My notes from the Televisual Factual Festival, 2018
The Festival was opened by James Bennett (MD of Televisual).
The festival was put together by Pippa Considine and Kate Dinwoodie.
The festival is really is really meant for people involved in Factual Programs in one way or another. So it is chock full of jargon that you really need to know in order to grasp what is being said. In this note I will try to explain some of this jargon.
The festival does not occur in a vacuum and there are lots of themes that it is helpful to understand. One theme that comes up is Talent. Do you make programs with existing Talent or try to introduce “break” new Talent?
Another theme is how do Producers engage with Commissioners? They often get pitched a lot of shows that are not really very different other shows. So they often talk of the “top/log line” – to catch their interest a producer has to have a good “log line” or the subject of a pitch. You can lose a commission on that log line but not gain one. This issue comes up in these notes.
The format is now common for all media events, there is a chair, a panel. Each panellist can show a clip. I will attempt to find that clip or at least a similar one on the Internet. Some clips are still under development and so they are not available publicly. So if there was a news article about that commission I will try to link it instead.
This first session was chaired by Celia Taylor, MD of Mentorn Media. The panel was Adrian Padmore (Commissioning Editor C5), Alf Lawrie (C4 Head of Factual Entertainment), David Brindley (Head of Factual Commissioning BBC) and Hilary Rosen (Head of Factual, UKTV). I may have abbreviated some job titles..
Speaker bio’s can be found here: http://www.televisual.com/festival/speakers.html
Celia was keen to have speakers avoid any “commissioning speak”: Risky, Bold, Big, Innocent, authentic, broad, twist. She had a buzzer to warn against 🙂 However if you are pitching a program then it is a good idea to know all that commissioning speak
Starting with Alf (C4): with all the changes at C4 how do production companies navigate through all the changes and departments? Alf pointed out that although the individual commissioners have defined roles if any one of them is pitched the next big thing they will start the process for all. All departments overlap. Alf’s department are looking for 9pm, 10pm, 8pm on More and E4. To get a new idea commissioned is hard. Bake Off is a distinctive brand, channels need distinctive brands. Programs that go against Bake Off tend to wither and fade. [Bake off was bought by C4 and not really commissioned]. However it should not put off program makers from proposing new formats.
Note: the slots are all important to channels. With the programs expected to “rate” going on that 8pm or 9pm slot. If you develop a program that is scheduled in one of those peak viewing time slots you have done quite well. Each slot comes with an expectation of the type of audience it will draw (e.g. age range). Each slot comes with an expectation of the size of audience it will draw. A program can fail if it “only” gathers a million views in some slots whereas other channels would view that as a huge success.
There was some discussion about the interaction between commissioners and program makers. The program has to inspire the commissioner and it is quite possible that a program that one commissioner passes on may be accepted by another.
Celia asked whether C4 would be getting rid of any programs to clear slots for new programs. Alf pointed out that there is a lot of competition between channels and a program that rates is difficult to get rid of even if the format seems to be a bit stale. It is hard for audiences to come to new shows. Even with established shows (e.g. Big Brother) it is necessary to “refresh” them to maintain their attraction. Eventually there is nothing further they can do with a program so it needs then to have questions asked about whether it should be replaced.
C4 big priority is 10pm returnable formats for 2019 and 2020. There is still space for innovative formats, at C4 they call them “fuck me Doris” programs. In the past C4 has had some shocking programs that a viewer might express shock to their wives with those words! [this caused much mirth in the audience]. This refers to the weird and wonderful. There are slots left for “crazy propositions”. They might be single programs or return just once.
Alf’s clip was a program that focuses on how police deal with reducing budgets by using special constables. With a twist that these special constables are soap opera famous people. Celia asked whether celebrities have to be dropped into all factual programs to get a commission?. Alf thought there was still enough goodness in the program to justify a commission, comparing researchers to celebrities? . A/ what can they do? B/do they have any agency? The celebrities, in this case, are special constables – they have agency. c/ does it tell you about the world? Alf’s opinion is that this commission does all those things.
Switch to Adrian (C5).
A quick run around your hits for channel 5? There’s Cruising with Jane McDonald, Or Yorkshire Farm. This prompted a brief discussion of how much Channel 5 likes Yorkshire! The ‘tone’ of the channel is straight talking, which of course fits right with the Yorkshire reputation for the same. Friendly, warm and life affirming.
C5 tracks their audience carefully, often when they make a commission it is not how good it is as a program but whether it fits in with their audience. A program they refuse could be a big success on another channel. They ask is it for the 16-34 range, will it go up-market, is it for the working class heartland they had before.
[Note: I hadn’t realised C5 had a target age range, that it was the same range as BBC3 [16 to 34 yo].
Celia says C5 does quite Factual Factual! [probably in opposition to Factual Entertainment] . Adrian says Channel 5 is a factual channel. Factual Entertainment that works tends to be based on the real world. Our entertainment is in terms of reward for the viewer. Ultimately it is an entertainment spin on the real world.
C5 still goes for shows they hope will be popular, e.g. the Bachelor, Blind Date. It’s about finding shows that already have a connection with the audience and finding out how they can take them forward. Breaking a new show can be very difficult.
Big Brother has gone which opens up lots of slots. They will try short run programs, that if shown to have legs, can be extended. They are looking for shows that fill the gaps, for shows that are right or the their audience and, say, not BBC shows. Celia asks what is that? It’s about community, it’s about the sort of people you see on the show. Shows that have a challenge and a purpose, so you learn something from it.
Channel 5 can launch shows with new talent. They also want celebrities that can really add to the show. Should you put celebrities on the show, just for their celebrity, people can see through that in about five minutes.
Adrian commissioned a show about deep sea fishing, with a twist: Call Yourself a Fisherman. (working title) .This show was announced earlier in the year. They played a clip but I’ve not found anything on YouTube yet. There is a write up of the show here:
Switch to David (BBC)
BBC Factual have launched about a dozen shows, some succeed and some fail but some you want to stand by anyway. A show was piloted some months ago and is now turning into success: “This is my song”. Travels in Trumpland. So what is the BBC looking for? Eat well for less has done well in addition to bringing a younger audience. Entertaining consumer programs have done well, so programs to stand behind that. An entertaining watch rather than being pure consumer, this is for the 8pm slot. Keen to play at extremes a bit more, Health, Money, Leisure. Trying to tap more into popular factual. Interested access driven factual, Pound Shop wars worked incredibly well at 8pm. At 9pm things with celebrities work well on BBC1, but interest is in a way of using them differently. Doesn’t just want celebrities doing something else. A purposeful way of using celebs on BBC1 would be great. Looking for quite standout tabloid singles. For example Rio Ferdinand “Being Mum and Dad”. Diana, 7 days. Shows that the Tabloids will talk about but not too many. Perhaps a couple of shows a year.
BBC2 is driven much more by specialism, content, craft and expertise expertise. Really concentrating at 8pm at the moment. Looking for Returnable formats like “Inside the Factory”. Would like to pilot 4 or 5 of this type of show. BBC3 show “21 Again” is an example of a “Construct”. However it is really important that the documentary be allowed to play out within an construct. BBC1, BBC2 and BBC2 have a lot of documentary within a construct. David’s clip was a “taster” from the production company Naked Entertainment. Lots of people tried to pitch shows that address the generational divide however the title left it cleat what the show was all about. You immediately knew what this show was about, it was not mainly educational but entertainment.
Note: there is a variety of opinion as to what a production company should submit to a commissioner. Some believe a single page note is all that is required in the very first contact. 21 Again was commissioned on the basis of a “taster”. Over the course of the festival a few shows submitted a taster. Obviously nothing works quite as well as a sample of the show you want to make.
BBC3 has lots of documentaries “within a construct”. Below is a link to a page that describes what a “construct” is.
Note: the BBC do lots of good web pages to help people or production companies pitch to them. A good one is here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/articles/documentaries-bbc-two
Switch to Hillary (UKTV).
Factual is mainly on a new pay channel “W”. The channel is mainly, but not exclusively, aimed at women. It is a new channel and they are still trying to work out the “tone” and what formats will succeed best with their audience, 30 something and relatively upmarket. UKTV always talk about “Entertaining Factual”. They want ideas that punch above their weight and really capture their audience. They are piloting a lot of factual, some of them have celebrity at heart and others definitely do not. They are not a “default channel”, people only come there if they have a reason to do so. The punch above their weight idea is that they are competing against the BBC and ITV shows. W do attract celebrities. Davina McCall is hosting a talk show (Twenty Twenty Productions).
Hilary’s clip was Emma Willis: Delivering Babies. An established Television Presenter, Emma was recruited to train as a Maternity Care Assistant. The production company was Firecracker/Tinopolis. The cameras followed her around as she worked. Even in the short clip they showed it was obvious that Emma really liked being on this show. There are some clips on YouTube, not sure if this was the one that was shown:
They liked getting Emma on board as she has worked for, and is known across, many channels. Emma had worked before on a medical show but felt she was bolted on rather being an integral part. The idea that Emma wanted to do a medical show was at large and UKTV received multiple pitches, however these were not deemed distinctive enough to attract the W audience.
Celia quite bluntly asked “can you break a format without celebrity talent?”. Hilary responded: yes we have a smash hit with ‘Inside the Ambulance’, Brown Bob Productions:
https://w.uktv.co.uk/shows/inside-ambulance/
No celebrities [yet]. new Twist on DocSoap meets Rig meets documentary. Pitches can be as factual as anything but they must be entertaining.
Celia opens up to the panel.
Are we struggling to get new ideas?
It is hard, there are a lot of channels and a lot of programs. There are always more stories. There is some confusion as to how much much information should be pitched to commissioners, e.g. just send us the first six words. There is much fascination with the next big hit. But what would commissioners have thought of bake off when first pitched? Shows like Gogglebox, First Dates or Bake Off need time to settle in. They were not instant hits but built up their audience to be big hits. New stories are quite rare so even a half a page initial description can catch commissioners attention. Sometimes they are open to quite unformed pitches. People come in with six months work for a well formed pitch and the channel has to say no, not right for us. Log lines can be a great way into an idea.
Sometimes tech help, e.g. the rig shows introduced ideas that became very popular.
Note: LiveU has helped create shows like Hunted.
Celia contrasted the idea that fresh content is needed and yet Producers can and do submit lots of ideas. The challenge is well what do broadcasters want? “The Island” was suggested as a good example, it was a simple idea but the way it was done was extraordinary. These starved and increasingly emaciated men filming themselves was something not seen before. For UKTV, Fresh Content is about fresh universes. For example Yianni: Supercar Customiser
https://dave.uktv.co.uk/yianni-supercar-customiser/article/about-yianni-supercar-customiser/
Yianni ruled his world, chose that cast (his employees). He is very authentic but this word had not made it on to the list of commissioner speak that would generate a buzzer! He definitely feels fresh on that channel.
Is “tone” a useful guide on the channel?
All channels feel connected on C5. The world that you are watching on C5 is part of your world.
The BBC, factual department, are there to deliver treats to the audience! Pleisure, Wit and humour. Romesh travels, Ed Balls in Trumpland. When the audience see these programs they know they are in for an enjoyable hour.
UKTV are entertainment . Producers can bring Public Service pitches to them but they will not be commissioned. On “W” they like uplifting and life affirming, Emotional Journeys find an audience with women. Joy and happiness, even sad but with redemption. Nothing really gloomy, nothing that feels like homework. W wants things that are a pleasure.
For C4 humour is still important but not exclusively so. Drama is important.
Live is not so important for UKTV, although they did do Monty Python Live. So you can pitch “live” but it must be very special.
BBC do things like Watchdog but it is more likely to be a short event.
UKTV have a slate under development of parenting, weddings. Asked whether this means they want any more of these? There was a surprising yes – because not all the shows they have will work out.
There were audience questions after this.
How likely are you to respond to people you don’t know?
The consensus is they would.
Notes:
- a program is said to “rate” if t does well in Ratings published by magazines such as Broadcast.
- A Returnable program is one that can be repeated each season without having to go through a process of deciding whether it should be commissioned. Perhaps the ultimate returnable program is sports.
- A “Single” is a program that is standalone.
- A “Construct” is a show where there is a well defined structure, however the program maker is allowed some freedom within those constraints.