My Extraordinary Little Sister

Heaps of fun - View the pilot! Through Kidscreen or IMDb (see other page top right)
This project needs investors to really take flight (no special hair tricks like Spikey D.)

Tridragonal Set ...Gone! - Welcome Otto!

It has been a while since I appeared to do anything, but I have had a period of change. A sabbatical of sorts. I have been separated from creative partners but walked in beautiful places and had many distractions removed. It has invigorated my creativity and ideas are starting to flow faster than I can do anything about them. (Time is always a problem.)

There once was a project called Rainbow Dragons that first appeared during a course on fantasy writing. It first took some form with the help of the Key Frame scheme and some talented animators in training. It took a slightly different with the help, enthusiasm, hard work and skill of Buddhi of Beyond Motion. But....

Right now it is reforming again.

I got some feedback from an important source, just a little with a hint of encouragement - but it was enough what with my little sabbatical and space from things too see the truth in it. And despite all the hard work in some aspects of the project (hard work is never a waste) Rainbow Dragons that was, which became Tridragonal Set Go! has been stripped back, simplified, given a dynamic boy lead and has been reborn as Otto + the Oobly Dooblies. And boy does it work.

I thought "what is at the heart of the project" - that only took a millisecond to answer - The Oobly Dooblies - fun, colourful, acrobatic number representations.

I thought "what is important about this project" - the integrated multi platform nature and the highlighting of maths in the everyday and in story.

I thought "what is the problem with this project" - too high concept, too hard to explain, some people get it and others just really don't, too much in it. But most importantly I realised I was asking preschoolers to swallow too much (make too many leaps of imagination and faith if you like.)

I suspect that underlying all this is some wisdom from the Little Airplane Academy Preschool Intensive that I attended back in February in a snowy New York.

Anyhow must get on, I have a couple of other preschool projects asking for work and a photobook idea....

What do they say? - "Don't Ever Work with Kids or Animals.."

In the nick of time before jetting off once again, this time to SPAA I have quickly put together a rough and ready pilot (viewable on the blipTV jelly jym channel) of the series "Out and About with Alfie" that has been in my thoughts for quite awhile now. It is with my heart in my mouth that I put this one 'out there.' I have been filming the everyday investigations and unstructured play of my own three year old son with the plan of making a documentary series for toddlers! Now of course I think that my, Alfie is eminently watchable but what will the world think? I think young children like seeing other children in their media. I believe this is more than just somebody's home movies because I have understanding of programme making and of preschoolers. I think the relationship between myself and the subject should add to the programmes in fact. (And I hope my camera skills will be up to it.)
I was very heartened to hear that Five in the UK were making preschool documentaries, although of course it would have been great to be ground breaking too, I think that it will be easier for me to pitch my idea with the precedent of existing series.
The pilot features not only my young son but our ball and stick obsessed family dog. They were a delight to work with!

Get Set and Go! Tridragonals

Rhomby, Tina and Goo are back and marching, spinning and raring to go! Now called Tridragonal Set Go! the dragons have been motion captured - faster and more lifelike this is the way to go!

So the dragons are set, next - put them together for independent play, which leads to an inevitable problem - add noisy and acrobatic Oobly Dooblies and Fijity Wiks and the Tridragonals are set to go Go GO!

An old boot, an irrepressible kid, a supersonic baby and dragons made from boxes head to Cannes

In the nick of time, Rhomby, Tina and Goo made the showreel going to my very first Mipcom.You can see how they worked out being motion capture animated on the Jelly Jym channel.

Also on the Jelly Jym channel is Kit and Ker-Boot with the new look Ker-Boot getting bubbled all over and finding it all yucky.

What you won't find on the Jelly Jym channel is My Extraordinary Little Sister - which is a shame because it is looking and sounding FANTASTIC but you will be able to see Spikey Dee's hair energising and her going supersonic and Matty Pat's desperate attempts to rescue her on Nickelodeon Australia soon....

This is a busy time. Not only is Ker-Boot getting a make over but so are the Rainbow Dragons! Only now they are more aptly named, Tridragonals Set Go!
Buddhi from Beyond Motion is working with me in making the dragons a little bit less primary coloured, and more suitable for motion capture!
Last week I got to put on a motion capture suit and interpret my own characters for a test. It was pretty physical work pretending to be dragons that are kids!
I am looking forward to seeing Bossy Goo, excitable Tina and cautious Rhomby strut their stuff.
Here I am all suited up opposite Buddhi Munasinghe and in the middle is Nick Lowe who came in to have a look at Buddhi's mocap set up.

New Look Ker-Boot by Alan Murphy

Kit and Ker-Boot is getting developed and it is so much fun! Kit is such a 'real' kid, most of all I like the fact that she gets into trouble for all her investigative behaviour but it doesn't stop her. The episode lengths have grown to ten minutes so Kit gets to make lots of discoveries with her constant companion, comforter and hapless assistant Ker-Boot. Ker-Boot has had a makeover thanks to designer Alan Murphy and he now looks like a fuddy duddy but caring grand fatherly figure that he is.

Kit and Ker-Boot is developed with the assistance of ScreenWest and Lotterywest.