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Kidscreen Awards Shortlist revealed

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SHORTLIST ANNOUNCEMENT
FOR ALL CATEGORIES!

Winners to be revealed at a gala event on February 14 during Kidscreen Summit 2017 in Miami

Toronto, December 6, 2016: Kidscreen, host of the global kids television industry’s leading awards for excellence, is delighted to announce the shortlisted entries that will be continuing in the competition through a final round of judging.

The nominees in the Programming Categories are:

PRESCHOOL

Best New Series

Dot. (The Jim Henson Company/Industrial Brothers/CBC)
Jamillah and Aladdin (Kindle Entertainment/Mediabiz International/Toonz Entertainment)

Nina’s World (Sprout)

Best Animated Series

Clangers (Coolabi Productions/Factory/CBBC)

Doc McStuffins (Disney Junior/Brown Bag Films)

Sarah and Duck (Karrot Entertainment/CBeebies/BBC Worldwide)

Best Non-Animated or Mixed Series

The Adventures of Napkin Man (Breakthrough Entertainment in association with Little Airplane and CBC Kids)

Floogals (Jellyfish/Nevision/Zodiak Kids Studios)

Sesame Street (Sesame Workshop)

Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie
Katie Morag (Move On Up/CBeebies/BBC Scotland)
Peg + Cat (The Fred Rogers Company/9 Story Media Group)
Peppa Pig Pumpkin Party (Astley Baker Davies / Entertainment One)

KIDS

Best New Series

Bottersnikes & Gumbles (Cheeky Little Media/Mighty Nice/CAKE Entertainment)

The Deep (DHX Media/A Stark Production)

Home: Adventures With Tip & Oh (DreamWorks Animation Television/Netflix)
Best Animated Series

Miles From Tomorrowland (Disney Junior/Wild Canary Animation)

Scream Street (Coolabi Productions/Factory/CBBC)

We Bare Bears (Cartoon Network Studios)

Best Non-Animated or Mixed Series

Horrible Histories (Lion Television)

Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch (One Potato Two Potato)

Odd Squad (The Fred Rogers Company/Sinking Ship Entertainment)

Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie         

Bruno & Boots: Go Jump In The Pool (Aircraft Pictures)
Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas (Aardman Animations)

Stick Man (Magic Light Pictures)

TWEENS/TEENS

Best New Series

Bear Grylls Survival School (Potato/BGV)

Lost and Found Music Studios (Radical Sheep Productions/Boat Rocker Studios)
Raising Expectations (Aircraft Pictures in association with Dolphin Entertainment)

Best Animated Series
Bob’s Burgers (Bento Box Entertainment/20th Century FOX Television)
Dragons: Race to the Edge (DreamWorks Animation Television /Netflix)

Voltron Legendary Defender (DreamWorks Animation Television/Netflix)

Best Non-Animated or Mixed Series

Degrassi: Next Class (DHX Media/Netflix)
Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street (Amazon Studios/Pictures in a Row)

The Next Step (Radical Sheep Productions/Boat Rocker Studios)

Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie

The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale (Smiley Guy Studios)
L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (Breakthrough Entertainment)

Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows (Matchbox Pictures)

These shortlisted entries will be reviewed and assessed by a fresh panel of judges, including the following execs: Andy Yeatman (Netflix), Sarah Muller (Channel 5), Amy Friedman (Sprout), Lucy Murphy (Sky), Grainne Rowe (Disney Channels EMEA), Jackie Edwards (BBC Children’s), Andrew Thomas (Hulu), Nina Hahn (Nickelodeon International) and Deirdre Brennan (Corus Kids).

The nominees in the Broadcasting Categories are:

Channel of the Year

Netflix

PBS KIDS

Sprout

Best Channel Design

DreamWorks

Gulli

Sprout
Best Programming Block
CBS Dream Team, It’s Epic! (Litton Entertainment)

Sunny Side Up (Sprout)

WILD Kids (National Geographic)

Best Channel Website

Nick Jr.

PBS KIDS

Sprout

Best On-Air Host or Hosting Team
Jonas Lihaug Fredriksen, Henrik Hildre—FlippKlipp Studio (NRK Super)

Charlie Engelman, Kirby Engelman, Patrick Rahill—Nature Boom Time (National Geographic)
Carly Ciarrocchi, Tim Kubart, Kaitlin Becker, Emily Borromeo—Sunny Side Up (Sprout)


The nominees in the Digital Categories are:

PRESCHOOL

Best Learning App—Tablet
Hopster (Hopster)
Nick Jr. App (Nickelodeon Digital)

Pocoyo Playset: Let’s Move (Early Learning Collaborative/ HITN/Zinkia Entertainment)

Best Learning App—Smartphone
Curious World (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
HooplaKidz Nursery Rhyme Activities (YoBoHo)
Ready Jet Go! Space Explorer App (Wind Dancer Films/Two Moos)

Best Game App—Tablet
CBeebies Playtime Island (BBC)

Curious George Train Adventures (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

PBS KIDS Games (PBS KIDS)

Best Game App—Smartphone
Curious George Train Adventures (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Curious World (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) 

Best Streaming Video Platform
BBC iPlayer Kids (BBC)

Hopster (Hopster)
NOGGIN (Nickelodeon Digital)

Best Web/App Series
Disney Whisker Haven Tales with the Palace Pets (Disney Publishing Worldwide)

Elmo at the Zoo (Sesame Workshop)

Sesame Street Happy Birthday Songs (Sesame Workshop)

Best Website
Dinosaur Train (The Jim Henson Company/Sparky Entertainment)

NickJr.com (Nickelodeon Digital)
Ready Jet Go! (Wind Dancer Films/Two Moos)

Best eBook

Colored Dots (Uyoung Interactive Technology Co.)
PAW Patrol—Meet Tracker! (Nickelodeon)

PAW Patrol—Pirate Pups (Nickelodeon)

KIDS

Best Learning App—Tablet

La Francomobile (TV5 Québec Canada/Manito Média/Tobo) *TBC*
Little Lunch (Australian Children’s Television Foundation)

Nancy Drew: Codes & Clues (HeR Interactive/Brandissimo!/Picture Fish Studios)

Best Learning App—Smartphone

Monkey Spot Scavenger Hunts (Monkey Bar Collective)
Nature Cat’s Great Outdoors (Spiffy/PBS/REDspace)
Nickelodeon: Code a Character (Nickelodeon Digital)

Best Game App—Tablet

Animal Jam—Play Wild! (WildWorks)

Flipped Out—The Powerpuff Girls (Cartoon Network Games/Grumpyface Studios)
Toca Blocks (Toca Boca)

Best Game App—Smartphone

Cut the Rope: Magic (Zeptolab)

Teeny Titans—Teen Titans Go! (Cartoon Network Games/Grumpyface Studios)
Total Drama Presents: ‘Donculous Dash (Secret Location/Cartoon Network Canada/Fresh TV/Bell Fund/Teletoon)

Best Streaming Video Platform

Flipp Klipp Studio (NRK Super)
Nick.com (Nickelodeon Digital)

Toca TV (Toca Boca)

Best Web/App Series

Don’t Mix Us Up (Toca Boca/FableVision)
Secret Life of Boys (Zodiak Kids Studios for CBBC and ABC Australia)

Tsum Tsum Kingdom (Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media)

Best Website
Animal Jam (WildWorks)

National Geographic Kids (National Geographic Partners)

Nick.com  (Nickelodeon Digital)

Best Tablet

LeapFrog Epic (LeapFrog)

La Tablette Motion 2 by Gulli (KD Interactive/Taldec/Gulli)

Best eBook

Little Lunch: A Teachers’ Guide (Australian Children’s Television Foundation)

The Restricted Adventures of Raja (RedRover/Sticky Brain Studios)
Stand Together! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (Nickelodeon)

These shortlisted entries will now be reviewed and assessed by panels of professional judges, including the following execs: Angela Lin (YouTube), Azadeh Jamalian (Tiggly), Jens Peter de Pedro (Monkimun), David Kleeman (Dubit), Eric Huang (Made in Me), Daniel Bays (Lightning Sprite Media) and Brenda Bisner (Baby Toes Media).

            All Kidscreen Awards winners will be announced and celebrated at a special presentation event and after-party during Kidscreen Summit, on the evening of Tuesday, February 14. Kidscreen Summit delegates are invited to attend as part of their event registration, and tickets for just the Kidscreen Awards evening can be purchased for US$150 by contacting Kidscreen Events Sales Manager Joel Pinto (416-408-2300 x650 orjpinto@brunico.com).

Additional details about the Kidscreen Awards, including categories, eligibility, judging and entry process, can be found at awards.kidscreen.com

MONIQUE LEVINE • SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER

DDA BLUEPRINT
O: +44 20 7932 9800
M: +44 781 437 4446

192-198 VAUXHALL BRIDGE ROAD • LONDON • SW1V 1DX

WWW.DDABLUEPRINT.COM

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ART SHOW FROM THE CREATIVE MINDS BEHIND BOB’S BURGERS OPENS DECEMBER 1

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bento

ART SHOW FROM THE CREATIVE MINDS BEHIND BOB’S BURGERS OPENS DECEMBER 1

Gallery Open to the Public Through December 10 at Unit 120 in Downtown Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, NOVEMBER 30, 2016 – Original works of art from the animators, artists and creative minds behind Twentieth Century Fox Television’s hit show Bob’s Burgers, will be showcased in a free exhibit presented by Bento Box Entertainment starting December 1st.

Comprised of paintings, sculptures and mixed medium originals, these pieces are truly one of a kind featuring art from sixteen Bento Box artists who work on the series. The limited time showcase will run through December 10 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. A kickoff event will be held on December 1, open to the public from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. PST, at 727 N Broadway #120, Los Angeles, CA 90012.  This exclusive art showcase takes place at Unit 120, a pop-up restaurant space in Los Angeles, with special gourmet burgers from Chef Alvin Cailan, owner, and Chef Isa Fabro marking the special occasion.

This art show is the latest in a series of events produced by Bento Box Entertainment in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox to expand the Bob’s Burgers brand beyond television.  Recent examples include the sold-out BOB’S BURGERS LIVE! Tour, New York Times Best-selling cookbook, comic books, coloring books, calendars, t-shirts and other merchandise.

A Twentieth Century Fox Television Emmy Award winning production, Bob’s Burgers was created by Loren Bouchard (Home Movies). Bouchard and Jim Dauterive (King of the Hill) serve as executive producers and writers, with animation produced by Bento Box Entertainment. New episodes of the series will return to FOX in Winter 2017. Fans can “like” Bob’s Burgers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BobsBurgers, follow the series on Twitter and Instagram @BobsBurgersFOX and join the discussion using #bobsburgers.

More details regarding the event can be found at www.bentoboxent.com.

About Bento Box Entertainment

Bento Box Entertainment (BBE) is an Emmy® award-winning entertainment content and technology company.  With studios in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Toronto, BBE produces animated comedy series for broadcast, cable and digital networks.  This includes Bob’s Burgers, the Primetime Emmy®-winning FOX series with 20th Century Fox Television and creator Loren Bouchard; Comedy Central series Legends of Chamberlain Heights; among many others. With creative thinking, disruptive content and innovative technology at its core, BBE is dedicated to extending its reach to new audiences through its digital; Sutikki (kids); content rights; and live events, merchandise and brand management business units. BBE can be followed across social media channels @bentoboxent.

 

Press Contacts:

Jim Benson or Kevin Broderick                                    Matt Biscuiti
The Lippin Group/Los Angeles                                    The Lippin Group/New York
323.965.1990                                                                     212.986.7080
jbenson@lippingroup.com or                                     matt@lippingroup.com

kevin@lippingroup.com

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JON STEWART CREATING ANIMATED NEWS PARODY SERIES FOR HBO

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Jon Stewart thedailyshow.com With the 2008 election, Stewart is increasing his influence exponentially this year. And a big part of the reason why is the Web. After some messy quarrels with YouTube over illegal copies running on the video service, Comedy Central, which produces The Daily Show, finally started putting the show up for free on its own Web site. With more people than ever turning to the Web for news and videos, The Daily Show has become the place where many claim to be getting their best coverage of the elections. So while Stewart wasn't a pioneer in going online, his embrace of the Net is an example of good timing.

IGN is reporting that John Stewart has teamed up with HBO to bring us an animated news show.

HBO’s president of programming, Casey Bloys, announced today at the TCA (Television Critics Association) summer press tour that Stewart’s new HBO series will be an Onion-Style animated “parody of a cable news network,” that he described as “very much in Jon’s voice.”

From what I gather it will be very simple animation, probably in the vein of South Park because of the next quote.

When it was brought up that animation usually takes more time, not less, Bloys said, “The animation will allow him to respond to things very quickly. It’ll be more simple animation. My hope is it will be up and running by September or October; by this fall.”

You can read the entire article here.

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Adobe Animate CC 2015.2

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Animate-2015.2

Following Animate’s rebirth just a few months ago, Adobe’s latest update is actually attempting to include animators and artists, which a huge welcome change! The two biggest additions are allowing a layer to be transparent! I know that’s SO 1995 but at least they’re finally listening! Also a new inclusion is the Frame Picker which mimics Lipper and Keyframe Caddy but is now included in the Application itself. The one thing I’m hoping for in the next version is to have the Frame Picker set a keyframe when you select a drawing form it’s display. Also there is the new-ish Pattern Brushes, which is very similar to Illustrator’s brushes and while I personally have not found much use for them, they ARE an artists addition and you might find a need for them. Actually I take it back, I made wallpaper on a background once using them.

 

Frame Picker

(graphic symbol thumbnails)

Visually preview and choose the first frame for a graphic symbol. In previous releases, you could not preview the frames without getting within the symbol. This feature enhances the user experience for animation workflows such as Lip Sync.

image03 image02

Layer Transparency

You can now skip manual workarounds and sketch on top of other layers right inside Animate. To set the visibility of the layer to transparent, Shift+Click on the eye column in the timeline.

image05

Pattern Brushes

Paint a vector pattern along the path or stretch to its entire length. You can use the integrated global library within Animate to use Art and Pattern brushes. In addition to the default brush presets, you can import new Pattern Brushes to your Animate document using the CC Libraries. See them in action here.

image01

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CineSpace 2016

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For the second year in a row, NASA and Houston Cinema Arts Society are inviting filmmakers around the world to participate in CineSpace, a short film competition that is inspired by, and utilizes actual NASA video footage.

Eligible submissions include short video, film, and digital-media works of 10 minutes or less. CineSpace is seeking films from all genres and styles including but not limited to: experimental, narrative, documentary, comedy, drama, animation, ambient, music videos, re-mix, sports, horror, and underground.

Prize Details: The total prize purse for this competition is USD 26,000. In addition to monetary prizes, winners shall receive tremendous exposure for their work.

Application Instructions: Last date for submission is July 31, 2016. No entry fee is required.

Guidelines/ Registration Link: You may visit the CineSpace 2016 challenge page to register and to check out last year’s winners and finalists.

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Learning Animation 2016

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2000px-Animation_disc.svgWant to learn how to be an animator? In 2016 it’s not as hard as it once was. Years ago, you needed pencils, xerox machines, white out, pencil sharperers, X-Acto blades, tape, animation cels, animation paper, cel paint oh yes and an Oxberry camera! Never mind that there were not many animation school options to choose from. Fear not however, as the digital age is here to help you and thousands of tutorials are available allowing you to learn quite a bit about animation and the various techniques out there. there are also many digital options open to the animator in 2016 allowing you to cast away all those costly supplies once needed.

Schools
In the US there are many solid animations schools to choose from but in my opinion the best of them is Cal Arts here in Los Angeles mostly for the connections it has to the studios. Pixar, Disney and DreamWorks all harvest students from there yearly. There are many others around the country as well such as The School of Visual Arts in New York City and Full Sail in Florida. In Paris, Goeblins seems to produce some fantastic animators and I drool over the shorts their students make yearly. I personally went to a small school called the Joe Kubert School located in New Jersey which is also a good solid place to learn. A decent list of animation schools can be found on AWN and while it can be daunting because there’s so much, it’s a good place to start. I believe most of art school is what you choose to put into it and the plain old ‘pencil mileage’ that you put into your craft anyway so the school does’t matter as much to a focused student.

But what if you can’t relocate or don’t have money to go to a school? There are still options open to you to pursue. One is Animation Mentor.com which will allow you to learn remotely and is run by well respected animators and artists. If you can’t afford that, I would suggest simply studying animation frame by frame and copying what you see. While Youtube doesn’t do frame by frame you can easily download stuff and watch it with Quicktime. DVDs work as well.

Traditional Animation
Of course the old school way of tradition paper and pencil is still a viable way to learn but it’s getting harder and harder to finds supplies. Animation paper and peg bars can be purchased at Cartoon Color and other places around the web and you can film your scenes frame by frame but you’ll still need a computer to digitally put them together. An excellent free option is Monkey Jam which turns your webcam into a pencil test system. You could also use as digital camera and film your scene frame by frame but that’s not the best approach. Honestly most studios expect you to understand how to animate digitally so you’re going to have to learn this eventually.

Hardware
Most gaming PCs are powerful enough to produce animation both 2D and 3d, and even iMacs and Mac Books can do it. Most studios use Wacom Cintiqs to draw with but they’re mega expensive and not for everyone. There are also cheaper knockoffs of Cintiqs such as Yiyinova, Bosto Kingtee and X-Pen but you get what you pay for and they are not as good as Wacom’s flagship offering.Fortunately there are some cheap options out there to help you. Many studios use Pen tablets such as Wacom’s Intuos line which allow you to draw on a pad and look at your monitor. They’re not for everyone and I’ve never been able to effectively use one well but many people do amazing things with them. Another cheap option is purchasing a Motion Computing LE 1700 for a few hundred bucks and installing Sketchbook Pro which has a timeline that you can animate with.

Software
Software-wise, there are a number of free options out there such as Plastic Animation Paper and Pencil. If you have deep pockets, you can’t go wrong with Toon Boom Harmony which is used by Disney, Starburns Industries, Bentobox and many other studios to produce 2d animation. Toon Boom even offers a subscription so you can pay as you go. Finally you can also subscribe to Adobe Animate and while it’s not the greatest to draw with, there are many studios currently using the software to produce network TV such as Titmouse and Renegade Animation. Globally there is Mukpuddy, and Boulder Media.

If you’re into 3d animation it’s hard to go on the cheap but Autodesk now offers subscriptions for it’s Maya, and 3D Studio Max softwares so you can sign up with them and pay monthly. In contrast Blender is a solid 3d animation program and it’s free but most studios use the Autodesk software so you’re eventually going to have to learn their interfaces somehow.

All in all there are many options open to an artist seeking to learn animation in 2016 and so you have less and less excuses to not pursue your dreams, so stop reading this and get out there! (and don’t forget to come back and do an interview for us once you’re established!)