Real Insights Blog
Learning from tragedy
Real Insights BlogThe call came in on a Friday, late afternoon – can you make a documentary on Haiti in two weeks? The short answer is, of course, always yes, says William Hicklin, SP at Pioneer Productions. But what kind of film could be put together in that time? Here, Hicklin describes the process. We were already [...]
Looking towards the future?
Real Insights BlogWhen it comes to secondary rights, the UK is maintaining a culture of inequality, says the recent Missing Opportunities in Digital Britain report from Compact Media Group. Here, James Sellar, head of media and business development at Compact, explains further. Secondary rights derived off a primary broadcast for the controlling party are now an established [...]
Working fast and smart for C4′s ‘Dispatches’
Real Insights BlogIn his own words, Tom Porter, series producer for Ten Alps company Blakeway Productions, details the challenges and benefits of turning around a program for Channel 4′s ‘Dispatches’ strand. Towards the end of a Wednesday afternoon last month, we got a call from C4′s head of news and current affairs, Dorothy Byrne, asking whether we [...]
Negotiating rights in the multi-platform age
Real Insights BlogThese days, rights holders are facing some difficult decisions. Normal distribution rules no longer apply in the online space. Reny Montesinos (pictured), executive director of the L.A. office for Compact Media Group, shares his thoughts on handling multiple licenses and contracts in the multi-platform age. The old model of rights transferred under license was pretty [...]
Constant Beginnings: On the art of scheduling and the ease of Wikipedia
Real Insights BlogIn this post, Gilded Lily Productions’ Karen Hoy shares a few thoughts on mindful scheduling and the merits of Wikipedia over “proper” research. On the Art of Scheduling There was a useful interview with BBC head of arts commissioning Mark Bell in yesterday’s Guardian media pages. See it here. Among other things, he discusses the [...]
What will time tell?
Real Insights BlogLA-based producer/writer/director Peter Hankoff has worked with footage old and new for myriad projects. But how close to the truth is what ends up on camera, and how far away from that truth can any footage get over time? Here, Hankoff explains in his own words. I’ve been making non-fiction television for several years. A [...]
Constant beginnings: Why development people don’t like to shower
Real Insights BlogWe at Realscreen would like to welcome Karen Hoy, development writer/producer at UK-based development house Gilded Lily Productions, as one of our guest bloggers. In this, the first post in her series of blogs that she’s dubbed Constant Beginnings, Hoy discusses one of her favorite (and hygienically sound) tools for stimulating the development process. Look [...]
Can the “second screen” rescue broadcast?
Real Insights BlogTom McDonnell, co-founder of UK digital production shop Monterosa, says it doesn’t have to be a question of digital vs broadcast. They’re actually supposed to work together. In Britain, iPlayer, Sky+ and Spotify have all gone mainstream, and in the US, Hulu’s revenues are putting pressure on YouTube owners Google. As the quality and convenience [...]
The best of times, the worst of times
Real Insights BlogA viewpoint from Tim Sparke, MD of MercuryMedia and www.joiningthedots.tv. When the makers of the first global ‘disastainment’ docs – In Debt We Trust, An Inconvenient Truth, Enron, Outfoxed, etc. – warned of the impending financial, climate, energy, propaganda and leadership crises, which were slowly creeping up on the West, they were out of step [...]
Truth to power
Real Insights BlogJulia Barron, head of current affairs at London’s October Films, examines the price journalists pay in order to keep the powerful honest. Questioning the ‘official version’ is the raison d’etre of the journalist, and there are few more powerful places to do it than on national TV. So when those in power make the substantial [...]
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Factual Entertainment Forum 2011 - Sophie Tweed-Simmons at the Realscreen Factual Entertainment Forum in Santa Monica.