9 Story Media Group announced an agreement with King Bert Productions to develop and co-produce The World’s Worst Children, based on children’s books written by David Walliams. The new 2D animated series will be produced by King Bert Productions and 9 Story Media Group’s animation studio Brown Bag Films. 9 Story Distribution International will hold worldwide distribution rights, along with international merchandising and licensing rights to be run by 9 Story Brands.

“The World’s Worst Children is a collection of extremely funny stories to suit all ages, and bringing these characters into the fold is a bit of a dream come true for the studio,” said 9 Story SVP business development Alix Wiseman. “We’re thrilled to be working with the hugely talented David Walliams and his production company King Bert Productions to spread his infectious brand of humour in this new animated series.”

The World’s Worst Children has been called “a triumphant mix of wit and warmth” by Telegraph Books of the Year and “Ridiculously over-the-top and utterly delightful” by The Spectator. The first book in the series was published in 2016 with additional releases in 2017 and 2018, with each release becoming a number-one bestselling UK title.

“9 Story is equally as passionate about this series as we are, and working with them to tell these hilarious stories in a new way is going to be incredible. The World’s Worst Children is the perfect collection of stories to translate into animation, and with this extremely powerful partnership we know we’re going to deliver a series that kids will love,” said King Bert Productions managing director Jo Sargent.

The World’s Worst Children series is a 52 x 11 minutes animated sketch show, aimed at six to 11 year olds, and in a sneaky way, everyone else too. Walliams reluctantly invites us to meet The World’s Worst Children, a collection of the worst-behaved, foulest-smelling, grubbiest kids you will ever meet! Just as with the books, the series will tell the extra-ordinary and charmingly repulsive stories of the children who, against our better judgement, we will want to see again and again.

“I’m very excited to be working with 9 Story and Brown Bag Films to bring The World’s Worst Children to life as an animated series. Their commitment to storytelling and the quality of their productions is best-in-class, and I look forward to bringing our passions together to create something magical for audiences worldwide,” said Walliams.

Often referred to as a modern-day Roald Dahl, Walliams is one of the worlds most talented and funny children’s authors. He became the first children’s writer to ever celebrate 140 weeks at number one. Thirty million copies of his books have been sold globally, in 53 languages. In addition to being a bestselling author, he is a comedian, a television writer and actor (Little Britain, Come Fly With Me) and a well-known television personality (Britain’s Got Talent). In 2017 he was awarded an Order of the British Empire for his services to charity and the arts.

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Ericsson ConsumerLab has recently launched a report highlighting the future of gaming, where augmented reality (AR) holds a place which would enable the next level of immersive gaming. The transformation of technology has evolved consumer choice of media habits. New devices and services enable consumers to rapidly shift their expectations and behaviours. The way entertainment is accessed, consumed and purchased, has changed dramatically in a short period.

Gaming industry is spreading its wings bigger than ever, the affordability of smart phone and mobile data has driven the growth of mobile gaming. Now it makes up 26 per cent of all media consumption hours. Even if today’s teenagers spend more time gaming, they no longer think it is as important as the importance now peaks with 25 to 34-year-olds.

The most invested video gamers can be found in the extreme multi-gamer segment. They play video games across all platforms and, while they make up only 10 per cent of the population, still account for almost half of all the time spent on video gaming. With the advent of AR, this can hopefully change, since 36 per cent of non-gamers expressed their interest in AR gaming. This is significant, given that no less than 23 per cent are non-gamers.

Big screen centrics spend a significant portion of their total gaming time on PC and TV screen. Mobile centrics mostly play games on a mobile device. Time killers play significantly fewer games and play on smartphones, mainly to pass time. Social centrics also play a lot less than the extreme multi gamers, but their gaming takes place across several devices, and playing games with others is much more important to them. Finally, Light Gamers stand for a marginal portion of total gaming, and this segment seldom plays more than a single game.

By 2023, 54 per cent of respondents are expected to play smartphone games every week – an increase of more than 12 per cent since 2013. Similarly, weekly tablet gaming is expected to reach 37 per cent, an increase of 16 per cent. Console gaming will remain largely unchanged, and only the PC will lose traction, shrinking to 46 per cent, which is a decrease of eight per cent. Although we can only guess which mobile platforms will be mainstream in 2023, consumers in our qualitative studies point to glasses using AR as the most expected development. Where people play their video games is changing too. Smartphones have pushed gaming outside of bedrooms and living rooms. Consumers now play games everywhere, as can be seen in. In particular, gaming while commuting is something that one in five gamers do on a weekly basis. However, the majority of all gaming still occurs at home, particularly during the evening and night.

The smartphone has already overtaken the PC as the main gaming device when measured by reach. According to consumers’ own estimates, the foothold of mobile gaming platforms will increase whereas fixed platforms will decrease.

Overall, video gaming is becoming more and more mainstream. What was once thought to be the sole province of teenage boys has today become a hobby shared across age groups and genders.

AR scenario in gaming

Pokémon Go is still the second highest grossing smartphone game in the world and also increased its revenue in 2018 compared to the previous year by 35 per cent. Overall, mobile AR software is estimated to generate more revenue than VR by 2021.

Currently, AR gamers are both intrigued by the promises of AR and disappointed by the delivery. Almost four out of 10 AR gamers agree that AR gaming will be more interesting with better and more immersive games, access to lower-cost AR glasses and better batteries. Almost six out of ten AR gamers list immersive experience as a key driver for playing AR gamers.

AR looks set to become a key component of mainstream entertainment, with 48 per cent of all consumers saying they will use AR across different media types, including gaming, in the next 5 years. Interestingly, seven out of ten AR gamers think that AR opens up a totally new video gaming experience, and almost as many agree that it will change how video games are played in the future.

AR gaming is interesting to two out of three respondents (66 per cent), who want to play not only to at home, but also when out and about. However, for an AR gaming revolution to happen, there are several essential criteria that need to be fulfilled.

The current platforms of AR gaming, using a smartphone or tablet as a way to experience the augmented world, will not be acceptable for much longer. In fact, one in three AR gamers say holding a mobile device is not good enough for AR gaming. Consumers also complain about the limitations in the field of view. This paradox, where gamers reject mobile phones, but embrace mobility, could be solved with AR glasses that are affordable and look like normal glasses, so that people feel they can wear them in public without causing a scene.

In the years to come, social gaming will continue to grow. Just under one quarter of PC and game console gamers say that they play more multiplayer games today than they did five years ago. Looking forward, 20 per cent believe they will play more multiplayer games in the next five years.

Is AR the next level of gaming?

Given that three out of four gamers are interested in AR gaming and one in three non-gamers also show interest, pronouncing AR as the next level of gaming might be too simplistic. It is true that AR could potentially return gamers to the immersive experience they might have lost with today’s comparatively simple mobile games, especially if AR glasses become a reality. But maybe the key to understanding what will happen lies in the increasing overlap between gaming and other activities in AR.

Although AR is part of the future of gaming, gaming is not the only future for AR. When multiplayer AR games move out into our physical surroundings and persistent digital objects of various kinds start appearing all around us, the whole world becomes a potential game platform while remaining the place for other activity as well. In that sense, AR might be the next level of everyday life and not just the next level of gaming.

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Cancer@Work, a French association, has launched Unstoppable Résumé, an interactive site designed to help cancer patients find their place in the professional world. In 2018 Cancer@Work ran a campaign launching “Fighting Cancer” as a Linkedin skill. Now former patients can create their specially designed Linkedin profile online at unstoppableresume.com.

Many recruiting companies are using ATS software (Applicant Tracking System) to digitally analyse CVs as they come in.  They are able to cross reference dates or ranges of experiences and search for specific keywords, quickly excluding those that contain a period of inactivity like a recovery period. For people affected by cancer, finding work becomes extremely complicated because of the blank space left by the disease on their CV.

By connecting on unstoppableresume.com with their Linkedin account, cancer patients can automatically generate a CV that transforms this blank space that could exclude them from the process into a strength. This period is filled with a text that contains the skills they developed during their fight against cancer. Written in white on white, this text, invisible to the naked eye, allows CVs generated via the platform to pass through the filters of recruiters’ software. The Unstoppable Résumé is therefore a great tool to help cancer patients get the interviews they deserve.

Key Figures for France

1000 new people are diagnosed with cancer in France every day.
40% of the sick are in active employment when they are diagnosed.
30% of the sick have lost or quit their job because of their illness.
70% of cancer patients can’t find work two years after being diagnosed.

Credits

The Unstoppable Resume campaign was developed at FamousGrey Paris by executive creative directors Romain Repellin and Régis Boulanger, copywriter Jean Estauver, art director Bertille Vermot, copywriter Alexandre Dufayet, producer Adam Araujo, business director Laurence Cormier, managing director Bénédicte Muller, planning director Guillaume Bilheude, planner Pucas Scotti, account supervisor Laurence Cormier, account manager Lucie Latrobe, working with Cancer@Work marketing team Anne-Sophie Tuszynski, Nathalie Presson and Jeanne Laversin.

Filming was shot by director of photography François-Xavier Repellin and cameraman Florian Henry.

Sound and music were produced at Lamaisondeproduction.

Post production and animation were by Olivier Caunes.

The interactive site was produced by web designer Grégoire Mirandel
and website developer Fabien Clerc.

In a bid to showcase the technological leaps and strides made by the team and interact with the abiding end-user base present in the audience, the leading creative software developer Foundry’s annual roadshow opened with a grand welcome address by their representatives; (Head of Sales EMIA) Gary Buyers and (Chief Engineering Officer) Phil Parsonage who laid out the theme of the event at Mumbai’s Balgandharvas Rangmandir.

Playing host to a slate of VFX stalwarts and technology experts, Foundry Roadshow event brought under one roof linchpins of the industry featuring the top VFX supervisors from Oscar-winning studios down to the brand representatives of companies like Lenovo.

Foundry head of sales EMIA Gary Buyers said, “The thing that struck me today and strikes me every time I go and see customers is whether you are one of the massive companies that or someone who uses some of our individual offerings. You are all tied together by the same thing. And after 15 years in this business, it’s still the thing that gets me excited. You are all excited about the quality of the image you are all excited about the tools enabling a creative process. When the tools kind of get out of your way for you to make the images you want to make so right from the big companies down to the person starting out with our non-commercial nuke. You all want the same thing from us. And that’s really inspiring for us getting up in the morning.”

Outlining the history of their brand and acquisitions, Lenovo and workstations’ business development manager Vimal Panchal presented the forthcoming versions of their rendering and processing technology and their unique offline diagnostic tool aimed at smoothening the industry workflow.

First Man

Shedding light on the VFX intricacies and complexities of their projects like Venom and the recent Academy Award winner for the best VFX category, First Man, DNeg (Double Negative) head of compositing Praney Agarwal shared, “Released in October 2018, Venom had a count of approximately 1000 shots to be delivered between London, Montreal, Vancouver and Mumbai along with Chennai. India itself was responsible for delivering approximately 200 shots. So when the film came to us, the first question was how to work around with the look of Venom, Venom as a character is inspired by a Gorilla. When we are pushing into a film where he is interacting with humans, It has to be very organic it has to look very human. So the anatomy of a human being had to be incorporated to make it more relatable and emotive. Expressions had to be animated with the help of the link between mouth, teeth and eyes”

Bestowing nuggets of insight on the students in the audience about how he approached the movie Zero which had set a fresh benchmark in the Indian film industry for shrinking the size of the actor Shah Rukh Khan on screen, Redchillies.vfx sr.supervisor Harry Hingorani presented an awe-inspiring scene by scene VFX breakdown. He explained, “we didn’t want to go down the path of face replacement as the audiences are very smart these days and they would’ve figured it out. Having been in the industry for over 25 years, everyone recognizes SRK’s mannerism and behaviour. Thus, we decided to shoot every scene with SRK though, we had a body double, strictly for reference. We had 1600 artists working on this movie, 600 being only from our studio. The reason we had a body double was for reference to give the outsourced studios. Every shot was taken five times: 1st was the master take, 2nd then the pit shots. The 3rd plate was the cover the background /foreground with people, and the final shot was a clean plate in case we missed something and required replacement/cleanup. And finally the chrome ball, which captures 360 degrees of lighting set up and post-production. we could re-simulate the lighting effects to ensure it all looks believable and real. How we made it all look real. In the last plate (regeneration plate) SRK would act keeping his arms stretched out”

Zero

The enlightening presentation by Hingorani was followed by Foundry team’s technical care head Lester Madden’s address on the latest trends, foundry’s software update and the variety of ways in which Nuke and Catana can be employed in creating top-drawer imagery.

The event concluded with an elaborate presentation by Framestore’ CG Supervisor Alan Woods who offered his insights about how their team approached Disney’s landmark project, Mary Poppins Returns.

Foundry show served as a potent illustration of the way storytelling can be enhanced and stunning images can be delivered with the use of visual effects. We hope to witness more such events that reinvigorate the spirit of creativity in storytelling and showcase myriad ways in which technology can help ease the workflow in the AVGC sector.

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The kids genre in India is growing with giant strides, taking pace from 2018, that witnessed an upward spurt in viewership in the kid’s category with the animated IP rush. Big names in the business like Green Gold Animation, Sony YAY!, Discovery Kids, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and others have already made a mark with their slate of IPs and interesting lineup of shows.

The channels focused on children as audience, observing their growing influence on choices, preferences and consumption habits. Fresh debuts for children in the competitive space of TV shows, have actually helped in growing the audience which indicates that more children are opting to watch new programming.

2018 saw a plethora of debuts, such as characters like- Little Singham, KickO, Rudra, Kisna, Guru and Bhole and many others, besides the ongoing game changers- Chhota Bheem, Motu Patlu and so on. But what caught our attention is that, though there are strong female characters in these shows, like Chutki, Pinky, Suparna and others, there’s not a single female protagonist in animated shows created for kids.

Empowerment of women has been the talk of the town for some years now. Women in different sectors are breaking stereotypes, making their presence felt and voices heard in the otherwise male dominated industries. The knowledge of gender equality/equity is best imbibed in children right from their childhood, and shows crafted for them are one of the best ways to do that.

Uttam Pal Singh

Recently, AnimationXpress asked a couple of noted names from the industry about why there are no female leads in the shows made for children. We got mixed views, as one stressed on the business aspect while the other exclaimed that the time has arrived to focus on creating shows specifically for the female/girl viewers.

Discovery Kids head Uttam Pal Singh said at The Content Hub 2019, “It’s not that we are not creating female characters. There are strong female characters like Inspector Kavya, Babli in Little Singham too. But, we have to keep in mind what the kids are watching or want to watch these days. The business is like this, and we have to be aware of it. The audience ratio is 60 per cent boys and 40 per cent girls. We have to cater to that; if it’s male led and female inclusive shows, then we have to provide it. I understand it’s an art form, but we can’t ignore the business aspect of these shows.”

Green Gold Animation founder and CEO Rajiv Chilaka on the other hand, has different views on this. According to him it’s time for the Indian market to embrace and encourage female centric and female led animated shows for all young ages alike.

He mentioned, “I think the time has come. We have been pitching to the channels for the last decade, but somehow they weren’t ready. They felt that the market was not ready to accept it. But we are actually working on a female centric show. Two of them actually. We’re working on the pilot, and hopefully we will see a 2020 release. The dynamics are changing between boy and girl audience. Today we have scope for creating a lot of content for and around girls. And with OTT platforms, it’s even easier. Earlier it was the channels running animated kids shows leading to who was controlling the remotes, but now, days are changing and we have prospects to explore and experiment. Earlier it was 60 per cent [boys] and 40 per cent [girls], now more than 55 per cent of the audience are girls. Moreover, nobody has done any such show earlier so the hunger is more to do it.”

Rajiv Chilaka

The times are changing, so are the women and even the society we live in (well more or less). Given the recent scenario when gender equality and women empowerment hold a lot of importance, we must look into the subtleties and nuances of gender dynamics. We must consider that sex is biological and gender is social, and that any kind/form of strength (physical and verbal) or power is beyond any sex or gender. Equality is not something tangible, but it’s approached in terms of cerebral capabilities (not just physical capabilities) and how we uphold it. As children/kids are the future generation who are going to shape the world and how we see it, in the coming days; it’s our responsibility to empower them with positive thoughts, broader mind and the power to analyse any situation being gender neutral. 

Since the medium of entertainment can play a vital role in triggering the sentiment, we are sure that broadcasters and animation studios will set up a slate of amazing and diverse characters for the coming generation. 

So, as the world celebrates International Women’s Day today, let’s celebrate them as they are. 

Keep heads up, ladies! Your time is here!

Inspector Kavya sketch from ‘Little Singham’

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