Hamish Mykura, Head of Documentaries
Editorial Administrator: Jennifer Botting
Editorial Administrator: Jennifer Botting
Simon Dickson, Deputy Head of Documentaries
Acting Editorial Assistant: Jasper Hone
DOCUMENTARY SERIES AND SPECIALS
My key priority is to oversee Channel 4 Documentaries’ Series and Specials. At the same time, I tend to commission a large proportion of the single docs in our Cutting Edge strand.
I hope these notes give you a flavour of the kinds of things I’m looking for, and that we get a chance to meet soon to discuss your ideas.
DOCUMENTARY SERIES
POPULAR BLUE-CHIP DOCUMENTARY SERIES
With the recent launch of our year-long State of The Nation season, we have begun to reclaim the territory of the long-form ob-doc, and put it right at the heart of our output.
State of The Nation kicked off with The Family (2008). In 2009 it will include The Force, a strikingly pertinent and realistic series about the Police, Life And Death At 18, a gripping NHS series with a fresh twist, and Benefit Busters, which anatomises our benefits system at a time of huge change.
What social or personal territory do you want to inhabit, and document, over a period of at least a year? What institution, or enmeshed network of institutions, do you want to see inside, and why? What tone of voice will your films have? Will they be funny? Will the central characters arouse ire and indignation in the viewer?
Keywords: Important, Timely, Funny, Popular, Forward-Looking, Changing Society, Popular, Humane
Avoid: Self-importance, Worthiness
FORMATTED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
To me, Formatted Documentary means anything which happens because of our intervention.
I was proud to commission Meet The Natives, the Broadcast and RTS Award-winning three-parter which brought a tribe of South Pacific islanders to the UK, to study our savage and peculiar way of life.
The jewel in our crown, in terms of formats, is Secret Millionaire. A key part of my job is to be on hand to help you realise your ambition to come up with its successor.
Smart Formatted Doc series are urgently required, especially ideas which promise “closed episodes”, rather than having a “serial” narrative arc.
Keywords: Popular, Insightful, Purposeful, Returnable, Simple
Avoid: Me-too, “we took six people”, “remarkable experiment”, been-there-done-that
DOCUMENTARY SPECIALS – OR WHAT I LIKE TO CALL "BIG WHOPPERS"
Forget tariff prices. Forget the schedule as we know it. Go mad and come up with something that’s so nuts, I simply have to commission it. The key to this is, keep it simple, and make it purposeful.
This year’s "Big Whopper" in the area of C4 Documentaries is The Family, which I’m doing with Firefly. One British family… 21 cameras… 24 hours a day. It’s a clear idea, it’s bold, it’s expensive, it’s loads of episodes, and as I write this, it’s both rating highly and provoking huge debate, not just about parenting, but about new ways of making television.
What’s next?
More please, especially in the area of programming that’s come to be known as “Factual Theatre”.
Keywords: Bloody Hell, Blimey, That’ll Never Work, Risk, Confidence, Challenge, Clarity, Elegance
Avoid: Complexity of proposition
CUTTING EDGE
For the spring Cutting Edge run, I commissioned the season opener, A Boy Called Alex. I also commissioned the fast-turnaround Shannon Matthews: The Family's Story, and May's you-couldn't-make-it up past-tense romp The Artful Codgers, about Bolton's octogenarian art forgers, Olive and George Greenhalgh. Coming up, I’m really excited about The Pregnant Man - it was a real coup for us to secure the rights to this doc, and I think it’s a brilliant film for altogether unexpected reasons.
In future Cutting Edge runs, I want to maintain my contribution to this key strand by commissioning a range of single docs of the highest possible quality.
Other well-known single docs I have commissioned include Breaking Up With The Joneses, Make Me Normal, Tony Robinson: Me and My Mum, The Strangest Village In Britain and The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off. Were I to commission these today, they’d all go into one of our massively expanded Cutting Edge runs.
As for territories, the secret’s in “the mix”. I am looking for gripping and highly emotional human interest narratives… tales of adventure and derring-do… fast-turnaround access documentary perspectives on current events… clever tabloid angles into the kinds of things we all worry about (schooling, travel, crime, house prices, transport, refuse collection, money, sex, the list is endless)… and jaw-dropping past-tense stories. Sometimes, an idea we might discuss together will end up as a Cutting Edge… on other occasions, I’d like to think it might have the potential to develop into a 9pm series.
Keywords: Insightful, Unforgettable, Moving, Extraordinary, Singular, Special, Dramatic, Funny
Avoid: Niche, Arty-fartyness, Portraiture, Opacity
BODYSHOCK
Three of the top four highest-rating docs of 2008 on Channel 4 so far are all BodyShocks: I Am The Elephant Man, The Girl With 8 Limbs, and Half Ton Mum. Close behind, The Girl With Two Faces.
I’m very proud to be the Editor of BodyShock. Here on Channel 4, this territory continues to develop and enthral, long after its descent into self-parody on the other networks.
The best BodyShocks are about more than medical conditions, they are about ways of living in other countries. They’re about money, class, religion, and belief systems.
Keywords: Sincerity, Scale, Colour, Depth, Surprise, Shock Avoid: Confusing a photograph with a narrative
Acting Editorial Assistant: Jasper Hone
DOCUMENTARY SERIES AND SPECIALS
My key priority is to oversee Channel 4 Documentaries’ Series and Specials. At the same time, I tend to commission a large proportion of the single docs in our Cutting Edge strand.
I hope these notes give you a flavour of the kinds of things I’m looking for, and that we get a chance to meet soon to discuss your ideas.
DOCUMENTARY SERIES
POPULAR BLUE-CHIP DOCUMENTARY SERIES
With the recent launch of our year-long State of The Nation season, we have begun to reclaim the territory of the long-form ob-doc, and put it right at the heart of our output.
State of The Nation kicked off with The Family (2008). In 2009 it will include The Force, a strikingly pertinent and realistic series about the Police, Life And Death At 18, a gripping NHS series with a fresh twist, and Benefit Busters, which anatomises our benefits system at a time of huge change.
What social or personal territory do you want to inhabit, and document, over a period of at least a year? What institution, or enmeshed network of institutions, do you want to see inside, and why? What tone of voice will your films have? Will they be funny? Will the central characters arouse ire and indignation in the viewer?
Keywords: Important, Timely, Funny, Popular, Forward-Looking, Changing Society, Popular, Humane
Avoid: Self-importance, Worthiness
FORMATTED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
To me, Formatted Documentary means anything which happens because of our intervention.
I was proud to commission Meet The Natives, the Broadcast and RTS Award-winning three-parter which brought a tribe of South Pacific islanders to the UK, to study our savage and peculiar way of life.
The jewel in our crown, in terms of formats, is Secret Millionaire. A key part of my job is to be on hand to help you realise your ambition to come up with its successor.
Smart Formatted Doc series are urgently required, especially ideas which promise “closed episodes”, rather than having a “serial” narrative arc.
Keywords: Popular, Insightful, Purposeful, Returnable, Simple
Avoid: Me-too, “we took six people”, “remarkable experiment”, been-there-done-that
DOCUMENTARY SPECIALS – OR WHAT I LIKE TO CALL "BIG WHOPPERS"
Forget tariff prices. Forget the schedule as we know it. Go mad and come up with something that’s so nuts, I simply have to commission it. The key to this is, keep it simple, and make it purposeful.
This year’s "Big Whopper" in the area of C4 Documentaries is The Family, which I’m doing with Firefly. One British family… 21 cameras… 24 hours a day. It’s a clear idea, it’s bold, it’s expensive, it’s loads of episodes, and as I write this, it’s both rating highly and provoking huge debate, not just about parenting, but about new ways of making television.
What’s next?
More please, especially in the area of programming that’s come to be known as “Factual Theatre”.
Keywords: Bloody Hell, Blimey, That’ll Never Work, Risk, Confidence, Challenge, Clarity, Elegance
Avoid: Complexity of proposition
CUTTING EDGE
For the spring Cutting Edge run, I commissioned the season opener, A Boy Called Alex. I also commissioned the fast-turnaround Shannon Matthews: The Family's Story, and May's you-couldn't-make-it up past-tense romp The Artful Codgers, about Bolton's octogenarian art forgers, Olive and George Greenhalgh. Coming up, I’m really excited about The Pregnant Man - it was a real coup for us to secure the rights to this doc, and I think it’s a brilliant film for altogether unexpected reasons.
In future Cutting Edge runs, I want to maintain my contribution to this key strand by commissioning a range of single docs of the highest possible quality.
Other well-known single docs I have commissioned include Breaking Up With The Joneses, Make Me Normal, Tony Robinson: Me and My Mum, The Strangest Village In Britain and The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off. Were I to commission these today, they’d all go into one of our massively expanded Cutting Edge runs.
As for territories, the secret’s in “the mix”. I am looking for gripping and highly emotional human interest narratives… tales of adventure and derring-do… fast-turnaround access documentary perspectives on current events… clever tabloid angles into the kinds of things we all worry about (schooling, travel, crime, house prices, transport, refuse collection, money, sex, the list is endless)… and jaw-dropping past-tense stories. Sometimes, an idea we might discuss together will end up as a Cutting Edge… on other occasions, I’d like to think it might have the potential to develop into a 9pm series.
Keywords: Insightful, Unforgettable, Moving, Extraordinary, Singular, Special, Dramatic, Funny
Avoid: Niche, Arty-fartyness, Portraiture, Opacity
BODYSHOCK
Three of the top four highest-rating docs of 2008 on Channel 4 so far are all BodyShocks: I Am The Elephant Man, The Girl With 8 Limbs, and Half Ton Mum. Close behind, The Girl With Two Faces.
I’m very proud to be the Editor of BodyShock. Here on Channel 4, this territory continues to develop and enthral, long after its descent into self-parody on the other networks.
The best BodyShocks are about more than medical conditions, they are about ways of living in other countries. They’re about money, class, religion, and belief systems.
Keywords: Sincerity, Scale, Colour, Depth, Surprise, Shock Avoid: Confusing a photograph with a narrative
Sarah Mulvey, Commissioning Editor
Editorial Administrator: Jennifer Botting
Formats
My priority is to find fresh, fun and innovative returnable formats for 9pm.
I’m interested both by simple, purposeful propositions that use intervention at the top to trigger real drama and real outcomes in the real world e.g. Brat Camp; and by ambitious constructed conceits that use format mechanisms and/or new technology boldly to take us into brand new spaces and tell us something new about the way we live. I’m less keen on expert-led ideas.
I also commission observational documentary series, such as Born to Be Different.
Singles
I commission single popular documentaries for 9pm, 10pm and 11pm.
At 9pm, ideas need to be attention grabbing, bold and entertaining. My taste is for pithy, intimate, fractious films that make uncomfortable but compelling viewing, or which move us in unexpected ways, to tears or to laughter.
My core subject area is human interest. I’m excited by films that take us into the heart of hidden, eccentric or quirky Britain: that explore or poke fun at the preoccupations of the middle classes; that make the familiar feel unfamiliar by looking at it in a new way; or that give voice, unmediated, to marginalized people and/or opinions.
I want more present tense character-driven stories that take us on genuine emotional journeys and keep us curious. I want films with purposeful but outrageous conceits which use construct as a way into real issues, and have the power to provoke and surprise.
At 11pm, ideas need to be salacious, provocative and risky. They should earn their spurs by being only playable in this slot.
Territory-wise, I’m interested in the extremes of human nature and behaviour. I am always looking for themes to cluster the films around, but I also commission cracking one-offs. I’m also keen to run a format in this slot. What daring and dangerous territories, suitable only for late night viewing, could we find a format in here?
New Talent Strand
I also commission the documentary new talent strand, an eclectic 15x30 series of distinctive documentaries by new directors that will launch on C4 and More4 this autumn. I will be re-commissioning for the next run from October. You can find more information at Channel4/talent
Editorial Administrator: Jennifer Botting
Formats
My priority is to find fresh, fun and innovative returnable formats for 9pm.
I’m interested both by simple, purposeful propositions that use intervention at the top to trigger real drama and real outcomes in the real world e.g. Brat Camp; and by ambitious constructed conceits that use format mechanisms and/or new technology boldly to take us into brand new spaces and tell us something new about the way we live. I’m less keen on expert-led ideas.
I also commission observational documentary series, such as Born to Be Different.
Singles
I commission single popular documentaries for 9pm, 10pm and 11pm.
At 9pm, ideas need to be attention grabbing, bold and entertaining. My taste is for pithy, intimate, fractious films that make uncomfortable but compelling viewing, or which move us in unexpected ways, to tears or to laughter.
My core subject area is human interest. I’m excited by films that take us into the heart of hidden, eccentric or quirky Britain: that explore or poke fun at the preoccupations of the middle classes; that make the familiar feel unfamiliar by looking at it in a new way; or that give voice, unmediated, to marginalized people and/or opinions.
I want more present tense character-driven stories that take us on genuine emotional journeys and keep us curious. I want films with purposeful but outrageous conceits which use construct as a way into real issues, and have the power to provoke and surprise.
At 11pm, ideas need to be salacious, provocative and risky. They should earn their spurs by being only playable in this slot.
Territory-wise, I’m interested in the extremes of human nature and behaviour. I am always looking for themes to cluster the films around, but I also commission cracking one-offs. I’m also keen to run a format in this slot. What daring and dangerous territories, suitable only for late night viewing, could we find a format in here?
New Talent Strand
I also commission the documentary new talent strand, an eclectic 15x30 series of distinctive documentaries by new directors that will launch on C4 and More4 this autumn. I will be re-commissioning for the next run from October. You can find more information at Channel4/talent
Jan Younghusband, Head of Arts and Performance
Editorial Assistant: Avi Grewal
This area covers classical music, dance, jazz the performing arts, and visual arts. We make single documentaries, documentary series, performance films and live events.
When submitting ideas to Channel Four it is important to remember our particular remit to innovate and also our commitment to public service programming and diversity. We also like to make campaigning series which make a difference beyond the screen
The scheduling of arts programmes varies and there is no particular slot for arts. They are scheduled according to their tone. For example, we have some more popular series aimed at 9pm and others, polemical and thought-provoking, which play on Saturday or Sunday evenings.
The most important thing is the originality of the idea.
We are not big on marking anniversaries just for the sake of it. But being in the moment and feeling current is important.
We continue to be keen to encourage journalism and original thinking. We are always on the lookout of new presenters with exciting new opinion and intelligence about the arts.
Editorial Assistant: Avi Grewal
This area covers classical music, dance, jazz the performing arts, and visual arts. We make single documentaries, documentary series, performance films and live events.
When submitting ideas to Channel Four it is important to remember our particular remit to innovate and also our commitment to public service programming and diversity. We also like to make campaigning series which make a difference beyond the screen
The scheduling of arts programmes varies and there is no particular slot for arts. They are scheduled according to their tone. For example, we have some more popular series aimed at 9pm and others, polemical and thought-provoking, which play on Saturday or Sunday evenings.
The most important thing is the originality of the idea.
We are not big on marking anniversaries just for the sake of it. But being in the moment and feeling current is important.
We continue to be keen to encourage journalism and original thinking. We are always on the lookout of new presenters with exciting new opinion and intelligence about the arts.
Kate Vogel, Editor Documentaries - 3 Minute Wonder.
Editorial Assistant: Avi Grewal
3MW
The agenda for 3 Minute Wonder is about engaging emerging filmmakers with big
Issues - asking them to question an aspect of our lives and reveal something significant in a very short time frame.
We all realise the power and saleability of short form now, so I really want to maximise the opportunity that 3 Minute Wonder offers...so as well as commissiong beautifully formed mini-series that stretch across one week, I’d love ideas that are so big and ambitious that they may need 16 3MWs to unfold.
3MW is a great space to experiment in. I'm really keen to crack how to truly integrate online game play and television, and feel that this is a space where 3MW could really thrive.
I'm looking for relevant and timely ideas and I can be relatively responsive and fast in my commissioning turnaround.
Please submit ideas via four producers, the budget is roughly 4K per film (so 16K for a week). I have 208 slots a year so there is plenty of room!
Editorial Assistant: Avi Grewal
3MW
The agenda for 3 Minute Wonder is about engaging emerging filmmakers with big
Issues - asking them to question an aspect of our lives and reveal something significant in a very short time frame.
We all realise the power and saleability of short form now, so I really want to maximise the opportunity that 3 Minute Wonder offers...so as well as commissiong beautifully formed mini-series that stretch across one week, I’d love ideas that are so big and ambitious that they may need 16 3MWs to unfold.
3MW is a great space to experiment in. I'm really keen to crack how to truly integrate online game play and television, and feel that this is a space where 3MW could really thrive.
I'm looking for relevant and timely ideas and I can be relatively responsive and fast in my commissioning turnaround.
Please submit ideas via four producers, the budget is roughly 4K per film (so 16K for a week). I have 208 slots a year so there is plenty of room!
Aysha Rafaele, Deputy Commissioning Editor, Documentaries
Acting Editorial Assistant: Jasper Hone
Acting Editorial Assistant: Jasper Hone
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