BBC Scotland

TV writers give a masterclass in scriptwriting for RTS Scotland

April Chamberlain, Lorna Martin and Stuart Hepburn (Credit: Ben Gallacher)

Lorna Martin, who won the inaugural Writers Award at the RTS Scotland Awards in June, encouraged would-be writers in the audience to put pen to paper: “People want your story. There’s so many production companies and they want content.”

Martin – who adapted her best-selling book, Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, for UKTV channel W and RTÉ2 (Women on the Verge) – continued: “Look for the type of production company whose shows resonate with you or [make] shows you like – I think that’s crucial.”

She added: “And send them a nice email.”

Audio Post-Production Discussion at RTS Scotland

Speakers at the event, which was held at BBC Scotland, included Avid Pro Tools specialist Simon Sherbourne and dubbing mixer Paul Wilson whose credits include BBC One’s Panorama.

Wilson discussed sound, narrative and the thought processes that lie behind building a basic soundtrack. He used recent BBC Two documentary Planet Oil to demonstrate how vital sound is in telling a good story.

The Campbell Swinton Lecture 2013 - Ken MacQuarrie - Director, BBC Scotland - ‘The BBC in a Connected World’

BBC lines up live streams from 17 locations to bring audiences quality coverage of Commonwealth Games

BBC audiences throughout Scotland and the UK will be kept in the picture with live streams from the Commonwealth Games venues.

BBC Scotland Director Ken MacQuarrie, speaking at an industry event last night, pledged that programming of, and around, the Games will be second to none.

This week's top TV: 10 - 16 August

Suits

Monday

Suits

Dave

10pm

Suits is back for a fifth season and a lot has changed since the legal drama first hit our screens back in 2011.

Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) is no longer the suave and arrogant city slicker we first met.

Season five finds the lawyer throwing his toys out of the pram as Donna, his longstanding PA, goes to work for his rival Louis (Rick Hoffman).

Meanwhile,  Specter’s former protégé Mike (Patrick J. Adams) is more focused on his recent engagement to Rachel (Meghan Markle).

 

Profile: Ken MacQuarrie

Ken MacQuarrie

When Tony Hall needed someone to investigate Jeremy Clarkson's attack on his producer, he looked north and summoned Ken MacQuarrie, the calm and reserved Director of BBC Scotland.

 

As an experienced member of the Editorial Standards Committee, MacQuarrie was an obvious choice. His terse report sealed Clarkson's exit. What the Top Gear presenter made of the enigmatic Scot, his polar opposite, remains the stuff of speculation.