العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolBIG IDEA PRODUCTIONS
'Big Idea, Inc.', is an American computer animation studio best known for its ''VeggieTales'' series of Christian-themed family home videos. The company is a subsidiary of Classic Media, an American production company and distributor that has the rights to a large variety of children's properties. In January of 2007 Classic Media was purchased by Entertainment Rights of London, England.
Big Idea was founded in 1993 by computer animator Phil Vischer in Chicago, Illinois where he produced his idea for a Christian children's series which was to become VeggieTales. The VeggieTales series rapidly gained a large following through the mid- to late-1990s, but internal mismanagement, coupled with the double-punch of a skyrocketing production budget for the company's first feature film () as well as a court ruling against the company for breach-of-contract against one of its major distributors (Lyrick Studios), forced Big Idea into bankruptcy in 2003.[1] As part of the bankruptcy settlement, the company became a subsidiary of Classic Media, who bought Big Idea for $19.6 million and has since kept the series alive and continued to produce several new videos, as well as announced plans for at least one new feature film called . On August 5, 2005 a federal appeals court overturned the ruling against Big Idea Productions in the Lyrick lawsuit, finding that Big Idea did not, in fact, breach the distribution contract as alleged.[1]
Prior to the 2003 bankruptcy, all production was done with an in-house computer animation staff. After Classic bought the company, they outsourced all production to Dan Krech Productions in Toronto, which has since merged with IDT Entertainment, which is now Starz Media. Big Idea collaborates with the Phil Vischer-owned Jellyfish Labs company via a signed contract with Vischer.
Big Idea originally started as a company in owner Phil Vischer's spare bedroom. From there, the company moved to an old screw factory in Chicago (location unknown). Former employees stated that a strange liquid would ooze from the ceiling onto them prompting them to cover their Silicon Graphics workstations with tarps to keep them protected. This trend for leaking ceilings continued when the company re-located to 168 N. Clinton Street in Chicago. Big Idea occupied the 6th floor which was the top floor and thus was susceptible to any leaks from accumulating rain-water on the roof. Big Idea eventually expanded onto the 4th floor of the same building.
Rapidly growing out of space, in 1997, Big Idea decided to re-locate out to the Chicago suburbs and purchased the DuPage Theater in Lombard, Illinois. (Lombard is located in DuPage County). Delays for the completion of the renovation resulted from initial discovery of the disrepair of the building and lengthy zoning battles. In a pinch, the company was guided by City of Lombard officials to rent space at the Yorktown Shopping Mall, also located in Lombard. The space was a two-story retail space formerly occupied by a Woolworth store. The mall ownership had been procrastinating the eventual need to gut and redo the space to handle the typical mall store due to the scope of the renovation and was eager to have a short-term tenant fill the vacant space. (The Woolworth space was too small to hold an anchor store and yet too large to handle a typical shopping mall retailer). The space, at 206 Yorktown Center, was intended to be a temporary home until the theater renovation was complete.
However, Big Idea ran into numerous problems with their plan for the DuPage Theater. More and more disrepair was discovered in the building and kept driving the renovation cost up. At the same time, the company kept growing and realized that the location was now going to be too small. Big Idea tried to acquire additional land surrounding the theater. It was unsuccessful, however, as some Lombard residents began to wonder if Big Idea was trying to be sly and intended to buy up the entire downtown for its headquarters. Ultimately, Big Idea lenders (primarily LaSalle Bank) refused to lend the necessary money for the renovation because it would require $20 million ($16 million of which the lenders were willing to provide - i.e. 80%) to renovate and would only be worth $10 million once completed due to the lack of parking space and uniqueness of the design which would detract potential buyers if the property were to be foreclosed on. Big Idea had no choice but to abandon its efforts with the theater, much to the ire of Lombard residents. They had at first rejoiced that the theater would not be razed for condominiums (the theater is across the street from the Lombard Metra train station). Eventually the enthusiasm turned into disdain as residents began to complain that Big Idea had duped them and feared that Big Idea was going to sell the theater to the highest bidder once the issue of Big Idea being unable to foot the bill for renovation came to light. (Big Idea officially claimed that the theater site was too small for them, but that became apparent after the bank had already said "No go".) Big Idea wound up donating the theater to the city of Lombard and a Friends of the DuPage Theater organization was formed to help restore it.
Big Idea employees were unfortunately affected by this turn of events as some had already relocated from another areas of Chicagoland to Lombard. Additionally, many of the new employees (many from California animation studios) had bought homes in Lombard when they relocated to Chicago. Because of this, Big Idea continued to search for a new location in and around Lombard. Their lease in the shopping mall had been written to be purposely short because it was hoped the company would soon be in the renovated DuPage Theater. The company entertained multiple sites in Lombard, Oakbrook Terrace, Lisle and Downers Grove, including the old Platinum Technology headquarters located at 1815 Meyers Road in Lombard. Lease papers, in fact, where even signed with Computer Associates - the purchaser of Platinum Technology - for the 1815 Meyers Road building. However, the contract was declared null and void when property management at Computer Associates incorrectly assumed that the entire lobby floor's conference room multimedia equipment (computer and video display matrices, projectors and conferencing audio and telephone systems) should be removed and had all of the equipment removed the week before. The conference room multimedia capabilities was, in fact, one of the primary reasons Big Idea had chosen to lease the space since it was seen as a ready-to-go space for the animators to review their daily work. Fortunately for Big Idea, the leasing contract had been written to specifically provision for all of that equipment being included and thus Big Idea was easily able to bow out of the contract and continue searching for a new location.
Ultimately, the bankruptcy of the Montgomery Ward department store (one of the four Yorktown Mall anchor stores) made the Yorktown Mall management realize that the entire end of the mall where Montgomery Ward had once been located would be dead until a new anchor store tenant was found and thus changed their minds and allowed Big Idea to renew its lease. (The Woolworth store was located immediately outside the Montgomery Ward store in the mall).
Big Idea never was able to move out of Yorktown Mall until it was relocated after being purchased by Classic Media to Franklin, Tennessee, where it is still headquartered. Big Idea had maintained a separate office in the Nashville, Tennessee area since 1996 to facilitate its relationship with its video distributor.
★ VeggieTales: 1993-Present
★ 3-2-1 Penguins: 2000-2003 (although new television episodes are going to be produced)
★ Larry-Boy: The Cartoon Adventures: 2002-2003
★ (2002)
★ (Announced, scheduled for 2008)
★ Big Idea's intranet is called QWERTYnet, named after the computer QWERTY which appears in VeggieTale episodes.
★ Big Idea offered free soda to its employees.
★ Fans of the VeggieTales shows (mostly kids) would sometimes call the main phoneline, and navigate the employee directory to find Mike Nawrocki's extension. Since Nawrocki is the voice of Larry the Cucumber, Nawrocki would oblige the caller by speaking to them as Larry. In 2002 the main voice greeting was changed to no longer mention the employee directory, however, until 2003, pressing "6" still took you to the employee directory and allowed you to find Nawrocki's extension.
★ In 2000, Big Idea tried, unsuccessfully, to purchase Squint Records. The idea was a result of the friendship that Vischer and Squint-founder Steve Taylor developed over mutual respect for each other's work. Big Idea failed to have enough funds to purchase the record label, however, due to its financial troubles.
★ Numerous Christian artists would tour the animation studio when in the Chicago-land area. Steve Taylor visited often due to his friendship with Vischer and the on-going acquisition talks. One of Squint's signed bands, Sixpence None the Richer, also visited as did Randy Stonehill who even gave a small concert for employees and their families.
★ Big Idea's music director Kurt Heinecke would often assemble various Big Idea employees to play in a make-shift band for the company's annual Christmas party. Partygoers were often treated to Vischer doing an imitation of Elvis Presley's recording of Blue Christmas.
Yorktown Mall office space trivia:
★ Big Idea's office in the old Woolworth store included the original escalators. Due to building and fire codes, Big Idea could not have its employees use the escalator unless it was running. However, due to its age, the escalator was often broken. Big Idea eventually had to rope off the escalators since they would not run reliably and could not be used in a turned-off state.
★ While located in Yorktown Mall, Big Idea's outside entrance was directly next to a main mall entrance. Unaware shoppers often found themselves using the wrong set of doors and would wind up struggling to open the locked inner doors. Confusion would usually set in upon peering through the windows and discovering an office space with cubicles when they had tried to enter the shopping mall. Part of this confusion was understandable as the office space included track lighting with colored light bulbs and walls made of translucent corrugated plastic siding. Upon quick glance, it would have easily passed for typical retail decoration as you approached from the parking lot.
★ The initial deal struck with the Yorktown Mall included Big Idea developing a small retail store accessible from within the shopping mall that would sell Big Idea videos and licensed merchandise. However, Big Idea quickly ran out of office space as it expanded operations and nixed the idea of using the space for retail. Instead, it turned the slated retail space into a big room where all of the animators, directors and producers of the 3-2-1 Penguins videos where located.
1. Vischer, P: "Me, Myself & Bob", page 259. Nelson Books, 2006 ISBN 0-7852-2207-3
★ Larry Boy's Official Website
★ Official site
★
★ What Happened To Big Idea? article by Phil Vischer
| Contents |
| Company History |
| Locations |
| Series produced by Big Idea |
| Films |
| Trivia |
| Notes |
| External links |
Company History
Big Idea was founded in 1993 by computer animator Phil Vischer in Chicago, Illinois where he produced his idea for a Christian children's series which was to become VeggieTales. The VeggieTales series rapidly gained a large following through the mid- to late-1990s, but internal mismanagement, coupled with the double-punch of a skyrocketing production budget for the company's first feature film () as well as a court ruling against the company for breach-of-contract against one of its major distributors (Lyrick Studios), forced Big Idea into bankruptcy in 2003.[1] As part of the bankruptcy settlement, the company became a subsidiary of Classic Media, who bought Big Idea for $19.6 million and has since kept the series alive and continued to produce several new videos, as well as announced plans for at least one new feature film called . On August 5, 2005 a federal appeals court overturned the ruling against Big Idea Productions in the Lyrick lawsuit, finding that Big Idea did not, in fact, breach the distribution contract as alleged.[1]
Prior to the 2003 bankruptcy, all production was done with an in-house computer animation staff. After Classic bought the company, they outsourced all production to Dan Krech Productions in Toronto, which has since merged with IDT Entertainment, which is now Starz Media. Big Idea collaborates with the Phil Vischer-owned Jellyfish Labs company via a signed contract with Vischer.
Locations
Big Idea originally started as a company in owner Phil Vischer's spare bedroom. From there, the company moved to an old screw factory in Chicago (location unknown). Former employees stated that a strange liquid would ooze from the ceiling onto them prompting them to cover their Silicon Graphics workstations with tarps to keep them protected. This trend for leaking ceilings continued when the company re-located to 168 N. Clinton Street in Chicago. Big Idea occupied the 6th floor which was the top floor and thus was susceptible to any leaks from accumulating rain-water on the roof. Big Idea eventually expanded onto the 4th floor of the same building.
Rapidly growing out of space, in 1997, Big Idea decided to re-locate out to the Chicago suburbs and purchased the DuPage Theater in Lombard, Illinois. (Lombard is located in DuPage County). Delays for the completion of the renovation resulted from initial discovery of the disrepair of the building and lengthy zoning battles. In a pinch, the company was guided by City of Lombard officials to rent space at the Yorktown Shopping Mall, also located in Lombard. The space was a two-story retail space formerly occupied by a Woolworth store. The mall ownership had been procrastinating the eventual need to gut and redo the space to handle the typical mall store due to the scope of the renovation and was eager to have a short-term tenant fill the vacant space. (The Woolworth space was too small to hold an anchor store and yet too large to handle a typical shopping mall retailer). The space, at 206 Yorktown Center, was intended to be a temporary home until the theater renovation was complete.
However, Big Idea ran into numerous problems with their plan for the DuPage Theater. More and more disrepair was discovered in the building and kept driving the renovation cost up. At the same time, the company kept growing and realized that the location was now going to be too small. Big Idea tried to acquire additional land surrounding the theater. It was unsuccessful, however, as some Lombard residents began to wonder if Big Idea was trying to be sly and intended to buy up the entire downtown for its headquarters. Ultimately, Big Idea lenders (primarily LaSalle Bank) refused to lend the necessary money for the renovation because it would require $20 million ($16 million of which the lenders were willing to provide - i.e. 80%) to renovate and would only be worth $10 million once completed due to the lack of parking space and uniqueness of the design which would detract potential buyers if the property were to be foreclosed on. Big Idea had no choice but to abandon its efforts with the theater, much to the ire of Lombard residents. They had at first rejoiced that the theater would not be razed for condominiums (the theater is across the street from the Lombard Metra train station). Eventually the enthusiasm turned into disdain as residents began to complain that Big Idea had duped them and feared that Big Idea was going to sell the theater to the highest bidder once the issue of Big Idea being unable to foot the bill for renovation came to light. (Big Idea officially claimed that the theater site was too small for them, but that became apparent after the bank had already said "No go".) Big Idea wound up donating the theater to the city of Lombard and a Friends of the DuPage Theater organization was formed to help restore it.
Big Idea employees were unfortunately affected by this turn of events as some had already relocated from another areas of Chicagoland to Lombard. Additionally, many of the new employees (many from California animation studios) had bought homes in Lombard when they relocated to Chicago. Because of this, Big Idea continued to search for a new location in and around Lombard. Their lease in the shopping mall had been written to be purposely short because it was hoped the company would soon be in the renovated DuPage Theater. The company entertained multiple sites in Lombard, Oakbrook Terrace, Lisle and Downers Grove, including the old Platinum Technology headquarters located at 1815 Meyers Road in Lombard. Lease papers, in fact, where even signed with Computer Associates - the purchaser of Platinum Technology - for the 1815 Meyers Road building. However, the contract was declared null and void when property management at Computer Associates incorrectly assumed that the entire lobby floor's conference room multimedia equipment (computer and video display matrices, projectors and conferencing audio and telephone systems) should be removed and had all of the equipment removed the week before. The conference room multimedia capabilities was, in fact, one of the primary reasons Big Idea had chosen to lease the space since it was seen as a ready-to-go space for the animators to review their daily work. Fortunately for Big Idea, the leasing contract had been written to specifically provision for all of that equipment being included and thus Big Idea was easily able to bow out of the contract and continue searching for a new location.
Ultimately, the bankruptcy of the Montgomery Ward department store (one of the four Yorktown Mall anchor stores) made the Yorktown Mall management realize that the entire end of the mall where Montgomery Ward had once been located would be dead until a new anchor store tenant was found and thus changed their minds and allowed Big Idea to renew its lease. (The Woolworth store was located immediately outside the Montgomery Ward store in the mall).
Big Idea never was able to move out of Yorktown Mall until it was relocated after being purchased by Classic Media to Franklin, Tennessee, where it is still headquartered. Big Idea had maintained a separate office in the Nashville, Tennessee area since 1996 to facilitate its relationship with its video distributor.
Series produced by Big Idea
★ VeggieTales: 1993-Present
★ 3-2-1 Penguins: 2000-2003 (although new television episodes are going to be produced)
★ Larry-Boy: The Cartoon Adventures: 2002-2003
Films
★ (2002)
★ (Announced, scheduled for 2008)
Trivia
★ Big Idea's intranet is called QWERTYnet, named after the computer QWERTY which appears in VeggieTale episodes.
★ Big Idea offered free soda to its employees.
★ Fans of the VeggieTales shows (mostly kids) would sometimes call the main phoneline, and navigate the employee directory to find Mike Nawrocki's extension. Since Nawrocki is the voice of Larry the Cucumber, Nawrocki would oblige the caller by speaking to them as Larry. In 2002 the main voice greeting was changed to no longer mention the employee directory, however, until 2003, pressing "6" still took you to the employee directory and allowed you to find Nawrocki's extension.
★ In 2000, Big Idea tried, unsuccessfully, to purchase Squint Records. The idea was a result of the friendship that Vischer and Squint-founder Steve Taylor developed over mutual respect for each other's work. Big Idea failed to have enough funds to purchase the record label, however, due to its financial troubles.
★ Numerous Christian artists would tour the animation studio when in the Chicago-land area. Steve Taylor visited often due to his friendship with Vischer and the on-going acquisition talks. One of Squint's signed bands, Sixpence None the Richer, also visited as did Randy Stonehill who even gave a small concert for employees and their families.
★ Big Idea's music director Kurt Heinecke would often assemble various Big Idea employees to play in a make-shift band for the company's annual Christmas party. Partygoers were often treated to Vischer doing an imitation of Elvis Presley's recording of Blue Christmas.
Yorktown Mall office space trivia:
★ Big Idea's office in the old Woolworth store included the original escalators. Due to building and fire codes, Big Idea could not have its employees use the escalator unless it was running. However, due to its age, the escalator was often broken. Big Idea eventually had to rope off the escalators since they would not run reliably and could not be used in a turned-off state.
★ While located in Yorktown Mall, Big Idea's outside entrance was directly next to a main mall entrance. Unaware shoppers often found themselves using the wrong set of doors and would wind up struggling to open the locked inner doors. Confusion would usually set in upon peering through the windows and discovering an office space with cubicles when they had tried to enter the shopping mall. Part of this confusion was understandable as the office space included track lighting with colored light bulbs and walls made of translucent corrugated plastic siding. Upon quick glance, it would have easily passed for typical retail decoration as you approached from the parking lot.
★ The initial deal struck with the Yorktown Mall included Big Idea developing a small retail store accessible from within the shopping mall that would sell Big Idea videos and licensed merchandise. However, Big Idea quickly ran out of office space as it expanded operations and nixed the idea of using the space for retail. Instead, it turned the slated retail space into a big room where all of the animators, directors and producers of the 3-2-1 Penguins videos where located.
Notes
1. Vischer, P: "Me, Myself & Bob", page 259. Nelson Books, 2006 ISBN 0-7852-2207-3
External links
★ Larry Boy's Official Website
★ Official site
★
★ What Happened To Big Idea? article by Phil Vischer
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
