Documentary Television.com

Peter Hamilton, ex-CBS exec turned TV consultant has just launched a new blog documentarytelevision.com.  A regular on the conference panel circuit, Peter shares his knowledge of Discovery network budgets in one of his first posts. For example:
Discovery’s budgets range from $250 per hour for a low budget programme to $1,500 to a showcase programme. He [...]

MIPFormats Fresh Talent Pitch Call for Entries – Deadline 26th February, 2010

The Fresh Talent Pitch, to be held at MIPFormats in Cannes, on 11th April, 2010, is a chance to pitch your original non-scripted entertainment format. A panel of experts including The Wit will select the best entries from all the submissions; shortlisted producers get the chance to pitch their idea to an audience of commissioners, buyers and distributors. Cross-genre and multiplatform concepts are particularly welcomed. Pitches must be for orginal formats that have not been commissioned or broadcast on TV.

For more information and an application form visit MIPWorld Fresh Talent Pitch.

Deadline: Friday 26th February, 2010
(Photo by Olivier Bareau CC BY-SA 2.0)

Film Business Asia

Check out the new Film Business Asia website for news about festivals, awards, sales, distribution deals and box office news from Asia. Looks as though they’re focusing on narrative/feature films but there is some documentary news in there too. And handily, there is an English language version.

Interview: Lionel Chok

This week we have a special treat: an interview with Singapore-based filmmaker and executive producer Lionel Chok. Lionel’s TV credits include Culture Shock for Channel News Asia International; Lifestyle – a health series for overseas broadcast fronted by Nadya Hutagalung; and Activate Your Camera – Singapore! an eight-part Hi-Definition local series on photography fronted by Tom Ang (whose last photography series was commissioned by the BBC). Lionel also has theatre and feature film credits and works as a Film Instructor at SAE Institute. Click though to read the interview. (Photo (C) Lionel Chok)

Documentary Campus Masterschool – Call for Entries 2010. Deadline: 2nd October 2009

Documentary Campus Masterschool 2010 is a ten-month long masterclass in which you can get one-to-one and group training sessions (four over the ten months) to help you develop your documentary idea so you can secure international interest and funding. The school allows all kinds of nonfiction genres, from docuseries to one-offs and cross-media projects. Past [...]

Westdoc Twitter

If you weren’t able to make it to Santa Monica to attend the Westdoc conference, you can keep up with what’s going on in real time – who’s commissioning what, and how to pitch -  via twitter. Just follow the #westdoc thread.

The Best Selling Factual TV Shows in the World (That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of)

These days it’s not enough to come up with a factual TV show that gets commissioned by one TV channel – in order to make money you’ll need to be able to sell it around the world too. And that means knowing what will sell in the global market.

As a rule of thumb, in order for documentaries to be successful around the world they need to stay away from parochial, local subjects and concentrate on themes that people can identify with wherever they are in the world: March of the Penguins (survival against the odds); Touching the Void (friendship/human spirit); Blue Planet (the wonder of nature); The Apprentice (the American dream/ rivalry).

Formats also need to deal with universal themes, but they can be tweaked to suit the local market.

You’ll no doubt be familiar with the likes of Who Want’s to Be a Millionaire? (sold to 100+ territories), Idol (40+ territories), Dancing with the Stars (30+ territories) and Wife Swap (20+ territories). But, according to major distributors, there are a lot of best selling shows that might not be so familiar.

Click through the headline for a list of some of the top sellers.
(Photo by: JasonRogersFooDogGiraffeBee)

Sheffield Doc/Fest MeetMarket Open for Submissions

Do you have a documentary film or series that you’d like to pitch to 100+ interested international buyers? Sheffield Doc/Fest’s MeetMarket is your chance. You can submit your project online up until 4th September 2009 and it’s free to apply. Click through to find out how. (Photo courtesy of Sheffield Doc/Fest)

Watch TV US Progs on First on Mars

Where: First on Mars is a new site that allows you to legally watch more than 10,000 US TV shows online – it’s a free, slick, and fast site that you can search by show, channel or your mood (like Pandora or Last.FM). Browse and save your favourite shows from channels such as: ABC, History [...]

Interview: Virginia Mouseler of The Wit

Meet Virginia Mouseler, founder of The Wit – a research company that publishes weekly and monthly reports about all the new TV shows around the world. Explore the database of 80,000 TV programmes from around the world; search using keywords, country, genre or production company; and watch full length videos of any TV show online. Sign up for a weekly email report with news of new pilots and projects, and a monthly report on new shows aired in 35 countries.