THE CLEANERS ticked all the boxes. Despite Sundance selection and sales to prestigious broadcasters worldwide, the producers are digging out from a deep deficit. The business model for investigative documentaries has always been risky. It is now under siege… and needs new solutions. That’s the message presented by Christian Beetz, co-CEO of Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion …
NATIVE AMERICA is a premium PBS series that explores the world created by America’s first peoples. It describes their foundational belief systems that synthesize science and spirituality. The 4-part series captures the incredible diversity of the expressions of these beliefs across North, Central and South America. Providence Pictures’ President and Executive Producer/Director, Gary Glassman is …
Welcome to the first of my podcasts on the business of the unscripted business. The topic: Barack and Michelle Obama have formed a production company with Netflix‘s backing. The definition of “A-Lister” will never be quite the same when it comes to pitching. What does it mean for producers that the competitive bar to earn your buyers’ …
What caught my attention at MIPDoc and MIPTV this year? Lots of producers and network executives called to ask. They are curious because their business models and career options are becoming more unsettled by the rise of Netflix and online video distribution platforms. Here are my Takeaways from Cannes (#1-5): 1. What You Know. And …
At the invitation-only MIPDoc Co-production Summit, Woodcut Media‘s Kate Beal explored the three big ideas that are guiding her company’s successful strategy. Kate kindly shared her presentation with my readers. by Kate Beal. We started out as a small UK-based Indie, and thankfully have been growing steadily over the past three and a half years. I’ve been asked …
Une co-production à 1,5 million d’Euros entre la NHK, le diffuseur publique japonais et le français Gédéon Programmes a été un grand succès au MIPDoc 2018. La série : LE JAPON VU DU CIEL. Les producteurs exécutifs Shin Yasuda et Nicolas Deschamps ont partagé leur processus de co-production lors de mon panel juste après l’avant-première mondiale. …
A 1.5 million Euros co-production between Japan’s public broadcaster NHK and France’s Gedeon Programmes was a highlight of MIPDoc 2018. The series: JAPAN FROM ABOVE. Executive Producers Shin Yasuda and Nicolas Deschamps shared their co-production process in my panel after the World-premiere screening. We expanded the key points into an informative Case Study covering a …
To mark today’s 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, I have republished our coverage of the Peabody Award-winning documentary “MLK: The Assassination Tapes.” Originally published July 1, 2013. David Royle, EVP Programming & Production, Smithsonian Networks, and Tom Jennings, Executive Producer & Founder, 1895 Films explored the development and commissioning of their multiple-award-winning documentary at MIPDoc 2013. …