In the lead up to the launch of Snapchat‘s Bitmoji TV, Women Love Tech interviewed the creator of Bitmoji, Ba Blackstock, to get more details on its release, how it works and why people are going to love it.
The short 10-episode series is set to go until April 2020 with new episodes being released every Saturday. Each episode will be three minutes long and will satirise different TV genres. From detective dramas to light-hearted sitcoms, you and your friends are the stars of your own show with cameos from some famous faces to look out for along the way.
“We believe that seeing yourself and your friends in all these scenarios will be a wild experience unlike any other”
Ba Blackstock, CEO and co-founder of Bitmoji
In November 2018 Snap launched Bitmoji Stories. How did Bitmoji Stories influence how Bitmoji TV has been created?
We’ve been cooking up Bitmoji TV for a long time – it’s such a new and previously impossible form of entertainment, it’s been a huge amount of work for a lot of people to create the show. Along the way, we had the idea to do something similar but different, and most importantly smaller – with Bitmoji Stories. As a comic strip, we were able to produce Bitmoji Stories faster and more frequently, which enabled us to test the waters and validate the idea that our community would get excited about scripted content starring their Bitmojis. We’ve learned a lot, both creatively and technically, from making Bitmoji Stories and seeing the response from our audience, which has been extremely helpful in the development of Bitmoji TV.
How will Bitmoji TV stand out in a rapidly changing television and streaming market? What makes it unique?
Bitmoji TV represents the beginning of an entirely new category of entertainment – a personalized experience that is unique for every single viewer. It’s also one of the first fully animated shows that’s designed to be viewed on your phone, in the vertical format. We had to build our own experimental animation and rendering technology to make it possible for this show to exist. But more than that, it’s a new experience that you can share with your friends that doesn’t exist anywhere else.
“Bitmoji TV represents the beginning of an entirely new category of entertainment”
Ba Blackstock, CEO and co-founder of Bitmoji
Each episode lasts three minutes. How can something so short leave a lasting impact on viewers?
The premise of Bitmoji TV is that you are the biggest new star on TV – you’ve been cast in every show, every movie, every commercial, and each episode is a fast-paced combo of very different scenes. One minute you’ll see yourself in an action movie, the next minute you’re in a soap opera, then you’re in a sitcom. We’ve created our own animation style that is an audiovisual feast for the senses, with you at the centre.
We believe that seeing yourself and your friends in all these scenarios will be a wild experience unlike any other, that you’ll be thinking about for a long time, maybe even dreaming about while you’re asleep.
You’ve chosen to satirise popular television genres in Bitmoji TV. Do you have a favourite genre?
I enjoy watching all kinds of shows, so that’s a tough one. I guess my favourite genre is shows that only exist in my head because no one would ever make them. Until now.
