Poko image

Poko-Motion

December 2003 (estimated) TV Episode Poko

Studio
Salter Street Films, Halifax Film Company, AAC Kids
Distributor
Alliance Atlantis Films

Synopsis

The train tour on the "Poko Express" is suddenly derailed by Minus.

Characters

Poko, Minus, Mr. Murphy

Credits

Directing

Director
Chuck Rubin
Assistant Directors
Alex Busby
Assistant Director, 2003
Derek J. Filiatrault
First Assistant Directors
Colleen McGrath, Jay Silver
Second Assistant Director
Robin Walsh

Producing

Producer
Katrina Walsh
Executive Producers
Charles Bishop, Michael Donovan, Jeff Rosen
Creative Producer
Cheryl Wagner
Line Producer
Katrina Walsh

Writing

Writer
Jeff Rosen, Cheryl Wagner

Voices

Voice
Cameron Davidson (Poko), Cory Bowles (The Narrator)

Music

Music
Blain Morris

Editing

Editor
Brian Culliton, Ken Peterson (2003)
Supervisory Editor
Stewart Dowds

Crew

Creator
Jeff Rosen
Model Technician
Tim Andrews
Designer
Mark Laing
Supervising Cinematography
Dennis J. Murphy
Cinematography
David Albiston
Production Design
Mark Laing
Art Direction
Linda Pelttari
Production Manager
Tracey Jardine
Construction Supervisor
Mark Dunphy
Storyboard Artists
Stephen Evans, Stan Gaziola, Graeme Partridge-David, Meaghan Smith, Kevin Sollows
Props Builders
Brian Hills, Andy Munro, Tom Ryan, Jessica Winton
Key Puppet Builder
Frances James
Puppet Builder
Sarah O'Malley
Key Sculptor
Sandra MacMurray
Assistant to Producer
Natalie Angelucci
Production Coordinator
Hannah Croggon
Creative Assistant
John Davie
Assistant Camera
Todd Murchie
Production Accountants
Hannes Nothegger, Derek Rolls
Best Boy Gaffer
Jordan Schella
Systems Administrator
Troy Strum

Production notes

Stop-motion animation. (This was the first professional use of stop-motion animation in Atlantic Canada.)

This TV series is scheduled to run for 39 episodes.

A guest speaker at the Atlantic Film Festival in Nova Scotia- where the studio is located- suggested that producers of Poko contact Tom Gasek, a British stop-motion animator associated with such big-budget films as Chicken Run.

Salter Street Films went to Bristol, England for assistance in setting up the animation department for this series. The small robotic puppets of Poko and his friends, also made in Bristol, were constructed of silicone over steel armatures at a cost of $7,000 (Canadian) each.

With Gasek's assistance and guidance, Salter Street Films created a fully self-sufficient stop-motion animation studio in Nova Scotia. Poko is the stop-motion studio's first series. Financial assistance came from the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation.

A crew of 48 artists, animators, designers, musicians and others were involved in the series. There were nine animators, with each producing only 10 seconds of animation each day.

Scenes were shot with digital cameras on metre-square sets.

Awards

Gemini Award, Best Pre-School Program or Series, Michael Donovan, Charles Bishop and Jeff Rosen, 2004