When director Ashley Francis-Roy and his team set out to make To Catch a Copper, no one could have predicted what the finished series would look like, nor the cases that would emerge in Avon and Somerset Police’s Counter-Corruption Unit.
“We started with a huge amount of openness,” said Francis-Roy, following an RTS screening of episode 2 in Bristol, the city where many of the incidents in the three-part series took place.
The four-part BBC One series took home four prizes: Natural History, Cinematography, Editing and Sound.
Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, The Green Planet explores the fascinating and often bizarre world of plants. It was hailed by the judges as “ground-breaking, innovative and brilliant – an important story about our world in these times of great change”.
Two programmes notched awards two years’ running. The second series of Stephen Merchant’s BBC One comedy thriller The Outlaws won in the Scripted category, repeating its triumph last year.
Chimp Empire, which follows two rival troops of chimps, was previewed at a sold-out joint RTS West of England/Wildscreen Network screening at the Watershed in Bristol, ahead of its release on Netflix last month.
The team spent 18 months filming a four-part series that required extensive research. “We spent months analysing every detail about every chimp known to the scientists,” explained Reed, “so we had these huge backstories from every individual chimp.”
Attendees at the November event, held at the M Shed in Bristol, had a chance to have a go on a remote edit crate, courtesy of Evolutions, and get their hands on some camera kit, thanks to Films at 59. Alongside the informal networking, there was also a series of short talks.
It highlighted ways to create content that supports an environmentally sustainable society.
Albert sustainability trainer and consultant Frankie Singler started proceedings with an overview of Albert and set the context of challenges raised by climate change. He then delved into “Planet placement”, an Albert campaign that provides practical guidance on how to incorporate climate change issues and sustainability into programme-making.
Singler shared case studies and encouraged discussion, with a view to achieving more and better climate storytelling across all genres.
In a wide-ranging discussion, hosted by True to Nature founder Wendy Darke, the duo talked about creating “content worth paying for”, with Reynolds commenting that the “fight for audiences has never been bigger”.
Dixon was delighted at the first 18 months of Sky Documentaries, particularly its Factual Channel win at the recent Broadcast Digital Awards.
The television community of the West of England turned out in force to celebrate their work over the last year, a challenging one for the TV industry.
Guests included writer, presenter and campaigner Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall (War on Plastic: The Fight Goes On), Sarah Beeny (Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country) and Megan McCubbin (Springwatch).
The RTS West of England Awards is the only annual celebration of the region’s creative community and this year the region has again welcomed the work from the RTS Devon and Cornwall centre.
Television has never had it so good in Bristol, with indies and talent flocking to the city to meet the demands of soaring production.
According to new research from the University of the West of England, “Go West”, there are currently 197 creative companies in the Bristol city region, supporting 2,500 permanent jobs and thousands more freelancers.
Sky, Netflix and All3Media have invested in the city’s indies, and Channel 4 has opened one of its two regional Creative Hubs in Bristol.
Hear the inside story of production in lockdown in Bristol and how our Indies see the months ahead.
Lynn Barlow, chair, RTS WoE, is joined by Wendy Darke, CEO True to Nature Productions, Grant Mansfield, CEO Plimsoll Productions, Mike Jenkins, Founder, Blak Wave Productions, and Sacha Mirzoeff, Channel 4 Commissioner, Bristol Creative Hub.
