documentary

RTS Student Masterclass: Editing drama and documentaries

Ben Stark, Alex Graham (chair), Una Ni Dhonghaile (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

When it comes to producing great television, a good editor is where it all begins and ends. That was the clear message for students attending the RTS craft skills editing masterclass.

Ben Stark, a feted documentary film editor and Una Ni Dhonghaile, who has won plaudits for her work editing TV drama, delivered the masterclass chaired by media consultant Alex Graham.

Stark and Dhonghaile each discussed three examples of their work.

BBC Three's move online: what the public thinks

BBC Three, BBC Trust, public, online, television,

"BBC Three is not closing, we are reinventing online," promised Damian Kavanagh, controller of BBC Three, after it was announced the youth-channel would be migrating from televisions to tablets and computers in the new year.

The decision, which has been mooted for several months, was met with a mixed reaction.

 

Dedication is key to a good documentary, says Sean McAllister

A Syrian Love Story

When documentary filmmaker Sean McAllister started his latest project, A Syrian Love Story, he had little idea of the journey he would end up on.

What began as a film following a family as they waited for their mother to be released from prison evolved to demonstrate how one family could be affected by the turmoil in Syria.

The story began in 2010, when McAllister met Amer, a Palestinian living in Syria, who was looking after his three sons alone while his wife, Raghda, was incarcerated for writing a book criticising the Assad regime.

BBC Three investigates racism in Britain.

One documentary, Is Britain racist?, explores whether prejudice against ethnic minorities remains. It will air in September.

Undercover journalists take to the streets of Britain to expose the reality of discrimination against skin colour.

Presenter Mona Chalabi will be putting British people on the spot to discover how racism affects their way of life including who they decide to marry.

Four-part documentary The Ascent of Woman to hit BBC Two

A trailblazing four-part documentary series on the history of women will air on BBC Two this autumn.

Charting the role of women in society over 10,000 years, The Ascent Of Woman is the first ever documentary to explore the history of women from the birth of civilisation to the contemporary era.

Focusing on the themes of freedom, oppression, inclusion and exclusion, the series aims to study the status of women and women’s rights.

The series is written and presented by Dr Amanda Foreman, the author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.

BBC set to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s reign in new documentary

The BBC will be paying tribute to the Queen as the longest-reigning monarch in British history in a new documentary.

The Queen’s Longest Reign: Elizabeth & Victoria will air on 9 September to mark the milestone.

Queen Elizabeth II has surpassed her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years and seven months.  

New entertainment format, Hunted, hits Channel 4

If you’ve ever fantasised about throwing away your phone and disappearing without leaving a digital footprint, look away now.

Channel 4’s new series Hunted is set to explore what it’s like to stay concealed in a society where being monitored is a daily reality and questions whether we ever truly can run away from 24/7 surveillance.

Part-documentary and part-thriller, this brand new format sees 14 ordinary participants on the run to evade capture from expert Hunters. Can they escape detection, avoid CCTV and even social media?