Events Worth Talking About

I wanted to highlight some of the events we have been hosting recently in conjunction with Channel 5’s Head of Development, Beren Money.

To date, we’ve had a brilliant, diverse selection of speakers – from producers, directors, writers and talent to technical geniuses who are changing the whole landscape of the medium. And all in the comfort of a great venue with a drink in hand.

Series Producer of Emmerdale, Kate Oates, gave the audience a great insight into the success of this 42 year old series, and how the gruelling schedule is managed. Partick Spence, the Executive Producer of Sky Atlantic’s Fortitude, took us through this gripping drama from concept to screen, with a few very illuminating stories on some of the technical problems they had to overcome – like having to import fake snow from London to, of all places, Iceland!

Kate Oates & Patrick Spence At The Hospital Club

The PB Team returned to The Hospital Club this week, where we were joined by another full house in The Oak Room for the latest in our Turn On, Tune In series of events. We were once again joined by two top speakers from the world of TV, revealing the secrets behind the success of their shows.

Kate Oates At The Hospital Club

First up was Kate Oates, Series Producer on ITV’s now 42 year old soap, Emmerdale. The show’s now well beyond it’s 7,000th episode, and she discussed the huge challenge of putting together 312 half-hour episodes every year, with a minimum of six episodes completed every week. Producing such a huge volume of content in such a short space of time requires an army of more than 300 production staff, working in three separate units. Emmerdale is filmed across five studios in Leeds, and separate location set in the Yorkshire Dales, and with such a tight schedule, Kate also discussed the need to balance studio and location time – with an around 16 minutes of completed footage per day in the studio, versus only 8 on location.

Turn On, Tune In: Tiger Aspect Duo At The Hospital Club

Tiger Aspect Duo At The Hospital Club

It was another busy night in The Oak Room at The Hospital Club on Tuesday night for our latest Turn On, Tune In event, where we once again hosted a top line-up of industry speakers.

Sebastian Grant & Andy Brereton on stage at The Hospital Club.

We were joined by Tiger Aspect duo, Andy Brereton (Head of Comedy Entertainment) and Sebastian Grant (Executive Producer), discussing their innovative BBC Three reality-horror-gameshow hybrid, I Survived A Zombie Apocalypse, where 10 members of the public are left in an abandoned shopping centre overrun by zombies. The aim for contestants is to survive for seven days until help arrives, with an array of tasks and games to complete in the meantime. One bite from a zombie and they leave the show in grisly style! Andy & Sebastian took us through the development and pitching process, the challenges of filming with such a large cast, and dealing with the aftermath for the traumatised contestants!

Turn On, Tune In Speaker Profile: Andy Brereton & Sebastian Grant

We look ahead to tonight’s ProductionBase Turn On, Tune In event at The Hospital Club. Our speakers on the night will be Andy Brereton (Head of Comedy Entertainment, Tiger Aspect) and Sebastian Grant (Executive Producer, Tiger Aspect) who’ll be discussing BBC Three’s high-concept reality show, I Survived A Zombie Apocalypse – described by critics as “a cross between Big Brother and The Walking Dead, pitting housemates against an outside world of flesh-hungry zombies.”

I Survived A Zombie Apocalypse (Tiger Aspect/BBC Three)

Described as ‘the toughest reality show on TV’, the first 7-part series of I Survived A Zombie Apocalypse debuted on BBC Three in February this year. Set six months after the population was exposed to damaging radiation, the show initially features ten contestants, who must survive for seven days in an abandoned shopping centre which has been overrun by zombies. The contestants have to complete various tasks each day, including making a base, and securing food and supplies. The key rule is to avoid zombies at all costs as even a slight touch results in death and elimination from the game. Each 60 minute episode covers the events of 1 day of the game, interspersed with commentary from presenter, Greg James, and diary room-style one-to-one footage, taking reaction from the contestants.

Turn On, Tune In Returns To The Hospital Club

There was a packed house in The Oak Room at The Hospital Club last night for our latest Turn On, Tune In event, where we were joined by another line-up of top speakers.

Dan Gold & Simon Raikes (Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty) — Dan Gold & Simon Raikes (Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty). Picture by Paola Bassanese.

First up were Dan Gold (Executive Producer) and Simon Raikes (Commissioning Editor), discussing Channel 5’s critically acclaimed series, Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty: A presenter-led narrative documentary charting the rise of the Plantagenets, the show brings to life one of the most visceral and violent chapters in British history.

Turn On, Tune In Speaker Profile: Dan Gold & Simon Raikes

We look ahead to tonight’s ProductionBase Turn On, Tune In at The Hospital Club. Our second speakers on the night will be Dan Gold (Executive Producer) and Simon Raikes (Commissioning Editor) who’ll be discussing Channel 5’s critically acclaimed series, Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty, and revealing their secrets for producing great drama documentary.

Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty (Channel 5) — Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty (Channel 5)

Dan Gold has numerous and varied documentary credits, including Dark Matters: Twisted But True for Discovery, which delves into the most unusual scientific research ever conducted; and I Shouldn’t Be Alive, telling real-life tales of human survival against savage elements, dangerous climates and physical hazards. Dan has also worked on a wide range of other science and history documentaries for a number of international broadcasters.

Turn On, Tune In Speaker Profile: Dan Reed

We look ahead to tonight’s ProductionBase Turn On, Tune In at The Hospital Club. First up, we’ll be joined by award-winning Director, Dan Reed, whose powerful, visually-distinctive documentary work has won international acclaim.

BAFTA Craft Winner 2011 — Winning the Factual Director BAFTA in 2011, sponsored by ProductionBase.

After 6 years working as a Director at the BBC, he left in 1998 to make a documentary for Channel 4 about the war in Kosovo; True Stories: Kosovo – The Valley. Dan and his crew risked their lives to gather footage from both sides of the front line to create the feature length documentary, which was later nominated for the Flaherty Documentary Award at the BAFTA Craft Awards in 2000.

Be Part of the Event

I wanted to highlight some of the events we have been doing over the past two years or so in conjunction with Channel 5’s Head of Development, Beren Money.

Taking in two great locations, The Hospital Club in Covent Garden and On The 7th at MediaCityUK in Salford, we have been able to reach out to our members and get them in the same room, over a drink, with some of the industry’s movers and shakers.

To date, we’ve had a brilliant, diverse selection of speakers – from producers, directors, writers and talent to technical geniuses who are changing the whole landscape of the medium.

Turn On, Tune In Heads North

Thanks to everyone that joined us for our inaugural Turn On Tune In North event at MediaCityUK in Manchester last week! We had a great turnout at the prestigious OnThe7th members bar to hear from our top industry speakers.

Magaluf Weekender Co-creator, Tom O'Brien — Magaluf Weekender Co-creator, Tom O’Brien

First up, Tom O’Brien, the Co-Creator and Producer of TwoFour’s The Magaluf Weekender, gave us an insight into the world of structured reality programming; how and when the Producers should intervene to change the direction of a show, how far they should let the on-screen participants go when things get out of hand, and ultimately concluding that what happens organically is often better than anything that could be constructed by the programme makers.

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Category: PB Industry Events