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FableVision's Top 10 Moments of 2017

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A banner year for FableVision! 2017 had us look to the stars as FableVisionaries reached new heights across our industry and our community. Let’s turn back time and take a look back at the year with our Top 10 highlights of 2017.

1. Building A Dedicated Community
FableVision fans, friends, and staff unite! 2017 was a year for community building within and outside of the studio. Our annual Building Learning Communities (BLC) event brought over 200 creative educators to our studio, a passion for science took the team outside to witness the stunning phenomenon of the eclipse, artists and admirers came together for an incredible Creative Juices Art Show centered around the theme of time, and our chorus of “Game On!” resounded as we took on our fifth annual Extra Life gameathon event and beat our goal of raising $6,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

2. An Award-Winning Year!
Make room in the awards case because FableVision brought home the gold! We’re honored to share these highlights:

In addition to the publication of Happy Dreamer, Sydney and Simon: To the Moon!, and the announcement of a new book series from Scholastic, FableVision Founder Peter H. Reynolds was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from The Boy Scouts of America and National Eagle Scout Association!

FableVision's Tone Thyne with Nina Hunter at the Make-A-Wish Gala in New York City. 

FableVision's Tone Thyne with Nina Hunter at the Make-A-Wish Gala in New York City. 

3. FableVision on the Red Carpet
Butter up that popcorn because FableVision Studios is coming to a theater near you! Marc Colagiovanni’s The Reflection in Me screened at Mill Valley Film Festival, Great Lakes International Film Festival, Skyline Indie Film Fest, Auburn International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults (AIFF),and Boston Kids International Film Festival! What a perfectly perfect year for this inspiring animated short.

Our work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York and Western New York flourished this year as we saw Neshama Ryman’s The Klumz screen at Milwaukee Film Festival, HollyShorts Film Festival, and TIFF Kids International Film Festival. FableVision and Nina Hunter took to the stage at the Make-A-Wish Gala, where we premiered The Adventures of the Blue Cowgirl starring Nina Hunter. The film brings to life Nina’s trip to a ranch in Texas where she was able to fulfill her wish of becoming a blue cowgirl.

Global Tinker’s The Paper Girls is also lighting up the children’s media stage! Along with the launch of their new YouTube page, the series went home as a winner of the 2017 MIPTV Digital Short Form Series Pitch, competing against the industry’s top series developers, and it was awarded Best TV Series Animated Short at the 2017 Palm Springs International Animation Festival.

Stay tuned as we announce more FableVision film festival happenings in 2018!

4. New Partnerships

New year, new partnerships! We were excited to create new characters, stories, and songs with these great organizations.

 
 

5. Continuing Partnerships
Our partners mean so much to us, and we love when we can continue collaborating with old friends. 2017 was a great year for strengthening relationships, and we’re looking forward to strengthening them further in the new year.

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6. FableFridays with FableVision Friends

We’ve put the spotlight on our fantastic partners with new, client-centered FableFridays. Hear from them on what it was like working with us on an array of projects covering STEAM, SEL, literacy, career readiness, and much more!

7. Studio Thought Leaders
We’re proud of our team for reaching across the industry and their fields this year to share our take of what’s working and what we’d like to see more of. Our thought leaders are giving talks, teaching seminars, writing articles, and making headlines!

Executive Producer Peter Stidwill brings his expertise in gaming and research to Linkedin Pulse for two thought-provoking articles:

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Creative Director Leigh Hallisey took to Linkedin Pulse to write about the power of teaching empathy through games, shined in the spotlight as she was interviewed by Boston Voyager, and provided an inside look into her life and career for Funimation.

Our Director of Art and Animation, Bob Flynn, and his creative space were featured in Kidscreen! FableVisionaries Shelby Marshall and Sarah Ditkoff hosted several AgileEd professional development webinars in 2017.

Watch this fascinating talk from longtime FableVision partner, Dr. Jodi Asbell-Clarke, co-founder and co-director of Educational Gaming Environments Group (EdGE) at TERC. FableVision worked with TERC to relaunch the classic, beloved ’90s game Logical Journey of Zoombinis, for today’s generation.

As a member of the Content in Context (CIC) conference planning committee, FableVision's Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Product Solutions, Shelby Marshall, lead three sessions in planning, producing, and navigating the development of educational technology. 

FableVision founders Paul Reynolds and Peter H. Reynolds brought us another STEAM winner with Sydney and Simon's latest adventure in Sydney and Simon: To the Moon!

In 2018, FableVision’s Senior Developer Jordan Bach will host a session with Full Stack Boston to talk about making games with HTML5. You can also find us at SXSW EDU 2018! FableVision’s Peter Stidwill will join Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Andrew MacCartney and Laura Evans to present a case study titled Immersive Learning: Teaching History through GBL, selected from the competitive, crowd-sourced PanelPicker program. Register to attend!

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8. A Mission-Match Year
We continued to give back in all sorts of fun ways! Associate Producer Mikaela Johnson and Executive Vice President Adam Landry put the pedal to the metal for the Pan-Mass Challenge, and the studio went “quackers” for JumpStart’s annual Read for the Record.

We sponsored a delicious breakfast at this year’s Prix Jeunesse Suitcase at WGBH in Boston, and FableVisionaries represented at this year’s MICE expo and at the ESA Foundation’s #WeAre event. 

The holiday season is in full swing with Team FableVision running to raise funds for Cambridge Family and Children’s Service at the Cambridge 5k Yulefest. In the spirit of the holidays, this year the entire studio is taking part in the Adopt-A-Family program with The Home for Little Wanderers.

9. Movers and Shakers
Our lineup of FableVisionaries created a buzz around the studio in 2017 with new faces and new roles.

We said a tearful goodbye to our former Executive Producer Karen Bresnahan as she retires from 20 years of service at FableVision and embarks on her next adventure. Peter Stidwill has stepped into Karen’s role as our new Executive Producer. Congratulations to Karen and Peter!

Samantha Bissonnette returns to FableVision after her tenure teaching, working at PBS, and going to school at HGSE. We are thrilled to have her rejoin the team as a producer.

10. Fab Intern Projects
This year’s all-star interns put their heads together and came up with an incredible array of independent projects. From animated comics to games to food to unexpected playmates to creative videography, this portfolio of intern-produced projects is chock full of inspiration!

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Thanksgiving Traditions: A Peace of the Pie

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Thanksgiving traditions are as colorful as the falling leaves. Every kitchen has its own rules and recipes, but on each set table, memories are the main ingredient. The spirit of Thanksgiving is often characterized by the company we find ourselves in. However, there is something to be said for the quieter moments in which we reflect and discover what we are truly thankful for.

Founder Peter H. Reynolds shares one of these moments, “I remember taking a walk after Thanksgiving dinner with a family friend when I was about 11. We walked to the center of our town of Chelmsford, MA. That was my first experience and sensation of having the world come to a slow stop. No cars. We walked in the center of the road downtown. It was very peaceful. Years later, our friend became an abbot for a Trappist monastery in the Amazon. It seems his way to find peace here on Earth was with him early on.”

Peace of mind is a theme that goes hand in hand with the holiday. We stop and consider what we are grateful for, and what brings out the season’s serenity for each of us. We find peace in our families and friends, and we honor that peace in traditions new and old, planned and impromptu, hectic and hilarious.

Here at FableVision, we are an eclectic cornucopia of individuals with roots reaching far and wide. This holiday season, we asked some festive FableVisionaries to share the roots we’ve built in memories by telling a story about their own Thanksgiving routines—from food, to family, to furry football stars.

Sarah Ditkoff, Communications Director
Every Thanksgiving, my Pop-Pop is responsible for setting the table. When I was little, while my grandmother's kitchen was a hot clatter of pots and pans, he slipped into the quiet(er) dining room, took out the nice china, and arranged the place settings. I joined him when I was small and followed instructions, "knife faces inwards towards the plate, glasses on the right side." Now that I am older, I love setting the table. It is a calming exercise of preparing our home—a ritual for making loved ones feel comfortable and welcome.

Brian Grossman, Technical Director
I love food. Anyone that knows me knows this is true. So, it’s a pretty big deal when you learn that the thing I like most about Thanksgiving, the foodiest of all holidays, is actually my family. With busy lives, it’s hard to make time to see the extended family. But every Thanksgiving, I can count on seeing the aunts, uncles, and cousins I love. It’s always comforting to be seated around a table with a couple dozen people just as crazy as me.

Our extended family has been consistently getting together for Thanksgiving since 2014, which you can read more about here. 

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David Welsh, Marketing Intern
My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the turkey. Even when traditions fade away or new ones don't stick, there will always be turkey. When the shape of the table changes or when different people are around the table, there will always be turkey. When you have to run between houses trying to make it to separate family Thanksgivings, well, in that case there will probably be MORE turkey. And even when I was a vegetarian for a couple of years, I still had the turkey. I really, really like turkey.

Samantha Bissonnette, Producer
Football has always somehow been a part of my family's Thanksgiving traditions. Whether it was playing football in the yard with my cousins or watching my brother's game for our local high school, we always found a way to get outside and play. Now our Thanksgivings change every year—last year my now-husband's family came to visit my parent's house, this year we'll be in Chicago but we still find a way to throw the ball around and play keep-away from our star running back, Kovu.

Didi Hatcher, Lead Animator

I didn’t grow up in the US, so I don’t have fond childhood memories of Thanksgiving. However, I have plenty of memories from my early years here. My college would shut down for Thanksgiving break, as all the students would go to their homes, and I had nowhere to stay. However, friends would always invite me to spend the holiday with their families, and share their meals and homes with me. Some of them were immigrant families themselves, and I always enjoyed seeing the cultural blend that Thanksgiving was at their houses—turkeys and pies next to dumplings, durian, kugel, blinchiki. It was the quintessential American experience!

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Mitul Daiyan, Communications Strategist
I come from an immigrant home so Thanksgiving wasn’t celebrated with the usual western fanfare of pies, cranberry sauces, or even turkey. My siblings and I longed for the Norman Rockwell version of roast turkey we saw on television but during high school, when my family finally made the splurge on 15 pounds of poultry, they turned it into what they knew best—curry! We didn’t quite appreciate it back then, but now turkey curry has become a special delicacy as part of the Thanksgiving dinners I host, and sits proudly alongside those Rockwell-esque traditional pies and sauces.

Olivia Jones, Marketing Intern
Every other Thanksgiving, my family heads down to south Texas for a feasting extravaganza of epic proportions at my grandparents house. My mom's four other siblings and their families in tow, it's quite the social exercise as well. When "the younger cousins" want to get a break from small talk, a tradition we have is to head up to the attic and play the 1993 Aladdin game start to finish on the old Super Nintendo. Once Jafar's been taken down a notch—and hunger has kicked UP a notch—we follow the wafting scent of homemade rolls down the spiral staircase, and make a *beeline* for the honey jar (filled from the hive in my grandma’s backyard!)

Christina Kelly, Production Designer
Many major life events have caused my traditions and life routines to fall out of any kind of normalcy, but one thing that has never changed is getting to share Thanksgiving with my mom. Every year, my mom puts together an elaborate feast of some of my favorites: mashed potatoes, homemade chunky cranberry sauce, and stuffing with turkey liver chopped into it. My mom and her partner Bill always open their doors to neighbors, friends, family, and whichever loved one we can think of that might need a special dinner that day. It might be her grandmother's recipes that make me hungry the day before, but it's the company and the feeling of home my mom provides—no matter where each November has taken us—that make the holiday special.

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Jordan Bach, Senior Developer
While I have fond memories of spending Thanksgiving with my immediate family when I was young, I've loved the years spent with friends and their families. Meeting your friend's friend's aunt over stuffing and pie and finding a way to connect is what it's about.

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September FableFriday: Sam Bissonnette, Producer

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Samantha “Sam” Bissonnette is holding educational media to a high standard – and it’s an interactive one. The newest producer at the studio, Sam is no stranger to FableVision, having spent time honing her skills as a 2013 intern in our marketing department. Since then, Sam has ventured deeper into media production, managing streaming content on the digital team at PBS KIDS, working as a production assistant on shows like WordGirl and Astroblast!, and consulting with Sesame Workshop on innovating in the early education field. After graduating from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education (HGSE), Sam returns to FableVision armed with a renewed passion for producing educational media. Among other things, she’s constantly thinking about how our favorite properties positively impact our lives – no matter your age.

“I’m really excited about interactive experiences through streaming media. Specifically, there’s a lot of conversation that says TV is a passive experience, and I disagree – the best shows and stories start conversation and action,” Sam shares. “People feel moved to make fan art, express their thoughts about characters online, or host viewing parties. I’m really excited to be able to think about harnessing this excitement at FableVision Studios and make it easier for people to interact with media, especially in an educational space.”

Pull up a chair and get to know Sam’s thoughts on personalized learning, rich production past, and her enthusiastic love for food, Pokémon, and a certain BIG puppy in this month’s FableFriday.

Sam, tell us about your journey to FableVision story!
My journey (back!) to FableVision started after my internship with the marketing team here in 2013. Inspired to continue working in the edtech industry, I worked several different jobs in the children’s media space and finished graduate school. I heard there was a job opening at FableVision Studios so I interviewed with Executive Producer Karen Bresnahan and Senior Producer Peter Stidwill. Before I knew it, I was welcomed back into the FableVision team!

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The role of producer is often mysterious as they’re creatively working behind the scenes to pull everything together. Can you give us a crash course on your role at FableVision?
Producers at FableVision have the exciting task of managing projects that come in all shapes and sizes. We think about the project as a whole and work to keep the client’s vision at the forefront of the team’s mind every step of the way. Producers have a hand in shaping and guiding each project towards delivery. I get to constantly learn more about art, tech, and design – all things I love! At FableVision, we’re fortunate to work on a broad range of media, so every day and every project feels different.

As a producer you have to stay organized, what’s your trick?
I like to record everything as much as possible – I have three notebooks, one schedule book, and lots of calendars! I can type pretty quickly too, so I tend to transcribe meetings and conversations whenever possible.

What’s a favorite project that you’re working on now?
It’s so hard to choose! FableVision’s work with The Good Project is especially important to me. Through research-based concepts, frameworks, and resources, The Good Project seeks to help students reflect upon the ethical dilemmas that arise in everyday life and give them the tools to make thoughtful decisions. It was my first kickoff as a part of the FableVision team, and it ties perfectly with my experience at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Plus it involves a lot of content I feel passionate about, like social/emotional development.

Hats off to the new graduate! You recently matriculated from HGSE, tell us about what you studied in the Technology, Innovation, and Education (TIE) program?
As a member of the 2017 TIE cohort, I explored courses in design, entrepreneurship, animation, inclusive education, race and culture in education, and of course, children’s media! The program is really hands-on, so it involved a lot of awesome group projects and collaboration with students from a variety of professional backgrounds. I feel really fortunate to have spent a year growing professionally in such a supportive and creative environment.

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Before heading off to grad school, you managed the streaming content on the digital team at PBS KIDS. What are some of the insights you gleaned from curating digital content for kids?
The PBS KIDS Video app is so successful in part because it has such great design, and it’s really made with the target audience in mind. It was important for our team to constantly be thinking about how our young audience was seeing our videos. One interesting thing we realized was that marking a video as “new” didn’t necessarily alert kids to brand new content – partly because we have a lot of early readers as viewers. This meant that we could regularly repurpose content along with current pieces to maintain a level of variety.

You spent some time teaching in the classroom. Do you have any takeaways from your time as a teacher?
My time as a preschool teacher was so valuable and it shapes the way I understand, think about, and appreciate children and early educators. As a child development major in undergrad I had a firm understanding of why early education is so important, but being a part of that growth really brought it home for me. Children zero to five can do so much more than I had imagined. Plus, they’re imaginative, creative, honest, and fun. Early educators are smart, dedicated, and passionate people that deserve all our support. 

Who are some industry folks that you’re following these days and how do they inspire you to follow your North Star?Women in media like Rebecca Sugar, Issa Rae, and the ladies of Broad City and 2DopeQueens who are leading the way in their genres are all really inspiring to me. They let their own unique perspectives be their creative guide rather than trying to make more of what is already out there.

Last year's Extra Life team at FableVision Studios

Last year's Extra Life team at FableVision Studios

This is your first year gaming for good and raising funds for Boston Children’s Hospital with us for Extra Life! Why are you excited to join our team?
I’m super excited for Extra Life! Boston is my home and I’m proud that Boston Children’s Hospital is one of the best hospitals in the country. I’m excited to support an organization that brings so much necessity and good into the lives of kids and their families. I’m also looking forward to working with Team FableVision to beat our goal of $6,000!


 

Who is Kovu?
Kovu the dog! My fiancé Andy and I adopted Kovu as a rescue puppy a few years ago while we were living outside D.C. He’s nostalgically named after Kovu from Lion King 2, because we both happened to love the movie as kids and it’s such a great name! Kovu is about 90 lbs, and we think a Boxer, Great Pyrenees, Staffordshire mix. Maybe. He’s very lovable, strange, lazy, sleepy, and friendly. He loves belly rubs, playing with little kids, and swimming in lakes. He’s always making us laugh and we love him a lot!

As a traveling foodie, tell us about the top three international places to visit and eat our way through.

More about Sam!

Hogwarts house: I want to say Gryffindor, but I think I’m a Hufflepuff.
Your current jam: Bright Whites by Kishi Bashi
Current read: My professor’s book – The Diversity Bargain by Natasha Warikoo
Best Cartoon Ever: Ohhhhh, don’t make me choose! If I have to, my favorite anime is School Live! (Gakkō Gurashi!)
Food that makes you look like a cooking connoisseur: My Cincinnati Chili! (Thanks, America’s Test Kitchen!)
Greatest holiday: Halloween!!!!
Favorite Pokemon: Vulpix (fire types forever!) 
Tell us a joke: This is my favorite thing on the internet.
Hands-down the best sports team:  The Tufts Women’s Track and Field team!

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