Intelligent Factual - The Televisual Festival

Two years into the job of Controller of BBC One, Jay Hunt has steered the channel away from gentle, familiar lifestyle formats and 'flashing blue light' shows towards more thought provoking content. Jimmy's Food Factory, The Day the Immigrants Left, Richard Hammond’s Invisible Worlds and Wounded, prove that audiences will come to difficult subjects. In this keynote interview, Jay talks about her strategy of putting solid content back at the heart of factual programming and discusses the ways in which programme makers can make issues-based content accessible and engaging for BBC One's viewers.

Chaired by: Nick Curwin, Creative director, The Garden

Speakers: Jay Hunt, Controller, BBC One

Producers often complain that TV documentary slots are being squeezed out of existence. Have the channels slashed the schedules and dumbed down documentaries to the point where intelligent documentaries face extinction? Or have producers merely failed to change with the times? Charlotte Moore who commissioned the acclaimed Welcome to Lagos(BBC2), and Simon Dickson, who commissioned the multi-camera access documentary series, There's One Born Every Minute(Ch4), discuss how traditional documentary subjects can be updated and refreshed to offer new perspectives on the world for today's audience. They also reveal their commissioning wish lists.

Chaired by: Denman Rooke, Managing director, October Films

Speakers: Anna Miralis, Commissioning Editor, More4/ True Stories
Emma Willis, Commissioning Executive for Documentaries, BBC
Lina Prestwood, Director of content, Current TV
Simon Dickson, Deputy Head, Documentaries, Channel 4

Having a great idea is not enough to get it on screen. You need to be an expert in channel branding, scheduling and mind-reading to pitch your idea to the right commissioner; have an advanced understanding of intellectual property law to protect your idea; and ninja pitching skills to grab the attention of potential buyers.

 This session brings together top industry insiders who outline step-by-step how to develop, protect and pitch your ideas. They demystify channel briefs and discuss the merits of pitching formats vs. documentaries. They also reveal the common, embarrassing pitching errors that everyone makes at some time in their career.

Chaired by: Karl Warner, Entertainment Commissioning Editor, BBC1

Speakers: Camilla Lewis, Head of Factual Features, TalkbackTHAMES
Emma Swain, Head of Knowledge Commissioning, BBC
Jane Rogerson, Director of commissioning, factual and fact entertainment, UKTV
Nigel Gilroy, Rights Associate, Davenport Lyons

Japanese formats Manê no tora or Ryōri no Tetsujin are two of Britain’s most distinctive shows - Dragons’ Den and Iron Chef. How does a foreign format make a successful transition to UK television screens? And how can you, as a producer, spot an international format with domestic potential? The UK producers of these shows come together to discuss the challenges and potential pitfalls of licensing and producing a foreign format for a British audience.

Chaired by: Karl Warner, Entertainment Commissioning Editor, BBC1

Speakers: Adam MacDonald, Creative Director, IWC media
Dominic Bird, Editor, Dragons' Den
Helen Bullough, Head of Vision Productions North, BBC

BBC3 has had a great audience response to programmes like Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts and Weddings, War, Women and Me, and Judith’s Story. In this key interview, Harry Lansdown talks about his aspirations for factual programming on the channel.

Chaired by: Brian Woods, Filmmaker and co-founder, True Vision

Speakers: Harry Lansdown, Commissioning editor, factual features and formats, BBC3

Following a string of broadcasting scandals, from the Shilpa Shetty race row to Sachsgate, it has been claimed that the culture of compliance is stifling programme creativity and innovation. The bolder the film, the more risks involved in telling a story, the greater the pressure on channel executives to make cautious editorial decisions. Veteran filmmaker Roger Graef has called this new caution a kind of Dutch Elm disease for brave factual programming. Is it possible to innovate without risk, and how can lawyers help rather than hinder the creative process? And how have programme makers fared in overcoming the potentially crippling influence of compliance? From product placement to privacy, obtaining consent to exposing crime, this session covers how to tell the story you want to tell within the current climate of regulation governing TV content.

Chaired by: Brian Woods, Filmmaker and co-founder, True Vision

Speakers: Dominic Harrison, Lawyer - Legal and Compliance, Channel 4
Harry Dean, Head of Editorial Standards and Complaints Management, BBC Vision
Jan Tomalin, Broadcast Legal & Compliance specialist, Media Law Consultancy Ltd.
Lucy Cohen, Producer
Roger Graef, Writer, filmmaker, broadcaster and criminologist

More 4’s The TV Book Club was funded by Specsavers, Chinese Food in Minutes by Sharwoods, and Five’s The Business Inspector sponsored by HMRC. Broadcasters such as Five and Channel 4 seem to be embracing advertiser funded programming but is it realistic for producers to expect advertisers to fund their programmes? How do you make the approach and what problems might you encounter if you decide to go down this route?

Chaired by: John Nolan, Head of N-ONE Commercial and Digital Content

Speakers: Christopher Lockwood, Head of Invention, Mindshare
Jason Hughes, Head of Branded Content, Sky
Mark Wood, Founding Partner, Krempelwood

As the terrestrials compete to get the best celebrity-led programmes in their schedules – Extreme Fishing with Robson Green, Rory and Paddy’s Great British Adventure (Five); Griff’s Greatest Cities of the World, David Suchet on the Orient Express (ITV) - Bravo hangs out with the hard men: Alex Reid: The Fight of His Life and Deadliest Warrior. This session brings together the popular factual commissioners to fight it out to pitch the boldest, noisiest and most distinctive channel brief.

Chaired by: Will Hanrahan, Founder and creative director of HanrahanMedia

Speakers: Jo Clinton-Davis, Controller Popular Factual Commissioning, ITV
Richard Watsham, Commissioning Editor, Bravo
Steve Gowans, Head of factual entertainment, Five

BBC4 is undoubtedly an intellectual channel, but it’s keen to avoid being labelled as esoteric. Controller Richard Klein’s programming mantra is “passion, purpose and proposition”, to which you could also add provocation. Taking time out from BBC4’s commissioning strategy review, he talks about the direction of the channel, the role that drama plays in documentaries and why BBC4 isn’t a niche channel.

Chaired by: Steve Hewlett, Writer, Broadcaster and Media Consultant

Speakers: Richard Klein, Controller, BBC Four

We are proud to present a special screening of One Night in Turin with an introduction from director James Erskine. The documentary follows the inside story of England's epic Italia 90 World Cup journey. Constructed with unseen footage and specially shot imagery, the film features an incredible soundtrack. Relive the glory and reminisce about what could have been! Target Entertainment is kindly supporting the screening and drinks reception.

Chaired by: James Erskine, Filmmaker