Wouldn’t it be great if, one day, people will ask, “Violence? What’s violence?”
Oh, some of you are going to say it’s in our nature and it will never end. The real monster is man and so on.
In our nature? Perhaps. Now. In the past.
But we evolve. We change and improve. Walking on all fours was in our nature until we evolved to walk upright. Grunting was part of our nature until we created language or moved beyond our teenage years. We have all changed for the better.
We can always change for the better.
Many years ago in darker times when dragons walked the earth (maybe), I was making a health informational safety video for children. It was a general subject that affects us all but they wanted to wrap it up in a fun cartoon for kids. Why? Because that’s where they could make a difference. In a single generation, they could make real change. That stuck with me. I knew it to be true because I grew up on Sesame Street and look what that show did. Media has an effect and that can be positive or negative – regular readers will know that’s a running theme on this blog.
So I aim for positive. And the great thing is that I know so many others are aiming for positive too. But when our Facebook and Twitter feeds are filled with horrific images that shake us to our core, worrying about our colourful shows, silly characters for cartoons and apps may seem indulgent. Trivial. Pointless.
It’s not.
At the very least, for a brief moment we can give some children a smile, maybe even a laugh. But it’s much more than that. What we offer children now through media becomes part of the world view of the next generation. We can do some really great things for kids, in very big ways or just in small ways. It all counts. Going back a few years, the messages in Fluffy Gardens weren’t really designed to help kids be better kids. The hope was that the stories would help those kids have the chance to become better adults. Will they? Well, those stories are just such a small part of some children’s lives and the characters will likely be long forgotten about as children grow but it all contributes. So for me when I’m coming up with new developments now at Mooshku one of my main missions is to offer kids something funny and exciting today while contributing positively to the adults they will become tomorrow. This is something I try to carry through all my work.
And if you give something positive, a message that can get children thinking, that many adults should already be thinking about, or you are inspiring a love of learning and exploration and a desire to do better, you stand a chance of making some change in a single generation. No, it’s not the same as getting on a plane and volunteering to be an aid worker or taking to the streets in protest right now and the effects are certainly hard to measure and rely on a lot of faith and time but that doesn’t make it trivial or pointless. If anything, it just serves as a reminder of the importance of getting it right.
As strange as it may seem sometimes when we’re hunched over our desks creating funny little characters, we have the potential to do some good. It all counts. In the meantime, be excellent to each other.
There appears to be an explosion of older children’s characters and shows being revived with new Teletubbies, Danger Mouse, Bob the Builder, Super Ted and those are only the most recent. In explaining this recent boom in nostalgia, I hear the words “risk-averse” on a pretty regular basis.
But does dusting down the oldies and presenting them to kids today really come with less risk?
My career owes a lot to classic characters. My first meaty children’s show directing gig was Roobarb & Custard Too, a revival of the 1974 UK cult classic Roobarb. With original creator/writer Grange Calveley and of course the irreplaceable Richard Briers, it was really a continuation of the original series – we always thought of it as series 2 rather than any kind of reboot. I have so much love for that show and it was a wonderful experience so I’m certainly not against looking to the past to bring something fun to kids today. But there are some things to consider, some real risks and I know this because we had no choice but to consider some of them. And as my career grew, I realise we should have considered more. Here are just a few examples:
The Landscape:
Many classic shows, especially the older ones, existed in a whole different time and a very different media landscape. Would your classic property really have performed as well in a world with dedicated children’s channels running all day, with VOD and the Internet? Would it have stood up against Peppa? Would it have worked alongside Doc McStuffins?
Nostalgia:
Relevant to parents. Relevant to buyers. Not in any way relevant to kids. You might get it on air, you might get parents happy to leave it on their television and this gives your show a good chance. But that’s not enough. Have you really got more than nostalgia?
The Update:
This is a really big one. Kids’ lives are different now. TV shows are different. You are no doubt going to want to update the show and the characters. You should – many classic properties come from a less diverse time, where certain things were acceptable that just aren’t now. But assuming you took on the property because you liked it, will your changes really make it better? Can you safely say that you can take a classic, a well-loved treasure, and that you can do better than those who made it a success in the first place? What if you lose what was good about it?
Muddled Versions:
Are your characters still out there somewhere in their original form? Will they be if what you do is successful? Will old rights holders rush to get their versions out on to the shelves? Now you’ve got mixed branding on your hands with the danger that each form weakens the others rather than strengthening them. If the changes you make are significant (redesigning characters, for example), you could have a problem.
The Fresh Hit:
One of the main reasons hits hit is because they are fresh and different to what’s out there already. Few of the current generic ‘Team Dora’ type shows will ever hit as big as Dora because Dora was new. Spongebob was new. Peppa was new. Can you achieve that with your classic property? It can be done (Friendship is Magic, Battlestar Galactica in grown-up TV) but you have your work seriously cut out for you if you are taking on pre-existing characters.
So these are just some of the considerations when reviving a classic.
It’s not easy and to this day, ten years later, I wonder if we took the right approach with Roobarb even if we did make something that kids still enjoy. Classic properties can be fantastic to work on because we already love them. Cast and crew working on them often want to do justice to the originals and so you get good work. They can be easier to sell sometimes because they come with a name, a history and a proven track record, albeit in whole different conditions. But when it comes to really making a success, I’m not so sure that a classic property comes with much less risk than a whole new show where you have a blank page to create something tailor-made for the kids of today.
Last Thursday my very first app launched: Dino Dog – A Digging Adventure With Dinosaurs. I love that so many years into my career I am still finding whole new experiences and this was absolutely nothing like sending a television show out there into the wild. Here’s roughly how it went…
WEDNESDAY 9pm
Is the app actually going to be released tomorrow? Really? No, something will go wrong.
10pm
Hang on, apps release on a Thursday but it’s Thursday in New Zealand right now. I message my good friend Simon in NZ – “Hey, check your store for Dino Dog!” No reply.
THURSDAY 2am
Wake up groggy. Check messages. He replied – it is there! Back to sleep…
7.30am
Check local app store. There it is. It shows up in a search. Is it featured? No. Oh but the internet tells me that Apple only change their featured apps much later that day.
9am
Must tweet app. Must tweet app. Must tweet app. The publisher StoryToys have not tweeted app yet. Why not? I won’t tweet until they do in case it’s a breach of app launch etiquette.
9.30am
Why aren’t they tweeting the app? Is there something wrong with it? OMG, do they hate it?! Hey, they just tweeted it! TWEET, TWEET, TWEET!
10am
StoryToys’ Chief Product Officer Emmet O’Neill gives me one piece of advice for psychological well-being: don’t obsessively flip the decks in the App Store to see if it has been featured.
3pm
Obsessively flipping decks in the App Store to see if it has been featured.
4pm
Overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness. I’ve only tweeted about it 576 times so far. Shouldn’t I be phoning people up and getting them to mention the app on their websites? Shall I call in to my neighbours to tell them about it? Should I get a t-shirt made up and just go out and wear it? Surely there must be more I can do? Will I phone Apple? I’ll phone Apple. Anyone have Tim Cook’s number?
5pm
Dino Dog is featured in the Kids section of the Irish and UK App Store! A big banner and right up there in the listing order in Best New Apps & Games. Wow. It almost looks like a real app.
6pm
Obsessively flipping decks in the App Stores around the world to see if it has been featured. Featured heavily in the German store and some others. The artwork looks really good. Someone might actually be tempted to give the app a go if this continues.
9pm
Taking a short break from obsessively flipping decks in the App Stores, I get a mail from Gavin from StoryToys who has been very busy obsessively flipping decks in the App Stores. Dino Dog is featured on the home page of the US App Store, getting the first slot in their Kids Apps & Games section. At this point, Dino Dog appears to have been featured in most of the App Stores around the world. People at Apple actually like it. I am filled with a sense of calm. I can stop flipping the decks now. It is done. Over.
9.01pm
Obsessively checking the App Store charts.
And that, it seems, is how an app is launched. The big thing throughout the day was this feeling of helplessness, that I should be able to do more. I’m not great at just waiting around to see what happens. I need to be doing. But at this point the hard work StoryToys had done would mean that the app would be given a chance by the right people and, from there, the app would have to speak for itself.
Since then, the app got a great write-up on Apps Playground, was in iLounge’s Apps of the Week and also featured in The Guardian’s Apps of the Week as well as some other lovely reviews and write-ups. Just as important, the feedback from friends (parents and otherwise) has been fantastic. It appears all those lofty goals for Dino Dog that seemed so out of reach at various points in the production had all been reached. One tweet even said the app “just raised the bar on quality”. Could that really be our little app?
And that is one huge difference between apps and television right there. You can work for years on a television show and then you send it into a void. Sure, millions of kids see it but the direct feedback is slow, sometimes non-existent. Not many people review preschool TV shows. It’s just the odd surprise email from parents months later. But this was intense by comparison. Very rewarding in this case but could just as easily have been devastating had the feedback been negative or the app just hadn’t been noticed at all. It is a tough space, no doubt. But I won’t dwell on that. For now, I’m just enjoying this launch.
Thanks to the Dino Dog team, StoryToys and all involved, especially Emmet O’Neill in StoryToys who was instrumental in making it happen and making it a better app than it ever would have been without him, Ciara Moore who worked so hard on it, Giant Animation who brought their dedication to quality and everyone who worked on, tested and advised on the app and those people behind the scenes on contracts etc. who often get missed. But also thanks to everyone who supported us – Meabh (who did some casting and voice direction on the app), friends and family and my old colleagues in Geronimo Productions whose enthusiasm and support keeps me going more than they’ll know.
If your kids have played the app, I do hope they have enjoyed it! If not, it’s HERE so what are you waiting for?
Space or dinosaurs? Space or dinosaurs? Two of the most fun things for kids. I had tackled space before (and likely will again!) so I felt it was time to bring some awesome dinosaur-themed fun to kids and what better way than bringing together a good story, funny characters and games and activities so children can take part in the adventure themselves?
So I teamed up with top app publisher Storytoys, who specialise in merging narrative with interactivity for kids, to bring Doug the Dog (Greatest Adventurer Ever, according to him) and Bonnie the Adventurous Little Bear to life. These two intrepid explorers began their quest to travel the world, dig for fossils and assemble amazing dinosaurs.
At its core, Dino Dog is a fun digging game in which kids guide Doug deep underground in search of bones, breaking through soil and hard rocks while enjoying air vents, crossing hot lava (Hot! Hot! Hot!), moving boulders and so much more. Look out for Dig Claws which will help Doug dig extra fast.
When kids have found enough fossil pieces, they get to break open the rocks to see what bones they have discovered – it’s like unwrapping a present. Then it’s time to clean the bones and assemble the dinosaur. So each dinosaur is a new surprise and each one is amazing. Back at the Museum, kids can learn about their dinosaurs and hopefully this introduction could spark a whole new interest or feed an already-existing one.
It’s all wrapped up in a funny cartoon story that takes Bonnie and Doug around the world facing daring challenges such as: putting up a tent, choosing an ice-cream flavour and finding Doug’s mysterious Great Uncle Grit. The stuff of legends!
The app is brimming with content with lovely animation (gorgeous work from Giant Animation) and great sounds and just a lot of fun. StoryToys have a video here so you can check it out.
So when will Dino Dog be coming out? It’s out right now for iOS! Click this link to take you to iTunes HERE or search your Apple App Store for Dino Dog. It will also be out on Android devices in the not to distant future so keep an eye out. If you like it, spread the word!
My own personal key takeaways from this year’s Children’s Media Conference:
1) For the most part, television still rules.
2) Print is still very much alive in the kids’ space.
3) Digital interactivity and games cost and people don’t like to pay for them. It’s a difficult space.
4) Some of the most exciting, innovative and most beneficial new content for kids is right in the midst of that difficult space. It’s a wonderful place to be as a content creator.
5) As much as these lines appear to be blurring on the outside, from those commissioning these forms I still get a feeling of definitive divides. TV=TV, books=books, games=games.
6) Very few people seem to see VR in the future of kids’ media or notice it is coming, contrasting with my own view that, for better or worse, I see it as an inevitability. May take a generational shift or two though.
7) No matter what end of the business – whether gatekeeper, knocking at those gates or looking for other routes – everyone is just muddling along trying to figure things out as the media world changes.
8) Many people consider this a transition period. Or is that just an expression of hope? Personally, I’m not convinced it will settle any time soon so we’re either along for the ride or we can try to positively influence the direction.
9) Apparently, I am a ‘high-functioning introvert’.
10) A huge number of people are in kids’ media for just one reason: they want to give kids something great. Those people are awesome.
That’s it. Thanks as always to Greg Childs and the organisers for pulling together a really great event. It was fantastic to hear so many varying viewpoints on the panels, to catch up with old friends and meet many Twitter friends in person for the first time. Would you believe some people aren’t on Twitter? Weird. Thanks to everyone for kind words about what we’re doing at Mooshku (one particular project seems to be going down a storm) and about my older work too. After all these years, Fluffy Gardens still gets a LOT of love! If you read this little blog and we never got to meet, be sure to say hello next year.
Tomorrow, I could have a special extra post so check back then…
Here is a reminder I like to give when talking to people about making content for children, whether writing, directing, producing and across TV and other platforms. I call it The Barney Test. It’s very simple.
First, watch this…
Done?
Really?
Okay. I’m guessing you didn’t watch it all but that’s okay. Now the next part – answer this question truthfully: did you love it? Every minute of it? Would you love nothing more than to just keep on watching more Barney?
If you aren’t shouting a big happy “YES! YES! YES!” at the screen right now, you can rest assured that you are like almost all adults on this planet. Barney isn’t meant for you. It’s not meant for me. It is meant for children. And the thing is, children LOVE Barney. Most kids adore him. In spite of what we adults might want to do to the goofy purple dinosaur, Barney has given kids a lot of entertainment and good over the years
This is the point of The Barney Test: it illustrates just how different the tastes of adults and kids are. We are not the same, not even close. It’s great if you can make something you like but if you are guided only by what you like, you lose your audience and miss the potential children’s hit that you have to offer, whether Barneyish or more parent-friendly. And wouldn’t that be a shame?
So if you ever find yourself losing focus, veering towards self-indulgence, pop on an episode and take The Barney Test as a reminder of just who your audience really is.
On a related note, Dr. Maya Götz posted a link to this wonderful document on Emotions In Children’s TV. Download the PDF and give a read. It is a really important reminder of how children experience and process events in stories and the feelings that come from those. The point towards the end about how your work is biographically rooted is so important.
