Mike DeVitto and “Ribert and Robert”
“Ribert & Robert” is taking off! Since our interview with actor James Bondy, the duo has continued to capture children’s hearts with its simple stories with gentle morals and appealing graphics. Mike DeVitto, President and CEO of Deos Animation Studios, tells us what inspired the series and also shares the secret behind the cost-effective production process behind it.CP: Please tell me a bit about your background including what inspired you to start Deos Animation Studios.MD: I have a technology background in system design and software development. When my daughter Jennifer was growing up I was disappointed in what the media offered her. I was determined to take the technology and knowledge I had to build entertainment and educational programs that would be beneficial to children.CP: What are your goals with the productions you work with?MD: Our main goal and driving force is to teach children everywhere to love to learn and learn to love and follow their heart in everything thing they do.CP: Please tell me about your SAM methods and how you think this is revolutionizing/will revolutionize the industry.MD: I had a dream to do children’s entertainment and when I found out how much it would cost I knew we would have to come up with an alternative method. That’s when my team and I dug deep into our system development background and we found SAM. SAM allows us to do high quality at a lower cost and faster speed. I think that’s what helped us win our awards with “Ribert & Robert.”CP: Please tell me a bit about your journey with “Ribert & Robert,” including where you think this is all going.MD: I’ve always thought that the media platform for TV was not being used well for children. There was never enough value being provided to parents and children. My idea for “Ribert & Robert” actually came the night of 9/11. On that day, I saw my daughter Jennifer cry and I hadn’t seen her cry in a very long time. I couldn’t help but ask myself that day what how world events are impacting our children. That night I went to bed and I had a dream about R&R.I envisioned Robert as a human and was a nice person but constantly made mistakes. Ribert I imaged to have a heart of gold and innocent like a child. The overall message behind “Ribert & Robert” is for children to listen to their heart and to follow it. That’s what “Ribert & Robert” is trying to convey.The next day I wrote a script and took it to public television but quickly realized that I didn’t have the money to make my dream a reality and that’s when I developed SAM and put together my assembly line.Anyone who’s watched the show knows that we’ve always called the children “Power Pals.” That’s really my dream – to build a worldwide organization of “Power Pals” on the Internet. The idea is to use our technology to develop the first fully immerse virtual world for children on the World Wide Web and use our TV program to get kids to go there.CP: What is the most important message you would like to get out to/could offer independent producers?
MD: Start with something you believe in and stay focused.
