The Children‘s Media Conference

CMC 2015 - Converging Careers

Can producers, writers and production staff work across platforms? In fact, nowadays, must they be able to work cross platform in order to have a sustainable career? If so, how can they get the training and experience they need and overcome being pigeonholed in just one area of children’s media and being good at only one thing?

CMC 2015 - Children’s Film – Adapt or Kill?

Following a year of ‘Paddington’, ‘Shaun’, and ‘Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg?’ are the options for children’s film in the UK still limited?

CMC 2015 - Changing Channels: Commissioner Conversation with the Publishers

Children’s Publishing still represents one of the main providers of new brands for the international children’s media business. Historically these brands have always been originated by authors or author-illustrators. The market suggests that mediums and platforms are already converging both creatively and commercially. So while the author-creator model will always be central to children’s publishing, how do publishers view other ‘creators’ of content as possible sources of new publishing.

Find out why 52 episodes don’t automatically mean 52 books, when a good idea for TV or other media also becomes a good idea for publishing, what a publisher needs to read in order to see ‘book potential’ and what you need to do to translate a great story for the screen into a great story for publishing.

CMC 2015 - Changing Channels: Commissioning Conversation with the Celtic Commissioners

Producers are a hardy bunch. You have a great idea. It can travel. But how do you get it made?

The Celtic Commissioners could hold the key. With no multi territory diktats to adhere to, what they lack in budgets they make up for in speedy decision making and a willingness to partner with others – on the right idea, of course.

Yes, the budgets aren’t huge but there are funds and grants out there that could help you get your show made and loved by a brand new audience.

Join the commissioning team from RTE, BBC Alba, S4C and TG4 to hear how they tick, see what they’re looking for and find out if local grants and funds could help get you great show made.

CMC 2015 - Brands and Learning

In 2014, Nickelodeon and Rovio made significant moves into the educational app market, while for many years brands such as BP, Barclays and M&S have engaged in corporate social responsibility activity in schools. Brands can use their familiarity and their assets to support learning about subjects where they have specialist knowledge, or use character and stories familiar to children and young people as the core of educational resources.

If the brand name helps engage children and young people in home and school learning, is that simply a good thing? Do brands risk dumbing down education or creating a commercial playground that’s incompatible with education? Are there risks for schools and parents to balance with the reward? And what responsibilities does this demand of the brands, the schools and parents to ensure children get the best deal?

CMC 2015 - Take a Break

The lowdown on all the tax breaks – animation, games and theatre, with special emphasis on the new live action children’s television tax incentive.

CMC 2015 - Storytelling: The Pre-school Parent Trap

Broadcasters offer preschool programming for children aged 0-6 years, a very wide age span.  Because there’s always the chance that the youngest children in the audience might be watching without an adult, broadcasters tend to favour content that does not contain anything too scary or sophisticated for a 2-3 year old, even if it is intended for an older audience. Where can 4-6 year olds find developmentally appropriate content that will arm them with the cognitive, social and emotional tools they will need for school and beyond? Some UK-funded live-action programming does cater to that older audience, but preschool animation tends to play it safe.  Can we take more risks in our storytelling to serve 4-6 year olds?  How?   Parents, broadcasters, writers and academics are brought together to discuss the challenges and possibilities.

CMC 2015 - Research 9: Exploring Online Identity with Neuroscience

What does on-line identity mean to today’s young people? A collaborative investigation with schools, qualitative research and neuroscience experiments.

Presented by Sonia Joao, Oxy Insight, Dr Erman Misirlisoy, Praedico, Naomi Ward, ConnectED

CMC 2015 - Research 8: Um Hello...We‘re Changing. Why aren‘t you?

Welcome to 2015 – the year of change, where kids’ consumption, engagement and interaction with media has shifted. Take a tour of what’s changed and what lies ahead.

Presented by Renuka Gupta and Alan Hathaway, Discovery Research

CMC 2015 - Research 7: When More is More: Understanding Children‘s Choice processes

Paralysing or pleasurable? A headache or a high? How children deal with choice, and why understanding this can increase engagement with your content

Presented by Maurice Wheeler, The Little Big Partnership