Thanks to a post on the Producers’ Forum Facebook group I was lucky enough to bag a last-minute ticket to attend Creative England’s latest event to hear from factual and documentary filmmakers about their latest projects. It was a riveting three hours. Here are my thoughts on each of the four sessions.
1. Sue Brown (presenter) and Ed Barlow (producer) of The First Black Brummies, in conversation with Beccy Wood (BBC Midlands Today presenter)
The First Black Brummies was broadcast on TV last Monday and is Part One of a four-part BBC Four series, A Very British History. As my own father came to Britain from St Kitts in the 1950s, the subject matter of this documentary was very close to my heart, but I was also interested in the creative process underpinning the series.
Full house @creativeengland Focus on Filmmaking – Factual & Documentaries @BillyQuiet @BeccyWoodTV @edbarlow888 @SeshenSue #FocusonCEBrum pic.twitter.com/qNazWk5spJ
— Vicky Jepson (@producervics) February 20, 2019
A Very British History set out to tell stories “about the history of communities in multi-cultural Britain”. Given the series’ historical slant, the commissioners (BBC England) were interested in ideas where there was existing archive footage. Ed Barlow explained how an early idea (an exploration of Birmingham corner shops and shopkeepers) was scuppered because of insufficient footage.
Sue Brown is a renowned performance poet and Family Support Worker. The First Black Brummies was her first experience of presenting. She was very involved from the project’s inception – helping to research and shape the story, contributing her own personal experiences, suggesting additional themes, such as hair (yes!). Crucially, she also offered access to the black communities.
The filming of the episode was done over 12 days and the edit took 6 weeks.
According to Ed, there was some BBC archive material already, which meant there were no copyright issues. Music was a little trickier.
As the programme developed, the producers took the creative decision not to go for a professional presenter with a script, but for a “more conversational” style. It made sense to ask Sue to present it, given that she was already at the heart of the story. Sue said she found herself saying yes.
She was asked about the reaction to the programme following its broadcast, and said there was a huge amount of warmth from people who’d been touched by the story – proud of her, proud of themselves and proud to see their story told.
This frank and fascinating conversation was interspersed with clips from the documentary. Bravo to Sue, Ed and the team for telling this fascinating and moving story.
[Ed then talked about a forthcoming episode in the series, Ugandan Asians, which throws up further topics for debate, beautifully exemplified in a clip we saw where presenter Meera Sodha interviews her mother about how black employees were treated.]
2. Iain Cunningham (Irene’s Ghost) in conversation with Paul Ashton, Head of Film at Creative England
In conversation with @_iaincunningham @callcardscript #FocusonCEBrum Discussing the beautiful, moving and important film @IrenesGhost @creativeengland @BBCBhamPR pic.twitter.com/1OVTFesw8i
— Vicky Jepson (@producervics) February 20, 2019
Iain was introduced as the “writer, director, narrator and subject” of Irene’s Ghost, a feature documentary tracing Iain’s search for information about his mother, Irene, who died when he was three years old.
The film has already garnered a lot of praise, premiering at BFI London Film Festival and with forthcoming screenings at Glasgow and Borderlines Film Festivals.
Irene’s Ghost was initially self-funded until Iain secured funding from The Wellcome Trust, The Maudsley charity, and eventually Creative England and Creative Scotland. Iain admits he would have made the film “with or without funding” but financial backing allowed for the use of animation (which is expensive) as well as a longer time in the edit.
Iain ‘talent-picked’ his team, which included: Animation Director, Ellie Land; Editor, David Arthur; and Composer, Chris Tye.
Iain’s closeness to – and passion for – the subject matter may have been a factor in winning over funders. (He also had a compelling teaser/trailer to show at pitch meetings.)
The feature is a very intimate portrait of a life, and yet there is also a universality to the theme which most, if not all, of us can relate to. The clips of Iain and his father were particularly poignant, as was the use of animation to bring Irene to life.
I will be following this film’s progress and I am looking forward to seeing it.
3. Paul Ashton, Head of Film at Creative England on funding options
Creative England has supported a number of successful docs in recent years, including: Irene’s Ghost, Notes on Blindness, Orion: The Man Who Would Be King, The Lovers and the Despot, Hustlers Convention, The Confession, The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson, One Mile Away, Dawn of the Dark Fox and White Riot.
Paul explained that the West Midlands Production Fund is currently open for applications.
[From the website: Our West Midlands Production Fund (WMPF) was set up with the support of ERDF to invest in the production of feature-length films and high-end TV dramas from companies based in the West Midlands, as well as from producers looking to establish a base to film in the region.]
Because sustainability is so important, Creative England is looking for “commercially-minded” feature films. Documentaries could certainly work within that remit but it can be tricky.
Paul also stressed that production teams can apply for funding at different stages of the filmmaking cycle.
There are a myriad of funding options and routes to market, including Sheffield Doc Fest, Hot Docs, Bertha Doc House, Dogwoof, Doc Society/BFI, Britdoc, Ffilm Cymru, Creative Scotland, SDI, NI Screen, Wellcome Trust, Guardian, Grierson, Sundance Institute and SVOD. Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) has been a game changer and opens up new opportunities. Paul again reiterated that teasers can be an effective way to generate excitement around your project.
4. Catherine Elliot-Kemp, Creative Director, Zebra Digital UK (formerly ISIS Media)
Tips on running a successful indie from @cath_cek @creativeengland #focusoncebrum pic.twitter.com/ZeCMudGEYY
— Vicky Jepson (@producervics) February 20, 2019
Catherine has had 19 years experience of running her own TV production company with partner Ben Robinson. Zebra’s clients include the BBC, ITV, UKTV, and Discovery. Catherine offered some valuable insights.
1. Keep up with the technology.
2. Do a ‘taster tape’ on your phone. Don’t worry too much about the technical quality, or obsess about issues such as lighting. A taster can be a great way to capture the essence of your story. It is an alternative/additional tool to show commissioners and hopefully get them excited about your project.
3. In factual commissioning there are two key questions: What is the story? and Do you have access?
Zebra Digital makes some programmes that simply wouldn’t be told on the BBC. For example, Gangsters Made Good, was picked up by Al Jazeera English’s Witness series (“An inspiring documentary series that brings world issues into focus through compelling human stories.”) Authenticity was key. It was about finding the most real people to tell these stories.
Catherine reassured us that London-based commissioners are very interested in finding stories from the regions. A frequent question she hears is “What’s going on where you are?”
It was fascinating to hear how Catherine took the opportunity to pitch a regional story to BBC Birmingham as part of the BBC Civilisations series. She had the idea of finding three key historical figures through which to tell the story of Georgian Birmingham. Innovation and Inspiration in Birmingham featured John Baskerville, Josiah Wedgwood and the lesser known (at least to me) Robert Mynors. The programme was presented by Mark Williams and recently won an RTS award. Congratulations!
To finish off, Catherine reminded us that BBC3 is now based in Birmingham.
All in all, it was a hugely enjoyable and insightful afternoon in the company of some amazing storytellers.
