John Hay is the Commissioning Editor of Specialist Factual at Channel 4. This includes documentaries that focus on religion, the arts, history and science. He has commissioned a variety of programmes such as RTS Award Grayson Perry’s Dream House. Here he explains that the trick to pitching an idea is to find a new angle of what is happening in the world.
Over-the-top hyperbole is usually de rigueur when it comes to unveiling big TV sports-rights deals. But, this summer, when Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav declared his company’s €1.3bn, pan-European deal with the International Olympic Committee a “game changer”, it seemed more like an understatement.
The contract, which runs from 2018, caused many people’s jaws to drop – while others scratched their heads over its implications. It seemed like another blow to the BBC and its grip on the world’s greatest festival of sport.
Tech company Touchjet has invented a device called the Wave, which transforms televisions into touchscreen tablets.
The Wave uses a set-top camera with an embedded infrared sensor to track finger movements, before transforming your television into an Android 4.4 KitKat tablet.
Helen Thomas, CEO of Touchjet, told Techradar, “This is the experience of the future. It's all interactive, and kids understand touch.”
Families and friends can use the Wave to play interactive games such as Angry Birds and to complete work on Microsoft Office or Google Docs.
Abigail Gorman is a Production Assistant at deaf-led production company, Flashing Lights. She is responsible for monitoring the translator, subtitling, scheduling and translating. Here she gives us an insight into what it takes to become a production assistant.
As a director of photography, Nicola Daley works with drama and documentary directors to enhance their films with creative camera angles, lighting and composition. Here Daley, a graduate of the Australian Film, TV and Radio school, gives her tips on how to break into cinematography.
The RTS North West Awards 2015 will again be held at the Hilton in Manchester.
The awards will be presented by Liverpool-born actor and presenter Ted Robbins.
The night is planned to start with a drinks reception at 6.15pm; then dinner will be served at 7pm and finally the awards ceremony will start at 9pm.
If you would like to book a table, please email events manager Rachel Pinkney under rachelpinkney@yahoo.co.uk.
The Royal Television Society is committed to supporting UK undergraduates who wish to pursue a career in television. Our Television Production and Broadcast Journalism Undergraduate Bursary scheme offers 20 awards to undergraduates from lower income backgrounds planning on studying at Creative Skillset-accredited universities.
To find out more and apply for either our 2015 Television Production and Broadcast Bursary or our new Technology Bursary click here.
Later this year award winning current affairs producer/director and now Managing Director of ITV Studios UK, Julian Bellamy, will deliver the RTS North East and Border Keynote Lecture.
He will now be leading the country’s largest commercial production company where revenues in the last year have increased by 12%.
For years, most of us had just one screen in our living rooms: the television. Over the past decade, laptops, tablets and smartphones have all muscled in on this relationship.
Of the newer screens, the smartphone has been the most successful: it has had the most commercial impact – it clocked up £250bn in global sales last year.
It has the highest unit sales, with 1.4 billion forecast to be sold this year, of which 1 billion will be purchased as (significantly improved) upgrades.
Drag racing, aerobatics, rally driving and land speed record attempts might seem like the perfect training ground for a would-be James Bond, but Luther star Idris Elba has denied that he will be taking that baton from Daniel Craig.
