• Who pitched?
• What are their budgets?
• Who is backing them?
• What kinds of projects just didn’t make a connection?
• And more…

In Part 1, we set the scene in Toronto’s Hogwarts-style Hart Hall: it was a tense, high stakes moment for each of the filmmakers.

Sands of the Skei Queen. Photo: Karina Astrup)

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INDIAN SPACEMAN

The story of the team of scientists and their worker bees who are the force behind India’s first Space mission.

Sue Sudbury, UK
Ruhi Hamid, UK
Budget: $300,000
Confirmed: $40,000

Moderator

• The filmmakers enjoy unique access to India’s 9 year space program at both the scientist and factory floor level
• Ruhi Hamid is a successful producer who has worked with BBC Storyville
• Sue Sudbury is an Australian, and this film is supported by SBS

Filmmakers

• Reveals domestic tensions / conflicts between Indian teams
• Captures the conflicts between modernizing and traditional forces in India

Decision-makers

• BBC Storyville: Like a lot! Cultural conflict is very interesting!
• Knowledge: We’re in!!
• TVO: Curious about how you balance characters and science?
• NHK: we would take a 1 hour version. Space works. Japanese audiences would like the unusual insight into Indian society.
• DR: like humor
• ZDF: See it not as Science but character-driven documentary
• PBS: Like the different way of looking at Scientists, particularly younger ones. How many characters are there? There are other story arc questions to discuss later.
• Hi Fidelity: We don’t have a Science block. See it as a human story. Challenges our preconceived notions about how India is rolling out. An acquisition.

Random Takeaways

• Story feels good. Witty. Lots of chuckles. 
• Relies on unique access. The stakes are high: a successful launch will be a sign of India’s modernity. And the launch is the resolution of the story.
• Poor audio quality on pitch was magnified by Indian accents. Adds to the struggle to win over the decision-makers.
• We caught up with friend and industry legend Pat Ferns, who produced the very first pitch forum way back in the day.

THESE BIRDS WALK

Omar is a Pakistani runaway child who is trapped in limbo between a Karachi orphanage and an unwelcoming home.

Omar Mullick, Pakistan & Brooklyn
Bassam Tariq, US
Budget: $381,000
Confirmed: $75,000

• Sundance Institute strongly backs the pitch and is contributing $30,000.
  • Drawn by the talent, access and characters.
  • Film about family and home, a runaway boy, an ambo driver, and a frail, old humanitarian who cares for the poor
  • A human interest film set in place known for conflict
• ITVS: “Come to our Open Call”
• Tribeca: Fantastic imagery. Couldn’t take my eyes off it. Have funded films from Pakistan recently
• NYT: Let’s pick up the conversation later. Intimate character-based piece, but needs other levels for us.
• NHK: Like to see a film about Pakistan without guns
• CNN: Beautiful. Hard to see it broken up on an advertiser-supported channel like CNN
• ARD Germany: We don’t have slots for a poetic film
• ARTE: Can’t see a slot where it fits
• Rai. Love visual approach. Interested. Question: How much story is there?
• Hi Fidelity: Like to see rough cut
• CBC: We met at Sundance. Very interested in Pakistan! Will take a look at rough cut
• TVO: Want to see how the story develops
• BBC Storyville: Love images. Can’t figure out narrative.
• PBS: Stunning trailer.

Random Takeaways

• Many of the deciders were strongly attracted to the unusual poetic quality of a film from Pakistan. But they lacked the slots to screen it.
• BTW, hats off to the expert team of moderators! They are Axel Arno, Pat Ferns, Andrea Meditch and Steve Seidenberg.

MEN’S CHOICE

Young Russian worker chooses to leave unemployment and family at home for an extremely harsh job on a Siberian gas field.

Vladislav Ketkovitch, Russia
Elena Demidova, Russia
Budget: $187,000
Confirmed: $86,000

• POV:  Could be an interesting follow up to My Perestroika
• Knowledge: Good idea. We have a similar project in development
• Rai: Could be interesting. Too many characters and events to follow. Maybe concentrate on the workplaces in Siberia and not follow the characters to their homes.
• TVO: Women’s perspective is interesting. Young workers battling isolation and extreme cold: that’s a very familiar story for Canadians.
• ZDF: There is no slot on Arte for this kind of film. Needs a better title
• Several: Passionate filmmakers, and there are a lot of stories to be told in Russia

Random Takeaways

• None of the decision-makers mentioned Ice Road Truckers the smash hit series  from Tom Beers’ Original Productions.
• IRT brought huge success to History US, which was known until around that time as “The Hitler Channel” based on a schedule that was packed with WW2 docs
• History is bigger than ever as the #1 US factual channel
• I wondered: “Do decision-makers at pitch sessions sometimes live in a vacuum, separated from what’s driving the factual TV industry as a whole??”
• Sub-titles are a deal breaker for almost all films in US
• Great to see talented Russian filmmakers and funding at the Forum.

SOUNDSCAPES

This film is about the importance of sound recording to the art and craft of film and TV. The producers won a draw from the “Cuban Hat” for an unscheduled pitch.

Budget: $1.5 million

Filmmakers

• Clearing the clips is very costly
• Talking to family foundations and sponsors for funding, e.g. Dolby
• There’s a growing field of study that addresses lost soundscapes, e.g. recordings of since extinct birds

Decision-makers

• Tribeca: Not for us; we do creative, personal story-driven docs
• PBS: Interesting and appealing to our audience. It could be a standalone within the PBS schedule, maybe I can match make with the PBS strands
• CBC: Either an acquisition or presale based on your proving that you can clear clips
• BBC: Loved the trailer. Where can you find the money? All the commissioners around the table are broke.
• Denmark: We have slots, but we pay very little. Will write a letter to support funding.
• POV:  Recommend you contact Paley Center, Annenberg and Foreign Press Association for funding

Random Takeaways

• Pitches must deliver on four filters: Unique Access, High Stakes, Big Characters and Resolution.
• Above all, pitch sessions like Hot Docs Forum and IDFA love character-driven stories. 
• Content-driven pitches like this one just don’t cut it.

SANDS OF THE SKEI QUEEN

An Australian sand-mining company wins government approval to strip mine a beautiful South African beach, unleashing violent divisions between development-minded locals and preservationists.

Ryley Grunewald, South Africa
Pascal Schmitz, South Africa
Budget: $461,000
Confirmed: $275,000

Filmmakers

• The film is about politics, monarchies, murder and greed
• Shakespearean story set in today’s South Africa
• An international presale will unlock a stream of South African funding

Moderator

• Beautifully shot, cinema verite style

Decision-makers

• Tribeca: Really interesting. I see a lot of films on similar territory and dealing with same issues. But film and characters great
• ITVS: Compelling. Nice fit for “Women and Girls Lead’ initiative.
• BBC Storyville. Love pitch, but change title. It’s a deep story about contemporary RSA. Stick to the human story and don’t worry about the globalization theme.
• Knowledge: Very interested.
• Arte: Don’t have slots, but might be a fit for a Special Day about Communities. We’re interested. Like it that it’s a POV of a divided community
• DR: Great trailer. Don’t need a girl who’s looking for meaning.
• SHAW Canada: We run 17 specialty channels. Most are acquisition. We don’t do Current Affairs.
• TVO: Classic story. Battle inside a royal family makes it more interesting
• NYT: Could do an Op Ed news piece. Perhaps
• NHK:  Fits our themes of ‘resources and communities’

Random Takeaways

• Pitch was well constructed. Authoritative voices. Clearly written. Nice flow between oral presentation and the video. Relaxed and non-defensive exchanges with decision-makers.
  
• Scenery was a winner, particularly for someone like me who grew up on beautiful beaches.
• An expanse of beach the size of a football field delivers enough titanium for a single aircraft
• Aussies are the new, global dark force!

CAUGHT IN THE NET

Young Chinese may become trapped by Internet addiction, usually to video games. Their parents send them to appalling detox camps.

Hilla Medalia, US
Shosh Shlam, Israel
Budget: $500,000
Confirmed: $307,000

Decision-makers

• BBC: Is the system working to relieve addiction?
• DR Denmark: What is it about the Chinese system that produces these problems? Needs to follow kids before, during and after ‘treatment’. Extend the story line.
• NYT: Interested. Internet addiction? Or ‘games addiction’. May be an over-simplification of the problem
• Rai. Upset by trailer. Better to focus on the professor. Not children. China’s government controls the Internet, Twitter and Facebook. Explore that theme.
• NHK: We don’t like to see Western film makers coming to China and looking at problems. To Japanese audiences, this will be seen as judgmental.

Random Takeaways

• This pitch was unusual because it unsettled many of commissioners.
• A TV producer from China says “These schools were banned more than a year ago. The authorities recognized that they were abusive.”
• Another producer in the gallery says “That’s 1.5 films that fall into the ‘Bad China’ category. Is this a theme? At least Islam is off the hook!”
• For our recent commentary on the rise and rise of the Chinese Documentary Channel at MIPDoc, click here.

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DAY 2

VIDAL V BUCKLEY

Opposing intellectual heavyweights William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal traded blows in 10 ferocious television debates during the 1968 presidential election campaign. Was this the dawn of the opinion-driven television commentary that we know today?

Robert Gordon, US
Morgan Neville, US
Budget: $600,000
Confirmed: $300,000

Moderator

• “Great pitch; relevant; terrific team!
• “Theme: What has television done to our democracy?”

Decision-makers

• Tribeca: We will support. We’re looking to back Morgan as a director, and Julie as EP. Strong team! I like films that bring the past into the present
• PBS: Really struck by footage. Hope that the rest of the PBS team, can get as excited
• Independent Lens: Great project and team. Wish it was ready for 2012 election campaign.
• ITVS: Waiting for this film. Very timely.
• BBC Storyville: Relevant. Gore Vidal is great. Fantastic. Reminds me of Frost / Nixon which was a big success. Like to know how these debates anticipate the current TV climate. It was an event of the past, and shows us how TV has lost much of its power today.
• ZDF: like the project. Like to see the roots of what’s going on today
• NHK: could consider as an acquisition.
• Knowledge: How much will you go into the present to help younger audiences understand the film?
• SVT Sweden: Not sure if Swedes are fascinated by these men

Random Takeaways

• The experienced production team carries a lot of weight around the table. The bar is much, much higher for novices.
• Vidal’s The Judgment of Paris (1952) is a personal favorite novel in the ‘Young Men Hit their stride’ genre. Also my #1 Washington DC gay coming of age novel.
• Vidal created Myra Breckinridge. What is the legacy of the snarling William F Buckley?  Conservative domination coast-to-coast, I guess.

MERKATO

Sosena Soloman, US
Budget: $150,000
Confirmed: $15,000 (Kickstarter)

Filmmaker

• A doc about Addis Ababa’s vast, vibrant and ramshackle market
• She is Ethiopian: Has unique access
• Largest open air market in Africa, teeming with vulnerable people
• Captures 1 day from sunrise to dusk
• Follows several characters, ranging from an inexperienced new vendor to a 97YO vendor
• Destruction is on way — for malls and parking lots
• The coming end of Merkato creates structure for each character
• Need funding for 1 more shoot in AA

Moderator

• Sosena Soloman is a recent Ethiopian-born graduate of SVA New York who lives in Brooklyn.
• She nailed it in her debut pitch. Congrats.

Decision-makers

• ITVS: Very talented filmmaker
• POV: Like ‘a day in life of a market’ and what it means to a culture
• YLE: I like personalities and characters. Ready to know more. Like to get something from Ethiopia. But YLE Digital only has small money to contribute. Around $1,000.
• Israel: Beautifully shot. Needs to go through festival circuit first before coming on to television
• Tribeca: Very promising filmmaker. Lot of programs at Tribeca where there can be fit.
• Rai: Interested in portraits. The film needs action or tension for the characters, rather than just a description of them.
• Knowledge: Need to know that it’s more than its just a lyrical documentary
• BBC: You need to construct powerful narrative for the characters. You need to work on people stories versus ‘A ‘Day in the Life…” which has been done before

Random Takeaways

• Sosena Soloman was the youngest of the pitchers at Hot Docs – and she cut a really impressive figure as she commanded the room, seated alone at the head of the table that was at other times packed with filmmakers and their backers. Brava!!!!
• Challenge: forge the characters so that Merkato becomes more than an ethnographic film, for which there are very few slots
• What’s with all these filmmakers living in Brooklyn?

NEXT

• Final coverage from the Hot Docs Forum
• A profile of POV, a leading US documentary slot that was strongly represented at the long table in Hart Hall

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Speaking Engagements

Sunnyside of the Doc
La Rochelle (June 26-29).

Watch out for the 3D / Giant Screen panel. Is there a new model built on (1) new digital giant (but sub-IMAX) size screens plus (2) premium commissions by 3D and documentary channels? Who are the players?

Also: China’s huge documentary market: Where is it heading? What do they pay?

Westdoc
Culver City, Los Angeles (September 9-12).

Come to my workshop on the basics of the business: What do US factual channels want? How much do they pay? Who gets the work? Why? (September 9, afternoon)

• Around 25 teams each pitched their partly-financed concept to a long table of potential funders.
• ‘The money’ included the BBC’s Storyville strand, ARTE, Knowledge Canada, NHK Japan, Tribeca Film Institute, PBS’s POV strand, The New York Times’ Opinion Pages, ITVS, YLE Finland’s digital platform, and many more.

“We’re In!!”

By the end of the second pitch, I was caught up in the high stakes, and by the feeling that hundreds of producers and students would dearly like to be sitting in that room with us. I decided to take notes.

My goal?

• Capture the some of the filters and language used by the decision-makers
• Convey the kinds of qualities that earned instant financial backing for some films… Or not for others!
• Provide practical insights for future pitchers to help them plan for their Hogwarts moment at the high table

The Notes

• My iPad notes are partial. They were the best I could do.
• Apologies in advance if I didn’t quite get it right.
• I will gladly make corrections.

Photos

Karina Astrup very kindly offered to capture the scene during Day 1.

• Karina is an independent producer whose film Despite the Gods successfully premiered at Hot Docs.  She is an Oslo-based Australian.
• Many thanks, Karina!

Here are several pitches that I covered on Day 1… with my Random Takeaways.

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ZANTA

A reporter is drawn into the struggles of a widowed Tibetan hawker on Beijing’s mean streets.
Jocelyn Ford, US
Wu Hao, China
Budget: $248,000
Confirmed: $101,000

Moderator

• Underside of China / Han / Tibetan stereotypes
• Ethnic tension: can ‘feel it’
• Powerful and personal story that hinges on struggle for son’s education
• Women’s roles in traditional society

Decision-makers

• ITVS: very interested; want to see more of story arc, and of Zanta’s challenges to keep her son –
  • “What other characters you will develop?”
• Tribeca: Love the drama and emotion. Unsure of reporter’s role in story?
• Filmmaker: The reporter is in the film after Zanta asks her to go to the police station and protect her
• Story is about: ‘two women from opposing side of the world coming together for a common purpose: the welfare of a child’
• Knowledge Canada:  Likes docs where a reporter gets sucked in to stories they’re covering. Love complexity of story.  Interesting + powerful
• Basic conflict is between traditional society and modernity- between Han and Tibetans. And within the Tibetan culture.

Random Takeaways

• I’m interested in how China is portrayed in the Western media, and how China’s Documentary Channels respond to edgy films
• In this film, China was initially “bad.”  A place of dark Han racism against Tibetans.
• However, Tibetan traditional life is revealed as brutal towards widows like Zanta.
• She is ultimately somewhat liberated in Beijing in a way that she couldn’t have been in Tibet.
• Verdict from this complex, engaging pitch: China is ‘half bad’ — like most places
  

HOLY GHETTO

Sex trafficking on the seedy side of the tracks in Israel.  Russian mob. Broken women. An American evangelical gives service.
Ilan Azouli, Israel / US
Chico Colvard, US
Budget: $391,000
Confirmed: $35,000

Moderator

• Character-driven
• Draws on most basic elements of humanity and encourages viewers to reflect on their own lives

Decision-makers

• ITVS International Call: Wants to know timeline to advise producers on call dates. US citizens qualify for Open Call
• CNN, Jennifer Hyde: Overall Current Affairs remit. Heavily character-based material is our way of addressing  into a current affairs issue
• DR Denmark, Mette Hoffman:  Why ‘Holy’ in title? Title is confusing!
• Rai. Lorenzo. Strong story.
  • Choose Olga or the American ‘rescuer’ as central characters.
  • Make a choice: Either Investigation or Character.
• Knowledge Canada: Interested. Scheduling 9 films from Israel
• CBC: Catherine Olsen: Insight into Russian mafia. Hope there’s a life after sex slavery?m Hidden camera not new.

Random Takeaways

• Titles matter more than ever because viewers have so many options. They have to see it all!
  
• A Chinese producer says: “We couldn’t show this film in China. Sexuality and prostitution are taboo topics.”

LEONE STARS

Sierra Leone’s amputee football club is an inspiring legacy of a vicious civil war. The player’s ambition: Win the Amputee World Championship in Texas. ‘Dodgy business’ enters the picture as the pastors who operate the club are accused of profiting from foreign donors.
Ngardy Conteh, Canada
Allan Tong, Canada
Budget:  $374,000
Confirmed: $97,728

Pitch

• “Underdogs of the underdogs.
• “Inspirational, and with the twists and turns of a Dickens novel.
• “Civil war returns to the soccer pitch”

Decision-makers

• ITVS: interested. WIll meet later.
• POV:  Riveting. A follow up to a story we’ve done on Sierra Leone’s Civil War
• CNN: Important story to us. Make narrative clear and elegant -  hard to tell where its heading
• BBC Storyville: Very interested for This World slot
• Denmark’s DR: There are a lot of amputee team films. Make it charming and accessible. Be careful of complications of politics
• NHK: Our World Documentary channel is also a sport-themed channel.  We are looking for current affairs context on SL and Africa at the moment
• Tribeca: Personally like this pitch, but we have already funded films in this arena
• Rai: I’m confused because the focus shifts from sports to corruption. Keep focus on the characters!!
• ARTE:  Not sure.
  • Not investigative enough.
  • Falls between a personal story and a metaphor for a situation
• CBC: I like it that it’s not just another story about victims coming together. Captures politics from a new angle

Random Takeaways

• For the feature funding model to work, producers must assemble a virtual constellation of co-producers, pre-buyers and acquirers. But as the Rai, ARTE and CBS comments indicate, these potential players often have opposing viewpoints about how to tell the story. That makes funding all the more challenging, even for projects that do enjoy a positive response.
  
• Many of the channels that once funded lots of docs and specials aren’t at the table. Discovery. Nat Geo Channel. Nat Geo Television. Sundance Channel. And more.
• Read about The State of the Single Doc Economy…

SHADOW GIRL

A filmmaker loses her sight to macular degeneration. Her journey weaves between Toronto and Santiago.
Maria Teras Larrain, Canada & Chile
Lisa Valencia-Svensson, Canada
Budget: $342,000
Confirmed: $201,250

Moderator

• Point-of-view of blind gaze: creates a different way to look and see.
• Film goes beyond blindness

Decision-makers

• YLE on board, plus a Chilean fund
• YLE: she feels rather than sees. Emotional arc is so strong that you don’t need to worry so much about story. Really amazing. Super music. Needs to be a film about seeing versus blind-ness
• Rai: Like to come on board. Need to develop story
• TVO: Beautiful lyricism. Like concept of ‘blind gaze’
• Tribeca: Beautiful piece. Want to help you figure out how to make financing work. Concerned  about how to bring the stories together into a 3-act narrative
• POV: Applaud your courage!

Random Takeaway

• Won a big vote from the Hot Docs audience for a pitch that captures a filmmaker’s tremendous personal courage!

112 WEDDINGS

Documentary filmmaker Doug Block visits couples whose weddings he had once filmed as their professional wedding videographer.
Doug Block, Brooklyn
Lori Cheatle, US
Budget: $561,000
Confirmed: $315,000

• HBO is on board
• Tribeca is a big fan. Fun. Enlightening. “I was suffering from compassion fatigue after a run of social issue films”
• Submarine: Looking for theatrical films. Needs a theatrical window, which is sometimes a Question with HBO. Has humor. Relatable. Has international potential as a big theatrical doc. Can be a phenomenon!
• BBC. “Don’t be a self-indulgent NY filmmaker”
• New York Times Opinion Page. Could be a video counterpoint to our weekly profiles of weddings. What is the Takeaway?
• Knowledge: people love films about love
• CBC. Unpredictability is wonderful. Want to be part of this film’s success.
• NHK: needs hour.
• Filmmakers plan both a theatrical and broadcast hour

Random Takeaways

• Doug Block is an established documentarian who has enjoyed the backing of HBO, POV and others.
• Commissioners and funders are drawn to successful people.
• They are wary of the risk and additional workload involved in developing novices.
• Doug is a big promoter of his own work. He gets lots of press. That is very attractive for funders who are always desperately short of marketing resources.
• His presentation is very relaxed and engaging.
  • The commissioners can be put off by a hard sell.
  • Don’t miss Doug’s blog The D-Word

HUMANIA
A young Swedish doctor leaves the comfort of her family and professional life in Stockholm. She finds happiness as a flying doctor in the Central African Republic (CAR).
Frida Kempff, Sweden
David Herdies, Sweden
Budget: $501,000
Confirmed: $101,000

• ARTE: We have a slot for intimate stories related to society issues. Very interesting. Very talented
• Rai: Like it… strong character… touching. Issue is ‘how to make a doc about a question?’ Needs more than just her personal story.
• ZDF: maybe too somber
• NHK: universal story that might work for Japanese audiences. Need characters in CAR.
• (Filmmaker: Yes. Her family, colleagues and patients in Sweden and CAR are strongly-drawn characters.)
• TVO: strong character at a crossroads works for us. Need to strengthen secondary characters.
• SVT: We will back it.
• Knowledge. It’s hard to find young people who will give access to their thoughts about the meaning of their lives. Very much like that quality in this film.
• POV:  familiar story. May acquire it, but only if it is truly extraordinary.
• ITVS: The doctor lost her sister to cancer, and that adds a psychological aspect to her story and to her relationship with the mother who she leaves behind

Random Takeaways

• The Americans are largely silent on this one. Foreign locations. Africa. Subtitles. All negatives despite an inspirational life story.
• I saw the pitch through the eyes of my 17YO daughter and her friends! I wished they were in the room.

Next

• More coverage from the Hot Docs Forum
• A profile of POV, a leading US documentary slot

Speaking Engagements

• Sunnyside of the Doc, La Rochelle (June 26-29). Watch out for the 3D / Giant Screen panel. Is there a new model built on (1) new digital giant (but sub-IMAX) size screens plus (2) premium commissions by 3D and documentary channels? Who are the players?
• Westdoc, Culver City, Los Angeles (September 9-12). Come to my workshop on the basics of the business: What do US factual channels want? How much do they pay? Who gets the work? Why? (September 9, afternoon)

• Network distribution.
• TV Viewing.

This week:

• What is the data?
• And what might it mean for the factual sector?

1. DISTRIBUTION

Following is a selection of 48 channels that offer factual programs.

The data is from a Nielsen estimate of US households that received these channels in May 2012 versus May 2011 (‘000)

Takeaways

• Nielsen’s total US Cable/Dish universe is 103,954,000 homes, down -1,186,000 (-1.1%).
• Even industry-leading factual brands are showing losses from cord-cutting. Examples:
  • Discovery,  A+E and MTV lost -1.1%
  • History and TLC are -0.9%

• Some digi-nets and channels with ‘intermediate-level’ distribution recorded big gains. Examples:
  • Ovation (18.2%)
  • Nat Geo gained more than 12 million viewers and Wild 3.5 million
  • Discovery’s digi-nets Velocity (11.4%) and Science (11.2%)

• Overall, our big bucket of factual channels defied the trend.
  • Our 48-channels grew 2.3%
  • That’s a delta of 4% against Nielsen’s cable channel universe!

• The biggest losers were movie channels like Starz (-22.1%) and Encore (-9.3%)
  • They are being hammered by online players like Netflix
• Factual’s share of the overall programming mix is on the increase
  • There is a shift away from costly drama and TV entertainment to reality
  • Scripted channels like TNT, USA, AMC and FX are adding reality shows
  • They all want their Eureka moment in the reality goldfield!

• For producers:
  • The relatively stable distribution outlook for factual channels – PLUS more slots to fill – means expanding demand for programming
  • Talent-based prodco’s are the big winners
  • Don’t expect creators of single docs and content-driven specials to grab much of the wealth
• For programming execs:
  • Fully-distributed channels can expand their audiences only by winning viewers from the competition
  • That means JOB PRESSURE!
  • Expect a shorter stay in the executive chair before the boss presses the ejector button
  • Mid-size and digi-net programmers may count on their expanding footprints to raise viewing levels and therefore provide better job stability

2. TV VIEWING: WALL ST. SENDS A MESSAGE

Citibank’s Equities research unit caused quite a stir when it recently downgraded the outlook for cable programmers.

What was it that captured Citi’s attention?

• Nielsen’s ’Traditional TV Usage’ report found a marked decline in overall TV viewing for Total Day TV for March 2012 versus 2011.

Findings

• Usage was down 2% among Total Persons
  • Prime was down just 1%
• Kids, Teens and Young Adults were down 5% Y-O-Y
  • Declines among 25+ was just 1%
• Kids and Teens were down the most across all Ethnic breaks
  • Young Latino’s showed the largest decline of any group

Takeaways

• Nielsen has launched a flurry of studies to figure out what’s going on. Explanations include:
  • An unusually warm winter
  • Cord cutting due to economic hardship
  • Flawed research methodologies
• But followers of Teens and Twenties have another gut explanation:
  • Under 25’s just aren’t as engaged with traditional TV as they were!
  • They’re moving over to Online and App-based content that traditional players have been slow to embrace
• Here’s an additional, shocking data point:
  • Nickelodeon has lost 25% of its Kids 2-11 audience this year!!
• “Think Global. Act Local”
  • The US industry is mature:  Its business model is threatened and the audience is ageing
  • Senior managers everywhere will be pressed by falling valuations to reduce domestic headcounts and overheads
  • BUT there is still lots of growth potential outside North America
  • Watch international players like A+E, Discovery, Scripps and the beleaguered News Corp / Fox. They are likely to double down on their global programming initiatives to bolster their regional brands and sustain overall corporate growth
  • Disclosure: I worked as lead consultant on business plans for Discovery International, (including Discovery Europe, Germany, Middle East, Asia and Australia) as well as for Scripps, Travel (Travel UK was recently acquired by Scripps for $100 million), and others.

Next: Takeaways from Hot Docs and the engaging Hot Docs Forum

Photo:  Karina Astrup, an independent producer
whose film Despite the Gods enjoyed a crowd-pleasing premiere at Hot Docs.

This week: Sources outside North America

By Bruni Burres

Select International Documentary Funds

Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation

• To date, Britdoc grants have enabled over 60 influential documentary films to be made –including To Hell and Back Again.
• But Britdoc work only begins with documentary development and production grants, Britdoc also trains, informs, and assists in developing and executive outreach (alternative distribution) documentary film campaigns too.
• UK Broadcaster, Channel 4 is Britdoc’s founding partner.
• Channel 4 has an option to broadcast any of the Foundation funded films from our UK production fund that can work for their audiences.
• They view the films once completed and through this mechanism many of our films have been shown on Channel 4 or More4.
• http://www.britdoc.org

The Bertha BRITDOC Documentary Journalism Fund

• This is a new global fund awarding £10,000-50,000 to documentary filmmakers from any country as a mixture of grants and investments.
• The fund supports projects at the intersection of film and investigative journalism that break the important stories of our time, expose injustice, and bring attention to unreported issues, and cameras into regions previously unseen.
• http://britdoc.org/real_funds/documentary_journalism_fund/

Britdoc Puma.Creative Grants, 5,000 Euros

• The BRITDOC Foundation and PUMA.Creative Grant.
• We’ve created a series of awards providing financial support, creative counsel and industry recognition to international documentary filmmakers, whose creative storytelling highlights social justice, peace or environmental issues.
• 6 Britdoc/PumaCreative awards in total.
• http://puma.britdoc.org/pages/681/view

Jan Vrijman Fund at IDFA (International Documentary Films Amsterdam

• IDFA’s Jan Vrijman Fund supports documentary filmmakers and festivals in developing countries.
• Its goal is to stimulate local film cultures and to turn the creative documentary into a truly global film art.
• http://www.idfa.nl/industry/markets-funding/vrijman-fund.aspx

World Cinema Fund

• The World Cinema Fund works to develop and support cinema in regions with a weak film infrastructure, while fostering cultural diversity in German cinemas.
• It is an association of the Federal Foundation for Culture and in cooperation with the Goethe Institut, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Deutsche Welle / DW Academy, the Foreign Ministry and German producers.
• The World Cinema Fund supports films that could not be made without additional funding: films that stand out with an unconventional aesthetic approach, that tell powerful stories and transmit an authentic image of their cultural roots.
• The World Cinema Fund has an annual budget of approximately 400,000 EUR and supports exclusively the production and distribution of feature films and feature-length documentaries.
• The support is focused on the following regions: Latin America, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the Caucasus.
• http://www.berlinale.de/en/branche/world_cinema_fund/richtlinien_formulare/index.htm

International Documentary Photography Fund:

The Open Society Institute (OSI) of Documentary Photography Fund

• The Documentary Photography Project uses exhibits, workshops, grant-making, and public programs to explore how photography can shape public perception and effect social change.
• The project supports photographers whose work addresses social justice and human rights issues that coincide with OSI’s mission of promoting and expanding open society.
• The project’s longest-running activity is Moving Walls, a group photography exhibition series that features in-depth and nuanced explorations of human rights and social issues. Moving Walls is shown at OSI offices in New York City and Washington, D.C.
• In addition to organizing Moving Walls, the project’s recent activities and grant-making have included an international tour of past Moving Walls photographers in the Middle East and North Africa that included exhibits and trainings for local photographers and young people.
• http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/about

The Open Society Documentary Photography Project Audience Engagement Grant

• Supports alternative models for presenting and disseminating documentary photography to the public.
• The Audience Engagement Grant (formerly called the Distribution Grant) supports photographers to take an existing body of work on a social justice or human rights issue and devise an innovative way of using that work as a catalyst for social change.
• http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/focus_areas/engagement

Outreach & Engagement Initiatives and Grants

Good Pitch

• A partnership between The Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.
• The Good Pitch brings together filmmakers with NGOs, foundations, philanthropists, brands and media around leading social issues – to forge coalitions and campaigns that are good for all these partners, good for the films and good for society.
• At each Good Pitch event, 6 to 8 filmmaking teams pitch their film and associated outreach campaign to the assembled audience with the aim of creating a unique coalition around each film to maximize its impact and influence.
• http://britdoc.org/real_good/pitch/

The Fledgling Fund

• The Fledgling Fund seeks to improve the lives of vulnerable individuals, families, and communities by supporting innovative media projects that target entrenched social problems.
• With approximately $1.5 million in funding disbursed annually, The Fledgling Fund makes strategic grants and investments that help fledgling projects take flight.
• They look for opportunities where their funding can play a key role in the life of a creative media project and potentially ignite social change.
• Typically, these are grants at a critical stage of a media project where timely funding could amplify its social impact.
• The Fledgling Fund leverages its resources by funding projects around a cluster of issues that they believe are critical including: girls’ empowerment and women’s leadership, health and wellness, and systemic poverty, among others.
• In this way we can select media projects that not only highlight the complexity of these social problems but also offer solutions.
• When possible The Fledgling Fund uses a three-pronged approach that includes funding for an innovative film or media project, funding for a strategic outreach and audience engagement campaign, as well as financial support for the community- based organizations that are committed to the issues raised in the film.
• http://www.thefledglingfund.org

Previous Post

• Funding sources in North America

Coming

• An update on our 2-part post on the PBS flagship slot, POV
• Don’t miss our detailed coverage of Independent Lens “Nearly $2.5 Million for Indie Docs. How Many? How to Get It?”
• And watch out for future posts on additional funding sources for docs. Please send us any information about funding initiatives that you recommend to our readers.

About Bruni Burres

Bruni Burres has been working at the intersection between human rights and arts and culture as a curator, producer and consultant for the past 20 years, including serving as the co-founder and director of the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.

Hot Docs Forum…

The Hot Docs Forum ended an hour or so ago with a sunny award ceremony outside Toronto’s Hogwarts-style Hart Hall.

• Coming soon, our notes and Takeaways from 2 intense days of pitches
• Plus, our conversations about ‘the state of the single doc economy’.

This week: North America.

By Bruni Burres

North American Documentary Film Funds

Cinereach

• Cinereach supports feature-length nonfiction and fiction films that are at the intersection of engaging storytelling, visual artistry, and vital subject matter.
• Grant amounts can range from $5,000 – $50,000 per project.
• They can be awarded to support any stage of production, including research and development, production and post-production.
• There are two grant cycles per year: Summer and Winter.
  • Within each cycle, 5-15 projects are selected to receive support.
• Cinereach requests a Letter of Inquiry before you submit your proposal and official application.
• (http://www.cinereach.org/)

Chicken and Egg

• Chicken & Egg Pictures is a hybrid film fund and non-profit production company.
• It is dedicated to supporting women filmmakers who are as passionate about the craft of storytelling as they are about the social justice, environmental and human rights issues they’re embracing, translating and exploring on film.
• Chicken & Egg Pictures match strategically timed financial support with rigorous, respectful and dynamic mentorship, creative collaboration and community-building to nurture women film makers whose diverse voices represent a range of lived experience and realities that that have the power to change the world as we know it.
• For next application deadline, check their website (April, 2012).
• www.chickeneggpics.org/

Ford Foundation Just Films Initiative

• The goal of this new initiative is to advance social justice worldwide through the talent of emerging and established filmmakers.
• http://www.fordfoundation.org/issues/freedom-of-expression/justfilms

Impact Partners
Not a Documentary Fund, Equity Investors

• The goal of Impact Partners is to bring together the two groups that make these films possible: filmmakers and film investors/philanthropists.
• For investors, our goal is to provide the opportunity to participate in financing great documentaries and independent films, and the structure to do so in a fiscally responsible and profitable way.
• For filmmakers, our goal is to provide both financing and guidance.
• We provide the resources to get films made, the mentorship to make films the best they can be, and the strategic support to achieve the widest possible audience for each film.
• However, Impact Partners is an equity investment, not a grant.
• The filmmakers must re-pay all Impact Partners investment eventually.(http://www.impactpartnersfilm.com/)

ITVS International Call

• There is one International Call funding round per year.
• Applicants may apply for only one project per call.
• The entire proposal review process can take up to five months.
• Only one to two percent of International Call applicants will receive funding.
• International Call is not a grant; ITVS International provides a co-production investment in the program.
• Single programs of standard broadcast length (one-hour).
• In rare cases, when a filmmaker’s skills, subject, and story structure warrant it, ITVS will consider programs at feature lengths.
• Works-in-progress, i.e. projects that have already begun production Programs that can be completed within one year of contract.
• Co-production projects with either international broadcast partner(s) or co-productions with producers from different countries.
• See DocumentaryTelevision.com’s coverage of the ITVS strand Independent Lens
• (http://itvs.org/funding/international)

The Nathan Cummings Foundations Arts and Culture Program

• Supports artistic practices, programs and policies that encourage cross-cultural and multidisciplinary collaborations inside the US.
• Gives voice to the issues and experiences of underrepresented communities, in order to build a stronger society.
• (http://www.nathancummings.org/programs/000016.html)

Sundance Documentary Program and Fund

• The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program (DFP) is dedicated to supporting contemporary-issue nonfiction filmmakers worldwide in the production of cinematic documentaries with human rights themes.
• Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, which grants $1-2 million per year
• Creative Documentary Labs with seasoned Creative Advisors, held at the Sundance Resort every summer
• Work-in-progress screenings held at museums, film festivals, and cultural institutions globally
• Documentary filmmaker and field support at the Sundance Film Festival
• Creative and strategic partnerships to amplify the use of film around key global challenges.

Sundance Documentary Creative Documentary Labs

• Each summer, the DFP holds three invitation-only Laboratories at the Sundance Resort in Utah: a weeklong Documentary Edit and Story Lab, the Documentary + Composers Lab, and the Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab.
• World-class directors, editors, and producers work with projects at each Lab to bring the projects to a new level of excellence in nonfiction storytelling.
• Past participants included: Ra’anan Alexandrowicz, The Inner Tour.

Sundance Documentary Audience Engagement Grants

• The Documentary Audience Engagement Grants are designed to support creative engagement campaigns using film as a tool to raise awareness and create impact.
• Grants support campaigns that activate audiences and stakeholders around the film toward a specific goal.
• Competitive projects will go beyond marketing and distribution to initiate engagement with the issues explored in the film and activates participants around the campaign goals.
• (http://www.sundance.org/programs/documentary-fund/)

Tribeca Institute Funds and Initiatives:

Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund provides funding to feature-length documentaries that highlight and humanize issues of social importance from around the world.

• His year’s deadline was March 6, 2012
• (http://www.tribecafilminstitute.org/filmmakers/gucci_documentary/rules/)

Tribeca Film Institute New Media Fund provides funding and support to non-fiction, social issue film projects which go beyond traditional screens – integrating film with content across media platforms, from video games and mobile apps to social networks and interactive websites.

• “We’re looking for projects that activate audiences around issues of contemporary social justice and equality around the world and demonstrate the power of cross-platform storytelling and dynamic audience engagement.”
• (http://www.tribecafilminstitute.org/filmmakers/newmedia/)

Tribeca All Access seeks feature-length narrative and documentary submissions from established and emerging filmmakers whose team includes a director or screenwriter from a community that is traditionally under-represented in the film industry.

• Projects may be in any stage of development, from treatment/screenplay to post-production. Projects of any genre and or budget range are welcome to apply.
• In addition to a grant of $10,000, grantees work closely with TFI and develop professional relationships throughout the film industry via networking opportunities that include one-one-one industry meetings, panels, workshops and other events during the Tribeca Film Festival.
• Year-round, All Access also provides customized support to advance projects through completion.
• Submissions will be open through mid-October.
• http://www.tribecafilminstitute.org/filmmakers/taa/rules/

Next

• Bruni’s selection of funds from outside North America
• And an update on our 2-part post on the PBS flagship slot POV
• Don’t miss our detailed coverage of Independent Lens Nearly $2.5 Million for Indie Docs. How Many? How to Get It?

Photo, Mike Lee, Bang Productions / Asia Side of the Doc, Tokyo

About Bruni Burres

Bruni Burres has been working at the intersection between human rights and arts and culture as a curator, producer and consultant for the past 20 years, including serving as the co-founder and director of the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.

Current clients include the Sundance Documentary Film Program, and the Open Society Foundations.

• Bruni’s main role with the Sundance Documentary Film Program is to expand the roster of filmmakers working with the program and broaden the human rights themes that the program explores.
• At the Open Society Foundation Bruni consults with arts initiatives in the USA and Central Asia.
• In tandem with her work at the International Center for Transitional Justice, she produced the feature length documentary, La Toma (The Siege), which explores the lasting cultural and political impact of the 1985 siege of the Palace of Justice in Colombia.

Luo Ming, CCTV’s VP for economic affairs captured China’s strategy when he was reported saying:

• “Size is important at MIPTV.
• “And the higher the profile of Chinese content in general, the more interest there is in all our shows.”

Contributing to China’s giant profile, we were treated to:

• A splendid luncheon for MIPDoc attendees that was hosted by CCTV Documentary Channel
• An ever-expanding China United Pavilion that showcased production companies, regional broadcasters, distributors and more
• A  workshop on producing Chinese content for the international market that was presented by the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT)
• Numerous panels that featured Chinese participants, demonstrating how their industry is fluently integrated into the global content economy
• And a team of crack martial arts performers who entertained delegates at events as well as on the grounds of the Palais.

What did we learn? And what were the Takeaways?

About CCTV

• CCTV is a public television behemoth
• It serves a market of 1 billion people
• Operates 29 free-to-air and 17 pay channels
• And recently launched a domestic 3D channel
• CCTV offers international channels in Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic

CCTV News

• Produces 600-800 news packages daily
• Has ‘capabilities’ in 31 provinces  / 70 countries
• Washington (100+/- staff) and Kenya (70+) are the largest bureaux

China’s Documentary Policy

• In December 2010, China’s media regulator (SARFT) demanded the reversal of the 1:15+ ratio of domestic to foreign broadcast docs
  • China’s doc production was reported at 5,094 hours in 2010
  • Of these, most were local and low quality, as indicated by the stat that only 155 shows were sold outside China in 2010
• CCTV Documentary Channel is SARFT’s principal instrument to execute this strategy
• In 2011, China’s senior-level leadership cracked down on an ‘out-of-control’ reality TV sector
• As a counter-weight, they upped their support for docs
• (See our coverage here: China Rips Reality TV. Docs on the Rise!)

CCTV DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL

• Launched on 1/1/11
• Dual Chinese- and English-language services
• Fastest growing CCTV channel

Viewing

• 660 million domestic viewers
•  ‘Average daily audience is 63 million’
• ‘Highest daily audience number exceeded 94 million’
• Well-educated and influential viewers
• Advertising income, 2011: $32 million

Acquisitions

• Mainly ‘traditional, classic’ docs.
  • The focus is on the untold stories of Chinese history
  • And Natural History and Destination-based programs that show China in a positive light
  • ‘Avoid Politics and Religion. And History is tricky.’
• 2011: 169 titles and 579 hours were acquired from outside China
• Suppliers are mainly global industry leaders from US and UK
• They include: BBC, NGC, Discovery, ITV and Disney Nature
• From other countries: France Televisions, ZDF, NHK, Arte, ABC Australia, ORF Austria, Channel 1 Russia and others.

Co-productions

• Projects greenlit in 2012: 7
• Partners include: Nat Geo Channel, BBC, ITV, Kwanza (France), NHK and KBS Korea
• CCTV Investment ‘per project’:
  • Sweet Spot: $660,000
  • Signature: $1.25 – $2.5 million

Co-pro Partner Criteria

• Doc Channel MD Liu Wen says that his team wants to work with companies that have:
  • ‘Abundant resources and rich experience in every field’
  • Or ‘who specialize in a particular field, such as underwater filming…’

China’s Domestic Factual Pipeline

• Still dominated by in-house production from regional stations
• Independent production companies are participating at the higher end

TAKEAWAYS

1. I was a guest speaker in what was billed as ‘China’s first documentary conference’ in Beijing around 1998. Beijing TV Networks may have been the host.

• There were virtually no Chinese doc producers in attendance, and it was said that there were none outside Beijing.
• The contrast today is staggering!

2. The remarkable growth of China’s vast economy is the driver behind CCTV’s ability to dominate MIPTV only a year after the launch of its Doc Channel.  For a reminder about the economic context, check out a chart that caught my eye in The American Conservative magazine.

3. Expect even higher profiles at future markets and congresses s as China creates more wealth and more leisure time that will free up more consumers to enjoy media.

• CCTV will inevitably expand its solo Doc Channel to a suite of Factual Entertainment channels. These networks will also commission and distribute programs that will find international markets.
• In the short term, Western channels and producers can expect to participate in what is still a thin, partly-formed and politically-mandated market.
• But based on decades of futile attempts by international media players to gain a lucrative foothold in China, they can forget about earning equity in large-scale Chinese prodco’s and channels.
• As we reported from ASD Tokyo, producers who are setting up shop in China are prepared to be patient.
• We continue to hear of profitable niches in brokering sponsorships, product placement and other spots along the value chain.

4. Ironically, China’s exploding demand for content-driven ‘classic’ docs comes at a time when US and many other Western channels are shifting towards factual entertainment.

• China’s emergence as a copro partner may bolster the economics of the remaining Blue Chip doc slots in North America and Europe by replacing the evaporating contributions from those regions
• But only for highly selective topics that fit China’s top-down documentary policy.

France Television’s Ann Julienne and NHK’s Sayumi Hori.

Last week’s Asia Side of the Doc was a memorable event.

• Senior-level decision-makers attended.
• There were lots of involved delegates from across the region.
• The backdrop was a huge city that is still reeling from last year’s catastrophes.

Here are my “Big Five” Takeaways:

1.Tohoku Pitch

• The “Tohoku Pitch” was a day of doc pitches by producers from the region that was hit hardest by the tsunami.
• Story after story addressed devastating loss and the will to recover.
• I recalled over and over again the suffering of our Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood after 9/11 – struck that Japan’s catastrophe was of a much larger scale.
• We were all pleased to see that several of pitches appealed to France Televisions, Germany’s Autentic and others.

2. Japan’s Insularity

• We heard that the 1-2-3 hit of earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima has challenged Japan’s decades-long inward trend.
• Networks, stations and producers all said that they are eager to find new ways of telling stories.
• They are open to new production models and new partners.

3. NHK / France Televisions

• Two distant public broadcasters have committed themselves to a long-term copro relationship.
• The Case Studies that they presented were fascinating. Congrats!!

4. Asia is Thriving!

• The 2011 boom in the Asian TV market continues.
• Western players like Discovery, Nat Geo, A+E and the BBC are expanding their footprints.
• Some are replacing their pan-regional feeds with local channels that target newly viable markets.
  • Taiwan is a good example.
  • This creates opportunities for local Taiwanese producers
  • But budgets are very slim!
  • At the same time, regional and local players are looking across their borders while attempting to fill any vacant niches for channels.
• I was forcefully reminded that ‘Asia’ is a vast region that is deeply divided by language, culture, economic development, regulation, creative tastes and much, much more.
• The channels that are succeeding – like Discovery and Nat Geo – are pursuing a ‘guerrilla’ model that is dedicated to racking up small victories in distribution and programming.  (Admission: I worked on the pre-launch business plan for Discovery Asia.)
• The frontal assault of the North American multichannel model doesn’t work!

5. China: “Watch out for the hype!”

• 2011 was touted as the ‘The Year of the Documentary’
  • But China is still an emerging television market.
  • There is a thin but expanding cadre of experienced and talented doc producers.
  • They are centered on CCTV and the doc channels offered by regional governments.
• The Online channel universe feels like a chaotic free-for-all.
• A Westerner who is committed to factual co-production in China said, “We’re patiently waiting for the right project.  And we turn down a lot of the wrong ones. We’re prepared for a long wait.”

Memorable!

• Congrats to Keiko Bang and Yves Jeanneau who are the organizers of ASD, their teams, hosts and sponsors.
• It was a very special honor to participate in the “Year of the Tohoku Pitch.”
• Photos: Mike Lee, Bang Productions Seoul.

“NHK develops a $100K space camera for a US$6.5 million copro that covers the Cosmic Shore.”

Astronaut / camera operator Satoshi Furukawa

We continue our case studies of producers and their projects – this time with a true signature project that originated in Tokyo.

NHK

• NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is Japan’s public broadcaster, and enjoys a reputation for impartial, high-quality programming.
• Funding is entirely by license fees from Japanese households.
• NHK reaches about 50 million households through its four nationwide TV channels:
  • Terrestrial (2)
  • Satellite (2)
• A large staff of directors, producers, and engineers enables NHK to make programs in almost every genre.
• The production departments are Drama, Music, Science, Cultural Programs (History), Education, Lifestyle and Economy, News and Current Affairs.
• NHK is known for its use of cutting-edge shooting technologies to produce high-quality programs.

NHK Science

The Science department enjoys a 40+ year history

• “We produce more than 800 science-related programs (episodes) each year.”
•  “All together, as NHK group, we have about 90 directors/producers.”

Following is the break-down of NHK’s 90 directors/producers:

• “Our Science Programs Division has 47 producers/directors.  They produce variety of programs on science, technology, medicine, space, and so on.
• “NHK Enterprises, NHK’s commercial production arm, holds the Natural History Department with 20 directors/producers. They work mainly on nature and wildlife programs.
• “NHK Educational, the other NHK commercial production arm, has 20 directors/producers. They work on science-related educational programs.

COSMIC SHORE

Background

• NHK Science has enjoyed a 30-year history working with JAXA, Japan’s Space agency as well as NASA
• The partnership produced a stream of blue chip Space-related programs

Moon

• Moon (2008) was the most recent production created from this partnership.
• “Our mission was to capture the surface of the Moon and Earthrise over the horizon of the Moon.”
• 1 hour
• Estimated budget: $450,000
• Copro partners (49’ versions):
  • France Televisions
  • Discovery Canada
  • Nat Geo US
• According to Shin Yasuda, “Moon was a huge success for us. The ratings were exceptional, and the footage traveled around the globe.  It was a proud moment for NHK.”

NHK Technology Lab

• Leadership in television-related technology R&D matters to NHK
  • It is a part of NHK’s mission, and a matter of great institutional pride
• The Lab has been a pioneer in HD, camera optics, Super-HD, and many other fields
• There has been a continuous collaboration between the Technology Lab and  the Science Unit
  •  Joint meetings are held regularly to explore opportunities.

Cosmic Challenge

• NHK’s Science Unit producers developed a vision for a series about the border zone between Earth and Space.
• They asked the Lab to come up with new ways to realize it.
• The platform: the International Space Station (ISS)
• The challenge: to develop the technology that would tell a new kind of Space story.

Content

The NHK has focused mainly on 3 optical phenomena that occur in the earth-space boundary zone

• Sprite – mysterious bursts of light that travel upwards from active storm clouds: they carry powerful electricity from Earth into the upper atmosphere, and are thought to be linked to our weather
• Meteors
• Aurora

Format

• 3 x 1 hours
• HD

Camera

• “Our super-sensitivity HDTV (SS-HDTV) camera is designed to be used by astronauts and can withstand higher levels of radiation in space.”
• “It took 3 years to develop the camera, but that’s only part of the story because it grew out of a 10-year relationship with JAXSA.”
• Shin Yasuda says “It is difficult to put a price tag on the camera, but our engineers estimate US$100,000.”

Budget

• Total Budget of Cosmic Shore (3 episodes) is US $6.5 million +/-.

Production Team

• 1 Series Producer
• 3 Senior Producers
• 3 Directors
• Assistant Directors
• 3 Editors

Development & Planning Phase

• Including camera: 3 years

Capture

• The Japanese astronaut, Satoshi Furukawa was trained in camera operation before blasting off to the ISS.
• He received regular feedback after footage was returned from the ISS, and this improved the quality of the footage.
• Total footage: over 50 hours.

Post

• Shot selection and editing was continuous after footage began to be returned from the ISS

Kick off

• A LIVE kick-off Cosmic Shore event was broadcast on primetime on Sunday, September 18, 2011.
• During four 10-minute link-ups between the ISS and NHK, Furukawa transmitted images back to Earth for broadcast.
• According to Shin Yasuda, “The LIVE program reached an amazing 12% nationwide, which is almost double our usual ratings.”

Audience / Schedule

• Cosmic Shore begins airing in April, 2012
• The NHK flagship weekend doc slot airs around 80 shows / year
• A more technical/educational version will be distributed on NHK’s satellite channel

Read more…

• Barry Walsh covers Cosmic Shore in Real Screen.
• For more information, refer to NHK’s Annual Report

Here are three highlights:

• A&E swoops into the #1 spot on our list of Factual channels that gained average prime time viewers (+192,000).
• Food (+106,000) and VH1 (+97,000) are on a roll.
• Discovery Networks’ ID is up 90,000.

METHODOLOGY

Our bucket of channels is not apples-to-apples:

• It includes channels that are dedicated to non-scripted, for example Nat Geo and Discovery.
• And others like A&E and MTV that include Scripted in the mix.
• Some channels that schedule Factual are unrated, or were not rated last year.

Our quarterly, high-level snapshot is prepared with the assistance of John Morse, president of research firm Byron Media.

DOCUMENTARYTELEVISION.COM CHART:  WHO’S HOT? WHO’S NOT!

U.S. Factual Channels
Average Quarterly Prime Time Audience, 4Q’11 versus 4Q’10
(‘000)

Quantity Not Quality

• Most ad-supported channels sell media based on their target demos.
• And networks rate their performance (and those of their managers) quarter-to-quarter rather than year-to-year.
• Nevertheless, our measure of the quarterly ‘average prime time’ audience is a useful tool for gauging relative scale of viewing and trends.

HIGHLIGHTS

Largest audience in our sample (‘000)

• History (1,237), A&E (1,178), SYFY (964), Discovery (954), Food (925)
• Discovery and Food replaced HGTV and MTV in our Top 5

Growth (%)

• Top 5: Nat Geo Wild (43% – reflecting solid sub growth), VH1 (28%), ID (marching on at 25%), A&E (19% – Whew! It’s hot!) and Discovery (17% – the squadron leader turns around)
• Audience losers were Spike (-16%), Travel (-13%), TLC (-9%), Oxygen (-9%), We (-7%)

The Factual Tide Keeps Rising

• The broad Unscripted category continues to grow at the expense of Scripted, News and other categories.
• The year-to-year increase for DocumentaryTelevision.com’s bucket of Basic factual channels was a steady 4%.

OTHERS

Here are 4Q’11 prime time averages for a selection of channels…

Coming Soon

• Top Non-fiction series in 2011
• Cosmic Shore: A Blue Chip Science production from Japan’s NHK
• And more…

———————-

Speaking Engagements

Asian Side of the Doc
Tokyo, March 19-22
Pitfalls and Challenges of International Copro’s
Workshops

MIPDoc
Cannes, March 30
Panel: How to Get the Funds

Don’t miss Hot Docs in the Big TO
April 26 – May 6…

• “The cable network giant’s total funding to the joint venture channel with Oprah Winfrey now stands at $312 million and counting.”
• The previous estimated loss was $189 million.
• Operating breakeven is not on the horizon.

• OWN’s average audience is less than the ‘under-performing’ Discovery Health network it replaced.
• OWN’s average 4Q’11 primetime audience was down 9,000 viewers or 5% versus Health’s final 4Q’10.
• And Health was kept alive on a drip feed of stale library product during the wait for OWN’s numerically auspicious 1/1/11 launch.

• A25-54 (-7%)
• A18-49 (-13%)
• OWN’s audience aged from 48-52
• OWN underperformed Health in around 14 of 21 Prime hours.

• Their big hope is for a breakout hit like Queer Eye that transformed Bravo back in 2003.
• But that’s a much bigger challenge a decade later when scores of channels are competing for slivers of the same mature audience.
• OWN’s best result would be to make a few more advances along the lines of Sweetie Pies.

• America with Lisa Ling showed early promise.
• But was swamped by the U.S. audience’s appetite for character-driven versus topic-driven entertainment.
• Coming from her world of the topic-driven, syndicated daily talk show, Oprah Winfrey has not yet adjusted to the character-driven programming model of the 24×7 cable channel.

Coming Next

• Who’s Hot? Who’s Not? U.S. factual networks in 4Q 2011 versus 4Q 2010
• Top non-fiction series in 2010
• NHK’s Cosmic Shore: A Blue Chip Science Case Study…

———————-

Speaking Engagements

Asian Side of the Doc
Tokyo, March 19-22
Pitfalls and Challenges of International Copro’s
Workshops

MIPDoc
Cannes, March 30
Panel: How to Get the Funds

And Hot Docs is coming up in the Big TO
April 26 – May 6…