by Kerry McLeod
3-Minute Wonders: (Channel 4, 4 x 3' films screened after Channel 4
news Monday - Friday, £4k per film)
Kate Vogel, Commissioning Editor for the strand, told us that she
was pretty open in terms of subject matter, but that the films must
work both as a series and as stand-alone pieces, linked either by
theme or subject. She's currently looking for films that appeal to
an older audience bracket of 25-40, that examine a subject and tell
us something new and intelligent about it. Some filmmaking
experience is required, but not necessarily for primetime
television. The films are commissioned on a rolling basis, and the
turnaround is normally three months from commission to delivery.
Fresh: (BBC 3, 3 x 60', £100k per
film)
Ben Gale, Commissioning Editor, explained that the strand is
changing for its latest series. There are fewer films, but the slot
is longer. Again, some experience is necessary, though not at a
network level. For example, a director may have made two or three
half-hour films for television, or for a one-hour regional slot.
Either way, they need to pitch with an on-board executive producer,
as Gale and his team want to know that the filmmaker has the
guidance they need. In terms of content, he's looking for ideas
that fall into what he calls a 'lighter factual' bracket; less
hard-hitting and more entertaining. He cites directors such as
Lawrence Barraclough who, from making a film for BBC3, has moved
onto a BBC2 documentary. In fact, he would go so far as to advise
directors to seek other routes into television documentary than
authored films; working on an existing programme such as Airport or
Children's Hospital, he says, is like the 'nursery slope' on which
to learn one's craft.
The Other Side (Channel 4, 8 x 60'
films)
Dominique Walker, Commissioning Editor for Channel 4 Documentaries,
explained how she sees this as a number of individual films rather
than a strand, providing a training ground for the next generation
of filmmakers to work in primetime, 9-10pm slots. Like Gale, she's
looking for accessible, popular subjects, with "a cracking story"
and not too grim and depressing, or those that are marginal ideas.
Access is possibly the most crucial aspect, as she's looking for a
quality of intimacy, and a contemporary narrative.
My Crazy Life (Channel 4
Education/ Richochet, 8 x 30')
Interview with series producer
Patrick Holland:
PH: My Crazy Life' is a
series of 8 x 30min films for C4 Education. They're going to be
produced by Ricochet. We're looking for directors rather than
ideas. We don't want to turn people away with ideas, but I used to
run 'The Other Side' for IWC and one of things that I found there
was that often some brilliant people came up with ideas that
weren't quite right for us but we thought 'god, those would be
great directors for us.
PH: The eight films are
about teenage life. They're about teenagers whose lives are
distinctive and who go against the grain, or they stand out, or
they're trying to define themselves against a prevailing cultural
stereotype. So we might be interested in the story at the moment,
where Miss England is from an Asian family in Bradford; everything
she's going against would be a terrific story for us.
PH: So we're coming up with
the ideas. We want people who are going to come forward and be the
directors of those films. To apply, you need to send your CV, you
need to have a sponsor - someone who knows you and knows your work.
If you're in television that someone needs to be an exec producer
or a producer you've been working with who's willing to write a
paragraph for you, so that that proves to me that there's someone
else out there who believes in you.
PH: If you've got a
show-reel, do send it but first off send me your CV, your sponsor's
paragraph and a page which tells me what excites you about
documentary at the moment, and also what makes you someone who is
going to be a director that we're going to want to watch films from
in the future, and send it to newdirectors@ricochet.co.uk"
PH: Channel 4 want the
strand to be a stepping-stone so that we find the new factual
directors for the future. Whilst we're interested in people that
have really individual voices, we're also interested in people who
are just going to be brilliant directors, who are going to be able
understand that in order to make television programmes you often
have to work within parameters, you can't just have a completely
free reign, and it's often working within parameters that enable
you to really find yourself.
PH: So I envisage that the
majority of people will be working in television and they'll be
working as AP's and will be finding themselves against the glass
ceiling where they feel that they can't make the step up to
director, and that's primarily who this is aimed for. But at the
same time, I don't want to put people off that are fantastic film
school graduates. One of the people who made a film for me last
year for The Other Side - Julia Stovell - came from art school, and
we took a chance on her because her idea was great and because of
her persistence and she impressed us so much with the way she
wanted to make films. So I'm not putting people like that off, but
I need those people to have a sponsor in the same way that people
from television would, so a tutor from your college course or
someone like that who is willing to put pen to paper for you.
PH: At the moment, all of
[the strand's] guaranteed slots are in the morning. That said, if
we make films that are fantastic, they will go where they deserve
to go…in the evening schedule or late evening schedule.
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