The "Meet the Commissioners and Company Recruiters' speed dating event at Envy on Tuesday night was a roaring success. Thankyou to everyone that attended and for all the fantastic feedback. It seems the panel discussion together with the 'one on ones' was a winning combo. Christo Hird chaired the discussion brilliantly cutting to the essence of the issues programme makers face both starting and developing their careers.
The panel
Katy Thorogood, ITV Commissioning Editor, Daytime and Factual
Samantha Anstiss, BBC Commissioning Exec Producer, Documentaries
Gill Wilson, Channel 4 Head of Features & Christo Hird, MD of Dartmouth Films
Samantha Anstiss & Andrew O'Connel, Channel 5 Head of Factual, News and Current Affairs
Gill Wilson, Channel 4
The company recruiters speedating included Laura Mansfield, Helen Veale, Ross McCarthy & Bridget Boseley from Outline. Tamara Abood, Fiona Pithcer & Elsa Sharp from Dragonfly. Camilla Lewis & Jessica Wilson from Cineflix. Tamsin Collier & Kerry McCloughlin from Argonon. Christo Hird from Dartmouth Films & John Widdup from Flame. A big thank you to all of you for being so generous with your time.
Tamara Abood (right) , Dragonfly
Series Editor, John Widdup (left) from Flame TV
Dragonfly Talent Manager, Elsa Sharp (left)
Helen Veale (right), Creative Director at Outline
Gill Wilson
Cineflix MD, Camilla Lewis (left)
Over 80 freelancers met with company recruiters and every 7 minutes a bell rang, conversations were curtailed and it was change-around time. There was more than a little chaos but lots of fun and both sides seemed to appreciate the face-time.
For those of you that missed it - there will definitely be more events in a similar vein coming in 2013. We are keen to capitalise on the lessons learnt (not least getting a louder bell!) and we are delighted that all involved showed a real appetite for these opportunities.
Here is a summary of what the panel had to say:
How do you go about identifying new talent?
Gill: If you want to direct and produce your first film, and don’t have a particular bit of access or key piece of talent, get onto an existing Feature or Format that is in production, that you know you can do. Then, if you have the ideas, give them to your Series Producer who can then champion you with the channel. They’re much more likely to say ‘yes’ and give you a go. Doing a First Cut might be the more exciting option, but a better way often is to look at something that already exists and convince the SP that you’re going to be able to deliver them a great programme in that series.
Katy: We work with directors with all sorts of experience but ITV is probably not the place you'll make your very first film. We tend to look for people with a proven track record. On ITV1 at 9pm, there really is nowhere to hide.
Sam: BBC3 in particular has a reputation for giving opportunities to first time directors, with schemes such as Fresh. She said, for a commissioner, giving such breaks also tended to pay dividends later on as those directors grew in stature. ‘From my point of view, you have to invest in people. You also gain their loyalty by giving them breaks.’ She said she’d commissioned a number of first time directors who had gone onto to make films and series for both BBC1 and BBC2. At the same time, there were opportunities on the larger channels – even BBC1 - for new directors with an extraordinary story and access. However, in such instances, commissioners would look to pair you with an experienced Exec or Indy to make it. Sam also agreed with Gill that established Features and Formats were a ‘brilliant’ place to learn and make your mark. She also urged freelancers not to be ‘precious’ about their CVs or the genres they work in. Commissioners were not ‘purists’ when it came to looking at CVs – so freelancers shouldn’t be either.
Andrew: [asked which matters most to the commissioner – the PD making the programme, or the Exec in charge] “It’s neither, it’s the idea.” If it comes through an individual or a company it doesn’t matter, he said. However if the individual had never directed before, but they’re passionate about the story, the channel would look to pair them with a trusted production company to make it happen. Career-wise, he said the biggest leap was moving from AP to director. After that, freelancers get to know the commissioners, so career transitions become easier. That said, ‘to get that break you’ve got to be quite thick skinned.’
Christo Hird, the chairman, summarised these three clear points:
1. Do not look down your nose on formats, they’re a fantastically good training ground
2. Identify the producer or exec producer who’s going to champion your cause
3. Use every opportunity you can to shine – it’s those commissioning editors who’ll give you your break
What opportunities are there for one or two person ‘micro’ Indies? There’s a definite sense that it’s much harder as a start-up in the industry now compared to 20 years ago. What are the channels doing to foster them?
Gill: Channel 4 has a clear and definite remit to meet and work with small companies. She said her department was required to see one ‘micro’ Indie each week. It was something that Jay Hunt, C4 director of programmes, was particularly committed to: at Gill’s weekly meetings with Jay, they would be quizzed as to which Indies they had met, what they’d discussed and so on.
Gill said that at Channel 4, ‘we absolutely need more micro Indies coming through’ in order to ensure both the diversity of supply [that C4 is committed to] and the range of new ideas they want. ‘We could sit and see the same people [week after week], but we would have fundamentally failed to do what we’re supposed to do,’ she said.
Andrew: Added a cautionary note, saying that commissioners were busy and it is always hard to get into someone’s diary unless it’s a really strong idea.
Sam: Encouraged people to send through a short clip with their idea, saying she found it ‘almost impossible’ not to open and look at an email with a video attached. ‘It’s a visual industry and it’s that curiosity that gets you,’ she said, adding that she’d commissioned docs on BBC3 based on mobile phone footage. It doesn’t have to be a polished trailer, she said, but keep it short. ‘No one watches anything beyond 4 minutes as a first off, so there’s no point sending more than that.’
Andrew: Grabbing the commissioner’s attention is paramount, so sending a great paragraph in an email is often better than a 6 page proposal, as it can be read and absorbed quicker.
There’s a sense that it’s much harder to get commissioners to move from initial interest to saying ‘Yes, we’ll have it’. Why is that? Both individuals and companies find that six months of negotiation can go by and they’re still waiting to get the commission green-lit.
Andrew: If I put something in development, my intent is to follow it up. I will not put you into development hell unless I’m paying for it
Katy: We try to get back to you quickly. The easiest responses are a quick ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The ones that hang around your desk are where we're genuinely mulling or there are similar projects in play. But I understand there's nothing worse than radio silence so its important we communicate whats going on at our end.
Are you more likely to want a taster – not a trailer – nowadays, to get a sense of what material there is?
Katy: 'I try to manage expectations. If something is borderline for ITV, I wouldn’t get them to make a taster just for us. But, if the idea has a chance on other channels too, and they’re making a taster then, yes, we’d like to see it. If we do encourage a taster, we’re normally pretty serious [about the idea.]'
Gill: I think if your idea has been sitting with anyone for 6 months, they don’t want it. If you come to a meeting with us, bear in mind that we have to sell [your idea] on [to our department heads and director of programmes.] Also, think about the commissioning cycles, and any upcoming themes or seasons – and whether your idea will fit into those.
You can – and should – ask if you should take your idea elsewhere. If the channel does like it, they will probably put it into paid development as they won’t want you to take it to someone else. But so many ideas that are brought to me are nebulous: a single word or topic.