"En route pour Zanzibar" : Behind the Scenes with François Chomicki

We just published an article about "En Route pour Zanzibar," a youth show broadcast in 1986-87 on FR3, hosted by two young girls and... our friend Kiki! Yes, I'm talking about the mascot Kiki! You can find this article by clicking here.

You know how much I love to dig deeper, and to answer my questions, I was lucky to talk to François Chomicki. You know him as an actor, but did you know he was the artistic director of this beloved children's show?

I invite you to hop aboard the Zanzibar Express to discover the behind-the-scenes of the show! 

🇫🇷 Cliquez ici pour la version Française

Thanks to him, we're diving into the behind-the-scenes!

With a graphic design degree in hand, François Chomicki was twenty when he met Alain Dayan, the producer of the show "En Route pour Zanzibar," at Studio Harry Son. François, who was already working as a freelance illustrator creating album covers for French singers, was offered the position of artistic director by FR3 Bordeaux. It just goes to show that talent knows no age. 

The work to bring this project to life is colossal, but passionate and talented (you'll see, he's amazing!), he doesn't count his hours. 

"En Route pour Zanzibar": What's it all about?

"En Route pour Zanzibar" is a journey through the land of letters and numbers. In each episode, the Swing Dolls, alias Sandra and Magali, and Kiki board the TGV to travel to the station of a letter or number. They start with the land of A, illustrated with words beginning with this letter and a musical adventure, then move on to B, and so on! 

This required a train and sets. Initially, François thought of using realistic models, but they were too small for director Didier Brunner, so they had to create larger sets where the hosts could be integrated—sets that had to change for each new land! Can you imagine? 

Meet the team

First, here's Alain Dayan, the producer of the show, with the two young hosts. 

The photo was taken in front of the TGV Zanzibar Express model. 

Here are Sandra and Magali, the hosts and singers who lead the show, with the mascot Kiki and the suitcase Lulu.

I know that you are waiting for him ! Here is Kiki Rose, the mascot!

Indeed, Mr. Bernard Meffray, the director of Ajena, was promoting the Kiki Colori! You can find the article dedicated to this great man and learn all about the commercialization of Kiki in France by clicking here.

As you can see, Kiki is quite the star!                                                           

And here is the young dancer inside the Kiki costume, accompanied by François Chomicki and the suitcase Lulu.

Now meet Nicolas, François Chomicki's assistant, adjusting Lulu, a character in the show, under the watchful eyes of the Poupées Swing and Kiki.

Finally, the costume designer preparing the mascot! She not only dressed the hosts and characters but also Kiki, who had a well-stocked wardrobe! And of course, the work of other assistants who, though they remained in the shadows, made the show possible.

Creating the set

Assisted by Nicolas, a former art school student, François created all the sets using wood and cardboard, painted with an airbrush. Each piece is a work of art, as you can see in the photos graciously provided by Mr. François Chomicki.

The first step was the TGV, built in wood by carpenters, measuring 5 to 6 meters long and painted by the team. François added eyes to the locomotive to give it life. Then came the task of designing sets in perspective to make the space look vast, creating enchanting worlds with a boundless imagination, which is his specialty, and then the skill to bring them to life. Imagine the amount of work for a show that lasted only five minutes!

To make it even more magical for the children, Lulu, a robotic suitcase, accompanied the hosts and Kiki on their journeys.

Lulu, a computer suitcase that knew everything, was François' creation. We have the privilege of discovering one of the projects which won't be selected. This allows us to realize the workload of a graphic designer before satisfying a client.

Though the director initially considered outsourcing its creation, François decided to do it himself, a decision he later regretted as it added more work to an already tight schedule, with the team feeling the stress as some adjustments were still needed the day before filming began. 

Nicolas handled the creation, inserting text, and lights to make it more interactive. However, Lulu was energy-hungry, and they had to deal with batteries that were less efficient than today.

To give you an idea of the work involved, here’s a photo of Kiki and Lulu inside the train...

...or the hosts and the dancer sitting in front of another set...

...or the two hosts integrated into yet another set...

The sets needed perspective, which François established traditionally with vanishing points, like in Leonardo da Vinci's time, as 3D programs didn't exist yet! Another reason to appreciate his work, respecting and passing on traditional values! 

It's impressive!

Immediate boarding for a journey through the alphabet

 

     

                     "Le pays du B"                                  "Le pays du D"

    

                      "Le pays du F "                                  "Le pays du I"

Don't miss the next trip to the land of numbers

       

    

                      "Le pays du 2"                                   "Le pays du 3"

       

    

                       "Le pays du 4 "                                  "Le pays du 5"

Creating the Opening Sequence and Album Cover

He also took care of the opening sequence and the album cover, featuring the Poupées Swing, mascot Kiki, and Lulu the suitcase taking you to Zanzibar! 

Creating a Toy Inspired by the Show

The show was a success, leading to a collaboration with Jouef, the legendary French model train manufacturer. And guess who created a toy as cute as it was clever? François, of course! After three intense days of work with only two hours of sleep, the future Jouef train was created: a replica of the show's locomotive, with the alphabet on cubes stored in the wagon. Seriously, I'm a fan!

François shared a reproduction of one of his drawings with us.

Creating the "En Route pour Zanzibar" Magazine

But our favorite graphic artist's work didn't stop there; he also authored the show's magazine, super fun, featuring letters from the alphabet and songs from the show, as well as drawings, games, coloring pages, and various activities, as shown here.

Creating a Poster for "En Route pour Zanzibar"

"En route pour Zanzibar" also became a musical, and once again, François Chomicki designed the tour poster!

All this work to learn while having fun! I must say, shows like this are greatly missed by today's youth. I come from a generation that knew Casimir, Dorothée with Récré A2, and we sang with Chantal Goya. Today, youth channels air cartoons interspersed with commercials. There's no contact, no magic, no imagination; everything is cold. So? François, time to recreate it, and quickly!

And afterwards

After the show, which was a wonderful adventure for François Chomicki, he continued his path, taking over Alain Dayan's studio at Studio Harry Son to be more in touch with artists. He designed album covers (now CDs) for Michel Fugain, Catherine Lara, Hervé Vilard, Adamo, Lara Fabian, Dorothée, and Chantal Goya, for whom he also designed major advertising campaigns for her tours "Le soulier qui vole" and "L'étrange histoire du château hanté," including bus ads, Morris columns, and posters for the Palais des Congrès de Paris. He also created ads for Le Nouvel Observateur, L'indépendant, and Le Figaro. Remember Dorothée's guitar "Do"? François designed it!

Chantal Goya is a singer but also a true heroine of fairy tales adored by several generations of children, and her husband Jean-Jacques Debout have developed an enchanted world filled with fantastic characters. So, it is a real reward for François Chomicki when she sends him these two dedications, signs of appreciation for his work and friendship. It's well deserved, but... what luck!

A pioneer in digital graphics using the first Quantel Paint Box computer in Paris, which cost 3,000,000 francs (442,500 euros today), he saw it as a way to avoid mixing paint and inhaling fumes. Embracing the tool's potential, he believed a traditional training was still necessary to use it well. While computers are now ubiquitous with software for photo retouching and drawing, back then it was a true revolution in the art world, shaking up traditional skills.

François discovered the world of horse racing through a producer friend. This new passion inspired elegant images for racetracks and Lancel for the Deauville Polo Championship for several years.

He created trompe-l'oeil decor for Régine's Club, the nightclub of singer Régine.

He also designed covers for Le Nouvel Observateur, Le Figaro, and Paris Match with a futuristic car image for the 1994 Auto Show.

A heartfelt thank you to Mr. Chomicki for warmly answering all my questions, sharing photos of his remarkable work, and his memories. Very little information and photos about this show are available online, and he gave us a huge gift by revealing his world. I hope you enjoyed discovering the work of an artistic director and graphic artist as much as I did, and learned how a show was made.

We'll be back soon with a new article on this show!

Stay connected!

See you soon

🎨🎨🎨

© Kiki Planet-2017. Tous droits réservés

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Propos et photos de François Chomicki recueillis par et pour www.kikiplanet.blogspot.com

Article L-1224 du Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle

Toute représentation ou reproduction intégrale ou partielle faite sans le consentement de l'auteur ou de ses ayant droit ou ayant cause est illicite. Il en est de même pour la traduction, l'adaptation ou la transformation, l'arrangement ou la reproduction  par un art ou un procédé quelconque

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