BBC

Editing masterclass with Emma Lysaght and Matthew Gray

Matthew Gray and Emma Lysaght (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

How to get into editing: Emma Lysaght: “I left school at 16. My father was a film editor so I grew up watching my dad cut film. It was something I’d always wanted to do.

“It was quite a male environment, I was very nervous and very shy. I didn’t get into the cutting room until I was 19. My dad knew of one female editor.

“She needed an assistant so I stepped in and became her assistant. Within the first few months I was cutting news for Channel 4, which was very pressurised but you know exactly what you’ve got to do in those three minutes.

Making professional productions on the go

Deirdre Mulcahy at the University of Westminster (Credit: RTS London/Phil Barnes)

The freelance producer and trainer gave a demonstration of the smartphone’s filming capability at an RTS London event in early November.

“No matter how big the tool, it comes down to the person who is actually using [it],” said Mulcahy. “Storytelling is about where the focus is – and understanding how you shoot.”

RuPaul's Drag Race UK creators discuss bringing drag to screens at RTS Futures event

Sally Miles, Fenton Bailey, Ruby Kuraishe, Scott Bryan, Navi Lamba and Bruce McCoy (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

Drag queens and TV are like peanut butter and jelly – the perfect combination,” added the show’s creator Fenton Bailey.

McCoy and Bailey – executive producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race, both here and in the US – were talking at a lively RTS Futures event in November that looked at how the show was brought to the UK.

UK broadcasters launch streaming service BritBox

(credit: BritBox)

The new streaming service offers content from ITV, the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

BritBox, created by ITV and the BBC, marks the UK’s entry into the paid streaming market alongside international giants such as Netflix and Amazon.

Priced at £5.99 per month, BritBox will offer the biggest collection of British boxsets such as Broadchurch, Doctor Who, Gavin and Stacey, Wolf Hall and Downton Abbey.

James Nesbitt to star in new BBC One crime thriller Bloodlands

James Nesbitt (Credit: BBC)

Nesbitt plays a Northern Irish police detective, Tom Brannick, who is dragged into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse when a car containing a suicide note is pulled out of Strangford Lough.

Brannick connects the note to an infamous cold case that is deeply personal and puts him on the hunt for a legendary assassin.  

Nesbitt commented: “It’s great to be back making a drama in and about Northern Ireland, which now has a film and television industry as good as any in the world.

The technical evolution of TV is explored at Thames Valley

Television is experiencing a technical revolution in broadcast facilities. This new technology – video and audio over IP – uses computer networks to replace traditional broadcast infrastructures to deliver more flexibility and scalability for programme-makers.

Sports producers have already started to benefit from IP. Multiple cameras and microphones at events can be directly streamed into a centralised broadcast facility to increase the number of events covered. Scalable IP studios provide pay-as-you-go resources to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

BBC Two announces second series of Defending the Guilty

(Credi: BBC)

The series explores the world of the Criminal Justice System through idealistic pupil barrister Will, played by Will Sharp (Giri/Haji), who is brought back to reality by his cynical mentor Caroline, played by Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd).

As Will becomes increasingly disillusioned by the underfunded and confusing system, he learns to manipulate the law to suit his moral ideals and serve his idea of justice.  

Mark Thompson discusses the risks facing the UK media landscape at the Steve Hewlett Lecture

Mark Thompson (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

The UK is facing “a total loss of cultural sovereignty”, which risks leaving the country culturally impoverished unless action is taken to stop US giants such as Netflix from dominating the media landscape.

This was the frank message from Mark Thompson, the former Director-General of the BBC who, for seven years since 2012, has been engaged in a wholesale transformation of The New York Times from a print company into a digital-based global news operation with 5 million subscribers.

Tony Hall stresses the importance of the BBC in an age of uncertainty

Tony Hall (Credit: RTS/Richard Kendal)

Earlier, the RTS convention had been told that, as a brand, Netflix today enjoyed the same high levels of public trust as the BBC. As for the TikTok-using, mobile-addicted members of Generation Z, the BBC looked to be completely under the radar.

Now it was the time for Tony Hall, the BBC’s Director-General, to respond. He did so in a wide-ranging, troop-­rallying speech, and argued that, in today’s age of uncertainty, characterised by propaganda and disinformation, the BBC and public service broadcasting were more important than ever.