***This article originally appeared in the November ’22 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 324)***
Here’s your chance to get inside the magical mind of some of our favorite animation content buyers. Make sure you keep an eye out for them at MIPCOM and the fall’s other big markets.
Adina Pitt
VP, Content Acquisitions & Co-Pros, Cartoon Network
Best way to approach me with pitches: An email is best and always welcome.
Best pitch I ever got: That’s like saying, “Who’s your favorite kid?!”
The animated movie/show that changed my life: There are truly so many. However, I have to say Finding Nemo is the first movie that comes to mind. Watching it with my kids was very powerful. I remember sitting with them and laughing and then, I cried my eyes out. It’s such a beautiful story/movie that spoke to me both as a parent and an animation fan.
Best advice for animated content creators: Be kind, patient and bold. Believe in your idea. Have fun and know that we are so excited to hear about your projects.
Most annoying catch phrase or trend of the year: “Kids love poop!” It’s not exactly a catch phrase or trend, but I did hear that one in a pitch. While I’m assuming this person did their research, I’m going to say that I don’t believe this should be a basis for a show!
Guilty pleasure: Eating 40 Carrots frozen yogurt at Bloomingdales with my kids!
Virve Vicky Schroderus
Exec in Charge of Int’l Co-Pros & Acquisitions, YLE Children
What I’ll looking for at the fall markets: Enchanting and fun content that will speak to YLE’s different target groups within preschoolers and school kids.
The best thing I watched in 22: There are so many great ideas and programs, so it is very difficult to point out a single one.
Best way to approach me with your pitches: Attend the speed pitching session organized at different markets and prepare to deliver your well thought out and structured pitch with a couple visuals in a short time. Alternatively, you could send me a short email about the idea. Visuals are also vital to communicate your artistic perception.
Best pitch I ever got: I had a very well thought idea to the spot on the target group, intriguing visuals and delivered in a fun way.
The animated show/movie that changed my life: Toy Story, the first CG-animated feature.
Best advice I can give animated content creators: Understand your target group and the market inside out, not only the hit shows. Do proper research about the shows that might be similar to yours and make sure your idea is not overlapping something existing on the market. I also give extra points to people who have done research of the Finnish market and YLE’s kids’ offerings.
Most annoying catch phrase or trend of the year: I cannot think of any as I am just happy to be back to the live markets, meetings, encounters.
Guilty pleasure: The Blacklist, although I do feel that the show has started to repeat itself.
Hugues Dufour
Production Executive, Corus Entertainment
What I’ll be looking for at the fall markets: Adult animation driven by a personal creative vision geared at the domestic and international markets.
Favorite thing I watched in 2022: Top Gun, the reboot. As much as I wanted to dislike it, I got caught up in the emotion, sincerity, and surprising twists of the story.
Best way to approach me with your pitches: Start with the concept, get into the characters, and then tell me why this project matters to you.
Best pitch I ever got: Red Ketchup, the animation series. Martin Villeneuve, the creative lead on this, was so committed and passionate that I could not turn away.
The movie that changed my life: That’s a hard question. I’d have to say Blue Velvet, because it scared me so much I was convinced David Lynch was some sort of magical wizard.
Best advice for animation creators: Connect the content with what matters to you and then find the right niche for you.
Most annoying catch phrase or trend of the year: “This is a game changer.” Or was that last year?
Guilty pleasure: Listening to Air Supply songs and watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island.
Sarah Muller
Head of Commissioning & Acquisitions, 7+, BBC
What I’ll be looking for at the fall markets: Character-driven comedy that will make the audience laugh out loud and more sophisticated storytelling, potentially with a strong story arc.
The best thing I watched in 2022: Arcane
Best way to approach me with your pitches: Just send them to me via childrenssubmissions@bbc.co.uk
Best pitch I ever got: I can’t say exactly what it is, but it was with a stand-up comedian who has written a great kids’ book about his community. We were ready to commission on the spot!
The animated show/movie that changed my life: It’s a toss-up between Howl’s Moving Castle and The Wrong Trousers. They are very different, but both totally raised the bar for me in terms of the kind of stories that you can tell in animation.
Best advice for animated content creators: Do your development properly and the world’s your oyster.
Most annoying catch phrase or trend of the year: You’re on mute!
Guilty pleasure: Kiri & Lou – I have a thing for Jemaine Clement!
Chris Rose
VP of Int’l Production & Development, Paramount Global Kids & Family Group
What I’ll be looking for in the fall markets: Comedy animation for 6-12s that will appeal to boys and girls, with strong relatable characters and scope for longevity. Ideas should be smart in humor and concept and complement our existing portfolio.
The best thing I watched in 2022: Outside of kids’ animation, it’s the Channel 4 series Big Boys, a heartfelt comedy about the strong friendship between two university friends. In our Paramount world, there has been so many terrific animations produced across film and series — but I have to single out Sharkdog, which I’ve absolutely fallen in love with both as a producer and viewer. It’s such a pleasure working with everyone on the production of the show and hearing how much the audience loves it. They watch it again and again!
Best way to approach me with your pitches: You can pitch at any time, but we are at all key markets. Please talk to us at an early stage — for us in our team, that is before you have any scripts or bible, as we really love to collaborate on the development.
Best pitch I ever got: Well, that would be telling! But I’ve been fortunate to be part of some terrific pitches that have become hugely successful series. Each one of those pitches was delivered with passion and integrity, and the concept fit the brand values.
The animated show that changed my life: As a child, I loved so many classic British stop-frame series. In fact, I watched so many cartoons after school, before school, during the weekend. It’s hard to single one out, but if I had to choose one it would be Postman Pat, because not only is he a relatable character set in a friendly northern town, but as a grown up I got to work on the new series!
Best advice for animated content creators: Believe in yourself, believe in your project and make sure to partner with the right people for the right reasons.
Most annoying catchphrase of the year: Thank you so much.
Guilty pleasure: Classic Doctor Who!
Rick K. Clodfelter
Lead, Content Acquisitions & Partnerships, Disney Branded TV
What I’ll be looking for in the fall markets: Diverse content focusing on animated comedies and holiday features, specials, series and shorts.
The best thing I watched in 2022: Bluey is a consistent standout, but I also enjoyed We Baby Bears.
Best way to approach me with pitches: I always appreciate an introduction at industry markets/events to hear how creators speak about their creative and experience their passion behind it.
Best pitch I ever got: Although not an animation pitch, the most memorable was done by Marty Krofft. I’ll never forget his generosity as I geeked out.
The animated show that changed my life: Adventure Time — smart and soulful storytelling.
Best advice for animated content creators: Timing is critical in this fluid market which creates wide-ranging platform needs. If your creative has an authentic voice for an audience to relate, the chances of syncing to a platform’s needs is greater.
Most annoying trend of the year: Not annoying, but there seems to be a bumper crop of farm-based preschool content.
Guilty pleasure: Over the Garden Wall … it takes me back.
Adriano Schmid
VP of Content, PBS KIDS
What I’ll be looking for in the fall markets: A creator-led, funny preschool project untethered to trends, with an authentic voice and a deep sensibility.
The best thing I watched this year: Rosie’s Rules, coming to PBS KIDS in October. Honest. I can say it without seeming to be patting myself on the back because I barely had anything to do with it.
Best way to approach me with pitches: Show me that you know what PBS KIDS is all about. Tell me your favorite current series or game on our platforms and why. That way I know that the pitch you have for us was tailored to our mission and audience. Perhaps it won’t be the right fit this particular time but I can promise you that the conversation will be engaging, and we’ll both leave it interested in the next one.
Best pitch I ever got: A video pitch (for a different network and before video pitches were ubiquitous) where the creator used LEGOs to talk about this ‘Circus Planet,’ almost exactly like a seven-year-old would. We didn’t go for that particular project, but the next time I was looking for something in particular, I went immediately to that creator and asked for their take.
The animated show/movie that changed my life: Mad Monster Party, The Simpsons, The Wrong Trousers, Samurai Jack.
Best advice for content creators: Take a deep breath, look around you, think about what will really make a difference. You’ll know it. And don’t take it (or me) too seriously.
Most annoying catch phrase or trend of the year: “Metaverse for preschoolers” as the next big thing. Scary!
Guilty pleasure: Not animation, nor puppets, but good old-fashioned kaiju content… During the last couple of years, we’ve rewatched all the early Ultraman series (from Tsuburaya Productions) on Blu-ray. And for more recent, snackable and adorable animation, Mr. Carton (from Tant Mieux).
Sebastian Debertin
Head of Int’l Content, Acquisitions & Co-Pros, ARD/ZDF KiKA
What I’ll be looking for at the fall markets: The shopping list is really long, I wish I had a pot of gold to buy it all! Animated full-length feature films and animated specials for bank holidays, Easter, etc., as well as live-action features for a family audience; family co-viewing is an advantage, but only if kids are the focus of the storytelling. Animated series for six- to nine-year olds are in demand as well. We’ll go on cherry picking the best animations in preschool for our Kikaninchen preschool slots, too! For the so-called bridge audience, we actively search for strong new additions to go along with successful series like Fireman Sam. As you can see, after all: Great animated storytelling always was and will be a motor for KiKA!
KiKA turns 25 this year. (Yes, we happily celebrate this remarkable anniversary in 2022 together with our audience!) and what surely also did not change over the last 25 years of KiKA is that we are looking for high quality content only, premieres preferred! The programs, whether animated or not, need to deliver a positive view of the world and offer the kids orientation while delivering strong positive values, too!
The best thing I watched in 2022: In total, we received a record 1,284 program proposals last year. This trend seems to be continuing in 2022 as we have already received 500 new programs and program concepts. So, we really saw a lot of great new stuff. One of the many outcomes was that we now will be co-producing Goat Girl, a very cartoony show from Daily Madness (Ireland) and Miam! (France) together with our friends at Cartoon Network.
I also need to mention our lovely co-pro Odo, with Letko and Sixteen South, which is so heartwarming, smart and charming that I really had tears in my eyes when we screened the original production, which we are now dubbing into German.
Best way to approach me with your pitches: Easy, just send your pitch! But first ensure that your idea is a good fit for the world of KiKA. Look at www.kika.de (It’s in German, but pictures and programs will tell enough). If your idea fits into this world, you’re more than welcome to send it to sebastian.debertin@kika.de
The animated show/movie that changed my life: Well, too many to list them all here! After all, I guess animation does not change our lives, but makes it more colorful and much brighter! That’s why I so much enjoy working with creatives on making great concepts for animation come to life and influencing the kids and family audiences worldwide with positive thinking and values worth sharing!
Best advice for content creators: Keep being passionate about what you do! And keep on dreaming! But while dreaming, stay focused to make your dream come true! The best ideas come from people who are passionate about making their dreams come true.
Most annoying catch phrase or trend of the year: Honestly, there is very little nowadays that can annoy me. Perhaps what’s a bit annoying is when people use keywords in a pitch that their concept doesn’t deliver at all. So, please, avoid just ticking boxes!
Guilty pleasure: Working for the best audience — kids! Doing what I love most — my job, with many talented and wonderful people in our industry, getting inspired always in a new and refreshing way, that is truly a pleasure and rewarding! Besides that, good bookstores and books are another passion!
MIPCOM ’22 takes place October 17-20 in Cannes, France.
mipcom.com
Some Helpful Pitching Tips from Sebastian:
- Pitching comes close to being an art, so it is no wonder that not everybody is good at that. If you recognize that you’re not the best pitcher, then find someone who is more capable to handle that very special and sensitive job for you! That’s a smart and helpful way to bring your concept-baby to life!
- Before you pitch, do research to ensure your idea or concept really is innovative and does not exist already anywhere in the world market! This way you avoid wasting your money and your time as well as the time of the partner you want to pitch to.
- Also, avoid reading your pitch from paper. That’s another killer.
- Prove that you know your project inside out by being able to deliver the concept’s USPs in a smart way, name the reasons why it fits your targeted partner and age group.
- Do your homework beforehand! You need to show that you know the partner and the platform you are pitching to. (In our case, know the world of KiKA, its programming and philosophy.)
- Finally, be prepared to convince your prospective partners with three individual arguments why you feel your project could be a great fit!
