OIAF 2008: Pitch THIS
Animators Promote Series at Ottawa International Animation Festival
Sep 23, 2008
Imagine The Dragons' Den for animators. That's the idea behind Pitch THIS, a session at the Ottawa International Animation Festival where aspiring animators try to pitch their show ideas to a panel of judges. This year, the seminar happened at the Chateau Laurier on September 17th.
Chaired by Breakthrough Films' executive producer Ira Levy, the panel Daniel Wineman (director for original series and co-producer at Jetix Europe) Linda Simensky (VP of children's programming at PBS), Marie McCann (executive of production at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and Athena Georgaklis (manager of original productions for Teletoon).
What do Broadcasters Like?
"Is this something that the broadcaster wants?" said Levy in his opening remarks. "Is it an original concept, and does it work for its intended audience?"
PBS's Linda Simensky said she preferred guts over gimmicks.
"The more gimmicky the presentation gets, the more irritated I get," she said. "I'm looking for the creator's passion to come through in the material. Chances are: if they're truly excited about the show, they'll get me excited. Everything else is a diversion."
"The creator embodies the show," claimed Georgaklis, saying that creators could overcome a lousy pitch and a lack of charisma if the content was there, and they believed in it.
A creator needs to "impart a vision," according to Levy.
Obviously they don't always agree about what they see from pitchers. Levy feels that current technology means that animators can now offer animated sequences instead of static PowerPoint presentations.
"Give us a taste of your animation," he said.
Georgaklis disagreed: "Animation isn't required."
Last year's Pitch THIS! winner, Toronto's Barry Sanders, only showed several rough pencil sketches to promote his show The Pirates of Bus Route 317.
So who was brave enough to enter the Dragons' Den, and what shows did they promote?
The Mulligans: Animals on a Golf Course
Winnipeg-based animators Cole Schapansky, Sami Tesfazghi and Quinn Greene pitched their kids comedy-adventure show, The Mulligans. It features anthropomorphized animals learning about life, the universe and everything at a golf club. It's pitched at kids aged 4 to 9.
"That's far too big a demographic," said Simensky, pointing out that PBS has 2 kids' ranges: "4-6 years and 6-12 years."
That lack of focus was evident in the presentation.
"Your jokes skew older," she continued, "but your character design skews younger."
While Georgaklis praised the "great show bible," she pointed out that "you need to bring your audience into the sport," also mentioning that "most 6-9 year olds don't know golf."
The golf element was one of the more problematic elements of the presentation. "Do kids even like golf?" wrote one observer during the pitch.
Wineman agreed, asking, "Is golf the backdrop or the center stage?" He said he was "still looking for the point of entry, the heart of the show."
Georgaklis also called out the characters' "generic design," asking why the creators needed to use anthropormorphized animals a la Richard Scarry.
Al Bohl's Way Out There
Louisiana-based animator Al Bohl promoted his concept, a show about a boy who becomes a foreign exchange student . . . on another planet.
"The lead character design looks like a cross between Fairly Oddparents and Dexter's Laboratory," commented an audience member.
Despite Bohl pushing this show for the 9-13 demographic, Georgaklis wasn't convinced.
"It could reach the 6-9 audience," she said. McCann concurred, saying it "plays well with a 6-9 audience."
Bohl's lack of story ideas also cost him points. "You need more stories in your pitch," said Simensky. She also called out the lead character, saying he was mostly reactive to the new world around him. "It makes him harder to relate," she observed. "It's hard for kids to want to be him, or want to be his friend."
"He needs relatability," Wineman added. "I didn't get the emotional connection."
Ultimately, Simensky told him to "have more fun with (your show), push it farther, shake it up more."
The Envelope Please
Al Bohl's pitch ended up winning over the judges. He gets a free return pass to OIAF 2009, and invaluable knowledge on how to make his show more appealing to broadcasters. Will we see Way Out There! coming to a TV near you? Stay tuned.
