FOCUS 2019 – Free Registration Open Now!

FOCUS, The Meeting Place for International Production, returns to The Business Design Centre in London on 3/4 December 2019 for its fifth edition, and ProductionBase is delighted to be a media partner again this year. If you work in film, TV, advertising, games or animation, FOCUS is an unmissable date in your calendar. This year’s programme will respond to the rapid changes in the creative screen industries, offering even more content, countries and connections!

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Meet the Speakers: Murray Boland

Next month we will be returning to Covent Garden in London, for the latest in our long-running series of TV Networking events, offering a chance to hear from the top programme-makers behind some of the UK’s biggest shows.

On Thursday 11th April we will be joined by CPL Productions’ Creative Director, Murray Boland, who will be taking us behind the scenes of two of the company’s most significant recent commissions: Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds and The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes.

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Meet The Speakers: Susanne Curran & Jenny Ash

Next month we will be returning to London’s Covent Garden, for the latest in our long-running series of TV Networking events, giving you the chance to hear from some the UK’s top programme-makers!

On Thursday 11th April we will be joined by Burning Bright’s Head of Factual, Susanne Curran, and Director, Jenny Ash, who will be discussing the making of Channel 4’s 100 Vaginas.

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Meet The Speakers: Karl Warner, Jes Wilkins & Jamie Campbell

Meet The Speakers: Karl Warner, Jes Wilkins & Jamie Campbell

With just over a week to go until our latest TV Networking event at The Hospital Club, we profile our latest group of top industry speakers, who’ll take us behind the scenes of their hit shows.

Karl Warner
Our first speaker for the November edition, taking place on Tuesday 14th, is Electric Ray Founder, Karl Warner, revealing the secrets behind this autumn’s latest high-concept reality show, Bromans.

Karl is now running Electric Ray, his own production company and home to E4’s Carjackers and BBC’s Prized Apart. Before launching the company he was a Commissioning Editor at the BBC, where he was involved in the development of hit shows including Strictly Come Dancing.

He also held senior roles at Endemol, where his credits included Big Brother and Soccer Aid, as well as a number of other independent production companies.

Karl is credited on a range of other shows, such as Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Russell Howard’s Good News, Junior Doctors, Back Chat with Jack Whitehall, Live at the Apollo and The Undercover Princes, winning him numerous awards and breaking ratings records in a variety of genres along the way.

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Meet The Speakers: Richard Cowles & Tom Gould

TV Networking – Meet The Speakers: Richard Cowles & Tom Gould

Our next TV Networking event is fast approaching, and for the October edition, taking place on the 12th at The Hospital Club, we’re delighted to be hosting two top speakers from ITV Studios, who were behind one of this year’s most successful reality series: ITV2’s smash-hit summer sensation, Love Island.

Richard Cowles and Tom Gould
ITV Creative Director Richard Cowles started his career in documentaries, before becoming a Producer/Director and then Series Producer on a range of award-winning factual entertainment series, including Ibiza Uncovered and Airline.

In 2002 he co-created and produced the global hit format, I’m a Celebrity… Get me out of here!. The survival reality show has topped more than 10 million viewers in most of the 16 series aired to date. The final episodes of the 2nd and 3rd series were viewed by more than half the total TV audience at the time.

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Sheffield Doc/Fest: What Not To Miss

doc-fest

Sheffield Doc/Fest returns from tomorrow, featuring its usual mix of inspirational doc screenings; lively discussion panels and in-depth filmmaker masterclasses. We pick out a few of the highlights from this years festival, which runs from 10-15th June:

Screening: Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore

moore
Where to Invade Next is a 2015 American documentary written and directed by Michael Moore. In this politically provocative comedy, Moore confronts the most pressing issues facing the US today, and travels around the world looking for solutions in foreign methods. The film will premiere at the festival’s opening night on 10th June, and will be followed by a Q&A with Michael Moore. Read more: http://bit.ly/25LIynb

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Events Round-Up: Spring 2016

Events Round-Up

Want to know about the latest events in the industry, but want someone else to do the hard work? Well we’ve obliged, with the first in a regular series, looking ahead to a few great production events, big and small, coming up over the next few weeks.

Networking for Creative People
Taking place at the BFI’s Mediatheque on 24th April at 5pm.

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An informal networking event offering a space for inspiration and networking for creative people. There is no admission fee for the Mediateque, but the networking event will charge a small fee of £1.

More info: http://bit.ly/1WdOxdJ

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Creating a Drama Out of Serious Programmes

Creating a Drama Out of Serious Programmes

There is no doubt that serious factual is on the rise and fast becoming a regular fixture of audience’s weekly viewing habits and, if Twitter is anything to go by, really capturing the public’s imagination.

Producers now treat documentaries like they would a cutting edge drama; it’s compelling story-telling with strong narrative arcs. Whilst a swath of rig shows such as 24 Hours in A&E, One Born Every Minute, and The Catch are pulling in big audiences, there’s still room for the more traditional approach.

At our recent Turn On, Tune In event at The Hospital Club, we were delighted to welcome James Newton, series director of the gripping and dramatic three part series, The Detectives. The critically-acclaimed BBC Two series gave a close-up view of the day-to-day operations of the Serious Sexual Offences Unit of Greater Manchester Police, the first dedicated rape investigation team in the UK.

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Events Worth Talking About

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!

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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)
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.

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