World renowned for her involvement in the youth production industry, Anna Home will talk about the challenges of producing children's content in a context of declining advertising revenues and a shifting regulatory environment in the UK. As Chair of the Save Kids' TV organization, Ms. Home recently submitted an innovative proposal to the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport calling for an alternative public service content provider for Britain's children.
Anna Home is one of the most respected figures in the world of television. She joined BBC radio in 1960 and started in Children's Television in 1964 where she worked as a researcher, then Director, Producer and Executive Producer latterly specializing in Children's Drama. She started Grange Hill, the controversial school series. From 1981-86 she worked at the ITV company TVS, where she was Deputy Director of Programmes. In 1986 she returned to the BBC as Head of Children's Programmes responsible for all children's output. She revived the Sunday teatime classic dramas and one of her last decisions before retiring was to commission Teletubbies. She has won many awards, including a BAFTA lifetime achievement award. She was the first chair of the BAFTA Children's Committee and currently chairs the annual Showcomotion Children's Media Conference in Sheffield.
Sponsored by:
10:00 a.m. to 16:00 p.m.
Workshop: Everything You Need to Know About Preschoolers
with Maya Goetz, Ph.D.
Maya Goetz and IZI (International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television) have developed a unique workshop called "Everything You Need to Know About Preschoolers." Based on practical examples of formative research, this one-day workshop provides an opportunity to widen our knowledge of preschoolers from around the globe and get closer to the preschool audience.
Participants will enjoy screenings of more than 20 video segments of preschoolers watching programs! They'll see what sparks their interest, gets them to call out to the screen and dance, or leaves them totally bored. They'll also gain unique insight into the state of research on this age group and discuss how to produce quality programming for this very special audience.
Maya Goetz, Ph.D., graduated from the Pädagogische Hochschule in Kiel, Germany, with a master's degree in education. She went on to earn a Ph.D. at the University of Kassel, Germany, in 1998. The theme of her thesis was "Television in the Everyday Life of Girls: Facets of Media Appropriation in Female Adolescence."
From 1999 to 2002, she was scientific editor for IZI at Bayerischer Rundfunk and would become head of IZI in 2003. Since 2006, she has been managing director of the Prix Jeunesse International. Her main area of research is children/youth and television. She also works and publishes in the field of gender-specific reception research.
This special workshop is made possible through the financial contribution of the Shaw Rocket Fund and Corus Entertainment.
10:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Gender representation and it's impact on kids: Are We Concerned ?
Facts and statistics about the effect of gender representation on kids with Dafna Lemish (Ph.D., Ohio State University, 1982) Professor at Tel-Aviv University, Israel.
A world-renowned researcher specializing in children and the media, Dafna Lemish has written numerous articles and several books on the subject. She also founded the Journal of Children and Media in 2007. In addition to conducting high-level research, Dafna Lemish is actively involved in the children's programming scene.
The hypersexualization of our kids, is a major issue that gets widespread media attention and concerns us all. How is gender really represented on TV, and how does it affect our children? Are we responsible, as content creators, for the stereotypes we perpetuate onscreen? Have we gone too far? Can we ever go back? Top expert in the field, Dafna Lemish will share her latest research and provide food for thought about the kinds of characters we should be exposing our kids to.
Sponsored by:
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Pitching Clinic
with Jan Miller, President, Lowenbe Holdings
Over the past 17 years, Jan has developed and honed one of the top Pitching and Project Development Workshops in the world. She's presented her workshops coast to coast in Canada - at the Toronto International Film Festival, Hot Docs, the Banff Television Festival, the Atlantic Film Festival, as well as for most of Canada's provincial agencies and major training facilities. Internationally she's presented from Spain's MediMart to South Africa's Sithengi, Australia's AIDC to China's GZDoc, Mexico's Guadalajara Film Festival to Berlin's Talent Campus to Cannes' Producers' Network to Cuba. A contributor to the Bell New Media Fund Handbook, The Producer's Guide, Jan is interviewed and quoted in industry and national publications on a regular basis.
This interactive workshop will:
identify the key components that contribute to a good pitch: the introduction, cut line, logline, synopsis, the heart, the package of pluses, the close
teach how to adapt each pitch to a conversational one-on-one, a chance meeting, a pitch forum presentation
teach how to research each audience before the meeting
identify and strengthen personal communications skills to reinforce the personal pitch
improve story telling skills: clarity, structure, economy, evoking visual images
strengthen everyone's ability to hook their listener and effectively convey both the essence of the story and what credentials they are bringing to the table
review and improve the essentials required for a pitch one sheet
identify achievable goals for each kind of meeting
develop the skills for follow-up
increase the chances of finding a good fit for the project by successfully targeting each pitch to the right person at the right place, at the right time.
The workshop is filled with practice, coaching and feedback, responding to the needs of individuals in a supportive and nurturing environment.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada though the Department of Canadian Heritage.
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Lunch with a Broadcaster or Financial Backer
Have lunch with a representative from either CBC, Corus Entertainment, TELETOON, TVOntario, the Independent Production Fund, Bell Fund and many more. They will present crucial information about their company's mandate, specifics and objectives, their broadcast schedule and target audiences, their needs, the kind of projects they are looking for and the most effective way to pitch them!
Sponsored by:
2:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Making Money with Multi-platform Kids Content - A Case Study
Making money with multi-platform kids content can be challenging but with planning and preparation - it is possible! In this session, our panel of experts, put their advice and guidance to the test. Watch how, through a public mentoring session of an actual multi-platform project in development, panelists share their knowledge and give advice on how producers can create kids content that has revenue potential. This session will help illustrate: what the best marketing ideas for your target audience are, what some of the legal issues of multi-platform content for kids might be, why and when ad networks might be interested in your content, where the online kid syndication opportunities are and what you need to have in place to succeed with your mobile kids content.
Sponsored by:
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Presentation of a national study on Canadian television programming for children:
The Alliance for Children and Television (ACT) is conducting the largest study to date on Canadian youth programming, with an eye to better understanding the media's impact on our young people. This groundbreaking national study is being led by the Université de Montréal communications department's Centre for Youth and Media Studies, under the supervision of Dr. André H. Caron, Ed. D. and exclusively presented to us!
World renowned for her involvement in the youth production industry, Anna Home will talk about the challenges of producing children's content in a context of declining advertising revenues and a shifting regulatory environment in the UK. As Chair of the Save Kids' TV organization, Ms. Home recently submitted an innovative proposal to the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport calling for an alternative public service content provider for Britain's children.
with Maya Goetz, Ph.D.
Facts and statistics about the effect of gender representation on kids with Dafna Lemish (Ph.D., Ohio State University, 1982) Professor at Tel-Aviv University, Israel.
with Jan Miller, President, Lowenbe Holdings
