Alright!
I’m not sure why it’s a surprise given the pedigree of the production company (a win in 2005 for Cooking for Kids with Luis, and nominations for three years running..), but Gardening For Kids With Madi took home the Most Outstanding Children’s Program at the ASTRAs last Monday night…
Kind of a big deal - the ASTRAs are kinda like the Logies for Pay TV.
Kudos must go to the team over at Total Perception for another great effort.
While I can’t post an episode here or on YouTube, you can see the entire series on the Nick Jr. website - very badly compressed though…
Here’s a little write up I did for the ASE website:
ASTRA AWARD FOR “GARDENING WITH MADI”
On Monday night, 23rd April 2007, Gardening for Kids with Madi edited by ASE member Enzo Tedeschi, was awarded Most Outstanding Children’s Program for the year at the 2007 ASTRA Awards.
The program is a five minute interstitial series teaching children how to garden, and hosted by Madi, a six-year-old girl. Madi was also nominated for Most Outstanding Performance by a Presenter, the category rounded out by seasoned talent like David Speers, Brendan Moar and Antonia Kidman.
Gardening for Kids with Madi won its category despite the company of the other esteemed nominees such as Camp Orange - Slimey Hollow (also produced by the same production company, Total Perception), Weather Ed and The Upside Down Show, featuring The Umbilical Brothers, all being full-length half-hour TV series.
“It’s a testament to the production company Total Perception, who in the last three years running have been nominated in the Kids Category, having also won in 2005”, Enzo said.
“It was a pleasure to work with them, and working with Director Phillip Tanner was great. It’s a great format for kids, and Phillip’s skill and instinct in creating five minutes of compelling kids TV is pretty impressive. I learnt a hell of a lot about working with kids, and had to flex the creative muscle out of necessity in order to work with footage from a six-year-old presenter. It’s the most fun I’ve had cutting in a long time!”
“Gardening for Kids with Madi is hosted by a six-year-old so you get humour, speed, spontaneity and tantrums but what you don’t get are long coherent pieces to camera delivered by a professional presenter - you get grabs delivered by an inspirational kid,” Phillip stated.
“We shot with two cameras to provide edit points and on location I know when we have the coverage, but still this is a show that really requires great editing skills to make a smooth, compelling and humorous five minute story with a clear message. Enzo was the perfect editor to have on board; he brings ideas, a wealth of experience and patience. He also has kids so instinctively knows what works and what doesn’t work for our target audience. It was fun working with him and we will do it again soon. “
Gardening for Kids with Madi is currently screening on Nick Jr.
Image from Nick Jr. website, GFKWM wallpaper.
