Hear first-hand what it takes to develop TV series

On Saturday, 4 November 2017, animators and storytellers across Africa will be able to hear first-hand what it takes to develop TV series for worldwide distribution.

During an Animate Africa webinar streamed on YouTube Live, Triggerfish Animation Studios will share insights from two years of developing TV series through The Story Lab, that had the support of The Walt Disney Company and the Department of Trade and Industry. The Story Lab, to date, has led to two worldwide distribution deals for series set and made in Africa.

​In 2015, Triggerfish ran a search for animation writers throughout the African continent.  The Triggerfish Story Lab attracted 1 378 projects from 30 countries across Africa, with eight chosen to be taken into full development.

At the webinar, Triggerfish will discuss what made those eight projects stand out and also share some of the feedback they’ve received from international distributors.

Last month, Triggerfish announced its partnership with leading kids’ entertainment specialist CAKE to co-produce one of these, the comedy action series, Mama K’s Super 4.

Aimed at 6-11 year olds, Mama K’s Super 4 is set in Lusaka, where four teenage girls are recruited by former secret agent Mama K to help her save the world. Fighting rich and powerful opponents with limited resources means the girls will have to be smart and resourceful in a show in which taking down the bad guys and turning in your homework is all in a day’s work!

At the webinar, Zambian creator Malenga Mulendema and her Cameroon-born character designer, Malcolm Wope, will discuss Mama K’s Super 4 as one of four case studies of projects generating international interest from Africa.

Vanessa Sinden, who produced the Story Lab, will also give some highly practical tips on how to get your concept into a pitch document that can be shown to distributors.

Other confirmed speakers include award-winning Kenyan filmmaker (and Story Lab alumni) Wanuri Kahiu; Raffaella Delle Donne, co-writer of two of South Africa’s five highest-grossing films of all-time, Adventures in Zambezia and Khumba; Triggerfish CEO Stuart Forrest; and the founders of two other South African animation companies: Bugbox and Sanusi Chronicles.

Delegates will be able to ask questions via Facebook and Twitter.

“If you have ever thought about bringing your own characters to life as an animated TV series, this webinar is for you,” says Triggerfish CEO Stuart Forrest. “The Triggerfish Story Lab proved again that Africa is full of amazing stories, at a time when there’s a global demand for more diverse content, so it feels like African animation is at a tipping point.”

The webinar is organized by Animate Africa, with the support of M-Net 101, Toon Boom Animation, Triggerfish Animation Studios and the Walt Disney Company Africa, in partnership with African Digital Art, AnimationSA, Animation West Africa, Animation Xchange,  Arterial Network, Association of Animation Artists, Cape Town International Animation Festival, Cape Town International Film Market and Festival,  CGAfrica, Comexposed, Design Indaba, Digital Lab Africa, Fan Con, Kawkab El Rasameen (Painter’s Planet), Kwazulu-Natal Film Commission, Lagos Comic Con, Lusaka Comic Con, Naiccon, Tanzania CGI Artists, The Animation Club Africa, The National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa, Wesgro, and Writers Guild of South Africa.

Register for the free webinar at https://www.animateafrica.org/.

​PROGRAM

​Saturday 4 November

13h00 SAST: Creating an animated TV series

Session 1:   The global stage and where Africa fits in (Stuart Forrest, CEO Triggerfish)

Session 2:   Content that is local but global (Anthony Silverston, Head of Development, Triggerfish)

Session 3:    Putting together a TV pitch package on a budget (Vanessa Sinden, Story Lab Producer)

Session 4:    Writing for children (Raffaella Delle Donne, Head of Story Lab TV series)

Session 5:    From Africa to the world: challenges and opportunities (Babalwa Baartman & Thulani Simantov, Sanusi Chronicles)

Session 6:    Art without agenda: why frivolity and fun are important (Wanuri Kahiu, award-winning Story Lab alumni)

Session 7:    Q&A

20 minute break.

15h00 SAST: Case Studies

Session 1:   Ninja Princess (Kelly Dillon & Marc Dey)

Session 2:   Mama K’s Super 4 (Malenga Mulendema)

Session 3:   Designing Mama K’s Super 4 (Malcolm Wope)

Session 4:   Musi and Cuckoo (Tim Argall & Candice Argall)

Session 5:    Cloud Life (Andrew Phillips)

Session 6:   Q&A

About Animate Africa

Animate Africa stimulates animation storytelling and production skills on the continent so that never-before-seen African stories can enrich the world.  For more information, visit https://www.animateafrica.org/.

About M-Net 101

M-Net 101 is a premium general entertainment television channel that is available to audiences across the African continent.  Since first hitting the airwaves more than 30 years ago, the channel has become synonymous with the best of the best programming from Hollywood, as well as superb local content and local adaptations of blockbuster reality shows. In April 2017, M-Net 101 extended its prime time with non-stop fresh content from 18:00 until midnight. Being part of the M-Net family of channels on DStv, M-Net 101 puts a high value on developing and nurturing creative talent and providing a platform for original content. For more information, visit https://m-net.dstv.com/.

About Toon Boom Animation

Toon Boom Animation Inc.’s award-winning software is the global standard for 2D animation and storyboarding. Toon Boom solutions provide everyone from enthusiasts to professionals with the artistic freedom to create in any style and efficiently publish anywhere. Major customers include Bento Box Entertainment, Disney Television Animation, DreamWorks Animation, Fox Television Animation, Mercury Filmworks and Nelvana. For more information, visit toonboom.com.

About Triggerfish Animation Studios

Established in 1996, Triggerfish Animation Studios is a Cape Town-based film and entertainment company. The studio has produced two feature films: Adventures in Zambezia (2012), starring Jeremy Suarez, Abigail Breslin and Samuel L. Jackson, and Khumba (2013), starring Jake T. Austin, AnnaSophia Robb and Liam Neeson. The two films have been distributed in over 150 countries and dubbed into over 27 languages, making them among the top five highest-grossing South African films of all time. In collaboration with Magic Light Pictures, Triggerfish has also animated two BBC Christmas adaptations: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Stick Man (2015) and Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes (2016), which both won the Cristal for a TV Production at top global animation festival, Annecy, among other accolades. Triggerfish is finishing production on their third BBC Christmas animation with Magic Light, The Highway Rat, another Donaldson/Scheffler adaptation. For more information, visit http://triggerfishstudios.com

About The Walt Disney Company EMEA:

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $55.6 billion in its last fiscal year (FY16), its sixth consecutive year of record results.

The Walt Disney Company has been at the forefront of family entertainment in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for over 80 years and is dedicated to creating innovative, entertainment experiences for children and families. It operates businesses across 48 markets and has a physical presence in 24 countries employing more than 5,950 people (excluding Disneyland Paris); its channels reach children and families in 117 countries. The Disney brand is experienced in a number of ways across the region including in cinemas, on TV screens with Disney-branded channels as well as non-branded content, through a wide range of consumer products that are sold at mass market retailers and in Disney Stores across the region. The Disney brand is also experienced at Europe’s #1 tourist destination, Disneyland Paris, which opened in 1992. For more information, visit http://www.disneyafrica.mobi/.