, has brought his distinct design vision to the universe of this show.

 

Banff World Television Festival 2007 - Review

BWTVF - The best place to sex up your tv projects with a Canadian Broadcaster (and some internation ones too!)

Well, after a long dark deer dodging drive home with Anand Ramayya, a fellow Saskatoon Producer / Director, I am back at home, processing all that I saw and heard at the 2007 Banff World Television Festival.

Some of the highlights for the festival for me included having the whole shebang paid for through a CTV Western Canada Fellowship - (Thanks again CTV - you guys rock) - If you have some professional level producer / director experience and live somewhere to the west of Ontario, I highly recommend applying for this - just make sure that you have solid letters of recommendation from respected sources in the industry.

Also had the good fortune to room with Antonio (Tony) Hrynchuck and Anand Ramayya at the Fox’s Den on Beaver Street. This B&B was awesome. We were within staggering, perhaps even crawling distance of the St. James Gate and the Opening Night Party hosted by SaskFilm and SCN at the Rose and Crown. Plus it was a great place for us to hang together and de-stress from the rigors of the festival.

Personally my projects were very well received this year. In the past I have often left Banff feeling somewhat like I just got jilted at the High School dance. I am not quite ready to share my personal developments, however I am sure they will come out over the next couple of months as I get into formal agreements around them, however what I will do is share some insights to what the animation broadcasters in Canada are looking for.

Teletoon: I met with Michael Goldsmith, the new director of Original Content. He is great. They are really looking for original Canadian 1/2 hour dramady and 6-9 boys action / comedy that can play in their 4-6 pm after school block. They have expressed a willingness to look beyond pure animation and develop projects that are a hybrid of live action and animation.

Interestingly, Teletoon is also going to be starting a Pilot project for adult animation that targets those 18-25 year olds guys who watch the detour. They are looking for Satyrical, Edgy, Off The Wall shows. If you think you have the next Robot Chicken or Family Guy, they want to talk to you…….. but make sure to talk to me first so we can see if we can work on it together

CBC Kids: I met with Kim Wilson, Creative Head, Children’s Programming. It was nice, she remembered me from the Ottawa Television Animation Conference - going to these things really does pay off over time. The big change at the CBC these days is that Children’s has their own pot of money from which they can develop projects. Our children’s projects used to compete with other projects in the TV Arts & Entertainment area which resulted in not many projects moving forward last year.

CBC is primarily looking for quality Canadian Pre-school programming that can play weekday mornings. Example of the shows that are working and they would like more of are Poko, Lunar Jim, and Pinky Dinky Do (That wacky story spinning rodent), however they are also interested in a clever comedy that also targets older children for the 7-8 am block. Also of interest big batches of short interstitials 40* 3-5 minute.

YTV / Corus: I met with Jamie Piekarz from YTV and Corus, and also had the chance to go to a YTV broadcaster briefing session. YTV is primarily looking for animated sit-coms (ala Being Ian) that can play during the Zone. Also of interest Action / Comedy / Adventure that can play during Crunch on Saturday Morning. Additionally they are looking for children’s reality programs like Prank Patrol. YTV has also expressed a great deal of interest in 1 minute animated shorts that can play on their web site YTV.com.

Some things to keep in mind when you are developing your shows for YTV. They are really interested in programming where children are the protagonists and drive the episodes. YTV wants to work with writers and producers who are willing to mine their characters and really find out who they are, and how they drive the stories before you pitch to them. They want you to do your homework before you come to them,
From the experience I had with my pitch, I can tell you that they are very much interested in internal Character descriptions that are speak to who there kids really are. What drives them, what motivates them.

That’s all I have to say for now, if you have questions about these channels watch them and try to think about where your idea can fit in to their schedule.

Next up on my travel agenda for meeting with broadcasters is the Ottawa Television Animation Conference.

 

More Toby Thoughts

We have been rolling along on the re-development of this concept and have a one sheet that we are now starting to shop around to broadcasters. I am going to pitch this to Treehouse next week.

Any comments / criticism / insights would be greatly appreciated.

Toby’s Time

13 x 3 minute animation / documentary

Preschool (3-5)

Toby’s Time is a 13 X 3 minute animation / documentary series for 3 – 5 year old children starring Toby, a digi-savy seven year old who makes and stars in his own short docu-videocasts about his experiences discovering the magic and diversity of life in the world around him.

Toby is an inspired, animated (literally and figuratively) child in a live-action world who is passionate about discovering the many facets to life in the world around him. Toby goes to great effort to share his findings with his friends in the TV audience all over the world.

Children love Toby. They look up to him because he is versatile and talented with computers, cameras and technology and he uses those skills and his natural curiosity to explore stories that children want to know and learn more about.

From behind the scenes at the Rodeo, to shearing sheep, model railroads, or fighting forest fires in Northern Saskatchewan, Toby is in front of the camera and behind it all the while providing a youthful point of view for the children in his viewing audience.

Toby is not afraid to get to the heart of the story and find out in a sometimes serious, sometimes cheeky way the facts that only children can truly appreciate. That’s right everything from how many pounds of poo gets mucked out of the Rodeo Stalls in a day to the number of pieces of railroad track it would take to make a model railroad that could span the planet or go to the moon. These are just some of the facts that Toby will share with his friends along the way.

As an animated child, Toby has access to a wide range of places and situations that most children never experience. Toby uses that access to provide a unique point of entry into the exciting world that exists just beyond the front door.

Toby’s Time is a series that aims to introduce children, in a fun, educational manner, to the diversity of life and experience that can be found within Canada, this great land of ours.

For more information about this show please contact Tim Tyler, Producer.
tel: 306.652.2102 email:tim@cheshiresmile.com http://www.cheshiresmile.com
2007 Birkland Bros. Entertainment and Cheshire Smile Animation Inc.
All Rights Reserved

 

 

Random Act of Kindness

Ever since the day I realized that I can not simply walk into a store and by a Wii, my desire to own one has been going through the roof.

Last week I saw a flyer from Zellers advertising that they were going to have Wii consoles in, and on sale. How great is that! I called down a learned that there was going to be 4 consoles at the Zellers near where I live and the were going to be available to the public at 10 am on Friday (Good Friday) morning.

My son Jonah, who is just as compulsive as I am, had at this point got into the act and agreed with me that the thing to do was for us to get up early and go wait in line at the Zellers so we could get one. So at 8 am we wandered down and got into line. When we arrived, there was one other person, an older gentleman who was hoping to get one for his grandchildren.

Over the next couple of hours before the store opened, quite a few people showed up and the atmosphere turned first into a bit of a coffee party and then as the hour neared it turned to the competitive as everyone jockeyed for that optimum place in line. Sadly for us, this Zellers has two doors to get in to the store, and of course, they opened the other set of doors leaving us essentially in the cold. When I got to the counter all 4 were spoken for - the people who had shown up first and lined up for hours were left hanging.

I complained a little to the people at Zellers and told them that it was unfair that they had no way of managing this any better. They just looked at me and shrugged in that way that only a person who is working for just over minimum wage can.

Downhearted and a little dejected, Jonah and I left the store empty handed.

This is where the Act of Kindness comes in.

As Jonah and I moped outside the store, Jonah a little more than me (he really was on the verge of tears - it is a lot of work to wait in line for 2 hours at 7 years of age), one of the people who had purchased one of the consoles came up to me and we started talking. He had come down to buy one for his kids but when he called to tell them he had got one, they were all still sleeping. Put off by his own children’s lack of passion, he returned it so that Jonah could have it.

“What comes around goes around, you must have done something nice for someone this week.”

Thank you sir!

Your kindness and generosity was truly inspiring, and we have had a great time playing on that console.

Now it is my turn to pass that act of kindness around……..

 

Development, Development, Development

Spring is a good time for development because in Western Canada you roll that work in to face to face meetings with broadcasters and distributors at the Banff World Television Festival. If you are a Canadian animation creator looking to get to know the broadcasters you need to make your show, Banff is a great place to go. It is expensive but believe me it is worth the investment.

I have three shows I am developing for television right now. The Side Show Christmas is currently in development with Teletoon, June Beetle has been developed through NSI’s Totally Television Program, and Toby has gone through an initial development phase with SCN, a local Saskatchewan Broadcaster, but has stalled a little because we have just had a hard time getting other broadcasters behind the project.

This post is about Toby. Yesterday I went on a road trip to Humbolt with the Creators and twins Mike and Mark to meet the writer Darwin. Amazingly Mike and Mark have been working on Toby for close to 5 years with Darwin and have never met face to face.

We set out on this trip with a specific task, to reinvigorate the show so we can attract a broadcaster. To do this I prepared a series a questions for the team so we could explore where we could take the show but still have it remain true to the core idea.

By answering these questions and using them as a guide for our development process we have been able to come up with an entirely new approach to the show that I think is fresh, original, and will get us the broadcasters we need to get the show made.

I am going to share these questions and the answers we came up with so that when you are developing your ideas for television shows, you can round out the idea into a full concept with legs. In developing Toby, we have wasted a lot of time responding to the ideas of other people, broadcasters and producers who have no investment in the show, but have ideas that they think could make it better, make it into something that they might want. Not one of these ideas has ever improved the show to the point where the contributor would come on board.

The point is, You have to make the show that you want to make. Obviously development when you have a broadcaster on-board is different because they become the client and you need to craft the product that they want on their airwaves (especially because they are going to pay you to make it), however in early development it is your show, your vision. You need to have clarity of vision to help decide if incoming ideas are good and add to the vision or bad and detract from it.

These simple questions have helped us. I hope they can help you.

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At it’s core, what is the story about?

Toby’s Time… is about Toby, a digi-savvy seven year old from the city who makes and stars in his own short docu-vidcasts about his experiences discovering the magic of life in the country.

Who are the characters? Why do we care about them?

Toby is the central character. He is the guide and narrator for our journey into country life. We care about him because he brings his fresh city perspective to the experience of life in the country.

What motivates them?

Toby is motivated by his passion and zest for life and experience. He loves to discover the many facets to life in the world around him and is excited to share them with his friends in the TV audience from all over the world.

Who is the audience? Why do they care?

The audience for this show is 3 – 4 year old children. Children care about Toby not only because he is cool, but also because he provide a distinct point of entry into the wider world, that exists beyond their front door. Toby acts upon the natural sense of curiosity and wonder that exists within every child of that age.

If you could pick a perfect viewer for your show who is it?

The perfect viewer is a curious child.

What is the hook?

The adventures of a city kid in the country.

 

Flicks Industry Panel - Come on out if you’re in Saskatoon

If you are interested in listening to a panel that looks into the process of successfully developing and producing television in Canada, this panel discussion should be highly worthwhile (and I am moderating it to boot). The pedigree of all the panelists is quite impressive, it should be enlightening and very informative.

I always find it very worthwhile to have the opportunity to listen to broadcasters talk about what they look for in projects and producing teams. To know what a broadcaster wants, you have to find out what they have on their shopping list. This is the first time that we have had a major Canadian children’s television broadcaster (YTV, Treehouse, and National Geographic Kids) come out and speak in Saskatoon. It is definitely worth a listen.

Hopefully we can get a solid turn out for what promises to be a great event.

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The First FLICKS Film Forum Hosts Esteemed Panel.
April 19, 2007

Flicks International Film Festival for Young People is proud to announce its inaugural industry day! Open to all who wish to attend, the Flicks Film Forum will be a round table discussion on the steps of creating, producing and distributing content for national broadcast.

Presenters for this program include Bonita Seigel (Director of Original Programming, Corus Entertainment), Virginia Thompson (Producer, renegadepress.com and Corner Gas) and Melanie Jackson (Co-Creator, Wapos Bay). The event will be moderated by the President of Cheshire Smile Animation and Saskatoon resident, Tim Tyler.
The panelists will discuss the process they have gone through to shepherd their work onto the national and international media. Following the discussion, the floor will be opened up for a question and answer period.

The Forum will take place one day prior to the official opening on the Festival on April 19, 2007 in Saskatoon. Tickets to the event are $25 each and are available by calling Anita Smith at (306) 956-3456 or by emailing flicksfilmfestival@sasktel.net. Hope to see you there!

For more information, contact: Sean Hoy, Festival Producer Telephone: (306) 956-3456 Email: flicksfilmfestival@sasktel.net Website: www.flicksfilmfest.org

 

Toby

This is a demo for a show which we have been developing with the support of SCN (Saskatchewan Communications Network). We have been working really hard to find a broadcaster who will support the show and help develop it further. So far no takers.

I guess if it was easy to produce a television show every one would do it.