The fi ne art of style guide design The fi ne art of style guide design

C E L E B R A T I N G 1 0 Y E A R S • S P O N S O R E D S U P P L E M E N T
company took time with its inaugural projects. Beth Stevenson
says it took Decode three or four years before it dipped its toe
into the preschool pool. Broadcasters were saying there was no
room, and proven producers in the genre quickly fi lled any space
that emerged for the youngest TV audience. But the Decode
team creatively found a possible entry point.
“We were asking broadcasters what they wanted and they said
anything but preschool, so we came back and thought, well,
if that’s what they’re telling everyone, then perhaps no one is
making it,” DeNure says. And at a time when preschool was classic
and 2-D, Decode broke the mold by pitching two CGI properties
from its roster that had broadcasters suddenly making room in
their previously closed schedules: Save ‘Ums and Franny’s Feet.
“CGI is just a tool, and it’s now become the dominant form of
animation production as expertise has grown worldwide and as
costs have come down,” Court says. Of course, as Decode made
a name for itself in the industry, so too came pitches from new
producers. Court says the team was once presented with a kids
animated series where different animals were dressed in police
uniforms. One character was blind, the other in a wheelchair,
FRANNY’S FEET: 78 episodes x 11 minutes
©2003 DECODE/Franny Productions Inc.
35