At Planet Nutshell we have been super fortunate over the years to have worked for a lot of different Public Broadcasting affiliates and we thought it would be fun to look back at some of our favorites.

Bluegrass music and animation go together like beans and cornbread, as we showed in this fun little ditty — also for KET. I promise it will put a smile on your face.

We also worked with KET to help spread the word about early childhood literacy and some easy ways to engage with kids, turning everyday life into learning opportunities to read, talk, count, play, move and connect.

Every year, we create a broadcast holiday spot for UEN. Enjoy this recent one!

We are super proud of the work we have done for PBS over the years and look forward to all that’s to come!

For decades, our education system has focused intensively on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields. STEM fields have brought great prosperity to some and many wonders to us all (I’m looking at you, iPhone).

On the other hand, is our age substantively better?

Some of us are healthier and living longer, to be sure, but life expectancy in the US has dropped. Meanwhile, are we better critical thinkers? Are we happier, more ethical, more peaceful, more empathic to others, and more fulfilled by those things that humans have always found meaningful (I’m looking at you, love and emotional connection)?

These are important questions in an age of material and computational wonder. At Planet Nutshell, we’ve been working on a new and original web series that we hope can help folks remember and rediscover what makes us human. Degradation of the humanities is a trend that undermines the fabric of society, threatening to transform a nation of citizens into a nation of docile workers and obedient consumers, as the historian Bret C. Devereaux recently argued in the New York Times:

Higher education, with broad study in the liberal arts, is meant to create not merely good workers but also good citizens. Citizens with knowledge of their history and culture are better equipped to lead and participate in a democratic society; learning in many different forms of knowledge teaches the humility necessary to accept other points of view in a pluralistic and increasingly globalized society.

We’re doing our part to restore the humanities as vital part of education. We can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on. Stay tuned.

Have you heard about Ms. Money? She is a zany, accident-prone, enthusiastic teacher (think Ms. Frizzle) who introduces Kindergarten through 5th graders to financial literacy basics with her students Nick and Penny. They have been touring a live show for years around the Boston area complete with a lot of catchy songs. When we were approached by Rockland Trust Bank, where the real Ms. Money works, we were excited to dive into an animated version of the show.

Research & Moodboard

We familiarized ourselves with Ms. Money’s song catalog, repertoire (check out this video!), and existing assets and honed in on our design style.

Script

During the scripting process we had the idea for a School Supply Fair as the video scenario. Strong character profiles were a big focus: Penny is very careful with her money, Nick gets distracted by shiny, spinning things, and Ms. Money begins the discussion of needs, wants, spending, saving and sharing.

Storyboards

We started to bring the script to life in the Storyboard phase. Here’s where Nick gets distracted by a super cool rocket ship pen.

Animatic

To ensure we had the timing down right before diving into animation we added an Animatic stage to the process. This was extra fun since Sam and Josh got to be voiceover actors along with Ms. Money herself! Sam also did the sound effects and had an especially fun time “voicing” the breaking rocket ship pen. Then we replaced Sam and Josh with the real Nick and Penny and were ready for animation. Here’s a sneak peek at our internal animatic!

Design

For the design we had to get the characters just right as well as the world and the objects for sale at the School Supply Fair. We did some research on the YouTube to pinpoint what 5th and 6th graders wear these days (yes, this made us feel old) and saw a lot of oversized t-shirts, pajama pants, leggings and skinny jeans.

Here are some character designs and style frames– see how we snuck in an easter egg of the Planet Nutshell logo? 

Animation

We added in the full sound design and music and brought Ms. Money’s world to life!

Localization

We were also tasked with creating a Spanish version so we translated the script, recorded the new voiceover, re-timed the animation and updated the on-screen text to Spanish. Tada!

While we were at it, we were also asked to translate the songs into Spanish as well and we worked with the incredibly talented Amador Bilingual Voiceovers to deliver these super fun renditions in Spanish. Take a listen!

Can’t get enough Ms. Money? Head on over to her classroom!