Comic-Con Recap: Producers From Netflix’s “Arcane” And “F Is For Family”

 

Pitches, Pilots, and Beyond: A Look Into the Visual Storytelling Process featuring showrunners, producers, and directors for many beloved projects including Netflix’s “F Is For Family,” “Julie and the Phantoms,” and “WWE: Escape The Undertaker;” Disney’s “Monsters at Work;” First Bloom Films’ “Balloon Animal;” and, independent animated series “Battle of the Bands.” The packed house of fans were treated to an insightful conversation about how films and television shows get made through the process of writing the pitch to shooting a pilot episode, as well as building out and establishing a storyworld in both linear and interactive stories.

The panel was moderated by actor and content creator, Chris Villain, and featured showrunner and co-creator Michael Price (F is for Family, The Simpsons), supervising director, director and writer Stephen Anderson (Monsters at Work), actress and producer Katherine Waddell (Balloon Animal), CEO of Bridge Works Entertainment and Executive Producer George Salinas (Julie and the Phantoms), Director and Executive Producer Ben Simms (WWE: Escape The Undertaker, Running Wild with Bear Grylls) and creator and showrunner Allissoon Lockhart (Battle of the Bands).

The panelists started off the conversation by discussing the art of collaboration, which is especially important, as leaders on their projects. Reflecting on his work as showrunner on “F is for Family”, Michael Price shared, “The most important thing I’ve learned in my career is that it’s important to create a sense of ownership for everyone. We are all in it together and it’s my job to make sure everyone is recognized for their joint efforts.”

Steve Anderson continued, elaborating on the importance of balancing direction with trust and delegation. “Oftentimes, you can mistake dictating for directing,” Steve shared. “For me, it’s important to understand that directing is taking a step back and embracing the ideas from the people you work with. When you have a strong collaboration, the final work is always excellent.” Ben Simms echoed Steve’s sentiments. “I strive to lead with inspiration and not fear,” he related. “Collaboration can be easy if you hire people you trust and lead by example.”

The panelists then reflected on their goals to create more inclusive environments in the entertainment industry, both as leaders and allies. Katherine Waddell began by relating the inspiration behind forming her own production company First Bloom Films. “Women-centric content is a big inspiration for me,” she said. “That is why I wanted to create a female-focused independent film company that goes out of their way to put women in front of the camera. Our projects focus on kindness, compassion, and empathy and I am excited to continue creating more inclusive projects.”

George Salinas added in his process behind the mission for his company, Bridge Works Entertainment, which focuses on discovering and uplifting diverse content. “I saw a need for IP, especially because there was a lack of content about Latinx superheroes,” he added. “It is my goal to bring that to the mainstream media and give universal exposure to the talented professionals in the Latinx world.”

The panel then transitioned to a series of quick hitting questions, discussing filmmaker inspirations, favorite moments of triumph and fulfillment, and secret easter eggs in their projects. Allissoon Lockhart discussed her original independent animated series. “For Battle of the Bands, I’m inspired by a lot of genres of music and you can see easter eggs honoring my inspirations like AC/DC, Scott Pilgrim comics, and Lord of the Rings. I’ve even had a chance to bring on some of my favorite bands just by cold emailing them after discovering them on Spotify.”

The panel ended with moderator Chris Villain challenging each panelist to give their best advice for making it in the industry. Allisson ended the panel with six simple words: “Be yourself, be kind, be creative”.

The full house of audience members at the panel left with important insight into building their own projects, changing trends and opportunities, and more as they headed off to explore the rest of Comic-Con Special Edition

Next, excited fans filled the room to the brim for an in-person conversation with a group of Hollywood’s most highly sought-after directors, editors, composers, music supervisors, songwriters, and more to discuss their work on some of the most popular projects such as Netflix/Riot Games’ “Arcane,” Paramount+’s “Why Women Kill,” and Disney+’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” and “Julie and the Phantoms” on Impact24 PR’s Set Secrets with Film and TV Creatives panel. 

The panel was moderated by actor and content creator, Chris Villain, and featured editor Ernesto Matamorors-Cox (Riot Games / Arcane), editor Lawrence Gan (Riot Games / Arcane), music supervisor Jennifer Smith (Why Women Kill), composer Spencer Creaghan (SurrealEstate), and songwriter Tova Livtin of songwriting duo Rockwell Litvin (Julie and the Phantoms, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series).

The panelists started out with reflecting on highlights from their fan-favorite projects. For Arcane, Ernesto and Lawrence discussed the importance of taking inspiration from and honoring the original League of Legends game. “Drawing from the game experience was incredibly important in our process,” Ernesto shared. “Because Arcane and League of Legends have such vast world building, our goal for the team was to make sure everyone involved was invested and learning and collaborating on approaches as we progressed in the work on our project.” Elaborating on the success of his collaborative process with Ernesto and the rest of the Arcane team, Lawrence added, “the biggest advice I can give in four words or less: make things with friends.” 

The group then transitioned to expanding on their creative process and how they get in the right creative mindset for their projects. “I make playlists for every single character”, music supervisor Jennifer Smith remarked. “They won’t make the show but it helps with the development of the character.” Composer Spencer Creaghan continued, “When I’m looking at a character breakdown, I always think ‘What does music mean to the character?’”.  Creaghan also shared some of the unusual instruments he was able to incorporate into Syfy’s SurrealEstate, including a bathtub.

The panel wrapped up by sharing special moments on sets. “Working with Kenny Ortega is like working with a phenomenal wizard,” Tova Litvin remarked as the crowd reacted with laughter. Tova also shared that she and her songwriting partner, Doug Rockwell, often create easter eggs for shows like Julie and the Phantoms. “I always try to insert easter eggs into the music,” she continued. “For example, in the song “Now or Never”, there’s a lyric that says ‘Clocks move forward but we don’t get older” to foreshadow the premise of Julie and the Phantoms.”

The panelists ended the discussion with quick words of wisdom for audience members interested in working in television and film. Spencer succinctly implored the audience to “be collaborative and listen more.” Jennifer concluded by encouraging the audience to “always be authentic” in their expression and storytelling.

The fully packed audience at Comic-Con Special Edition left with a new appreciation for the work of behind-the-scenes creatives, as well as set secrets and easter eggs, eager to enjoy the rest of the convention.