Our customers are important to us and for that reason we have decided to give you a voice in our newsletter. To kick-start this new series we have the pleasure to welcome Svetlana Heneka, from Globe Edutainment.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about Globe Edutainment and how VIPO the Flying Dog came to life?
A: Globe Edutainment is a multifaceted Media and Edutainment company, adept at trans-media story telling with a focus on Adventure, Exploration and Education.
Our story begins in the early eighties, when Mr. Yaakov Chai, who was the Group’s founder and CEO, realized his idea to create a fictional travelling character VIPO the Flying Dog who travels and explores the world.
20 years later following the release of the VIPO illustrated story books and plush toys we started working on the first animation TV series: VIPO – Adventures of the Flying Dog. To date the VIPO program has been broadcasted in over 100 countries and translated into 39 languages.
The VIPO concept answers the requirements of the children’s programming. It has been very well received in a variety of different countries with vastly different religions and cultures. The show is international, charming, violence free making it suitable for young children and their families.
Q: How has the market for children’s edutainment products changed over the years and in your opinion is the addition of a complimentary web/mobile App a must-have?
A: Besides TV, there are huge number of online and mobile media platforms offering space for children’s education through entertainment, adventure and pleasure. The opportunities increase greatly. To each VIPO episodes we have produced a corresponding eBook with audio. Digital providers are looking for enhanced content.
Q: What are the foreign versioning challenges you have faced in distributing VIPO in other markets?
A: The censorship of few broadcasters have requested a little editing, or even to skip the episodes e.g. Munich episode in which the Oktober Fest was mentioned.
Q: How do you chose your animation dubbing partners and what are the prerequisites when briefing a dubbing partner?
A: Foremost we are taking care of the voices of the 3 main characters. Usually we ask the dubbing studio to provide us a choice of minimums 3 castings.
Q: Do you have any funny story about a dubbing/translation?
A: Vipo – Bhipo ; Betty – Beitidh; Henry – Eanraig; These are the names of the 3 main characters in Scottish Gaelic.
Q: It’s coming to the end of 2015, what have been Globe Edutainment’s plans for the next 5 years and where do you see the edutainment industry in the next 5 years?
A: Our plan is to produce a new VIPO TV series season, and to expand on new digital and interactive media platforms, thus keeping VIPO relevant for current and future generations.
The edutainment industry will more and more focus on development of digital media and create the content for the children who grow up with that development.
Q: You have worked with Haymillian as a media localisation partner. What was your experience and where do you think the company makes a difference?
A: We were delighted to work with Haymillian as a partner. Their business approach is professional, efficient and straightforward. We know each other since many years and we are convinced that Haymillian is the right partner for us, but also other producers because of their experience and competence in media localisation.
