Those crazy cats at Aardman and Lupus films have pulled it off!
4mations.tv, the new home of all kinds of animation talent online (backed by Channel 4) is live and there's already an entertaining and ecletic bunch of films and games on there to enjoy. It's still in beta, so be gentle with them - but looking pretty fine already.
What does it say about me that the first three categories of films I looked for were Comedy, Adult then Sick and Twisted? Probably that I'm terrribly average.
The logophile in me likes this one best so far.
Showing posts with label channel4. Show all posts
Showing posts with label channel4. Show all posts
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
Professional Guilty Pleasures: Big Brother is Back
I sometimes ask myself if I didn't work for Channel 4 would I still be watching Big Brother? And then I just watch it anyway. You can catch up here if you've missed it (UK only).
Undoubtedly some interesting housemates this year including an American albino called Darnell who seems very sweet, a blind cross-dresser, Michael, and a selection of near-miss lookie likies - from Scottish Perez-Hilton-alike Dennis, to Sylvester LeBlanc mash-up Mario (who looks so much like our favourite cartoon Italians he changed his name from Sean). Grace Dent explains them all very amusingly (excited she's writing for the site this year).
No one vaguely posh this year - maybe The Apprentice's Lucinda Ledgerwood was right, in the world of reality TV, the privileged few are a beleaguered minority.
Incidentally, I was just jealously reflecting on how Lucinda's name was so lovely that it was the kind of name that as a teenager I dreamt would make all the difference and land me a posh floppy-haired boyfriend. Then I found out she'd made it up. Hahaha. Cindy Burger. Guess she and Mario have got something in common after all. (She probably would have fared better in the BB house, now I think about it.)
Undoubtedly some interesting housemates this year including an American albino called Darnell who seems very sweet, a blind cross-dresser, Michael, and a selection of near-miss lookie likies - from Scottish Perez-Hilton-alike Dennis, to Sylvester LeBlanc mash-up Mario (who looks so much like our favourite cartoon Italians he changed his name from Sean). Grace Dent explains them all very amusingly (excited she's writing for the site this year).
No one vaguely posh this year - maybe The Apprentice's Lucinda Ledgerwood was right, in the world of reality TV, the privileged few are a beleaguered minority.
Incidentally, I was just jealously reflecting on how Lucinda's name was so lovely that it was the kind of name that as a teenager I dreamt would make all the difference and land me a posh floppy-haired boyfriend. Then I found out she'd made it up. Hahaha. Cindy Burger. Guess she and Mario have got something in common after all. (She probably would have fared better in the BB house, now I think about it.)
Monday, March 17, 2008
4IP: A Shot in the Arm (the good inoculation kind) for British media
Last week two instances proved beyond reasonable doubt that I have spent too much time reading celebrity nonsense:
1. For a split second I believed that leading lutist, tantric sex (find your own link) fan and lead singer of The Police, Sting, had become some sort of moral vigilante. I am an idiot.
2. When trying to come up with a decent analogy for the state of the British TV broadcasting industry, my first port of call was Amy Winehouse. Again.
I'm still an idiot, but there's something there. A dependency on decreasing TV ad revenues may mean that quality and creativity will be departing the ludicrously talented world of British broadcasting whilst all the exciting stuff happens online.
Which is why I was more than pleased to hear about my employer - Channel 4 - 's commitment to new platforms (details in chapter 4) outlined in last Thursday's Next on 4 announcements especially in the shape of the £50m 4IP fund.
It's great to think that this cash will ensure that the UK population has a voice on this global stage, that our talent and ideas are nurtured, that our voices are heard, and that our lives benefit from the kind of mobilisation and amplification that online platforms specialize in.
Most of all I hope it will ensure that Channel 4 continues to appeal to the audiences we work best for, and that our creativity is pushed and increased with this whole raft of new tools to play with.
In the Guardian podcast, Emily Bell said something like "how you feel about this depends entirely on how you feel about Channel 4". My understanding of the findings of our research was that overwhelmingly, people do believe that Channel 4 is a good thing, and that it does have a role to play on platforms other than traditional broadcast TV.
Do read the report, watch the videos (last Q&A clip quite entertaining) , and let me know what you think.
1. For a split second I believed that leading lutist, tantric sex (find your own link) fan and lead singer of The Police, Sting, had become some sort of moral vigilante. I am an idiot.
2. When trying to come up with a decent analogy for the state of the British TV broadcasting industry, my first port of call was Amy Winehouse. Again.
I'm still an idiot, but there's something there. A dependency on decreasing TV ad revenues may mean that quality and creativity will be departing the ludicrously talented world of British broadcasting whilst all the exciting stuff happens online.
Which is why I was more than pleased to hear about my employer - Channel 4 - 's commitment to new platforms (details in chapter 4) outlined in last Thursday's Next on 4 announcements especially in the shape of the £50m 4IP fund.
It's great to think that this cash will ensure that the UK population has a voice on this global stage, that our talent and ideas are nurtured, that our voices are heard, and that our lives benefit from the kind of mobilisation and amplification that online platforms specialize in.
Most of all I hope it will ensure that Channel 4 continues to appeal to the audiences we work best for, and that our creativity is pushed and increased with this whole raft of new tools to play with.
In the Guardian podcast, Emily Bell said something like "how you feel about this depends entirely on how you feel about Channel 4". My understanding of the findings of our research was that overwhelmingly, people do believe that Channel 4 is a good thing, and that it does have a role to play on platforms other than traditional broadcast TV.
Do read the report, watch the videos (last Q&A clip quite entertaining) , and let me know what you think.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Quick Plug for Big Brother Celebrity Hijack Site
Just a quick note to encourage you to take a look at the Celebrity Big Brother Hijack sites on both Channel4.com and E4.com.
On the main site, we've updated the design significantly given the E4 hijacking, got loads more integrated video and are trying to keep the site updated as much as possible with rolling headlines as well as loads more frequent news stories.
And the programme is shaping up pretty well too ... poor John ...
Would be interested in hearing any views.
PS If you really get into it, we've also updated our Big Brother Facebook application thanks to our friends at Nooked.
On the main site, we've updated the design significantly given the E4 hijacking, got loads more integrated video and are trying to keep the site updated as much as possible with rolling headlines as well as loads more frequent news stories.
And the programme is shaping up pretty well too ... poor John ...
Would be interested in hearing any views.
PS If you really get into it, we've also updated our Big Brother Facebook application thanks to our friends at Nooked.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
His risky 8 beat my safe 7
Me overheard yesterday,
“I can’t wait to embed a Channel 4 clip in my blog.”
So here it is courtesy of our new Unmissable Clips service on Channel4.com.
So here it is courtesy of our new Unmissable Clips service on Channel4.com.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
At the end of a long week, sometimes all you can do is sing
Loads going on at the moment, mostly wedding related but also a hectic time at work what with the controversy over the programme Diana: The Witnesses in the tunnel as well as heated discussions over this week's events in the Big Brother house.
I met with the programme makers of the Diana documentary on Wednesday night (I was there to check that the forum was working properly for them so they could read and post) and was really impressed with their commitment and interest in finding out what viewers thought.
And no chance of a breather the next day - another fascinating meeting with some young tv trainees to introduce new media to them - and as it was the morning after Emily's removal from Big Brother and they were from various ethnic backgrounds there was quite a heated debate about what had gone on. I hope it was a great introduction to them for how New Media can play such a key role in interacting with programmes as the debate was already raging in the forums even tho no one had actually seen the footage at that time.
Also went to a Women, Business and Blogging conference on Friday which was really interesting - great presentations from Meg Pickard, Eileen Brown and Jory des Jardins that I'll very briefly summarize thus: Meg - hilarious, insightful and engaging on all aspects of community; Eileen - great personal insights that showed the human side of Microsoft (best PR I think they'll get this year in the UK); and Jory's presentation was the best for me - her knowledge of the economics of blogging and the role of women bloggers as key influencers for marketers was immense, with some great lessons for the UK to learn from.
And finally, the photo you can see wasn't a break-out session from the conference but actually from my hen party last night - another gathering of mostly women with a couple of special fellas. I had an absolutely brilliant time and can conclude I have the best best friends in the whole world. Not just because they let me hog the mike* big time.
*Thought I'd clear up that that wasn't one of the fellas. One of the girls showed quite a lot of interest in "roving mike" until I had to break it to her that we were talking audio equipment. Actually, that was my friend Sue's joke, but it was too good not to repeat.
I met with the programme makers of the Diana documentary on Wednesday night (I was there to check that the forum was working properly for them so they could read and post) and was really impressed with their commitment and interest in finding out what viewers thought.
And no chance of a breather the next day - another fascinating meeting with some young tv trainees to introduce new media to them - and as it was the morning after Emily's removal from Big Brother and they were from various ethnic backgrounds there was quite a heated debate about what had gone on. I hope it was a great introduction to them for how New Media can play such a key role in interacting with programmes as the debate was already raging in the forums even tho no one had actually seen the footage at that time.
Also went to a Women, Business and Blogging conference on Friday which was really interesting - great presentations from Meg Pickard, Eileen Brown and Jory des Jardins that I'll very briefly summarize thus: Meg - hilarious, insightful and engaging on all aspects of community; Eileen - great personal insights that showed the human side of Microsoft (best PR I think they'll get this year in the UK); and Jory's presentation was the best for me - her knowledge of the economics of blogging and the role of women bloggers as key influencers for marketers was immense, with some great lessons for the UK to learn from.
And finally, the photo you can see wasn't a break-out session from the conference but actually from my hen party last night - another gathering of mostly women with a couple of special fellas. I had an absolutely brilliant time and can conclude I have the best best friends in the whole world. Not just because they let me hog the mike* big time.
*Thought I'd clear up that that wasn't one of the fellas. One of the girls showed quite a lot of interest in "roving mike" until I had to break it to her that we were talking audio equipment. Actually, that was my friend Sue's joke, but it was too good not to repeat.
Friday, September 08, 2006
More Worry, Less Posts
Ah, the irony of the emphatic end to my last post "Worry less, post more". Within 24 hours how I had learnt to rue those words.
It started with a colleague telling me how a random person had told him they'd enjoyed my blog. I was ecstatic to learn that someone who wasn't a relative, friend, or colleague past or present, was enjoying anything I'd written. All this talk of only posting for friends and colleagues went out the window: I had a fan!
When I found out the next day that this person had enjoyed my Channel 4 insider's insight so much he had included a link in a newsletter, I became hysterical, worried that I might have broken a cardinal rule of employment in an attempt to make my mates laugh.
The thing I'd missed in my last post on the relevance of daft blogs was that the most interesting and relevant thing about my daft blog for a certain group of people - and that might keep them reading - is the fact that I work for Channel 4.
I told my boss about it straight away, and he was supportive and relaxed as were the few colleagues with whom I confided my concerns. But as I suspected there were some things I should have been more careful and thoughtful about mentioning it seemed right to review past posts.
This led to a night of the long knives for Busy and Lively, with the culling of one post and some judicious editing of others. The only irritation for me being that taking out some of the detail made it well, a bit less funny (if a bit more accurate).
Reflecting on my extreme reaction, with a boss relaxed and colleagues supportive, why was I so worried? Let me give you the back story: just under a year ago, I left the company that brought you the monkey dance and went to the company that brings you Dispatches (I might watch Big Brother more, but that's not the point).
(Ok, I admit it, when I watch that video of Ballmer - I was there at the conference when it was filmed - I actually get happy shivers, it was like being at a rave but with fewer whistles and more pocket protectors. The only problem was, when Ballmer boomed at the end "I - LOVE - THIS - COMPANY", that's when I shrugged my shoulders, looked at the floor and thought "meh".)
It's hard to explain how much happier I am since changing jobs without sounding weird, but, rest assured, work feels like something very different now and not something I want to put at risk for a mention in (the) Metro.
Most usefully, this mini saga meant I was spurred on to be more proactive about working to set up a corporate blogging policy in order to avoid future panics for me and others by laying down some ground rules - like reinforcing little principles like accuracy and respect that are remarkably easy to stretch for the sake of a gag.
Once that's sorted, all I need then is to persuade Andy Duncan to come on stage at our big internal meetings to Eye of the Tiger or similar and life would be perfect. If I do manage to keep hold of my job and am called upon, I've already got my entrance music sorted (not sure about the outfit, mind).
It started with a colleague telling me how a random person had told him they'd enjoyed my blog. I was ecstatic to learn that someone who wasn't a relative, friend, or colleague past or present, was enjoying anything I'd written. All this talk of only posting for friends and colleagues went out the window: I had a fan!
When I found out the next day that this person had enjoyed my Channel 4 insider's insight so much he had included a link in a newsletter, I became hysterical, worried that I might have broken a cardinal rule of employment in an attempt to make my mates laugh.
The thing I'd missed in my last post on the relevance of daft blogs was that the most interesting and relevant thing about my daft blog for a certain group of people - and that might keep them reading - is the fact that I work for Channel 4.
I told my boss about it straight away, and he was supportive and relaxed as were the few colleagues with whom I confided my concerns. But as I suspected there were some things I should have been more careful and thoughtful about mentioning it seemed right to review past posts.
This led to a night of the long knives for Busy and Lively, with the culling of one post and some judicious editing of others. The only irritation for me being that taking out some of the detail made it well, a bit less funny (if a bit more accurate).
Reflecting on my extreme reaction, with a boss relaxed and colleagues supportive, why was I so worried? Let me give you the back story: just under a year ago, I left the company that brought you the monkey dance and went to the company that brings you Dispatches (I might watch Big Brother more, but that's not the point).
(Ok, I admit it, when I watch that video of Ballmer - I was there at the conference when it was filmed - I actually get happy shivers, it was like being at a rave but with fewer whistles and more pocket protectors. The only problem was, when Ballmer boomed at the end "I - LOVE - THIS - COMPANY", that's when I shrugged my shoulders, looked at the floor and thought "meh".)
It's hard to explain how much happier I am since changing jobs without sounding weird, but, rest assured, work feels like something very different now and not something I want to put at risk for a mention in (the) Metro.
Most usefully, this mini saga meant I was spurred on to be more proactive about working to set up a corporate blogging policy in order to avoid future panics for me and others by laying down some ground rules - like reinforcing little principles like accuracy and respect that are remarkably easy to stretch for the sake of a gag.
Once that's sorted, all I need then is to persuade Andy Duncan to come on stage at our big internal meetings to Eye of the Tiger or similar and life would be perfect. If I do manage to keep hold of my job and am called upon, I've already got my entrance music sorted (not sure about the outfit, mind).
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