French studio TeamTO has launched one other chart topper: an animated pop music docuseries racking up views on YouTube and France Televisions. Behind the Beats (26 x 5′) follows gifted musicians with extremely totally different kinds working collectively, creating surprising new musical genres. Utilizing a online game design and dynamic storytelling the collection explores the origins of recent sounds, comparable to “Punk + Disco = New Wave” that includes Blondie and “Rap + P-Funk = G-Funk” that includes Snoop Dogg.
Boasting 6.75 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.5-1.8M views every for the primary batch of episodes, the collection is directed by Baptiste Jaquemet and produced by TeamTO’s Corinne Kouper and 22D Music Group’s Emmanuel Deletang. Forward of MIPTV, we obtained extra particulars on this entertaining and academic glimpse into latest musical historical past from Producer Corinne Kouper, TeamTO’s senior VP of manufacturing and improvement.
Animation Journal: How did the present come about and when did you begin engaged on in?
Kouper: The thought got here from the director and creator Baptiste Jaquemet, who was a giant rock fan in his youth. He despatched us a pilot episode about how Aerosmith and Run D.M.C. made the hit “Stroll This Means” (1986). With a most unlikely mixture of musicians, they launched a very new style: rap. Rap can be influenced by one other fashion: funk music.
So, his imaginative and prescient was that the majority music is impressed by different kinds of music that got here earlier than. Baptiste’s ardour and curiosity within the seek for the origins of the household tree of music are on the coronary heart of this collection.
When he despatched us his pilot we instantly needed to create a present that would go wild and be seen all around the world. We’re very glad that Google (YouTube Originals) and France TV helped make this potential.
Why do you assume animation was an important automobile to inform these tales?
Animation is the one approach to inform the tales of all these individuals aside from seeing them merely singing their songs at a live performance. Like in a biopic, we get a way of their journey to success (they normally come from actually totally different origins, fairly often under no circumstances predestined, usually poor, some with encouraging households and a few with discouraging households).
You too can discover parallels between totally different artists, and present them collectively, which may by no means have been filmed. And, wow, we additionally present them signing three superb songs in every episode!
The place was the animation produced and which animation instruments have been used to create it?
As with all our initiatives, it was produced 100% in our two studios in France. We used Maya primarily and our personal animation software program. No new instruments have been created, we used our traditional pipeline.
How did you give you the distinctive, stylized look of the present’s CG animation?
The design of the present is predicated on Baptiste’s unique pitch for the present that used moderately simplistic designs. We thought this stylized video-game look was splendid for this style and the demographic of the present. We simply fine-tuned it slightly ensuring that the artists could be effectively portrayed and simply acknowledged. We journey to lots of locations within the present and have a number of very nice cinematic backgrounds, as effectively.
How carefully did you’re employed with the famous person expertise to inform their musical journey? Was securing music clearance a problem?
We produced the present with the music rights administration firm 22D, who dealt with all of the contact and negotiations with the artists and are coproducing the present with us. The clearance was an infinite problem — some of the sophisticated components of the complete present — and we merely wouldn’t have been in a position to accomplish this facet with out them. It was fairly a protracted course of, we needed to reassure the publishers and be very particular with them about what tales we’d inform within the present.
What do you want finest about this musical undertaking?
What I like probably the most is that just about each episode tells the story of an artist’s youth, when they could have had a tough time however took benefit of an surprising encounter or a uncommon alternative, finally changing into a star acknowledged worldwide. It’s actually vital to point out the younger technology that their life shouldn’t be pre-determined and that success can occur in the event you take the time and imagine in your self.
Do you will have any enjoyable tales about working with these superb rock, disco, rap, and R&B superstars?
So blissful Snoop Dogg participated within the particular recording of the music opening, which is a brand new model of “We Are Household,” the long-lasting track by Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards. This model options Yeti Beats in collaboration with Nile Rodgers himself and Snoop Dogg, with vocals by Sheléa.
Will there be one other season and whose tales are you dying to inform subsequent?
Now we have so many tales to inform that we’re already in search of financing for a second season. The variety of tales are infinite!
Behind the Beats is presently streaming on YouTube and airing on France Televisions. The collection is out there on the market worldwide (excluding France) by means of producer-distributor TeamTO.
