The Pat Ferns market simulation roadshow adds a new stop to the circuit with a junior edition at the Alliance for Children and Television’s 1995 Festival and Awards of Excellence. Since there’s change going down in the market, act hopes ‘the big pitch’ and buyers’ reaction to the three different projects up at bat will provide feedback for writers and producers attending that will be useful in shaping their own proposals.

Ferns, fresh from a bevy of often-s.r.o. market simulations at mipcom, and mipcom jr., and Berlin prior, says that in doing the pitch session around the world, he’s found that it’s necessary to adapt the form to take advantage of what you have (in terms of market representation), and that sometimes ‘you do a strategizing thing.’

Among the beneficial results – sometimes culminating in a deal – is an instant market assessment. Such was the case at mip junior, where Owl’s Annabel Slaight pitched The Big Blaster, a show designed for international formatting. Mixing puppets, live action and world music, it’s premised on puppet dogs who roam about doing their own radio show. Ferns reports ‘just about everyone loved’ the concept, but feedback deemed that instead of a preschool 15-minute project, the demographic should be skewed older.

Ferns reports that producers of a couple of animation projects pitched there were deep in serious discussions later in the week. Overall, from his recent immersion in the desires and dislikes of the international children’s market, Ferns gets a sense that the animation area continues to be on the rise, due to its inherent ability to conquer the language issue.

Ferns says due to assorted funds the French, particularly, can frequently pull in two thirds of the funding from their own marketplace. French animation is in the $250,000 to $300,000 per half-hour range, which in tandem with the level of animation from studios like Cinar and Nelvana (Ferns assesses their m.o. of known characters and high production values has put them on top of the world) means that ‘competition is now operating at a high level internationally.’

For a small producer trying to produce something at that level, unless they have the great fortune to have a major broadcaster lined up, Ferns labels the task, ‘major slogging.’

And competition is also keen at the more modestly budgetted end of the scale, as these productions typically include a network of increasingly bucks-beleaguered public broadcasters in their financial plans. Ferns hopes that there will be protection for children’s programming at the pubcasters, given that ‘if that falls away, not only the industry, but the public will be really hurt.’

As a producer needs to get between one third to a half of their coin here, Ferns opines: ‘You have to find your own niche, you need to find where you can play in the domestic market.’

Based on the findings of the Alliance’s industrial strategy, which identified a domestic programming bottleneck, the decision was made to focus on the Canadian market, rather than amass an international panel, in effect upping the pressure and playing to the fact that we have a bottleneck here. To that end, all the key domestic players are lined up to attend, with international distribution vet Isme Bennie playing the world market role.

To get a sense of what is considered a likely prospect here, Playback takes a look at the projects chosen to be trotted out before potential funders, broadcasters and coproducers at the market simulation.

Rainmakers

montreal’s Adobe Foundation is pitching a six-part documentary series that’s already on its way to becoming reality. Rainmakers explores the challenges of six youth leaders in India, Thailand, Peru, Romania, the u.s. and Mozambique, covering issues like drugs, gangs, violence against women, the environment, urban poverty, human rights, the handicapped, prostitution and aids.

Described as action-oriented and hard-hitting, each half-hour episode focuses on the drama of one youth leader’s struggles for his/her cause: one looks at a 22-year-old ex-gang leader in New York City, who has turned in his colors to use poetry and peacemaking to fight drugs and violence; another episode is centered on a women’s rights activist in New Delhi.

What fuels the youth leaders’ desire to tackle the problems, and what perpetuates their idealism, is also explored.

Partners Robbie Hart and Luc Cote have produced 20 globe-trotting documentaries since the 1986 inception of Adobe. Their latest is Turning Sixteen, an eight-part doc series that visits different cultures around the world.

Rainmakers, budgeted at $999,000, already has some interest in Canada. Radio-Quebec has committed to a $40,000 licence fee and may provide technical services, cbc has put $10,000 into development (but has not yet committed to licence fees for the series), Vision tv is down for a second window and has added $30,000 to the pot, and Telefilm Canada has put $75,000 into development.

More broadcaster commitment is required for Telefilm production funding eligibility.

What is needed now, according to Hart, is someone from cbc to stand up and commit to a licence (they’re looking for $20,000 per episode) and a greater commitment from r-q. Hart also speculates that ytv might be an interested party, and adds that tvontario has been approached.

As to the type of broadcaster most likely to be in the market for Rainmakers, Hart says, ‘It does have an educational niche to it.’ And given the current financial problems of that sector, ‘it certainly poses obstacles,’ says Hart. ‘We’re looking at broadcasters for the significant portion of the funding.’

However, he goes on to list the other sources from which he may seek funding – the Quebec and federal tax credits, the Cable Production Fund, cida (three episodes touch on global development issues targeted towards cida’s priorities).

Hart doesn’t think the fact that there’s no Canadian story will hinder his funding chances here. ‘I don’t think it should be considered a major obstacle,’ he says, going on to explain that Turning Sixteen was initially eight international half-hours – also without a Canadian story – and then to satisfy the local appetite, a Canadian component was added. A Canadian teen audience and panel discussion turned the half-hours into hours, and made it an event that convinced ytv to do a trial run on doc programming. Hart says this is also an option for Rainmakers.

When asked whether a six-part series presented difficulties for programmers, Hart responds that no matter what you do you can’t please everyone with the format. ‘Basically there’s no rhyme or reason to designing programming that will fit if it’s not for a specific strand. Other than play with the half-hour/hour length, it doesn’t make a difference. It has a ’97 delivery date – there’s room to plan if someone’s excited about it.’

Since the leaders being profiled are in their 20s (deemed young adults), the target audience is family (the 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. slot). It’s not geared exclusively to a young audience, Rainmakers deals with issues that concern young people, yet will also speak to parents and educators.

As to what need it fills and what sparks interest in this project, Hart says it takes a look at a generation the media tends to label as disinterested. It also looks at issues prevalent in Canadian society on a global scale, and shows that these issues have solutions, or at least presents an alternative to the typically negative light shed on the topics.

Hart says Adobe films have been recognized as having a distinct character, concentrating on global youth-related issues and adds the Canadian participation factor makes the programming very appealing to broadcasters here. He says this kind of programming is exciting, and since not a lot of international programming about young people makes it to air, ‘that’s why it’s important.’

Mind Over Matter

producer Ann Bromley and executive story editor Jill Golick (both 15-year industry vets) have a half-hour weekly live-action adventure series for the nine-to-12 set in mind.

Mind Over Matter is about teens with ‘mysterious powers of the mind’ who ‘face an evil teacher.’ Although episode titles would sub nicely as tabloid headlines, don’t get the wrong idea, this is no Power Rangers/VR Troopers clone. The four teens’ ‘strange mental powers’ are described as ‘odd, difficult to master and of no apparent value.’

The protagonists are a graffiti artist/disruptive underachiever who can place a single thought in the minds of other people, a teen who can shrink, a thwarted superhero (he’d really prefer cool weapons and fighting prowess) who can move objects with his mind, and one who feels totally cheated for only getting the power ‘to see light at the end of the tunnel.’

The motley crew must channel their energies into saving the school from becoming a zombie factory under the repressive influence of the new teacher, Mr. Gray.

The budget is in the $300,000 to $350,000 range, and it’s currently at the script development stage.

The package Bromley and Golick put together wittily answers the questions that sometimes get thorny at market sims, like: Is there enough material for an ongoing series? Yes, there will be an ongoing story, an arc that runs over the 13 weeks. Who is the target audience? Kids who watch Batman, X-Files, The Simpsons and Beverly Hills 90210 (elements from which are incorporated in Mind Over Matter – teen drama, humor, superhero action and the paranormal chill factor without the violence and with the payoff of good trouncing evil). Mind Over Matter promises to deliver all that and give the tweens a reality-based peek at the teen social scene. And no doubt the teacher-as-arch-enemy concept will fly for this age group.

While everyone likes the concept, it isn’t flying in Canada yet.

With the budget range limiting the kind of broadcaster able to pick up the tab, the only potential outlets in Canada would be ytv, Family Channel and cbc.

ytv was interested but Bromley surmises that it doesn’t look like the show fits into what ytv is doing.

cbc advised the producers it would need some interest south of the border first, and the producers have acknowledged that they will have to find an American or u.s./European coalition of broadcasters. Bromley says if they can interest Nickelodeon or Fox then they would be able to come back to Canada and possibly get cbc participation at a low level. A likely broadcast combo would be England/u.s./Australia/ Canada.

The unsigned broadcaster also puts the brakes on triggering development funding here. tvo, although not in a position to help out with cash, has given much-appreciated moral support and services.

Even though ‘the ofdc is out of the picture,’ Bromley wants to produce the series here.

And while she says the show would be ideal as after-school programming, it seems to be falling into the early prime slot – where real ads can be sold. Bromley rues the economics of children’s television that make it so difficult to raise the money, and the resulting plethora of u.s. shows in the Canadian 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. slots.

Fresh from a stint of judging children’s programming for the international Emmies, Bromley is emphatic that Canada should be developing more quality children’s programming. She says Canadian shows paled in comparison to the fare from England and Australia, and given the similar market realities, feels Canada could be more in line with the Australian efforts, spurred by a desire to no longer be at the mercy of the u.s. for their children’s tv diet. ‘In Australia there’s been an incredible initiative to develop children’s programming,’ says Bromley.

Snayle Tales

tales of Snaylesand other folk comes from Vancouver-based Friday Street Productions. It’s a 15-minute tv series for the six-and-under set which blends live action and animation. Key to its marketability is that the series is designed for easy versioning into other languages – the story is told in voice-over.

It’s premised on a six-year-old (human) who, as the baby of the family, often is ignored by the large brood. Consequently, young Julia surreptitiously (in various hideaways, or under her teacher’s nose) retreats into her own world via her proudly possessed book collection, Snayles Tales. Eh voila! the exotic snails come to life, abetted by clay and computer tech as Julia reads her books. She becomes so engrossed in the snail stories, coming up with solutions to their problems, that she inevitably is drawn into the drama

In addition to inspiring a passion for reading, the series hopes to encourage independent thinking and an awareness of the consequences of one’s actions.

The live-action portion is shot from a three-feet-tall pov, with lots of legs, feet and blurred adult faces and voices (a la Charlie Brown), all lending to lip-synch avoidance.

Ancillary goals include merchandising – books, toys, tapes (each episode will include a simple ditty) and cd-roms.

The folks behind this entry are expat u.k