Long gap since my last post, apologies. But last week I went to the annual MIP-TV market in Cannes which gave me plenty to think (and write) about. Four days of meetings equated a big batch of ideas – though the word product seems more appropriate in such a marketplace. Fewer people were wandering the Palais this year –… Continue reading MIP-TV: Yes We Cannes!
Tag: SBS
From Hamlet to Richard III – history brought to life
I took part in a live-action role play a couple of weeks ago, called Inside Hamlet at Kronborg castle in Denmark. It was set in the 1930s, giving a whole new spin to Shakespeare’s tale. I learnt a massive amount about what history means by acting it out (as a Lutheran exorcist priest). And… Continue reading From Hamlet to Richard III – history brought to life
What happened on my first day at SBS
I arrived for my first day of a visit to SBS, based in a nondescript business park in the north of Sydney, at 9:30am on Monday 15th December. I’m working from London as their content consultant. Half an hour after I got there and started introducing myself to my new colleagues, there was a sense that… Continue reading What happened on my first day at SBS
I went to the ATF in Singapore to see what half the world is watching
Last week’s Asia TV Forum was my first visit, and my first visit to Singapore. Plenty of channels, distributors, funding organisations and producers in an airy exhibition floor in the huge Singapore Convention centre. The event was organised by Reed Midem, with support from the impressive Media Development Authority of Singapore. It was good to… Continue reading I went to the ATF in Singapore to see what half the world is watching
on indie production and public service media
Back to Copenhagen after a week in London. I spent it catching up with production companies, distributors, and going to a day at the Televisual Factual Festival. Well moderated panels on Specialist Factual, Popular Factual, and how to make docs in danger zones, an interview with Ralph Lee of Channel 4, and a room full… Continue reading on indie production and public service media
Korea – a new factual force?
There’s a national drive in Korea to make documentaries the next Korean international content success. Korea made a national project out of becoming the world’s biggest music producer through K-Pop. Pretty ambitious project for a country of 50 million people. But they’re now the fastest growing music industry in Asia, with a massive presence in Japan and inroads… Continue reading Korea – a new factual force?
Don’t mention the E-word
There was a packed auditorium for the main debate at Wildscreen on Wednesday. It covered themes familiar to previous festivals, but no less important for that, according to Wildscreen veterans. How television wildlife films misrepresented the world and its environmental problems. How cute and fluffy animals don’t tell the whole story. How the word ‘Environment’ is a turn-off for… Continue reading Don’t mention the E-word
Wildscreen…I think I love you
Wildscreen is a conference and gathering held in Bristol for nature and wildlife filmmakers, distributors, and broadcasters. It happens once every two years, alternating with the Jackson Hole festival in Wyoming. Everybody clusters around Bristol’s lovely harbourside, like animals around a waterhole, wandering between the Arnolfini Gallery, Bordeaux Quay, and the Watershed centre. It’s relaxed, chatty,… Continue reading Wildscreen…I think I love you
Chasing content and dodging cloudbursts in Cannes
Three and a bit days in Cannes for MIPCOM have just come to an end. The Indian summer gave way to dramatic cloudbursts, making the Croisette look like somebody had gone overboard on the CGI budget. Drama subplots were everywhere. Warner International’s semi-open stand on the beach got flooded out; All3Media laid on Tuk-Tuks to their lunch for… Continue reading Chasing content and dodging cloudbursts in Cannes
Finding stories for SBS Australia
As of earlier this week, I’m the International Content Consultant for the channel SBS in Australia. I’m still based in Copenhagen and London, but spending part of my week working to the team in Sydney to scout for programmes to acquire for the channel – factual/documentary, but also other genres too. Really looking forward to… Continue reading Finding stories for SBS Australia