Apple has picked Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood as it’s Show of the Week!

Download your free Daniel Tiger episode at iTunes this week.

And you thought it was going to be just an average Tuesday, in your neighborhood, didn’t you?!

In the Creative Galaxy (a galaxy made up of different art inspired planets) lives a creative preschool alien, Arty, with his mom, dad, baby sister and his shape shifting side kick, Epiphany. Arty explores the Creative Galaxy, soaring to the Museum Planet and the Painting Planet (and many more arts based planets in future episodes) to “fix situations with art!”.

In this pilot episode, Arty’s mom, an architect, built a library but no one will stay and read.

Why?

The library is..well..blah. Arty has an idea that will save the day!

He will fix the library with art!

Will he do it?

Will the aliens stay to read?

You will have to watch to find out!

Oh, and wait until you hear the theme song – – don’t say I didn’t warn you when it gets stuck in your head!

Out of the Blue Enterprises works with the best in the business to create something new and different:  Samantha Freeman, Traci Paige Johnson, Dr. Alice Wilder, Becky Friedman, Wendy Harris, Rachel Kalban & animation from 9 Story Entertainment. With this team, we believe, we have the building blocks for kids to soar.

NOTE:  Creative Galaxy is a work in process – it is presently a colored story board of sketches that tells the story with voice overs, music & minimal art (And, yes, I know how funny that is, since this is an ART show!)  

Please check out Creative Galaxy & Sara Solves It at Amazon Studios. If you feel that your kids would benefit from either (or dare I say, both), please leave your feedback by next week. YOUR online support will determine which shows get picked up for series! 

Thank you

Angela

Our daughter crawled into our bed last night with uncontrollable tears. Damn math!

After years of practice, I’m pretty good at the pillow wedge (strategically placing a rolled up pillow between me & one of my kids to absorb an involuntary thrust of an elbow or a foot as we lay quietly asleep) but I thought those days were long gone.

I guess with Angela’s birthday approaching this week, my 9 year old was thinking about what her life will be like when she’s her Mom’s age. Since that will be her age now + X amount of years, it naturally got her thinking about Angela & myself at our present age + X

You see where she’s going with this, right?

I’m telling you, tears..uncontrollable.

Especially as a Dad..a guy. We’ve got to fix the problem..most everything can be fixed..should be.

But while verbally stumbling in an awkward attempt to find the right thing to say, I took a cue from my wife.

Sometimes there’s nothing that can be said to fix, you can only hold onto them so they know they’re loved.

Part of what makes Daniel Tiger‘s  Neighborhood of Make-Believe so rich and lively are the voices that bring our character to life!

So, who are the voices?

Meet Jake Beale.  He is an 11 year-old adorable boy with lots of spunk and enthusiasm for Daniel!  He gets to sing, he gets to imagine, and he gets to be friends with millions of preschoolers!

This week, we’re giving you a never before sneak peek, behind the voices that make Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood so special.

Can you feel the love?? 

Hi Jake.  You play a preschool tiger named Daniel but how old are you..really?   

I’m 11.

And you have a teensy bit of an accent, where are you from? 

I’m from Toronto, Canada.

How are you like Daniel Tiger? Are your personalities similar?

I like to learn about new things and teach others new things.We’re both funny and we both love to sing.  I love to sing in the shower and annoy my two older sisters.

If you had to pick one favorite episode, which would it be?

Good Morning, Daniel.

I love that one, too and not just because I wrote it! And you sing so beautifully in that episode! 

If Daniel Tiger could do anything or go anywhere in the next episode, what would you want it to be?

Jamaica!  Because I like to swim and I love the beach.

Maybe we should start a campaign so we could go to Jamaica and write and record an episode from there!  I’m packed and ready to go!

What’s your favorite book?

The Hunger Games.  I’ve read them..twice.

When you’re not in the studio recording, what’s your favorite activity?

Hockey.  Hockey.  Hockey.  And tennis.

What was the funniest moment for you while working on the show?

One time I burped in the recording studio.

Jake has been acting since he was four years old. His adorable raspy voice has helped him land roles in a number of cartoons and currently most of his time acting is spent in voice studios. Jake works very hard at balancing his time on set with his school work and other passions. When he’s not in the studio or at school you can find him playing hockey, spending time with friends and family, or relaxing at sleep-away camp. Share some of your favorite Daniel episodes below with Jake!

2013 Parents’ Choice Award goes to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Congratulations to The Fred Rogers Company, PBS Kids, 9 Story Entertainment, Out of the Blue Enterprises & Voodoo Highway Music & Post. Lots of little happy faces are in agreement with the nation’s oldest nonprofit program created to recognize quality children’s media.

Congrats to all who continue the magic in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe!!

Composer, Brian, and his son (aka Daniel Tiger’s first fan)

Can’t get the Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood songs out of your head??

Meet the rock stars that you can thank!

The crew at Voodoo Highway Music & Post are among my favorite people. They “get me” when I say I want a song to sound “pop-ish”, and I want parents to love it as much as kids, & then I give them a “research approved” strategy to work with..Of course, they have been ultra creative & have pushed the boundaries of traditional preschool music to create award winning songs (if I do say so myself) that are hip enough to make it onto my iPod…

This week, we’re giving you a behind the scenes peek at the way the music comes together for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood which was created to be a new type of “preschool musical”.  Meet the composers at Voodoo Highway Music, James Chapple, Graeme Cornies, Dave Kelly & Brian Pickett who brought the music and tone to life.   We’re so happy that James answered some questions about the musical process.

So how do you do it? Explain a bit about your process of composing & sound editing?

There are 2 components to writing music for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: 1) the featured songs in each episode (an Imagination Song & a Strategy Song), & 2) the underscore (background music that plays throughout the episode). Before we even write a single note for 1 of the songs, we read over the script for that episode. This helps us understand exactly what the songs should be about, the style in which they should be written, and of course the message that the episode is trying to convey.

Once we have a firm understanding of what the core message of the episode should be, we write a “demo” for each song & revise based on feedback from the producers. We then record all of the talented cast singing. It is a unique process for us because, on most other shows, the music is composed after the animation is completed.

For Daniel, we write the songs before the animation has even begun, which allows the animators to make the visuals match up with our music. This helps the songs look & sound  fantastic in the final episode! The underscore portion of the show is completed in a more traditional method. We get a copy of the episode once the animation is nearly complete. While we watch through, we make notes about how the music should reflect the action on screen. This process is called “spotting”. Once we spot the episode, we get to the fun part: composing the music! We work hard to help accentuate the emotions of the characters on screen, & ultimately it’s quite rewarding when we watch through the final episode & see how much our music helps tell the story!

Of all the (many!) songs you’ve composed for the series, can you pick 1 favorite?

Every song is unique & memorable, but my personal favorite would be the updated version of Fred’s song “It’s You I Like”. On that particular song, it was my job to learn the piano parts so Graeme would be able to add other instruments & vocals over top. It was a real challenge to figure out, as I didn’t have any sheet music & had to learn it all by ear from a recording of Fred singing. It was a moment where I felt very connected to Mister Rogers.

What was the most emotional moment for you while working on the show?

For me personally it was when we received the wonderful fan mail from parents across the country. We compose all the music in our studio, sometimes late at night, & it’s easy to become disconnected from the show’s audience. Seeing how our music has affected so many different people, in so many positive ways, was a really meaningful moment for me as a composer. When I started out to write music for a living, I had the hopes of being able to change lives the way music changed my own. To hear all of the wonderful things people have said about our music on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, well, it is simply the reason I got into this career in the first place.

Also, I should note, the moment my mother called me up in tears after watching the first episode was a beautiful moment as well. It really meant a lot to hear how proud she was of our work!

One of my favorites is the potty song – it still cracks me up & I can’t wait to hear my nephews sing it! 

What was the funniest moment for you while working on the show?

I often find myself chuckling when we have to record funny characters that appear in the imagination songs. Recording the talented (& hilarious) voice actors pretending to be fish, knives, forks, superheroes, stuffed animals, flowers, or any other of the myriad of interesting characters always leaves me laughing.

The music just keeps getting better and better!  Can you give us a sneak-peek about the music in upcoming episodes?

Well, the music for episode 31 (“Neighbor Day”), is simply going to be out of this world. It’s a very music-heavy episode & we’ve written a lot of cool songs that incorporate many different characters singing. I think we are all very proud of that episode, as we went above & beyond what we normally compose.

& let us know what songs are most memorable to YOU & why..

Thank you for this wonderful show. I have the honor of being a mom to a brilliant 4 year old with high-functioning Autism. This show is perfect for kids with ASD.

The day after we watched the first show, he wanted to do show & tell. When I told him that he wasn’t supposed to have show & tell until the next day, he immediately said, “I feel disappointed.” He proceeded to sing “When something seems bad, turn it around & find something good” (complete with the choreography of a spin). He then proceeded to tell me that he was excited to see his friends at school that day.

We have seen him be able to quickly translate the lessons from other episodes into real life, as well.  This is the only show he has ever watched that elicits this type of  response.

Thank you!

–ASD Mom

Sincere thanks to you ASD Mom & to learn more about Autism or to help those who are affected by it visit:

Getting the “Creative Galaxy” & “Sara Solves It” word(s) out there.

Preparing for the Amazon Studios shoot, on location at Out Of The Blue Enterprises!

related links:  

Creative Galaxy & Sara Solves It

My daughter proudly showed me a little, balsa wood purse that she made at school on Friday. It had 2 tiny, decoupage buttons, a stubby wooden latch and a brown, imperfect shoestring handle which, when viewed from the top, formed a face.

 creativity

“I like her smile” I said to my daughter.

“What smile? ” unconcerned about what her arrangement formed when viewed from another angle.

Even though her crafted smile was not intentional, it was there.

There’s something about creativity that allows one to feel content or whole. But when many exit childhood, they often lose this emotional connection because they have drastically slowed down their creativity.

This is not to say that everyone needs to be creative or artistic. BUT if we go about our day without enjoying the work, which is often the case when one’s only concern is the end return/product, we are not much different than machines.

Machines have no need to smile..we do.

I think we can all agree on that  🙂

[For more info on creative projects go to PBS]

On a typical January day up North, one of our many SUPER talented contributors to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood went shopping at Home Depot with his son. And while typical of many that work in preschool TV, he was naturally dressed in a cape.

To be perfectly fair, his son rarely goes out without his cape & upon realizing that his Dad was without, he simply asked,

“Daddy, where’s YOUR cape?” Hence, the matching cape (sans “F”).

The duo’s photo was taken by none other than Mom, and shortly after she posted the photo for friends, it went viral in no time at all. Far be it from us to disclose the secret identities of the fearless crusaders but let this be a lesson to all mortals:

• Super Dad did what he did solely for the enjoyment of his child

• His only incentive was Boy Wonder’s happiness

Take time out of your week to not act your age with your kid, because before you know it, they’ll stop asking you to wear a cape in Home Depot.

And to our Super Talented B–, “Sincere thanks for all you bring to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood & simply for the record, You ARE the man!!”

“The proof that the little prince existed is..that he laughed and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists.”

– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince