TV Fast Train 2012

Free training event for media freelancers TV Fast Train 2012 was a success. Hosted by BBC Academy in partnership with Creative Skillset and other industry partners, the day saw more than 500 attendees attending 24 masterclasses and 160 practical training sessions.

My first Fast Train session was Using Social Media to Grow Your Brand. It was about reaching, building and engaging audiences. It featured my online idols: BBC’s Social Media Lead Dan Biddle; Telegraph Hill‘s Barry Pilling and Twitter Guy Stephen Saul. It was chaired by Sara Brailsford from Atomized. Check out the podcast from the session.

Next session was Where’s the Next Big One? Features and Formats. It aimed to give those who wish to find the next big thing on telly tips on where to start when devising features and format hits. Panellists include Remarkable Television‘s Colette Foster; Bridget Boseley of Outline Productions; Alan Brown of Chocolate Media; Karoline Copping from Channel 4 and chaired by TV exec Anna Richardson. It was interesting to hear their own programme highlights from their careers and programmes that they wished they have come up with. What became apparent was that these shows were or a combination of the following elements: aspirational, relevant to the people and the times we are in, have good talent, good characters, good home take out and some element of jeopardy and pay off. A good narrative would not go amiss!

Then there was Social Media and second screens. Here are some interesting stats:

• Media multitasking: adults using two or more media in the same half hour 79%
• Nearly half of all adults and three quarters of 15-24s access the internet on their laptop while watching TV
• 20% of adults and 40% 15-24s watch TV via internet while watching another television programme on the main telly
• 6% of adults and 17% of 15-24 year olds like to chat about a programme online while viewing it on TV

I really would have loved to have made it to Meet the BBC Controllers. Luckily, there’s a controllers’ session podcast.

So there you have it, thought I’d share with you my TV Fast Train experience. It truly is wonderful to have events like this to really help with continuing professional development.

– TV Fast Train 2012: the round up
– BBC TV Fast Train Storify
– TV Fast Train on Flickr

Titus Andronicus

Part of Globe to Globe and World Shakespeare Festival 2012, Tang Shu-Wing Theatre Studio’s Titus Andronicus was a massive hit to the audience last night. Shakespeare’s Globe played host to the play spoken in Cantonese. Non-Cantonese speakers were aided with surtitles.

With a very simple minimalist stage, the play was injected with Hong Kong culture that was dominated by the actors’ voices and movements to really show off the energy of the text. Music was live done by a sole musician who was sat on top of the set using traditional Chinese instruments.

The ensemble was brilliant and emotive. The production, which was commissioned and premiered at the 2012 Hong Kong Arts Festival, has toured Singapore and the US, and the Globe to Globe festival is its first visit to the UK.

Here’s the synopsis:

Titus and his sons return to Rome triumphant with their Goth prisoners – Tamora and her sons. When Titus’ daughter Lavinia refuses to marry the new emperor Saturninus, Titus is horrified as Saturninus instead chooses Tamora for his bride. In their new position of power, Tamora and her sons set out to get revenge against Titus for crimes against the Goths. As the body count rises and the acts of vengeance escalate, Titus is pushed to extreme measures to avenge his family.

Here are some pics from the play:

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on Facebook
Shakespeare’s Globe on Twitter
Tang Shu Wing Theatre Studio

The festival runs until June, so there are plenty of chances to catch all the other plays. The beauty of it is that the festival presents 37 plays in 37 languages. It goes to show that good storytelling through acting can get a message across despite differences in languages.

Globe to Globe website
Globe to Globe Schedule
Shakespeare’s Globe