Animated By Sharvonique

I had the opportunity to attend

 Keep in mind, I’m used to being around other animators and artists, not necessarily execs and others on the business side of animation. The slogan “serious fun” is the perfect term to describe this event. Cartoon shows are referred to as “brands,” ideas are valued for their international appeal, and “multi-platform” properties are the trend. It was like walking into another world. I was overwhelmed by the sheer presence of “power players” and “studio bigwigs.” You could practically smell the multi-million dollar deals being made! Or was that just the lingering smoke from an early morning fire at the hotel?

In any event, I was completely out of my element and had to find my bearings rather quickly. The first item on my to-do-list was a speed pitching session with Peter Gal from Nickelodeon. A speed pitching session can best be described as speed dating with development execs. I signed-up to pitch the concept for my Flash series, Ragamuffin. My pitch book for Ragamuffin was still in the development phase, so I put together a quick brochure just to summarize the concept.

Ragamuffin Brochure

I was nervous and I only had 3 minutes to pitch. I don’t even remember what I said, but I do remember speaking very quickly and I probably appeared to be out of breath. Peter was very nice…and kind. He managed to give me some great feedback in the few seconds that remained, which I will incorporate into the finished pitch. Not to worry, I wasn’t expecting much to happen without having a more detailed concept available. The speed pitch served more as an introduction to my idea and I received great feedback in the process. What a way to kick-off the Summit!

For the rest of the event, I attended very informative panels, held meetings, met other attendees, collected business cards, and had a second speed pitching session. This time I met with Daniel Wineman from Cartoon Network. This session was completely different from the first. It was the last day of the Summit, so I was more relaxed and knew what to expect. I was also the last person to pitch, so there weren’t that many people around. I was able to smoothly summarize my pitch within a minute, and we spent the rest of the time discussing the concept. Daniel offered some good pointers for me to consider. Again, more great feedback that will only enhance my pitch.

Along with learning more about the pitching biz, I also enjoyed meeting some truly wonderful people. There were several members there from Women In Animation (WIA), including Jan Nagel (President of WIA and Entertainment Marketing Diva), Heather Kenyon (Development Exec at Cartoon Network), Marlene Sharp (Producer at ENEMES, creators of Z-Squad), and Sarah Baisley (Editor at AWN.com). Unfortunately, I was unable to meet Jean Ann Wright (Author of Animation Writing and Development) because she had to leave early.

Since I’m based in Maryland, I’ve only communicated with Jan through email, so it was wonderful to finally meet her in person. We weren’t able to meet until the last day of the Summit, but every time we saw each other, we hugged! It’s simply incredible how she manages to do so much and get everything done. She could outlast the Energizer Bunny! Jan also has a vast network of friends, associates, and clients. It seemed like she knew almost everyone who passed by. She says it’s because she’s been in the business for a long time. I think it’s because she’s an amazing person.

I also had a chance meeting with Biren Ghose of Kahani World. He’s very charismatic and very funny. We only had a few minutes to talk, so I asked him if he had any advice about how to successfully navigate the industry. Instead of giving me a straight forward answer, Biren told me a great little story. He doodled a little picture of a fish bowl and sketched in a few fish. He said that when you fill an empty fish bowl with new fish, that they all swim in their own patterns for the first week or two. After that, they all swim in the same pattern. If you introduce a new fish among those fish, it will continue to swim in its own pattern until it eventually swims like the other fish. The message of the story is to remain a “new fish” and to keep swimming your own path. I’ve kept that kernel of wisdom with me throughout the Summit, and I still keep it today.

KidScreen Summit proved to be very insightful and I learned a lot. It was intimidating at first, but it soon transformed into a completely fun and unforgettable experience. Here’s to next year!