Documentary Production by Peter Hamilton. Peter's expertise is documentary production, documentary budgets, documentary funding & how to make a documentary.

Discovery 3D Friends Wildlife; Netflix Soars; BBC Cuts

2010 October 22 / Documentary Production, Producers' Tool Kit

DISCOVERY’s 3D CHANNEL The 3D cable network, a joint venture between Discovery, Sony and IMAX revealed its initial wildlife-friendly programming lineup. Original Series include: Abandoned Planet from Flight 33 Productions; Africa in 3D from Aquavision Television Productions; China produced by Natural History New Zealand Ltd. (NHNZ); and Jewels of the World also from NHNZ Exclusive …

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A Preferred Producer: Hoff Productions between Basement and Buyout (Part 1/2)

2010 October 19 / Commissioning Process, Documentary Production, Producers' Tool Kit

The scale of factual producers ranges from basement operators to ‘Super-preferred Producers’ like Pilgrim Entertainment. We continue our case studies of the U.S. production sector by focusing on Hoff Productions, which represents the tier below the ‘Super’ category. Hoff Productions is based in the Bay Area, with a recently opened office in New York, and is …

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U.S. Cable Networks: Which Ones Commission Factual? How Many Homes Do They Reach?

2010 October 13 / Commissioning Process, Documentary Production, Producers' Tool Kit

Commissions Factual? U.S. TVHH Genre TBS 100,608 Entertainment CNN / HLN 100,370 News Yes DISCOVERY CHANNEL 100,101 Factual/Reality Yes NICK-AT-NITE 100,064 Entertainment NICKELODEON 100,064 Kids THE WEATHER CHANNEL 100,054 News Yes FOOD NETWORK 99,934 Lifestyle Yes CNN CABLE NEWS NETWORK 99,640 News Yes TNT 99,630 Entertainment …

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‘How to Make Capitol Hill Work for You’ — A Congressional Aide’s Guide for Documentary Filmmakers

2010 September 26 / Documentary Production, Producers' Tool Kit

A guest post by Will Jenkins, who works on Capitol Hill and is a champion of how documentary producers can bring about change. Many documentary filmmakers are driven by a desire to tell compelling stories that make an impact on public policies and laws. When they see an injustice, these filmmakers may make great sacrifices …

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Why Marry Up with Pilgrim? A ‘Super-Preferred Producer’ at WestDoc

2010 September 20 / Commissioning Process, Documentary Production, Producers' Tool Kit

Last week’s Westdoc Conference was a great success for attendees due to: the quality of the speakers and panelists the easy access to buyers and experts and the very friendly environment Johnny Gould, Pilgrim Films and Television’s vice president for Programming & Business Development gave a stimulating presentation. Pilgrim is a powerful player in the …

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How to Pitch & Sell Your Project. A&E, #3/3. “Seven Key Takeaways”

2010 September 10 / Commissioning Process, Documentary Production, Network Profile, Producers' Tool Kit

Part 3/3 Click here for Part 1/3.: A day in the life of a developer, and more Click here for Part 2/3: A&E’s four filters: “Death is the ultimate high stakes”, and even more By Erin Essenmacher A&E director of Development Stephen Harris spoke at Silverdocs and WIFV panels that were moderated by DocumentaryTelevision.com editor Peter …

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Preferred Vendors: Multiple Commissions / Multiple Networks. Why?

2010 August 16 / Commissioning Process, Documentary Production, Documentary TV, Producers' Tool Kit, Upfronts

This week, we ask three questions: Which producers are getting the repeat commissions? Who gets commissions from multiple U.S. networks? And why? The Data We created lists of producers who earned commissions for new and returning programs from Discovery Networks, including the digi-nets, as well as AETN and Nat Geo Channels. Our sources were: Upfront press …

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