NEWS

Two brand new children’s shows have launched on TV screens this week, after filming at The Bottle Yard Studios.

Andy’s Global Adventures (CBeebies) and Dino Club (Sky Kids) were both filmed in The Bottle Yard’s Studio 8 last year on our gigantic 80 ft green screen.

Fronted by everyone’s favourite children’s TV presenter Andy Day and produced by world renowned BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the all-new series – Andy’s Global Adventures – is the latest instalment in the BAFTA-nominated Andy’s Adventures series, made using the latest digital CGI and green screen technology with footage from the BBC’s archive.

The 15 x 15 min episodes were filmed in The Bottle Yard’s 5,000 sq ft green screen studio between January and March last year. Earlier this month, the production team returned to the Studios to begin filming a further 15 episodes of Andy’s Global Adventures, which will shoot between February and March.

Andy’s Global Adventures Series Producer Mark Jones says: “Once again, the huge 80-foot greenscreen studio at the Bottle Yard was ideal in helping to enhance our series. The show relies heavily on compositing our presenter, Andy Day, into the award-winning sequences from shows made by the Natural History Unit, including Seven Worlds One Planet and Dynasties with Bristol based Doghouse Post creating Hollywood style visual FX for us. The result – Andy gets closer than ever before to a new cast of wildlife that inhabits our planet – and all on a children’s budget!”

In Andy’s Global Adventures, we see Andy, Jen (Puja Panchkoty) and their new teammate Scout, a flying robot, travel the world in their eco-friendly, hi-tech expedition truck, The Explorer. The trio go on a series of non-stop adventures, solving nature’s mysteries and discovering incredible animal behaviour across all seven continents of our planet. Mission accomplished, our intrepid team upload their findings to HQ before heading into a magic portal – the gateway to their next adventure…

Andy’s Global Adventures is a continuation of the strand which comprises Andy’s Wild Adventures, Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures, Andy’s Prehistoric Adventures, Broadcast award-winning Andy’s Safari Adventures and RTS West of England award-winning Andy’s Aquatic Adventures. Andy’s Global Adventures is a BBC Studios Natural History Unit production for CBeebies and BBC Studios Kids and Family.

New fast-paced, live action kids’ show Dino Club is a new series commissioned by Sky to launch its brand new 24 hour ad-free Sky Kids linear channel which went live on Monday 13th February. Produced by Bristol company True To Nature, filming for the 20 x 7 series took place on The Bottle Yard’s green screen last year over a 11 week period.

Dino Club Series Producer Adam Oldroyd says: “It’s fantastic to have a studio facility here in Bristol that can accommodate a complex series like Dino Club. The greenscreen studio and wide range of on-site filming facilities, make The Bottle Yard a perfect home for a VFX heavy production like this. And the Studios’ continued commitment to supporting and assisting local productions like ours, alongside the larger international projects it now attracts, is much valued and appreciated by all in the Bristol TV and film community.”

Aimed at children aged 4+, Dino Club gives viewers the chance to discover the strangest and most surprising truths about dinosaurs, as they journey through a fantastically fun virtual land of these pre-historic giants. The show’s young intrepid hosts, Ayo and Harriet, time travel into the past to reveal facts along the way and have an amazing adventure.

Dino Club is produced for Sky Kids by True To Nature, Executive Producer is Wendy Darke and Series Producer is Adam Oldroyd.

Laura Aviles, Senior Bristol Film Manager says: “The Andy’s Adventures team have worked their magic on our green screen for eight years now. Andy’s Global Adventures is the fourth series in the strand we have hosted. Each time they return, they push the boundaries of what they can achieve on the green screen even further. What’s also exceptional is their willingness to inspire the next generation of crew, which is an extremely important priority for us at The Bottle Yard. Last year, two Student Runners on studio placements and a group of young boomsatsuma film & TV students gained valuable on set experience with the Andy’s team, gaining insight into the overall production process and specialist video compositing techniques.

“We were also delighted to host another local Bristol company, True to Nature, for their new series Dino Club last year. To see these two new shows launch in the same week is really rewarding and underlines how much quality children’s TV content is being produced in Bristol right now.”

Watch Andy’s Global Adventures on weekdays at 3.55pm on CBeebies or BBC iPlayer.

Watch Dino Club on the Sky Kids channel every weekday at 14:25, 16:35 and 21:35, or stream on Sky Kids or via the Sky Kids app.