Never heard of Steamworks Studio? Neither did I until yesterday, but I am familiar with some of their work, namely many episodes of the last three Pat & Mat series. I've previously written about how I couldn't find any information on the Chinese studio where the newest P&M episodes were (also) filmed. I can now finally stop using substitute, inadequate names such as "Chinese studio" and call them by their proper name, Steamworks Studio.
And how did we finally get to know them? Well, a few months ago, after some heavy searching, I managed to uncover the Chinese name for Pat & Mat, 呆瓜兄弟. I hope somebody from China can offer a fair translation of the name, but online translators variously give it as Dumb brothers and Dolly brothers, which, I guess, sums up the gist of it. Unfortunately, Googling that name turned up almost nothing of importance at the time.
Luckily, Rakso, Pat & Mat fan extraordinaire, thought to search again and hit gold. Nowadays you can find much more posters, videos and advertising material for the characters in Chinese in general and there's good reason for it. Today (July 31) a Pat & Mat feature film will be released in China. It seems to be a significant date from what I've gathered, the reopening of Chinese cinemas for family-friendly movies after the coronavirus lockdown, so it's nice that Pat and Mat will be part of that story. Judging by the trailers, the film is 2018's Pat a Mat znovu v akci or some version of it.
A theatrical release means trailers and an unusual one appeared in China a couple of days ago. The studio filmed a new sequence where Pat and Mat think up of their own dance routine for what I guess is a popular Chinese song. It is a nicely done, pleasant sequence.
From this short video and the one in the ending credits of Znovu v akci, I can see that the animator is the same person who animated most or all of Schody, so it's not surprising that the handshake at the end of the performance is executed almost identically to the one in the aforementioned episode.
More about the studio can be found on their website. They are based in the Jianggan district of Hangzhou, a city of more than 10 million people. Their full name is listed as Hangzhou Steamworks Creative Co. Ltd and they have been doing stop motion since 2004. The English translation of the studio's website is pretty wonky, so I have been able to find some familiar names (for instance, Wang Peipei, listed as executive director) only on their original site automatically translated to English.
You would think that's all, but not yet! After some more digging, I also uncovered a much more elaborate behind-the-scenes video uploaded only at the beginning of this week. Here we get an insight into the production process of a couple of episodes:
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| source: maoyan.com |
And how did we finally get to know them? Well, a few months ago, after some heavy searching, I managed to uncover the Chinese name for Pat & Mat, 呆瓜兄弟. I hope somebody from China can offer a fair translation of the name, but online translators variously give it as Dumb brothers and Dolly brothers, which, I guess, sums up the gist of it. Unfortunately, Googling that name turned up almost nothing of importance at the time.
Luckily, Rakso, Pat & Mat fan extraordinaire, thought to search again and hit gold. Nowadays you can find much more posters, videos and advertising material for the characters in Chinese in general and there's good reason for it. Today (July 31) a Pat & Mat feature film will be released in China. It seems to be a significant date from what I've gathered, the reopening of Chinese cinemas for family-friendly movies after the coronavirus lockdown, so it's nice that Pat and Mat will be part of that story. Judging by the trailers, the film is 2018's Pat a Mat znovu v akci or some version of it.
A theatrical release means trailers and an unusual one appeared in China a couple of days ago. The studio filmed a new sequence where Pat and Mat think up of their own dance routine for what I guess is a popular Chinese song. It is a nicely done, pleasant sequence.
The studio also did a making of video to accompany it. Eventually, they also posted it to their Facebook site and by doing so revealed who they are!
More about the studio can be found on their website. They are based in the Jianggan district of Hangzhou, a city of more than 10 million people. Their full name is listed as Hangzhou Steamworks Creative Co. Ltd and they have been doing stop motion since 2004. The English translation of the studio's website is pretty wonky, so I have been able to find some familiar names (for instance, Wang Peipei, listed as executive director) only on their original site automatically translated to English.
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| making of Výroba ledu (maoyan.com) |
Of course, I can understand Pat & Mat producer Tomáš Eiselt perfectly well, but I wish I could understand what is said in Chinese! If there's somebody from China lurking here (and I have seen a few visits from there pop up), it would be nice if they could offer us a basic translation or maybe show us the video's original 1080p version. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if I managed to miss another video or interesting behind-the-scenes photo, so please comment if you find some. I have a feeling more is to come.
Update, August 3: Check the comments for the 1080p version and the translation. Here's the dance sequence in 1080p:
Update, August 3: Check the comments for the 1080p version and the translation. Here's the dance sequence in 1080p:
I found 2 mini-episodes between episodes, from the Chinese version of znovu v akci.
ReplyDeletehttps://m.bilibili.com/video/BV1ma4y1E7An
https://m.bilibili.com/video/BV1U54y1v7Xi
These are only trailers. I found many of them on Bilibili, some with clips from old episodes. We don't know if the "mini-episodes" indeed ended up in the film in the end and, of course, they're not new material.
DeleteI have a 1080p version of the last video uploaded on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/AImHcBcuRX0 Also trying to add captions, but my transcription service isn't perfect...
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteCaptions are now available, only took a couple of hours...
DeleteThanks. The narrated bits are expected, although I have to mention that their count of 20 countries in which the series was broadcast is extremely low! What's interesting are the comments by the two Chinese animators - it's so strange to hear them having trouble with things like waving and closing doors, which meant some scenes had to be reshot! BTW, apart from Black Ice (we can see bits of its storyboard), the second episode whose production is being shown is Furniture. The date on the monitor is February 28, 2019.
DeleteA book with the characters was also released in China yesterday. Here's a quick automatic translation from https://hea.china.com/article/20200731/072020_570663.html (check out the photos as well):
ReplyDeleteThe exclusive authorization of the IP publication of the stop motion animation film "Dolly Brothers" held in Beijing
On July 30, 2020, Jueke Pictures (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jueke Pictures") and Beijing Ruoqing Science and Technology Cultural Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Beijing) Ruoqing") held a signing ceremony for the strategic cooperation between the two parties and the exclusive publishing cooperation authorized by the "Dolly Brothers" series. Liu Zhiguang, the founder of Jacques Pictures and the producer of "Daughter Brothers", and his founding team members Bai Yuxuan and Song Xiaxia; Beijing Publishing Group Beijing Ruoqing Chairman Yuan Hai, General Manager Liu Qian, Chief Editor Zhang Hao, and Vice President Manager Chang Xinwei and others attended the signing ceremony.
The integration of book publishing and film and television media is a process of collision and complementarity between the two industries, which is conducive to promoting the extension and improvement of the industrial value chain and fostering new profit-added points. Previously, the cooperation between books and film and television appeared more in the form of concurrent books of film and television.Today, the cooperation between the two parties is based on high-quality content, giving full play to their respective advantages, keeping up with the pace of innovation of the times, and also in line with the pace of integration and transformation of the publishing industry, including the Beijing Edition Group. , Strengthen the two-way interaction between film and book publishing, and enrich the forms and channels of obtaining publishing resources. At the same time, it also helps to integrate high-quality resources, further expand their brand influence, and enhance brand value.
TBC
Continued...
DeleteJuake Pictures is a film and television media company dedicated to the long-term development of the pan-entertainment industry and has 20 years of experience in the entire film industry chain. The classic animation IP "Dolly Brothers" was born in 1976. For 44 years, with its humorous images, touching stories, endless whims and ideas, and a happy and self-improving spirit, it has gained a lot from all over the world. Hardcore fan. This time, Jacques Films successfully won the world-renowned IP of "Dolly Brothers", and used the Chinese creative team to make a new creation of "Dolly Brothers", creating a new series of "Dolly Brothers" with Chinese characteristics with originality the film. Liu Zhiguang, the founder of Jacques Films and the producer of "Dolly Brothers", mentioned that the creative spirit and optimistic spirit of Dolly Brothers are also what our current society lacks. We encourage children to actively use their brains to create with their own hands. And enjoy the happiness in the process of creation, and treat the setbacks in the process of creation correctly. In modern society, we don't have too many opportunities to make something by ourselves. The dumb brothers are the concentrated expression of the DIY spirit.
Beijing Publishing Group is a large-scale comprehensive publishing organization affiliated to Beijing. Since its establishment, Beijing Ruoqing has made full use of the advantages of latecomers, relying on the advantages of traditional publishing, and focusing on the development of media, in digital publishing, cultural and creative development, curriculum development, etc. Find new breakthroughs and growth points for diversified development. Yuan Hai, Chairman of Beijing Publishing Group Ruoqing, proposed that the book of "Daughter Brothers" will follow the current direction of positive and positive topic selection, centering on this big IP, using the publishing house's planning and editing advantages, and digging into the content. Do a good job in content, refined form, and large format.
Subsequently, the signing ceremony was held by representatives of both parties. At the ceremony, the two parties communicated on the vision for the future. The cooperation between the two parties is based on high-quality content, keeping up with the pace of the times, strengthening the two-way interaction between film and book publishing, and enriching the forms and channels for obtaining publishing resources. The proactive, efficient and professional work attitude of the teams of both parties also provides strong support for the cooperation.
At the end of the signing ceremony, the two parties sent their blessings to the movie "Dolly Brothers". The cooperation between Beijing Ruoqing and Jueke Films is to follow the trend of integrating resources and achieving win-win cooperation. This move will help promote the integrated development of news publishing and film and television animation, build the entire publishing industry chain, and explore and open up for publishing companies. New business models and new paths in order to output more high-quality content in the future and produce better social and economic benefits.
Also present at this meeting were Beijing Publishing Group Ruoqing Deputy Editor-in-Chief Dou Guangli, Deputy General Manager Zheng Long, Science Editor Director Wang Guanzhong and others, as well as friends from the Marketing Department.
"Dolly Brothers" will attract attention as the first batch of movies released after the theater resumes work on July 31.
Music is 無價之姊 (The Priceless Sister) by Chinese singer Chris Lee at that dance promo
ReplyDeleteI can’t help but feel that, even though the Chinese production process looks much more elaborate and professional, the work from Patmat film is way better.
ReplyDelete