French studio TeamTO has launched another chart topper: an animated pop music docuseries racking up views on YouTube and France Televisions. Behind the Beats (26 x 5′) follows talented musicians with incredibly different styles working together, creating unexpected new musical genres. Using a video game design and dynamic storytelling the series explores the origins of new sounds, such as “Punk + Disco = New Wave” featuring Blondie and “Rap + P-Funk = G-Funk” featuring Snoop Dogg.
Boasting 6.75 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.5-1.8M views each for the first batch of episodes, the series is directed by Baptiste Jaquemet and produced by TeamTO’s Corinne Kouper and 22D Music Group’s Emmanuel Deletang. Ahead of MIPTV, we got more details on this entertaining and educational glimpse into recent musical history from Producer Corinne Kouper, TeamTO’s senior VP of production and development.
Animation Magazine: How did the show come about and when did you start working on in?
Kouper: The idea came from the director and creator Baptiste Jaquemet, who was a big rock fan in his youth. He sent us a pilot episode about how Aerosmith and Run D.M.C. made the hit “Walk This Way” (1986). With a very unlikely combination of musicians, they launched a totally new genre: rap. Rap is also influenced by another style: funk music.
So, his vision was that most music is inspired by other styles of music that came before. Baptiste’s passion and interest in the search for the origins of the family tree of music are at the heart of this series.
When he sent us his pilot we immediately wanted to create a show that could go wild and be seen all over the world. We are very glad that Google (YouTube Originals) and France TV helped make this possible.
Why do you think animation was a great vehicle to tell these stories?
Animation is the only way to tell the stories of all these people other than seeing them simply singing their songs at a concert. Like in a biopic, we get a sense of their journey to success (they usually come from really different origins, very often not at all predestined, often poor, some with encouraging families and some with discouraging families).
You can also find parallels between different artists, and show them together, which could never have been filmed. And, wow, we also show them signing three amazing songs in each episode!
Where was the animation produced and which animation tools were used to create it?
As with all our projects, it was produced 100% in our two studios in France. We used Maya mainly and our own animation software. No new tools were created, we used our classic pipeline.
How did you come up with the distinctive, stylized look of the show’s CG animation?
The design of the show is based on Baptiste’s original pitch for the show that used rather simplistic designs. We thought this stylized video-game look was ideal for this genre and the demographic of the show. We just fine-tuned it a little making sure that the artists would be well portrayed and easily recognized. We travel to a lot of places in the show and have lots of really nice cinematic backgrounds, as well.
How closely did you work with the superstar talent to tell their musical journey? Was securing music clearance a challenge?
We produced the show with the music rights management company 22D, who handled all the contact and negotiations with the artists and are coproducing the show with us. The clearance was an enormous challenge — one of the most complicated elements of the entire show — and we simply would not have been able to accomplish this aspect without them. It was quite a long process, we had to reassure the publishers and be very specific with them about what stories we would tell in the show.
What do you like best about this musical project?
What I like the most is that almost every episode tells the story of an artist’s early life, when they may have had a difficult time but took advantage of an unexpected encounter or a rare opportunity, eventually becoming a star recognized worldwide. It’s really important to show the young generation that their life is not pre-determined and that success can happen if you make the effort and believe in yourself.
Do you have any fun stories about working with these amazing rock, disco, rap, and R&B superstars?
So happy Snoop Dogg participated in the special recording of the music opening, which is a new version of “We Are Family,” the iconic song by Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards. This version features Yeti Beats in collaboration with Nile Rodgers himself and Snoop Dogg, with vocals by Sheléa.
Will there be another season and whose stories are you dying to tell next?
We have so many stories to tell that we are already looking for financing for a second season. The number of stories are infinite!
Behind the Beats is currently streaming on YouTube and airing on France Televisions. The series is available for sale worldwide (excluding France) through producer-distributor TeamTO.
