BAFTA,
Piccadilly, 8th May 2012.
The
event was sold out within minutes, so this short blog post attempts to give a
brief overview of what happened for those who couldn’t be there. Much of what
I’ll write here will also be on the @BAFTA twitter feed (although I don’t know
how long those tweets will exist).
I
had images of this event involving everyone sitting round a big table eating a
fry-up as the commissioners told us what they wanted through mouthfuls of
bacon. This image was, of course, wide of the mark. In the lovely surroundings
of BAFTA, Ben Stephenson (Controller of Drama Commissioning, BBC), Laura Mackie
(Director of Drama, ITV), Anne Mensah (Head of Drama, Sky), and Sophie Gardner
(Commissioning Editor Drama, E4 and C4), were invited to explain their drama
strategies, their wish lists, and their opinions of current and forthcoming
output.
Each
speaker started by showing their channel’s impressive drama reel of recent
successes – and these short promos showed what a diverse range of drama is
produced by these four channels. As a flavour, the BBC reel included Sherlock,
Call the Midwife, The Syndicate, Prisoners Wives, Great Expectations, and
Birdsong; ITV included Law and Order, Downton, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher,
Scott and Bailey, Vera, and Titanic; the C4/E4 reel included Misfits, Fresh
Meat, Skins, and Top Boy; and Sky showed clips including Sinbad, Mad Dogs, and
Bedlam. There were other clips included in the reels, but this gives a hint of
the output.
BBC
What
are the BBC looking for?
From Ben Stephenson, we heard that the BBC are looking for “really good drama”.
The BBC offers the broadest variety for a diverse audience. Within this, no
audience is considered more important than any other. So the commissioning
should reflect a broad range of drama. Ben commissions for BBC1, BBC2 and BBC3.
In
terms of time scale, BBC has drama output covered until Spring 2013. This means
that they need projects that will be ready for T/X from Summer 2013 onwards.
Owing to the long turnaround times involved in producing drama, Ben Stephenson
is looking now for those dramas.
Non-genre
was mentioned – with series like The Syndicate showing that a non-genre piece
can connect with an audience. Ben Stephenson said that this “Non-genre is the
hardest genre. You have to make those kind of shows a must-watch.”
There
will be no more drama produced for BBC4. However, similar content – exceptional
biopics etc – may instead appear on BBC2.
ITV
What
are ITV looking for?
Laura
Mackie said there was “no limit to what we’re looking for, but I’d love to find
a huge contemporary series”. ITV will only commission projects where it feels
that it has the budget to match the funding that the project deserves.
C4
What
are C4 and E4 looking for?
Channel
4 and E4 (like Sky) rely on indies for all their drama. Sophie Gardner looks at
a wide range of ideas, but they have to fit the channel. She wants “strongly
authored work with a mix of mission and mischief”.
She
will take risks on new talent (see the section later in this blog). She says
that she is always “asking what can we do that’s really fresh and original, but
distinctly Channel 4?”
Sky
What
are Sky looking for?
Anne
Mensah said that “The US doesn’t own high-budget, epic dramas. I think British
drama feels stronger than it ever has.”
There
was some discussion about this and Ben Stephenson (I think) raised the valid
point that we only tend to see the best of US drama.
Sky
needs scale to punch through with their drama. This may mean that they feel
more American, but we can do that very well.
Sky
Atlantic is the place where all the biggest talent gathers; whereas Sky1 is the ‘home for heroes’, a
place for uplifting and life-affirming drama. They are interested in more
uplifting ideas and Anne Mensah said that Sky isn’t the home of ‘Broccoli drama’
(drama that you know you should
watch, but you don’t really want to). Sky want single films and series of
anything from 4-13 parts.
3D
There was a question from the audience about the broadcasters
plans to move into 3D drama. Sky have already done this in the past and are
looking to commission more in the future. The BBC are cautiously interested in
the idea.
Attaching
talent
Is it a good idea to make a drama proposal with specific talent
attached to the project? The panel felt that this was a bad idea in general. It
could be ‘limiting and unhelpful’.
Budgets
Production budgets tend to be around £750k to £1m per hour on
terrestrial TV. Around £450k on other channels
Pitching to the
channels
So
how do you get your drama project considered by one of the channels?
When
asked how to pitch a project for consideration, Ben Stephenson said that
writers require an agent before making an approach. But this approach can be
based on anything from a spec script to a basic concept for a drama. Alternatively, a writer can approach via a
respected production company. ITV has a similar approach – repped writers only
or approaches via a production company.
C4
and Sky said that they only consider approaches from production
companies, not writers. This is because, unlike the BBC and ITV, they have no
in-house production. So they need a production company to make the drama for
them.
Talent schemes
What
is the way in?
New
writers are hired all the times by all these channels.
Sophie Gardner
highlighted Coming Up as a great strand for new writers and directors (each
episode is a self-contained play showcasing the vision of the writer).
Anne
Mensah mentioned that six hours of a new series for Sky was being written by a
writer who had done one Coming Up episode for C4. All the broadcasters want to
encourage new talent.
Roland Moore (10th May 2012)
