"First impressions count, you have to fall in love with a project straightaway!", that is something the participants of the "How to pitch your project online" expert coaching session can agree on. The digital pitch for a project is increasingly gaining importance in virtual meetings with business partners. Animation Germany therefore joined forces with the Animation Production Days (APDs) (online from 4 - 7 May, 2021) to offer dedicated workshops to selected German producers.

The moderator and executive media trainer Johannes Büchs presented a program of expert coaching in three modules from 15 to 30 April. The first module saw animation producers being taught the prerequisites, basics, techniques and characteristics of storytelling for online pitches. Particular attention was given during individual coaching sessions in the second module to the individual pitch deck and the presentation in English. In module three, the teams of animation producers received feedback during the dress rehearsal from the experts Karen Mitrega and Christoph Erbès. The teams will then present their pitches of the animation projects at the one-to-one meetings during the Animation Production Days.

Animation Germany operates under the auspices of German Films Marketing+Services GmbH with the remit of raising the international visibility of the German animation and VFX sectors. The aim is to support the initiation of business partnerships for the financing and development of co-productions or other forms of cooperation for projects.

The Animation Production Days (APD) is the project partner for the expert coaching sessions. The APD is an event for professionals from the field of animation. The participants are producers who are presenting their new ideas for animated feature films, TV series, games or transmedia projects to studios, representatives of broadcasters, SVoD platforms, sales agents, publishers and investors as well as to funding institutions for film, television and media.

The experts at a glance:

Coaching & moderation:
Johannes Büchs is an executive trainer in the areas of media training, keynote coaching and presenting with storytelling. He is the host of "Kann es Johannes?" on KiKA and also works as an author and presenter for the "Sendung mit der Maus". In 2012, Johannes Büchs was nominated for the Grimme Award and awarded the DGE Journalist Prize in 2013. In 2014, he received the Environmental Media Prize and the format "Kann es Johannes?" took home the Golden Sparrow. In 2015, this format was also nominated for the Grimme Award's Special Prize for Culture.

From the animation industry:
Karen Mitrega is a creative producer (development and production) for animation and live-action series and films. She advises platforms on content for children and the strategy for their children's profile. Karen works as a curator for the Animation Production Days and mentors film students. She was Head of Children's Content at Super RTL until 2014 with responsibility for the development, co-production and acquisition of series and magazines as well as the website www.toggo.de. Karen has worked as a production manager on several international feature films and graduated in Film and Television Production at the Film Academy in Ludwigsburg. She has been working in the industry for more than 20 years.

Christophe Erbès worked as a program director at Canal+, Premiere, Super RTL and Nickelodeon and as the managing director of Jetix. He has been working since 2006 as an international consultant for content strategy and development in the field of children's media, as well as an author and screenwriter. Christophe also organises various international conferences.

You can find more information about Animation Germany under the auspices of German Films and the Animation Production Days here:
https://www.animationgermany.de/
https://www.animationproductiondays.de/