Today’s announcement of the production wrap of the superb OSPREY (w/t) special is particular thrill. I’m honored to have joined director Jacob Steinberg on much of his long journey from concept to distribution with industry-leading partners Nature, Love Nature and Blue Ant International. And thankful to everyone on the editorial and commercial teams who helped …
Tom Jennings’ DIANA IN HER OWN WORDS became a social media sensation when Netflix paired his documentary with the hit drama series THE CROWN on its user interface. In our podcast, Tom describes the massive, emotional wave that swept around the world, a mood captured by singer Demi Lovato‘s post to her 93.3 million followers: …
In this intense U.S. election year, I caught up with filmmaker Pat McGee to explore his fast-track production of “Bernie Blackout: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. Broadcast on VICE network on May 13, 2020, McGee‘s investigative documentary asks: How did the news media affect Bernie Sanders‘ 2020 presidential campaign? Was his campaign sabotaged by corporate …
In this week’s podcast, veteran unscripted producer Michael Hoff shares his Takeaways on the Realscreen Summit. Realscreen was held in New Orleans for the first time this year. Michael is President & Executive Producer of Hoff Productions. Key Takeaways include: Michael says that network executives are regaining their footing after enduring the recent hard impacts of …
Here are my key Takeaways for 2018. It was the year in which Netflix accelerated its challenge to the entire film and television eco-system, with the Amazon behemoth adding to the disruptive force of online video. 1.Channels Under Threat. Factual commissions boomed since the mid-Eighties. A tiny documentary market exploded into the global Unscripted industry …
Ludo Dufour is the Managing Director, Sales & Co-Productions for OFF THE FENCE, the leading independent non-fiction specialist based in Amsterdam. We connected last June in Durban at NEWF, that super-exciting African conference linking Conservation and Filmmaking. I was taken by Ludo’s presentation on the nuts and bolts of financing and distributing quality documentaries and unscripted programs. …
Sam Barcroft has built a pioneering production company that is successfully adapting to the new digital content universe. He describes Barcroft Media‘s strategy of servicing traditional channels, SVOD services like Netflix, and the new digital platforms like Facebook. Facebook Watch is a Winner: Barcroft is an early and enthusiastic production partner for Facebook Watch. Launched …
A senior Netflix executive recently presented his company’s strategy of continuous innovation. It reveals how BIG DATA drives the personalization of programming decisions. It’s a very useful read for anyone who is pitching to a SVOD service. (Don’t miss my in depth coverage of Netflix and the SVOD market.) Enjoy my selection of slides from …