Honourable Mention for Evil Genius Academy

Animation Magazine's Pitch Party '08 is over and the results are in. Whilst I didn't win, I received an honourable mention. It had been pointed out to me that I had spelled Enrol incorrectly on the pitch, however that is not true. In UK spelling we use only one L, the US spelling is with two. So it is Enroll in the US, I guess it could count as a spelling error by the judges.

I think in this day and age we are a technology era where we are still seeking answers to what we are here for. Reality TV has taken off over the years to a point it seems ridiculous that every TV channell has a show on about someone else's life. TV and Film for me have always been to escape the rat race and let my mind wander off to a world of unrealism. With that in mind, I didn't write the concept of Evil Genius Academy thinking of how it would affect the viewers or whether or not the audience would connect. In fact, I don't want the audience to connect in that way. This isn't a concept that is supposed to teach you anything about life. This is purely slapstick entertainment, not unlike Warner Bros cartoons from the Golden Age. It's about what makes me laugh and keeps me entertained. I spoke with some colleagues about this concept and they too knew I was on to something that would work great. It seems the idea of just having fun with a show is waning with some networks. It's more about appealing to your audience and connecting your characters to a show through marketing. Which probably stands to reason why you don't see much more of any shows that don't provide some sort of entertainment in a different world. If I'd said the evil genius was an emo kid that was teased by other children at school and his parents picked on him, I'm sure that it would be more appealing. But I'm not about making something for the audiences, I'm about making something I care about. If you don't like the idea, don't follow me or the show.

It's been an interesting experience with the Pitch Party, I'd do it again. But next time I know what appeals to the majority to get a winner. If that's what I want.

In the meantime, I continue to develop the series and will update the website with progress as it comes.

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