JoJo joy Studio wins award for animated series
AN independent animation production studio in Bristol has won a national television industry award for its work on CBeebies pre-school series JoJo and Gran Gran.
A Productions, which is based on Old Market Street in the city, collaborated with BBC Children’s InHouse Productions on the screen adaptation of the books by children’s author Laura Henry.
The programme is the first UK pre-school animation series to centre around a black British family.
An episode of the series, JoJo and Gran Gran: It’s Time to Go to the Hairdresser’s, won in the Best PreSchool Programme category at the Broadcast Awards during a virtual ceremony hosted by broadcaster Claudia Winkleman.
The awards recognise groundbreaking TV content produced by the creative industry.
A Productions said while making the programme it undertook extensive research and interviews in Bristol, creating a panel made up of a range of voices from local communities that worked closely with its creative team.
Katherine McQueen, joint managing director of A Productions, said: “This fantastic recognition is testament to the entire team who have thrown their hearts and souls into this important show.
“For us, it was crucial that JoJo and Gran Gran had an authentic voice and truly told the stories and experiences of the communities and characters it portrayed.
“We hope this series will help to pave the way for better representation in pre-school programming and beyond in the future.”
A Productions employs a team of 150 people and has created longform production for children’s television for clients worldwide.
The studio is known for its speciality in traditional and digital 2D
stop frame, CGI, AFX, Flash and live action, both in studio and on location.
Bristol is renowned for being a hotbed for TV and film production. An expansion of The Bottle Yard Studios is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs within the South West’s creative sector over the next 10 years.
The city is also home to the Academy Award-winning Aardman Animations studio, the creators of Wallace and Gromit.