The archive continues to power primetime signature shows. But it takes imagination to find the topics, and the undiscovered ‘jewels’ in the archive that can tell stories in a fresh way and at an affordable cost. This week’s Case Study is Nat Geo’s Challenger Disaster: The Lost Tapes from Peabody Award winner Tom Jennings Productions. …
This week’s story is about how to succeed in the very tough world of independent production. Our case study is Hoff Productions, whose ups and downs we covered back in 2010 in a popular post titled A Preferred Producer: Hoff Productions between Basement and Buyout. Hoff was on a ride. But, as you can see from …
We continue our updated coverage of POV, the flagship PBS documentary strand with a peak audience of 1.9Mn viewers. In this post: What is POV’s selection process, from Open Call to Offer? The Filters. Timeline? Who decides? What are your odds? Read POV Revealed, Part 1. Also: POV‘s 2015 and 2014 selections. SELECTION PROCESS Filters: Great non-fiction storytelling. Address social …
Personnel changes at POV reminded us to update our detailed profile of the PBS documentary flagship. Congrats to Simon Kilmurry who was appointed Executive Director of the International Documentary Association. Simon served POV for 16 years. The new key management team is: Chris White, Executive Producer. Eliza Licht, VP of Content Strategy & Engagement. Chris and Eliza are each …
Documentary producers aim to move the needle. Shift the conversation. Make an impact. And hopefully make some money, too. But only one documentary producer has been the catalyst for a far-reaching shift in American governance. That’s Citizens United! Citizens United’s determination to promote its film, “Hillary: The Movie” during a presidential primary season led to …
An invaluable and unique resource for producers who are seeking international partners and commissioners. Created for the Hot Docs Forum 2014. 94 Network Buyers. 163 Contacts. 47 distributors. 11 funds. 8 digital players. 15 Countries. 200+ pages The slots. The deciders. Their filters. Special June Offer: $119.60 – Save 20% Regular: $149.95 Order and Download …
Realscreen Summit 2014 was a smashing success, at least for me. Why? 1. Location! Location! This year Realscreen moved to the Washington Hilton, where there was plenty of seating space, and this made it relatively easy to carry on a comfortable meeting. We used to call it “Real Scream” because there were so many glaring …
Al Jazeera is doubling down on documentaries within its strategy to expand its role in television programming worldwide. I meet regularly at international markets with Ahmed Mahfouz Nouh, the highly respected MD of Al Jazeera Documentary, and we discuss his network’s strategy, scale and operations. Following is a snapshot based on our conversations: Distribution AJ …