The name of the series may invoke a peaceful slumber, but there’s nothing sleepy about the work that went into creating Quiet Is…, the new stop-motion animated series for kids ages two to seven from Edinburgh, Scotland-based animation studio Ko Lik Films.
Why take note? Quiet Is… , created by Glasgow, Scotland-based children’s author and illustrator Sara Pinto (The Alphabet Room) and Vermont, US-based photographer and filmmaker Luciana Frigerio, bows on Disney Junior US tomorrow evening (8:25 p.m. and 8:55 p.m. ET/PT) as part of the kidsnet’s new 24/7 programming slate.
The 10 x two-minute series, which uses quiet nursery rhymes and peaceful visuals to help toddlers get ready for bed, is Pinto and Frigerio’s first foray into the kids television space.
The duo, who served as the series’ co-writers, production designers and creative consultants, worked with an experienced team of animators at Ko Lik Films and had strong support from Nancy Kanter, Disney’s SVP of original programming and GM of Disney Junior Worldwide, and Disney Junior’s development executive Lori Mozilo.
The series was directed by Neil Jack, produced by Cameron Fraser, and Rick Garcia and William Malpede (Rango) composed music.
Behind the scenes Shot in Edinburgh with pre-production in August 2011 through post-production in January 2012, the series provided new challenges for Pinto and Frigerio.
“It was a fun production, and it moved very quickly, whereas book publishing moves at a much slower pace than TV,” says Pinto, who lives in Glasgow, Scotland but calls Vermont home. “But whether you’re writing for kids books or kids TV, the same rules apply. You need a good, strong story, you have to leave enough room for kids to recognize themselves in the work, and the work needs to be playful and fun.”
For Frigerio, working in stop-motion meant she had to pool all of her skills together. “I was able to leverage my photography, filmmaking and fine arts experience to work on the storytelling, set design and image-making aspects of the series.”
Drawing on personal childhood experiences and their children’s lives to determine what quiet means for kids, Pinto and Frigerio used a collaborative approach through all aspects of the production. “To have an idea, see it through, and work with a great group of people was very satisfying,” says Frigerio.
What’s next Following tomorrow’s premiere, Quiet Is… will air weekdays at 8:25 p.m and weekends at 8:55 p.m. ET/PT on Disney Junior US. For Pinto and Frigerio, they hope kids and parents will enjoy it as much as they did creating it. Next up, the duo is already working on developing a new animation-based kids series, this time for the interactive iBook format.