TeamTOs ‘Behind The Beats Animated Music Series Attracts 12 Million Views On YouTube
YouTube Originals Behind the Beats has amassed almost 12 million views since the first eight episodes aired on November 17. He has 6.7 million subscribers. A 26-part musical animated anthology produced in collaboration with leading French animation company TeamTO, human rights firm 22D Music Group and public broadcaster France Télévisions.
The series takes viewers behind the scenes of the formation of key trends in the global music scene, such as punk, grunge, techno, funk and salsa. Each six-minute video contains three tracks and the main character - like Debbie Harry in the first episode of Punk + Disco = New Wave.
The series is a fast paced music video/video game style and the story revolves around young musicians pursuing their dreams by interacting with local music scenes and other artists.
The show is produced by Corinne Cowper (TeamTO) and Emmanuel Deletang (22D Music Group). Craig Hunter, Global Head of YouTube Kids and Family Originals, is Creative Director along with Zoe Di Stefano, Chief Creative Officer. The creative presenter at France Télévisions is Pierre Syracuse.
Creator and director Baptiste Jacquemin designed the first trailer himself to achieve an accessible style that avoids the need for complex modeling.
“Cambric has the ability to represent people,” said Cooper, TeamTO senior vice president of operations and development. "The characters look like real people, but stylized, a little caricatured."
The sequence was modeled with Maya and then animated with Tangerine, TeamTO's proprietary software. He also uses Pixar RenderMan and the effects are done in Houdini with compositing in Nuke.
The French version launched exclusively on France.tv on 19 November. France has six months to implement the English versions. France Télévisions also has the exclusive right to the first window for the French-language version, with a one-year delay.
The Spanish version will be available on YouTube soon.
In addition to YouTube and French television as main partners, the series has received financial support from the national film agency CNC, the writers' association SACEM, the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes and Drôme and Valence Romance Agla regions, and the Creative MEDIA program. European Union.
“We are delighted with how well the program has worked so far both in France and around the world,” says Cooper.
“This is the first time we have combined a very classic French public channel with one of the largest media companies in the world, YouTube,” explains Patricia de Wilde, Director of Marketing and New Business at TeamTO.
Cooper says he's looking forward to making an animated project with a documentary flavor. “I learn something new in every episode. It's not just about creating funny and entertaining stories. You will receive a lot of interesting information that will be of interest to both children and adults. "I think that's why he's so successful on YouTube, because a lot of people go there to learn."
TeamTO owns the intellectual property and can sell the rights to broadcasters around the world one year after launch. Although it's on YouTube, Cooper thinks the show will appeal to broadcasters. “Everyone wants to attract an audience. Broadcasters take over programs that are available elsewhere.”
In autumn 2022, TeamTO is also producing the animated comedy series Jade Armor on France Televisions in France, Super RTL in Germany, and HBO Max and Cartoon Network in EMEA. It was also sold to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Jade Armor's all-female creative team is led by Cooper, assisted by showrunner and co-founder Chloe Miller; senior author MJ Offen; French story editor Ghislain Pujol and co-designer Mary Bredin.
"It's a very compelling and very modern show, all female and with strong female characters," Cowper said. "It covers topics rarely covered in the series, such as intergenerational romance and same-sex couples."
De Wilde says Jade Armor performed well in the 7-10 and 10-13 age groups for both boys and girls. Now the creators are writing the second season.
The TO team produces eight shows, including home and commissioned shows, and employs over 500 people in France.
Other original productions include the fifth season of Angelo's Rules for France Télévisions and his "PJ Masks" visual productions for France 3 and Disney, two video game-based programs for American clients, and a series for Dreamworks. Silvergate Media/Netflix recently launched the first season of The Creature Cases.
TeamTO recently moved to a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly animation studio in the Bastille district of Paris, with over 200 employees, which will reduce their carbon footprint by 63%.
The studio has a data center connected to all workstations, which significantly reduces power consumption and noise levels. It features AI-based open source control software with built-in production tracking to optimize production for all shows.
Guillaume Halloween, co-founder and president of TeamTO, says: “This is a dream come true. We have been working on the new studio for almost four years. Nobody has done this yet."
Thanks to the quiet environment and filtered air, Halloween said, “the new studio is very different from traditional offices. It has a zen vibe that's very creative."
Looking ahead, TeamTO has several film projects in the works, and Cooper says he wants to make a second season of Behind the Beats. “We have a huge list of popular artists, songs and trends that we want to represent. He has great potential."
