Lucy Brown has made television programmes around the world for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Nickelodeon and Disney. She has TV credits on BAFTA and RTS award-winning childrens programmes and the acclaimed flagship architecture series Grand Designs. Lucy is Principal Lecturer and Head of Film and Television at the University of Greenwich. She is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy, winner of a Vice-Chancellors Award for Excellence in International Engagement and a regular juror at international media festivals.
Lyndsay Duthie is an award-winning executive producer with television credits for ITV, BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky. Her career has included ten years originating and producing hit series at ITV, as well as running her own company, Ice Blue Media. Lyndsay is Principal Lecturer and Course Director for the University of Hertfordshires Film & TV Programme. She is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy, winner of the Vice-Chancellors Award for Excellence in Education and Graduate Success, and has judged at the Royal Television Society Awards (RTS) and International Emmys.
By capturing the modern, global world of television production from the mouths of those involved in some of the industrys biggest shows, The TV Studio Production Handbook [opens] a window on the real world of programme-making alongside the theory.
David Williams, BBC Creative Director of Entertainment North
This book, written by two women who have triumphed in the trenches of TV production, gives you the tools you need to negotiate todays rapidly evolving international TV landscape.
Shelly Goldstein, TV writer-producer-comedy consultant to ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Sony
A comprehensive and useful guide for those taking their first steps in the TV industry.
Emily Gale, Head of Talent, FremantleMedia UK
The TV Studio Production Handbook
Lucy Brown and Lyndsay Duthie
Published in 2016 by
I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
London New York
www.ibtauris.com
Copyright 2016 Ice Blue Media Ltd and Lucy Brown
The right of Ice Blue Media Ltd and Lucy Brown to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.
References to websites were correct at the time of writing.
ISBN: 978 1 78453 628 2
eISBN: 978 1 78672 041 2
ePDF: 978 1 78673 041 1
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Typeset by Out of House Publishing
To our boys
Elijah, Rudy and Zach
Images
Studio gallery (Courtesy of Channel 4 News)
Coronation Street sets
Studio floor
Lighting plan
Britains Got Talent judges (Courtesy of FremantleMedia UK)
Coronation Street, Rovers Return Inn (Courtesy of ITV Studios)
The Chase (Courtesy of ITV Studios)
Channel 4 News studio (Courtesy of Channel 4 News)
Teletubbies monitor (Courtesy of Darrall Macqueen Ltd)
Teletubbies blue screen (Courtesy of Darrall Macqueen Ltd)
Teletubbies clapper board (Courtesy of Darrall Macqueen Ltd)
Good Morning Britains series editor Neil Thompson (Courtesy of TV Times)
Big Brother bedroom (Courtesy of Endemol UK)
Images 2, 3 and 4 are the authors own.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to everyone who has helped with the making of this book. To our families for their continued support, love and encouragement and to everyone we interviewed for kindly taking the time to speak to us and share their wisdom. We thank each and every one of you: Lisa Armstrong, Dom Bird, Posy Brewer, Kate Broadhurst, Lyn Burgess, Rupert Carey, Maddy Darrall, Nigel Duthie, Emily Gale, Campbell Glennie, Shelly Goldstein, Richard Holloway, Katherine Morgan, David Nugent, Simon Paintin, Andrew Parker, James Penfold, Job Rabkin, Simon Reay, Derek Richards, Kieran Roberts, Sam Snape, Martin Scott, Graham Sherrington, Adrian Swift, Neil Thompson, Werner Walian, Yan Wang, Karl Warner, Andy Waters, Matthew Welch, Jet Wilkinson, David Williams, James Winter and Rebecca Yang.
It has been a great pleasure to speak to so many talented people, and travel to Australia, the USA, China and across the UK to do so. We also thank Isabelle Rawlings for transcribing the interviews!
Thanks to the University of Hertfordshire and the University of Greenwich and to Judy Glasman, Peter Richardson, Steven Adams, Gregory Sporton and Stephen Kennedy for supporting us. We would also like to thank all of our colleagues and students who have inspired us to write this book, and Kim Akass for introducing us to our wonderful publishers I.B.Tauris. Special thanks to our editor Philippa Brewster for guiding us through this exciting journey.
This book has evolved out of the many years we have worked in the TV industry, and we would like to thank all the inspiring people we have met and worked with along the way who have contributed to our knowledge.
We hope you have found this book useful and look forward to hearing all about your productions via our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TVStudioProductionHandbook or tweet us at @lucyaabrown and @Lyndsayduthie.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the definitive guide to making studio productions. This book is packed full of live case studies, tips, jargon, real-world scripts and exclusive interviews with directors, producers and top TV executives, working in the industry in the UK, USA, Australia and China, to ensure you get off to a flying start.
Having worked in the industry for twenty years, we have honed our craft as programme-makers working for broadcasters such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and Nickelodeon and now, as media educators, we share our knowledge and passion for TV with the next generation of programme-makers. While a lot of our students arrive with some knowledge of how to make a film, the studio environment still holds an element of mystery. This book is a practical guide, providing you with invaluable insider knowledge.
Do you really know the protocol of a working gallery? Do you know the countdown procedure? What falling off air means? Well you soon will!
We have tried to make this book as conversational as possible with many references to television shows you will know to bring our words to life. Watch the shows, follow the book and make your own versions. The more shows you make, the better you get!
Part one of the book gives you everything to get started, beginning with the big idea. Why are some ideas more successful than others? How do you come up with an idea? How does a programme get commissioned? What do you need to create a pilot to sell your idea? All of these are key questions with answers from top programme-makers from around the world.
