Crys : Hi Dan - first question coming up
Dan Chambers : Hi everyone
georgina : Are any History Lab slots still available?
Dan Chambers : History Lab is now being rechristened Secrets of the Dead. The current run which starts in June is filled up, but its highly likely that they'll be another run in Summer 2000 and so we'll be looking for another six films for then.
Crys : Two together here:
Bri : Will Equinox continue in its current form ad infinitum?
kenny : Why has Equinox veered away from the type of 'Big Science' it used to look at?
Dan Chambers : I'm not actually the editor of Equinox, Charles Furneaux is, but I do have quite alot to do with it... so... Equinox looks set to continue for the forseeable future. I hope it hasn't moved away from 'Big Science'. Only fairly recently we carried a programme on Gravity and Black Holes and Sunstorms, this is all the stuff of Big Science!
Bri : How much of the Science output is in strands and how much as individual programmes?
Dan Chambers : Hmmm... back of a postage stamp calculation... I would say probably about 30% is now strands and the rest is series. To elaborate, the strands are Equinox, which I think is 18 hours a year, and then To The Ends of the Earth, which I think is around 15 hours a year, and then Secrets of the Dead, which is 6 hours a year.
Caro : What's the budget span for science programmes?
Dan Chambers : For 1 hour programmes they start at about 110k. And then for really high end glossy Equinox's they can go to about 200k, although at this amount there will always be co-production involvement. Some of our most successful films have had three-way co-production for instance Black Holes was a co-production between Channel 4, Discovery and ABC Australia. It means that the level of graphics that can be achieved is way beyond straight forward Equinox's.
Crys : Again, I think two along a similar theme...
Caro : Can you indentify a good development in the way science programming has gone recently - or anything you feel has been particularly strong?t in
Pogrobolski : Where do you see the Science dept moving to....style- and content-wise?
Dan Chambers : One area which we're all excited by in the Science department is the power of forensic science in answering age old questions about history. For instance, DNA, fingerprinting, tree records, analysis of teeth and bone can tell us a great deal about what our ancestors were like and we're keen to make sure that we don't miss this area of science and history. Another area that feels of extreme importance is genetics generally and how this research can be applied. One other subject area which we're certainly keen to cover is science and food. Not cookery, but mass production of food. What we don't want is the very straight forward knee-jerk reaction to genetically modified foods. We're looking for an approach which is more original. Successful programmes recently... we were all pleased with the Pisa film for Equinox. We were very pleased with Body Story particularly pleased with Station X. Designs on Your... which are being repeated at the moment we also see as a big success... and we're keen to do more design/engineering programmes.
Pogrobolski : Hurrah! That's a brilliant series.
Dan Chambers : One area in which we are absolutely desperate for new and clever ideas is science format shows, which could be broadcast early evening on Saturday/Sunday. We're pleased with Scrapheap but we're looking for more shows of a similar ilk.
Carole : Could you define the To the Ends of the Earth and Secrets of the Dead strands?
Dan Chambers : Yes. Secrets of the Dead is solving historical mysteries or throwing new light on historical events through scientific tools like DNA testing etc. To The Ends of the Earth is an adventure and discovery strand in which we follow a charismatic individual/s in the process of discovering new science, history, animals, civilisations or anything arresting.
georgina : Does the change from History Lab to Secrets of the Dead mean a different brief for the series?
Dan Chambers : That's a good question. The emphasis is now on analysis of bones and skulls and ideally each show would have an exhumation. *Dan grins*.
Bethan : Is Secrets of the Dead going to be re-commissioned for a second run?
Dan Chambers : Almost certainly. We'll know for definate in June/July when the results of the budget round come through.
Pogrobolski : What's the best Science show you've ever seen, in your opinion? What's your favourite type of Science show?
Dan Chambers : My favourite science film is Brief History of Time and also... *Dan thinks* the Horizon drama of the discovery of DNA called Lifestory which unfortunately was made by the BBC! *grin*.
Crys : Hehe.
Dan Chambers : Favourite type of science show are one hour films on really intriguing subjects. I think some of the most successful shows have been Equinox's like, Anastasia... Black Holes... The Gay Gene (which is going back a bit).
Bri : Would you like to have more hours to fill with science progs or do you feel you have the right amount of time to broadcast the amount of quality proposals/programmes you receive?
Dan Chambers : We'd certainly like more time :) If you see Tim Gardam or Michael Jackson will you mention it to them? *Dan grins*.
Dougal : Are there any plans for a science-themed evening, like the recent History Zone evening on BBC2?
Dan Chambers : Erm... not at the moment, but we're very open to ideas.
Crys : Here's an idea ...
October Films : What about a science soap?
Dan Chambers : Tell us more...
October Films : What, now?
Dan Chambers : yeah... why not
October Films : With everyone watching?
Dan Chambers laughs. We're not asking you to take your clothes off
Crys chuckles
October Films : How did you know we were naked. Any way
Dan Chambers : *Grin* If you have got an idea you should send it in to us. The ideal format for proposals is between two and four pages of A4 with a paragraph at the top which would be equivalent to a Radio Times billing. If the proposal can't hook your interest in a paragraph then its unlikely that it stands that good a chance.
Crys : OK everyone, that's it! Thanks very much for coming, and don't forget, same time same place next week. Thank you Dan for dropping by..
Dan Chambers : Thanks everyone. I really enjoyed that. If you've got any proposals send them on :)
