Colm Tobin

Colm Tobin
MD
Turnip + Duck
Ireland
Pitching: Maddie + Triggs

What is the biggest issue facing the animation industry right now?
From a producer’s perspective, one of the biggest challenges is the tension between the industry’s desire to invest in new properties versus the need to invest in pre-existing heritage brands. Of course, there are buyers who appreciate the time a new IP needs to establish itself and grow its audience organically, but the pressure on the industry at large to produce instant hits can put a squeeze on indies and limit the space in which emerging talent can create innovative and surprising content.

What is your company doing in response to this?
We try to be as authentic as we can when creating new stories and original IP. As writers, we’re always looking for new stories to tell, or fresh ways of telling them, whether that’s through innovative formats, a particular character POV, or the medium(s) we develop for. In just five years, this has borne fruit and we’ve launched three original IPs into production with a diverse range of partners, which is a high hit rate. However, as we grow the company, we are increasingly looking to find like-minded third-party coproductions to complement our slate of original projects, bringing our skillset as a creator studio to the table as well as the wealth of local talent (not to mention the tax break!) here in Ireland.

How do you see the rise of the metaverse impacting animation?
For bigger brands that have the resources, this is potentially an exciting new space to connect with audiences. Currently, it still feels like a new shop window to have a presence in, but I’m sure this will evolve. The potential there for creators to directly reach audiences and bypass the traditional modes of dissemination is creatively very exciting but how that translates into real business is still an open question.

How do you work with YouTube Kids and is it a platform that supports high-quality animation producers?
The challenge of low-cost/high-quality is always going to be a factor with YouTube. In the medium term, we’re more likely to use YouTube as part of our broader transmedia strategy, working alongside our distributors. Having said that, we’re actively working to find that elusive YouTube-friendly innovative format that could go directly to the platform.

Tell us about the project you are pitching at Cartoon Forum.
Maddie + Triggs (39×7’) is a 2D animated series for upper preschool/bridge with a focus on sound, listening and immersive audio design. It’s about a seven-year-old girl who just happens to have a vision impairment and her doggy best friend. They live together with their mum and dad in the colourful town of Higgledy-Piggledy and together they find music and adventure in the sounds of the everyday. The goal of Maddie + Triggs is to create a show whereby if two kids (one sighted and one vision impaired) sit down side-by-side to ‘watch’ the show, neither will have a lesser experience.