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Top 10 FableVision Moments of 2016

What a wild ride! 2016 was a year of incredible FableVision milestones, including celebrating our 20th anniversary, innovative new partnerships, and amazing continuing collaborations. To celebrate, we've crafted our FableVision Top 10 Moments of 2016—a year filled with rewarding memories and signature FableVision fun!

1. FableVision celebrates 20 years!
Happy Birthday, FableVision! We kicked off our celebrations with Drawing from Memory, a special blog series that captured the voices of some of our crazy-talented artist-friends. Our 20th anniversary bash brought in friends, fans, and FableVisionaries past and present in a party to remember. And it gets better—keep your eyes peeled for more exciting 20th anniversary updates in the New Year. In the meantime, check out our touching staff video.

2. A special visit
Touchdown! Who should stop by our office but our new creative friend, neighbor, and New England Patriots Tight End Martellus Bennett! Marty swung by FableVision with The Players’ Tribune to introduce himself and The Imagination Agency, and share his passion for animation—and we were beyond thrilled to host.

3. Thought leadership
It was a busy 12 months for our team! Amidst special appearances at the NYC Maker Faire, DML Conference, MassCUE, The Big Draw at the Peabody Essex Museum, and more, Paul Reynolds was awarded the Markwart Award as part of the National Technology Leadership Summit. For a special Dot Day celebration, FableVision founder Peter H. Reynolds traveled to Traer, Iowa, to celebrate Dot Day at the place where it all began.

Senior Producer Peter Stidwill explored the growing body of research on the value of well-designed learning games in an exclusive webinar with Digital Promise. Read up "Understanding Data Dashboards," a new white paper co-authored by Peter along with our friends at BrainPOP, Learning Games Network, Classroom, Inc., EdGE at TERC, codeSpark, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Compass Learning, and Curriculum Associates.

4. Another winning year!
FableVision brought home a lot of bling this year! We were honored with some amazing industry recognition for quite a few of the remarkable projects we worked on. Here are some of the highlights:

 
 

5. New creative collaborations
We love working with kindred spirits on media that inspires, educates, and moves people to action. We’re excited to share new projects, including work with Georgia Public Broadcasting, Global Tinker, NWEA, Woodrow Wilson Academy of Teaching and Learning, and Northeastern University, Richard Lewis Media Group, AlphaBEST—stay tuned for announcements in 2017!

To give back to the Unity community and make it easier for Unity developers like ourselves, FableVision has begun to release quick bits of code and art assets on the Unity Asset Store. Download Quick Bits for free and check out our super affordable Paper Pack Bundle!

6. Continuing partnerships
We're proud of our ongoing collaborations with innovative clients such as TERC, Florida Virtual School, Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at Boston University, Learning Games Network, Learning.com, ERB (Educational Records Bureau), Pearson, Concord Consortium, and more, who inspire us every year and encourage us to continue to push the envelope.

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7. Ring in the New Year with good cheer
FableVision loves to give back! For the fourth year in a row, Team FableVision took part in Extra Life—a 24-hour gameathon that benefits Children’s Miracle Network hospitals—and raised over $5,000 for Boston Children’s Hospital! We’re nearing the finish line, donate and help us meet our goal!

Then, Team FableVision literally hit the ground running as we raised funds for Cambridge Family and Children’s Service at the Cambridge 5k Yulefest. We’re also taking part in the Adopt-A-Family program with The Home for Little Wanderers. Want to give back? Make a difference by participating in their gift drive and help provide gifts and essentials for thousands of children and families.

8. On the road with friends and fans!
This year, the 2016 ISTE conference was buzzing with action at the FableVision booth. We hit the road to learn from industry partners, creative educators, and friends from a host of gatherings across the state including: Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Conference in New Orleans, Sandbox Summit, Games for Change, Kidscreen Summit, Digital Kids Conference at Toy Fair, SXSWedu, GDC, Content in Context, E3, MCN, EdNET, and IDPF Digicon @ BEA.

9. New team members
Our fab team grew by five this year! Learn more about the new FableVisionaries who dazzle us:

10. Incredible intern projects
This summer, interns Ethan, Courtney, Mimi, and Yuri worked as a mini production studio to bring you Drawing Courage, an anthology of comics that center around themes of identity, love, loss, and self-care. Our fall interns Tessa, Jen, and Adam took recipes and stories from our staff and compiled them together into a beautiful (and delicious) FableVision Cultural Cookbook!

2017 is shaping up to be another extraordinary year with new challenges, new projects, and new friends along the creative journey! We don't know where our imagination will take us next year, or what innovative breakthroughs are in the future, but we're excited to take this wild ride with the best staff, partners, and friends any studio could ask for. Ready to join us for another year of telling "stories that matter, stories that move?" Onward! 

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Drawing from Memory with Neshama Ryman: Celebrating 20 Years of Stories that Matter and Move

This is a special year for FableVision. We’re celebrating 20 years of designing and developing a wide array of engaging media that have inspired, taught, and moved people to action. Behind this mission-driven company is a team committed to creating positive media to help move the world to a better place. This special series highlights some of our crazy-talented artist-friends we've worked with over the past 20 years. To help us celebrate our 20th anniversary, we asked each of them to put their own spin on a FableVision logo.

Read up on all our anniversary celebrations on our website here and stay tuned for more updates from the Drawing from Memory series! 

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At 10 years old, Neshama Ryman wrote and directed an animated short that brings her favorite imaginary character, the Klumz, to life. In the Ryman household, accidents, messes, and unforeseen instances of chaos are always attributed to fictional creatures created by Neshama called the Klumz.

Through the Make-A-Wish Metro New York and Western New York chapter, FableVision connected with Neshama to make her wish of directing her own animated film a reality. Our work with Neshama is a shining milestone in our 20 year history of staying true to our mission of producing "stories that matter, stories that move." 

Neshama Ryman

Tell us about the logo you designed:
My logo represents "The Dot."  I chose to make the "20 Years" black and white because that is how the characters in my movie, The Klumz, are made -- black and white over a colorful watercolor background. I also used red and orange since these are the colors in the FableVision logo. The spill was the Klumz's touch.

What's your favorite FableVision memory? 
My favorite FableVision memory is making The Klumz with the amazing people of FableVision, whom I can't thank enough for their hard work and help in making The Klumz come to life. 

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December FableFriday: Sam Zollman, Production Assistant

With a creative beat in his step, FableVision’s Production Assistant Sam Zollman isn’t an unfamiliar face around the studio. A former marketing intern, Sam’s passion for media and education led him to journey from Tufts to FableVision to WGBH to Madrid and all the way back to Boston before joining our staff full-time as a member of the production team

Driven by his desire to make the world a better place, Sam pursued educational media, believing strongly in its capacity to drive change and shift perspectives. “I had never considered how impactful the media we engage with as children could be,” says Sam. “That realization set me off looking for how I could do good in children’s media.”

We sat down recently to chat with Sam about his unique interdisciplinary education, his stint as a teacher in Spain, his passion for environmentalism, and the “secret” recipe for his special Elevated PB&J Sandwich!

Welcome, Sam! We ask everyone this, and you’re no exception. What’s your Journey to FableVision story?
I suppose my journey started when I designed my own major at Tufts that focused on educational children’s media and the environment. I was lucky enough to land a marketing internship at FableVision as a junior, and being around such fun, inspiring, creative people only affirmed that this was the right industry for me. Fast forward through graduation and a year living in Spain, I heard about an open Production Assistant position, and jumped on the opportunity. And here we are! 

What did you learn from the marketing department as an intern that is now a valuable asset to the production team?
What’s so awesome about the marketing internship here is the independent project you’re encouraged to pursue. I created a Twitter campaign designed to work like a Choose-Your-Own Adventure story, where retweets and favorites determined which direction the story moved. In essence, it was my first experience managing a project in the studio. I planned the schedule, coordinated the art needs with the art interns, and publicized the campaign. Having that exposure to how the different sides of the studio come together to produce great projects—plus seeing how those projects are showcased—has made me feel more prepared to assist the producers.

Can you walk us through what a week in your shoes looks like?
Each week is different, but generally Monday sets the tone for the week with some quick update meetings and check-ins. I’ll sit down with one of the producers and we’ll review the week’s schedule and deliverables. Tuesday, I’ll sit in on calls to track various feedback and requests from clients, followed by testing one of our new games to document bugs. Wednesday, I will check in with a developer to see how a project beta is coming along and begin thinking about next week’s schedule. Thursday, I might search for sound effects for a game, collect photos for a series of presentations, and organize and archive completed projects. Friday tends to be the busiest, where I check in with the artists for last minute changes, work with producers to make sure deliverables are ready, help them look ahead to next week’s schedule, anticipate requests and updates, and balance different projects’ needs.

You graduated from Tufts, what was your educational experience like there?
I feel incredibly lucky with my Tufts education. As I mentioned, I created my own major that focused on environmentally educational children’s media. Because I wasn’t tied to any one department, I was able to take a wide variety of classes if I demonstrated how it linked to my specific degree. I felt much more connected to what I was studying and I loved making those cross-discipline connections. Not to mention, I got some invaluable guidance from advisors like Julie Dobrow and Chip Gidney, whose words help me understand the importance of the work we do at FableVision.

You worked on the shows Plum Landing and Design Squad. We’d love to hear more about what it was like interning with the team over at WGBH.
WGBH sets the bar really high for great educational children’s television, so working with them on Plum Landing and Design Squad, two shows that are pushing the boundaries of digital children’s media, was very exciting and insightful. Plum Landing was especially interesting because of its mission to put real environmental education research into practice. We spent a lot of time thinking about how you balance kids watching a show indoors when the goal is nudging them outdoors to discover the natural world around them, and ended with some pretty clever results.

Is there a particular childhood experience or show or movie that made you want to work in children’s media?
I’m a big, big fan of Hey, Arnold! It probably sounds weird, but I loved how Hey, Arnold! embraced the serious parts of life that most children’s shows shied away from. You could watch an episode about poverty or loneliness, and still see it met with compassion. I obviously didn’t understand it quite like that as a kid, but today I still think about how the show revealed the humanity in diverse, complex characters. We could use more of that. 

Before joining FableVision, you were a teacher in Madrid. What was it like being in front of a classroom and what did you take away from that experience?
I’ve heard it often, but I didn’t believe it until I taught: being a teacher has got to be one of the most difficult jobs. I taught English to a total of 430 children ages 9 to 17, with a wide range of abilities and backgrounds. Finding creative ways to engage each class, let alone each student, was a daily challenge. But I think that’s where I learned the most. I learned to take little “failures” in stride, vow to do better next class, and not take the challenges too personally.

I also learned that success can take many different forms. Making the kids laugh, listening to why someone was crying, and making certain students feel included were all little successes. Plus, there were also some hilarious moments, like when I tried to dance Sevillana (a type of flamenco) with the 5th graders, being known, (un-ironically) as the “native American,” and explaining why we Americans name our chicken “Alfredo.”

You grew up in rural Vermont! Has that shaped your passion for environmental education?
Oh, definitely. I often think about how one of the biggest predictors for whether you care about the environment as an adult is having meaningful experiences in nature as a child. And in Vermont, nature isn’t a destination; it’s just beyond your backyard. While I mostly just ran around in the woods, that closeness means that nature takes on a more utilitarian role – some hunt for sustenance, others tap trees to make syrup. It led me to see the environment as something we must respect and preserve, but not because it’s fragile. We must preserve it because we depend on it.  

How do you keep your creative flow alive?
Listening to jazz is a big help. One album in particular, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s Stretch Music, is some of the most beautiful, innovative, and personal music out there. Listening to that helps me get started writing or drawing or sewing or whatever I’m trying to do artistically. 

You play the banjo, dance Hip-Hop, and some would say that you’re pretty sew-fisticated. Tell us about your creative side projects!
I recently picked up sewing and have made a few pillowcases, tailored a few shirts, and even made a button-down shirt from scratch! Also, being around such creative, artistic people has opened my eyes to comics! There’s so much freedom and flexibility with the form. I’d love to start exploring that medium! 

Every morning, you’re found munching on what you like to call an “Elevated PB&J.” What’s the secret recipe?
I feared this day would come…OK, you toast some good seeded bread, shmear some good seeded raspberry jam on one half, shmear some good crunchy peanut butter (maybe with some seeds?) on the other, slap ‘em together, and make a mess at your desk.

More about Sam!

Favorites, like, in general: Baseball, the smell of breakfast, Mercado de San Fernando

Trending read: Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Favorite flick: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

The best thing you ever cooked up: Either fish sauce caramels or cranberry walnut French toast

Your go-to tea: Moroccan Mint

Ukulele tune: The Penalty by Beirut

Madrid or Medford? Ha!

Name of your hit TV show? Age Before Beauty

If you weren’t working in media production, what would you consider as an alternative career? Close call between game show announcer and batboy

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An Unforgettable 20th Anniversary Bash!

Love lit up FableVision Studios on Friday. Glowing lanterns and dozens of balloons welcomed over 300 guests to help us celebrate an incredible 20 years of creating “stories that matter, stories that move.” Our Studio was filled with friends, colleagues, fans, and FableVisionaries past and present who came from all over to celebrate and help make this event as meaningful as the past 20 years have been.

Our conference room held people drawing their vibrant takes on the FableVision logo as our 20th Anniversary staff video played in the background. Off to the side, a (temporary) tattoo parlor gave our guests a special way to “make their mark.” Custom #fable20 cupcakes added a tasty touch. As folks wandered through our hallways, some paused to write special birthday messages on our giant birthday card while others illustrated their favorite FableVision memories on our Doodle Wall. Our photo booth was filled with a fun mix of props and laughter as people posed for pictures long into the night.

Thank you for helping us raise a glass and giving FableVision a birthday party we’ll never forget. Thank you to every member of our team, every client and partner, and every supportive “cheers!” we received in-person and online.

The celebration isn’t over yet! Our celebrations last a full year, keep an eye on our blog for our Drawing from Memory series. There’s so much more to come. Want to see more pictures from our event? Check out our Facebook album and be sure to watch our 20th Anniversary video.  

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Drawing from Memory: FableVision Co-Founder and President Gary Goldberger

This is a special year for FableVision. We’re celebrating 20 years of designing and developing a wide array of engaging media that have inspired, taught, and moved people to action. Behind this mission-driven company is a team committed to creating positive media to help move the world to a better place – and at the helm of that team are our co-founders: Peter H. Reynolds, Paul Reynolds, and Gary Goldberger.

Gary was a founding member of FableVision when it was created in 1996 and holds a unique perspective on all things FableVision. Over the years, Gary has watched and helped shape FableVision’s evolution into a full-fledged studio. He currently serves as executive creative director on many of our projects and oversees the day-to-day running of the Studio.

We sat down with Gary to talk about this incredible anniversary milestone. Read up on all our anniversary celebrations on our website and save the date for our anniversary party on November 18!

You’ve dedicated 20 years of your life to making “stories that matter, stories that move.” As one of FableVision’s co-founders, what has that journey been like for you?
FableVision “began”  for me when I found a like-minded creative in Pete. We shared similar philosophies and dreams about how even the  smallest changes can impact the world in a meaningful way. At that point in my life, I was still searching for that partner who complemented my talents and made the process of creating effortless and joyful. He believed in me in a way that I didn’t believe in myself, and became so much more than a collaborator -- he was, and is, my friend.

I’ve experienced such tremendous personal growth over these last two decades, and I have both Pete and Paul to thank. Looking back on it now, they were really brave to give me opportunities at FableVision that were, truthfully, a real stretch based on my experience. They pushed me out of my comfort zone, trusted me implicitly, and gave me the freedom to rise to the challenge. It has been a time of inspiration, creativity, and a lot of fun. We’ve made some amazing things together. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

We like to say that FableVision’s on a 200-year mission to move the world to a better place. Where did that message spring from?
Soon after we started FableVision, schools in the late ‘90s were becoming  very test-centric and we were really frustrated with what we were seeing. Music, theater, and art programs were being cut to make more time for standardized test prep, and kids who didn’t fit this one model of the perfect learner/test taker were, ironically, getting "Left Behind.”  

Huge sweeping changes were being implemented in the educational system, massive layoffs, new mandates, overhauls, really, and it wasn’t working. As a very small company with HUGE ideas, we started thinking about how to make effective changes in education through small steps. Pete, Paul, and I have always been optimistic people and we refused to be disheartened. We knew if we stayed positive and optimistic and channeled that into our creations that we could empower others -- educators, parents, kids -- with messages about embracing individuality, creativity, and self-expression.

From left: Gary Goldberger, Peter H. Reynolds, Paul Reynolds, Tone Thyne.

Where do you hope to see FableVision in the next 20 years?
My gut reaction is to say “more, bigger, better” but in a uniquely FableVision way. I want to continue to work with the best-of-the-best partners on a global scale for our service work. We’re not just a service provider and our  clients aren’t just “customers.” It’s a collaborative partnership between two groups trying to make the best possible product for an end-user that we all care about. That relationship is so important; it’s what makes FableVision FableVision.

The best clients are the ones that believe in us and trust us to create something impactful. Sometimes FableVision surprises even me by making things that I didn’t even know we could create, and it’s because our clients believed in us. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to make media I care about, and a lot of that is a tribute to our incredible partners and clients.

In addition to our service work, I’m passionate about our Original IP department that launched two years ago. Since we started, we’ve tried to open new doors to creative challenges. Our Original IP department has done that. It’s an exciting new venture, an opportunity to push the envelope, and I want to continue to feel challenged because that’s great creative fuel for me.

What do you think is the secret ingredient for the success that FableVision has cooked up?
The right people, hands down. The right talent. That might be cliché, but I really believe in our team.  We’re not scared to do things we haven’t done before because there is such a smart, supportive group of people helping and cheering each other on. I also think FableVision does a good job in letting our staff explore what they’re personally passionate about and that makes the whole company a better place to work.

From the very beginning, we surrounded ourselves with amazing, talented people. A couple of us are still here, and we even have a few folks celebrating a decade here -- that’s pretty incredible. Even when people leave to pursue other dreams, we tend to stay in each other’s orbit and end up working together again in different ways. I’ve always liked to think of FableVision as a creative hot house. Bring people to FableVision and they’ll grow, they just need the right environment to thrive.

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