Tuesday, May 24, 2011
findaTVexpert's TV Green Room
Do you want to find out how the TV industry works, how findaTVexpert works and/or if you've got what it takes to be a TV expert? If your answer's yes, stop by my TV Green Room for a quick coffee and a chat. I'll be at the Benugo Bar & Kitchen on Wednesdays from 5.00-6.00, starting on the 1st of June (BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XT.) Follow me on twitter #TVGreenRoom for updates.
Could YOU be a TV Expert? Find out on the 23rd of June in Cardiff
findaTVexpert's popular Could you be a TV Expert? seminar is heading to the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff on the 23rd of June.
It will be presented by findaTVexpert ’s Claire Richmond (TV Talent Hunter & Producer of some of TV’s most popular shows including BBC’s Changing Rooms, Ready Steady Cook & Don’t Get Done Get Dom) and give experts the chance to find out how the TV industry works, why experts are crucial to the success of TV programmes, what kind of experts the programme makers are looking for, how they find them, and what experts need to be doing to make the industry sit up and take notice of them.
Seminar booking info: Entrance to the seminar is free but tickets must be booked in advance as spaces are limited. For more information and/or to book your place use this link.
Feedback from attendees of Could you be a TV Expert? seminars:
"Great style. Claire really knows her stuff. She's an expert!"
"Friendly, warm & accessible. I feel inspired!"
"Thought provoking."
"Loved the session. Really engaging & helpful."
Claire's going on a hunt for TV talent across the UK this year and hosting the Could you be a TV Expert? seminars in Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and London. For details of all the seminars, please contact findaTVexpert.
It will be presented by findaTVexpert ’s Claire Richmond (TV Talent Hunter & Producer of some of TV’s most popular shows including BBC’s Changing Rooms, Ready Steady Cook & Don’t Get Done Get Dom) and give experts the chance to find out how the TV industry works, why experts are crucial to the success of TV programmes, what kind of experts the programme makers are looking for, how they find them, and what experts need to be doing to make the industry sit up and take notice of them.
Seminar booking info: Entrance to the seminar is free but tickets must be booked in advance as spaces are limited. For more information and/or to book your place use this link.
Feedback from attendees of Could you be a TV Expert? seminars:
"Great style. Claire really knows her stuff. She's an expert!"
"Friendly, warm & accessible. I feel inspired!"
"Thought provoking."
"Loved the session. Really engaging & helpful."
Claire's going on a hunt for TV talent across the UK this year and hosting the Could you be a TV Expert? seminars in Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and London. For details of all the seminars, please contact findaTVexpert.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Art Expert found on findaTVexpert for new BBC2 series
Arts & Architecture Expert Roy Bolton was found on www.findatvexpert.com by Lucky Day Productions, part of the Zodiak Media Group, and signed up as one of the expert judges on ‘Show me the Monet’, BBC2s new 10-part art series which goes out at 5.15pm every weekday from today until the 20th of May.
Roy is one of many experts who have been found on findaTVexpert since its launch in 2008 and contacted by TVcompanies for studio interviews, presenting roles, pilots and other media opportunities. Other experts include Aristocratic Tamer: Horses, Cattle & Kids, Lady Lesley Cooper (Superscrimpers: Waste Not Want Not - Channel 4); Homeowner Rights, Consumer and Property Expert Roger Southam (Don't Get Done Get Dom - BBC1); Janet Thomson (Who Knows Best: Fighting the Fat- Channel 4); Food Scientist Audrey Deane (E Numbers: an Edible Adventure - BBC2); Confidence Coach Sean Brickell (The Vanessa Show - Channel 5) and Dr of Clinical Psychology Abigael San (Sky Real Lives). And in the past few months alone, over 30 experts have been screentested for programmes that are in development.
“We’re always on the hunt for new experts and when we were commissioned to make our new series, Show Me The Monet, findaTVexpert was a first port of call,” says Lucky Day Productions Managing Director Damon Pattison, who also Exec Produced the series for the BBC. “So we’re delighted we found Roy there as he - and the other experts on Show Me the Monet – has exactly the right mix of knowledge, warmth and wit that will appeal to a very wide audience.”
”I’m very happy for Roy and for all the experts who are being found on findaTVexpert and getting a step closer to fulfilling their TV ambitions,” says findaTVexpert founder and TV Producer Claire Richmond. “TV companies are always on the hunt for passionate and inspiring experts – and the more ways they can find them, the better. So if you’ve got an expertise, make sure you flaunt it to the TV industry because you never know what they’ll be looking for next.”
Roy is one of many experts who have been found on findaTVexpert since its launch in 2008 and contacted by TVcompanies for studio interviews, presenting roles, pilots and other media opportunities. Other experts include Aristocratic Tamer: Horses, Cattle & Kids, Lady Lesley Cooper (Superscrimpers: Waste Not Want Not - Channel 4); Homeowner Rights, Consumer and Property Expert Roger Southam (Don't Get Done Get Dom - BBC1); Janet Thomson (Who Knows Best: Fighting the Fat- Channel 4); Food Scientist Audrey Deane (E Numbers: an Edible Adventure - BBC2); Confidence Coach Sean Brickell (The Vanessa Show - Channel 5) and Dr of Clinical Psychology Abigael San (Sky Real Lives). And in the past few months alone, over 30 experts have been screentested for programmes that are in development.
“We’re always on the hunt for new experts and when we were commissioned to make our new series, Show Me The Monet, findaTVexpert was a first port of call,” says Lucky Day Productions Managing Director Damon Pattison, who also Exec Produced the series for the BBC. “So we’re delighted we found Roy there as he - and the other experts on Show Me the Monet – has exactly the right mix of knowledge, warmth and wit that will appeal to a very wide audience.”
”I’m very happy for Roy and for all the experts who are being found on findaTVexpert and getting a step closer to fulfilling their TV ambitions,” says findaTVexpert founder and TV Producer Claire Richmond. “TV companies are always on the hunt for passionate and inspiring experts – and the more ways they can find them, the better. So if you’ve got an expertise, make sure you flaunt it to the TV industry because you never know what they’ll be looking for next.”
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Could you be a TV Expert? Find out on the 25th of May in Bristol
findaTVexpert's popular Could you be a TV Expert? seminar is heading to the West Country.
It will be presented by findaTVexpert ’s Claire Richmond (producer of some of TV’s most popular shows including BBC’s Changing Rooms, Ready Steady Cook & Don’t Get Done Get Dom) and give experts the chance to find out how the TV industry works, why experts are crucial to the success of TV programmes, what kind of experts the programme makers are looking for, how they find them, and what experts need to be doing to make the industry sit up and take notice of them.
Seminar booking info: Tickets cost £30 per person or £50 for two and must be purchased in advance as spaces are limited. For more information and/or to book your place, please contact findaTVexpert.
Read a review of one of last year's Could you be a TV Expert? seminars.
Feedback from attendees of 'Could you be a TV Expert?' seminars:
"Great style. Claire really knows her stuff. She's an expert!"
"I think seminar was very good value for money."
"Friendly, warm & accessible. I feel inspired!"
"Thought provoking."
"Loved the session. Really engaging & helpful."
If you can't make it to the Bristol seminar, don't worry. The Could you be a TV Expert? seminar will also be held in Cardiff, Glasgow, Birmingham and London this year. For details of all the seminars, please contact findaTVexpert.
It will be presented by findaTVexpert ’s Claire Richmond (producer of some of TV’s most popular shows including BBC’s Changing Rooms, Ready Steady Cook & Don’t Get Done Get Dom) and give experts the chance to find out how the TV industry works, why experts are crucial to the success of TV programmes, what kind of experts the programme makers are looking for, how they find them, and what experts need to be doing to make the industry sit up and take notice of them.
Seminar booking info: Tickets cost £30 per person or £50 for two and must be purchased in advance as spaces are limited. For more information and/or to book your place, please contact findaTVexpert.
Read a review of one of last year's Could you be a TV Expert? seminars.
Feedback from attendees of 'Could you be a TV Expert?' seminars:
"Great style. Claire really knows her stuff. She's an expert!"
"I think seminar was very good value for money."
"Friendly, warm & accessible. I feel inspired!"
"Thought provoking."
"Loved the session. Really engaging & helpful."
If you can't make it to the Bristol seminar, don't worry. The Could you be a TV Expert? seminar will also be held in Cardiff, Glasgow, Birmingham and London this year. For details of all the seminars, please contact findaTVexpert.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Skills Transfer: How setting up and running a business is like developing and producing a TV series
I’ve had two eureka moments in my life. The first was in 1993, at the age of 29. I had a successful career in PR but I packed it all in because I wanted to work in TV. Fourteen years later, at the age of 43, I had my second eureka moment - on a barge on the Canal du Midi in France. This time I stepped away from a successful career spent making & developing TV programmes (including Changing Rooms, Ready Steady Cook and Don’t Get Done Get Dom for BBC1), looking for talent and running channels (London TV and Today on 3 Mobile) to set up www.findaTVexpert.com.
In a nutshell, findaTVexpert is an online database of talent that gives experts who want to be considered for TV&Media opportunities the chance to promote themselves to the industry – and members of the media a fast and easy way of finding experts to comment on a subject or be part of a show. As the meerkats say in their catchy little ad, ‘simples’!
The only problem was that I’d never set up a business before. I wasn’t a natural born entrepreneur. I didn’t sell lemonade when I was young. I’d been an employee since I left University and words like cashflow, profit & loss forecasts and returns on investments were double dutch to me. That wasn’t the language I spoke. I was a “creative”.
But I had passion. And conviction. I knew this was a service the experts wanted and the industry needed. So much so that when I was offered a contract to oversee another series of Don’t Get Done Get Dom for BBC1 (10 months of financial job security!), I turned it down. I was going to live off my savings and create a bespoke business that plugged a gap in the market, played to my strengths and allowed me to do the things I enjoyed doing – ie help experts get on TV, meet people, network, write and be creative!
And that’s when I realised that setting up and running a business was like developing and producing a TV series. First of all, I needed the vision (the TV idea). Then I had to do my research. In the case of findaTVexpert, I’d researched the market but I needed to find out how to run a business. So I read the Financial Times Guide to Business Start up 2008; Starting a Business for Dummies, Starting & Running an Online Business for Dummies, Marketing for Dummies, Great Brand Stories: Innocent and Anyone Can Do It.
Having done my research, I wrote a business plan which gave me a clear idea of what findaTVexpert did, how it worked and why it was unique. This was equivalent to writing a TV pitch, format and running order.
Then I started pulling everything together, which was like developing and producing a TV series. And like so many of the series I worked on, I had an extremely tight schedule and very small budget. But I made it happen.
findaTVexpert launched in April 2008 – 9 months after I had my eureka moment on the Canal du Midi - and has gone from strength to strength ever since. And I’m still using my TV skills: I have to be organised; I ask for help when I need it (a problem shared is a problem halved, as an executive producer once said to me); I see problems and challenges as ‘opportunities for excellence’ (as another executive producer once said to me); and I think creatively 100% of the time (what’s working, what isn’t, how can I do it differently, how can I do it better, etc).
Packing in my TV career and setting up a business was a huge risk but every time I get a call from an expert who’s been spotted on findaTVexpert and booked for an interview, a screentest or a series, I know it’s been worth it.
I’m still not brilliant with the financial side of things – I’m a ‘creative’ after all - but I’ve realised I don’t have to know everything. There are people out there who can help me. All I have to do is ask.
I used my TV skills to create a bespoke business. Could you use your skills to do something completely different?
In a nutshell, findaTVexpert is an online database of talent that gives experts who want to be considered for TV&Media opportunities the chance to promote themselves to the industry – and members of the media a fast and easy way of finding experts to comment on a subject or be part of a show. As the meerkats say in their catchy little ad, ‘simples’!
The only problem was that I’d never set up a business before. I wasn’t a natural born entrepreneur. I didn’t sell lemonade when I was young. I’d been an employee since I left University and words like cashflow, profit & loss forecasts and returns on investments were double dutch to me. That wasn’t the language I spoke. I was a “creative”.
But I had passion. And conviction. I knew this was a service the experts wanted and the industry needed. So much so that when I was offered a contract to oversee another series of Don’t Get Done Get Dom for BBC1 (10 months of financial job security!), I turned it down. I was going to live off my savings and create a bespoke business that plugged a gap in the market, played to my strengths and allowed me to do the things I enjoyed doing – ie help experts get on TV, meet people, network, write and be creative!
And that’s when I realised that setting up and running a business was like developing and producing a TV series. First of all, I needed the vision (the TV idea). Then I had to do my research. In the case of findaTVexpert, I’d researched the market but I needed to find out how to run a business. So I read the Financial Times Guide to Business Start up 2008; Starting a Business for Dummies, Starting & Running an Online Business for Dummies, Marketing for Dummies, Great Brand Stories: Innocent and Anyone Can Do It.
Having done my research, I wrote a business plan which gave me a clear idea of what findaTVexpert did, how it worked and why it was unique. This was equivalent to writing a TV pitch, format and running order.
Then I started pulling everything together, which was like developing and producing a TV series. And like so many of the series I worked on, I had an extremely tight schedule and very small budget. But I made it happen.
findaTVexpert launched in April 2008 – 9 months after I had my eureka moment on the Canal du Midi - and has gone from strength to strength ever since. And I’m still using my TV skills: I have to be organised; I ask for help when I need it (a problem shared is a problem halved, as an executive producer once said to me); I see problems and challenges as ‘opportunities for excellence’ (as another executive producer once said to me); and I think creatively 100% of the time (what’s working, what isn’t, how can I do it differently, how can I do it better, etc).
Packing in my TV career and setting up a business was a huge risk but every time I get a call from an expert who’s been spotted on findaTVexpert and booked for an interview, a screentest or a series, I know it’s been worth it.
I’m still not brilliant with the financial side of things – I’m a ‘creative’ after all - but I’ve realised I don’t have to know everything. There are people out there who can help me. All I have to do is ask.
I used my TV skills to create a bespoke business. Could you use your skills to do something completely different?
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Testimonial from Simon Warr
After successive years filming various TV series, including playing the Headmaster in Channel 4's 'That'll Teach 'Em', in 2008 my phone suddenly stopped ringing. 'Had I outstayed my welcome?' I wondered. A friend of mine, who works for an independent TV company, told me that without an agent there were bound to be dips in my media career and she told me that in the circumstances, the best way forward was to contact a company called findaTVexpert, which is regularly used by both TV and radio researchers. I've not looked back. Since signing up to findaTVexpert (for a very modest charge), I have been inundated with offers of work. I am a regular on both Radio 2 and 5, on Talksport and have appeared on BBC Breakfast, Daybreak and Big Brother's Little Brother. I now cover local sport for BBC in the East. This very week, I have been asked by a well known teenage magazine to write an article about exam revision. I cannot thank Claire Richmond and her team enough. If you are talented in your own particular field, then I strongly recommend you contact findaTVexpert.
Simon Warr, M.A.
Simon Warr, M.A.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
