Award-winning Northern Ireland animation company Sixteen South launches crowdfunding project for new YouTube series

EMMY® nominated and BAFTA award-winning Belfast-based children’s television animation company Sixteen South has launched a crowdfunding campaign for its latest children’s series Frankie and Doris which will be launched on YouTube in January.

The company is hoping to raise the last £10,000 of its budget via the Kickstarter platform by the end of September.

Frankie and Doris is a topical sitcom for 8 to 12-year-olds which will take a no-holds barred look at life through the eyes of two misfits who refuse to conform to what the world calls ‘normal’.

The show aims to take children away from the filtered perfection of the digital age by focusing on current, real life issues, from politicians who struggle to tell the truth to social injustice or environmental abuse.  

Colin Williams, Creative Director of Sixteen South, said the ability to explore such issues explicitly is one of the advantages of choosing a platform like YouTube to launch their latest project:

He said: “The best part is that the platform is free from editorial constraint, so we are free to make a series that is completely unfiltered and calls out everything that is simply wrong and untrue.”

The company’s newly-developed software that can animate almost in real time will allow it to create the most topical, reactive and relevant content imaginable.

Frankie and Doris is the first ever series which Sixteen South will release via YouTube.

“YouTube has exploded, taking with it the eyeballs of more and more kids. It allows us to reach our audience in the most direct way possible.”

The series is the latest creation of Sixteen South, which have an impressive collection of awards under their belt, including a BAFTA for the Children’s Independent Production Company of the Year.

Colin launched Sixteen South in Belfast in 2007 with an aim of using his talent to tell stories of hope and positivity. The company has since experienced significant growth and now employs over 70 people at their four-storey premises in Belfast’s city centre.

They have created over 450 episodes of eight hit children’s series working with giants such as Netflix, NickJr and PBS Kids and which are watched by children in almost every country in the world, so it is unsurprising that Colin has attended a reception with the Queen at Buckingham Palace for his contribution to design in Northern Ireland.

Sixteen South’s crowdfunding campaign is now live at www.16s.be/fd, and children will be able to watch Frankie and Doris on YouTube when it launches in January.