SKY
OBKI
Obki the alien is on a mission to save planet Earth… but he’ll have to learn how first!
In our first commissioned series, Obki and his trusty sidekick, the Orb, embark on an array of ecological adventures to discover the little ways we can all help our environment.
LETZ DO DIS!
We were given an amazing opportunity by Obki Productions and Sky Kids to create a TV series with a subject close to our hearts - nature and the environment.
The message of the show was clear - to give children the education and know-how to begin making a difference. We wanted our lovable alien to inspire the next generation of eco-warriors and ultimately, save planet earth.
Having been involved in the development of Obki since Ritzy first began, we couldn’t wait to bring his world to life in 15 x 2-minute episodes.
It was a huge undertaking for our young studio, and it was all happening in the midst of a pandemic, forcing us to make big changes to the way we work and communicate.
But this was an opportunity we weren’t going to pass up, so from our bedrooms we set about putting together a team of amazing artists and producers to bring this ethical show to life!
OUT OF THIS WORLD
With high standards and the desire to set a new quality benchmark for kids’ TV, we began by identifying the areas we should assign the most resources to.
With ‘character’ at the heart of Ritzy, the stars of the show, Obki, and the Orb were the first assets to focus on. We spent a lot of time developing their textures and shaders to feel tactile and believable. Obki’s skin needed to feel wet, transparent, fish-like, and full of jelly - no easy feat! In contrast, the Orb needed to feel mechanical, shiny and a little rough around the edges.
But it wasn’t just the way they ‘looked’ that was important, we were adamant that Obki needed to move with zap, elasticity and copious amounts of wobble. But to achieve flexible and rubber hose style animation required top-quality rigs and so we had to devote a lot of time to building skeletons which could achieve these extreme poses.
We made the early decision that the Orb wouldn’t have a moving mouth. This meant that the bulk of the animation time could be spent on the crazy movements of our hero alien whilst she glided beautifully alongside him. This would save precious seconds later down the line and ensure that our animators could focus their energies on injecting as much character into Obki as possible.
THE BASE
Operating from the depths of the ocean in his high-tech underwater sea base, it was crucial that the environment reflected his personality and charm. We researched lots of futuristic buildings and underwater caverns to help us design a space that seemed appropriate for a slightly eccentric orange blob. Every prop, wall or staircase was sketched with an aquatic/recycling theme in mind.
After the design was complete, we built everything in 3D, adding lots of touches and details to make the space feel lived in. Grubby fingermarks, wet foot prints and dents from previous adventures were integrated to make it feel even more believable.
GOING PLACES
To learn about the world, Obki often needs to leave the base and travel to other parts of the world.
For these environments, we decided to use matte paintings combined with 3D props and foreground greenery to achieve beautiful scenes.
The designers worked closely from the storyboards and layout to ensure the right backgrounds were painted for each angle or moment in the story. Creating a wide shot usually covered most of the action and allowed Obki and the Orb to move freely left and right without feeling too limited within the frame.
SUPPORTING CAST
A lot of time was spent developing Obki’s super-rig, however, we couldn’t afford that luxury with the secondary cast - there were too many! We needed to find a way of maximizing our use of time and resources but ensuring the same level of flexibility and humour . . .
The answer? We developed a face rig that could be easily transferred between characters which meant consistency in style but also enabled extreme expressions and personality.
ASSET CREATION
With a long list of props and gadgets to create, we made sure every detail was meticulously researched, environmentally sound, and designed with the ‘Obki’ aesthetic in mind.
By providing the model/texture team with comprehensive guides and specific material references, we were able to create a smooth process and limit the amount of amends required in the latter stages of the production.
SMOOTH MOVES
Originally, the show was supposed to have locked off cameras and entirely set against matte paintings. But we believed our orange blob deserved a more dynamic world, so we made the decision to use camera moves and effects for important moments.
The increased complexity also meant we needed to optimise our render time and setup. We developed in-house tools that meant lighting scenes were built in seconds and were updated automatically, saving lots of artist time.
LISTEN UP!
With complex messages and only 90 seconds to tell our stories, we needed a method of communicating the environmental issues clearly and concisely, whilst retaining the charm and humour needed to engage a young audience.
For this, we turned to motion graphics. For every episode we designed and animated an exciting, colourful, explanation of the problem which played out on the monitors at Obki’s desk.
These stylish snippets featured a cast of fun characters and locations and helped set the framework for each episode.
THE TALENT
We were fortunate enough to work with some brilliant people and fantastic companies on this project.
It all starts with the voices, and we were lucky enough to bag Zawe Ashton and Steven Kynman who played the Orb and Obki respectively.
Next to music, where Obki’s zany extravagant characteristics were reflected perfectly in scores by Flavio Gargano.
Then there’s the amazing Simon and Jim at Fuse Post who took the show to the next level by adding lots of futuristic and whacky sound effects.
Of course, a shout out to Ally Morgan at The Farm who put it all together in the Online sessions.
And finally, as this was produced during a pandemic, we must mention Escape Technology who were instrumental in providing the IT services that enabled us to deliver the show.
CREDITS
Client: Sky Kids & Sky 0
Production Company: Obki Productions
Creator & Executive Producer: Amanda Evans
Executive Producer: Emma Pemberton
Series Director: Simone Giampaolo
Executive Producers: Charlie Batho, Dan Edgley
Production Executive for Sky: Sam Shields
Executive Producer for Sky: Ian France
Voices: Zawe Ashton (The Orb), Steven Kynman (Obki)
Written By: Evgenia Golubeva, Myles Mcleod
Music: Flavio Gargano
Producer: Jade Jordan
Production Coordinator: Anika Zinat
Production Assistant: Chloe Edgley
Production Accountant: Ben Saxton
Character Designer: Giacomo Autili
Prop Designer: Abigail Whitnall
Background Matte Paintings: Lorenzo Premuroso, Ilaria Di Sante
Character Modeller: Tom Paterson
Prop Modeller: Kiki Pela
Rigging: Roberto Ciriaco, Jessica Kersey-Preston, Simon Duclos, Louise Masse
Animation: Philip Ward, Valentin Puig, Imo Rolfe,
Jessica Kersey-Preston, Sydney Hopkin, Simone Giampaolo
Pipeline TD: Michael Bond
Lighting & Compositing: Michael Bond, Richard Goodchild, Nina Pumpalovic
Motion Graphics: Maya Reményi
Audio & Sound: Simon Couzens (Fuse Post), James O’Brien (Fuse Post)
Online & QC: Ally Morgan (The Farm Group)
Developed By: Ritzy Animaton
&
Obki Productions
for
Sky Kids & Sky 0