Storytelling: Can We Be More Adventurous?
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Storytelling: Can We Be More Adventurous? Thursday 22nd January 2015 Lewis Silkin Llp Clifford’s Inn Passage 5 Chancery Lane, London EC4 1 BL Venue provided by Drinks sponsored by Welcome to the first CMF Evening Event of 2015 Our thanks to Cliff Fluet and Lewis Silkin for providing the venue for this evening’s discussion, and to the Authors’ Licensing and Collection Society (ALCS) for their generous sponsorship of the drinks reception. And a special thank-you to Jocelyn Stevenson, who produced the event, based on discussions with Mellie Buse, who originally proposed the idea. The Children’s Media Foundation aims to produce 6 events per year dealing with creative, strategic, policy and regulatory issues around children and the media they use, across all platforms. If you have ideas for events you feel we should pursue, please contact CMF Director, Greg Childs: [email protected] To learn more about the CMF, and for regular updates on Children’s Media issues, subscribe to our monthly email newsletter at: www.thechildrensmediafoundation.org To support the CMF, or become a patron, follow the ‘support’ tab on our website. There are a number of benefits, including free tickets for CMF Events. For information on how your company could be become a Corporate Supporter please contact CMF Fundraiser, Rachel Krish: [email protected]. The Children’s Media Yearbook The CMF’s annual publication is packed with articles on the development, creation, distribution and regulation of children’s media content on all platforms – from traditional TV to online and apps. It’s a snapshot of the news, trends and issues affecting the kids’ media scene over the last twelve months. You can download a digital copy for £7.95 or buy the paperback version for £10 plus p&p “Storytelling: Can We Be More Adventurous?” Introduction There are many influences on storytelling, from those that have to do with the craft – such as who the audience is and which medium or platform is being used to tell the tale – to those that have to do with commercial realities. How much do financing, commissioning, “received wisdom,” safety concerns – a plethora of pressures that have nothing to do with telling a story – put a stranglehold on our storytelling? Does second-guessing what will or won’t work commercially limit our ability to do something different, to break through – to tell stories that are uniquely ours? How can we use the changing media landscape to take more risks with our stories? And in doing so, how can we cater for a more diverse audience? 2 Contributors Jocelyn Stevenson: How Can I Help? Jocelyn Stevenson has worked in children’s television for over 40 years as a writer, creator, producer and executive producer. After starting on ‘Sesame Street’, she worked for many years as a writer and producer for the Jim Henson Company. She was Chief Creative Officer at HIT Entertainment, a Creative Director at TT Animation, and, most recently, Executive Creative Producer for Film and TV Projects at Mind Candy. Her credits include ‘Sesame Street’, ‘Fraggle Rock’, ‘Charlie Chalk’, ‘Jim Henson’s Ghost of Faffner Hall’, ‘The Animal Show with Stinky and Jake’, ‘Jim Henson’s Secret Life of Toys’, ‘The Magic Schoolbus’, ‘Brambley Hedge’, ‘Faeries’, ‘Mopatop’s Shop’, ‘The Hoobs’, ‘Bob the Builder’, ‘Thomas & Friends’, ‘Barney & Friends’, ‘Rubbadubbers’, ‘Pingu’, ‘What’s Your News?’ and ‘Moshi Monsters: The Movie’. Mellie Buse: Adastra Development Ltd Mellie is a content creator, writer and producer. She’s written on many leading kids’ brands, was head writer/creative producer on Jim Henson’s ‘The Hoobs’ and script editor on ‘Charlie and Lola.’ She established Adastra Creative Ltd with her colleague, Jan Page to produce ‘Grandpa in my Pocket’ for CBeebies, which sold to 106 territories, was nominated for a Bafta five times and won the award for best children’s programme at Bafta Cymru. The company also produced ‘Ha! Ha! Hairies!’ for Turner EMEA, which chalked up three BAFTA nominations and a win. She now co-runs Adastra Development Ltd with director and new media producer, Martin Franks, focussing on content for digital platforms alongside broadcast television. Mellie has two daughters, two dogs and a Russian and Drama degree. www.adastracreative.com www.melliebuse.com @melliebuse Sharna Jackson: Hopster Sharna Jackson is Director of Creative and Content at Hopster, a TV and Learning app for 2-6 year olds. They're making screen time smart by blending popular shows for children with games. Hopster had over 200,000 downloads in its first year, and was named one of Apple's Best Apps of 2014. Before joining Hopster, Sharna launched Tate Kids, which won Webbys, Lovies and was nominated for Children’s BAFTAs three times. In November 2014, two art activity books were published by Tate. Sharna is a governor at a primary school in Rotherhithe, London, and is starting a play-based school in Hackney, East London. She runs the popular Games Based Learning Twitter and Linked-In groups. Sharna has as a PgDip in Media Culture and Communication from the Institute of Education, University of London. Paul King: Heyday Films Paul King studied at Cambridge and trained with legendary clown director Cal McCrystal. He directed the comedy show ‘Garth Marenghi’ which won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 2001. This led to a series with Channel 4 for which he directed the performances. He first got behind the camera for ‘The Mighty Boosh’ and went on to direct all three series. He wrote and directed ‘Bunny and the Bull’, a low budget road movie (set entirely in a flat) in 2009 and since then, has been writing and directing his second film, ‘Paddington’, which has just been released in the US. 3 David Levine: Disney Channels UK & Ireland David Levine is Vice President, Programming, Production and Strategic Development, Disney Channels EMEA, and General Manager, Disney Channels UK & Ireland. In this role, he is responsible for all strategic and operational aspects of Programming across Disney Channels EMEA, including the development of the linear and multi-platform programming strategy. In addition, he is responsible for determining the direction of original production and overseeing the development and production slates of originally produced content, acquisitions and co-productions. In his role as General Manager of Disney Channels UK & Ireland, David leads a team that utilises this powerful platform to drive familiarity and awareness for the Disney brand. As part of the Disney Channels EMEA leadership team, David also advises on the overall strategic direction for Disney Channels across the region. David joined Disney ABC Cable Networks Group in March 2004 and previously worked at Ragdoll USA and Marvel Entertainment Group. Jeff Norton: Awesome Jeff Norton is the author of the award-winning ‘MetaWars’ books (Orchard) and the new ‘Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie’ (Faber). He is the creator of the best-selling ‘Princess Ponies’ series (Bloomsbury) and the hit YA novel ‘Drummer Girl’ (Bonnier). Jeff is EP of ‘Trucktown’ (Nelvana) based on the NYT best-selling books by Jon Scieszka. Previously, Jeff ran the Enid Blyton literary estate (‘Noddy’, ‘Famous Five’) and acquired new IP for Chorion (‘Octonauts’, Dennis Wheatley). Before moving to the UK, he produced the award-winning ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ movie featuring William H. Macy and Frankie Muniz. Originally from Canada, Jeff now lives in London. www.jeffnorton.com @thejeffnorton Dr. Becky Parry: University of Leeds Dr. Becky Parry is a lecturer in Childhood Studies and author of 'Children, Film and Literacy' (2013) Palgrave Macmillan. Prior to this she worked on film and media education projects in cinemas, schools and festivals. Becky is fascinated by the role of stories and storytellers in young children's lives and her research focuses on stories created for children and the role they play in children's talk, play, identity and literacy development. In particular Becky investigates children's popular culture forms from picture books, comics and animation to television drama, children's films and games, exploring the ways in which children participate and engage with them. Equally, she is interested in the stories that children create in these forms. Becky is currently developing a research project focused on the notion of innocence in children's films, television dramas and novels. Animated Research Findings: 'Children, Film and Literacy' https://vimeo.com/69974898 Follow us on: @childmedia #CMFStory 4 .