ACTF, Screen Australia back low-stimulation show Pit Pats for YouTube

Pit Pats episodes will be added to YouTube weekly

The Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) and Screen Australia have supported a ‘low stimulation’ series for preschoolers that has launched on YouTube.

Created by Aussie parents Darcy Prendergast and Josie Mackerras to combat “a landscape full of sugar rush kids’ content,” Pit Pats seeks to relax and centre children through gentle, calming episodes focused on mindfulness and nature.

The mixed-media series combines clay animation, hand-drawn animation, puppetry and live action. Episodes will be added weekly on YouTube.

Pit Pats was developed and produced through the ACTF and Screen Australia’s Kids IP Incubator, a programme supporting the development and production of Australian IP for children’s programmes on digital platforms.

ACTF head of content Bernadette O’Mahony said: “At a time when children are inundated by overstimulating, fast-paced content, Pit Pats offers something genuinely different, creating space for calm, curiosity and imaginative play.

“The Kids IP Incubator exists to help original Australian stories find an audience in the digital space, and Pit Pats is a wonderful example of what can happen when creators are supported to take creative risks.”

Prendergast added: “That’s the beautiful thing about YouTube. It’s a proving ground for new IP that may have otherwise been seen as too different for traditional broadcasters. Colouring outside the lines of conventional kids TV has really allowed us to make something gloriously loosey goosey. Everything from the free-flowing way we create it, to the time we take on screen to tell it, gives Pit Pats this really one-of-a-kind flavour.”