Two time Emmy award winning producer and director, Nelson Recinos, has 10 years of experience in the TV industry and more than 20 years of experience in the animation industry. He has worked with most big names in animation. Beginning as an animator at the age of 20 with Hanna Barbera’s Scooby Doo, he followed it up with He-man at Filmation. Then he directed ‘Baby Looney Tunes’, ‘Animaniacs’ and ‘Pinky and the Brain’ for Warner Brothers. He has also directed the Charlie Brown movie and was at the helm of two very popular Nickelodeon shows – ‘Catdog’ and ‘Oswald the Octopus’. Sharing his experience of working on Catdog and Oswald he said, “Catdog is extremely fast-paced while Oswald, keeping in mind the target audience- preschoolers, is very slow. You need to have very different mindsets for each of the shows. It was a challenge to work on both simultaneously.”
Nelson has recently become an independent producer because he felt the time had come for him to start working on his own ideas. He enjoys the creative control it gives him to produce his own ideas. He pitches to various studios and networks. “Working from concept to post-production means you have to learn the entire process including the creative, business and legal aspects of it. Your business skills become as important as your artistic skills. Planning and allocating budgets, market research, testing the idea, hiring highly skilled people even if you have to pay a little more… all these are extremely important.
What makes an iconic show? One has to be able to connect with the audience. It is very tough to say what could work. Spongebob is a perfect example. When they started working on the concept, the response was quite negative. They never anticipated the kind of success it ultimately achieved. Now it is one of the most successful shows, its popularity paving the way for multi-million dollar merchandising opportunities.
Drawing on my own experience, let me elaborate on the factors crucial for creating a successful show. A strong concept is the key. If you want the show to make an impact and last a long time, the core idea has to be powerful. The next step is great writing. It is one area where you must not compromise on. Both ‘Pinky and the Brain’ and ‘Spongebob Squarepants’ are perfect examples of how a show can be driven by good writing.
The show must appeal to boys and girls alike. The central characters must be likeable, aspirational if possible and the audience should be able to relate to them. Drama, humour, action and adventure are the other key elements.
That is why ‘Tom and Jerry’ works even today. Generation after generation has been watching and loving the show.
‘Game Access’ is a show I created inspired by my own son who, like most other kids his age, loves playing video games all the time. Before I go on, let’s look at a 5 minute pilot that I made for the show.”
The pilot episode for Game Access was then screened for the audience. Nelson also shared pre-production sketches of the main characters and described each one of them.
“On most shows one sees a boy lead character but for my show I wanted a girl lead. The main character in ‘Game Access’ is Katie who is smart, intelligent, one could almost say she is the female version of Dexter of Dexter’s Lab. She loves playing video games. I added the character of Katie’s brother to ensure that the show appeals to boys as well. Then there is Katie’s pal- the robot who goes everywhere with her. The primary ‘villain’ in the story is also a girl but I deliberately did not make her too bad. She is just jealous of Katie’s popularity in school and is always trying to outdo her but fails each time.” He then announced that he is here in India for a co-production deal with Kahani World for Game Access.
Nelson also touched upon the importance of merchandising these days. Almost every show has its share of merchandise that fuels the popularity of the show. In games, he cited the phenomenal success of Halo 3.
Nelson’s parting advice was, “Do your homework well. Don’t get excited about your idea and jump the gun. First do your research and only then go ahead and pitch. My advice to you is, one, get the legal rights for your idea. Test the show. Look at the latest animation and video game trends. Make a pilot. One can get away by creating a bible for the pitch but if you can make a 1 to 3 minute pilot, it can make a big difference. It gives a clear idea of what the final visuals and animation are going to be like. It is not an easy task to create a successful show. But the effort is well worth it, not just in terms of financial returns but also in terms of the satisfaction of seeing your show become a hit on TV.”