TeamTO’s "Behind The Beats”, animation and Pop Music for the whole family

Music is a universal language and this is reflected in "Behind The Beats,” a YouTube Originals and France Televisions series, produced by TeamTO. "My idea was to share my passion for all kinds of music with everyone," said Baptiste Jacquemet in an exclusive interview with Señal News.

"Behind The Beats" (26x5’) tells the stories of how talented musicians with incredibly different styles came together, revealing the often-unexpected origins of new musical genres such as New Wave, Rock’n’ Roll, G-Funk, Reggae, Electro Pop and Trap. "We pitched the project at Forum Cartoon in 2019 where YouTube Originals and France Televisions believed in the project," said TeamTO’s Patricia De Wilde.

For the first year, France Televisions has the exclusive rights for the show in France where it streams on the digital platform France.tv and on its linear channel France 4. YouTube has the rights for the rest of the world in English, French and Spanish. "After the first year, YouTube will air the series in France as well," she added. The show has already clocked 12 million views since the release of the first 8 episodes, which started dropping on Nov. 17 and France Televisions is very happy with the results. “We are already thinking about a second season," affirmed De Wilde. "By the end of January we’ll have 15 episodes out, and the remaining 11 episodes by this April 21st,” she added.

MAIN CHALLENGES
Music is always expensive in a series and even more so if the songs are well-known classics as they are in this show. Baptiste Jacquemet talks about the clearance of the music tracks. "It was very complex and time-consuming because when you ask for the rights of a song, you have to explain how you will use it, and we were developing the series at the same time." Another big challenge was the huge number of characters that had to be created in CG. "It's not a regular series, it’s more like 26 short films! We created 100 sets and 300 characters, so we had to be quick and efficient." 

"We also had the challenge of the dance moves. We didn’t have to be so precise on some things, as animation is not realistic, but you have to be very accurate in the look and feel of the moves when you animate people like Elvis Presley or K-Pop," explained De Wilde.

After the first year of exclusivity on YouTube and France Televisions, TeamTO will sell "Behind The Beats" to linear channels around the world. "It could appeal to new viewers on linear channels, who would not necessarily have seen it on YouTube. Also, it’s narrated with a voice over, so it’s not that expensive to dub in all the local markets," commented De Wilde. "The aim is to generate co-viewing, since parents (and even grandparents!) can watch the show with their teenage kids and discover that they have a lot in common. Music provides an opportunity to open up conversations and start sharing again," she concluded.