A couple convert their passion for animation into a digital playground, writes Siti Syameen Md Khalili – New Straits Times
As far as Zeno Gabing can remember, he has always loved animation.
“My childhood were filled with comics and cartoons. I still remember my first comic book, which was one of the X-Men series,” he says. Even after graduating with a degree in chemical engineering, his interest in animation never waned.
As fate would have it, Zeno met fellow Sabahan Juhaidah Joemin, who shared the same passion, and who later became his wife. The marriage of creative minds later led to the creation of Giggle Garage, an animation studio, which specialises in full production of creative content. The studio’s first product was Origanimals, a TV series targeting preschool children. The story follows four Origanimal characters known as the Awesome Four as they go on adventures to help other Origanimals in trouble.
Picture by NSTP Photographer HALIMATON SAADIAH SULAIMAN
“I had the idea for Origanimals for some time before we started Giggle Garage. I was previously attached to Multimedia Development Corporation for seven years, doing training, support and activity marketing for content creators. Then, I worked with the Al-Jazeera’s Children’s Channel where I was part of the team that evaluates content for co-production. So now I’m completing the circle by going into content creation,” says Juhaidah who was also involved in the production of the award-winning animation Saladin and the animation movie SeeFood.
Zeno who is Giggle Garage’s executive director recalls, “Our first studio was in Phileo Damansara, Petaling Jaya. I remember the first day we came to office. As I walked into the room where Juhaidah was supposed to be stationed, I saw a sign left by the previous tenant that has the word “origami” written on it. It felt strange because we’ve been toying with the name Origanimals for months before that.”
TESTING WATERS WITH ORIGANIMALS
“In the beginning, I only had the idea of origami as a way to introduce wildlife animals to kids in a colourful and creative way. From there, we proceed to develop the story and the visual concept for the show.
“We worked with a very talented scriptwriter Aniza Azizuddin for the initial show bible and for the actual script with a UK-based scriptwriter Dean Wilkinson to make sure that our content will travel globally. Our work with Wilkinson is more on fine-tuning. It’s not that we didn’t have a great storyline, it is just that at times the way we express a message is different from people in other regions. In terms of voice talent and music, we worked very closely with Wasp Studio, also a local outfit. All the talents involved were local too,” adds Juhaidah.
Once the development kit for Origanimals was completed, Giggle Garage took it to international exhibitions and conferences to gain feedback. “Unlike other Malaysian-based studios, we did not test our IP with local kids, as we wanted to tackle not just Malaysians, but also the global audience. So we took Origanimals to Children Media Conference to get feedback. While we did get positive feedback, we also received a lot of tips on how to fine tune our product.
So, we went back to the drawing board to redo the product. After that, we previewed the IP to several more international industry events and almost every time after each outing, we had to take Origanimals back to the drawing board. It is a tiresome process, especially for our designers,” she says.
“It is really hard to break the bad news to the team each time, but in a sense we’re really fortunate that everyone at Giggle Garage is very dedicated.
“The team members are young and talented, they’re in their 20s and 30s while the senior talents are in their mid-30s. Like a sponge, they absorb a lot, not just new skills but also new approaches to animation and storytelling. It’s really important to have this capability to make a production work.”
RAISING CONFIDENCE
“We completed the development stage of Origanimals and presented the concept at the inaugural Asian Animation Summit in Kuala Lumpur last December. The feedback from international broadcasters and distributors were encouraging. We are now looking at moving into pre-production and main production by mid of the year. We are hoping to complete and air the first season of 26 episodes x 11 minutes by mid of 2014.”
A proud moment for the couple was when the Origanimals TV series won Giggle Garage the Best Planning Award at last year’s Seoul Promotion Plan Project Competition. Held in conjunction with the 16th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival 2012, the studio beat entries from 19 countries. It also bagged the Golden Prize at the 14th TBS DigiCon6 2012 Regional Award for Origanimals TV Series (Malaysia).
“The awards definitely helped us gain more confidence in our IP. It reassured us that we are doing something right.”
A TOUCH OF K-TOON
While in Seoul, Juhaidah and Zeno got to meet representatives from CrazyBird Studio, a Korean outfit known for its unique animation style.
“We met at a business matchmaking event that MDEC organised for Malaysian animation studios. The CrazyBird Studio team saw Origanimals and loved the concept. They wanted us to produce a similar show using a set of new characters,” says Juhaidah.
With that, began the creation of Giggle Garage’s second IP titled Boing The Play Ranger. The animation series invites preschoolers and families into the village called Playville, a playground town inhabited by lovable characters who also transforms into playground rides.
“The concept, development and pre-production are done by CrazyBird Studio in Seoul. The main animation production and compositing are done by Giggle Garage at our studio in Cyberjaya. Another Korean outfit Synergy Media is our worldwide distributor. The project is currently in production and scheduled for completion in June,” explains Juhaidah.
Zeno adds: “The Koreans are known for their strength in animation and CrazyBirds is considered a pioneer in the industry. Not only they have the skills for animation and story telling, but they also have an established business model — we are learning a lot from them. What sweetened the deal is that Giggle Garage gets to own the IP for the Asean region, so we can open up new business avenues from there,” says Zeno, who notes that the opportunity also renewed the studio’s confidence in their own capabilities.
Juhaidah says: “Boing The Play Ranger was launched in MIPCOM 2012 and we received a number of inquiries from international broadcasters. The IP is ready for pre-sales. We are channelling most of our resources now to complete 26 episodes of the series and each episode will run for 11 minutes.
“ The show is scheduled to be first aired in Korea this year and we can’t wait to get feedback and ratings for the series. We are also in the midst of talking to local broadcasters, so hopefully we’ll see the series airing here too. In the future, we hope to see the IP evolve. As Boing is set in a playground, we got the idea to come up with an indoor theme park based on Playville and the characters. The indoor theme park is a huge concept in Korea and we believe it will work here too,” says Juhaidah showing off some prototype merchandise that the company had developed in preparation for the broadcast.
MAKING A MARK
Zeno and Juhaidah both feel that they are already living their dream. “I believe the country is on the right track as more creative companies are now focusing on creating original IPs for the global market. As for Giggle Garage, we hope to create more content that is unique ,which appeals to a global audience. Our target is to become the most admired creative company in Asia.”
A look at Origanimals characters and Boing The Play Ranger’s trailer on www.gigglegarage.com, no one would have guessed that it is a Malaysian-made product. There are no traces of a Malaysian landscape or icon.
Zeno who hails from Tambunan says: “It is not easy to push a certain Malaysian style or stamp, as Malaysians are naturally diverse. We can always incorporate icons such as Mount Kinabalu in our content, but what’s more important is a strong storyline. It needs to address people from not just one country or one region,” he explains.
Juhaidah believes that Giggle Garage’s way of stamping the Malaysian brand on their product is by setting a high benchmark on quality.
“If you notice, the strength of Korean content is in the way they tell their stories, that is why their content is very well accepted. Being multi-racial, we see inspiration all around us. We also have lots of talent in the country, so the challenge is to use the elements around you and make everything come together in a package so that people from different backgrounds can easily understand the story that you are telling them.
“So for me the best way to promote the Malaysian brand is to be recognised internationally. Being selected to produce for an international broadcaster, we believe we’ve made our mark as a Malaysian company,” she adds.
