marblemedia nabs top honours at Canadian New Media Awards
Toronto, Canada-based marblemedia can add two more awards to its stand as it picked up a couple of trophies yesterday at The Canadian New Media Awards yesterday.
marblemedia, best known for its This is Daniel Cook and This is Emily Yeung series, won the Company of the Year Award, while producer and partner Mark Bishop came away with Producer of the Year.
Innovative Storyteller Links Media Content, Digital Technologies
Toronto-based marblemedia and Corus Entertainment announced the first winner of the Innovative Storytellers Award, connecting content, new technologies and audiences.
Ryerson graduate student Afzal Huda will receive a grant and industry mentorship as part of the award. Launched as a $20,000, five-year educational initiative with Ryerson University’s new Master of Arts in Media Production program, the award is given to an outstanding Ryerson graduate student.
Afzal Huda is an award-winning, emerging producer whose experience includes work on the Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated Into the West produced by Steven Spielberg. Huda has also written, produced and directed the award-winning short film Call Me a Paki, an NFB-supported project that premiered on CBC, was screened at over 20 festivals and won the Alberta Film and Television Award.
“Afzal has a great vision of Canadian culture and the impact new media will have on it,” said Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg, marblemedia partners and Ryerson alumni. “We are proud to honour him with this grant and to help mentor him in his career.”
The winner of the Innovative Storytellers Award is chosen through an application process and receives a grant plus a series of one-on-one sessions with industry executives from Corus Entertainment and marblemedia to gain insights into the business as well as guidance for their thesis. Mentors are selected from the areas of creative production, broadcasting, technology, legal, sales and marketing.
“Congratulations to Afzal Huda on this award,” said Susan Makela, Director Program Funds and Policy, Television, Corus Entertainment. “Corus is pleased to be part of initiatives like the Innovative Storytellers Award that help support emerging talent and innovative thinking. As a media and entertainment company working in a rapidly changing media universe, we are committed to educational initiatives that can play a role in contributing to the future success of this industry.”
“I am thrilled to receive this award,” said Afzal Huda. “The in-depth sessions with Corus and marblemedia will give me the opportunity to gain some real insight into the mechanics of the industry and where it going, which will be invaluable as I develop my thesis.”
“Afzal’s belief is that evolving technologies, where connectivity dominates content, are creating new experiences for the audience, who, in turn, are able to re-mediate content across a growing number of devices,” said Dana Lee, Graduate Program Director at Ryerson University. “Amulets, a study in transmedia storytelling, is the tale of five seemingly unconnected, ordinary people of colour facing critical social problems around the world with an added twist: they also have superhuman abilities. The story unfolds across multiple media platforms, with each new element contributing to the entire experience. Afzal work is original, rich, and creative, and it is deserving of the 2008 Innovative Storyteller’s Award.”
marblemedia Brings The Gnastys To MIPCOM
marblemedia are developing a new animated series for children 6 to 9 optioned from the popular children's book GNASTY GNOMES by youth writer R.L. Stine (GOOSEBUMPS, ROTTEN SCHOOL, FEAR STREET). Throughout MIPCOM, marblemedia will be on hand to take international broadcasters into the lives of the Gnasty Gnomes.
GNASTY GNOMES features the hilarious adventures of 8-year-old Wort, his older sister Juny and their family of foul, revolting and above all "gnasty" Gnomes. When a door is jammed or an email spammed, look for the Gnastys.
Each week Wort, Juny, their parents Wilbur and Ivy and Wort's pet rat Catfood find new and nauseating ways to save their family and friends from being turned into ceramic lawn ornaments by the perfectly refined (and perfectly evil) Gardners.
Miklos Perlus, Head of Content Development, marblemedia said, "R.L. Stine is a genius and an author so many young people know and love. Creating new stories for his characters is going to be an animated adventure we really are looking forward to."
New online platform boosts Teletoon series
A new website tailored to Teletoon's series Best Ed, launching in February, will offer six interactive games inspired by the series, featuring the characters Ed (a dog) and Buddy (a squirrel) in their world Swellville.
The Cartoon Network and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) are also airing the series, and have licensed the interactive component. The series is produced and distributed by Toronto-based 9 Story Entertainment (Peep and the Big Wide World, Skyland).
The Cartoon Network and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) are also airing the series, and have licensed the interactive component. The series is produced and distributed by Toronto-based 9 Story Entertainment (Peep and the Big Wide World, Skyland).
The Adrenaline Project winners off to Florida
Winners of The Adrenaline Project will celebrate at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
“Armchair Adrenalites” can also play along for a chance at their own ultimate celebration!
marblemedia is bringing the champs of this season’s hot live-action reality series The Adrenaline Project the best adventure yet! Seen on YTV Saturdays at 6pm ET/PT, the second season pits thrill-seeking teens against each other, and the two season winners – the Ultimate Adrenalites – will each receive an adventure for four to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The adventure for four includes six adrenaline-packed days of thrills and spills in all four theme parks and two water parks, as well as VIP perks such as a tour guide and limo transportation.
For the fans at home looking for their own adventure, they can now enter online at www.theadrenalineproject.com for a chance at their own ultimate celebration! The Ultimate Adrenalite Adventure Contest, which launches on September 20, offers one lucky “Armchair Adrenalite” the chance to win their own adventure to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
“These vacations to Walt Disney World are completely in tune with the concept of the show,” said Matt Hornburg co-creator of The Adrenaline Project and marblemedia partner. “The Adrenaline Project is all about creating an adventure, pushing your limits, and having fun while doing it – all things the winners will experience at Walt Disney World.”
“The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida is the perfect place to celebrate a win, or any other special occasion,” said Marlie Morrison, Director, Marketing and Sales, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts (Canada). “Our theme parks offer something for everyone, including high-octane thrills for those looking for adventure.”
Each week The Adrenaline Project drops six all-new teen contestants at Base Camp each week to train for a chance to experience the ultimate rush. If they survive the intense tournament style mental and physical challenges, they move on to compete head-to-head for the ultimate victory. Viewers experience the fears, the frustrations and the anticipation of the contestants as they struggle to grab the glory and emerge as the champion.
City actor stars in children's cooking show on TVO
Avery Bilz didn't receive any leniency from his teachers at Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School (PCVS), despite landing a role on a new TVO show, "Taste Buds."
"If I went to school without assignments done they would not be happy," the 16-year-old said laughing.
"I was like, c'mon I'm at a dramatic school, but no one wanted to give me a break."
He spent February and March in Toronto filming 13 episodes of the series.
Bilz was required to fit an entire day of school into just over one hour while he was on set in Toronto filming the cooking show for kids.
His cooking skills have improved since being on the show, he said in an interview.
"I always cooked at home with my parents, I knew how to cut the right way and experiment with meals," he said.
Right before taping started Bilz and his two co-hosts took part in a daylong cooking class.
"Taste Buds invites kids to be part of the entire process of food preparation -shopping, cooking, eating and even cleaning up," a media release from Holmes Creative Communications stated.
"Taste Buds" will stimulate kids aged seven to 10 by focusing each half hour on a theme such as foods that crunch, foods that fuel, even foods that smell."
Bilz said the show is cutting edge and offers lots of ideas to young viewers on how to prepare meals on their own and with help from parents.
The star of TV's hottest kids' cooking show dishes on his days as a Power Ranger and his current recipe for success
ACTOR, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, writer, Richmond Hill native Matt Austin has worn many hats during his time in the film industry, and, at the age of 30, his resumé reads like the biography of an entertainer twice his age.
With a career spanning everything from writing and directing Most Likely To — a raw drama about a high school reunion — to a turn as the beloved Green Ranger on the hit children’s television series Power Rangers: Space Patrol Delta, Austin has proven his chops both behind and in front of the camera. And now, as the host of Taste Buds, TVO’s innovative new children’s cooking show premiering this fall, Austin can add one more credit to his list of accomplishments.
“I think I just have a busy brain, and I have a hard time turning it off,” explains Austin, of his ever-growing body of work. He’s dressed in a casual jean and T-shirt combo and has the air of an eager film student as he describes his latest ventures.
“It’s just hard to stop once you get those creative juices flowing, because sometimes you have writer’s block, or director’s block or creative block, and so, when it’s happening, you want to do everything,” he says.
Come winter, Austin will need that extra energy, as he and wife Debra prepare to welcome their first child in December.
“I love kids,” he says, his eyes lighting up. “I’ve always just had that natural thing where kids come up to me. So, it’s pretty exciting to think that soon I’m going to be a dad.”
The acting bug hit early for Austin, who also displayed a passion for filmmaking while a student at Langstaff Secondary School. Here he first became involved in drama and eventually auditioned and won the lead in the school play, while at the same time convincing his teachers to let him submit films instead of essays for his class projects.
Austin says growing up in Richmond Hill provided him with ample opportunity to sow the creative seeds for his future projects, as well as inspiration for his filmmaking.
“I lived like a minute walking distance from my high school, and all my best friends lived a bike ride away,” he recalls. “When they built the movie theatre there it was a huge deal, and we had somewhere to go all the time. And now the kind of movies I gravitate toward are more about those kind of suburban landscapes, and not so much about the downtown inner-city sort of things, because I think I’m still kind of naive to that. The John Hughes movies are the ones that I relate to more than, say, New Jack City.”
However, it wasn’t until he earned the lead in a play when he was attending the University of Western Ontario that he thought he could actually make a career out of performing.
“It was when I auditioned and got the lead, and that was against 80 people, that I thought, ‘OK, so acting it is,’” he says. With that decision made, his first big break came shortly after, when he was hand-picked by director Shawn Postoff to star in his short film Coming to Terms, the story of a gay teen coming out to his parents. The film screened at more than 30 international film festivals and earned Austin “best male performance” awards at both the Manitoba Film Festival and the Yorkton Short Film Festival.
After that, Austin’s career began to take off, with stage work; gueststarring roles in Spynet, Queer as Folk and This Is Wonderland; and appearances in films like the remake of George Romero creep show Dawn of the Dead, with Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames, and Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot alongside Lauren Holly and Jill Hennessey.
On top of that, he gained acclaim for his work behind the camera, as the writer and director of the darkertoned Most Likely To and Jimmy, a short film about a child heroin addict that screened internationally and won an Awareness Award at the Seven Minute Film Festival in Canmore, Alta., and went on to play at the Canadian Film Centre Worldwide Short Film Festival.
However, perhaps Austin’s most well-known gig so far began in 2005, with an audition for the role as Bridge Carson, a.k.a. the Green Ranger, on Disney/ABC’s number one show Power Rangers: Space Patrol Delta.
“The audition was this scene where I ramble on and confuse everybody on the show, and the second half was like some sort of physical activity,” he says. “They asked us to wear tight clothing to see what kind of shape you were in, and I ended up wearing, like, my tightest jogging pants and a shirt I hadn’t worn in three years because I had shrunk it when I washed it. I felt really awkward, and they said, ‘All right, let’s see you move,’ and I basically … let’s not call it ‘breakdancing,’ but let’s call it ‘flailing with passion.’ I just wanted to show them that I could move and I had rhythm, and I think I achieved one of the two.”
Whatever he did must have impressed the higher-ups, because soon he found himself on a plane to New Zealand where he and his fellow Rangers filmed on location for eightand- a-half months.
“When we got there, we trained for three weeks with some of the most amazing martial artists in the world,” he says. “The whole thing was pretty spectacular.”
After the shooting wrapped, Austin had his first taste of celebrity with letters arriving in the mail and meet and greets at fan conventions.
“I’ve got some interesting mail,” he says with a laugh. “People send me presents, and people send me pictures of themselves. It’s really crazy for me that three years later people are still sending me things.”
However, Austin recalls one fan in particular who made a huge impression on him.
“There was a kid named Zachery who had a tumour, and I was his ‘Make-A-Wish’ from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. So they flew him to the convention to come and meet me and then organized this whole pizza party where he and I just hung out eating pizza and playing Wii.”
Since then, Austin has kept in touch with Zachery and gets updates on his progress.
“He’s doing phenomenally well,” says Austin, his pride evident. “He just got his green belt in karate, and he sent me a picture he drew of his family and had included me in the picture. That’s been very special for me.”
And now, with his new kids’ cooking show, Taste Buds, premiering on TVO this fall, he’s sure to add to his legion of young fans.
“The other kids’ cooking shows I’d seen, it’s the adults doing the work and the kids helping by putting pepperoni on the pizza or sprinkling in the chocolate chips, but this is the exact opposite. The kids are doing all the work, and I am just there to help,” he says. “That’s what this whole show is about. It’s about teaching them about foods they’ve never tried, while daring them to try it, while at the same time saying it’s OK if you don’t like it.”
And what’s next for Austin after Taste Buds hits the air?
“Right now I’m developing an animated series for kids called Simon Orion, about a young kid who wants to be a horoscope writer,” says Austin.
However, with parenthood on the horizon, Austin says he looks forward to focusing more on directing. One project he is excited about is directing an upcoming music video for the launch of Me To We Social Enterprises’ new music label. Cofounded by Richmond Hill activist Craig Kielburger of Save the Children, Me To We includes international volunteer travel programs, a publishing house, leadership workshops and a clothing line created to encourage ethical living and support Save the Children financially.
“This is my way of helping spread the the word through arts, through music, through this amazing organization,” he says. “Just being around them you feel like change will happen.”
Austin says he draws inspiration for his eclectic directing choices from the career of Steven Spielberg.
“The guy is the master of all these genres, and I think it’s what makes me feel like I can jump from Simon Orion, my children’s cartoon, to something like a sci-fi film thriller in the vein of The Bourne Identity,” says Austin. “It’s two different worlds, but someone did it before me.”
A taste of TV fame
Screen Rothesay girl makes professional debut in the first food show aimed at children.
In the age of celebrity chefs, the 100-mile diet and a global food crisis, we are more interested than ever in what we eat. And market research shows that adults aren't the only ones hungry for culinary programming: kids are watching the Food Network along with their parents in record numbers.
TV executive Mark Bishop with Rothesay's Anneke van der Laan, who plays Safety Elf on the children’s cooking show ‘Taste Buds,’ which premieres in September.
They have to. Despite the soaring popularity of kitchen-based programming, there are no food shows targeted at kids, says Rothesay native Mark Bishop, a Toronto-based TV executive.
That will change this fall, when Taste Buds, a food adventure series aimed at children aged seven to 10, premieres Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. EST on TVOKids, Knowledge Network, Access Alberta and SCN. In New Brunswick, the show will only be able to be viewed online (www.tastebudstv.com). The show was created by marblemedia, the company Bishop cofounded in the late '90s that has created a number of award-winning children's TV series, including the hit This Is Daniel Cook and its spin-off This Is Emily Yeung.
Taste Buds is off to a strong start: it has already been picked up for a second season, even though the first episode doesn't air until the fall.
Despite this hunger for youthful food programming, Bishop says "the safety factor" has deterred producers in the past.
"The challenge is to present safety in a fun and lighthearted way," he says during a recent interview at Kennebecasis Valley High School. For the second year in a row, Bishop had returned to his alma mater (class of '94) to lead TV workshops at summer camp held by KidSing, a performance group for elementary and middle school students. "We can't be preachy but we have to be safe."
So when marblemedia began developing the concept for Taste Buds a year-and-a-half ago, the cast for the show included Safety Elf, a little character who would pop up in the corner of the screen and speak directly to the kids, letting them know when they should get an adult, warning them that knives are sharp, stoves are hot and some people are allergic to pine nuts.
Problem was, casting calls in Toronto weren't turning up the right pint-sized performer to play Safety Elf.
It was at the first KidSing camp he took part in that Bishop found the solution to his dilemma.
Anneke van der Laan, a chirpy, articulate 11-year-old from Rothesay, has the infectious laugh, warm personality and friendly face Bishop had been looking for.
"Certain kids you meet have a natural spark," he says. "When you see it, you know it." When he met van der Laan, "I just saw this little ball of talent that is just bursting with energy," he says.
Convinced he had found his Safety Elf, Bishop asked Casey Yerxa, KidSing director and choreographer, to tape a screen test with van der Laan that he could show to the other producers. They were as wowed with the gregarious brunette as Bishop was. In March, van der Laan and her mother flew to Toronto for filming.
Her first day on the set, van der Laan went for a costume fitting.
"It was not a very good fit," she says of her bright yellow and black chef's suit. "It was huge! I could fit four of me in it."
The next day she returned to the set for hair and makeup, before filming Safety Elf's 28 warnings.
She may have been new to the soundstage, but she already knew her way around the kitchen.
"I help my dad cook almost every night," she says, chopping vegetables or adding milk to soups and sauces.
And while she would consider another opportunity in television, she's says she's not dreaming of small screen stardom.
"I want to be a dentist," she says. "I love going to the dentist."
She's got plenty to keep her busy in the meantime.
"I play piano and I dance and I sing and I ..." he voice trails off.
"You tell funny jokes," Bishop says.
"And I tell funny jokes and I make funny faces," she says. She does just that, squeezing her cheeks between her hands.
Bishop says she regularly cracked up the crew during filming with her arsenal of jokes.
Van der Laan's not the only local who is part of the show: Saint John songstress Jessica Rhaye was in Toronto earlier this month to record the Taste Buds soundtrack.
Bishop says it was never his intention that his involvement with KidSing turn into an impromptu casting call.
But as the famed tale of Lana Turner's discovery behind the counter at Schwab's Drugstore teaches, in the entertainment business "you just never know where things might lead to."
Although Bishop is not yet a father, "I'm looking forward to having my own little focus group someday."
marblemedia Soars At Banff World Television Festival
Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg are probably soaring on cloud night right about now. Not only has their growing new media and television content creation company expanding, but the industry is taking notice of their great work. Last week the company made it to the Canadian New Media Awards’ “Company Of The Year Award” finalist list but they have now won the “The N Youth Drama Pitch Award”, as well as the “Audience Choice Award”, at the 29th annual Banff World Television Festival.
“We are very pleased to continue developing Waiting in the Wings with support from The N,” said Head of Content Development Miklos Perlus. “Creators Tricia Lee and Corey Brown have done a fantastic job in bringing together the genres of teen drama and comedy. These awards certainly honour their incredible talent and hard work.”
marblemedia's Cross-Platform Series Wins at Banff Fest
Waiting in the Wings, a newly optioned teen cross-platform series from Toronto-based content creator marblemedia, has won the prestigious The N Youth Drama Pitch Award, as well as the Audience Choice Award, at the 29th annual Banff World Television Festival sponsored by The N Network, the Network for Teens.
The winning pitch was announced during the closing ceremonies of the Alberta festival.
The new series brings together the backstage stories of an after-school community theatre group and the drama of the teenage experience in a half-hour comedy.
"We are very pleased to continue developing Waiting in the Wings with support from The N," said Head of Content Development Miklos Perlus. "Creators Tricia Lee and Corey Brown have done a fantastic job in bringing together the genres of teen drama and comedy. These awards certainly honour their incredible talent and hard work."
Winning these awards grants Waiting in the Wings a $10,000 development prize from The N plus a $5,000 motion picture film product grant provided by Kodak Canada Inc.
marblemedia is a content creation company on the forefront of television and new media production, devoted to telling stories that entertain and engage audiences across all platforms. Recipients of the 2007 Lions Gate/Maple Pictures Innovative Producer Award and nominated for Company of the Year by the 2008 CNMA's, some of marblemedia's notable projects include the teen competition series The Adrenaline Project; the hit preschool series This is Daniel Cook and This is Emily Yeung; the first television series and website in American Sign Language, deafplanet.com; and the mobile short film anthology Shorts in Motion: The Art of Seduction. Upcoming projects for the independent producers include Taste Buds, The Dating Guy and Camerahead.
marblemedia Names New Content Development Head
Miklos "Mik" Perlus has been named to the newly created position of Head of Content Development at marblemedia, and will oversee new projects for television, Web and mobile.
Perlus will work with content creators, broadcasters and partners.
Over the past decade Perlus' experience has included a variety of roles in media as a writer, a story editor and he has developed several television productions. In addition to a successful acting career, he also wrote and co-developed CTV's Instant Star. More recently, he served as a writer and story editor for Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Perlus will be attending the 2008 Banff World Television Festival looking for programming in live-action, cross platform, animated youth and long form scripted television series.
marblemedia is a next generation content creation company dedicated to telling stories and connecting with audiences across platforms in television, Web and mobile. Recipients of the 2007 Lions Gate/Maple Pictures Innovative Producer Award, some of marblemedia's notable projects include the teen competition series The Adrenaline Project; the hit preschool series This is Daniel Cook and This is Emily Yeung; the first television series and website in American Sign Language, deafplanet.com; and the mobile short film anthology Shorts in Motion: The Art of Seduction. Upcoming projects for the independent producers include Taste Buds, The Dating Guy and Camerahead.
The Adrenaline Project Receives Go-Ahead for Second Season
Corus Entertainment has greenlit a second season of the reality series The Adrenaline Project for YTV, with Survivor’s challenge producer, Alan Bishop, joining the teen show.
Created by marblemedia partners Matt Hornburg and Mark Bishop, the second season of the series will see a new tournament-style format in which contestants compete throughout all 26 episodes to win the championship title.
Alan Bishop’s role on The Adrenaline Project will be to develop new mental and physical challenges to maximize the “adrenaline rush.” He has served as challenge producer on both Survivor and The Amazing Race.
Slated for launch immediately prior to the season-two premiere this fall, the show’s website is also receiving an overhaul that includes new games emulating the redesigned tournament-style of the show and web-exclusive video content. The site recently received financial support from the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund.
“We’ve received thousands of emails from tweens and teens who love the show or want to be part of it,” said Hornburg, who executive produces the show. “With Alan on board we’re going to give them an even more action-packed season to watch and to play, chock-full of great play and increased drama.
“We’re delighted to be working with the team at marblemedia on this second season of The Adrenaline Project,” said Jocelyn Hamilton, the VP of content for Corus Kids Television. “With the addition of Alan Bishop to this second season, YTV is looking forward to bringing its viewers even more fresh and adrenaline-seeking content to its Get Real block of programming.”
Decode injects more Adrenaline
Decode Enterprises, the distribution arm of Canada's DHX Media, has sold its tween-skewing reality property The Adrenaline Project (13x30') to pan-regional networks.
In Latin America, Cartoon Network has picked up the series for its Boomerang channel. M-Net will bring The Adrenaline Project to viewers across Africa, while Solimac, covering Malaysia, has also acquired the series.
marblemedia rolls with kids cookery
Canadian indie marblemedia (This is Daniel Cook) have begun production on a new food adventure series for kids that is slated to air this fall on TVO and two other regional Canadian public channels.
Entitled Taste Buds, the series targets seven- to 10-year-olds and is billed as “a hands-on television and interactive experience that invites kids to be part of the entire process of food preparation – shopping, cooking, eating and even cleaning up.”
It will debut this fall on the after school block on TVO Kids in addition to airing on other Canadian provincial educational nets such as Knowledge Network, Access Alberta and SCN.
Each half-hour episode follows two young buddies as they explore the culture, history, science and art behind different foods. Also helping out in the kitchen is their adult co-host, a chef and fellow 'Taste Bud' who is passionate about food and eager to share his expert knowledge.
Meanwhile, Chillbot 3000, a voice-activated computer fridge, outputs recipes, facts and tips and also connects the Taste Buds to one of four field correspondents: Health Meister, Science Whiz, World Traveller and History Buff, each of whom provides background educational information on the food they are working with.
The touch-screen interface on Chillbot will mirror the Taste Buds website by connecting users to the hosts’ video blogs, games and recipes seen on the show. Produced by marblemedia Interactive, the site launches in August 2008, just prior to the fall television show airdate.
New Interactive TV Show Tickles Taste Buds
Video blogs and healthy food are in the recipe for Taste Buds, a new television series being produced by Toronto's marblemedia Interactive.
marblemedia says that production has begun on what's being described as a food adventure series for children. Produced in association with TVO, Taste Buds will debut air this fall on TVOKids after school block in addition to Knowledge Network, Access Alberta and SCN.
Created by marblemedia partners Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg Taste Buds is a hands-on television and interactive experience that invites kids to be part of the entire process of food preparation – shopping, cooking, eating and even cleaning up.
"We created Taste Buds to inspire kids to be fearless about discovering new foods. By watching the hosts create, taste and experience new foods, viewers will discover healthy and nutritious ideas in the kitchen," said Mark Bishop, Executive Producer and Partner of marblemedia.
Taste Buds will stimulate kids aged 7 to 10 by focusing each half hour on a theme such as foods that crunch, foods that fuel, even foods that smell. The 13 episodes will be shot at various locations around Toronto and Southern Ontario and will continue production through late March.
"Taste Buds showcases the quality and values our viewers expect: fun, healthy living and great children's programming. marblemedia has a reputation for producing quality content for children that is innovative and manages the perfect blend of education and entertainment. This is why marblemedia is a perfect partner for TVOKids and why we are proud to be part of the development and production of this project," said Patricia Ellingson, Creative Head, Children's Media for TVOntario.
The scrumptious episodes follow young buddies Avery and Lily as they lead viewers on new taste adventures exploring the culture, history, science and art behind different foods. Also helping out in the kitchen is their adult co-host Matt, a chef and fellow Taste Bud who is passionate about food and eager to share his expert knowledge.
Another colourful character is the high-tech Chillbot 3000, a voice-activated computer fridge that outputs recipes, facts and tips in a flash. More amazingly, Chillbot also connects the Taste Buds to one of four field correspondents: Health Meister, Science Whiz, World Traveller and History Buff, each of whom provides the hosts with background educational information on the food they are working with.
The touch screen interface on Chillbot will mirror the Taste Buds website by connecting users to the hosts' video blogs, games and the yummy recipes seen on the show. Produced by marblemedia Interactive, the site launches in August, 2008 just prior to the fall television show airdate.
Wunderkind: Integrating the intern
Interns are great. For little to no pay, they carry out your every wish, and in return, they get valuable experience. But too often, interns end up wasting their time doing menial tasks, or draining company productivity because they need close supervision. For tips on properly integrating an intern, we spoke to 30-year-old Jennifer Sloat. She handles the internship program at Toronto-based children's TV producer Marble Media, which is renowned in the TV industry for developing young talent.
Plan ahead. Interns are not just free labour; they require energy, time and resources. "Ask yourself if you really need an intern," says Sloat. "Do you have enough independent work for them to do?" If so, develop a job description that lays out all of the intern's responsibilities.
Screen for quality. There's no need to go headhunting. If someone isn't interested enough to apply, they're probably not worth having around. Once you have found a promising candidate, she says, "ask their profs which areas they excel in and which areas they may not." You don't want to get stuck with a dud.
Heap on the work. You'll never know how much your intern is capable of if you don't challenge them. "Watch for signs of stress," she says, "but also for signs of productivity." If they handle the first pile of work with ease, you know you've landed a real workhorse - and possibly someone who deserves special consideration.
Take them seriously. Not only does treating your intern with respect keep them from jumping ship, it also creates a learning environment. "Students are often using advanced technology and software," says Sloat. "You should be prepared to learn from them, too."