Press release from Engine
Me and My Monsters, a 26 x 30 minute live action children’s entertainment series from Sticky Pictures Pty Ltd, Tiger Aspect Productions Ltd, and The Jim Henson Company Ltd (UK) is currently in post-production in Sydney. The series has been commissioned by BBC CBBC in the UK, ZDF (Germany), Network TEN and Nickelodeon Australia. Me and My Monsters tells the story of the Carlson family who have recently relocated from Australia to the UK to discover there are three out of control comedy monsters living in their basement.
Engine’s EP Adam Wells said, “Me and My Monsters is very cleverly written with a child adult duality, a bit like the Simpsons. It’s a huge production and when we were invited to pitch on the titles and branding by Justine Flynn, Head of Live Action at Sticky Pictures and Producer of “Me & My Monsters”, you could tell by the size, depth and scope of the project that this one was destined for real success.”
Engine’s Senior Designer, Phil Robson, described what led them to win the pitch. Robson said, “We placed a strategic focus on personalities. As The Jim Henson Company (UK) designed the monsters there had clearly been a big investment in the characters and they had real traits for us to work with. There was the interaction with the family, the dramas, the comedy and the pure fun of clever, comic puppets. It was a very interesting pitch to say the least.”
According to Sticky Pictures’ Justine Flynn, Engine’s winning pitch was more than just about the creative. She added, “Some of Australia’s best designers and production crew are working on Me and My Monsters. It has very high production values so we were looking for great creative and also a company who fitted in with the quality and ethos of the show.”
Robson and his team chose to illustrate the different personalities of each monster in frozen moments combined with colourful slow motion footage to accentuate the effects.
Robson added, “It was a really challenging brief and the fact that there’s such a stellar human cast added to the pressure of making sure the look we created lived up to the producers’ expectations. We concentrated on introducing not only the characters but also the geography and layout of the house. The titles and branding were created to educate the viewers about the show with a sense of chaos and fun – all in sixty seconds.”
Sticky Pictures Executive Producer Donna Andrews said, “We loved Engine’s pitch and how cleverly they represented the show and the monsters’ characters. Phil Robson and his team really showed their creative talent uniquely incorporating the monsters’ fur in their 3D designs. With the show being a co-production there was a comprehensive approvals process and many priorities and requirements that had to be fulfilled on behalf of all the parties involved. I’m delighted to say Engine handled all of this with the upmost professionalism and it really was a case of a job very well done.”
For the final titles and graphics the Engine team shot the live action elements and inanimate personality elements on set at Fox Studios. The 2D elements and 3D elements – created by Engine Head of 3D Nick Kaloterakis and his team – were then prepared for integration in Flame by Lead Compositor Kent Smith and editing was done by David Duncumbe in Final Cut Pro.
Adam Wells concluded, “The Me and My Monsters titles and branding were some of the most challenging and fun Engine have ever worked on. I’m delighted to say they were so well received and we’re now all looking forward to the finished series going to air.”
Me and My Monsters goes to air on Monday 18 October in the UK and early 2011 on Network TEN across Australia.