Final day at Cartoon 360 online
Between Youtube phenomenon and communities of millions followers on Instagram or TikTok, we saw during the last day of Cartoon 360 how transmedia has already transformed the way animation projects are developed and marketed. Brand and characters are becoming online celebrities.
« Saving Soup » Coming from product creation (the Color Bug), Gwen Austin is now aiming at developing a TV series encouraging kids to learn from failing and trying again. Next steps include: mobile app, more products & interactive website.
« Roger and his humans – Season 2 » Full of punchline and humorous twists, this successful Youtube series is now ready for the next level: transforming their character « Roger » into an online companion people can relate to and play with.
« Dordogne » The beautiful watercolors of Cédric Babouche come to live into a tactile and interactive game, already in full development. An animated short film and a VR experience will join soon.
« LAMOOVA « Try To Get Inside! » The night-club culture put into a gamified TV series. With iconic characters and strong design, it brings drama and glamour, aiming at video game, music video clip, comic book and mobile app altogether.
« Ebb and Flo » This well-established brand is re-energiised and redeveloped for today’s standards and a new audience, probably more focused on educational content.
To finish on a grand note, we had a Round Table with 4 different panels gathering international experts bringing different perspectives on the future of animation:
BROADCASTERS
From different European countries (Germany, France, UK), broadcasters detailed the new challenges they faced in regard to the pandemic situation, with the rise of the streaming platforms and the drop of advertisement revenue.
Shamik Majumdar (The Walt Disney Company – EMEA), Marc Van den Bosch Mprah(Super RTL Disney), Mario Dubois (BBC) & Joseph Jacquet (France Télévisions)
DISTRIBUTORS
On the distribution side, experts emphasized the strong position of animation compared to live-action, and the increasing desire for young adults & adults content.
Alix Wiseman (9 Story Media Group), Cristiana Buzzelli (Rainbow), Diego Ibañez Belaustegui (Planeta Junior) & Eleanor Coleman (Blue Spirit Productions / Indie Sales)
INNOVATION IN STORYTELLING, ANIMATION & BRAND
Starting with the presentation of the brand new adventure of Wallace and Gromit « The Big Fix Up » that is going to be a fully interactive experience (withe geo-located mobile app, video games and website), we head on to experts detailing the innovations coming to animation and revolutionizing the techniques as well as the core of the creative process.
George Rowe (Aardman Animations), Marc Goodchild (Warner Media), Maurice Wheeler(We Are Family) & Marie Congé (Planet Nemo By Ankama)
THE AMERICAN & CANADIAN MARKETS
On the one hand, the Canadian animation studios still appear to be very productive and creative. On the other hand, the broadcasters facing multiple challenges is making the financing more difficult.
In the US this year everything is about transition: new streamers are competing with each other, and linear platforms are trying to follow up, still managing the fact that advertising revenues went down. A lot of reorganisation (HBO, Warner & Disney for example) had for consequences the decrease of the commissioning, and made it difficult for the creators. Everything is pushed to the next year.
Ken Faier (Epic Story Media) & Sander Schwartz (Sandman Television and Film)
After 3 days of quality presentations and conversations, we hope that you got your fair amount of learnings and better understanding of the possibilities of a 360 approach to animation projects.
We wave goodbye, wishing you to stay safe and hope to see you next year at 360 !
