Ottawa Television Animation Conference 07

I just bought my pass for the Ottawa Television Animation Conference in, you guessed it, Ottawa from the 19th to 20th of September.

I personally think that this event is probably one of the best events you can go to if you are interested in pitching shows to the major Canadian and US commissioning animation broadcasters. Last year Teletoon, CBC Kids, YTV, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and others were all in attendance and relatively accessible for meetings.

In addition to being significantly cheaper than Banff, Kids Screen, or markets like MIP, it is intimate setting with a very small group of animation focused broadcasters, producers and creators. There are many great panel discussions that allow you to see what trends are developing in the animation industry at a very high level. If, like myself, you are from somewhere out in woods like Saskatchewan, this information is absolutely invaluable.

I personally am on the lookout for new projects that I can get behind and help develop, so if you are going to be at the event, make sure to drop me a line.

 

Side Show Christmas - Concept Art I

Haven’t posted for a while, too much lake time. Here is a location concept design for Side Show Christmas that Jordan R. has been working on for me.

 

Tin Foil Hat Lady

This is a recording of the one woman show, “The Subversive Lecture of Tin Foil Hat Lady” performed by Beata VanBerkom live at 20 Above in the Paved / AKA Gallery in Saskatoon.

You can go to her >>>youtube page to watch the rest of the performance.

 

 

Seelenheil Animation Preview

I have been working on an “epic” 3 minute animated film for about the last year. It is a period piece that is adapted from a graphic novella called Seelenheil, and is set during WWII. It has been a very involved film to animate with intense subject matter and a wide range of characters and locations. Rick Stefanowski is producing and put together financing for the film from SaskFilm, the National Film Board of Canada (FAP), and the Saskatchewan Arts Board.

The film is animated using hand drawn assets within Flash. It is at that exciting point of creation because right now the animation is finished, we are very close to locking the picture now, and all the colored backgrounds (we are going for a film noir / watercolor look) are starting to appear.

Here are a couple of shots from the 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.

 

Side Show Christmas - Animation Designs

The Side Show Christmas is a 1 hour Flash animated Christmas Special in development with Teletoon Canada and SCN. I am producing for Cheshire Smile Animation Inc. Ideally we are looking at production this Fall / Winter with the broadcast premier in 2008.

I have been working with Chris Steininger to develop the character designs for the show. Jeff Martel created Side Show Christmas and is currently writing the 2nd Draft of the screenplay. I pitched the show to Teletoon at 2006 Banff Television Festival and have been developing the show with them since then.

These are some of the characters Chris has conceived to date. The animation design phase of developing this project has been a challenging experience because in the beginning we conceived and pitched the story to our broadcasters without any artwork. We have have had to work with the Broadcaster to develop a style for the show which fits their vision. Needless to say, these have not been our first attempts.

 

Banff 2007

Well it is official. I am on may way to the 2007 Banff World Television Festival.

I was awarded a CTV Western Canada Fellowship and receive complementary admission to the festival and airfare. Thanks so much CTV!! You guys do so much more than putting d’ Idols, Dogriver and Degrassi on the National Airwaves!!

Now all I have to do now is find somewhere to stay…..

This year I am going to Banff to pitch the television projects I have been developing, The Side Show Christmas, Toby’s Time, and June Beetle, to the Canadian and International broadcasters at the festival. I am looking to develop relationships with more international broadcasters so that I can structure viable financing for these projects as they near production.

Additionally I hope to meet new people, get exposed to new ideas, and have a great time.

If you are going to Banff and would like to meet, please feel free to drop me a line.

 

On Animation Writing

Writing is at the heart of animation. It is the foundation that all other creative processes in the development and production of animation interact with intimately. It is the craft that can move an idea from conception to the screen.

This is a collection of good articles and resources on animation writing that I have come across.

Please feel free to add to this list.

>>>An article on the animation writing process at Pixar.

>>>An arcticle from May 07 Animation Mentor newsletter.

>>>A cool animation writing Blog. http://animationwriters.blogspot.com/

>>>Mike was part of an amazing panel discussion on writing for Squash and Stretch at the 2006 Ottawa Animation Festival. This is his book.

>>>Jeffery Scott is an emmy award winning animation writer. You can visit his website >>>>here

 

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