What we learnt at KidScreen 2018
Jen and Gash tell all
We were excited to hear that ListenMi’s very own Gashwayne Hudson, Illustrator (and office grandpa) and Jenille Brown, Animator (the cheek overlord) were selected to attend Kidscreen 2018 in Miami in February 2017 as part of a Jamaican delegation. A week later, they returned to our design studio bursting with insights, so I asked them to share their biggest takeaways. Here’s what they said.
What did you enjoy most about Kidscreen 2018?
Gashwayne: Being able to learn from some of the top people in the business, it was like a once in a lifetime experience to see and hear these successful people tell how how they did it, and what you can do to make it in the industry.
Jenille: I enjoyed how much information was there. Everyone who attended was there for business and open to conversation. They were all generally direct and to the point as it was the culture of the event to start beneficial relationships.
What were your top 3 takeaways?
Gashwayne: First of all the event and the speakers are very punctual, starting sessions exactly on time, and ending on time. That stood out for me. The Kids industry is a very large and competitive industry and I realised how far behind Jamaica is as it relates to animation and IP creation for kids.
Jenille: Kids’ entertainment, especially for very young children, is a very big industry, and distributors and producers are very particular about the kinds of content they want, even specific to each company. But I realised that Jamaica’s taste in entertainment leans toward older and more mature audiences.
What’s your vision for a successful animation industry here?
“ We need to collaborate more to be able to make larger scaled productions.”
Jenille: A successful animation industry in Jamaica to me would be one where we are populated by a variety of professionals across the production pipeline. People who are highly skilled from pre production through to post and who are supported by their local government and businesses to create their own content while collaborating with international companies.
Gashwayne: It’s one that is creating multiple IP for series and products, also production of multiple animated or live action series, geared to international audience.
So what do you think we are doing wrong in Jamaica?
Jenille: Well, I don’t think we’re doing something wrong per se, it’s just that we’re way behind and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.
Gashwayne: We are usually looking solely at the home audience, and not to the international audience. We need to make more content that can be viewed globally. Also, we need to collaborate more to be able to make larger scaled productions.
What lessons from the event will you be applying to your work here at ListenMi going forward?
Gashwayne: I learnt that I have to be very specific and detailed about the content I am creating, so I will be creating content that is specifically targeting a core audience. Also, researching more what is out there, so I can be in the know, and create content accordingly.
Jenille: Always be prepared, make friends and be a genuinely nice person. It’ll come back to haunt you.
Cool. Thanks for sharing, guys!
Want to see what else we’re thinking about? We’ll be showing more of what we do at @Listenmi on IG. And we share our adventures in illustration and creative design at www.ListenMi.com.
