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Nicholas Smal is a South African animator, actor, comedian, and musician. Alongside Lucy Heavens, he is the co-creator of Kiff and serves as an executive producer, writer, and storyboard artist for the series, in addition to writing and producing songs and voicing Principal Secretary and other characters.[1]
Early life
[edit]Smal's obsession with cartoons started at an early age and skyrocketed when his family got a cable subscription to the MNET channel in South Africa.[2] His cartoon heroes growing up were The Simpsons, Rescue Rangers, Animaniacs, BraveStarr and Rocker's Modern Life.[3] He cites 2D animation as the visual style that he most gravitated towards as a child, a medium which continues to inspire Smal to this day.[3]As a young kid Smal would try to draw and emulate the cartoons he loved by doodling in his textbooks and teaching himself how to create a flip book of moving objects.[3]
When it came to studying animation in Africa, Smal only had one choice- The Animation School in Cape Town.[3] However, in the early 2000s the trend was to teach and learn CGI animation which Smal wasn't keen on learning.[4] He chose instead to study in a graphic design program where he learned typography by hand, figuring drawing and photography.[3] This broader education allowed him to eventually pivot back to his first love of 2D Animation.[3]
Career
[edit]Cartoon productions in Africa were extremely limited when Smal was coming out of school. However one of Smal's classmates from Zimbabwe was affiliated with Sunrise Animations Studios best known for producing Jungle Beat and he invited Smal to do some character drawings for them, which quickly expanded into storyboarding and writing work as well. [5] Smal credits this experience to giving him a well-rounded jack-of-all trades approach and understanding of the animation pipeline. [6]
From there, Smal worked in the animation and art departments of shows such as Caillou, Florrie's Dragons, Boxed Warriors, and Team Jay.[1] Smal continued his trajectory of working in a variety of mediums, taking on work as an art director, animator, editor, ad creation and solo content creator of animated shorts.[2]
Smal also played in the rock bands Serving Suggestion (with his brother Tim),[7] Gravity Wins Again, and Versus the Wolf, and later formed the comedy duo Derick Watts & the Sunday Blues with his Gravity Wins Again bandmate Gareth Allison.[8]In 2016 A YouTube video of Smal recording and mixing catchy beats made by his English bulldog Banjoe caught the attention of the Huffington Post in the UK.[9]
Smal met playright and comedy writer Lucy Heavens at a studio in South Africa where they bonded over similar comedic, animation and story sensibilities.[10] Their collaboration on the creation of Kiff started when Smal re-shaped an initial crude image of Kiff the squirrel, originally drawn and imagined up by Heavens.[11] Heavens and Smal have noted that ‘Kiff" is a slang word for ‘cool’ in South Africa, and they were inspired by the people and places they experienced when growing up in Cape Town, with many of the characters of Kiff reflecting the personalities of their own family and friends.[3]
Smal ended up designing the entirety of the characters and world of Kiff, including Kiff's best friend Barry the bunny that caught the attention of the Disney Channel.[12].
Kiff premiered on March 10, 2023, on Disney Channel in association with Titmouse Inc.[13] In 2023 Smal was nominated for two Children's and Family Emmy Awards in the Main Title and Voice Directing for an Animated Series categories.[14] At a Disney Branded Television - TCA Winter Press Tour and panel that Smal and Heavens attended, it was unveiled that Kiff has become one of the most streamed and most watched animated series on Disney Channel and Disney+ worldwide.[4] Smal has named "Weird Delivery" as his favorite Kiff episode thus far.[15]
In June 2024 Smal was panelist on the Disney presentation at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival called "Storytelling Through Music" where he offered an insightful look at the storytelling benefits of songs.[16]
Smal has an overall development deal with Disney and will develop new animated shows, films, shorts and specials for the Disney Channel & Disney+. The deal includes a second animated series for Disney Channel currently in development pending for a series greenlight.[17]
Smal is currently working on the third season of Kiff which was recently announced as officially renewed by Disney. [18]
Television
[edit]| Year | Titel | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | Kiff | Executive Producer, Writer (created by), Principal Secretary, Additional Voices | |
| 2023 | Takeover | Principal Secretary | |
| 2019 | Team Jay | Art Director, Writer | |
| 2019 | Boxed Warriors | Storyboard Artist | |
| 2017 | Tali's Wedding Diary | Photographer | |
| 2010-2013 | Caillou | Animator | |
| 2010-2011 | Florrie's Dragons | Animator |
References
[edit]- ^ Betti, Tony (2023-03-08). "Spending Some Time With "Kiff" Creators Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
- ^ Almeida-Seele, Paul Harold (November 18, 2004). "Serving Suggestion on The Native Noise Acoustic Collection". Native Noise.
- ^ Communications, Wired (2011-09-07). "Braai Day Parody Song Goes Viral". Wired Communications. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ "Musician Uses His Bulldog As An Instrument To Create Awesome Music". HuffPost UK. 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "Lucy Heavens: Writer, Showrunner, Producer by Fusion Voices". Spotify for Podcasters. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "Lucy Heavens: Writer, Showrunner, Producer by Fusion Voices". Spotify for Podcasters. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast : Nic Smal and Lucy Heavens - Kiff". bancroftbros.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Rosario, Alexandra Del (2021-06-17). "'Kiff': Disney Channel Greenlights Animated Series From South African Creators Lucy Heavens & Nic Smal". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (2023-11-02). "Children's & Family Emmys 2023 Nominees Announced, as NATAS Works Out Ceremony Plans (FULL LIST)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "Nic Smal". Kiff Wiki. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
- ^ Reif, Alex (2024-06-14). "Annecy Recap: "Storytelling Through Music" with Disney Television Animation". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: KIFF CREATORS INK OVERALL DEVELOPMENT DEAL AT DISNEY TVA & DISNEY+". Tumblr. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "Kiff Scores Season Three Renewal As Part Of Nic Smal And Lucy Heavens Extended Overall Development Deal Alongside Second Show In Development". Tumblr. Retrieved 2024-07-10.