Rita Street Producer/Producer's Representative, Radar Cartoons
Fast Track Session 2

Rita Street is the managing director of Radar Cartoons, a boutique consultancy firm focusing on the needs of international animation studios, helping develop and sell her client’s original content onto American networks. Rita is the entertainment producer for the Los Angeles-based design house Mighty Fine (creators of Ruby Gloom - now in development with Nelvana - and French Kitty) and the co-producer of Nextoons: The Nicktoons Film Festival with Frederator Studios for the Nicktoons cable channel. Before opening Radar, Rita worked as a publisher, editor and journalist focusing on the industry of animation. She has served as the publisher of Animation Magazine, the editor of Film & Video Magazine and has also authored several books on graphic arts including the Rockport Publisher hardback, Computer Animation: A Whole New World. For the Art Institute of Pittsburgh she serves as a program advisory committee member for Game Art & Design. She has also served on several prestigious juries, most notably Austria's Prix Ars Electronica competition for excellence in computer animation and visual effects. Rita is the founder of the international non-profit organization, Women In Animation and a board member of ASIFA-Hollywood.

1. What kinds of projects do you do?
Radar Cartoons is a boutique consultancy firm. Our main business model is to serve as a producer’s representative for companies outside of the U.S. As part of this work, we help animation studios, game companies and think tanks develop original content for sale as series or movies to American networks, global distribution outlets and co-production partners. Radar is also an indie producer, so, on behalf of our clients and ourselves, we take pitches for new shows, seek out new creative animation talent and work with writers.

2. What animation techniques do you commonly use?
Radar Cartoons represents clients that produce animation primarily in CG and Flash.

3. What is your target audience demographic?
Our main focus is the 6-11 television animation market, but we are working on several projects for the 18-25 demographic as well.

4. What are you currently working on?
Radar has made major sales to networks and animation co-production partners. Several of our projects are in development and have not been announced. Two projects we can mention are “Ruby Gloom: Happiest Girl in the World” a 6-11 series with Nelvana and “Nextoons: The Nicktoons Film Festival,” an on-air compilation show we co-produce for Frederator Studios.

5. Do you partner with independent directors?
Although, all of our clients have in-house directors that define the look and feel of their content, we are interested in meeting new talent and hearing pitches from independent directors. Some of our clients are in the position to option new properties. Additionally we are always on the look out for writers. While Radar Cartoons typically helps to create a development/sales bible, we also make recommendations for writers to our clients and supervise writers during the development process.

6. Are you interested in co-productions/co-ventures?
Very. That is a major aspect of our business model.

7. Have you been involved in international co-productions/co-ventures in the past? If so, with which market(s)?
Radar makes co-production deals and will be making an announcement concerning a recent sale around MIPCOM time.

8. What is your favourite animated show on TV right now? (aside from your own work!)
Wow. That’s hard. I’m a big fan of The Fairly OddParents, Teen Titans, SpongeBob and, of course, The Simpsons. I would cheer the return of Invader Zim.

9. What new shows/ technologies/ approaches are you excited about and, perhaps, thinking of getting into?
Since I leave the production technology to my clients, the technology I’m most interested in has to do with distribution. I believe the closer you can get to the end user (i.e. the viewer), the more opportunities you have for success. Although it experienced a rocky start during the boom and bust of the late ‘90s, I still think the Internet will become a viable outlet for animation. Yet, how to support that outlet—with adequate advertising and subscriptions—is another question entirely.

10. What is your company’s philosophy?
We consider ourselves employees of our client’s companies; basically their office in Los Angeles. It’s our goal to know as much about our clients’ and their goals as possible and to come up with creative ways to bring these goals to fruition. We work extremely hard, but we make time to drink in pop culture and watch cartoons. Fortunately, we tend to like the same things kids like—which makes our ability to develop and sell a lot easier (and a lot more fun)! I guess you could say our philosophy is: “If we like it, then most likely, kids will too!”