ELEMENTS OF AN EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION SERIES: ANALYZING SUCCESSFUL TELEVISION SHOW CURRICULUM AND FORMATTING
A THESIS
Presented to the University
Honors Program
California State University, Long Beach
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the
University Honors Program Certificate
Anna Cirimele
Spring 2018
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………… 4
Section I: Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 6
A. A Medium for Learning B. The Process of Show Making C. Educational Television Importance
Section II: Research Study……………………………………………………………………… 10
A. Literature Review B. Craig Bartlett Interview
Section III: Research Validation………………………………………………………………… 30
A. Concept Creation a. Research results b. Concept inspiration c. Content Breakdown Section IV: The Pitch……………………………………………………………………………... 38
Section V: Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...… 53
Section VI: Works Cited………………………………………………………………………...… 56
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Anna Cirimele
Professor J Richardson
UHP Thesis
1 May 2018
Abstract
The goal of this thesis is to analyze and explore different levels of education in television shows and determine what factors best retain the attention span of an audience. The information taken is then utilized and formed into a well-organized educational pitch bible for a television show.
To understand exactly what educational content is best for audiences today, I conducted various forms of research on past successful educational shows such as Sesame Street, Daniel
Tiger’s Neighborhood, Dora the Exlporer and more. The research will also cover an interview I personally held with Craig Bartlett, the show creator of Hey!Arnold and the educational science based show, Dinosaur Train. In observing these shows, the process with which they were made and the experiences that come with them- I was able to identify what elements are considered
“successful” in a popular educational television show. Elements such as visual cues performed in fleeting moments of attention, strong gender and racial representation, simplified curriculum, and audience interaction are key in shows that have proven to be successful in the past. I discovered that in following these guidelines, a creator is immediately informed as to what needs to be placed into a show and can follow each element to lead to success in educational learning. I was also able to distinguish the drastic differences between educational television and television that doesn’t rely on curriculum- bringing different tools to the table depending on where an artist decides to explore their content. Cirimele 5
The second phase of the thesis was taking the research from these past shows and picking an area of study with which to pitch a television show. After discussion with advisors and drawing upon my own inspiration from living in the forest, I have created a show concept titled Parks, which presents the United States National Parks in a way that stimulates an excitement for learning in youth groups along with a gained passion for the outdoors. This is presented in the form of a pitch bible, which is the clearest cut method of presenting a show idea and the concepts that come with it. The pitch bible reflects the research I have found incorporated into its characters, backgrounds, and story concepts. In experimenting with creating my own educational television show, I discovered the differences in genres when it came to pitching. I was also allowed to explore my own creative limits when it came to the project, exploring story in a way that was tailored to learning about the National Parks, versus an open storied world.
The study of past shows and the creation of an educational television show helps to push a further understanding of education in media and promote an emphasis on lesson structured shows in the television industry. The importance of media and the content presented in media is discussed throughout the thesis, resulting in a positive spin on television material. It also explores the ability of young age groups to have a passion for learning and develop an excitement for the pursuit of knowledge that in turn creates a higher interest in educational and technical careers in the future. In addition to the educational content, I have found in my work that breaking down a pitch bible and focusing on the differences in content between educational television and entertainment television provides a guideline for other prospective artists, writers, and show creators who are interested in pitching to television.
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I. Introduction
Art is a medium for learning. With technology advancing further and further into the modern world, the impact of art and media on an audience fluctuates dramatically. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2016, 96% of household Americans watch television for leisure at 2-4 hours a day, which is over half of the average total leisure time. The world is turning towards a visual mode of information intake. This form of art is a visual medium taken in by the viewer and translated faster than through reading or writing. So, it is the perfect mechanism for teaching curriculum. This thesis project is designed to explore the elements of educational television- a genre already proven to increase the level of learning in youth groups- and analyze why such shows are successful in audience retention. How does the content reflect on the viewer? What is the best way to present lesson plans and curriculum? How does a child of the age of four stay interested in something on screen? These are explored through studying the content creation of numerous shows such as Sesame Street, Cyberchase, Dora the Explorer, Sid the Science Kid, and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. An interview with show creator Craig
Bartlett is also included to emphasize those differences in educational television versus entertainment television.
In this process, guidelines for creating educational series can be created and utilized through examples. The thesis will also explore the process of creating an educational television show through a pitch bible, a method of presenting television concepts to animation studios. This promotes a higher understanding of the genre and may promote artists and networks to explore shows with curriculum content and spread a successful medium for learning. Cirimele 7
Let’s break down the animation world by starting off with television, the main focus of this thesis. In the animated television industry specifically, there are two different main methods when it comes to presenting show content. Entertainment shows such as Nickelodeon produced
Spongebob Squarepants, focus solely on slapstick humor and clever dialogue. Shows like this usually carry an episode by episode plot with a repeated gag and use that humor as the main heart of the show. Educational shows such as Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer are solely focused around teaching curriculum and lesson plans. Then, right in the middle of the two is what is considered “edutainment”, a mixture of slapstick comedy and an overarching story that mixes learning and curriculum within the content. This is considered a new innovative form of educational television and is starting to emerge more and more in modern entertainment.
Different studios will take on different types of shows depending on their target audience.
PBS is a network mainly directed towards educating younger children while Nickelodeon is a largely entertainment-based show that may present content to an older audience. Nickelodeon as a distributing company- one that creates shows in the studio and not outsourcing content from other studios like PBS- has multiple channels that may focus on education as well as entertainment, such as Nick Jr. When pitching a television show, the prospective creator must create a “pitch bible” to present to the network executives of whatever studio they choose. These executives decide whether the show is suitable for the network or not, and ultimately have the final say in what is approved.
A pitch bible is a packet of information about the show the creator is aiming to have approved. It contains both visual and written explainers as to the heart of the show and the concepts behind it. Pitch bibles in general can be formatted differently depending on what the Cirimele 8
story needs- but many contain information like the synopsis- a general summary of the show, characters, episode examples, and images of what the world will look like. A solid example of a pitch bible for an entertainment-based series would be Pendleton Ward’s Bravest Warriors pitch, found online. But pitching for an educational television show is separate from pitching for entertainment. Educational shows revolve around teaching children at certain age groups about specific topics such as STEM or language learning. It goes against the entertainment versions that lean towards violence and gags, and attempts to incorporate a curriculum into each episode.
Pitch bibles must adjust to this in order to explain what curriculum will be covered and how the show will present that information. It is a thin wire to walk on when balancing entertainment and education in the edutainment world, yet the most successful television shows have a strong sense of both in order to capture the attention of their audience while motivating them to learn. If the show is picked up by a network, further discussion will be placed on design and story in the coming years. This includes storyboarding, voice acting, script writing, and visual development.
The process of making a pitch bible for an educational show is just as, if not more, important than analyzing the information discovered in research. In creating an example of what an educational show looks like from the start, the creator is informed of what crucial information needs to be placed when taking the idea to a studio. Knowing what curriculum should be utilized and creating a story around the guidelines of past successful shows not only puts their validity to the test but also creates a rough draft for successful educational television shows that artists can reference in the future. There is very little background knowledge about pitching educational content in the artistic world, and exploring this concept directly through the creation of a show has given me direct insight into the differences between the different forms of television shows and why past shows have worked so well when it comes to teaching young audiences. In Cirimele 9
analyzing these shows and what works and what doesn’t- then applying that to a real life model, it is discovered what guidelines work for a successful show and provides a direct example for future artists looking to explore the topic. This promotes a strong emphasis towards more educational television in network studios, and pushes an active desire for an audience to engage in important topics and learn along the way.
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II. Research Study
A. Literature Review
Educational television has proven time and time again to stimulate a desire to learn in young viewers. Shows like Sesame Street, Blues Clues, The Magic School Bus and more have contributed to a higher sense of learning in both social and STEM aspects. However, the steps to physically creating an educational television show that works well and captures the attention span of children remains hidden in the dark. In a guideline published by the Public Broadcasting
Service (PBS)- requirements when pitching a show to the studio include basic information such as a synopsis, a treatment of the show, episodic descriptions, interactive elements, key personnel, and sample work (“A Guide to Pitching to PBS Kids”, 2012). These requirements ask for items such as story and marketing, but do not include instructions on how to form an educational plan.
For creators looking to pitch educational television shows, plenty of research must be done to determine what elements create a show that entertains a young audience and teaches a lesson plan that thoroughly passes on its educational message. To determine what these aspects are, previous studies of successful shows will be analyzed. This includes looking at Sesame Street,
Daniel the Tiger’s Neighborhood, Dora the Explorer, Cyberchase, Dinosaur Train, and Sid the
Science Kid. Analyzing these shows will allow the discovery of important fundamentals such as basic construction of an educational program, interactivity, inclusion of race and gender, and the push for natural curiosity- all leading to a formula for success that can be applied to future programs.
Sesame Street is perhaps the oldest and most traditional program when it comes to teaching education. The model for what makes an edutainment show came directly from a focus Cirimele 11
group called the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) that collaborated on the time-honored program to create a set curriculum based off of dedicated research and data collection. According to the authors in G is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street- within the CTW, “producers and researchers reviewed the curriculum together” (Fisch and
Truglio, 2011, p. 10). Curriculum was created based off what both the entertainment industry and the educational researchers determined would be, “suitable for television presentation” (Fisch and Truglio, 2011, p.10). Through numerous trial and errors and constant analyses, researchers narrowed down what would best capture the attention of young children in various age groups while meeting the finances of production. The Sesame Street team discovered that children of the age of 2-6 live by “a moment to moment basis and are highly responsive to the qualities of the program at that moment.” (Fisch and Truglio, 2011, p.11). Using that information, CTW then took the findings of their analysis and created a basic model focused on capturing these moment to moment bases.
There are key elements when it comes to a television show that captures the attention span of a young audience. In the book, Children’s Learning from Educational Television:
Sesame Street and Beyond- Shalom M. Fisch lists these elements and breaks down how they are successful in the show. Of these, “humor” seemed to be key. Fisch (2014) states that while researching preschool children for Sesame Street, the team found that humor such as surprise, slapstick, adult errors, and silly word play worked best in keeping them entertained (p.31).
Further research proved that humor that was more complicated and took longer to understand, such as puns and words with double meanings, was lost on the audience. This along with factors such as fast visual action, appealing characters, child centered presentations, lively music, and repetition are titled as key in keeping children focused on the show (Fisch, 2014, p. 32-33). Cirimele 12
Adding these elements up creates a successful show that visually entertains its audience. But, what makes Sesame Street even more successful is its focus on updating information. A model such as this one best utilizes psychology to keep it’s focus groups entertained, but the model can easily be outdated as children’s needs change over the years. Technology becomes more of a countering necessity, and children aren’t as focused on watching television as they are playing.
However, the Sesame Workshop model works in that, “Curriculum goals have been continually revisited to reflect current thinking in educational practice.” (Fisch, 2014, p. 34). Thanks to continuous research with updated modern factors- Fisch(2014) states that this model works because of this constant update, that it helps “ensure the material is appealing and comprehensible to it’s target audience.” (p.34). Sesame Street and the CTW has formed the basis for what goes into the visuals for an educational television show. Through rigorous research, this model safely sets up the important elements that belong in a show for preschool children. It breaks down what goes into an educational plan and simplifies how it is important to maintain the attention span of small children by putting most information in those fleeting moments. It also focuses on the importance of constantly updating research to keep up with modern times, making it the strongest basis for what a creator should consider when writing an edutainment show.
What the model for Sesame Street does not contain is the importance of interactivity with the audience. Another tactic used to keep the focus of children, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood uses interactivity to reach the attention of not just preschool children, but children with special needs as well. Wesley H. Dotson performs a research study evaluating the impact of Daniel
Tiger’s Neighborhood on two children both at five years of age with autism spectrum disorders
(ASD). In the study, Dotson (2016) states that Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood contains episodes Cirimele 13
that uses interactivity to “…teach children a skill such as trying new foods, stopping play, sharing, or calming down.” (para. 4). In the episode Dotson chose, two new skills were introduced- trying new foods and stopping play. The character interacted directly with the audience, the food in the episode similar to the food placed in front of the two boys. Dotson
(2016) found during the course of the study- one of the boys ate six new foods while the other ate at least one bite of every novel food while watching the episode (para. 16-17). The study had proven that “children watching structured television shows can learn skills” and further focuses on the point that “children with ASD can learn the same way.” (Dotson, 2016, para. 5). Dotson’s study utilizes interactivity to keep the attention of an audience, both from preschool children both without and with symptoms of ASD. It is an important element in what can go into an educational television show that should be considered as a necessary tactic and a powerful device for speaking to children with special needs as well as the general audience.
Another show that utilizes interactivity is that of Dora the Explorer. In the show, Dora speaks to the audience directly and encourages young children to assist her in her adventures.
This includes physical activities such as jumping, pointing out correct words, and directing Dora to progress the plotline. However, according to Erin Ryan’s analysis in “Dora the Explorer:
Empowering Preschoolers, Girls, and Latinas”, the usage of Dora speaking to the audience gives a voice to race and gender as well. “Dora’s directness communicates respect for her audience”,
Evans (2010) states- informing the idea that the character speaking to young children gives a sense of reputation and empowerment as she makes eye contact through the television (p. 56). It is an important factor to include race and gender in educational television shows, Dora represents both at the same time. Evan’s creates a study via a poll of children about the importance of race in social media. Many stated that the show “made children of that race feel included, and it Cirimele 14
provided role models.” (Evans, 2010, p. 58). Seeing Dora as a Latina heroine empowers children of color and female preschoolers, giving a rare voice in an industry dominated by often white male main characters. Dora represents a strong female POC character, her design using according to Evans (2010) the “multiple intelligence theory”. In this, not only are skills like reading and writing utilized in the show- linguistic, musical, and kinesthetic skills are emphasized as well (p.57). Dora is not only a strong female character of color, but her intelligence presents a powerful message to children watching the show. The representation of gender and race in powerful characters inspires young audiences to feel included and reflect a sense of importance in self. It is necessary for a show creator to follow this strong representation and reflect it into future shows.
Along with the social impact a television show has and its ability to maintain the attention span of its audience, content in curriculum is also extremely important when creating an edutainment show. Farrah Dina Yusop studies the aspects of curriculum in the analysis “A
Case Study of Cyberchase”- a show that uses fun and entertainment to teach mathematics to children from grades 3-5. In the analysis, Yusop (2012) utilizes the “four commonplaces of curriculum” and applies it to the show. This includes teachers, learners, milieus, and subject matter (p. 10). In curriculum development, teachers are the production team containing researchers and teachers who follow the mathematics curriculum of a specified grade level. They specify the learner’s perspectives as well. Milieus are the locations in which the show is presented such as classrooms, family homes, internet, etc. And subject matter is what content should be shown within the series, designated by the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics (NCTM) and the Science and Technology Education program. All of this combines with the research about entertainment to determine what goes into an education plan. Cirimele 15
Yusp then breaks down the curriculum further and applies it to an analysis of how this works in the show Cyberchase. Yusop (2012) states the origins of the curriculum for Cyberchase started with “NCTM’s standards for school mathematics grades 3 to 5” and then further applies it by stating that the episodes of Cyberchase feature, “One big idea/adventure which is linked to
NCTM’s expectations in a specific Math content area.” (p.15). An example of this is episode 203 of Cyberchase where the big idea is “Fractions that look different can represent the same portion of a whole” and then apply that idea with examples throughout the episode (Cyberchase, 2012).
Other analyses include how the curriculum is in use via the Cyberchase website, how the curriculum is shown as proper through mathematical problems in entertaining ways, and a critique of the curriculum in general. Yusop’s (2012) critique of Cyberchase curriculum states that the series, “functions as supplemental instruction aids” but cannot maintain the attention span of the audience as well as it should because it is “designed to meet NCTM standards and principles.” (p. 13). Cyberchase is a show that presents difficult subject matters in a fun and entertaining way. The breakdown of the show’s curriculum and how it constructs an episodic lesson plan is extremely important when considering the content of future shows. The Sesame
Workshop does an accurate job demonstrating what keeps its audience entertained, while
Yusop’s analysis of curriculum clearly presents what goes into an episode by episode educational lesson plan and the process of how that lesson plan is created.
Dinosaur Train is another television show that breaks down heavy information into simplified curriculum for children viewers. In an interview with the show’s creator, Craig
Bartlett*, Bartlett further breaks down the curriculum process in his show. He states that after a show pitch bible is created, the creator themselves go out and hire specialists. “At Dinosaur
Train we had Scott Sampson the paleontologist who digs up dinosaurs.” He informs, “He’s our Cirimele 16
expert and you also have someone who’s a curriculum expert. So, you have someone who takes that science and then figures out how to sell it to four-year olds. But those two characters are required.” (Craig Bartlett, interview, March 3, 2017). Bartlett’s insight provides a look into the team that will be used when it comes to creating educational content for television shows such as
Dinosaur Train- something very important for a creator to understand. The show promotes a sense of exploration and excitement for the outdoors along with an appreciation of science.
Through factual information and an effort to explore nature via the curriculum, children are inspired by the show to go outdoors and learn about science. In an article by Jay M. Fitzsimmons
(2013), he states that, “Adults, even those passionate about biology such as the readers of The
Canadian Field-Naturalist, will learn a great deal about dinosaurs from this cartoon.” (p. 92).
Through the usage of both experts, Dinosaur Train reveals who is in charge of curriculum besides the creator and how this curriculum works to breakdown complicated subjects to a simple lesson plan that entertains both children and adults.
Sid the Science Kid continues this passion for science and the outdoors in a way similar to
Cyberchase. It utilizes concepts based off of the National Science Standards and on preschool science curriculum called Preschool Pathways to Science. But where Cyberchase focuses on concepts, Sid the Science Kid focuses on strategy. Donna Farland-Smith and Theodore Chao
(2017) analyze the innerworkings of this show in their study titled, “Analyzing the Scientific and
Mathematical Questions of Preschool Television Shows Using Process Skills”. The study follows the usage of Sid’s questioning strategies and how the show uses the scientific method to promote curiosity. “In this way the science content is framed in relatable ways to its character…yet investigated through posing questions, investigating objects and events that can be directly observed and explored,” (p.3) states Smith and Chao (2017) in response to viewing an Cirimele 17
episode where Sid talks about the scientific method. In this, young learners develop processing skills such as observing, inferring, classifying, measuring, predicting, and communicating (Smith and Choa, 2017, p. 851). This pushes their curiosity to both science and the outdoors, along with a natural excitement for learning. Sid the Science Kid uses questioning strategies to keep kids entertained and curious about the outside world. This is yet another tactic creators can use and consider when it comes to creating science based shows in the future.
Revisiting past educational television shows create a solid base model for capturing the attention of young learners. Seaseme Street provided a model for visual cues that would entertain in the fleeting moments of consideration. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood uses interactivity to allow even children with special needs to try new activities and ideas. Dora the Explorer brings empowerment to race and gender, portraying a strong representation that children can be inspired by. An analysis of Cyberchase breaks down the design of curriculum and what it takes to create a mathematically based show. Dinosaur Train furthers that curriculum by identifying who creates that curriculum through an interview with the show’s creator and applying that curriculum in a way that both children and adults can learn from and understand. And Sid the Science Kid utilizes the method of questioning to keep children curious as they apply that curiosity to the outside world. The combination of each show’s tactic provides an insight as to the success of educational television programs and a strong lesson plan guideline to follow for future show creators. This base model of entertainment and representation can be used from both an educator, creator, and producer’s standpoint. It paves a path of success to those looking to pursue edutainment and promotes a creative, safe studious environment for a young audience eager to learn. Cirimele 18
B. An Interview with Show Creator Craig Bartlett
Thanks to my wonderful thesis advisor, Jerry Richardson, I was able to meet with Craig
Bartlett- the creator of Hey!Arnold on Nickelodeon, plus PBS shows Dinosaur Train and Ready
Jet Go!. Mr. Bartlett was wonderful to interview and provided information about pitching that had never been brought to light in any form of research or schooling. In the interview, he provided valuable information about his experience pitching a television series in the ‘90s, what should go into a pitch bible for pitching educational shows, and the big differences between educational television and main media. He is currently working on the Hey!Arnold Jungle Movie with Jerry Richardson as his art director and will air the movie on Nickelodeon in November
2017.
3 March 2017
Persons Present: Craig Bartlett- CB
Anna Cirimele- A
Susana Lopez- S
Jerry Richardson- J
A: Let’s get started! Mr. Barlett can we start off with you telling us a little bit about your work on Nickelodeon versus shows you created on PBS?
CB: So, a big thing is that, Linda (Simenzky) is at PBS in Washington DC and they [PBS] aren’t the production entity, where Nick is. Nick is amazing because Nick is the distributor. They own the stuff that they produce and they built this facility specifically to be their own pipeline. So there’s a huge difference when you’re not only the network- you’re the distributor of the content Cirimele 19
and you also make the content. It’s like everything happens here. PBS, they green light the show and they license it and pay you a fee to run it on there. They also have a deal where it’s like,
“We’re gonna run it exclusively on PBS,” but after it airs after a certain while then you can sell it on the net.
A: When you gave the presentation (for Hey! Arnold) to Nickelodeon, what did they like about
Hey!Arnold that made it separate from everything else?
CB: So, early 90s. I had met all these execs in 1990 because I was on season one of Rugrats, which was cool because I was just a story editor. And so, I was sitting at the table with Vanessa
Coffey and Linda Simensky, and Linda who I’m talking about was junior executive. We made those friendships and they treated me like I was part of their creative team. And three years later, say ‘93, and Mary Harrington- one of the execs- opened up an LA studio to start making cartoons in our Nick pipeline here where the talent pool is. And that’s where I first met her. They were like out on Ventura Blvd and we came in and pitched to her a bunch of ideas. And Arnold was just an accident kind of in that first meeting, the pitch meeting. It was me, Paul Germain,
Peter Gaffney, Steve Hixton, and John Greenburg going around trying to pitch show ideas and they didn’t like that. They were like, “Come on who’s the creator?”. “Well, all of us are,” and they were like (makes grumbling noise).
(Collective laughter)
CB: So, they asked who would make decisions and we were like, “Oh we all will,” and they were like, “Oh come on.” It was really funny, it was like a bust that meeting. So, we were sitting around now with nothing else to talk about and someone said, “Craig why don’t you show her your penny cartoons?” I had them on a reel, on a VHS little sample, and on the front of that were Cirimele 20
two Arnold Claymation shorts and Mary really liked that. She asks, “What’s this Arnold thing?”.
And I responded with, (shrugs) “It’s a thing I made.” I showed them the comics and one particular drawing, she was like, “I love this drawing”. It was a panel (of Arnold) and he screams with this giant…scream. And she’s like, “I love this, why don’t we talk about this?” And the other guys were kind of like “Dammit.” We went out in the hall, and she was like “Hey, come back and talk to me more about this idea.” So, when you talk about how something starts that just shows how unexpected and kind of through the back door this was. It wasn’t even my goal to sell her the Arnold show, it just happened to come out of conversation. So that’s the most cas(ual), unexpected way to launch a show. I went back to the next meeting and she said, “What would this show be?” so I did her this drawing (finds the drawing on Instagram). Do you remember this?
J: Oh yeah!
CB: This is, what’s cool about it is its on Xerox paper-it’s ink pen and Prismacolors. So you talk about pitch package, I came in to Mary with this [the drawing].
A: No way!
CB: Yep. “It would be, Arnold lives in a boarding house under a freeway overpass with grandma and grandpa and a bunch of boarders.” That was the pitch. So, when you talk about putting a pitch together, this one was very limited. I would also say that nowadays probably not like that as much, it did seem more like the wild frontier back then. Early ‘90s were very exploratory.
Gerry Laybourne, who was the president of Nick back in those days, was really openminded and progressive and there was money and power. They were this new emerging network and they could make these sweeping new ideas, and nobody was in their way. They said, “Let’s start Cirimele 21
making original Nicktoons.” at the worst time in the history of animation. The end of the ‘80s was…things based on toys, and Gerry was like, “Screw that! Let’s make shows about the world of what kids really want.” Doug, Rugrats, and Ren and Stimpy, which was pure anarchy. They put them on Sunday because no one was really doing anything on Sunday, and they were a hit.
Then they decided, “Let’s try Saturday.” Crushed Saturday. At that time, the networks were giving up on Saturday morning cartoons, and then Nick exploded. So, I got my opportunity at a really great window. I know a lot of your questions were about preparing a pitch, but it really for me was like, “Ehhh how ‘bout this?” Because Mary was looking for shows, it came from more of a place of, “What do you got?”
S: Is it still like that today? When you do pitches now, with connections as an experienced showrunner?
CB: So, here’s the thing. I’ve been in this business for thirty-five years. I just did the math and you would think that, now that I’ve delivered 200 half hours of TV of my own shows and I’ve also worked on other people’s shows. So, you’d think at this point they’d be like, “Well God,
Craig knows what he’s doing,” but it does not happen. You don’t get to go in and go, “I don’t know, here’s my fully thought out show let’s just make it.” No, they (producers) want to give notes forever. It’s like, no matter how much they love you and think that you’re awesome, their job is still to tell you what to change. If I want to pitch a show today, I have to have a pitch ready. And I am much more put together now when I come in to talk about something. Now, to make a pitch I would probably have a two page or so description of the overall description of the series. I would then have the main characters, and then try to keep it simple. Let’s see- four or five characters…um, a drawing of each and a paragraph of description. And a couple other Cirimele 22
pieces of art where, “This show looks like this”. And that’s pretty minimal. Wouldn’t you say
Jerry, for a pitch?
J: Yeah, bare minimum there.
CB: And, it also kind of leaves room for them to add their brilliance because they expect to, they want to. They want to feel like they helped grow this. I try to come at it pretty light and expect that there will be many conversations and it will grow from kind of what they need and what I’m bringing.
A: So, when you do a pitch for an educational show like with Ready Jet Go and Dinosaur Train, do you put that educational information in the pitch as well?
CB: Like, the original pitch can be really casual. It can be like this with Linda and Brad
(producers at PBS) and you’re sitting around with maybe a couple other people.
A: Wait, really????
CB: Yeah, there’ll be a couple people who will listen in to find out what’s going on and I would have, “There’s Jet and Sydney and Jet’s from Bortron 7 and the whole gag is they’ve come to
Earth and they think it’s fantastic and his parents are intergalactic travel writers. They’ve stopped here because they’ve found this planet and they want to write about it. And the kids are science kids naturally because they live in a science town where they have deep space telescopes.”
Everyone is a scientist, and everything is in place for them to talk about science. But you know they’re going to be like, “Well what is our curriculum?” Well, it’s astronomy, and earth science and we’ll approach it in the “following ways”, and you give them a couple of story ideas. Oh yeah, that’s another thing that your pitch might have is- I like to do five or six fat paragraphs that Cirimele 23
are little story ideas. Because the story ideas reveal character. “When Sean loses his something or another, he’s all upset.” And so that reveals what the show is by giving them examples of what’s in the story. And they’re going to want to know that. Their first question is going to be,
“How can you make this a series? What happens in Season 2?” And then, because PBS- they really will require curriculum, they’ll be like, “Okay, we like this- let’s develop this. We now are hiring you to develop this show for us, we want a real proper show bible now.” So, the proper show bible is more of a document, and that includes your curriculum goals. You go out and hire, in Jets case, we have Amy Meissner- an astronomer at JPL.
A: I was wondering how that works.
CB: At Dinosaur Train, we have Scott Sampson the paleontologist who goes out and digs up dinosaurs. And that’s…he’s our expert. And you also have a second expert who’s the curriculum expert. So, you have someone who takes that science and figures out how to sell it to four year olds.
S and A: Ohhhhhhhhh.
CB: So those two characters are required. The other thing that’s interesting about PBS is, they want to come out with the full package. They want the show, the website with games and cool interactivity, and so on like- what’s your whole outreach plan, what do parent’s look up when they want to find out about the show? So, with Arnold it’s so old now that I’m not having to go over to the digital people and it’s like, “What’s up with the Arnold website?” But PBS would not come out with a new show without all of that in place. Everything ready. In fact, they’ll premiere the show on TV a couple months after the website is open and has been streaming those first episodes. So that sounds even counterintuitive like, “Wait why would people go to the premiere Cirimele 24
when they’ve already screened it for two months?” And they said it actually drives people to the premiere.
A: Woah. I would think it would be the opposite.
CB: Who knew?
S: Yeah!
CB: And the digital department at PBS is bigger than the programming department. Kids go to
PBSkids.org to find the shows online more than they watch it on TV. So, the tail is kind of wagging the dog and it makes any creative person nervous because you go, “God are we finally going to get to a point where it’s, you know here’s Pinky and Dinky and you just go online and play their games and you don’t need shows.”
A: That’s really scary!
CB: But you know I always ask them that every year, “Is that where we’re going?” And they’re like “Nah, nah, nah you get to keep making shows don’t worry.” But as storytellers, we don’t want to stop making shows. We want to make shows forever. Games are cool. Toys are awesome, I love the idea of little action figures and all that shit. But you could picture that finally being the only thing. Look at the way kids are now, kids want to watch their content here (the phone) than to wait until five o’clock on Friday. They’re more likely to immediately find that on
YouTube.
Jerry: And content is getting much shorter and shorter. We used to do these epic twenty-two minute cartoons- Rugrats, Arnold. And now it’s like well, eleven minutes is too much.
CB: Yes exactly. Now it’s even at six minutes, and online it’s three to five minutes. Cirimele 25
A: Oh man!
CB: But I mean, if you’re looking around and find a little animated thing even you are like, “Oh ten minutes…maybe?”
A: True.
CB: Three minutes? Okay! I’ll sit and watch it. So, you can feel everything shrinking down in size and in length.
A: What about when it comes to making connections in the industry? How reliable is that on getting a career in pitching?
Jerry: So, me personally speaking is you network. You find the right careers as you guys move forward. You’ll have these opportunities that will just be like, “Wow it’s all falling in place.”
You know things come together but, also maintaining the trust and maintaining just a general relationship with other people.
CB: Kind of with everybody.
Jerry: Yeah, it’s like a whole team effort by everybody.
CB: It’s a small town, you’ll always see everybody again and again. Always make things end well if you can. A couple of key people will make everything. Those key things start everything else. You’ll realize, “Wow it’s because I met so and so that I met everybody else.”
Jerry: Yeah just like, don’t give up, stay positive. You guys are amazing artists and creators you have great stories and characters and now in this day and age where we’re at, its just maintaining Cirimele 26
those relationships and networking and just forging your vision and your stories. You know putting them together and collaborating with other students.
A and S: Awww!
CB: Yeah, those first jobs are great too. We know and are friends with most of those people.
Jerry: Yeah everybody.
CB: And it was fun crewing up on Arnold, the twenty somethings who were all on that team- those are lifelong friendships on that team. All those people who did stuff together, they do stuff together now.
A: So where should we start off if we’re looking to creating a show?
CB: I think getting that script piece training in that area is really good. So being a writer’s assistant or a script coordinator I think. A lot of shows here, there’s a lot of storyboard driven shows now. I don’t know it might be a thing of the past but, the Fox primetime shows are all script driven so, you know, it’s not irrelevant. But I really liked getting at it from that point of view. I liked that you work in one area and then you work in another, and you realize you’re picking up different pieces that are all going to inform each other. I traveled for a while, the travel informed me, and it didn’t have anything to do with animation. Look at what they do for fun and what’s on their TV. And it gives you that kind of relativity that I think informs all creative work. You’re trying to tell a story basically and any of these mediums, whether you’re making a comic book or a live action TV show or a cartoon, I think it’s all sub-communicating some kind of storytelling. A broader life experience informs that. I did four years in art school, then two years in Portland, and the one year I did study abroad. After, I ended up at college in Cirimele 27
Washington. That year weirded me out, that year in Italy completely derailed me. I didn’t know what to think about anything after that because I had kind of this amazing kind of vagabond experience in Italy. I think about that still to this day. It doesn’t have anything to do with
Hey!Arnold. At the same time, I think you get in some situations that you don’t know what the hell is going on. It’s really good for your head. It has nothing to do with what you’re studying and yet it is what you’re studying. It’s like…life university.
(Collective laughing)
CB: And so, nothing is irrelevant you know what I mean? If you’re taking some class, maybe that’ll inform you in some way or form.
A: I need to get out of the lab.
CB: (Laugh) Yeah exactly! When you’re in that bubble trying to work on something or finish something, maybe a three-day trip you take somewhere is just as important as the lab time. I really now try to get out of the bubble all the time. Because we just put our heads down and work all the time.
A: After you have your show picked up, basically…what happens next?
CB: Oh right! They’re all over it. No matter where you are, they’re going to be very actively involved with your work. Like, they’ll assign an executive to your show. Once it goes to series, a current series person who wants to see all of your writing. Some shows like Spongebob and
Rocko are storyboard driven, there’s writers but they’re really only responsible to write like a page or two premise. And then the board team writes it as they flesh out the story. Arnold we write a script, it goes through a bunch of drafts that the network sees, we record it with the Cirimele 28
actors. Then we cut the dialogue down to a ten-minute track for an eleven-minute show that we call the “radio play”, so people could listen to it and hear what happens in the story. Then I give it to the board team. And then they draw it. So, you could argue that the board artists don’t have as much fun as they would on Rocko or Ren and Stimpy or Spongebob. But I think it’s totally fun, everybody is collaborating and adding. So, from the minute you get a series, they’re reading your scripts. You’re actually going to them and saying, here’s the first ten things we want to write. And they might go, “No I hate all of these.”
A and S: Noo!
CB: Yeah, and come back! Or they might go, “I like nine of the ten.” And the amazing thing about the PBS shows is…first order is thirty half hours. Ready Jet Go we made about forty half hours in about two years.
A: Oh my Lord.
CB: And um, that’s eighty “elevens”. And some might be specials so that’s two more. Arnold had- we started every season with one special a season. A two parter and then later, third season we went nuts and we had three half hours. There were twenty a year. But yeah, as soon as it starts they’re really involved. They want to see everything. For a while they wanted to approve-
God remember the first season they wanted to approve every piece.
Jerry: Yeah, every piece of art.
A and S: Really?
CB: Yeah and so, after a while it gets better. Where you get much more of kind of a rubber stamp. On the PBS thing it flipped, it was the other way around. The first season of Jet they were Cirimele 29
like, “Love it!” about almost everything. They would look at animatics and there was nothing, no notes. This season we got approached by a government called “Ready to Learn” a part of the department of education. And that had a whole new layer of oversight. So, season two was hard on Jet and season one was easy. That was kind of a bummer. So, things change a lot, and Nick now is more cautious by far than they were. Now it’s like, the first premiere they’re looking at those numbers like, “How we doing?” Everything is so much scarier now. Arnold had this really nice, really loving and accepting vibe when we started. The other thing too, Nick was being run by all women- it was very progressive. In that environment, I was given tons of rope. That, I don’t think you could even replicate that now. I kind of feel like I had a super lucky, great start and each step of the way. It’s pretty hard to duplicate, it’s not a typical way into the business at all.
A: It’s still a fantastic story.
CB: Right? And now what’s cool is now that all these shows are being me it’s like, “Well yeah, do what I say,” and they still are like, “Well here’s our notes”. I get to do everything, it’s really fun, everybody’s happy but they still give you a bunch of notes and it still will drive you crazy.
But it’s fine, everyone wants to do this and I mean we do this because we love doing this, nobody’s making us do this we’re doing it because we adore cartoon making.
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III. Research Validation
A. Concept Creation
After gathering research from analyzing the different successful education shows, I was able to move on to phase two of my thesis. Taking the guidelines created from this research allowed me to focus on key aspects that would be incorporated into an educational television show. This and the information collected from Craig Bartlett’s interview opened up a view of pitch bibles and educational television that is not common to the public artist. Taking this information and breaking it down, I then spent my time executing it in the form of a pitch. Through talks with my thesis advisor and inspiration through my adolescence growing up in the forest, I slowly created the concept of an educational show based on the United States National Parks. The concepts and content surrounding the show were discussed at length, leading to a long journey that added up to the finished pitch bible.
Through the research I have collected, I have drawn up five main points that must go into an educational television show in order for it to maintain the attention span of a young audience.
Through the Children’s Television Workshop in designing a model for Sesame Street- it was discovered that children pay attention to fleeting moments of set action in a show. Elements that capture this small window of attention contains surprise humor, slapstick humor, adult errors, and silly word play. Factors like fast visuals, lively music, repetition and appealing characters are also key elements. I will title the humor and factors together as the “CTW elements”. The second piece is child interactivity as shown in Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Accurate representation of race and gender, entertaining simplified curriculum from school lesson standards, and promoting questioning methods acts as the other three. For future reference in the thesis, I will call these the Cirimele 31
“Five Factors of Educational Television” or the “Five Factors” for short. Incorporating these elements into a pitch proved to be more difficult than I had originally thought, as each action and character design needed to keep those five factors in mind. Craig Bartlett’s interview had eased my mind in certain areas as he described his process pitching to PBS. He had stated that when pitching, the curriculum is less important while the main focus is on the creation of the concepts.
So, keeping his words and the “Five Factors” in mind, I began to brainstorm what my pitch bible would be.
When I first decided to create a pitch bible, I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to work on.
I had different ideas in my head- moving towards astronomy and teaching about deep space and at one point even discussing different artists and history. I had always been inspired by nature in my artwork and had a natural love of the forest, so science was also an idea. I didn’t solidify my subject matter until I had taken a summer trip to Utah in the summer of 2017, the pictures of the trip shown on the next page serving as my inspiration board for future concept work. I had lived right outside of Yosemite National Park my entire life and had always appreciated it, but exploring more parks made me realize just how much was out there. It was that epiphany that struck a chord with me. As I ventured through the parks, I stopped at the Grand Canyon and was hit with this need to know more. And as I read the plaques with paragraphs and paragraphs of information, I realized just how many people skipped over them. Many people I observed walked up to the edge of the canyon, took selfies, and moved on. And it astounded me that this rich history and vast beauty could go unseen. This was the catalyst that pushed my inspiration to do a television show on the National Parks. I aim to show that beauty and complex history that comes with the parks to bring about a level of awareness as to just how special they are…and how delicate they can be. Cirimele 32
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Now that I had my topic, it was time to delve into the concept. As I spoke with my thesis advisor about what to do, it started off much different than it is now. Parks began as a purely documentary based show, with a traditional host and set amount of information that would be discussed in each episode. It was more about the history of the parks, using characters to speak about that history. But as we talked about it more and more, we realized that in order to keep the
“Five Factors” in mind, the show could not be traditional like those on National Geographic. I knew there had to be a level of education, focusing on the history of the parks from creation to modern day, but the amount of curriculum that would be present throughout each episode became a challenge. As weeks went on, the story changed more and more- until one bit of information opened up new doors for me. One of my teachers had seen my work and offered a bit of advice. They suggested that the show, instead of being documentary style with a formal host, would actually have an overarching story. “It would be like a hiking trail, the audience is going on a journey and experiencing an adventure with the characters,” he told me. And with that something clicked. The show changed into an episode by episode adventure where the characters physically go back in time and interact with that specific parks key historical figures and major points. Along with this change in style came a physical change, as seen on the next page of concepts. My own artwork began to change from more detailed and incorporating live action, to flatter cartoony images with thick outlines and a naturalistic painted background style. Using a bright style and compelling story, I had a check mark on the CTW elements part of the “Five
Factors”.
Now that I had the general concept for Parks, it was time to move on to the heart of the show- characters. I specifically chose to present my characters as animals in this show for a few different reasons. For one it presents an ambiguous tone for the show, and also appeals to a mass Cirimele 34
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audience. I also chose them because I liked the idea of different animals presenting themselves as the main park rangers in different locations. Buffalo in the Grand Tetons, or Grizzly Bears in
Alaska for example. This presented a fun range of character design and even can add to the curriculum in that animals specific to a park are portrayed and remembered as characters, not just another bit of information. When it came to the host of my show, I had originally intended on creating a character around Smokey Bear- a big spokesperson for safety in the National Parks.
However, Smokey Bear is already seen as a major character of the parks, and I wanted to bring in a new face of the National Parks specifically for this show with Smokey Bear overseeing.
Hunter, a grey wolf, became that face. I chose Hunter as a host specifically for the fact that wolves or some form of canines are seen throughout most of the National Parks. The wolf is also very similar to that of a dog, a familiar and welcoming animal in character design that speaks of excitement, purity, and comfort. Playing off of that factor, I made Hunter’s personality very similar to that of a dog, his genuine personality and puppy like excitement makes him a positive, knowledgeable adult figure of Parks.
When it comes to the “Five Factors”, gender and representation is insanely important in character design. So, to cater to a young audience that responds to a young voice- I created
Moxie and Oliver. These two characters cater to both female and male sides of the spectrum, but play different roles. The two are complete opposites and create conflict within the story, but also act as lessons for the audience to learn from. Moxie is a strong female character that can be seen as aggressive and “down in the dirt” rowdy. She thrives in the STEM world and promotes that to young girls. Her adventurous character concept however also plays into the curriculum- as she can be seen as a model for being exploratory while learning to be safe within the parks. Oliver is the complete opposite. He is representative of those who may not be comfortable with the Cirimele 36
outdoors, his gentle soul going against the idea of aggressive masculinity. He plays into the curriculum as well as he acts as the bookworm, wanting to know more about the history of the parks while realizing that with the right tools and equipment the parks are safe and not as
“dangerous” as they seem. Addressing gender norms and representation in Parks allows another of the “Five Factors” to be explored and used to its fullest extent.
As an antagonist, I knew there would need to be a force to bring conflict to the main characters that would also act as a humorous outlet for children to enjoy. Tycoon is a character I created that balances the idea of a kids show villain being dangerous yet, not taken very seriously. With the most unassuming character design, his small stature and chicken origin allows him to be slightly ridiculous. This combined with his car salesman and certain political figure-based design allows a caricature of a villain more than anything else. Yet his large temper allows him to fight against his size. Tycoon’s need to turn the National Parks into parking lots can be used as a goofy and humorous tactic, but it in reality contrasts a very serious social situation that is happening in modern times. Contemporary issues like the parks being threatened to shrink in size for land reflects in this show and although it is presented in a light matter, it still covers a topic that is important to address when it comes to environmental issues. That incorporation about curriculum in environmental safety checks off yet another of the “Five
Factors”.
Choosing to go back in time to explore the parks is a very important factor when it comes to lesson learning. In allowing this form of travel, the characters in the story can go anywhere in time in order to discover information about the parks- be it as far back as the dinosaur times or as recent as a few days ago when the current Yosemite bark beetle infestation felled a significant Cirimele 37
tree. In order to present a reason to go back in time, I have created the concept of “keystones”- items specific to each National Park that is considered the “heart” of the park. In order to
“unlock” all the information about the National Parks- which is the main goal of the trio- a keystone must be found in each park. It can be big, small, organic, or inorganic- and at any point in history. It isn’t necessarily considered where the specific park started, but must be the biggest, if not most important factor in the park’s creation. The General Grant tree sapling in King’s
Canyon National Park is a good example. Keystones are used specifically as a mode for presenting history and science, whatever curriculum is presented in the show at the time. In discovering that, the characters go on a journey of learning naturally about history and science at the same time. Talking with the Native people of Mesa Verde to find a keystone leads to an adventure, while also teaching about the culture of the people at the time. In this the “Five
Factor” idea of set curriculum is slightly changed, in that it does not present hard facts- but develops naturally and visually throughout the show.
Overall the process of creating Parks presented a fun and innovative way of exploring the
“Five Factors” found in my research of past successful shows. Focusing on the National Parks in my show presents a strong area of study when it comes to science and history for curriculum, and the story allows for a smooth, humorous, and interactive space to keep young children entertained. It has a lighthearted tone, but is unafraid to talk about key points in modern times that are very serious when it comes to conserving the parks and their surrounding environments.
It promotes representation and gender strengths, while taking the audience on an adventure that inspires motivation to go out and explore. Through the process of changing the show, its style, and its content- Parks presents a strong pitch bible for an educational television program that can be used as a reference for future show creation. Cirimele 38
IV. The Pitch
“Parks”
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A grey wolf with the excitement of a puppy, Hunter is the go to Expert on Everything National Parks. He is the host of the documentary show and acts as Moxie and Oliver’s Summer camp leader. Hunter is an encyclopedia of information. He makes sure to personally see that everyone around him knows how cool the parks are, even when some parts might not be. Lanky and goofy, but pure at heart- hunter is a spirit that can never be broken and leads the way on the groups’ adventures with a smile that never fails. Cirimele 41
AS adventurous as she is reckless, Moxie is one doe that loves to have fun, And by that she means getting outdoors and rolling around in the mud. The messier the better! But Moxie’s spirit tends to get her into trouble and Hunter has a lot on his hands as the doe will often run into the forest without warning- dragging Oliver with her. But this summer, Moxie must learn that safety and adventure often go hand in hand.
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Moxie’s complete opposite, Oliver is a bit too timid to be a mountain lion. A germaphobe in the woods does not mix well and Oliver spends much of his time avoiding the dirt and bugs and leaves and…generic grossness. Always worried about his health, this young cub is never far from his inhaler and big spray. He and Hunter often clash, but as Oliver begins to explore more and more he begins to realize his passion for protecting nature and its natural environment.
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A trio of misfits with vastly different opinions- Hunter, moxie, and Oliver must learn to work together in order to enjoy the summer and learn about the national parks. Even though they have their differences, the three manage to form a strong bond and become somewhat of a weird family. Each learns from the other, and through it all- the bickering, the laughs, the tears, they always have each other. Is there really any other option after being squished into a small rv on the road for long hours at a time?
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As Hunter and the kids travel cross country, their main goal is to look for and protect the heart of the National Parks- otherwise known as keystones. Using hunter’s special necklace, the group can leap back in time to explore the secrets of the keystones- unlimited information about the keystone’s park and how it was created. There is a park legend that says that Once all 59 keystones are “unlocked”- special secret information never before heard about the parks could be shared…but what could that secret be? Cirimele 45
Keystones come in all different shapes and sizes depending on the park- be it as small as a sapling, or as big as the opening to a volcano. Each keystone is the “heart” of its individual national park- but that could mean different things. Whether the keystone is what started the park, what helped make it famous, or what helps its environment stay alive- Keystones are crucial items when it comes to the survival of the parks. Cirimele 46
Picture miles upon miles of nothing but glistening black pavement. This is tycoon’s ultimate dream. A very formal chicken with quite a temper, tycoon wants nothing more than to destroy the national parks and turn the land into beautiful, sleek parking lots. He plans to accomplish this by finding the keystones and destroying them. No keystone means no park, which means free land to bulldoze! Tycoon is dangerous but he isn’t the smartest chicken in the coop- so he must follow the trio in order to grab the keystones. But will he succeed in his goal? Or will hunter and the group stop him? Cirimele 47
As hunter, moxie, and Oliver delve further into their journey, their eagerness to learn mixes with the dangers of protecting the keystones from tycoon’s wrath. The more they travel, the more they discover as they climb mountains, kayak rivers, and run into familiar historical faces. John muir is quite a humorous goat, apparently. All the while the group learns about the wonders of the national parks and why it is so important to protect them. Cirimele 48
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Various adventures showcase the parks in different ways- as seen in the fire-fall comic. Each episode will focus on one park- a lesson full of geography, science, and history as the characters explore. Different animals are seen in different parks, and rangers are always ready and able to help teach about their homes to the group. Overall, “Parks” is a story about history, appreciation of nature, and a family love that forms as a result. Cirimele 52
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V. Conclusion
The overall process that came with this thesis was similar to that of a trek on a difficult trail. There were ups and downs, and some points where I just felt like I wasn’t going to make it.
But, as with the end of every hike, the payoff was worth it. Because of the research I had done, I now am able to understand the basis of a successful educational television show. Thanks to the interview I performed, I am prepared for the process of pitching and how the different networks operate. And in creating Parks, I have discovered a story that I am passionate about and am eager to share. To promote educational television making to future artists, and to promote the idea that educational television can be more widespread in media today.
Creating a show is all about concept, and through humorous elements, bright visuals, interactivity, accurate gender and representation, and a desire to instill questioning in young audiences- a successful educational topic can be addressed. Parks utilizes these “Five Factors” in every way possible. Through its characters, its episode structure, and its historical content- it seeks to match these guidelines and provide a structure for prospective pitching artists to look towards. I personally had a lot of fun discovering the world of Parks- developing a new story and a new mindset when it comes to style and imagery that is now unique to me as an artist. It was quite a challenge to get into in the beginning, but once I kept the guidelines in mind and let the show evolve naturally- it became an entity that I am now emotionally attached to.
Educational television has the ability to share information directly an audience. It can cover difficult topics while still staying lighthearted and instill in young groups the desire to know more and possibly pursue academic careers in the future. Parks promotes a love of the Cirimele 54
natural beauty of the world around us, and encourages groups to go out and further explore the fifty nine National Parks our country proudly holds.
The next step from here for me personally is to take what I have learned and refine what I have created. I plan on continuing my work on Parks and am currently working on a script for the first pilot episode. I am also putting together a small animation after working with a composer, Issac Kang, from the music department at CSULB. Together we have created a theme song for the show, that I will animate to and have ready to present with the pitch over the summer. Pitching to PBS and the National Parks is the next solid move after getting the pilot finished. Through a distributor studio- one that makes shows in house- I can look towards getting executive approval. Funding from the National Parks may be difficult because of current financial situations with the state- but I have spoken with teachers about potentially working through a Kickstarter to gain interest as well. Part of pitching is networking and putting that creative content out there, so the next year for me is going to be presenting Parks in every manner, shape, and form and utilize my research as a strong point in picking up the show.
Overall, this thesis was a wonderful way into discovering what makes an educational television show successful. Placing an emphasis on the ability of educational television to persuade and inspire and audience motivates artists to push for pitching the genre to studios.
Using Parks as a guideline for those interested in pitching allows a set criteria and example to utilize. Through this promotion of pitching educational television shows and understanding what makes it successful- media can spread the idea of this genre into other mediums such as movies, websites, apps, and more. A vast majority of people take in information visually at a young age, art serves as that medium to control and project that information. It is a heavy responsibility, but Cirimele 55
through studying what has worked in the past and innovating it towards the future can create a stronger sense of learning and passion for education. With Parks, I hope to engage my audience and inspire their curiosity. I hope to encourage young audiences and anyone who views it to learn from the show and then go out and explore the areas that have been talked about. Parks aims to emphasize the importance of our National Parks and what they mean to us. We as human beings have a strong footprint on the world, and it is up to us to decide whether that footprint be damaging or an act of conserving and preservation as we look to these natural wonders. They were here before us, and will still be here long after. So it is all we can do to study their grace and protect them as much as we can.
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VI. Works Cited
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Dotson, W. H., Rasmussen, E. E., Shafer, A., Colwell, M., Densley, R. L., Brewer, A. T., . . .
Martinez, L. A. (2016, August). Evaluating the Ability of the PBS Children’s Show
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood to Teach Skills to Two Young Children with Autism
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Farland-Smith, D., & Chao, T. (2017). What Are My Children Watching? Analyzing the
Scientific & Mathematical Questions of Preschool Television Shows Using Process
Skills. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from
http://file.scirp.org/pdf/CE_2017052413460530.pdf
Fisch, S. M., & Truglio, R. T. (2011). G Is for Growing Thirty Years of Research on Children
and Sesame Street. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Fisch, S. M. (2014). Childrens Learning From Educational Television Sesame Street and
Beyond. New York, NY: Routledge.
Fitzsimmons, J. M. (2013). Dinosaur Train. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from
http://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/cfn/index.php/cfn/article/viewFile/1426/1419
Craig Bartlett [Personal interview]. (2017, March 3). Cirimele 57
Ryan, E. (2010, March). Dora the Explorer: Empowering Preschoolers, Girls, and Latinas
Retrieved November 26, 2017, from
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Preschoolers_Girls_and_Latinas
Yusop, F. D. (2012). Curriculum and design analysis of a mathematics-based educational
television program: a case study of Cyberchase animated television series. The Malaysian
Online Journal of Educational Technology,1(2), 1-18. Retrieved November 26, 2017,
from http://www.mojet.net/frontend/articles/pdf/v01i02/v01i02-02.pdf