„BEAR ME” – THE FIRST POLISH WEB SERIES
„It is an almost true story about friendship, love and the Bear” - that's what we read about the „Bear Me” series on its website. The first season of the series directed by Kasia Wilk produced by Animoon is available at YouTube.
„Bear me” series is based on the multi awarded short made by Kasia Wilk at the German Film Akademie Baden Wurrtemberg. The series that was produced in 2014 was uploaded to YouTube in June 2014 and since then has been gaining its audience. Currently the second season is being produced.
We had a pleasure of interviewing Kasia Wilk – the author of the series. Here's our short interview about working in animation, new ideas and swimming in the ocean of internet.
When did it all begin for you?
I've embarked on my quest searching for a perfect life plan at the Ocean of Endless Opportunities. It was somewhere around my high school graduation. I decided to get ready for entrance exams for the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, I've chosen biology as the complementary subject at my final exams in high school but above all actually I've always wanted to be a fireman... And suddenly someone told me about animation saying that this way I will be able to bring my drawings into motion. I've passed my entrance exams at the Polish National Film School in Łódź with the second attempt. And I guess this is actually how my big adventure begun...
Which stage of working on a project process do you find particularly interesting?
I love creating stories. It all starts with a moment when I come accross an idea – the rest is just bringing all the elements together. That's the moment when you have to decide exactly what you want to say and how you're going to say that. Characters, their relationships, the vibe the story has it all needs to be organized and the process of doing that brings me so much fun. It's almost like playing with lego bricks.
„Bear Me” series is based on your short graduation film. What was the path that led you to compleating the fist season of the series?
„Bear me” short had its Polish premiere at the Łodzią po Wiście festival in 2012. I remember I was quite scared back then – I've just came back from an exchange programme at Filmakademie, I was a fresh graduate with no work and no plans at all. I was also quite terrified to see if the funny story that I created will appeal to the Polish audience. At the cinema, right after the sceening I met my filmschool collague – Grzeegorz Wacławek. He told me that he's just set up a production studio and that he would be eager to have a try with developing the short into a series. Then we spent weeks talking and thinking about the structure of the story and planning how to develop characters, plot and music. We were also wondering how we would enter the commercial market with such an arthouse project (laughts). In mid 2012 the production of the first season kicked off.
The first season of the series is available at YouTube. What are the pros and conts of such a distribution strategy? Why did you choose to this particular model?
It is quite a risky path to choose but at the same time it is very rewarding. YouTube is a mass medium which of course gives us the opportunity of reaching a large group of people who might like our arthouse animation. We let them watch the whole season, whenever and wherever they want. It's super nice to get comments and e-mails from people living in Argentina or Frace who are interested to know how the story develops and what's going to come next to the characters that you've created when living in Łódź district of Bałuty. That's really cool. At the same time you need to invest a lot to keep your channel alive. We stay totally dependent to our subscribers.
You are currently working on a second season of the series. What can we expect in the newest episodes?
The series has been evolving as I moved on through the last few years growing attached closely and closely to my characters. But that's a long story... The superhero of the second season is called Leon. He is a new friend that Lilli has. So basically the story of each episode revolves around the her relationship with an aligator... Again we get involved in the world seen through the eyes of an optimist but this time packed with more brisk trials and tribulations and unexpected twists. You won't get any spoilers from me so just stayed tuned.
You can watch the series on „Bear Me” channel at YouTube
To know more about the project please visit the offcial „Bear Me” website
The series was produced by Animoon in coproductionwith GS Animation, Studio Spot, Studio OKO, Badi Badi and LSW.