Features – Page 11
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FeaturesDavid Kosse, Film 4
Film 4 director David Kosse and his team talk Andreas Wiseman through the company’s direction, its roster of up-and-coming directors and future projects.
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Behind The ScenesThe Catch, C4
Filming and living aboard a fishing boat for this fixed-rig doc threw up many challenges, but it also made for a very personal experience, says Jim Incledon
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NewsThe Word: the show that shook up TV
A quarter of a century ago, C4 ushered in a new era of reality TV and unknowingly launched the careers of a generation of producers and executives. Peter White looks back at The Word
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FeaturesThe Word: the genesis
Oxford-educated Charlie Parsons started his career as a reporter on local newspaper the Ealing Gazette before becoming a researcher at LWT, and then series editor of Channel 4’s groundbreaking factual show Network 7 and arts magazine show Club X.
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FeaturesThe Word: the launch
The show launched on 17 August 1990 with guests including Brookside actor Bill Dean, Bond girl Maryam D’Abo and music acts The Farm and Adamski. It ran for 11 episodes at 6pm, playing host to LL Cool J, Pixies and The Charlatans, before it was switched to 11pm on 9 ...
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FeaturesThe Word gets serious
In series one, items included a piece on ex-criminals in the evangelical Christian ministry Power Team. The storytelling side was important to Parsons.
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FeaturesThe Word: series two
Sebastian Scott became the series editor for the second series, having worked with Parsons on Network 7. Scott came from Janet Street Porter’s BBC2 youth strand Def II and worked alongside series producers Boland, Lux and Richard Godfrey.
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FeaturesThe Word: creation of Planet 24
After series two, Parsons was offered the opportunity to pitch for The Big Breakfast. He and Alli partnered with Bob Geldof and Tony Boland, father of Murray Boland, to create Planet 24 and the new company beat a host of rivals to win the five-day live breakfast show.
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FeaturesThe Word: the controversy
Series three’s eclectic guests included Peter Stringfellow, Bill Hicks, Pamela Anderson and the Marquis of Blandford.
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FeaturesThe Word: The Hopefuls
The Hopefuls, a segment in which people offered to do ‘anything to be on TV’, from snogging a granny to licking armpits, is one of the most vividly remembered parts of The Word. Created by Sebastian Scott, it was taken on by Paul Ross.
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FeaturesThe Word: successors
In The Word’s wake, shows like The Girlie Show and Something For The Weekend tried to capture something of its spirit, but it wasn’t until The Big Breakfast alumnus Chris Evans launched TFI Friday in 1996 that C4 really had another Friday night youth hit on its hands.
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Behind The ScenesMan V Viral/Experimental, Channel 4
We wanted a brave, athletic and charismatic stuntman to recreate the crazy clips we’d seen on the internet, says Jago Lee. But instead we chose west London’s answer to Woody Allen
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Behind The ScenesSupershoppers, C4
Firecrest’s Nicole Kleeman on combining satire with stunts to create a new kind of consumer programme
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Behind The ScenesDispatches: Escape From Isis, C4
We were prepared for harrowing tales of life under Isis, but never expected positive stories to emerge from the horror, says Edward Watts
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Behind The ScenesHumans, Channel 4
Getting the look and movement right for our ‘synths’ was no small task, says producer Chris Fry
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Behind The ScenesThe Tribe, C4
With long days, floods and intense heat, C4’s first foreign fixed-rig series took me out of my comfort zone, says Paddy Wivell. But focusing on the basics of storytelling carried us through
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Behind The ScenesNo Offence, Channel 4
Paul Abbott’s new Channel 4 series is a comedy/police procedural with three female leads. Benji Wilson visits the set, while the writer explains how it draws on his previous work
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Behind The ScenesBallot Monkeys, C4
C4’s Ballot Monkeys had to be filmed close to the wire to keep it topical. The solution? An unusual OB with four crews crammed into four coaches, writes Jimmy Mulville
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Behind The ScenesThe Kids Who Can't Stay Awake, C4
First-time producer/director Nicola Comber reflects on tacking the sensitive subject of childhood narcolepsy
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Behind The ScenesThe Secret Life of Four Year Olds, C4
When we started filming a group of four year-olds, we had no idea what it would teach us, says Teresa Watkins.