Panel event: Animating Tales from Outer Suburbia
This industry panel explores the creative process behind Tales from Outer Suburbia, the bold new animated series from Highly Spirited and Flying Bark Productions. Hear from the team as they discuss story development, illustration and adaptation, offering practical insights for emerging animators and filmmakers.
Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan is an internationally acclaimed artist, author and filmmaker whose works include The Arrival, The Rabbits and Tales from Outer Suburbia. His Academy Award-winning short film The Lost Thing and numerous literary honours cement his reputation as one of the most influential voices in visual narrative.
Noel Cleary
Noel Cleary is an accomplished director and animator from Flying Bark Productions with a career in feature films and television. Renowned for directing Maya the Bee films and co-directing Blinky Bill: The Movie, Noel now helms the ambitious animated series Tales from Outer Suburbia.
Sophie Byrne
Sophie Byrne is a multi-award-winning producer and creative leader with over three decades of experience in global screen production. Best known for producing the Oscar-winning short The Lost Thing, Sophie spearheads innovative projects through her company Highly Spirited, including Tales from Outer Suburbia and the forthcoming feature adaptation of The Arrival.
Paul Gartside
Paul Gartside is an AWGIE-nominated writer, script editor, script producer and development manager for television, feature film, and narrative podcasts. As a development manager at the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, Paul has contributed to projects such as animated series Tales from Outer Suburbia (ABC), family features Windcatcher and the upcoming Whale Shark Jack (Stan) and series, Little J and Big Cuz Series 4 (NITV/ABC), Kangaroo Beach Series 2 (ABC).
Watch the panel
This recording captures an event delivered both in-person and online. Cinema attendees viewed the Tales from Outer Suburbia episodes Distant Rain (Episode 3) and Moonfish (Episode 7) before the panel discussion. To better follow the conversation, we suggest watching these episodes on ABC iview beforehand before viewing the panel recording.
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Behind the scenes content
The artwork
A remarkable team of artists and storytellers brought Tales from Outer Suburbia to life with early concept artwork and character designs that shaped every moment on screen. Explore the digital books below to discover the first ideas for the characters and the extraordinary worlds they inhabit.
The world
The animation process
The crew
The cast
Education resource Years 5 - 8
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Tales from Outer Suburbia
A creative resource that support Years 5 to 8 students to explore visual storytelling, world building and the hidden wonders of Tales from Outer Suburbia.
This panel event was a colboration between the ACTF and ACMI.
