Roscrea artist secures leading position in new animated TV series

A talented young Roscrea artist has secured a role at the helm of a new interactive television series aimed at children.

Nathan Campion (27) grew up and lived in Roscrea until recently and is well known for his artistic talents in his hometown.

“I've always been around town either playing music or helping out in any creative way I can. It's very possible that you might be familiar with some of my work as I've directed music videos for other local artists such as Jack Keeshan and Stephen Lee (Happyalone)”, Nathan told the Tribune.

“I graduated from Limerick Institute of Technology in 2019 with a H1 in Creative Broadcast and Film Production and thankfully won the LIT Sports Award for Excellence in Creative Broadcast and Film Production at graduation. I've had the pleasure of working on some incredible projects such as the IFTA-winning 'An Cailín Ciúin' and got to work with great artists such as the late Halyna Hutchins”, Nathan explains.

A still from the new series 'The Wee Littles' on which Roscrea man Nathan Campion is working

This very impressive portfolio of work paved the way for a recent offer to become Editor of an exciting new show called 'The Wee Littles'.

The show is produced in a small animation studio in Ennis and work has been underway for the past 9 months and is now ready to air on RTÉ Junior on Monday, November 21.

“It would be great to see families of Roscrea enjoying the show, and it'd be even better for the kids to know that someone from Roscrea had a helping hand on a TV Show”, Nathan said.

“Roscrea is bursting with creativity and I'm very thankful for many of the opportunities the town gave me to nurture my creativity - whether that be gigs on bandstands or acoustic sessions in The Stand.

“Roscrea has always presented a stage for creatives to learn and express themselves and I will always be grateful for that. I just want to get the word out that you don't just have to be from Dublin to be working in TV/Film, there are plenty of amazing stories to be told about the midlands and even better storytellers to tell them”, Nathan said.

The new series was created and produced by a wife and husband team, Christina O’Shea and Clifford Parrott and is described as “a highly original animation series for pre-school children about the world of small creatures of the forest floor, under the 'regular' human first sight”.

The world of the story is unique, inspired by County Clare’s flora and fauna, and is inhabited by a friendly family, which creates a very cute, cozy atmosphere, the creators said.

The preschool series (46 x 5' episodes) is for children ages four to six, but can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Uniquely, using the stories from 'The Wee Little' series, the creators are developing an interactive experience, where users participate by giving verbal commands to an 'artificial intelligence voice assistant interface' - giving an opportunity to navigate the story line and create a unique experience by exploring options such as where to go next, play a game that advances the story, trigger a sound, or try out a story tangent.