Category: Mipcom

China’s ‘Emmy’ wins MipJunior International Pitch of the Year

CANNES: Kids content creators have a huge task in hand: to be able to woo the broadcasters who are looking for content that is unique, has great visual and concept, is innovative and has educational eminence, while avoiding cliché and having original ideas.

Looking at all these aspects was the MipJunior International Pitch of the Year, which this year saw 130 entries. Of this, six projects made it to the finals of MipJunior International Pitch of the Year, the winner of which was Emmy produced by LeftPocket Animation Studio, China.

Emmy is a story of a little girl who is not only brave, creative and clever, but she lives next door to a magical forest filled with the most wonderful creatures, including her best friend Gru. In every episode Emmy uses her own practical, common sense approach to life to help solve the very unusual problems that arise in the magical forest.

This year, the International Pitch also saw a special prize being given to a very creative concept showcased by Belgium’s Contentinuum, called My Dream Job: A Customized series with Dad, Mum and Me!

The series focuses on a kid who wakes up every morning, with different dreams of his parents being in different professions. The show has paper dolls animated via stop motion, CGI and FX. A custom app lets kids produce their own versions of the series, putting their faces, and their parents’ faces, in place of the existing protagonists.

The other projects that made to the finals were QB9 Entertainment’s (Argentina) Krakatoa, a 12 minute episode series, Isi by Edebe Audiovisual Licensing, Spain, Larva in New York by Tuba n Co, South Korea and Oongu Loongu: Animal Palace by OOMPH! Animation, South Africa.

October 12, 2014
MipJunior 2014: Broadcasters look for creative content creators to attract kids

CANNES: MipJunior 2014 has established one thing for all kids’ content creators and broadcasters: kids want to watch their favourite programme at the place of their choice and time. But the big question now is how to reach these kids who are consuming content using different platforms? This remained the main focus of the panel discussion on ‘What do buyers want: Emerging multi platform acquisition trends’ on day two of MipJunior 2014.

While a lot is being spoken about kids moving to the second screen to consume content, Australian Broadcasting Corporation head of children’s TV Deirdre Brennan informed that in Australia even now close to 89 per cent of children’s viewing happens on traditional TV.

Today, kids are ready to watch the content over and over again. “With so many platforms, we will now have to devise ways to reach to these platforms,” said Disney Channels Worldwide VP worldwide programming strategy, acquisitions and co-productions Karen K Miller.

The increasing number of platforms poses another problem, of not being sure about which platform the consumer is consuming content from. Citing the example of Germany, ZDF head of international co-production and acquisition Nicole Keeb said, “90 per cent of content viewing happens on TV. Being a public broadcaster, ZDF is also obliged to deliver content for TV first, followed by online or other platforms.

Broadcasters world over feel that the television monitoring data is still evolving. “The quality of data is important, since we want to monitor the behavior of the consumers. Better data also helps us strategise better and know which platform is better for our audience,” said Cartoon Network VP content acquisitions and co-productions Adina Pitt.

The session also delved on what these tech-savvy kids are doing on portable devices. “They are watching their favourite shows, playing games, they are using it in every way possible for entertainment,” informed Miller.

With numerous kids’ channels offering almost the same content, it becomes important for channels to ensure that kids associate with the brand. “Kids are smart. They know the brand and associate with it. For us, word of mouth publicity helps. In fact the consumer becomes the marketer,” said Pitt.

The broadcasters, while they have their core target audience, they also feel that there should be entry points. “So while Disney is considered more of a girls’ channel, we do have entry points for boys,” added Miller.

For Australian Broadcasting Corporation, until a few years back, it had started looking at children as a separate audience. “We have now started looking at bringing both parents and kids together through our content,” said Brennan.

Brennan also feels that reality shows have seeped in Australian television industry. “I want to bring back storytelling on television,” she opined.

Another key point brought out during the session was that while internet has increased access to content, it is the responsibility of the content creators to ensure that kids are able to find the content.

On a parting note, when World Screen group editorial director Anna Carugati, the moderator for the session, asked what was missing in the kids broadcasting space, Amazon Studios head of kid’s programming Tara Sorensen said, “There is a need for more creative content. The creators need to spend time in creating content.”

October 12, 2014
‘Peanuts Re-imagined’ at MipJunior 2014

CANNES: “We are looking closely at India,” said Peanuts Worldwide SVP media Kim Towner during the MipJunior keynote which focused on the glorious 50 years of Peanuts and the 65th anniversary of the comic strip. While Peanuts may make in-roads to India in the future, currently the important markets for it are Japan, China, Brazil and Germany, apart from the US and France.

The keynote themed: ‘Peanuts Re-imagined’ was moderated by author and consultant Christopher Erbes and was attended by France Télevisions executive director Julien Borde, Normaal Animation producer Alexis Lavillat and Towner. It focused on the new TV series, a huge theatrical premiere and many other innovative initiatives being undertaken by Peanuts.

The year is big for Peanuts which has restored its entire library to 4K quality for modern viewers. “We have re-signed the deal with ABC for five years,” announced Towner. Not only this, the company has done production deals with Fox and Blue Sky as well. Talking about the other developments, Towner said that Peanuts: The Movie, a 3D CGI animation will see its premier in November 2015. “With development budget of $100 million, the movie will be distributed in over 100 countries. Another $100 million will be put for marketing the property,” she said.

With audience moving towards digital, Peanuts is also looking at partnering with a major gaming company. “We will announce the partnership soon,” added Towner. With this, Peanuts aims at building on the 15 million downloads of its existing apps. Currently, the animation sees one billion social media impressions in a year. “We see 1.8 million engagements at any given week,” she said, while adding that “2015 is the year of Peanuts.”

Talking about its strategy on apps, Towner said that while currently most of the apps are games for kids, they do realise the diverse audience.

The key to Peanut is to make it funny and heartwarming for kids. “We want to find humour for kids,” said Lavillat.

Giving a background to the new show, which will be a seven minute episode, Borde said that Peanuts has been re-imagined, since family oriented programming is important for television today.

October 12, 2014
NEWS FROM HIT ENTERTAINMENT AND MATTEL AT 2014 MIPCOM

·        New content added across HIT and Mattel portfolio, including all-new Bob the Builder and Little People series

·         New global content distribution team structure announcedBig year for Thomas & Friends in 2015 as the brand celebrates 70th anniversary

ALL-NEW BOB THE BUILDER

HIT Entertainment, one of the world’s leading pre-school entertainment companies and a subsidiary of Mattel Inc, has unveiled the all-new look for Bob the Builder who will bring construction to life for millions of children in the upcoming CG-animated series of the show.

The new series – which will be delivered in late 2015 – will see Bob the Builder continuing to bring the world of construction to life for kids, with exciting characters, new relatable locations and an aspirational hero.

All of the show’s core characters return for the new series, including Wendy, Roley and Dizzy, plus popular vehicles Lofty, Muck and Scoop. There will be new faces for viewers to meet, including apprentice Leo, Mayor Maria Madison, young sports club members ‘The Spring City Rockets’ and two new machines: a heavy-lifting low-loader truck ‘Two Tonne’ and a tower crane named ‘Tiny’.

The all-new series of Bob the Builder will air on Channel’s 5’s Milkshake! in the UK, PBS KIDS in the US and Super RTL in Germany, beginning next year.

LITTLE PEOPLE

HIT Entertainment has announced global entertainment company DHX Media as its animation partner on a brand new CG animated series of Little People.

Based on the iconic Fisher-Price® Little People® brand, the new series is being produced out of HIT’s UK content hub and will feature imaginative and energetic characters that are contemporary and relatable to today’s young children.

The animated pre-school series of 52 x 11’ episodes, planned for release in late 2015, showcases a unique format and emphasizes the power that imagination and group play can have on discovery and critical thinking skills.

PORTFOLIO UPDATE

With a focus on exceptional storytelling, HIT Entertainment (Stand R7.B2), arrives at MIPCOM 2014 with its largest portfolio to date.

In 2015, the HIT and Mattel portfolio will add new content across its premier, iconic and globally renowned portfolio of brands including Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Monster High®, Thomas & Friends®, Bob the Builder, and Fisher-Price® brands, including Little People®. Content formats include new movie specials, new series, and new short-form content.

In 2015, Barbie will continue to delight girls of all ages with three new CG animated feature-length movies.   Thomas & Friends DVD “Dinos & Discoveries” will launch Q1 2015 and DVD feature-length special “Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure” in the autumn. Series 19 will also launch on air introducing all-new characters.

Edward Catchpole, Senior Vice President and General Manager, HIT Entertainment, said: “As the business evolves from producing shows for traditional TV to include digital distribution outlets and in readiness for new emerging platforms, our capabilities in this space will provide us breadth and depth of content critical to global production and the business across the Mattel portfolio.”

NEW REMIT FOR HIT

The updated content portfolio coincides with an all new global content distribution team structure.. Consolidated under Mattel’s HIT Entertainment division, led by veteran industry experts across broadcast distribution, home entertainment, and emerging media, the team will be responsible for distribution of content across all of Mattel’s leading brands including, Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Monster High®, Thomas & Friends®, Bob the Builder®, and Fisher-Price® brands, including Little People®. The new structure has been designed to maximise the impact of the strategic, global distribution of its content and leverage its leading pre-school, girls, and boys portfolio of brands and will be led by Edward Catchpole.

The combined Mattel portfolio currently has more than 600 hours of content, with additional content being green lit for production every year.   Across all its brands, Mattel content is viewed by more than one billion households more than 185 global territories and 40 languages.

October 12, 2014
MipJunior 2014: Upfront funding from b’casters for kids’ programme on a decline?

CANNES: Producers in Asia and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) are in for some trouble, if IHS Technology principal analyst TV Tim Westcott is to be believed. According to a study conducted by IHS Technology in 28 countries comprising a mix of producers and broadcasters, upfront funding is seeing a downward trend. While most producers still get funding from broadcasters before they get into production, overall, the producers in Asia and MENA are less likely to receive upfront funding.

In the same study, while 58 per cent of the producers accepted that they still get upfront funding from broadcasters for children’s programming, 42 per cent of producers did not receive any such funding. The observations were shared during a session on ‘Kids and Multi Media’ on the first day of MipJunior.

This apart, another key finding of the survey was that broadcasters today place strong emphasis on original programming in their budgeting. “More than half the broadcasters surveyed spend a majority of their budget on original programming. Not only this, one pubcaster spent 100 per cent of its budget on original programmes, while other broadcasters spend 80-85 per cent of their budget,” said Westcott.

A majority (63 per cent) of producers expect broadcaster budgets to decline, while 9 per cent of those surveyed are still optimistic. Another point that came to the fore was that producers tend to not stream the programmes on their own sites. “People are not seeing a great deal of revenue coming from digital and certainly not enough to compensate from any decline they’re having from linear TV sales,” said Westcott.

According to Westcott, episodes are more likely to be streamed on a third party site and then on the producer’s own site. Of those surveyed, 37.5 per cent of respondents still do not have their content online. “Over the top subscription like Netflix was cited as the most significant revenue stream for online content,” he added. This is followed by free to the end user streaming, supported by advertising.

Kids are moving beyond linear television. With 34 per cent of British kids in the age group of 5 to 15 years, using smartphones and tablets to view content, linear TV could just be witnessing a downward trend. Westcott during his presentation said that kids in the US, UK, France, Netherlands, Sweden and Germany have shown a decline in linear TV viewing.

So is digital making up for the losses caused due to decline in linear TV viewing? Answered TVE head of children’s content Santiago Fandino Lousa, “Things are changing year by year. Today, broadcasters face difficulty in formulating long term strategies. Kids today want the content they like, at the place of their choice.”

While broadcasters may be facing difficulties, Hit Entertainment VP global productions and content Keenan Christopher is quite happy with the development. He said, “All of our content is character based. Kids find time to invest in these characters, regardless of the platform. For us, the second screen has become the first screen, which is good as there is decline in linear television viewing.” For Toca Boca VP brand and marketing Jonas Carlsson, second screen is highly immersive.

October 11, 2014
World animation industry comes together at MipJunior 2014

CANNES: The wait is over as the influential buyers, sellers and producers from world over unite at MipJunior 2014, what is called the biggest international digital library of kids’ programmes. Over the next two days, these influential digital players, publishers and licensing executives will present, discover and screen the very latest content, giving them the edge on concluding deals at MIPCOM.

Presenting a huge bouquet of content is also the Indian animation industry, which is looking for co-production deals with international players, while also presenting its work to the world.

Being held at Palm Beach in Cannes, MipJunior has a new address this year.

The focus at this year’s MipJunior is to capture kids where ever they are watching content. Setting the right tune for the exciting two days, is the session on ‘Kids and Multi Screens’, where panelists will find out how changes in technology is impacting kids’ viewing habits.

Another exciting session to look forward to is ‘The digital strategists show and tell: Hit IPs breaking through all screens’, moderated by World Screen managing editor Brzoznowski Kristin. The session will see Rovio Entertainment head of content strategy Dorra Nick, PlayKids worldwide head of content Gorfine Bethany, Unicorn Black founder and CEO Haroon Rashid Aaron and 1B9 Entertainment COO Liberini Marcelo educating people on the strategies that work the most to engage young audiences in multi-screen content consumption.

While day one will conclude with close to four screenings, day two will see speakers talking about the emerging multi-platform acquisition trends, the next gen TV projects for connected kids, keeping up with connected kids and a guide to developing the future kids’ classics on the web.

October 11, 2014
Venus Entertainment to woo buyers at MIPCOM

MUMBAI: It’s not just Indian television content. Bollywood too is the buzzword at MIPCOM 2014, the biggest content market in the world and Venus Entertainment is out there to woo buyers with its set of films.

With movies like De Dana Dan, Garam Masala, Tezz, The Train, Main Hoon Na, Aksar, Hulchul, Hungama, Humraaz, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, Ajnabee, Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye, Josh, Mela, Bandhan, Keemat, Yes Boss, Akele Hum Akele Tum, Baazigar and many more to its kitty, it has surely has a huge library to showcase at the event.

Venus was founded in 1985 to set up a record label in Mumbai. The company initially produced non-film albums and gradually bagged the worldwide rights of Bollywood film music and created a niche for itself in the music world.

It then evolved into producing motion pictures and has become one of the top production houses in Bollywood. It has an integrated business model covering the entire value chain from Motion Pictures Production and Record Label to Distribution worldwide.

Today, the company has diversified into myriad fields, encompassing different facets of the entertainment industry. Besides Record Label, Motion Pictures Production and Distribution, Venus is actively involved in production of ad films, post production and state-of-the-art music recording studio.

Being a regular MIPCOM participant for the last seven years, Venus Entertainment international sales head Sushil Jain feels MIPCOM is a great platform to meet content owners, buyers and distributors from across the globe and gain knowledge and feedback. “We have regularly been attending MIP TV and MIPCOM for the last seven years. We have been selling movies and this is a great platform where we can know how to make our content better.”

Jain will be focusing on markets like African, Middle East, European and Asian. “There is a great demand and interest for Bollywood movies from such markets,” says Jain. Moreover, it will be focusing on all platforms like television, digital, new media and etc.

October 10, 2014
Gaumont TV France set to produce ‘Spy City’

MUMBAI: Gaumont TV France, a division of the European based motion picture studio Gaumont, announced that the company plans to produce Spy City, a 10 x one-hour English language drama series focusing on the intense spy game in early 1960s Berlin.

Spy City will be co-produced by Odeon in Germany, with CEO Mischa Hofmann and head of international co-productions Britta Meyermann, responsible for the deal. Acclaimed novelist and UK-based screenwriter William Boyd is set to create and write with respected French director Pascal Chaumeil to direct.

In addition, it was announced today that Gaumont TV France has hired Elizabeth Dreyer to the newly created position head of international co-productions. Based in Paris, Dreyer will oversee co-productions originating out of Europe that will be produced in English. Gaumont TV France plans to produce one to two English language European series a year, while Gaumont’s production and distribution studio Gaumont International Television, will continue with its mandate to produce and distribute programming for the global marketplace.

Gaumont CEO Christophe Riandee said “Spy City is the perfect English language project for us to produce in Europe and we are thrilled that William Boyd and Pascal Chaumeil are attached to this project,” He went on to add that with Elizabeth on board they will be able to focus on additional strong international projects financed and produced out of Europe.

With high-stakes political intrigue at its core, each episode of Spy City will be played out in an elaborate chess game with post WWII superpowers vying for power in Berlin. Spy City is also an intimate look at the personal lives of those who chose to become spies. The series focuses on a group of men and women of different nationalities and backgrounds as they endeavor to realise their hopes, dreams and ambitions in the hornet’s nest of divided Berlin.

William Boyd has received worldwide acclaim for his novels, A Good Man in Africa, An Ice Cream War, Brazzaville Beach, The Blue Afternoon and Any Human Heart. Boyd’s most recent works include his novel Ordinary Thunderstorms, the latest James Bond book Solo, and the espionage novel Waiting for Sunrise. Boyd wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed film Chaplin, directed by Richard Attenborough, and has been nominated for two Emmy Awards.

Pascal Chaumeil has both film and television credits to his name. He is currently directing Spotless, a London-set series for Canal+. His film career includes A Long Way Down, A Perfect Plan and Heartbreaker. On the television side Chaumeil’s credits include the French TV series Fais pas ci, fais pas ça, and the French miniseries L’état de Grace, among others.

A well-respected film executive with experience spanning acquisitions, development, production and sales, Dreyer joins Gaumont TV France from Velvet Calico Films where she served as president consulting and advising a variety of clients in feature film, animation, and television. Prior to that position, she was vice president, development and acquisitions, at Liaison Films, Focus Features’ Paris-based subsidiary, sourcing European-originated projects for production by Focus. Dreyer began her career with Miramax Films in acquisitions, buying independent and foreign films while based in New York and then London, ultimately being promoted to vice president.

October 10, 2014
The new Alisa`s adventures: the Russian animated series will be presented at MIPJUNIOR

MUMBAI: The new Russian children’s animated series by Bazelevs, (Riki grou) and Studio Moskva Alisa Knows What To Do! based upon the Kir Bulychov`s series Alisa’s Journey will be presented at the world’s showcase for kids programming MIPJUNIOR, which will take place in Cannes, France, on October 11-12, 2014.
The animated series will be presented as a part of Russian Animation stand, organized by the Cinema Fund with the support of the Ministry of culture of the Russian Federation.

In March of this year, Alisa Knows What To Do! was marked by a special award of the XIX Open Russian animation festival in Suzdal as the animated series with the highest international potential. The nomination was established by Reed MIDEM, the organizer of world`s markets of audiovisual programming – MIPJUNIOR and MIPCOM in Cannes (France). As a prize, the project team was awarded by an offer for the world`s showcase for kids programming in Cannes in October 2014. Here, the creators of “Alisa” are going to present to foreign buyers not only the animated series, but the full-length animation feature as well.

Timur Bekmambetov, producer: “We hope the story about adventures of a common Moscow schoolgirl Alisa will be close and understandable for children from all over the world. There is no secret Kir Bulychov`s books have been translated into many languages and published in millions of copies. This story is about that age when kids hardly differ from each other. Therefore, to my mind “Alisa” undoubtedly has a great potential to make an immediate appeal to viewers in other countries. It’s really important for us the project to become a significant phenomenon both in Russian and around the world. And for this reason story must be highly amusing, funny, touching and sincere, what we are seeking”.

Anton Malyshev, head of the Russian Cinema Fund: “A high valuation of the Russian project by international professional community will give an opportunity to draw attention not only to the concrete project, but also to the modern Russian animation in general. The Russian animation has already gained certain achievements at international markets and one of the strategic priorities of the Cinema Fund is supporting Russian full-length animation feature projects, which give to the Russian studio an opportunity to reach a new qualitative level and to draw the youngest kids` audience to cinemas, thus to generate sustained interest for a qualitative Russian animation programming”.

Alisa Knows What To Do! series tells a story about fantastical adventures of Alisa and her four friends – 12-year-old schoolchildren, placed in the near future, in the year 2093. The series is filmed in 3D graphics. The first season is completed. It consists of 24 episodes. Currently the second season is being created. Co-production of the series by Bazelevs, the RIKI Group and Animation Studio Moskva with the support of the Ministry of culture of the Russian Federation. The artistic head of the project is the famous Russian-American director of animation cinema Igor Kovalev. Producers: Timur Bekmambetov, Ilya Popov, Elena Malenkina. Production of the full-length animation feature has started this autumn and is provided with the support of Cinema Fund on the terms of partially refundable financing. The release is scheduled for spring 2016. Producers: Timur Bekmambetov, directors: Olga Baulina and Viktor Gluhushin.

October 9, 2014
Fred Graver, creative lead, Twitter TV, to make first ever presentation at MIPCOM

MUMBAI: Fred Graver (@FredGraver), Creative Lead, Twitter TV, joined by Twitter’s global TV team, will discuss how Twitter is driving television audience engagement at a major MIPCOM presentation in Cannes, on Monday 13th October (15.00-16.00).

The Twitter Global TV team will highlight how Twitter brings TV audiences to life, driving engagement, loyalty and intent to view. The public will be taken through the best practices for social TV live experiences, as well as the behind-the-scenes secrets of Twitter’s work with networks, shows and talent.

Studies show that a majority of mobile and tablet users talk about what they’re watching on television with others spontaneously. Viewers now watch TV together with Twitter instead of time-shifting or watching alone, creating a real-time “social soundtrack of TV”. All over the world, producers from Awards shows to reality, game-shows to scripted series, are trying to make the most of those conversations.

Recently awarded an Emmy for its work in creating a new way for the audience to watch TV, Twitter’s TV team works with the global TV ecosystem to help them integrate Twitter into broadcasts and networks, extending the reach of shows and talent, innovating new ways of storytelling, and giving millions of Twitter users a new way of enjoying television.

Fred Graver, who will be leading the session, is the Creative lead for Twitter TV. A former comedy writer and producer (Late Night With David Letterman, Cheers, In Living Color, Jon Stewart), interactive producer (The MY Vh1 Awards, ZoogDisney), and creator of shows that span the web and television (Best Week Ever) at the service of product, Fred Graver has 7 Emmy Nominations (including one for the post-9/11 “Concert for New York City) and 3 Emmys, as well as a NAACP award and a Webby.

October 8, 2014