{"id":25845,"date":"2023-09-22T10:05:40","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T14:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/superprod-groups-jeremie-fajner-clement-calvet\/"},"modified":"2023-10-03T07:31:19","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T11:31:19","slug":"superprod-groups-jeremie-fajner-clement-calvet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/superprod-groups-jeremie-fajner-clement-calvet\/","title":{"rendered":"Superprod Group\u2019s J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Fajner & Cl\u00e9ment Calvet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back when they were both at Gaumont Animation, J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Fajner and Cl\u00e9ment Calvet worked with the creatives behind\u00a0Galactik Football<\/em>, a French-Irish co-production that enamored kids from across the globe with its potent mix of football and science fiction. Almost two decades later, in a markedly different kids\u2019 landscape, Fajner and Calvet are returning to the world of soccer with the same team, unveiling\u00a0Heroic Football<\/em>\u00a0at Cartoon Forum this year. The new production skews older than Superprod\u2019s past animation shows, eyeing a demo of 8 to 12, and is allowing the venture to flex its technical skills across its studio facilities.\u00a0TV Kids<\/em>\u00a0caught up with Calvet, CEO, and Fajner, managing director, to learn more about the new series and their approach to navigating the complexities of the kids\u2019 sector today.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>TV KIDS:\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s been a while since the kids\u2019 industry has seen a big football-themed animated show. I think the last one was\u00a0Galactik Football<\/em>. How did\u00a0Heroic Football<\/em>\u00a0come about?
\nCALVET:\u00a0<\/strong>We gathered with our friends Antoine Charreyron, Guillaume Mautalent and S\u00e9bastien Oursel, the director and main writers of\u00a0Galactik Football<\/em>. We had such a great time producing that show together. We said, let\u2019s do a series together again! That\u2019s how it started. We put some themes on the table, what we wanted to play with. Football and fantasy was a good combination. It\u2019s two subjects that kids are fans of. They never have enough football, and they love fantasy. We had success mixing sci-fi and football in\u00a0Galactik Football<\/em>. We felt we could have bigger potential by mixing the fantasy world with football. We also thought we could bring in an extra level of quality because the technology has evolved a lot. There are things we could not do in the past. We gathered a team on the creative side and the writing side. We have a clear vision of the show and put a pilot together.
\nFAJNER:\u00a0<\/strong>It has a very distinctive look. And we have the power to do everything in-house. We are a studio. That gives you much control and power over what you have on-screen. That\u2019s exciting for the writers and Antoine, the director.
\nCALVET:\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s an important step for the company in terms of targeting\u2014it will go up to 12 for sure. That\u2019s something we\u2019re not used to doing. We are just launching an animated feature film for adults, and we\u2019re developing teen and adult animated series as well. This pilot is the first of its kind for us. We\u2019re super excited to show it to the community. Our goal is not to do only one season. We\u2019ll start with one season, but we have developed a deep arc that will sustain at least five seasons. We\u2019d like to have one season for every event\u2014the next World Cup, Euro, Copa Am\u00e9rica, etc. Every two years there\u2019s a big event. We want to be ready to launch the show in parallel with those competitions.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0The world has changed so much since\u00a0Galactik Football<\/em>, from the business models to how kids consume content. How different was the development process this time around?
\nCALVET:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s a full CGI show, which was not the case with\u00a0Galactik Football<\/em>\u2014it was in 2D with small pieces of CGI. Here, we took it directly into full CGI and were inspired by many new visual trends and animation styles. We gathered talents like Florent Auguy, who worked on\u00a0Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse<\/em>. He brought a great touch to the artistic direction. There are some great women artists in the directing team, too.
\nFAJNER:<\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019re going for a very dynamic directing style\u2014there is also a great combination of humor and action in the scripts. As producers, we\u2019ve evolved as well. We\u2019ve produced 15 shows since\u00a0Galactik Football<\/em>. Antoine has directed action series, including two seasons of\u00a0Batwheels<\/em>. All of that feeds us.
\nCALVET:<\/strong>\u00a0We produce series and features. We don\u2019t separate the two. We want our series to benefit from the high-end quality of the features. We want our features to be as efficient as possible production-wise. All this drives us to provide the best.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:\u00a0<\/strong>Are you already thinking about gaming extensions, or will that come later?
\nFAJNER:<\/strong>\u00a0The better the series is, the better it will translate into both media. We start by doing the series, attracting as many viewers as possible. And then translate to other media.
\nCALVET:<\/strong>\u00a0Even though the market has evolved, we all need a great story and great characters first.
\nFAJNER:<\/strong>\u00a0And emotional involvement.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0I recall\u00a0Galactik Football<\/em>\u00a0being pitched as being boy-skewed; I imagine you can widen that demographic given how much more involved girls are in football these days.
\nCALVET:<\/strong>\u00a0Look at the audience in the U.K. for the Women\u2019s Euro and in Australia for the last World Cup, where stadiums were full. It\u2019s getting bigger and bigger. We have mixed teams of girls and boys. The show needs to reflect real life and have diversity. Using fantasy as the theme, we can go even further with diversity.
\nFAJNER:<\/strong>\u00a0And the lead character of\u00a0Heroic Football<\/em>\u00a0is a girl!<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0Let\u2019s talk more about the studio and the pipeline and techniques you can work in.
\nCALVET:<\/strong>\u00a0We wanted to develop a studio that would be able to produce every kind of animation, for series and also features, using the high-end technology we have developed, a USD [Universal Scene Description] pipeline (named FLOW) that is at the forefront of what you can do and be as efficient as possible in production. We use it to do all our projects, from preschool to adult.
\nFAJNER:<\/strong>\u00a0The studio has about 600 to 700 seats. We are project-driven. Our projects are all different from one another. We\u2019re finishing a series for Netflix, and we\u2019re doing\u00a0Batwheels<\/em>\u00a0for Warner Bros. Animation. Those were developed for them, and we\u2019re doing the full series production. The directors are French; the storyboarders are French. The scripting is done in L.A., but everything else is done in France and Italy in our studios (in Paris, Angoul\u00eame\u2014next to Bordeaux\u2014and Milan). We just started the new\u00a0Asterix<\/em>\u00a0CGI movie. That\u2019s as big as a French CGI movie can be; it\u2019s the biggest franchise here.
\nCALVET:<\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019re also launching our next 2D series,\u00a0Harrison and Me<\/em>, for France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions. We can be agile, from simple shows to complex feature films, from 2D to CGI, for all targets. The goal is to push the limit each time so the team in the studio always gets excited.
\nFAJNER:<\/strong>\u00a0We keep doing productions for majors like Warner Bros. Animation, Netflix, STUDIOCANAL, DreamWorks Animation and others, and our own shows. Some are original IPs we developed. We have a big in-house development team and develop at least three to four shows a year, original shows and adaptations of existing IP. This diversity excites us and takes us to the next level. We\u2019re technology agnostic. What counts is what you have on the screen at the end of the day. We\u2019re demanding with our tech teams and artists. This new pipeline we have and the technology we are using give creative freedom to the artist and bring more efficiency into the production. That\u2019s key to what we want to do. Distinctive projects done in an efficient way. We do smaller budget series and we do premium budget series. We do them with the same heart.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0How do you see AI impacting the efficiency of production processes?
\nFAJNER:<\/strong>\u00a0All the software we use in our production chain now integrates some AI components. As with any plug-in in any software, they bring some efficiencies and new abilities to work faster on repetitive tasks. We are integrating them into the production pipeline. But when it comes to creation, intention, vision and interpretation, nothing replaces a team of artists, a director and an actor doing the right stuff. There are industrial parts to what we do, so any tool helps, but the tool can also create more problems than solutions. You need a creative vision, first and foremost.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0How do you determine the best size for your development slate so you\u2019re meeting varied market needs without stretching your capacity?
\nCALVET:<\/strong>\u00a0We don\u2019t give ourselves limits, except that we don\u2019t want to develop a show that is the same as another one. We have a distribution arm, Superights, so we sell the shows we produce; we want to make sure it has a portfolio of diverse projects. Aside from that, we don\u2019t see a limit. The limit is the capacity of the creativity of the team.
\nFAJNER: Some projects take time to mature. We can say, let\u2019s stop this, but keep thinking about it. You need to have some projects in the back of your mind.
\nCALVET:<\/strong>\u00a0And some projects are irresistible!<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s a challenging time for the business. What priorities are you focusing on for Superprod?
\nCALVET:<\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019re sticking to what we have decided to do from the first day of the company. We\u2019re developing shows, telling the best stories possible, trying to work with the best talents and trying to go on evolving our tools. We keep the faith. The market is changing. Some times are more challenging than other times. At the end of the day, it\u2019s all about producing great shows.
\nFAJNER:<\/strong> When times are difficult, you must be more creative than ever, more reliable than ever and true to your partners. That\u2019s how we can find our way through these times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The CEO and managing director discuss the new series Heroic Football and their approach to navigating the complexities of the kids\u2019 sector today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":25927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,21],"tags":[3764,8340,7195,5881],"class_list":["post-25845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-clement-calvet","tag-heroic-football","tag-jeremie-fajner","tag-superprod-group","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nSuperprod Group\u2019s J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Fajner & Cl\u00e9ment Calvet - TVKIDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/superprod-groups-jeremie-fajner-clement-calvet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Superprod Group\u2019s J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Fajner & Cl\u00e9ment Calvet - TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The CEO and managing director discuss the new series Heroic Football and their approach to navigating the complexities of the kids\u2019 sector today.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/superprod-groups-jeremie-fajner-clement-calvet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-22T14:05:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-03T11:31:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2023\/09\/Superprod-1023-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"319\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/superprod-groups-jeremie-fajner-clement-calvet\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/superprod-groups-jeremie-fajner-clement-calvet\/\",\"name\":\"Superprod Group\u2019s J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Fajner & Cl\u00e9ment Calvet - TVKIDS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-22T14:05:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-03T11:31:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/superprod-groups-jeremie-fajner-clement-calvet\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/superprod-groups-jeremie-fajner-clement-calvet\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/superprod-groups-jeremie-fajner-clement-calvet\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Superprod Group\u2019s J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Fajner & Cl\u00e9ment Calvet\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\",\"name\":\"TVKIDS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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