Revision as of 02:17, 2 December 2017 edit71.36.108.41 (talk) →History← Previous edit | Revision as of 16:46, 2 December 2017 edit undo76.9.48.121 (talk) Fixed ALOT of errors :)Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web editNext edit → | ||
Line 21: | Line 21: | ||
] | ] | ||
'''Têtes à claques''' is a French-language humour website created on August 16, 2006. Over one million short videos are watched per day, making it one of the most popular francophone websites in ] (and eventually ] as a whole).<ref name="Foire aux questions">{{cite web|author=Michel Beaudet | year=2007|language=French| title=FAQ | work=tetesaclaques.tv | url=http://www.tetesaclaques.tv/faq.php | accessdate=2007-01-08}}</ref> As of |
'''Têtes à claques''' is a French-language humour website created on August 16, 2006. Over one million short videos are watched per day, making it one of the most popular francophone websites in ] (and eventually ] as a whole).<ref name="Foire aux questions">{{cite web|author=Michel Beaudet | year=2007|language=French| title=FAQ | work=tetesaclaques.tv | url=http://www.tetesaclaques.tv/faq.php | accessdate=2007-01-08}}</ref> As of December 2017, there are 291 videos. The most popular of these include ''Le pilote,'' ''Le Willi Waller,'' and ''Halloween.'' | ||
The creator, Michel Beaudet, has expressed surprise at the popularity of his site, saying it has reached an audience he never anticipated. | The creator, Michel Beaudet, has expressed surprise at the popularity of his site, saying it has reached an audience he never anticipated. | ||
Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
== Description == | == Description == | ||
The skits feature characters sculpted from ] that are fairly simplistic. Michel Beaudet creates the figures himself, |
The skits feature characters sculpted from ] that are fairly simplistic. Michel Beaudet creates the figures himself, He'll ] his own moving eyes. Then will put his mouth, and sometimes nose on their faces with a computer. In addition, Beaudet has a set of fake, grotesque teeth, which he puts in while his face is being filmed. The phrase ''tête à claques'' translates loosely as "a face that's so ugly, you just want to slap it".<!-- Don't change this to a more literal translation which loses the sense of the term or why it applies here. "A head to hit" for example is a word for word translation, but it doesn't make sense or give the reader any idea of what it means or why it's relevant. --> | ||
The site has also become very popular in ], not only because of the intentional humour and wit, but also because of a stereotypical ]. This differs greatly from pronunciations used in France, and thus provides its own humour, in addition to the frequent anglicisms (English words or expressions inserted into speech). | The site has also become very popular in ], not only because of the intentional humour and wit, but also because of a stereotypical ]. This differs greatly from pronunciations used in France, and thus provides its own humour, in addition to the frequent anglicisms (English words or expressions inserted into speech). | ||
Line 37: | Line 37: | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
Beaudet has said that "Têtes à claques was an accident." He was originally trying to make a short video using ], but quickly discovered that "90% of the time it takes to animate is spent moving the eyes and mouth." He tried doing it by hand, but because he was "too lazy", he decided to record his own |
Beaudet has said that "Têtes à claques was an accident." He was originally trying to make a short video using ], but quickly discovered that "90% of the time it takes to animate is spent moving the eyes and mouth." He tried doing it by hand, but because he was "too lazy", he decided to record his own mouthh and superimpose his eyes and face on the ]s.<ref name="Interview">{{cite web|author=TVA | year=2006| language=French| title=Michel Beaudet Interview |work=Interview | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKA4BodZkLE | accessdate=2007-01-08}}</ref> | ||
From late 2007 to 2010, Beaudet received new offers from telephone companies and television stations. Incidentally, the first offer was from a French, not Canadian company.<ref name="Tout le monde en parle">{{cite video | From late 2007 to 2010, Beaudet received new offers from telephone companies and television stations. Incidentally, the first offer was from a French, not Canadian company.<ref name="Tout le monde en parle">{{cite video | ||
Line 46: | Line 46: | ||
| publisher = Radio-Canada | | publisher = Radio-Canada | ||
| location = Boucherville, QC | | location = Boucherville, QC | ||
| date = 12 Nov 2006 }}</ref> The popularity has surged to the point that Beaudet has employed two other people, Simon Parizeau and Hugo Caron, to help with the production at his home in ]. Work |
| date = 12 Nov 2006 }}</ref> The popularity has surged to the point that Beaudet has employed two other people, Simon Parizeau and Hugo Caron, to help with the production at his home in ]. Work was underway to convert ''Têtes à claques'' to formats viewable on ] and ]s. In 2008, Vertigo Candy used Beaudet's animation and voice talent as advertising on their front page. | ||
On November 12, 2006, Beaudet appeared on the Quebec television show ''] (Everyone's Talking About It)'' hosted by ]. He noted many employers have blocked access to the site because it has become so popular that workers were watching it during the day. Numerous schools across ] have blocked access to the site, mostly for its use of mature language and |
On November 12, 2006, Beaudet appeared on the Quebec television show ''] (Everyone's Talking About It)'' hosted by ]. He noted many employers have blocked access to the site because it has become so popular that workers were watching it during the day instead of working. Numerous schools across ] have blocked access to the site, mostly for its use of mature language, swearing and creepy scenes. | ||
On February 1, 2007, ''Têtes à claques'' announced a partnership with ] to provide videos and other media on ], ] and ] services.<ref name="Bell">{{cite web | year=2007 | title=Bell Canada first to give Canadians a laugh with the Têtes à claques phenomenon | url=http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/February2007/01/c3599.html | accessdate=2007-02-01}}</ref> | On February 1, 2007, ''Têtes à claques'' announced a partnership with ] to provide videos and other media on ], ] and ] services.<ref name="Bell">{{cite web | year=2007 | title=Bell Canada first to give Canadians a laugh with the Têtes à claques phenomenon | url=http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/February2007/01/c3599.html | accessdate=2007-02-01}}</ref> | ||
Line 60: | Line 60: | ||
==English versions== | ==English versions== | ||
On August 14, 2008, the beta version of the new bilingual "Têtes à claques" website was launched. Beaudet has recently admitted that making English versions of the comedy shorts is in his "game plan".<ref name="Tout le monde en parle"/> |
On August 14, 2008, the beta version of the new bilingual "Têtes à claques" website was launched. Beaudet has recently admitted that making English versions of the comedy shorts is in his "game plan".<ref name="Tout le monde en parle"/> From August 2008 to sometime in 2009, ''Têtes à claques'' picked a handful of episodes from volume 1 and translated to english<ref name="English">{{cite web|author=Montreal Gazette | year=2008| title=Now in Hinglish| url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=e820f5f8-4c6a-48ab-b36f-f66b974a8b8d | accessdate=2008-08-16}}</ref> | ||
The first English version of most dialogues is interpreted by Canadian voiceover actor ] best known for the classic PBS series "]". Dinsmore was chosen by Beaudet because he was similar to him in many ways from looks to the eyes, so the barrier would not be affected as not many people would tell the difference between the two actors except for the language. Beaudet still performs the voices of some of the characters (Captain Cooper, Raoul and a fast food drive-in worker). The shorts were reanimated and translated to English for better humor and quality for English speaking audiences; for example, the Super Bol has been reanimated to Beat the Buzzer. Mondo Media picked up the show under the name TAC.TV and as of now, 31 translated episodes are in English. Also, ''Le Willi Waller'' sketches have the products renamed because the episodes were produced later than when the product was made (for example Willi Waller 2006 becomes the Willi Waller Gold Edition and the LCD Shovel 2007 becomes the LCD Shovel Full HD because it was produced in 2008, later than 2006) Some fans complain that the jokes are meaningless since one of the main purposes of the series is to poke fun of the |
The first English version of most dialogues is interpreted by Canadian voiceover actor ] best known for the classic PBS series "]". Dinsmore was chosen by Beaudet because he was similar to him in many ways from looks to the eyes, so the barrier would not be affected as not many people would tell the difference between the two actors except for the language. Beaudet still performs the voices of some of the characters (Captain Cooper, Raoul and a fast food drive-in worker). The shorts were reanimated and translated to English for better humor and quality for English speaking audiences; for example, the Super Bol has been reanimated to Beat the Buzzer. Mondo Media picked up the show under the name TAC.TV and as of now, 31 translated episodes are in English. Also, ''Le Willi Waller'' sketches have the products renamed because the episodes were produced later than when the product was made (for example Willi Waller 2006 becomes the Willi Waller Gold Edition and the LCD Shovel 2007 becomes the LCD Shovel Full HD because it was produced in 2008, later than 2006) Some fans complain that the jokes are meaningless since one of the main purposes of the series is to poke fun of the Quebecians accent which the English version did not follow. Others appreciated the translated jokes having some good humor and English-speaking viewers could now understand and watch the videos. | ||
The second English version, entitled Knuckleheads, featured remastered episodes of full 22-minute Têtes à claques episodes (most of them now animated with ] and ]). Canadian actor Joe Cobden interpreted all of the dialogue and has played nearly all of the characters in each cartoon. This English version was developed by Toronto-based playwright Bobby Theodore. Just like TAC.tv, Knuckleheads' made several edits and changes to make jokes understandable for the English speaking audiences. They also made numerous name changes, even some different from TAC.tv such as the famous used character Uncle Tom now renamed as Uncle Ted (possibly to avoid any racial issues). The series finally premiered on ] on January 2016, making it the first time Têtes à claques aired on English-speaking television. | The second English version, entitled Knuckleheads, featured remastered episodes of full 22-minute Têtes à claques episodes (most of them now animated with ] and ]). Canadian actor Joe Cobden interpreted all of the dialogue and has played nearly all of the characters in each cartoon. This English version was developed by Toronto-based playwright Bobby Theodore. Just like TAC.tv, Knuckleheads' made several edits and changes to make jokes understandable for the English speaking audiences. They also made numerous name changes, even some different from TAC.tv such as the slightly famous used character Uncle Tom now renamed as Uncle Ted (possibly to avoid any racial issues). Norman and Sandra now renamed to Walter and Martha (to make the show more high quality). The series finally premiered on ] on January 2016, making it the first time Têtes à claques aired on English-speaking television. The series sadly stopped airing on August 20th 2017. | ||
==List of Characters== | ==List of Characters== |
Revision as of 16:46, 2 December 2017
For a definition of the phrase "tête à claques", see the Wiktionary entry tête à claques.You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (June 2014) Click for important translation instructions.
|
Type of site | Humour website |
---|---|
Available in | French English |
Owner | Michel Beaudet |
Created by | Michel Beaudet |
URL | www |
Têtes à claques is a French-language humour website created on August 16, 2006. Over one million short videos are watched per day, making it one of the most popular francophone websites in Quebec (and eventually Canada as a whole). As of December 2017, there are 291 videos. The most popular of these include Le pilote, Le Willi Waller, and Halloween.
The creator, Michel Beaudet, has expressed surprise at the popularity of his site, saying it has reached an audience he never anticipated.
In 2010, Mondo Mini Shows has picked up the English version of Têtes à claques and broadcasting it under the name TAC.
In January 2016, a release of its second English version, Knuckleheads. It was partly remastered to make jokes understandable for the English speaking audience (for example, the Prime Minister was made similar to Stephen Harper).
Description
The skits feature characters sculpted from modelling clay that are fairly simplistic. Michel Beaudet creates the figures himself, He'll superimpose his own moving eyes. Then will put his mouth, and sometimes nose on their faces with a computer. In addition, Beaudet has a set of fake, grotesque teeth, which he puts in while his face is being filmed. The phrase tête à claques translates loosely as "a face that's so ugly, you just want to slap it".
The site has also become very popular in France, not only because of the intentional humour and wit, but also because of a stereotypical Quebec accent. This differs greatly from pronunciations used in France, and thus provides its own humour, in addition to the frequent anglicisms (English words or expressions inserted into speech).
The site features a page for mobile phones that presents all of the episodes.
History
Beaudet has said that "Têtes à claques was an accident." He was originally trying to make a short video using stop motion animation, but quickly discovered that "90% of the time it takes to animate is spent moving the eyes and mouth." He tried doing it by hand, but because he was "too lazy", he decided to record his own mouthh and superimpose his eyes and face on the figurines.
From late 2007 to 2010, Beaudet received new offers from telephone companies and television stations. Incidentally, the first offer was from a French, not Canadian company. The popularity has surged to the point that Beaudet has employed two other people, Simon Parizeau and Hugo Caron, to help with the production at his home in Boucherville. Work was underway to convert Têtes à claques to formats viewable on cell phones and iPods. In 2008, Vertigo Candy used Beaudet's animation and voice talent as advertising on their front page.
On November 12, 2006, Beaudet appeared on the Quebec television show Tout le monde en parle (Everyone's Talking About It) hosted by Guy A. Lepage. He noted many employers have blocked access to the site because it has become so popular that workers were watching it during the day instead of working. Numerous schools across Canada have blocked access to the site, mostly for its use of mature language, swearing and creepy scenes.
On February 1, 2007, Têtes à claques announced a partnership with Bell Canada to provide videos and other media on Bell Mobility, Sympatico and Bell TV services.
In 2007, Têtes à claques started pre-sales of its Region 1 DVDs. The DVD includes the first 45 clips, the history of Têtes à claques, character bios, and English, Quebec French and international French subtitles.
English versions
On August 14, 2008, the beta version of the new bilingual "Têtes à claques" website was launched. Beaudet has recently admitted that making English versions of the comedy shorts is in his "game plan". From August 2008 to sometime in 2009, Têtes à claques picked a handful of episodes from volume 1 and translated to english
The first English version of most dialogues is interpreted by Canadian voiceover actor Bruce Dinsmore best known for the classic PBS series "Arthur". Dinsmore was chosen by Beaudet because he was similar to him in many ways from looks to the eyes, so the barrier would not be affected as not many people would tell the difference between the two actors except for the language. Beaudet still performs the voices of some of the characters (Captain Cooper, Raoul and a fast food drive-in worker). The shorts were reanimated and translated to English for better humor and quality for English speaking audiences; for example, the Super Bol has been reanimated to Beat the Buzzer. Mondo Media picked up the show under the name TAC.TV and as of now, 31 translated episodes are in English. Also, Le Willi Waller sketches have the products renamed because the episodes were produced later than when the product was made (for example Willi Waller 2006 becomes the Willi Waller Gold Edition and the LCD Shovel 2007 becomes the LCD Shovel Full HD because it was produced in 2008, later than 2006) Some fans complain that the jokes are meaningless since one of the main purposes of the series is to poke fun of the Quebecians accent which the English version did not follow. Others appreciated the translated jokes having some good humor and English-speaking viewers could now understand and watch the videos.
The second English version, entitled Knuckleheads, featured remastered episodes of full 22-minute Têtes à claques episodes (most of them now animated with CG and After Effects). Canadian actor Joe Cobden interpreted all of the dialogue and has played nearly all of the characters in each cartoon. This English version was developed by Toronto-based playwright Bobby Theodore. Just like TAC.tv, Knuckleheads' made several edits and changes to make jokes understandable for the English speaking audiences. They also made numerous name changes, even some different from TAC.tv such as the slightly famous used character Uncle Tom now renamed as Uncle Ted (possibly to avoid any racial issues). Norman and Sandra now renamed to Walter and Martha (to make the show more high quality). The series finally premiered on Teletoon at Night on January 2016, making it the first time Têtes à claques aired on English-speaking television. The series sadly stopped airing on August 20th 2017.
List of Characters
- Raoul Robideux
- Lucien and Monique
- Uncle Ted
- Natasha
- Captain Cooper
-Co-Pilot Dwayne
- Gabriel and Samuel
- Jimmy and Ray
Complete list of Têtes à Claques shorts | |
---|---|
II. TAC BONUS SHORTS (available as Extras at the TAC website)
III. TAC COMMERCIALS (available as Extras at the TAC website)
IV. TAC DVDs V. TAC GAMES (available at the TAC website) |
References
- "Tetesaclaques.tv Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- Michel Beaudet (2007). "FAQ". tetesaclaques.tv (in French). Retrieved 2007-01-08.
- TVA (2006). "Michel Beaudet Interview". Interview (in French). Retrieved 2007-01-08.
- ^ Guy A. Lepage, Michel Beaudet (12 Nov 2006). Tout le monde en parle (TV-Series) (in French). Boucherville, QC: Radio-Canada.
- "Bell Canada first to give Canadians a laugh with the Têtes à claques phenomenon". 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- Têtes à claques. "Boutique Têtes à claques DVD-Volume 1" (in French). Retrieved 2007-10-16.
- Montreal Gazette (2008). "Now in Hinglish". Retrieved 2008-08-16.