Mipdoc 2017 preview magazine

MARCH 2017

www.mipdoc.com The official MIPDoc magazine

doc

PREVIEW WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

Big Pacific

MIPDOC SHOWCASE

Origins: Journey Of Humankind

WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

Tokyo Phoenix

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Also inside: • PBS’ The Vietnam War • The Japanese Pitching Showcase • International CoProduction Summit • all3media Snack & Screen • MIPDoc International Pitch • and more...

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Contents 6

News

MIPDoc World Premiere TV Screenings; New documentary series from National Geographic and PBS; Factual Trends – A Global Overview; The MIPDoc International Co-Production Summit; The Japanese Documentary Pitching Showcase; and more...

Product News

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Documentary Co-production

A look at some of the latest factual alliances and their creative, geographic and financial structures

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Highlights of some of the international multiplatform factual content showcased at MIPDoc and MIPTV

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Virtual reality

Wildlife, current affairs and historical documentaries are among the many productions pushing back the creative boundaries thanks to virtual reality

What’s new in factual

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The real-life stories, the editorial angles, social experiments and viewer trends that are set to dominate the market in 2017

Also inside : 39 Tips & services

22 Conferences

mipdoc PREVIEW The official MIPDoc preview magazine March 2017. Director of Publications Paul Zilk Director of Communication Mike Williams ®

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief Julian Newby Deputy Editor Debbie Lincoln Technical Editor in Chief Hervé Traisnel Deputy Technical Editor in Chief Frédéric Beauseigneur Graphic Designers Nour Ezzedeen, Carole Peres Sub Editor Joanna Stephens Contributors Andy Fry, Juliana Koranteng Editorial Management Boutique Editions PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director Martin Screpel Publishing Manager Amrane Lamiri Publishing Co-ordinators Yovana Filipovic, Emilie Lambert Printer Riccobono Imprimeurs, Le Muy (France) MANAGEMENT & SALES TEAM Director of the Entertainment Division Jérome Delhaye Director of the Television Division Laurine Garaude MIPDoc Conference Director Lucy Smith Director of Market Development Ted Baracos Programme Director Tania Dugaro Director of the Buyers’ Department Bénédicte Touchard Brand Director Lionel Lelouch TV Division Sales Director Géraud de Lacombe Senior Sales Director Entertainment (UK / Australia / New Zealand) Paul Nickeas Director UK Sales – TV Division Matt Colgan Director UK Sales Music & TV Division Javier Lopez Senior Vice President Sales & Business Development Robert Marking VP Sales - TV Division José-Luis Sanchez Director of Visitors Sales Matthew Rosenstein Sales Director Panayiota Pagoulatos Sales Director Christopher Domenick Sales Manager Hugo della Motta Regional Sales Director Sylvain Faureau Regional Sales Director Nathalie Gastone Regional Sales Director Fabienne Germond Sales Managers Paul Barbaro, Liliane Da Cruz, Nancy Denole, Samira Haddi, Cyril Szczerbakow Sales Managers, Buyers Deborah Carella, Yi-Ping Gerard, Eve Gualbert Australia and New Zealand Representative Natalie Apostolou China Representatives Anke Redl, Tammy Zhao CIS Representatives Alexandra Modestova English Speaking Africa Representative Arnaud de Nanteuil Germany Representative Marc Wessel India Representative Anil Wanvari Israel Representative Guy Martinovsky Japan Representative Lily Ono Middle-East Representative Bassil Hajjar Poland Representative Monika Bednarek Spain Representative Maria Jose Vadillo South Asia Representative Adam Ham South Korea Representative Sunny Kim Taiwan Representative Irene Liu Reed MIDEM, a joint stock company (SAS), with a capital of €310.000, 662 003 557 R.C.S. NANTERRE, having offices located at 27-33 Quai Alphonse Le Gallo - 92100 BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT (FRANCE), VAT number FRt91 662 003 557.

Contents © 2017, Reed MIDEM Market Publications. Publication registered 1st quarter 2017. ISSN 1963-2266. Printed on PEFC Certified Paper

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Produced by NHNZ in co-production with PBS, CCTV9, ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, Discovery International, Channel 9 and Arte

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World Premiere TV Screening

Sights unseen THE PACIFIC Ocean covers one third of the Earth’s surface, is greater than all Earth’s land combined and holds half of the world’s water. Filmed in UHD, Big Pacific is a fourpart, cinematic series focusing on four of the Ocean’s characteristics: passionate, voracious, violent and mysterious.

“Back in 2013 we developed the concept of Big Pacific in-house. Blue-chip natural history was coming back into fashion and there was a demand for big audacious, noisy series,” said Kyle Murdoch, NHNZ managing director and Big Pacific executive producer. “We put together an amazing reel which broke all the rules. Music and pacing was modern, and we decided we’d tell the story not by geography or habitats but through emotions. It was so different so it got a lot of attention and that created enormous momentum and confidence from our other partners.”

“I still remember when I saw the sizzle for the first time,” said Ralf Rueckauer, vice-president, ZDFE factual. “NHNZ had been in touch with Nikolas Huelbusch, the co-production expert in my team. One day, he came into my office and said: ‘You’ve got to have a look at the sizzle reel, it’s different, it’s very big, it’s extraordinary’, I just couldn’t stop

watching it — goosebumps for hours and hours… “ Shot in up to 6K, with footage showing sights few will ever have seen, Rueckauer said the images tell the whole story. “A host as a ‘teacher’ is not needed. Big Pacific provides a very different and unique look at our mother nature.”

But shooting in up to 6K brings particular challenges. “You do see much more detail — which can be great when looking at the natural world, but it also means that our crews had to be fastidious in maintaining optic housings on their cameras,” Murdoch said.

“Any minute dirt or marks that wouldn’t usually be an issue in HD could potentially ruin a whole day of footage.” With that size of footage a card can’t hold as much as it would with standard HD — so the DOPs had to be careful to manage their storage. But, “from a distributors point of view, UHD/4K is a must if you want to be part of the sellers/buyers game in the near future”, Rueckauer said.

Not every sequence you see in the series was planned. “We knew what animals we wanted to include, but sometimes they entered the series in surprising ways,” Murdoch said.

“On location filming around Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands our crew unexpectedly

found Moray eels coming out of the water on to land to hunt for crabs, behaviour that has never been filmed before.”

And in the Philippines, a cameraman was in the water to filming a Dugong mother and calf, when the crew heard and felt a massive underwater explosion. “On the other side of the cove someone was dynamite fishing — an illegal practice that can devastate the environment,” Murdoch said. The crew quickly raced towards the explosion. “The illegal fishermen ended up fleeing, and crashed into the shore abandoning their vessel. Our team was devastated by what they saw — but were able to capture it all on film and show the real problems these animals face and what local heroes are trying to do. This sequence is part of our behind-the-scenes hour.”

Big Pacific is produced by NHNZ in association with PBS, CCTV9, ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, Discover y International, Channel 9 and ARTE.

• The World Premiere TV Screening of Big Pacific is on Saturday, April 1, at 18.00 in the JW Marriott Grand Theatre. Parts of the series will be shown on Tuesday, April 4, at 10:15, within MIPTV’s 4K screenings programme

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News WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

Rising from the ashes TOKYO Phoenix: The Rise Of Modern Japan is a documentary special that uses archive footage to tell the recent history of the great Japanese megalopolis. Distributed

by France’s Terranoa, the film is one of two World Premiere TV Screenings at this year’s MIPDoc. The documentary was the brainchild of NHK director Shinji Iwata. The project was conceived around the time when it was announced that Tokyo would host the 2020 Olympics. The Japanese government — and public broadcaster NHK — immediately put into action measures that would give the international community greater knowledge about Japan and its capital, and Tokyo Phoenix is a part of that initiative.

Recent history has seen Tokyo on the brink of destruction twice — from the 1923 earthquake and then World War II — but both times it rose from the ashes. Economic recession has posed a more recent threat and to many the Tokyo Olympics symbolise a third rebirth.

Iwata decided to employ NHK’s vast archive — and other important international resources — to tell Tokyo’s story; French coproduction partner CC&C came up with the concept of Tokyo as a phoenix — a symbol of revival and survival — and filmmaker Olivier Julien was brought on board to turn the ideas into reality.

“In 2014, NHK produced the original Japanese version of Tokyo Phoenix directed by Shinji Iwata,” said Anne-Severine des Longchamps, production manager at CC&C, producer of historical documentaries and specialist in image restoration and colourisation. “The film beautifully reflected Tokyo’s history from the inside. With our strong expertise in archive documentaries, NHK entrusted to us with the production of the international version of Tokyo Phoenix. CC&C, with director, Olivier Julien, was quite thrilled to take up the challenge.”

Although NHK is the depository for a vast collection of archive film, the historical footage used in Tokyo Phoenix: The Rise Of Modern Japan, was unearthed from various archives throughout the world. “Some of the earliest images of Tokyo dating between the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, were taken by French motion picture companies Lumiere and Gaumont Pathe,” Iwata said. “It was the Germans, Japan’s allies in the Axis powers at that time, who chronicled Japanese society in the 1930s as she headed down the path of nationalism. These German-produced films were confiscated by the Allies after World War II and existed only in the archives of England and Russia.

In the 1960s, the BBC and CBS produced

interesting reports on Japan’s exponential economic growth.”

The team also sought out privately owned home movies for footage taken from an individual point of view. These rare sequences include film of a stage show of the Takarazuka Revue, an all-female musical theatre troupe that symbolised Tokyo’s modern culture in the 1930s, and a family living in the city’s burned-out ruins right after World War II. “The archives researched and carefully selected by Shinji Iwata were no less than a treasure from a historical and cinematographic point of view,” des Longchamps said.

“Olivier Julien’s intricate mission was to work from these images and to give a non-Japanese audience the keys to fully understand them. The history of Tokyo is a true epic, a saga full of unexpected twists and turns.”

“When foreigners talk about Tokyo, they invariably use words like ‘cutting edge’, ‘futuristic’, but seldom do they show interest in the past. The same goes for the Japanese; NHK had never produced a programme with the overview of Tokyo’s history as the main theme,” Iwata said. “Historical archive films are the eyewitness testimony to the turbulent times of the city. As the director of the original version of Tokyo Phoenix, my goal was to give new life to archival and historical films through the magic of colourisation so that the viewers could enjoy and appreciate the drama that is the unknown history of Tokyo.” l Tokyo Phoenix: The Rise Of Modern Japan is a MIPDoc World Premiere TV Screening presented by NHK and CC&C, on Sunday, April 2 at 17.15 in the Grand Theatre of the JW Marriott

A family walks through the rubble in Tokyo at the end of World War II

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News

Origins takes us back to beginning of humankind ORIGINS: The Journey Of Humankind is a documentary series from National Geographic Channel, in partnership with Asylum Entertainment and Melodysheep, aka. electronic musician John D Boswell.

Origins celebrates the dramatic history of humankind and the universe through images and music. Futurist, philosopher and TV personality Jason Silva (Brain Games) is the presenter and “time traveler” as the series delves into the phenomenon of human evolution. Silva will attend the MIPDoc Networking Lunch, sponsored by Fox, which follows the screening.

“Origins aims to tackle the most compelling tale of all — how the world as we know it came to be — through an emotionally

charged mash-up of stunning visuals and an epic, heart-pulsing score,” said Tim Pastore, president, original programming and production, National Geographic Channels.

“With the distinctive musical talents of Melodysheep, the storytelling expertise of Asylum Entertainment and Jason Silva’s infectious passion for curiosity, Origins is poised to become the definitive science series celebrating the drama and history of humanity.”

The series “shows how we have evolved our imaginative capacities to help us overcome all of our limits”, Silva said. “Our senses have grown sharper. We’ve expanded our minds, and we continue to dream of what we can become.”

Origins tells “the epic story of mankind in a way you’ve never seen before”, Boswell said.

Taking a new look at Vietnam THE VIETNAM War, a new 10-part, 18hour documentary film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, is presented at MIPDoc on Sunday, April 1.

The series hears from nearly 100 witnesses, including Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from

both sides of the conflict.

“The Vietnam War was a decade of agony that took the lives of more than 58,000 Americans,” Burns said. “Not since the Civil War have we as a country been so torn apart.

There wasn’t an American alive then who wasn’t affected in some way — from those who fought and sacrificed in the war, to

Director Ken Burns: “The Vietnam War was a decade of agony that took the lives of more than 58,000 Americans”

Jason Silva in Origins: “We continue to dream of what we can become” “Frightening, empowering and humbling, it will change how you view humanity. A groundbreaking musical soundtrack and visual style will be central to the series’ identity, and I couldn’t be more excited.”

• Origins: The Journey Of Humankind is featured in a session on Saturday, April 1, at 12.15 in the JW Marriott Grand Theatre, followed by the MIPDoc Networking Lunch, sponsored

by Fox Networks Group Content Distribution

families of service members and POWs, to those who protested the war in open conflict with their government and fellow citizens.”

“Ken and I have tried to shed new light on the human dimensions of the war by looking at it from the bottom up, the top down and from all sides,” said Novic, who will join PBS executives at the Showcase. “In addition to dozens of ‘ordinary’ Americans who shared their stories, we interviewed many ‘ordinary’ Vietnamese soldiers and non-combatants in the North and South, and we were surprised to learn that the war remains as painful and unresolved for them as it is for us.”

Written by Geoffrey C Ward and produced by Sarah Botstein, Novick and Burns, the series includes rarely seen, digitally re-mastered archival footage from sources around the world, photographs by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th century, television broadcasts, home movies, audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations and more than 100 musical recordings by artists of the era.

The Vietnam War is a production of Florentine Films and WETA, Washington, DC, and is distributed by PBS Distribution.

• The Vietnam War: A Special Presentation With Lynn Novick, is on Sunday, April 2 at 14.15, followed by a meet-andgreet event at 15.00 in the Networking Lounge

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News

Tokyo Docs puts Japanese factual on the world map THE MIPDOC Japanese Pitching Showcase is back in Cannes for its second year. It represents an opportunity for Japanese filmmakers to pitch new factual and documentary projects to a jury of international decision-makers.

The Showcase is held in association with Tokyo Docs, the annual government- and industry-supported documentary film festival that provides filmmakers from Japan and other parts of Asia with opportunities to develop and realise international coproductions of documentary films.

“The biggest benefit we expect from holding a pitching session at MIPDoc is an opportunity to expose the Japanese documentary projects to a community of producers and distributors from around the world,” Tokyo Docs chairman Yukihiko Amagi said. “And we already have had some successes, a good example of which is Red Children — a

producer from Germany and a distributor from France agreed to take part in co-producing the documentary.”

The four projects pitched at MIPDoc this year all won favourable reaction at Tokyo Docs back in November of last year. “We recognised they all had good chances for international joint projects,” Amagi said. “Dr Maya is about a woman psychiatrist who also enjoys recognition as a designer; Hug Me shows how a nursing robot is being developed; Memories In 1/12 is about a man who builds dolls houses and the people who ask him to make miniature models of their own homes, each filled with precious memories; and Sruya is about the eventful life of a legendary black female figure skater.”

Following the MIPDoc pitching session, Amagi and his team then initiate discussions with interested producers or distributors with an aim to conclude a co-production agreement.

And Japan has a track record in factual on the international market. “The single most successful Japanese documentary film in recent years is The Giant Squid, co-produced

by NHK and Discovery Channel in 2013,” Amagi said. “This nature documentary film owes its success to a submersible vessel with a camera crew who managed to capture the world’s first image of the living giant creature in a punishing environment of 800 metres down in the deep ocean.”

• The Japanese Documentary Pitching Showcase is at 11.15 on Saturday, April 1, in the MIPDocProducers Hub

Tokyo Docs chairman Yukihiko Amagi

MIPDoc speakers face the facts THE TWO-DAY MIPDoc conference programme looks at a wide range of subjects that relate to factual programming. Among them, on Saturday April 1 at 16.00, fake news is on the agenda. In Bringing The Facts Back To Factual, panelists will consider the issue of trust — how to win the back the trust of younger audiences who are less accepting of traditional media while being immersed in the online world where fake news and post-truth thrive. Speakers include Antoine Robin, founder and president, of Spicee Media, France.

A Primer For The Asian Content Market,

on Sunday, April 2 at 11.45, explores opportunities for local and global producers and how international players can cultivate long-term relationships with broadcasters.

Speakers include Amanda Groom, managing director of The Bridge, UK. The SVOD Playing Field: Thinking Local, Going Global looks at how online is proving fertile ground for factual. While global SVOD clients make headlines with A-list documentaries, niche local SVOD services are increasingly looking for content that will enable them to compete globally. In this session, a diverse panel of SVOD players unveil

their business and editorial strategies, share upcoming projects and discuss partnership opportunities.

Speakers include Hugh Williams of Cirkus TV, UK; Alexandre Michelin of Spicee Media, France; Roger Jackson of Kinonation, US; and moderator is Peter Hamilton, of Peter Hamilton Consultants, US. A focus of the second day is the MIPDoc Snack & Screen session, sponsored by all3media International. Guests will be treated to a 30-minute showcase of factual programming, during which a snack lunch is offered.

•See conference programme for more details

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News

How the smartphone has revolutionised production THE MIPDOC conference programme, kicks off with the session Factual Trends – A Global Overview organised in association with international media consultancy K7 Media.

According to K7 Media communications manager, David Ciaramella, viewers still have an insatiable appetite for “true crime, secret lives and delving into the lives of people on the fringe of society”, but says that one of the most important trends in factual is the increasing impact of digital on the genre. “With SVOD platforms stockpiling documentary series and DTT channels establishing their OTT options, audiences are faced with an impossibly huge amount of programming to choose from. The question is whether or not linear channels can wrestle millennial viewers away from the ever-connected digital world, as traditional approaches become more irrelevant.”

A big OTT hit was Netflix’s Making A Murderer in the true crime genre. “The

K7 Media’s David Ciaramella: the most significant new technology is the smartphone

show’s success was a wake-up call to broadcasters and producers alike that there is a large and hungry audience for this sort of dramatically rich yet carefully considered factual programming,” Ciaramella said.

Documenatry filmmakers have always been quick to adopt new technology, and viewers are used to seeing new production techniques being used first in factual: “Virtual reality, 4K then 8K and drones are all relatively recent technologies that were first adopted by producers in the genre,” Ciaramella said.

But perhaps the most significant new technology in the context of factual is the smartphone. “In the last few years, the perception of what makes for broadcast-quality footage has been completely turned on its head and there are now even phones on the market that come with the ability to record video in astonishing 4K resolution. With technology that is so accessible we are able to shoot or watch footage that is closer to the subject than ever before. As a well-regarded photographer once said, ‘The best camera in the world is the one you have with you’.”

• Factual Trends – A Global Overview kicks off the MIPDoc conference programme on Saturday, April 1, at 09.45 in the JW Marriott Grand Theatre

Co-pro a growing trend in factual THE MIPDoc International Co-Production Summit brings together some of the most influential decision-makers shaping the future of documentary co-production. Moderator of the invitation-only event is Peter Hamilton, a consultant who specialises in business development for the unscripted video industry.

In an industry where everything is changing so fast, Hamilton says factual is in good shape, “because more factual video than ever is being produced and viewed, and giant new buyers and funders have entered the market, notably Netflix, Amazon, and just now Facebook, with its 1.8 billion monthly users”.

Also, public television services like the BBC, NHK and ARD have largely escaped severe cutbacks, despite the harsh political climate worldwide. “Many producers are looking with fresh eyes at the stability of the public broadcasters,” he said.

But the optimism comes with a warning: “The young ones are leaving the channels. As a result, subscriber fees, advertising revenues and ultimately programming budgets are all shrinking.

The total programme spend of the SVOD and other online content providers doesn’t replace the rolling cutbacks by the channels.”

A key topic at the Summit might be what Hamilton describes as the “bigger/better/ fewer economy”, which means “it’s all tentpole and no tent. Budgets are being spent on big promotable specials while the pipeline shrinks for standard primetime factual.” He added: “One outcome is that more channels and producers are looking to share costs with co-production partners. In fact, since last MIPDoc, I would say that a key trend is the revival by major factual channels of co-productions, pre-buys, acquisitions, and re-versioning of acquired and library programmes.”

The business of co-production, particularly where several countries are involved, can be complex, Hamilton said. “But co-productions do work where ambitions for a project are greater than the available budgets, and where partners offer finance, unique access, special talent, and other benefits.” He

Peter Hamilton: “More channels and producers are looking to share costs” added: “Because of the disruptive quality of our time, more and more programmers are recognising the value of co-productions.”

• The MIPDoc International Co-Production Summit is on Sunday, April 2, at 08.30 at the JW Marriott Producers Hub

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Product News Here we highlight some of the factual specials and series from around the world on offer in Cannes at MIPDoc and onwards at MIPTV AB INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION HISTORY’s Great Love Affairs (5 x 52

mins), brought to Cannes by Parisbased AB International, is a series that profiles the love stories of well-known figures from 20th-century France.

Episodes include: From Belle Epoque To The End Of The Great War, with Pierre and Marie Curie, Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel and Colette and Missy; The Roaring Twenties; Lovers From An Ending World; France Between The Return Of Peace And Wars; and France In The 1960s.

ZDF ENTERPRISES (ZDFE) FACTUAL titles from Germany’s

ZDFE include: Hitler’s Circle Of Evil (10 x 50 mins), about Sepp Dietrich, Heinrich Himmler, Rudolf Hess, Herman Goering and Josef Goebbels; Children Of The Wild (1 x 50 mins), about feral children and comparing the story of a child known as ‘monkey boy’ in Uganda and that of the fictitious Mowgli from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book; Wild Spain (2 x 50 mins); The Story Of Europe (6 x 50 mins); and World War A (1 x 50 mins), about the possibility of hostile space aliens.

ATLANTIC PRODUCTIONS MISSION Galapagos (3 x 60 mins) is a

co-production between London-based Atlantic Productions and Alucia Productions. Presented by Liz Bonnin and commissioned by BBC One in the UK, Mission Galapagos follows a team of international scientists on a journey of discovery across the islands aboard a state-of-the-art research vessel. The team explores the depths of the ocean, inside volcanic craters and visits the Scalesia forests. The series will be distributed globally by BBC Worldwide.

CINEFLIX RIGHTS DIANA: The Day The World Cried (1 x

Colette and Missy in History’s Great Love Affairs (AB International Distribution)

ABOUT PREMIUM CONTENT (APC) PARIS -based APC’s new series Food

3.0 (3 x 43 mins) looks at the future of food production — culturally, scientifically and politically — as the global population increases. APC is also launching series two of Dream The Future (20 x 52 mins), which profiles people determined to change the world in areas including work, entertainment, communication, waste, oceans, agriculture, art, cuisine and cities.

60 mins) is premiered in Cannes by London-based distributor Cineflix Rights. From Finestripe Productions and made for the UK’s ITV, the documentary marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. On September 6th 1997 one million people lined the streets of London for the funeral procession, and 2.5 billion people around the world watched it on television, making it one of the most watched events in history. The programme tells the story of that day from the people who were there, including famous faces at Westminster Abbey, the funeral’s chief architect Sir Malcolm Ross, chief pallbearer Captain Richard Williams and the former Royal Protection Officer who looked after Diana and the two Princes and travelled in the hearse with Diana’s coffin.

Liz Bonnin in Mission Galapagos (Atlantic Productions)

ZEE ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES (ZEEL) INDIA’s ZEEL, among the largest

producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world, highlights Altard (6 x 60 mins) in Cannes. In the HD series fitness and nutrition experts work for 12 weeks with a bride and groom separately to help them shape up in time for their wedding day.

Big

Dream The Future (APC)

Diana: The Day The World Cried (Cineflix Rights)

Altard (ZEEL)

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Product News NHK ENTERPRISES JAPAN’s Yayoi Kusama is one of the

most popular female artists in the world. Known for her use of vivid colours and dots, her works sell for millions. At 87-years-old she continues to paint, one painting every two or three days. Yayoi Kusama: My Eternal Soul, brought to Cannes by NHK, follows the artist’s process from the initial brush strokes to completion, all in 8K. The public broadcaster also highlights Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki (1 x 48 mins/70 mins), about the creator of anime films including Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. NHK director Kaku Arakawa profiles the master who two years after declaring retirement in 2013 decided to make a short animation called Kemushi No Boro (Boro The Caterpillar). The film records Miyazaki at the age of 75 as he embarks on a new endeavor, this time using CGI for the first time in his life.

AUTENTIC DISTRIBUTION COLOGNE, Germany-based Autentic

brings a line-up of factual titles to Cannes, including: the third season of Salvagemasters, in which various items are saved from wreckage; historical documentary Colonia Dignidad — The True Story, which includes raw historical data and never-before-seen scenes, profiling life under subjugation, abuse and torture; and The Proteom Code — In Search Of Immortality, in which scientists and investors search for the key to prolonged human existence.

BBC WORLDWIDE TWO SHOWS top the documentary slate for BBC Worldwide. Ocean (6 x 50 mins/working title) travels from the polar seas to coral atolls to explore astonishing new discoveries, including strange octopuses and giant fish leaping to catch birds. Civilisations (9 x 50 mins) explores the global history of art as the driving force for civilisation, using specialist filming techniques to capture the scale of the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia and pick out the exquisite detail of Michelangelo’s Basilica of St Peter.

Salvagemasters (Autentic Distribution)

CONTENT MEDIA CORPORATION NEW 90 -minute documentary Mario

KWANZA PARIS-based Kwanza brings Conversations

Lanza: The Best Of Everything tells the story of one of the most famous tenors the world has ever known. The first true crossover artist during the Fifties had box-office hits including The Toast Of New Orleans, The Great Caruso and The Student Prince, while music hits such as Because You’re Mine and Be My Love, saw him idolised worldwide.

Within 10 years, his star had burned out and he was dead at 38 years old.

Content’s film unveils a life of fame, passion, tantrums, success, vices, generosity and tragedies.

Conversations With Dolphins (Kwanza)

Mario Lanza: The Best Of Everything (Content Media Corporation)

Yayoi Kusama: My Eternal Soul (NHK Enterprises)

DRG THE CHURCHILLS (3 x 60 mins), made by

Dox Productions for ARTE and PBS, and brought to Cannes by the UK’s DRG, sees historian David Starkey tell the story of two great war leaders in British history — Winston Churchill, who led Britain during the Second World War and his ancestor John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, who led Britain and its allies against France’s Louis XIV. Winston was a historian before he was Prime Minister and his greatest work was a fourvolume biography of Marlborough.

©MC4 Ideacom International

With Dolphins (2 x 52 mins/4K) to Cannes.

The co-production (for CBC’s Nature Of Things and France Televisions) profiles Adam Walker, a British swimmer who when attacked by a white shark had his life saved by dolphins. The documentary investigates the connections possible between humans and this highly intelligent mammal, introducing renowned specialists working in research and in the wild.

Ocean (BBC Worldwide)

The Churchills (DRG)

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Product News BANIJAY RIGHTS AMERICAN Justice (3 x 60 mins), a

series brought to Cannes by Banijay Rights, offers insight into various contemporary issues. A Minnow Films production for the UK’s BBC Two, the show follows the police, court and prison systems in Florida, one of the US’ toughest states. Against this backdrop State Attorney Angela Corey — who has sent more people to Death Row per capita than her contemporaries — is up for re-election in Jacksonville, Florida’s murder capital.

RED ARROW INTERNATIONAL EMPIRE Builders (10 x 60 mins) is a new series from Pilot Productions for PBS in

documentary series The Vietnam War (10 x 60 mins/HD) is brought to the international market by PBS International. The series airs on PBS in the US and ARTE in France and Germany. The Vietnam War features testimony from nearly 100 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides. It includes digitally remastered archival footage, photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th century, historic television broadcasts, home movies, revelatory audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations and contemporary music.

The Vietnam War (PBS International)

Cannes. Among the highlights are two history documentaries: Assassinating Franco – Resistance Against A Dictator (1 x 52 mins), which looks at the numerous attempts on the life of the Spanish dictator during his almost 40-year reign; and The Renaissance Factor (2 x 52 mins), which investigates the numerous political, cultural, economic and scientific factors that triggered this pivotal period in history.

The company also brings For All The World To See (1 x 90 mins/52 mins), which focuses on raising awareness of violence against women in Asia, Africa and Europe.

The Renaissance Factor (New Docs)

American Justice (Banijay Rights)

PBS INTERNATIONAL IN PRODUCTION for more than six years,

NEW DOCS GERMANY-based distributor New Docs is presenting a wide-ranging line-up in

the US, launched in Cannes by Red Arrow International. Featuring expert contributors, CGI and dramatic reconstructions, Empire Builders examines 10 great world empires through sites that defined their achievements and legacy.

Included are: Egypt, Greece, Spain, the Romans, the Ottomans, the Mughals, the Moors, the British Raj and the rise of the American Empire.

RTE INTERNATIONAL FINDING Banni (1 x 60 mins), a Moon

TV production for Ireland’s RTE, is a moving documentary in which presenter Colm Flynn sets out to track down the boy his family tried to adopt from Belarus 16 years ago. The Flynns had fostered Banni for a year and a half and, although he had become part of the family, the Belarusian authorities vetoed their attempts to keep him and Banni had to return to the specialneeds orphanage from where he came.

Finding Banni (RTE International)

FREMANTLEMEDIA INTERNATIONAL (FMI) PRODUCED by Lightbox, commissioned

by the UK’s Channel 4 and brought to Cannes by FMI, documentary special War Child follows four child refugees as they undertake dangerous journeys from their war-torn homes in the Middle East and Afghanistan to safety in Europe. Beginning in a refugee camp in northern Greece, the children travel alone across borders and through hostile countries while hiding from the military and police.

War Child (FMI)

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Product News PASSION DISTRIBUTION LONDON -based Passion Distribution

ALBATROSS WORLD SALES THE MIPTV factual catalogue from German distributor Albatross includes:

highlights two titles from its MIPTV catalogue. London Fire Brigade (3 x 60 mins/working title) follows the world’s fifth busiest fire brigade in the UK capital as it deals with dramatic incidents and rescues people from a surprising range of emergencies. Featured events include fires in homes and offices, toxic chemical spills, motorway crashes, rail crashes, boats running aground, stuck lifts, animal rescue and evacuations, among others.

Documentary Sex Bots (1 x 60 mins) takes a look at the development of a new sex doll, against the background of a prediction that within 10 years sex with robots will be commonplace.

Sex Bots follows the creation of the world’s first a lifelike doll that looks, moves and talks like a human.

Megeti – Africa’s Lost Wolf (1 x 52 mins), about a lone Ethiopian wolf attempting to connect with a new pack; Good, Better, Vegan? (1 x 52 mins), exploring veganism and questioning its sustainability; Milk – Facts, Figures And Beliefs (1 x 52 mins), in which microbiologists and doctors explain the difference between traditional and industrial milk production; Welcome To...

(5 x 26 mins/2 x 45 mins), a series in which features, in each episode, a family, their house and region; Lionfish – New Pirates Of The Caribbean (1 x 52 mins), following the Pacific lionfish, a species that was accidentally released into the Atlantic; Down To Earth – Flightless Birds (1 x 52 mins); The Run (1 x 52 mins), about a Korean marathon runner — competing for Japan — who won gold at the 1936 Nazihosted Olympics; and Battle For Blood (1 x 52 mins), about the latest advances in blood production.

GAD AMONG the new programmes presented in Cannes by Paris-based GAD are: The Extremist Vote: Fear Or Anger?, an investigation into the new supporters of French extremists; natural history special Underground Wonders France; and a new production of Verdi’s opera Macbeth. Also pre-sales are sought for new projects, including: Easter Island: The Truth Revealed, focusing on the mystery of the Rapa Nui; a 7 x 52 mins series Of Men And Bees; and a sensitive portrait of writer Pierre Christin. From the music catalogue comes the opening concert of the first season with Sir Simon Rattle at the head of the London Symphony Orchestra.

The Extremist Vote: Fear Or Anger? (GAD)

Megeti – Africa’s Lost Wolf (Albatross World Sales)

LAGARDERE STUDIOS DISTRIBUTION FRANCE’s Lagardere Studios

Distribution is launching a slate of films at MIPDoc, including Tank Story (4 x 52 mins), about the vehicle that redefined the rules of ground warfare. The series uses GoPro cameras, drones, night vision and 3D animation. The distributor also brings The Explorers, a series using ultra-high-definition 4K technology, that travels across French Polynesia, the Arctic, Honduras, Indonesia, Namibia and Iran.

Tank Story (Lagardere Studios Distribution)

NEWEN DISTRIBUTION NEWEN Distribution brings several

shows from Capa Productions to Cannes. Human 3.0 looks at the new technologies aimed at overcoming injuries, diseases and even aging. Out Of Control is a series that explores some of the biggest catastrophies of recent years from a technical point of view, including Chernobyl, the World Trade Center attack and the Hudson River emergency landing. The French distributor also brings Absolutely Trans, commissioned by ARTE, that explores the history of the transgender movement and its representation in pop culture.

Absolutely Trans (Newen Distribution)

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Product News FRANCETV DISTRIBUTION NEW SCIENTIFIC documentary film

Antarctica’s Secrets (Terranoa)

Mindfulness (1 x 52 mins), produced

by Multimedia France Productions (MFP), is about the physical and mental benefit that meditation provides.

Leading international scientists share the results of their research to explain this fascinating area of therapy.

FranceTV also brings another MFP production, Sleeping In Nature (1 x 52 mins), which reveals some of the clever techniques used by wild animals to succeed in sleeping without being attacked by voracious neighbours.

Terranoa are: Antarctica’s Secrets (2 x 52 mins), the latest 4K wildlife co-production from Paprika Film and Wild Touch, which premiered on ARTE; Cuba, Paradise On The Brink (2 x 52 mins), due later this year, a 4K series documenting the island’s spectacular wilderness, at sea and on land; and Tokyo Phoenix, The Rise Of Modern Japan (2 x 45 mins/1 x 90 mins), a colourised archive-based historical saga celebrating Japan’s capital city from 19th-century Edo to today’s metropolis.

®Kate Capture

TERRANOA INCLUDED on the MIPTV slate from Paris-based factual specialist

ZED ZED HAS boosted its history offer with three documentaries co-produced by

Label News and Label Image, and collected under the name Inside Hitler’s Killing Machine. Each 52-minute episode (The Banker Of The Third Reich, The Nazi Camps: An Architecture Of Murder and Hitler’s Evil Scientists), sheds light on the origins and workings of Adolf Hitler’s vision. The French distributor also brings a new 5 x 52 mins collection called Garden Design: When Nature Becomes Art, looking at unique gardens around the world; and Planet Sand (5 x 52 mins), looking at the constantly growing areas of the planet threatened by desertification. Featured are the Gobi Desert, the Aral desert, the Atacama Desert, the Victoria Desert and the Sahara.

FOX NETWORKS GROUP CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PARCHED (4 x 60 mins/1 x 90 mins) is a

QUINTUS MEDIA GERMAN distributor and media agency

documentary series brought to MIPTV from Fox Networks Group Content Distribution’s new factual slate. This new series takes a character-driven and investigative approach to find out who controls water in the US and around the world — and uncovers shady backroom deals, multinationals poisoning underground reserves and exposes the mega-banks who are buying up and cashing in on water as they create a new industry benefiting a new elite.

Quintus Media is unveiling two new documentaries in Cannes that are produced by Maximus Film. Each episode in Mega Transports (6 x 60 mins) follows an exceptional transport system, showing the detailed preparation of cargo, the loading and journeys taken, including icy roads, extreme cold and rough seas. Ultimate Vehicles (6 x 60 mins) reveals incredible civil and military aircraft, breathtaking tanks, spectacular ships and trains, and ultimate four-wheel vehicles.

Parched (Fox Networks Group Content Distribution)

Mega Transports (Quintus Media)

Sleeping In Nature (FranceTV Distribution).

UPSIDE TELEVISION COMPLETED projects at MIPTV from

Upside Television include: Roc: The World’s Greatest Con Artist (1 x 90 mins), about Christophe Rocancourt, known as ‘the conman of the stars’; Belmondo, Le Magnifique (1 x 90/52 mins), a biography of the film legend; political interview Angela Merkel, The Unexpected (1 x 90/45 mins); space profile Proxima Mission (1 x 70 mins); Black Code: Where Big Data Meets Big Brother (1 x 90 mins); Paris, Underground War: Nazis/Resistants (1 x 90 mins); and Paris architectural special Constructors Of The Shadows (1 x 70 mins). Productions available on pre-sales include Ocean’s Cartels (1 x 52 mins).

Roc: The World’s Greatest Con Artist (Upside Television)

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2017 CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

NEW STORIES, NEW NARRATIVES, NEW TECHNOLOGY

1-2 April 2017, JW Marriott Cannes

WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENINGS

2017 HIGHLIGHTS JASON SILVA Philosopher, Filmmaker and TV Personality

LYNN NOVICK Award-winning filmmaker

MIPDOC INTERNATIONAL PITCH

Host of ‘ORIGINS: THE JOURNEY OF HUMANKIND’ Presented by FOX Networks Group Content Distribution

A unique opportunity to discover new projects for commissioning and co-production.

SATURDAY 1 APRIL 14.45-16.00, GRAND THEATRE

SATURDAY 1 APRIL 12.15-12.45, GRAND THEATRE

SATURDAY 1 APRIL

THE VIETNAM WAR: A SPECIAL PRESENTATION Presented by PBS International with Arte

‘BIG PACIFIC’

Presented by ZDF Enterprises SATURDAY 1 APRIL 18.00-19.00, GRAND THEATRE

SUNDAY 2 APRIL 14.15-15.00, GRAND THEATRE

‘TOKYO PHOENIX, THE RISE OF MODERN JAPAN’

Presented by NHK and CC&C SUNDAY 2 APRIL 17.15-18.15, GRAND THEATRE

SUNDAY 2 APRIL 8.30-10.00 — Producers Hub

9.00-9.30 — Producers Hub

MIPDOC INTERNATIONAL COPRODUCTION SUMMIT

NEW VISITORS TOUR

By invitation

Meet us in the Lobby at 8.45 10.15-11.00 — Grand Theatre

9.45-10.15 — Grand Theatre

FACTUAL TRENDS - A GLOBAL OVERVIEW In association with K7 Media

THE SVOD PLAYING FIELD: THINKING LOCAL, GOING GLOBAL 10.45-11.15 — Producers Hub

USING VR IN FACTUAL AND DOCUMENTARY: TIPS AND TRICKS

10.30-11.15 — Grand Theatre

VIEW FROM THE TOP: WHAT DO BUYERS & COMMISSIONERS WANT Presenting The World Screen Factual Trendsetter Award

11.15-11.45 — Grand Theatre

CANADIAN DOCUMENTARY: WHEN CREATIVE TALENT TAKES OVER Presented by Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada

11.15-12.10 — Producers Hub

11.30-12.00 — Grand Theatre

JAPANESE DOCUMENTARY PITCHING SHOWCASE

VIRTUAL REALITY: THE STATE OF THE MARKET

Presented by Tokyo Docs

12.15-12.45 — Grand Theatre

12.15-12.45 — Matchmaking Lounge

MIPDOC SPECIAL EVENT SHOWCASE

MEET THE SPEAKERS JAPANESE PITCHING SHOWCASE

ORIGINS: THE JOURNEY OF HUMANKIND Presented by FOX Networks Group Content Distribution

11.45-12.15 — Producers Hub

A PRIMER FOR THE ASIAN CONTENT MARKET 12.30-14.00 — Grand Theatre

SNACK & SCREEN Snack Lunch from 13.00, Networking Lounge Presented by all3media International 13.45-14.45 — Matchmaking Lounge

12.45-14.30 — JW Marriott

MATCHMAKING WITH BUYERS & COMMISSIONERS By registration

MIPDOC NETWORKING LUNCH Sponsored by FOX Networks Group Content Distribution 14.45-16.00 — Grand Theatre

14.15-15.00 — Grand Theatre MIPDOC SPECIAL EVENT SCREENING & FILMMAKER Q&A

THE VIETNAM WAR: A SPECIAL PRESENTATION WITH LYNN NOVICK

MIPDOC INTERNATIONAL PITCH A unique opportunity to discover new projects for commissioning and co-production 16.15-16.45 — Grand Theatre

16.00-17.00 — Matchmaking Lounge

MATCHMAKING WITH BUYERS & COMMISSIONERS

BRINGING THE FACTS BACK TO FACTUAL

Presented by PBS International with ARTE Followed by meet-and-greet from 15.00, Networking Lounge 15.15-15.45 — Producers Hub

SNEAK PEEKS FROM EASTERN EUROPE

By registration 16.00-16.45 — Grand Theatre

17.15-17.45 — Grand Theatre

KEYNOTE SUPERPANEL FACTUAL TITANS SPEAK INTERNATIONAL COPRODUCTION

VR, LIVE, FICTION: REVAMPING FACTUAL STORYTELLING 17.15-18.15 — Grand Theatre MIPDOC WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

18.00-19.00 — Grand Theatre

‘TOKYO PHOENIX,THE RISE OF MODERN JAPAN’

MIPDOC WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

Presented by NHK and CC&C

‘BIG PACIFIC’ Presented by ZDF Enterprises FROM 19.00 — JW Marriott

MIPDOC NETWORKING COCKTAIL

18.15-18.45 — Grand Theatre

TRANSFORMING INTERNATIONAL EVENTS INTO BRAND PLATFORMS DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM NHK’S TOKYO PHOENIX

MIPDoc thanks its Sponsors & Partners Programme as of February 17, 2017. Subject to change.

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Visit mipdoc.com for regular updates.

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Factual content

The Secret World Of Lego (Cineflix)

Making it real Andy Fry takes an in-depth look at what’s new in factual — the real-life stories, the editorial angles, social experiments and viewer trends that are set to dominate the market in 2017 — through the voices of delegates preparing to buy, sell and tell in Cannes

O

VER the last 18 months, Netfl ix documentar y series Making A Murderer has been cited repeatedly as an example of factual fi lmmaking at its brilliant best. The story of a grotesque miscarriage of justice, it combines unique access, meticulous research and dramatic storytelling to create a show that is every bit as gripping as its counterparts in scripted television.

Fortunately for factual TV fans, it is not an isolated example. From wildlife spectaculars and stark social commentaries to innovate reality and relationship series, the genre is booming. To some extent, this factual renaissance resembles what has been happening in scripted TV. In the same way that leading US SVOD and pay-TV players have given us event dramas such as Game Of Thrones, House Of Cards and Bosch, they have also provided us with ground-breaking factual series including Making A Murderer, The Jinx, Going Clear, 13th and Mars, the superb mini-series that National Geographic Channel launched at MIPCOM last year.

On the international front, meanwhile, there are also non-fiction equivalents of drama’s lavish co-productions. Comparable factual

titles in terms of impact to War And Peace, Versailles and Medici include Planet Earth, Great Barrier Reef and Big Pacific, a 4K series that will be available in mid-2017 from Germany’s ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE). Where the fact/fiction comparison breaks down, however, is that factual’s wave of innovation extends across a wider range of budgets and content verticals. In science, engineering, history, wildlife, reality, true crime, property and relationships, there is so much to admire about the ingenuity of factual producers.

If there is something that unites all of the above, argues Critical Content CEO Tom Forman, it is authenticity: “It’s an odd situation that the US TV market doesn’t use the phrase ‘factual TV’,” he says. “But if there’s one thing that US networks are all crying out for at the moment it is factual shows — by which I mean shows that have some authenticity at the core. Viewers are losing interest in manufactured story arcs and producer-enforced eliminations. They want the genre to do what it does best, which is to deliver truths that relate to their own reality.”

Critical Content’s biggest success in this respect is Catfish, an MTV show that uncovers

“Viewers are losing interest in manufactured story arcs and producer-enforced eliminations. They want truths that relate to their own reality” Tom Forman

deception in online dating. Now up to seven seasons, it brings victims of online dating fraud face to face with the perpetrators in a way that, more often than not, proves cathartic for both parties. “Catfish is not an easy show to make,” Forman says. “We research hundreds of stories to get the content we need for each season. But that’s what makes it so good. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be real.”

It is a subject that Forman wants to explore further: “We like relationships because it’s a topic that’s so close to people’s lives. So now we’re working on a series where we look at how the internet has changed the relationship situation for people in their thirties and forties — not always in a good way.”

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Factual content In Forman’s opinion, this drive towards authenticity is evident in most of the best factual shows on the international market: “You might look at some factual shows — like Married At First Sight, Naked And Afraid and 60 Days In — and think they are outrageous ideas. But the audience recognises when a social experiment is raising compelling questions. They can also tell when an idea is cooked up out of thin air by a producer.”

Patrick Vien, executive managing director of A+E Networks, echoes Forman’s assessment.

“Franchises like Pawn Stars and Ice Road Truckers are still a very important part of our business,” he says. “But I do think we have moved into a post-reality era where inspiring non-scripted shows are creating moments of culture. There’s an emphasis on truth-telling that audiences really identify with.”

Vien cites A+E’s Alone, 60 Days In and Leah Remini: Scientology And The Aftermath to support his point. In 60 Days In, seven volunteers spent 60 days undercover in an Indiana jail as part of an attempt to spot illegal activities

The Jinx, a factual hit for HBO that might be missed by prison officers and surveillance systems. In the Scientology show, former church member Remini tackles some of the criticisms of the organisation head on.

“These are complex, brave ideas,” Vien says.

“They are examples of how the creative bar has moved up for everyone.”

The lessons learned from reality TV, such as strong characterisation, sharp editing and brisk narrative pace, have not been left behind,

Big Pacific (ZDFE)

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Photo: Steve Benjamin ©BBC NHU

Factual content

Planet Earth II (BBC Worldwide) however. Vien cites Seven Year Switch as a show that has shades of reality but tells some “uncomfortable truths about marriage”. He adds: “To a large extent, I think the old distinction between documentary and entertainment is gone.”

Asked whether his own company’s non-scripted strategy is a reaction to programming investments at Netflix, Vien says: “Netflix has done some good shows, but it’s not the only one working with great production talent. I don’t think its contribution has been to make other players more creative. But I think it has had an impact on the way audiences watch shows now. Because there is so much choice out there, the stories we tell have to be incredibly sticky and immersive.”

“Because there is so much choice out there, the stories we tell have to be incredibly sticky and immersive” Patrick Vien

Cineflix Media’s CEO rights, Chris Bonney, also identifies a shift away from “over-constructed reality towards authentic high-quality programing. We’ve seen that both with tentpole series that can lead a schedule and also some of the long-running series that provide the backbone of the weekly schedule. Mars, The Story Of God [With Morgan Freeman] and Planet Earth II were all big ideas capable of drawing audiences across the demographic spectrum.”

For Bonney, the BBC’s wildlife series Planet Earth II was “the TV moment” of last year, as well as the one that took factual production to the next level: “It combined technical ingenuity with a kind of personalised storytelling that increased the intrigue and tension. There’s no question that new technologies like drone cameras and 4K UHD are giving an extra dimension to the factual genre.”

In the case of true crime, Bonney says that audiences are responding to shows that “give the sense of a story unfolding in real time; that make them feel like they are there”.

As referenced above, Netflix’s Making A

Murderer — now recommissioned — is a prime example of this. But there are others. In the UK, Channel 4 and its production partners have proved very adept in this arena with series such as 24 Hours In Police Custody (The Garden) and multi-award winning The Murder Detectives (Films Of Record). Echoing Forman’s point, both shows were production-intensive. The first involved shooting at a UK police station with 80 cameras over six weeks. The second was filmed over 18 months with intimate and unprecedented access to a police major-crime unit in Bristol as the force investigated the fatal stabbing of a 19-year-old man.

If there is a challenge with such shows, Bonney suggests, it is that “the producer doesn’t always know what they are going to finish up with. So what we’re seeing is a parallel trend towards factually based scripted shows like Gangland Undercover, produced

by Cineflix for History Channel. Shows like this take out some of the risk but retain their authenticity.”

This blurring of fact and fiction is one of the defining themes in the genre right now. At

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Factual content one end of the spectrum, it can be seen in the use of drama-style characterisation and direction; at the other, it can mean the wholesale dramatisation of a subject. And in between, there are also hybrid projects such as Mars, where a documentary-style exposition of what it would take to colonise Mars is supported by an extensive scripted section. The latter element is told from the point of view of a Mars mission in 2033 exploring the obstacles it faces to establish a sustainable colony on the Red Planet.

Carl Hall, a factual-TV veteran who now runs boutique co-pro specialist Warehouse 51 Productions, believes that one of the big drivers of factual’s current success is “some

kind of unique access”. He adds: “It doesn’t even need to be a new story if you can secure some kind of OMG access.”

“It doesn’t even need to be a new story if you can secure some kind of OMG access” Carl Hall

Hall cites the example of Area 51: The CIA’s Secret File, which uses declassified CIA documents to explore the true purpose of the

facility. “We combined those documents with the personal testimonies of people who had worked there to create a film for National Geographic US and NGCI,” Hall says.

Another example is Hustlers Convention, for which Riverhorse, Warehouse 51’s production partner, secured access to talent including Public Enemy’s Chuck D. Bonney agrees that exclusive behind-thescenes access to institutions can help projects transcend the competition. Cineflix, for example, has a two-part documentary that has privileged access to fashion house Dior. “It’s great when you get to see worlds that you didn’t even know existed,” he says.

“Previously, we were fortunate enough to have The Secret World Of Lego, which took viewers to the heart of the company’s Danish HQ.” Endemol Shine Creative Networks CEO Lisa Perrin says the interest in access-driven documentaries, which is partly down to advances in camera technology, is also opening up ordinary lives, helping people to understand the challenges that exist in some of society’s most demanding workplaces. “Dragonfly, an Endemol Shine company, made Ambulances: Life And Death On The Streets, an observational documentary for the BBC about London’s ambulance service,” she says. “That show had unique access to the ambulance control centre, which meant viewers could see the complex logistics problems they have to contend with.”

Making A Murderer, a factual hit for Netflix

Hustlers Convention (Warehouse 51)

Access-led documentaries can also work well if tied to some kind of anniversary or event.

Vivendi Entertainment, for example, is just promoting The Real Fast & Furious, a 3e Oeil Productions’ show for C8 France that coincides with the launch of the movie Fast & Furious 8. This project stands out because it has access to footage and interviews from Universal Pictures.

The decision to make the special follows the success of a previous documentary called Back To The Present, in which the same producer and broadcaster took a tongue-incheek look at whether any of the inventions shown in Back To The Future had actually come into being. “Back To The Present rated so well on C8 and international partners Amazon, History, RTL2 and Nippon TV that we started looking for a new theme to explore the next morning,” says C8 general manager Franck Appietto.

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Factual content Cineflix’s two-part documentary that gained privileged access to fashion house Dior

Smithsonian Networks executive vice-president David Royle also talks up the importance of “big anniversary programmes”. He cites an upcoming project linked to Franco Zeffirelli’s iconic television series Jesus Of Nazareth: “We’ve got exclusive access to the show, which has its 40th anniversary this year. This was one of the biggest events in TV history — 90 million people watched it when it went out for the first time on American TV. We’ve persuaded Robert Powell [who played Jesus] to go back to the Holy Land for us. The show weaves Zeffirelli’s film with the story of Robert’s trip as he analyses and explores the historical truth of Jesus.”

Royle also thinks there is a new freshness emerging in the use of archive. “The digitisation that’s taken place with archives in the last few years has meant you can access material that’s been hidden for years and years, and that’s exciting. We have a new series called The Lost Tapes, which comes from Tom Jennings, the talented

LA-based producer who created MLK: The Assassination Tapes for us. Tom takes footage that’s been shot at a particular moment in history and retells the story without any narration or interviews: he uses photographs, film footage, radio and TV reports.

It has a visceral, you-are-there-at-that-moment feel to it. We’ve already broadcast The Lost Tapes: Pearl Harbor and next we’ll be doing The Lost Tapes: The LA Riots.

The material Tom is finding is just riveting.

Hollywood couldn’t make up these stories.”

“The material Tom Jennings is finding is just riveting. Hollywood couldn’t make up these stories” David Royle

Alongside technology, dramatic techniques, access and authenticity, another key theme that has been apparent in factual TV is the pre-eminent role of great talent, says Kathleen Finch, chief programming, content and brand officer at Scripps Networks Interactive (SNI), which owns leading lifestyle channels including HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel and DIY Network.

A few years ago, this trend towards talent-led shows was regarded as a potential block to international sales and channel rollout. But in reality, audiences around the world have proved receptive to it for a couple of reasons. The first is that the TV industry now has a globalised talent pool made up of people who have built reputations on TV and/or the internet. This, for example, explains why Amazon was able to create The Grand Tour with the UK presenting team from Top Gear.

The second reason, Finch adds, is that talent these days has substance: “The hosts of our shows aren’t traditional TV presenters

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Factual content — they’re experienced home renovators, top chefs, accomplished explorers and other experts in their fields. The expertise of our talent means our content is produced more like a documentary than a traditional television show.

That storytelling difference is crucial and it’s a skill we look for in our producing partners.”

Currently, SNI produces around 2,600 hours of programming a year across six networks, Finch reports. In terms of editorial trends, she stresses that the company is not so much about innovation as aspiration: “We teach fans how to be better cooks, how to improve their homes and how to see the world. With those filters on everything we produce, our programming has a look and feel that’s all about consistency and quality.”

That said, Finch does point to innovations: “I just returned from Warsaw, where I spent an incredibly productive visit with our Polish content team. While there, I greenlit two TV series and a slew of short-form digital content, and I believe that’s just the beginning.

We’ve got talented teams around the world that gives us a great advantage when it comes to creating international content, and it’s a

strategy you will see us implement more and more. We’re also bringing some of our successful domestic series to our international channels. We now have locally produced versions of Kitchen Crashers in Poland, House Hunters in Italy, and other formats and talent that are proving popular around the globe.”

Finch says short-form content remains important to SNI because the company has digital platforms associated with each of its networks. “Many of our series are commissioned to include linear content and companion digital content, like recipes and cooking techniques, design how-tos and travel tips,” she adds. “We value suppliers who can provide content for multiple platforms.”

Likewise, she cites changes in the way content is presented to viewers: “We know our viewers love to binge watch our content, so we strategically schedule our networks to super-serve our viewers with content they can watch for sometimes hours at a time. We’ll stack multiple baking shows on Food Network, or fantasy home-buying destination shows on HGTV, so that viewers can get happily lost in the lifestyle programmes they love. In addition, our

programmes are available on our apps and other connected devices, so viewers can binge favourites whenever and wherever they want — which they increasingly do.”

On the relative dynamism of scripted and unscripted, Finch says the former commands attention “because everyone likes to talk about their new favourite drama or mystery. But unscripted content is being consumed more than ever. We hear from fans who love being able to download cooking content in the grocery store to help with dinner, or watch a home-improvement segment before a trip to the furniture store. Ratings at our flagship networks are breaking records. So yes, I think unscripted content is definitely having its day.”

“Ratings at our flagship networks are breaking records. So yes, I think unscripted content is definitely having its day” Kathleen Finch

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The Hunt (BBCWW)

Factual co-production

Chasing the deal Co-production continues to be the model of choice for factual players seeking to raise both money and the creative bar. Andy Fry looks at some of the latest factual alliances, and their creative, geographic and financial structures

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HERE are two fundamental reasons why broadcasters and producers co-produce blue-chip factual series and specials. The first, and most obvious, is to raise the budget. If you want a show that is capable of standing out from the crowd, it is likely to cost a lot. So co-production spreads the financial burden, making an impossible dream become a commercial reality.

The second reason is creative. Producers sometimes grumble about having too many paymasters and partners interfering with the editorial vision of their project. But there are many occasions when co-production can elevate a show to event status — for example, by securing unique access to a location, introducing an advanced form of technical knowhow or supplying breathtaking archive.

Historically, US thematic channel-owners such as Discovery, National Geographic and A+E were among the most active factual coproducers. But as they have grown internationally, they have reduced their reliance on this model. These days, if they can 100% fund a project internally they will do so, on the basis that they can then retain control of all the rights.

In their absence, the lead players in the factual co-pro space tend to be commissioning public broadcasters, such as the BBC, PBS, France Televisions, ARTE, ZDF, ARD, ORF, ABC Australia and NHK. It is rare to see a high-end factual series get into production without a couple of these players involved.

Co-pro is not an exclusive club, however. As recent productions have demonstrated, there

is also room for US pay-TV channels, commercial distributors, European free-to-air broadcasters and Chinese online players to climb on board the right project.

Mark Reynolds, director of factual at the BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide (BBCWW), points to 2016 mega-hit Planet Earth II as an example of how a co-pro might look in the 21st century. The series is a BBC Natural History Unit (NHU) production, co-produced with BBC America, ZDF in Germany, Tencent in China and France Televisions. “Probably the most novel aspect of that line-up is the inclusion of Tencent as a co-partner,” Reynolds says. “We’ve co-produced with CCTV in China before now, but this is the first co-pro with an online platform.”

Also interesting to note is the inclusion of

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Factual co-production BBC America in the credits. “We wouldn’t ever rule out co-producing with the likes of Discovery, but you’re more likely to see us partnering with BBC America or PBS in the US,” Reynolds adds. “We recently co-produced a show called Forces Of Nature with PBS and France Televisions.”

As a general rule, Reynolds says, it is important to keep the number of co-pro partners to a minimum, in order to avoid burdening the production with too many conflicting editorial demands: “We would rarely go above the BBC plus three partners, though the precise set-up depends on what level of involvement they want in the production process. The really important thing about co-production is to make sure everyone has set out their objectives very clearly at the production planning stage.”

“The really important thing about co-production is to make sure everyone has set out their objectives very clearly at the production planning stage” Mark Reynolds

These early discussions make it much easier to work out how to allocate resources and deliver tailored versions to different partners: “You might have a situation where one partner wants a presenter-led show and another doesn’t. So good planning makes it possible to plan both scenarios from the outset.”

According to Reynolds, the role of partners can vary significantly: “Tencent has aired BBC natural history before, so that was a situation where they were kept informed but were able to trust the judgement of the NHU. But in a co-pro like Wild Japan, NHK was a crucial partner because they had exceptional levels of local access and expertise.”

Sometimes, there is serendipity about the way in which productions come together. “We were working on a New Zealand natural-history project and so was NDR, part of Germany’s ARD network,” Reynolds says. “In that case, it made sense to join forces on a three-part production called Wild New Zealand.”

NDR was also a partner on Alastair Fothergill’s The Hunt, along with BBC Worldwide and BBC America. NDR forms

Why Size Matters, produced by Jasper James of Screen Glue, UK and co-produced by ZDF, ARTE, the BBC and ZDF Enterprises part of a powerful co-production hub in Europe’s German-speaking markets. Fellow ARD member, WDR, for example, is an active co-producer, as are ZDF and Austria’s ORF. Also worth noting is the fact that Franco-German cultural channel ARTE has ZDF and ARD among its key shareholders.

Ralf Rueckauer, vice-president of factual at ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE), says: “We have a lot in store for 2017. Our clients have a substantial and growing demand for highprofile factual programming.” Among the company’s headliners are Big Pacific, which

will have a World Premiere Screening at MIPDoc. The programme, which is shot in 4K, will look at all facets of the world’s largest ocean across four episodes. In co-pro terms, it is also an epic venture, Rueckauer says: “Big Pacific is made by NHNZ and is a co-production with PBS, CCTV-9, ZDF, Discovery International, Channel 9, ARTE and ZDF Enterprises.”

The inclusion of Australia’s Channel 9 goes to show that the right factual project will catch the attention of free-to-air commercial broadcasters. Also interesting is Discovery’s

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Factual co-production involvement, since it underlines the point that the big players will jump on board some productions. CCTV’s involvement, meanwhile, is a further reminder of China’s growing importance in terms of funding quality content.

As an aside, the BBC also has a project called Ocean, which is a co-pro with BBC America, WDR and France Televisions. This indicates that the factual co-pro sector is strong enough to sustain two heavyweight oceanfocused projects. The BBC and WDR previously worked together on Wild Atlantic.

Back at ZDFE, Rueckauer points out that factual co-pro is not limited to natural history: “Later in the year, we will launch Why Size Matters, a two-part science special produced by Jasper James [Screen Glue, UK] and co-produced by ZDF, ARTE, the BBC and ZDF Enterprises.” Also due to be released is The Story Of Europe, produced by Gruppe 5 for ZDF, ZDF/ARTE and ZDFE. Like Reynolds, Rueckauer paints a picture in which there is a strong central group of co-producers, but also a degree of market evolution. “Over the years, we have co-produced with all the big US networks, with broadcasters in China, Japan, Canada and Australia, as well as with European partners such as France Televisions and the BBC,” he adds. “We have noticed there is a stronger alliance among European broadcasters and public-broadcasting services around the world with regard to co-productions, because we all want bigger programmes with less-per-programme financial contribution.

But at the same time, new partners are coming up: Netflix, Amazon, CuriosityStream and more and more specialist VOD platforms. For example, we have the 10-part series Hitler’s Circle Of Evil produced by Alan Griffiths’ World Media Rights for Netflix and ZDF Enterprises.”

The latter, a drama doc, goes against the perceived wisdom that Netflix is only interested in securing the global rights to shows, and may indicate a shift in thinking. That said, Rueckauer stresses that the key to successful co-productions, regardless of the partner profile, is long-term alliances: “Our philosophy has always been to be a reliable partner, so that means we are looking for long-term relationships. A deep understanding of each other’s needs is a key factor for success in co-productions, because trust and a ‘going the extra mile for you’ spirit lead to better results.”

Hitler’s Circle Of Evil, produced by World Media Rights for Netflix and ZDF Enterprises In terms of why ZDF co-produces, Rueckauer says: “First of all, co-production partners are very important to get programmes financed. And this will always be the driving force for [partners] to stick together. Then you start looking for synergies.

Co-production partners may bring in an additional view, new cultural aspects, new ideas and, of course, even a different opinion that leads to a new perception of your project. So in a creative sense, co-productions can open up new perspectives.”

Rueckauer also makes an important point about co-pros from a distributor’s perspective — something that presumably also applies to BBC Wordwide: “We need our programmes to be as international as can be.

So we are happy to find and work with international partners. They may enrich programmes, not only with money but also with ‘internationalism’, which helps our coproduced programmes to get sold around the globe.”

In terms of whether it makes sense to be in the driving seat on a co-pro or a passenger, he adds: “We like both. But I have to admit that the driver’s seat is more attractive and exciting than being some kind of sleeping partner. Therefore, we have invented a new model: the ‘co-production without a co-production partner’ model. This starts with the producer’s idea for a programme.

We provide money and expertise, then ask the producer to develop the idea, create a

treatment and provide us with a sizzle reel.

Then we jointly search for broadcasters and ask them to help to finance the show.

Sounds good? Yes. But sometimes you fail and you spend years waiting in your car instead of driving it. So in those cases, we invest a bit more, even if there is not enough money from the co-production market to fill the gap in the budget. If your judgment is right, broadcasters will see your project develop fast and they will join you. This model then turns into the ‘co-production with a co-production partner model’.”

“I have to admit that the driver’s seat is more attractive and exciting than being some kind of sleeping partner” Ralf Rueckauer

BBC Worldwide’s Reynolds believes Asia is growing in significance as a factual hub. This view is shared by David Royle, executive vicepresident at Smithsonian Networks, which has just launched a network in Singapore.

An active co-producer, Royle says: “We have long produced programmes about Asian topics and with Asian partners. In Singapore, we launched with a programme called

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Factual co-production Uncommon Courage: Breakout At Chosin, which is about the Korean War and centres on an extraordinary Chinese-American man.

We’ve worked with EBS in Korea on their wonderful specials about Burma and Angkor Wat. We’ve done programmes on Komodo dragons and other Asian natural history.”

While the Koreans and Chinese are growing in importance, NHK Japan has been one of the key players in the factual co-production business for some time. Summarising the broadcaster’s current slate, Yuri Sudo, the broadcaster’s senior producer of international co-productions, says: “The three main genres that NHK is known for in co-pro are science, natural history and ancient civilisation. We aim to provide new ground-breaking series in each of these.”

An example is The Body, a flagship science series focusing on the human body and revolutionary new findings in medical science.

A co-pro with France Televisions and other yet-to-be-named broadcasters, Sudo says the documentary “makes use of our newly developed 8K-UHD imaging technology, and also cutting-edge CGI, to explore the human body as a huge inner-network”.

Other projects include season three of Life Force, a co-production with NHNZ and ARTE; and Looking Through The Pyramids, a co-production with Bonne Pioche, HIP Institute and France Televisions. “This project aims to reveal, for the first time ever, the inner structure of the great pyramids in Giza,” Sudo says. “Newly developed stateof-the-art scanning technology will reveal the presence of internal features inside the pyramids.”

NHK is also expanding its co-pro repertoire to cover culture, discovery, sports and human interest. “As Tokyo will be hosting the Olympic Games in 2020, we are focusing on co-producing Japan-related content in these genres,” Sudo says.

An example is Tokyo Phoenix, an exploration of the country’s capital city that also involves Clarke Costelle & Co (CC&C) and ARTE. “Making use of NHK’s enormous film archive and the expertise of CC&C’s film colourisation technique, viewers will witness Tokyo’s history in never-before-seen liveliness,” Sudo adds.

Looking more generally at the issue of copro, Sudo says that NHK has long working relationships with France Televisions, ARTE, WGBH NOVA (PBS), ZDF, Science

Life Force, a co-production with NHK, NHNZ and ARTE Channel, NFB, National Geographic and Discovery. In addition, it has recently worked directly with a number of independent production companies, including Autentic (Germany), Gedeon Programmes (France), Brook Lapping Productions (UK) and Windfall Films (UK). NHK’s many Asian partners include PTS (Taiwan), Companion (China), Mediacorp (Singapore) and MNTV (Myanmar).

In terms of getting the best out of co-production, Sudo says: “Open communication is the key. Whenever there is a concern or a doubt, each party should honestly address the issue and openly discuss the problem.

These discussions will build into long working relationships.”

He also advises against thinking about copro purely in terms of financing: “Our focus is on combining a team of creative talent and expertise, so that the end product becomes stronger in its universal appeal. This is especially the case for NHK-initiated co-pros.

Balancing creative input from partners is always a challenge but, if done carefully, we believe the partnership can [deliver] an amazing result for everyone. As for the projects initiated by outside producers, strong and exclusive access to places and people, and the revelation of new scientific findings — exclusivity that our in-house producers do not have — are important factors when deciding to join [a project].”

The factual co-pro model tends to appeal most to broadcasters that want quality content but are not seeking to secure global rights. However, the involvement of BBC Worldwide and ZDFE — both of which are the commercial arms of public broadcasters — is a reminder that the right project can work wonders for distributors too. eOne Entertainment, for example, enjoyed huge success with Atlantic Productions’ Great Barrier Reef, a natural-history special that sold to 180 territories.

“Open communication is the key. Whenever there is a concern, each party should honestly address the issue and openly discuss the problem” Yuri Sudo

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Factual co-production

Looking Through The Pyramids, a co-production with NHK, Bonne Pioche, HIP Institute and France Televisions Specialist factual outfits from the OTT/ondemand space are also exploring the co-pro arena. CuriosityStream is perhaps the best example. Last year, it boarded The Living Universe, a $5m 4K co-production with ARTE, Essential Media and Entertainment, and French producer and distributor ZED. In this case, CuriosityStream has the streaming rights for the US and the Caribbean, ARTE holds the TV rights for France and Germany, and ZED is handling the remainder of the international distribution. In other words, it is possible to build a factual co-production with a borderless OTT partner.

All of the above examples concern co-productions where the end-users are actively driving the creative and commercial process.

But the term co-producton is also sometimes used to encompass producer-to-producer and producer-to-distributor relationships. In the case of producer-to-producer alliances, the prime motivations are to pull in complementary expertise and open up access to new markets and subsidies.

As for the producer/distributor scenario,

“this is really about distributors using their knowledge of the international market to help producers develop and target their projects correctly”, says Warehouse 51 Productions’ founder and managing director, Carl Hall.

“It’s about distributors getting involved at the earliest stage and then trying to pull together a pre-sale or co-production model.”

Warehouse 51 was specifically set up to do this and is one of a number of companies that operate around the production and development end of the process, as well as in the classic distribution space. Others include Off the Fence, TCB Media Rights and Quintus Media.

Regardless of how the industry chooses to define co-production, NHK’s Sudo believes the model is becoming more and more prevalent: “We think it’s important to find the right partners to combine our abilities to create something that has a large impact and a big buzz. As societies become more interconnected, and cultures more transnational, we are faced with problems that require the consolidation of knowledge, experience and

expertise. In order to tackle today’s issues and to address our audience with the right message, it is vital to explore them from various perspectives. Co-pros can be a way to exchange thoughts and ideas and to enable us to find a better solution.”

Smithsonian’s Royle concludes with an important point — which is not to get too hung up on the fact that a show is a co-production: “Our audiences don’t know or care about the difference between an acquisition, a commission and a co-pro. We’re always looking for the same sort of things. The storytelling is the first thing we’re always looking for.

We look for something that feels exclusive in terms of what it delivers.”

“Our audiences don’t know or care about the difference between an acquisition, a commission and a co-pro” David Royle

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Where Factual Content Makes It Big.

You’re invited to the

MIPDoc Networking Cocktail Saturday 1 April 2017

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Virtual reality

A+E is using VR as a marketing tool

VR gets real Mesmerising wildlife, hard-hitting current affairs and immersive historical documentaries are among the spate of TV productions pushing back the creative boundaries thanks to VR. Juliana Koranteng reports

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HETHER in the form of full VR (headsets required) or 360-degree video (no headsets needed), VR technology has the potential to take factual entertainment to new levels. As Anthony Geffen, CEO and creative director of UK-based Atlantic Productions, says: “People are fascinated by the places they can’t go to or the experiences they cannot have. While VR will appeal to creators of games-oriented content, I believe it will be huge in factual entertainment.”

And he has put his money where his mouth is. Commissions for Alchemy VR, Atlantic Productions’ VR subsidiary, have grown so quickly that it is now being operated as a standalone unit. It is taking in more employees, who are bringing in new tech and storytelling skillsets.

“This is driven by storytelling, not marketing gimmicks,” Geffen adds. “You build a

world and go on a journey that you can’t do in any other medium. And there are new skills and technologies still coming into the market. What we did last year is not going to be good enough this year. We’re constantly asking ourselves the following questions during VR production: how should we approach this story? How can the audience make full use of the headsets? How long should a piece of content be?”

“There are new skills and technologies still coming into the market. What we did last year is not going to be good enough this year” Anthony Geffen

Meanwhile, content creators are pushing the boundaries so quickly that Geffen believes the giant tech companies investing in VR, such as Google and Facebook, will soon need to consult producers to ensure they make relevant advances in terms of software and hardware.

VR, normally associated with narratives in video games, is considered crucial in documentaries at a time when young audiences have stopped watching traditional TV. But Geffen points out that, once younger family members have introduced the technology into the home, the older generation becomes just as fascinated. “What we realised is that we have new storytelling abilities in the new world of VR, which is very different from the way you use TV.” After pioneering a portfolio of VR experiences with legendary filmmaker David Attenborough for the UK’s Natural History Museum, Atlantic and Alchemy VR have

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Virtual reality partnered with Sony and its PlayStation VR platform to bring VR documentaries to a wider audience. The titles include Attenborough’s First Life VR, Cocos: Shark Island (about swimming with sharks) and Atomic Ghost Fleet (about shipwrecks near the nuclear test site on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean).

Geffen adds: “We are now able to launch titles that anyone can see, as opposed to having to go to a museum first. This is a collaboration with Sony for which we know consumers are willing to pay.”

Geffen is talking at a time when VR is increasingly being used for documentaries and other factual content. Several media companies producing and distributing factual content are adopting the Liquid Cinema tech developed by Canada-based Deep Inc. Whether their origins are in physical print media or audiovisual entertainment, media companies are bolstering their digital offerings with factual content in VR. The Wall Street Journal and US-based immersive-journalism veteran Nonny de la Pena used branching narrative, the tech embedded inside Deep Inc.’s Liquid Cinema software, to enable 360-degree video and VR consumers to determine how they receive breaking news, related financial data and the VR surroundings in which they wanted to

be immersed. The Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter is delivering immersive journalism to its readers via the Google Cardboard headset. And VRtually, the VR division of the USA Today newspaper, live streamed the US presidential inauguration in January in both 360-degree video and full VR.

Atlantic and Alchemy VR have pioneered a portfolio of VR experiences with filmmaker David Attenborough for the UK’s Natural History Museum

When search-engine giant Google launched its VR platform Daydream last year, it featured apps from the Wall Street Journal, German public broadcaster NDR and Franco-German TV network ARTE using Liquid Cinema.

“In some ways, the leap into factual is a little bit easier than into fiction,” says Thomas Wallner, Deep Inc.’s award-winning CEO and founder. “In my opinion, factual and documentaries have always been driven to introduce viewers to new worlds, and that is possible when using VR. With documentaries, you can be true to the story’s roots because you’ve found a new way to immerse people in reality. For wildlife, for example, shooting in VR has a major advantage. Because the director and crew cannot be anywhere near the lens, it leads to capturing the natural behaviour of the wildlife.”

“In some ways, the leap into factual is easier than into fiction. You can be true to the story’s roots, because you’ve found a new way to immerse people in reality” Thomas Wallner

VR DEALMAKERS • THE BBC has a growing catalogue of factual content in VR, including last year’s Easter Rising: The Voice Of A Rebel. In January, the UK public broadcaster disclosed plans to create original VR content linked to Planet Earth, its blockbuster nature documentary series. This follows a deal with Oculus, the VR subsidiary of Facebook.

• Germany’s Red Arrow Entertainment Group, the production powerhouse that belongs to ProSiebenSat.1, has acquired a majority stake in US-based 44 Blue Productions, a non-fiction specialist that owns Ovrture, a VR studio that specialises in working with broadcasters.

• Quebec-based factual VR production house Felix & Paul Studios last year

won $6.8m in new funds in a round led

by Comcast Ventures, the investment division of US-based NBCUniversal’s parent company Comcast Corporation.

• Discovery VR, a subsidiary of Discovery Communications, has been making significant advances in VR factual entertainment. Last year, it had the media buzzing about VR versions of its global TV factual hits, including Deadliest Catch and Shark Week.

• Blood And Fury: America’s Civil War, the docu-drama that premiered on Discovery’s American Heroes Channel (AHC), has gained a VR addition called Civil War: A Letter From The Trenches, available as full VR via the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR headsets, as well as 360-degree video on Facebook and YouTube.

Easter Rising: The Voice Of A Rebel (BBC) • Seeker VR is the recently launched VR version of Seeker, the online multiplatform network (MPN) dedicated to science and exploration (and a subsidiary of Discovery Digital Networks). It is one of the first factual networks on any platform that is 100% dedicated to VR. • Viceland, the TV network co-owned by Vice Media, has joined forces with Samsung and US-based VR-content specialist Within to create a series of documentary shorts. The move is part of Viceland’s bid to make VR factual content appealing to its targeted youth audience.

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Virtual reality With the price of VR headsets and technology dropping, Geffen advises the industry not to be complacent. “What needs to break is serious investment,” he says. “At our company, I believe we’ve broken the mould with a batch of new projects that will show people this is really happening. At the end of this year, I believe people will truly be engaged with VR.” Until then, the fact is that there are more 360-degree video productions in the industry than there are fully immersive VR works, which are more expensive to create.

Moreover, full VR requires much more complicated skillsets and greater resources. For instance, if you build VR on one platform, some tweaking is still needed for it to be accessible on other platforms and via other headsets.

For documentary-makers, 360-degree video is much more user friendly at this stage.

Sol Rogers, CEO and founder of Londonbased VR content creator Rewind, explains why: “A documentary captures real events in real life so, in VR, your only viable option is 360-degree video. A 360-degree video makes the user feel closer to the action, so for documentaries this is a powerful medium to really bring the subject to life for the user.”

VIMN’s Karmelina Parouka: “It’s a really exciting time to embrace VR”

But there is still much for traditional documentary-makers to learn, Rogers adds: “Whether you are shooting a 360-degree video documentary, or creating content for a brand, the same issues need to be worked around. You can’t get too close to the lenses without causing unfixable [post-production] stitch errors. The crew will always be in shot.

The viewer is the director, which has implications for storytelling. And the cameras often have short battery lives.”

“You can’t get too close to the lenses. The crew will always be in shot. And the viewer is the director, which has implications for storytelling” Sol Rogers This raises other issues for documentarymakers. “You can’t easily cut and edit around problems that might arise and, if you’re filming in a remote location, handling the physical equipment and peripherals can be a challenge,” Rogers adds.

These are challenges, however, that companies like Rewind are determined to overcome to bring this new medium to the craft of documentary-making.

Using VR to market factual entertainment is another way for producers to engage with the technology.

“It’s a really exciting time to embrace VR and bring the audience closer to our shows than ever before,” says Karmelina Parouka, vicepresident of international digital production at Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN). “Our MTV EMA [European Music Awards] was the first global music-awards show to broadcast the full event live in VR in 2015.

In 2016, we took it a step further, becoming the first network to roll out a real-time Messenger bot experience as part of a live awards show.”

The combination of VR and the interactive messaging chatbot tech, which permits fans to communicate with a show in real time, injected fresh life into the EMA, an entertainment brand that is already more than 20 years old. “Fans were able to enjoy a 360-degree video experience via the MTV EMA app, which put them inside the arena live during

the show,” Parouka adds. “Through the power and capability of VR, audiences now have a global front-row seat at some of the world’s most incredible live events and moments in [music entertainment] history.”

Melissa Madden, head of marketing, UK and international, at A+E Networks, says VR marketing is able to bring a show to life even before it airs. It generates the kind of socialmedia buzz and discussions that more traditional media channels do not.

The network’s South East Asian subsidiary (A+E Networks Asia) used VR marketing for survival reality show Alone in 2015. Since then, A+E has adopted VR to market more new releases. These include 60 Days In, a documentary that debuted on A+E in the US. The series follows ordinary citizens as they go undercover as inmates in a US high-security prison and experience the pressure-cooker intensity, malice and corruption that goes on inside.

To promote the show in Latin America, ordinary people were invited to enter a booth located in Mexico City, where they could wear VR goggles to re-enact life inside a tough US jail. “It’s more than a stunt — it’s so much more visceral,” Madden says.

VR marketing was also used for Ronnie O’Sullivan’s American Hustle on the UK edition of A+E’s History. The new travelogue follows legendary snooker champion O’Sullivan as he travels across the US to meet American pool hustlers. And the most recent season of Britain’s Next Top Model on Lifetime also received the VR treatment.

“The use of VR is now less experimental,” Madden says. “When we work on a marketing plan, VR is on the list. We consider whether it’s suitable, and ask what it will add to the campaign, and if the show has the right audience for it.”

And the long-term prospects for consumer adoption look good, she adds: “The technology can be time-consuming, complicated and very expensive. But when it works, it’s worth it.”

“VR technology can be time-consuming, complicated and very expensive. But when it works, it’s worth it” Melissa Madden

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Your MIPDoc Experience 1-2 APRIL 2017 JW MARRIOTT HOTEL, 50 boulevard de la Croisette, Cannes

Opening Times 1 April: 8.30-19.00 2 April: 8.30-19.00

Registration Hours 31 March: 16.00-19.30 1 April: 8.00-19.00 2 April: 8.30-19.00

We look forward to welcoming you in Cannes, but first here are some tips to prepare your Journey to MIPDoc

Prepare for MIPDoc in advance Visit MIPDoc website to organise your travel • Book your transportation & accommodation with our partners to get the best deals

Prepare your agenda and meetings ahead of time • Check out the programme of conferences and networking events • Log in to the Online Database and – Fill out your profile and personalise your agenda – Browse participants and attending companies – Send one-to-one messages to other delegates and organise business meetings – As a buyer, create your playlist ahead of the show for the Screenings Library

Your badge: your key to getting into MIPDoc • You received your badge by post Don’t forget to bring it with you • You have your e-ticket Log in to the Online Database to collect your badge at a self-service delivery point • You have your registration confirmation email Pick up your badge in the registration area, located at the lower lobby level of the JW Marriott Your badge must be carried all times, and ready to be shown at entry points around the area. Your badge is strictly personal and non-transferable.

How to access the Screenings Library?

Screenings Library Access the unique Screenings Library of international Factual and Documentary programming.

NEW: The at-show Screenings Library will be available online after MIPDoc for catch up screenings.

Buyers & Sellers Log in to the Screenings Library with the login & password indicated on your badge.

As a buyer, you can review a list of the content you have screened during the event and as a seller you can receive the list of buyers who screened your content during the event. These lists are available at dedicated stations at the Registration

Area. They will be sent to your mail box (if you have filled it in in the contract) at the end of each day.

Important: At MIPTV, these lists will be available by request at the Palais des Festivals (Help Desk – Palais 0). Buyers will carry on screening post MIPDoc and the online reports post show will be available on www.screenings.com.

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Your MIPDoc Experience Onsite meet decision makers and get an overview of the market trends Connect, learn, share

MIPDoc Networking Cocktail Saturday 1 April, from 19.00 JW Marriott Hotel Open to all MIPDoc Participants

New Visitors Tour Saturday 1 April, 9.00-9.30 Producers’ Hub

2 DAYS OF CONFERENCES & NETWORKING EVENTS

Japan Documentary Pitching Showcase Presented by Saturday 1 April 11.15-12.10 Producers’ Hub

Snack & Screen Presented by Sunday 2 April, 12.30-14.00 Grand Theatre

MIPDoc World Premiere TV Screening MIPDoc Networking Lunch Sponsored by Saturday 1 April, 12.45-14.30

MIPDoc World Premiere TV Screening

“Big Pacific” Presented by Saturday 1 April 18.00-19.00 Grand Theatre

“Tokyo Phoenix, The Rise of Modern Japan” Presented by and Sunday 2 April 17.15-18.15 Grand Theatre

What can you find at MIPDoc? Networking Lounge

Registration Area

Conference Rooms

• Open to all participants • Meeting area, free coffee

Sponsored by

• Grand Theatre • Producers’ Hub • Matchmaking Lounge

• Email Points • Screening Lists stations • Meeting Area

Screenings Library Rooms • Open to buyers only

See the programme p.22 and plan your journey

See you in Cannes!

For further information: www.mipdoc.com • Help desk: +33 (0)1 79 71 99 99

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