KIDSCO Managing Director Paul Robinson will be in India as an International guest of honor and speaker at the 1st ever International Indian Buyers & Producers Summit, powered by AnimationXpress.com and organized by DSK Supinfocom as part of the inaugural edition of their festival Lumi?re Digitale from the 2nd to the 4th of December in Pune at the DSK Campus.
In a telephonic conversation withAnimationXpress.com‘s Anand Gurnani, Paul Robinsonshared his anticipation about the Summit as well as his perspectives on Indian and Asian Animation and spoke about the latest developments at Kidsco,
Excerpts
Sir, we are looking forward to your visit to Lumi?re Digitale organized by DSK Supinfocom in Pune where the 1st ever Indian and International Buyers and Producers Summit powered by AnimationXpress.com is scheduled to take place on December 3rd. What are your expectations out of the event?
It is always extremely valuable to make contacts with production companies across the value chain. I am looking forward to meeting with producers and animation companies at the Buyers Producers Summit at Lumi?re Digitale and it will be great to understand and share ways in which Kidsco can work together and create long term partnerships with companies in India.
What kind of pitches and proposals would Kidsco be most interested in?
Kidsco is most interested in programs for kids 6 to 10. Our brand is about being a fun, safe environment for children, it‘s about being environmentally aware. We are interested in reviewing pitches of shows that have powerful characters, with very good story telling and positive resolutions at the end and a message or educational underpinning, they could be 2D, 3D, CG or Mix Media. Also we like shows to have a certain universality about them, of course we want them to be true to their roots but the shows should also have a global world view that audiences all over the world can relate to. All of that is very important, the shows that are pitched to us, they need to fit into that brand.
Not only studios and boutiques with their own concepts, it could also be a work for hire studio or a studio interested in coproduction partnerships.
How many Indian companies have you worked with? Is the number going to go up within the next year?
So far we have put work on the air from Imageventure and LMA Studios both of them from Chennai. We have talked to 3 or 4 other companies, looked at their properties, we‘ve been impressed but have not gone to any formal relation. We are open to looking at more studios and their work and definitely once we get working with studios and their work is good there would be subsequent projects as well. For eg Bommi and Friends with Imageventure is already on air, and Sinbad in Space is the 2nd show they are working on with us.
It is already well known, but may I ask you to again elaborate upon the focus and the values that brand Kidsco stands for? The target audience and geography as well?
Kidsco is available in 98 countries, we are right across Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, The Middle East, Russia, The Baltics and The Balkans and right across South East Asia…all of Africa, Sub Saharan Africa and then Australia. We have feeds in 18 different languages over all. We are hoping to launch in India next year, NDTV is our partner in India and we are anticipating getting the license in the next few months.
Postmodernism, globalization and the advent of multiple screens, what‘s the prediction regarding the growth of Linear Television viewing especially in the childrens‘ space?
I think it‘s important to point out that even with the growth of online video, the time spent on linear television is growing and it is still 9 to 10 times more than online video. It is way more significant, and will continue to be a predominant platform for entertainment. Kids will watch TV on any device with a screen, we have to be on all those devices. Non linear will grow definitely but it will not replace linear TV. The hub of the model is linear television.
The postmodern child has a degree of sophistication and choice unknown in any prior generation and that influences how you produce and acquire content. Environmentalism and multi-culturism are inculcated in the characteristics of the consumers that we all need to attract.
Your Perspectives on India, China and South Asia as far as animation is concerned…whats common and unique to each of them?
I would say in South East Asia there are some countries where the animation is more developed thanks to government intervention. Singapore and Malaysia are way advanced as compared to other countries in the region. In India there are a lot of companies coming up and lots making content, some making very good content and they are all open to partnering with western companies which is healthy. Kids in China love Anime from Japan and so Chinese studios are trying to make more anime like animation. I think China has to still figure out its animation strategy as far as creating shows that have global resonance is concerned.
Let‘s talk now about your upcoming new shows. I love the passion and care with which you and your creative directors are developing them…
Sinbad is a fantastic re-imagining of the classic folk hero where he is absolutely transformed and can effectively travel anywhere in the universe. The show has tremendous scope for story-telling, the values of the characters resonate with our brands and its destined to be a very successful show and will reinforce the goal of building our business and distribution, Sinbad is a very important tool to widen the distribution of the channel because new customers need to know that there is a long term content strategy. Sinbad is carved from the same dna as Boo and Me and is destined to be a ratings and creative success.
In the last month that I have been following up with you for the Lumi?re Digitale conference, you‘‘ve been one day at Bali the next in Chennai, another in London and then at a conference in Hong Kong, a producer meeting in KL….as hectic a schedule as fascinating too. So the man driving Kidsco is as global and multicutural as the brand itself….
I think it‘s a really important thing for a brand that touches countries around the world, Live interaction and participation with different cultures is the best way to understand what‘s unique and common to them. I try to understand children in the different places I go to and it‘s a very important part of our brands.
Any Additional Comments that you‘d like to make
If anybody has ideas that they would like to submit then they can contact me directly via email paul@kidscotv.tv or pauln.robinson@gmail.com . We are always happy to hear from people and will be delighted to discuss your ideas and shows. I would like to open dialogue with with companies in India and South Asia. I will be very happy to meet as many creators and studios while I am there in Pune at the International Indian Buyers and Producers Summit.
(The 1st ever International Indian Buyers and Producers Summit is powered by AnimationXpress.com and to be held as part of he Business Focus Track at DSK Supinfocom‘s Lumi?re Digitale Festival in Pune from Dec 2-4 at the DSK Supinfocom campus)