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0:00:35 > 0:00:37Television costs money.

0:00:37 > 0:00:40So much money, it would make your head spin around.

0:00:40 > 0:00:48Even a programme like this, which is low budget in telly terms, costs around £47,667 per episode.

0:00:50 > 0:00:54£47,667, per episode.

0:00:56 > 0:00:58Well, it does.

0:00:58 > 0:00:59And stop interrupting me.

0:01:00 > 0:01:02Still, 47 grand, eh?

0:01:02 > 0:01:05Imagine what you could do with that.

0:01:05 > 0:01:10- It's not enough to do something sensible with, but it easy enough to do something silly with.- Buy a car.

0:01:10 > 0:01:11Clothes.

0:01:11 > 0:01:15- I'd definitely give some money to charity.- Pay off my debts. - Clothes.

0:01:15 > 0:01:18- Book a nice holiday. - Get out of this country.

0:01:18 > 0:01:20We should probably just have let them have it, to be honest.

0:01:20 > 0:01:25Anyway, outside the world of telly, that figure might seem astronomically high.

0:01:25 > 0:01:27How does it break down?

0:01:27 > 0:01:30Well, even this sequence, in which all that's happening is

0:01:30 > 0:01:33I'm talking to you, this costs more than you might think.

0:01:33 > 0:01:35For starters, there's the camera guy.

0:01:35 > 0:01:39He's hired together with all his equipment from a facilities house.

0:01:39 > 0:01:43Furthermore, he's shooting on Digi Beta, because it looks nicer than this.

0:01:43 > 0:01:50This is DV, which is cheaper and simpler to operate, but looks a bit bleary and grim by comparison.

0:01:50 > 0:01:58That's better! Anyway, the camera guy, the camera itself, and the sound man cost around £850 a day.

0:01:58 > 0:02:01- Here you go you fleecing- BLEEP!

0:02:06 > 0:02:07Then, there's the rest of the production team to consider.

0:02:07 > 0:02:10We've got a series producer, who keeps things all together.

0:02:10 > 0:02:13An assistant producer, who assists him.

0:02:13 > 0:02:15Two archive researchers, who dig up old clips.

0:02:15 > 0:02:19Another researcher who researches whatever it is that he does.

0:02:19 > 0:02:24A runner, who has to fetch me coffee every time I clap my hands. Run!

0:02:24 > 0:02:27A production manager, who balances the books.

0:02:27 > 0:02:31A production co-ordinator, who co-ordinates shit, and this man,

0:02:31 > 0:02:37who we pay to stand in a corner of the office feeding bank notes into a shredder. Not now!

0:02:37 > 0:02:43And then finally, there's me - the talent. Amazingly, this lot costs around £1,900 a day.

0:02:43 > 0:02:46- Here you go, you useless, sponging- BLEEP!

0:02:47 > 0:02:49Then, there's the cost of post-production,

0:02:49 > 0:02:51ie an edit suite, where we chop everything visual together.

0:02:51 > 0:02:55And add filters like this, or this...

0:02:55 > 0:03:00Make the picture do things like this, or add graphics like this...

0:03:03 > 0:03:06There's also an audio dub, so we can add voice-overs

0:03:06 > 0:03:10and mix it all together properly so it doesn't sound rubbish like this.

0:03:12 > 0:03:18Next, there's clearance. Let's say I want to show you a clip from an old episode of Clopper Castle.

0:03:18 > 0:03:23I say, I say, I say, what goes up when the rain comes down?

0:03:23 > 0:03:27I don't know. What does go up when the rain comes down?

0:03:27 > 0:03:30An umbrella!

0:03:30 > 0:03:34That's copyrighted material, which has to be paid for.

0:03:34 > 0:03:37Unless actually, you're showing it for the purposes of

0:03:37 > 0:03:42criticism and review, in which case you can often use it for nothing.

0:03:42 > 0:03:45Unfortunately, I'm not criticising or reviewing that at all,

0:03:45 > 0:03:50which means that old puppet nonsense has just cost the production £500.

0:03:50 > 0:03:53And it's not just moving images we have to pay for.

0:03:53 > 0:03:56Simply by holding up his copyrighted photo of former Environment Secretary John Selwyn Gummer,

0:03:56 > 0:04:00I've cost the production another £50.

0:04:00 > 0:04:01I don't even want to.

0:04:01 > 0:04:07Every time you see a photo like this in the background of a TV show, chances are someone has had to pay

0:04:07 > 0:04:10to clear it. And these are just the things you can see.

0:04:10 > 0:04:15There are loads of other costs, which are on your screen now if you're that bothered.

0:04:15 > 0:04:18Given how much our modest half hour sets the world back,

0:04:18 > 0:04:23imagine how much it costs to make something like this.

0:04:23 > 0:04:24Horses are notoriously expensive.

0:04:24 > 0:04:28They insist on being driven to the set every day in individual carts.

0:04:28 > 0:04:29Madness.

0:04:29 > 0:04:33That's a court room. They had to build that 10,000 times actual size apparently.

0:04:33 > 0:04:36That judge's wig, that's not a wig, that's a rare orchid.

0:04:38 > 0:04:41Telly is a terrifyingly expensive business.

0:04:41 > 0:04:47It's not surprising some shows try to claw back some of that cash any which way they can.

0:04:59 > 0:05:04From bomb blast to barrage balloons, Spitfires to spaceships, the Blitz has never been seen like this before.

0:05:06 > 0:05:08It's getting away from us!

0:05:09 > 0:05:12Doctor Who Confidential is about to track down the men in the firing line, who have brought

0:05:12 > 0:05:14these special effects to life.

0:05:14 > 0:05:18OK, maybe not this T-shirt.

0:05:19 > 0:05:23As soon as the scripts are there, we've broken it down into a schedule.

0:05:23 > 0:05:27We go to a tone meeting, which is the first time where

0:05:27 > 0:05:32the design team, the CGI team, make-up and costume come together.

0:05:32 > 0:05:35We talk about what's at the heart of the episode.

0:05:35 > 0:05:39Every scene is night. It's a blackout.

0:05:43 > 0:05:48I also think we've got to think about bursts of colour and energy.

0:05:49 > 0:05:51It's a great episode to look at effect.

0:05:51 > 0:05:54There's a number of physical effects

0:05:54 > 0:05:56that have post-production effects added.

0:05:56 > 0:06:01Particularly things like Rose, flying over London, is extraordinarily difficult to do.

0:06:01 > 0:06:09I remember these two episodes landing on my desk. Page 4, Rose's flies across London

0:06:09 > 0:06:12on a barrage balloon, during a Blitz air raid.

0:06:12 > 0:06:15It's a really easy thing for Stephen to have typed.

0:06:15 > 0:06:17It's even easier to read.

0:06:17 > 0:06:20But to try and translate into reality is a nightmare.

0:06:20 > 0:06:23I assumed I'd be reined in and I have to say, they did not rein in.

0:06:23 > 0:06:24They let me do whatever I liked.

0:06:25 > 0:06:28Meantime, Rose is climbing up the cable.

0:06:28 > 0:06:31I'm assuming what we've got here is a fire escape that takes you to the

0:06:31 > 0:06:37top of a roof, and then there's another bit, which she couldn't otherwise access but for this cable.

0:06:37 > 0:06:39We can then on location get her up to that, and maybe find another

0:06:39 > 0:06:44location for the last bit of the climb, which might make it a bit more controllable.

0:06:44 > 0:06:46- More shootable.- Yes.

0:06:46 > 0:06:48Which brings me to barrage balloons.

0:06:48 > 0:06:54The problem with Rose flying over London is that you're talking about 360-degree effects.

0:06:54 > 0:06:58The CGI team's feeling is that doing it against a green screen and

0:06:58 > 0:07:05somehow moving or the background is going to look considerably pony.

0:07:05 > 0:07:08She could have been completely in the studio, against green screen.

0:07:08 > 0:07:11She's got to be hanging there, for real.

0:07:11 > 0:07:13In a certain shot, she's actually in the open air.

0:07:13 > 0:07:16It's on a very cheap hill, just outside Cardiff.

0:07:16 > 0:07:18A very cheap hill!

0:07:18 > 0:07:21And then, you have her against a night sky.

0:07:21 > 0:07:25Green screen on the floor, on to which you can put anything you like.

0:07:25 > 0:07:27Practical smoke.

0:07:27 > 0:07:30Practical couple of searchlights.

0:07:30 > 0:07:36What you get are some of the textures and effects on her, and the close-ups.

0:07:36 > 0:07:38There's a real wind blowing on her.

0:07:38 > 0:07:41You can see bits of rain.

0:07:41 > 0:07:44The whole picture is a different texture because of that.

0:07:44 > 0:07:46How much has the mill got to do? How much have you guys got to do?

0:07:46 > 0:07:48I'm not worried about what we've got to do, I'm just worried about Rose

0:07:48 > 0:07:52hanging on the hillside, in the cold, in a T-shirt, in December.

0:07:52 > 0:07:55Purely that, really.

0:07:55 > 0:07:57It took us two separate days to film.

0:07:57 > 0:08:04We filmed part of it with Billie Piper, who's completely game

0:08:04 > 0:08:08and completely up for doing things like this, suspended from a crane,

0:08:08 > 0:08:14inside our warehouse, against a green screen, with a huge wind machine underneath her.

0:08:15 > 0:08:16Guys!

0:08:16 > 0:08:19I find when acting with a green screen,

0:08:19 > 0:08:23you have to think twice as hard.

0:08:23 > 0:08:26It can be taxing, it can be quite exhausting.

0:08:26 > 0:08:30Then we went to a different hangar, that was even bigger,

0:08:30 > 0:08:35it was an aeroplane hangar, actually, and got an even bigger crane.

0:08:35 > 0:08:38And this time,

0:08:38 > 0:08:43we filmed her against the night sky, with another huge wind machine,

0:08:43 > 0:08:47moving and all that flying stuff, and the flying around.

0:08:47 > 0:08:50And the big fall from the barrage balloon.

0:08:50 > 0:08:53SHE SCREAMS

0:08:55 > 0:08:58She's not very high up, but she's more higher up than I'd care to be.

0:08:58 > 0:09:01There's a real drop, there's a real physical danger with the

0:09:01 > 0:09:04CGI elements that makes her look hundreds of feet in the air.

0:09:04 > 0:09:08And then, the mill come along and add the CGI London and the view of

0:09:08 > 0:09:13the streets, and the beautiful romantic shots of London at night.

0:09:13 > 0:09:15The main problem is

0:09:15 > 0:09:18getting reference for top shots of London.

0:09:18 > 0:09:25We've employed a technique, photogrammetry. What we've done is taken a top shot reference of London.

0:09:25 > 0:09:29We have then, in the computer, created the geometry for the

0:09:29 > 0:09:33buildings, so that there's this kind of rough and crude 3D model.

0:09:33 > 0:09:37We have a sort of starting map painting and an end map painting,

0:09:37 > 0:09:43to project the picture on to the geometry of London, which means we can move the camera.

0:09:54 > 0:09:59Around the world, advertising has always been the biggest source of funding for TV.

0:09:59 > 0:10:02Now, it's under threat. The amount of advertising revenue

0:10:02 > 0:10:04coming into British TV

0:10:04 > 0:10:05is in steep decline.

0:10:05 > 0:10:09It's down £100 million in the last eight years.

0:10:11 > 0:10:16One of the reasons is that TV is now competing against the internet for advertising.

0:10:16 > 0:10:18That's a particularly bad problem here in the UK.

0:10:18 > 0:10:24We now find the internet has a share of total advertising of about 25%,

0:10:24 > 0:10:29and Google 2009, will be a media player almost the same size as ITV.

0:10:30 > 0:10:36As digital technology now allows viewers to choose from hundreds of channels, and even skip

0:10:36 > 0:10:41the commercial breaks, broadcasters are having to cut the fees they charge advertisers for airtime.

0:10:41 > 0:10:46The cost of reaching say 1000 adults is roughly now about £4.50.

0:10:46 > 0:10:50The average price about eight or nine years ago was nearly £7.

0:10:50 > 0:10:52There's no other market anywhere in the world who has

0:10:52 > 0:10:56seen the cost of their television advertising fall at that rate.

0:10:56 > 0:10:59It's not just the commercial channels feeling the pain.

0:10:59 > 0:11:01Public service broadcasters everywhere, such as the BBC,

0:11:01 > 0:11:10are having to find new sources of funding, to meet the demands of the rapidly-changing media landscape.

0:11:10 > 0:11:16Wayne Garvie's role is to find ways to supplement the income the BBC receives from licence fee payers.

0:11:16 > 0:11:18The economics of the television industry

0:11:18 > 0:11:21have changed fundamentally in the last few years.

0:11:21 > 0:11:25Now, it's all about can you access funding from around the world?

0:11:25 > 0:11:32You have to have an international strategy, and you have to be out networking internationally.

0:11:32 > 0:11:34Over the past decade, Britain has come to lead the world in

0:11:34 > 0:11:40the export of one particular type of television programme - the format.

0:11:40 > 0:11:42- What are you here for today, Paul? - To sing opera.

0:11:44 > 0:11:47Some of the most successful in recent years are made by Freemantle Media.

0:11:47 > 0:11:52All format really is is an emotional journey. It's a story.

0:11:53 > 0:11:57HE SINGS OPERA

0:11:57 > 0:12:00CHEERING

0:12:01 > 0:12:03It has tears, it has laughter, it has everything, and a great resolution.

0:12:03 > 0:12:08That can apply to a game show, to a talent show, it can apply to a drama.

0:12:08 > 0:12:11They can all be formats.

0:12:11 > 0:12:14HE SINGS OPERA

0:12:17 > 0:12:21CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:12:24 > 0:12:27So, you work at Carphone Warehouse...

0:12:27 > 0:12:28LAUGHTER

0:12:28 > 0:12:29..And you did that.

0:12:30 > 0:12:33From a business point of view, a format is something that

0:12:33 > 0:12:37can be repeated every single day for decades.

0:12:37 > 0:12:4153% of the world's formats now originate in the UK.

0:12:41 > 0:12:45One reason is that in the past, we've been able to spend more on

0:12:45 > 0:12:47our programmes than virtually any other country,

0:12:47 > 0:12:50due to the strength of our public service broadcasters.

0:12:51 > 0:12:54We're used to a lot of original, new programmes and short series,

0:12:54 > 0:12:57commissioned every year by many channels.

0:12:57 > 0:13:03Whereas in many other countries, they don't commission original ideas off paper.

0:13:03 > 0:13:08This home market and its propensity by broadcasters to buy original ideas

0:13:08 > 0:13:13has given us a terrific platform to become a world class exporter.

0:13:13 > 0:13:19Strictly Come Dancing has been the BBC's most commercially successful formatted show.

0:13:19 > 0:13:22Versions have been screened in over 40 countries,

0:13:22 > 0:13:24including in America, where it's known as Dancing With The Stars.

0:13:24 > 0:13:28This is a dance competition, and as much as you were lighter

0:13:28 > 0:13:30on your feet, more so this week than ever,

0:13:30 > 0:13:32you were still very heavy. Your shoulders were hunched.

0:13:33 > 0:13:35- Bruno Tonioli?- Four.

0:13:35 > 0:13:39The media knows that it's a format has originated in the UK.

0:13:39 > 0:13:42I think, every territory makes it their own.

0:13:42 > 0:13:44It's their show.

0:13:47 > 0:13:50Each country has their own celebrities, their own dancers, their own judges.

0:13:50 > 0:13:51HE SPEAKS IN HIS NATIVE TONGUE

0:13:51 > 0:13:55And it becomes part of the national consciousness.

0:13:55 > 0:13:59The British show was fully funded by the TV licence fee.

0:13:59 > 0:14:02But, a very different funding model for television dramas

0:14:02 > 0:14:07and big factual series is envisaged by one of the show's creators.

0:14:07 > 0:14:11We're going to see a future which is very similar to the film industry.

0:14:11 > 0:14:15People are often puzzled, aren't they, by the credits that appear at the beginning of movies.

0:14:15 > 0:14:18There seems to be 101 people involved.

0:14:18 > 0:14:24Films are financed by a patchwork of money, collected from various places around the world.

0:14:24 > 0:14:26We're now beginning to see this in television.

0:14:26 > 0:14:32You only have to look at the credits at the end of a production to realise that, actually, shows that appear to

0:14:32 > 0:14:38be British have actually also been part-funded by European distributors, American distributors.

0:14:38 > 0:14:40That's going to be the model moving forward.

0:14:52 > 0:15:00One of the biggest challenges facing the forest team was how to bring a static tree to life on the screen.

0:15:00 > 0:15:05The solution is usually to move the camera but how did they do it?

0:15:06 > 0:15:11The team's favourite tool was the cinebulle or film balloon,

0:15:11 > 0:15:14here being readied by pilot and inventor Danny.

0:15:16 > 0:15:19With Danny, Planet Earth took the cinebulle to all corners of the

0:15:19 > 0:15:26globe but it was the trip to film the baobab trees in Madagascar

0:15:26 > 0:15:29that was to prove the most memorable.

0:15:31 > 0:15:35I have never ever been in anything like this before.

0:15:35 > 0:15:36I am

0:15:36 > 0:15:39slightly nervous of it,

0:15:39 > 0:15:42partly because it is, basically, a deck chair with

0:15:42 > 0:15:47a balloon on top and partly because I can see where my head is going to be.

0:15:47 > 0:15:49It is going to be incredibly close to that burner.

0:15:51 > 0:15:54I do have a fear of heights.

0:15:54 > 0:15:58I mostly have a fear of falling through them on to the ground.

0:15:58 > 0:16:00I think I am happy with this.

0:16:00 > 0:16:02It has a little seat belt and

0:16:02 > 0:16:05the BBC health and safety is always very good.

0:16:05 > 0:16:10The boxes are always ticked, all signed off, the proper forms and everything.

0:16:10 > 0:16:12I am

0:16:12 > 0:16:14sure this will be fine.

0:16:14 > 0:16:18Puzzled locals take the ringside seats.

0:16:18 > 0:16:24Warwick takes the seat no-one else wants.

0:16:24 > 0:16:25Set for take off.

0:16:25 > 0:16:27FLAME ROARS

0:16:31 > 0:16:33Oh, my giddy aunt!

0:16:33 > 0:16:36CINEBULLE WHIRS

0:16:41 > 0:16:44Finally they are off.

0:16:44 > 0:16:47At last we've got the cinebulle here and we have got fuel.

0:16:47 > 0:16:50As long as the wind stays good and they don't land in Mozambique,

0:16:50 > 0:16:53we should be absolutely fine.

0:16:53 > 0:16:57The shots we are looking for are shots that rotate around

0:16:57 > 0:17:00baobab trees and show their three-dimensional structure.

0:17:00 > 0:17:05Warwick and Danny will need to communicate together really closely to pull off the shots like that,

0:17:05 > 0:17:10which will be interesting because you can hardly here over the fan and Danny's English isn't amazing.

0:17:10 > 0:17:12I think they will have some interesting time up there.

0:17:12 > 0:17:18- How much control do we have?- What?

0:17:18 > 0:17:21- How much control do we have?- Not very much.

0:17:21 > 0:17:26Danny is quite a flamboyant Frenchman and Warwick is reserved, sarcastic, rather English.

0:17:26 > 0:17:30They are either going to get on really well or it is going to be a disaster.

0:17:30 > 0:17:35Buoyed by assurances of Danny's exemplary safety record,

0:17:35 > 0:17:39Warwick frames up on his first baobab.

0:17:44 > 0:17:45Ooh!

0:17:46 > 0:17:49BRANCHES SNAP

0:18:06 > 0:18:08I go down. Sorry.

0:18:08 > 0:18:12Luckily, neither the tree nor the crew seemed too damaged.

0:18:12 > 0:18:14Stupid, I am stupid.

0:18:17 > 0:18:20- You OK?- Yes, just.

0:18:22 > 0:18:24- OK?- Just minor flesh wounds.

0:18:28 > 0:18:34- With half a propeller and a rigged exhaust, the cinebulle is harder to steer.- This is a good area.

0:18:34 > 0:18:36We go straight through there?

0:18:39 > 0:18:43Undeterred, the pair hit their stride.

0:18:50 > 0:18:52That's nice.

0:18:55 > 0:18:57That's great.

0:18:59 > 0:19:03That's good, there's a nice constant speed.

0:19:03 > 0:19:05Lovely.

0:19:05 > 0:19:10Many of Planet Earth's finest images would have been impossible without

0:19:10 > 0:19:13passionate and devoted specialists like Danny.

0:19:13 > 0:19:15May they always be out there.

0:19:18 > 0:19:19Here we go again.

0:19:19 > 0:19:20Arghhh!

0:19:35 > 0:19:38Hi there, welcome to a very special Match Of The Day unplugged.

0:19:38 > 0:19:43Today, we have got an access all areas pass to take you behind the scenes on Football Focus.

0:19:43 > 0:19:47Just so you can see how hard we work of course.

0:19:52 > 0:19:57Welcome to the BBC sports studios in Vienna where we are rehearsing for Football Focus.

0:20:01 > 0:20:06We have four cameras here. Camera one is doing the main presenter camera.

0:20:06 > 0:20:11We have two cameras that cover the pundits,

0:20:11 > 0:20:14one of them does a two shot, this does a single.

0:20:14 > 0:20:17I operate this and pan between the two.

0:20:17 > 0:20:22Then we have the crane camera which is being operated by Phil at the moment.

0:20:22 > 0:20:27I can do nice little drops and moves in between the chat.

0:20:27 > 0:20:30I'm the prompt operator, we both are.

0:20:30 > 0:20:35Lisa is as well. I am doing it at the moment but we juggle the job between the two of us.

0:20:35 > 0:20:39Whatever Jake reads out, we prompt it for him so it makes him look

0:20:39 > 0:20:43fantastic and like he knows what he's talking about.

0:20:43 > 0:20:47This is the BBC's production office. We have loads of different desks.

0:20:47 > 0:20:52All the shows that we make out here, Football Focus, the highlights programme, Match of the Day,

0:20:52 > 0:20:56they all are created and scripted and prepared in this room.

0:20:56 > 0:20:59Through the door over there, we have the gallery which

0:20:59 > 0:21:02controls the live studio even though the studio is a couple of miles away.

0:21:02 > 0:21:08The gallery is here. Through there, behind you, are the edit areas. Go and have a look around.

0:21:13 > 0:21:14This is one of the edits.

0:21:14 > 0:21:21They are working hard at cutting a Dutch colour piece and I had better let them work.

0:21:33 > 0:21:36I'm Steve and I am the editor of Football Focus.

0:21:36 > 0:21:43It's Friday, just gone half past five in Vienna in the evening.

0:21:43 > 0:21:49I'm just trying to finalise the running order and what we want in the show tomorrow.

0:21:49 > 0:21:54The second half of the draw, the quarter-finals are yet be decided.

0:21:54 > 0:21:57We name check them...

0:21:57 > 0:22:02Typically in the job, what you have to do is take calls from the crews on the road.

0:22:02 > 0:22:07They'll be telling you what they can get, what they are trying to get and eventually what they have got.

0:22:07 > 0:22:12Then they have to try and put that together and feed it back to here in time for the show.

0:22:12 > 0:22:18You don't normally know exactly what you have got until quite close to when you are going on air.

0:22:18 > 0:22:22Sometimes not even then. That's part of the fun of it.

0:22:22 > 0:22:24I'm Ian, the producer of the show.

0:22:24 > 0:22:26I direct the programme as well.

0:22:26 > 0:22:31My job is to take what Steve has put down on paper and try and make it into a TV show

0:22:31 > 0:22:36and make it will happen with the graphics, VTs, cameras, light, sound, all that stuff.

0:22:36 > 0:22:42Hopefully, everything will go OK, fingers crossed. Show should be a good one.

0:22:42 > 0:22:44Computers shutting down, scripts have been written,

0:22:44 > 0:22:47VTs have been watched, the show is about as prepped as it can be.

0:22:47 > 0:22:54I probably need some make-up so I now have a very glamorous three-stop tube journey across Vienna to the studio.

0:22:54 > 0:22:58What is it now? Quarter past 10 so we are live in less than two hours.

0:23:00 > 0:23:0212, 11,

0:23:02 > 0:23:11- 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, one. - BBC ANNOUNCER SPEAKS

0:23:14 > 0:23:15On air.

0:23:19 > 0:23:21The sun went down on Croatia's campaign last night.

0:23:25 > 0:23:28..the stadium nicknamed the bathtub....

0:23:28 > 0:23:32After torrential downpour which led to UEFA having to relay the pitch...

0:23:32 > 0:23:36It's going well. Just trying to work out the timings now.

0:23:36 > 0:23:41We've to get off air at the right time so hopefully we'll be able to do that successfully.

0:23:41 > 0:23:447, 6, 5, 4,

0:23:44 > 0:23:503, 2, one, stop talking. 15.

0:23:50 > 0:23:56Two more quarter-finals to get our teeth into this weekend but no more for Croatia as they become

0:23:56 > 0:23:59the 10th and latest team to bid the tournament farewell.

0:23:59 > 0:24:03These competitions aren't good for the nerves, you know.

0:24:03 > 0:24:05Perfect, thank you.

0:24:14 > 0:24:17Mustoe Merriman Herring Levy, a London-based advertising agency,

0:24:17 > 0:24:20has over the last year been working

0:24:20 > 0:24:23on a new campaign to relaunch one of the most British of brands.

0:24:23 > 0:24:24Dr Martens.

0:24:24 > 0:24:28To do this, they are making a series of press advertisements

0:24:28 > 0:24:31for a campaign to be seen in Europe and America.

0:24:31 > 0:24:35With the concept agreed, all they have to do now is make them.

0:24:40 > 0:24:42If I said to you, Dr Martens, you will say a black boot.

0:24:42 > 0:24:45That's the danger. That is what we are facing.

0:24:51 > 0:24:57During the 1970s and 80s, Dr Martens enjoyed phenomenal success as a fashion icon,

0:24:57 > 0:25:00but by the mid-90s, with the arrival of trainer culture

0:25:00 > 0:25:02and an increasingly competitive marketplace,

0:25:02 > 0:25:07they could no longer rely on their previous cult status to shift their shoes.

0:25:07 > 0:25:11They hope this advertising campaign, called World of Feet,

0:25:11 > 0:25:15will redefine their brand and open it up to a much broader audience.

0:25:15 > 0:25:19The whole idea of this campaign is to change consumer perception of the brand.

0:25:19 > 0:25:25Understand we've got a wide range, we do sandals, we have kids, the fashion element,

0:25:25 > 0:25:29the traditional element, and keep people's perception going.

0:25:29 > 0:25:33From the boots the postman wears, the boots the guy on the London Underground wears,

0:25:33 > 0:25:36through to wow, that's a shoe that I want.

0:25:36 > 0:25:39That is really fashionable, that's me, I need to have.

0:25:42 > 0:25:48Basically, 18-24-year-olds, there is a hugely over-targeted group.

0:25:48 > 0:25:51That age group see so much advertising, they see straight through it.

0:25:51 > 0:25:55They know exactly what the message is so it is quite a tricky line to tread.

0:25:55 > 0:26:00# It's not class or ideology, colour, creed or roots

0:26:00 > 0:26:03# The only thing that unites us is Dr Marten's boots!

0:26:03 > 0:26:06# Dr Marten gave boots to the world

0:26:06 > 0:26:08# So that everybody could be free

0:26:09 > 0:26:13# They're classless, matchless, heat-resistant, waterproof and retail for only £19.99p. #

0:26:13 > 0:26:19Dr Martens is a brand that hasn't needed to carry out advertising.

0:26:19 > 0:26:21Sales have been phenomenally high.

0:26:21 > 0:26:23# Dr Martens,

0:26:23 > 0:26:27# Dr Martens, Dr Martens boots. #

0:26:27 > 0:26:30Bo-ring. Don't you has-beens ever read the NME?

0:26:30 > 0:26:32What happened to the revolution?

0:26:32 > 0:26:34God, you'd think Devil Woman had never been written!

0:26:36 > 0:26:40People perceive Dr Martens as the black boot brand.

0:26:40 > 0:26:44The product we were taking to them was very different.

0:26:44 > 0:26:48Open Air Wear which is not what you would expect of Dr Martin.

0:26:48 > 0:26:50It is a sandal.

0:26:50 > 0:26:55We had a need for a French, UK and USA advertising, so I went

0:26:55 > 0:27:00with them and said we want one brand advertising for these three markets.

0:27:00 > 0:27:04This is what it needs to do. It needs to change people's perception of the brand.

0:27:04 > 0:27:07It needs to make people stand back and say, "Wow, Dr Martens make them?"

0:27:09 > 0:27:13They came to us initially about a small project for sandals.

0:27:13 > 0:27:19We went back to them and said it is all very well

0:27:19 > 0:27:22looking at sandals and yes we can do some advertising for sandals,

0:27:22 > 0:27:24but there is a whole big picture going on here which is

0:27:24 > 0:27:30you cannot divorce the sandals from the rest of the range and the brand itself and the heritage behind it.

0:27:30 > 0:27:32Unless you address that issue,

0:27:32 > 0:27:36you are really wasting your time playing around at the edges with the sandals.

0:27:38 > 0:27:41The first thing they did which was part of the pitching process

0:27:41 > 0:27:46was they said, "There is no way which we can understand your brand

0:27:46 > 0:27:50"or respond to this brief without understanding your brand properly."

0:27:50 > 0:27:52They commissioned research into the brand.

0:27:52 > 0:27:53I used to love those shoes.

0:27:53 > 0:27:56I had to have a pair when I was in the 8th grade.

0:27:56 > 0:28:01"My first pair of boots, I was upset when they went out" and that really sums it up.

0:28:01 > 0:28:06She was upset when they went out because she likes them but they have gone out.

0:28:06 > 0:28:08I have some nice graffiti on my responses.

0:28:08 > 0:28:12The campaign we have got to is deliberately...

0:28:14 > 0:28:15bizarre.

0:28:15 > 0:28:20One of the problems with Dr Martens is as a consumer, I know what Dr Martens stands for,

0:28:20 > 0:28:30I have icons and history and images in my head that are readily associated with Dr Martens.

0:28:30 > 0:28:32Therefore, I ignore them.

0:28:32 > 0:28:38I know what they stand for, I don't need to find out more. I don't need to be told more.

0:28:38 > 0:28:45We needed a campaign that would shake people out of that complacency, those preconceptions.

0:28:54 > 0:28:58The agency team visits Dr Martens' Northampton base to present

0:28:58 > 0:29:02the four poster treatments to the American and British marketing directors

0:29:02 > 0:29:07to get their final approval before they discuss the forthcoming commercial treatment.

0:29:07 > 0:29:12The rule is you have about three seconds to capture somebody with a printed or press ad.

0:29:14 > 0:29:18People are turning through a magazine or going through a newspaper

0:29:18 > 0:29:21and they haven't bought that magazine or newspaper to look at the ads.

0:29:21 > 0:29:25They have bought it for the articles. You have to interrupt that process.

0:29:25 > 0:29:29You have to tell the whole story in a picture.

0:29:29 > 0:29:33It's really hard when you look at the layout pad and you have got

0:29:33 > 0:29:36a very bad drawing on it by an art director who can't draw.

0:29:36 > 0:29:39They are not paid to draw, they are paid to come up with ideas.

0:29:39 > 0:29:41You are looking at the scribble on a piece of paper.

0:29:41 > 0:29:45In this case, it's a foot, upside down at a dinner table,

0:29:45 > 0:29:48whatever the executions were. You are looking at that.

0:29:48 > 0:29:51The first thing is try and imagine what it would look like for real

0:29:51 > 0:29:54which in itself is quite a leap, particularly in this case.

0:29:54 > 0:29:58Then you have to imagine the impact of that on the consumer.

0:29:58 > 0:30:02There are lots of imaginative leaps

0:30:02 > 0:30:06along the way and it is quite hard to learn how to do.

0:30:06 > 0:30:08I remember when I first got into the industry,

0:30:08 > 0:30:11during meetings and seeing people saying, that is a brilliant ad.

0:30:11 > 0:30:14I'd look at it and think, is it?

0:30:14 > 0:30:16I can't tell. I don't know.

0:30:17 > 0:30:21I think if you don't please yourself with what you do,

0:30:21 > 0:30:24there's no point in doing it really. If you're doing stuff that

0:30:24 > 0:30:29makes everybody else happy and you're looking at it and thinking, I don't really like it, then it's a mistake.

0:30:29 > 0:30:34Obviously, you were doing advertising, so that's what it's about.

0:30:34 > 0:30:36It's not personal work.

0:30:36 > 0:30:39If it's personal work, you've got a different agenda.

0:30:39 > 0:30:41Creatively, it's a great job.

0:30:41 > 0:30:49It's probably a perfect job for me because I love photography, digital work and it's...

0:30:50 > 0:30:54it's this lovely

0:30:54 > 0:30:57surrealness to this brief.

0:31:01 > 0:31:04The bit that might possibly surprise to his how good it looks

0:31:04 > 0:31:06because we're all very excited about it.

0:31:06 > 0:31:10That shoe on the Jacuzzi was just fantastic.

0:31:10 > 0:31:12Yes. I'm not starting with that one.

0:31:12 > 0:31:14And starting with the men's power strap.

0:31:14 > 0:31:16In the CD store, the record store. Are you ready?

0:31:20 > 0:31:22- How about that?- Wow.

0:31:22 > 0:31:23How about that?

0:31:23 > 0:31:27Those feet are so less ugly than they were before.

0:31:27 > 0:31:30They've started putting in other touches but we want to get the basics right.

0:31:30 > 0:31:33Make sure you're happy with the basics before we spend more time on it.

0:31:33 > 0:31:35But there are some fantastic details already.

0:31:35 > 0:31:39You've got, if you look up here, the exit sign in the mirror.

0:31:41 > 0:31:44You've got... sandals, one there.

0:31:44 > 0:31:49One in here. They're dotted around so they're small features

0:31:49 > 0:31:52which actually, when you see the crops...

0:31:52 > 0:31:55Some of these things will come up in the landscape shot.

0:31:55 > 0:31:58Great attention to detail. It's lovely. Outside and...

0:31:58 > 0:32:01we're divided in the agency, which is our favourite.

0:32:01 > 0:32:05We're backing both of these horses but there's your Jacuzzi shot.

0:32:05 > 0:32:09- Wow.- That's you, look at it.- Boom.

0:32:09 > 0:32:13This ice is one thing they're not quite happy about.

0:32:13 > 0:32:17They're going to carry on working on that, make it look a bit wetter.

0:32:17 > 0:32:20- The attention to detail is absolutely amazing. - Stunning, isn't it?

0:32:20 > 0:32:22The last one,

0:32:22 > 0:32:25ah yes, the garage.

0:32:25 > 0:32:27Coldest of all our venues.

0:32:31 > 0:32:35Which is just a lot of fun.

0:32:35 > 0:32:40It's another one which is just taking steps, leaps forward.

0:32:49 > 0:32:51But there's still things they want to work on here.

0:32:51 > 0:32:54A couple of errors like here.

0:32:54 > 0:32:58Pipes coming out of nowhere at the moment because they've comped that in.

0:32:58 > 0:33:03They want to add some of the grease to this foot in the foreground, the same with this one in the background

0:33:03 > 0:33:05that's working on the cars.

0:33:09 > 0:33:12It's really funny because I thought these two were going to be the strongest.

0:33:12 > 0:33:17- Did you?- I prefer the other two. - For me, the product is definitely less strong in that one.

0:33:19 > 0:33:24Clearly, there's more work to be done on at least two of the four press advertisements.

0:33:28 > 0:33:34Often you have irrelevant images that then have a product bolted on the end.

0:33:34 > 0:33:39Like you have a shoe in the corner and you think, I don't know why we've got the rest of the ad.

0:33:39 > 0:33:45I don't know how it relates to it. I think what's great about these is they're different and relevant.

0:33:47 > 0:33:49They're completely about the product.

0:33:49 > 0:33:54Also do something to get your attention and get you engaged.

0:33:54 > 0:33:58People look at it and they aren't quite sure how to judge it.

0:33:58 > 0:34:03I think that's a function of the fact that it's an advertiser coming in for a fashion brand.

0:34:03 > 0:34:06That tends to be how fashion brands work.

0:34:06 > 0:34:13You don't explain yourself too much, and that's what a lot of those ads that you look at now and think,

0:34:13 > 0:34:17I don't know what they're saying but I like it.

0:34:17 > 0:34:21# What have we got? What have we got? #

0:34:34 > 0:34:39When the '60s arrived, the fashion image was transformed again.

0:34:39 > 0:34:42And pretty much thanks to one man, David Bailey.

0:34:42 > 0:34:45That's lovely. Hang about, that's marvellous.

0:34:45 > 0:34:47Good, open your mouth, darling.

0:34:47 > 0:34:52Before David Bailey, fashion photography in Britain was still a gentleman's trade.

0:34:52 > 0:34:58Bailey broke through all that bringing an energy, charm and incredible life to his images.

0:34:58 > 0:35:01Let your eyes come down to me. No, keep that hand where it is.

0:35:01 > 0:35:03And lean slightly... that's it.

0:35:03 > 0:35:06Head back where it was, and just your eyes I'm interested in.

0:35:10 > 0:35:13For me, Bailey is the perfect fashion photographer,

0:35:13 > 0:35:16combining technical brilliance with sheer force of personality

0:35:16 > 0:35:20to create pictures that have a sense of total spontaneity.

0:35:20 > 0:35:23He created some of the most iconic images of the '60s,

0:35:23 > 0:35:29and many of them were of his great muse and lover, Jean Shrimpton.

0:35:29 > 0:35:31It's a picture of Jean Shrimpton that I'm going to

0:35:31 > 0:35:35recreate with my girlfriend under the watchful eye of the man himself.

0:35:35 > 0:35:38I thought it would be a nice affinity between the two images if we use her,

0:35:38 > 0:35:44even though she's got blonde hair and doesn't really have Jean's profile.

0:35:44 > 0:35:47Yes, otherwise she's perfect. You could have got Naomi, I suppose.

0:35:47 > 0:35:48That might have been closer.

0:35:50 > 0:35:54But a photograph of your girlfriend is a slightly different experience

0:35:54 > 0:35:58to photographing someone else's girlfriend.

0:35:58 > 0:36:01Well, good luck, Rankin. Thank you.

0:36:03 > 0:36:07There are plenty of Bailey photos I could have chosen but I went for this one

0:36:07 > 0:36:10because you can see how it builds on Richard Avedon.

0:36:10 > 0:36:13It's also got something new, a flirtatiousness that's

0:36:13 > 0:36:18so Bailey you can really feel the intimacy between the two of them.

0:36:19 > 0:36:21No make-up artists...

0:36:21 > 0:36:24- Hairdressers?- No hairdressers.

0:36:24 > 0:36:26What would you do for the hair then?

0:36:26 > 0:36:32Just use a bit of wind, and that's wind made by a little bit of white card.

0:36:32 > 0:36:35I wouldn't have used a wind machine because that would have

0:36:35 > 0:36:37blown too hard, so it's just a little whoof.

0:36:37 > 0:36:40Probably now, they would put the light a bit more camera left so

0:36:40 > 0:36:43that would have got rid of some of these shadows.

0:36:43 > 0:36:45But I quite like that though.

0:36:45 > 0:36:47I know, but...

0:36:47 > 0:36:52it's not exacted perfect but as a magic moment and her profile, it's just beautiful, isn't she?

0:36:52 > 0:36:54She just had a magic, this woman.

0:36:54 > 0:36:57This was taken on a Rolly, Rolleiflex.

0:36:57 > 0:36:59So we're going to have to borrow...

0:36:59 > 0:37:01No, I've got one. That's the right one as well.

0:37:01 > 0:37:04You've got problems. Just stand with your legs apart and face me.

0:37:04 > 0:37:06That's good, like that. Good, Angel.

0:37:06 > 0:37:09That's nearly right if that hand was nicer.

0:37:09 > 0:37:10They're great, these cameras.

0:37:10 > 0:37:14God, it's amazing, isn't it? And what do you reckon you shot that on a 135?

0:37:14 > 0:37:16Know a shot this on that. Oh, fantastic.

0:37:16 > 0:37:19So I've got no idea how to use this.

0:37:19 > 0:37:22What can I say? I'll help you.

0:37:26 > 0:37:30Before we started, Bailey dug out the prints from the original shoot.

0:37:30 > 0:37:32That's beautiful.

0:37:32 > 0:37:34There's three of them, I think.

0:37:34 > 0:37:35How did you, would you tell her to do that?

0:37:35 > 0:37:38- Yes.- You'd have told her - I'm doing it wrong, actually!

0:37:38 > 0:37:42It looks better on her!

0:37:42 > 0:37:48Do you ever get that thing where you're shooting and you feel like it's quite a sexual experience?

0:37:48 > 0:37:50I think photography is sexual anyway.

0:37:50 > 0:37:54Unlike Mr Avedon, who thought it wasn't. Even with men.

0:37:54 > 0:37:59I suppose I fall in love, when they're in front of the camera, they're everything to me.

0:37:59 > 0:38:03They're the object of my love for that brief encounter.

0:38:06 > 0:38:09How are you feeling about the shoot?

0:38:09 > 0:38:12- I'm feeling I've got a lot to live up to.- And what else?

0:38:13 > 0:38:15I'm a bit nervous. But that's OK.

0:38:15 > 0:38:17Nervous of me, or nervous of him?

0:38:17 > 0:38:19I think the combination is the most terrifying.

0:38:19 > 0:38:22The two of us together.

0:38:22 > 0:38:23How far do you think you were?

0:38:23 > 0:38:25You should be here, shouldn't you?

0:38:25 > 0:38:27Yes, I'm there. Are you?

0:38:31 > 0:38:33I don't even know if I can get this in focus.

0:38:33 > 0:38:36- It's not easy.- It's really not.

0:38:36 > 0:38:39- I'm left eyed too, isn't that weird? - Are you?

0:38:39 > 0:38:41- No Polaroid?- No, I'm not going to.

0:38:41 > 0:38:44- I'm going to do it just straight. - Live on the edge, are you?

0:38:44 > 0:38:46- Live right on the edge. - Good for you.

0:38:46 > 0:38:50I'm going to just try to do it the way you used to do it.

0:38:50 > 0:38:52I was better looking than you.

0:38:52 > 0:38:54I know that.

0:38:54 > 0:38:56Got some make-up for him?

0:39:04 > 0:39:05We need a bigger card.

0:39:06 > 0:39:08Just give me your position?

0:39:10 > 0:39:14- That's good.- That's great.

0:39:16 > 0:39:17Yes, that looks great.

0:39:17 > 0:39:19OK, stretch your neck.

0:39:21 > 0:39:24Your hands, more like this.

0:39:25 > 0:39:26That's great.

0:39:32 > 0:39:35Yes, got that one.

0:39:35 > 0:39:38Mouth open a little. Good.

0:39:38 > 0:39:41Go on then, knock us out, girl.

0:39:41 > 0:39:42That's great.

0:39:42 > 0:39:44That's it, that's it, that's it.

0:39:44 > 0:39:46Go on, go on.

0:39:47 > 0:39:48That's brilliant.

0:39:48 > 0:39:50Great, that's great.

0:39:50 > 0:39:54- What a great camera. - I actually really like it.

0:39:54 > 0:39:57It's cute, it feels, when you're looking through it, you feel good.

0:39:57 > 0:39:59Yes, you get addicted.

0:40:01 > 0:40:03That's good.

0:40:06 > 0:40:09Put your arm higher up at the back.

0:40:09 > 0:40:10Good.

0:40:10 > 0:40:13So now we're shooting digitally,

0:40:13 > 0:40:16just to quickly compare it

0:40:16 > 0:40:20to the experience of shooting with the Rollei and also to show Bailey what we can do with it.

0:40:20 > 0:40:22OK, go.

0:40:22 > 0:40:25Good, that's good. That's exactly what we want.

0:40:25 > 0:40:27He's good, isn't he?

0:40:28 > 0:40:29That's good, again.

0:40:29 > 0:40:31Go.

0:40:32 > 0:40:35Go much longer, the original's going to fade.

0:40:35 > 0:40:36LAUGHTER

0:40:36 > 0:40:38Chin down a little.

0:40:38 > 0:40:40OK.

0:40:41 > 0:40:43That's good, I'm happy with that one.

0:40:43 > 0:40:46No cheating, no retouching afterwards.

0:40:46 > 0:40:48- I'm not going to. - That's very nice, Rankin.

0:40:48 > 0:40:51Looks like a picture I did in the '60s.

0:40:51 > 0:40:52LAUGHTER

0:40:56 > 0:40:59And here is my version - shot on the Rollei.

0:40:59 > 0:41:02If you're watching, Bailey, I did manage to get it in focus.

0:41:02 > 0:41:06In fact, I think it's not bad at all.

0:41:23 > 0:41:25On Main Street in Pittsfield Massachusetts,

0:41:25 > 0:41:28lights are being rigged, props are being positioned

0:41:28 > 0:41:31and the talent are taking their places.

0:41:39 > 0:41:42Let's get Larry...

0:41:42 > 0:41:45Let's get Larry in the car.

0:41:45 > 0:41:47OK, here we go...

0:41:54 > 0:41:56OK, floor frame.

0:41:59 > 0:42:02We got lights inside the car we can still guide.

0:42:08 > 0:42:11It looks like a movie, sounds like a movie

0:42:11 > 0:42:13and smells like a movie.

0:42:13 > 0:42:15But it isn't.

0:42:21 > 0:42:24All of this activity is to make a single photograph...

0:42:24 > 0:42:27by Gregory Crewdson.

0:42:31 > 0:42:35I work with a production crew that all come out of film.

0:42:35 > 0:42:39We work with cinematic lighting...

0:42:39 > 0:42:44But we're only after creating one single perfect moment.

0:42:44 > 0:42:45Not the car track.

0:42:47 > 0:42:50Try to clear all those tracks.

0:42:50 > 0:42:52As much of those as you can.

0:42:53 > 0:42:58Crewdson even has his own director of photography and his own camera operator.

0:42:58 > 0:43:00In position...and hold.

0:43:03 > 0:43:04Relax.

0:43:04 > 0:43:08'I do have a strangely disconnected relationship to photography.'

0:43:10 > 0:43:13I don't even like holding a camera.

0:43:13 > 0:43:17Um, I don't take the actual picture.

0:43:17 > 0:43:21'What I'm truly interested in is images.

0:43:21 > 0:43:26'The camera is just a necessary instrument.'

0:43:26 > 0:43:31Smack right in the middle of his side of the street.

0:43:31 > 0:43:35Over an 11 day shoot in a variety of locations,

0:43:35 > 0:43:39Crewdson's team will make a series of multiple exposures,

0:43:39 > 0:43:44which will be digitally combined to make six final images.

0:43:44 > 0:43:51He'll produce an addition of six prints of each image, priced at approximately 60,000.

0:43:51 > 0:43:53There's already a list of prospective buyers.

0:43:53 > 0:43:55Let's get everybody in position.

0:43:55 > 0:43:57And hold.

0:44:02 > 0:44:09With his striking tableaux, which combine Hollywood production values with suburbia's bad dreams,

0:44:09 > 0:44:11Crewdson has become hot property,

0:44:11 > 0:44:17confident that he has an audience who will appreciate and, if they can afford it, buy his work.

0:44:29 > 0:44:32So, I feel like...

0:44:32 > 0:44:35the fire hydrant here is a problem.

0:44:35 > 0:44:39Meanwhile, in his New York studio,

0:44:39 > 0:44:44Gregory Crewdson is pulling out all the digital stops with retoucher Kylie Wright.

0:44:44 > 0:44:48He's putting the finishing touches to the picture he began weeks before

0:44:48 > 0:44:51on snowy Main Street in Pittsfield.

0:44:51 > 0:44:57This is the earlier one where this building was really bright and kind of flat at the same time.

0:44:57 > 0:45:02So we really amped up the contrast and we darkened it a lot.

0:45:02 > 0:45:06Took the fire hydrant out in the final one.

0:45:06 > 0:45:11Another thing we do, in all the photographs where we're on streets,

0:45:11 > 0:45:15is we work with the electrical company to turn off all the streetlamps

0:45:15 > 0:45:18because they're the wrong colour temperature for our film.

0:45:18 > 0:45:22And then Kylie turns them all back on.

0:45:35 > 0:45:39What we're finished with at the end of the day is it's own thing.

0:45:39 > 0:45:42It's definitely photographic,

0:45:42 > 0:45:47but something that's also something other than a photograph.

0:45:47 > 0:45:53What I'm trying to do is create a world that feels subjective and recognisable.

0:45:53 > 0:45:56That's the thing that keeps me engaged.

0:46:01 > 0:46:04Final exposure.

0:46:14 > 0:46:20That is a wrap. Fantastic job, everyone. Perfect photograph.

0:46:33 > 0:46:37I'll start off by asking you both to say who you are and what you do.

0:46:37 > 0:46:41I'm Jesse Armstrong and I write on Peep Show.

0:46:41 > 0:46:43I'm Sam Bain, I write on Peep Show.

0:46:43 > 0:46:51How did you get into writing? And I guess it's best to ask how the pair of you got into writing together.

0:46:51 > 0:46:54We met on a creative writing course at university,

0:46:54 > 0:46:59and shared a flat and started writing together after we left.

0:46:59 > 0:47:03I ended up working in politics and I was awful at it. Terrible MP's researcher.

0:47:03 > 0:47:09You were working in a video shop and we were both looking for things we'd be better at than what we were doing.

0:47:09 > 0:47:13And how then did you graduate to actually writing for the TV?

0:47:13 > 0:47:18Our first proper job was doing links and jokes for The Jack Docherty Show, right?

0:47:18 > 0:47:21- Yeah, or The Big Breakfast? - The Big Breakfast.

0:47:21 > 0:47:28There's a lot of comedy writers come up through doing sketches on Radio 4 and a sort of comedy route...

0:47:28 > 0:47:31um, and then end up writing sitcoms later.

0:47:31 > 0:47:35The first thing we ever wrote was like a narrative, we always wanted to write narrative, and we ended up

0:47:35 > 0:47:40trying to make a bit of money by doing that kind of writing in a room, which we were never terribly good at,

0:47:40 > 0:47:47kind of...little zingers and that slightly tabloid, "I'll BLEEP top you, mate! I've got a better zinger!"

0:47:47 > 0:47:52And we'd be in the corner going, "Oh, haven't really got a zinger... Um..."

0:47:52 > 0:47:58The big thing I remember from early on of writing is that thing of assuming that everyone else

0:47:58 > 0:48:02knows better. There's all these people around, as there are in this room,

0:48:02 > 0:48:06camera folk and all the different departments and it's very impressive.

0:48:06 > 0:48:11And you assume that somehow somebody knows what the hell's going on and it's not you.

0:48:11 > 0:48:17And then later on you start thinking that maybe you have got some useful input to make.

0:48:17 > 0:48:22We do all the storylining for episodes and...together,

0:48:22 > 0:48:27and we do a lot of detailed scene-by-scene breakdowns of everything we write.

0:48:27 > 0:48:33And then we go away and we write the dialogue separately and email each other chunks.

0:48:33 > 0:48:36Which is the most difficult bit, is it...?

0:48:36 > 0:48:41Plotting is by far the hardest bit. That's the bit where you really need someone else in the room

0:48:41 > 0:48:46cos you get an idea and it's no good and it's difficult to get to the next idea unless you've got someone else

0:48:46 > 0:48:51- to bounce off. So...- It's like engineering or building a table,

0:48:51 > 0:48:56it's just making sure it all works, and it can be quite exhausting.

0:48:56 > 0:49:01When you were coming up with the characters for Peep Show, were those blank sheets of paper

0:49:01 > 0:49:04or were those moulded around the actors?

0:49:04 > 0:49:08Well, yeah, we knew that Dave and Rob would be in it, so we did design it for them.

0:49:08 > 0:49:13That is a huge bonus cos as soon as you get them in the room, you're kind of...

0:49:13 > 0:49:18the character's moulded to the actor much more tightly than if you're just casting it.

0:49:18 > 0:49:21'I act out the characters on the page.'

0:49:21 > 0:49:25I got it! I got one, I got one!

0:49:25 > 0:49:28Congratulations, you've killed a sentient being(!)

0:49:28 > 0:49:31I think it's sort of like being an actor in your own head.

0:49:31 > 0:49:37It's like you are sort of playing and messing around and, yeah, it's...

0:49:37 > 0:49:40- Channelling. - A bit channelling, yeah!

0:49:40 > 0:49:45Often, new writers don't bear in mind how much something's going to cost

0:49:45 > 0:49:50and so they'll sort of write in, I don't know, a scene on a spaceship or something willy-nilly.

0:49:50 > 0:49:54Because you've got all this experience, to what extent are you

0:49:54 > 0:49:58bearing in mind the practicalities of actually shooting the thing?

0:49:58 > 0:50:01I think you try and write with two heads on in that regard.

0:50:01 > 0:50:04"Oh, let's totally disregard that, whatever is funniest."

0:50:04 > 0:50:09But you're always going, "Don't put it on a BLEEP aircraft carrier cos that's just not going to happen."

0:50:09 > 0:50:14- Um...- And it's also sometimes more like pity for the actors. You don't want to dump David Mitchell

0:50:14 > 0:50:16in a freezing lake in December

0:50:16 > 0:50:20cos everyone will be unhappy, especially him.

0:50:20 > 0:50:23That sort of stuff, it's almost a shame

0:50:23 > 0:50:26because one does become quite aware of that,

0:50:26 > 0:50:31of the physical endurance aspect, which is quite great for performers,

0:50:31 > 0:50:36and it's probably not to the advantage of the comedy, but...

0:50:36 > 0:50:39Shove him in the freezing lake! He deserves it!

0:50:39 > 0:50:43How long does it take you to write an episode?

0:50:43 > 0:50:45It takes about a month.

0:50:45 > 0:50:49Aggregated out, because we do it in these weird bits,

0:50:49 > 0:50:52like, we do a month of doing all our stories

0:50:52 > 0:50:54and at the end we're doing lots of rewrites,

0:50:54 > 0:50:58but the whole process takes six months to write six episodes.

0:50:58 > 0:51:01We do a lot of rewriting, is what it's all about for us, really.

0:51:01 > 0:51:07You have to pretend that you're writing the final script every time!

0:51:07 > 0:51:10And it's a sort of mental game you play with yourself.

0:51:10 > 0:51:16You can't think, "All of this will end up being binned, that I'm now spending hours writing."

0:51:16 > 0:51:20You just can't do that. It's a kind of game you play, yeah.

0:51:20 > 0:51:26And sometimes it stays, you know. And there will be stuff from the first draft, sometimes a whole scene,

0:51:26 > 0:51:30which just stays, so, you know, you have to keep on believing!

0:51:30 > 0:51:35How much do you actually enjoy the process of writing itself?

0:51:35 > 0:51:39Sometimes you sit down and there's a scene and you feel excited to write it but it's...

0:51:39 > 0:51:41I feel like it should be more fun than it is.

0:51:41 > 0:51:46You know, the more fun the writing process is, probably the less good the show will be,

0:51:46 > 0:51:49and the more hard work the writing is, the more funny the show will be.

0:51:49 > 0:51:53God, how depressing! What a disappointment you two are!

0:51:53 > 0:51:56Depressing. It IS depressing.

0:51:56 > 0:52:01Yeah, the secret... We've discovered the secret of comedy, which is lots of work, endless work.

0:52:14 > 0:52:17OK, all right...

0:52:19 > 0:52:22..surprise me.

0:52:22 > 0:52:25What year is it supposed to be?

0:52:26 > 0:52:28A word in your shell-like, pal.

0:52:31 > 0:52:36Life On Mars sends modern detective Sam Tyler back in time

0:52:36 > 0:52:39to the politically incorrect era of 1970s policing.

0:52:39 > 0:52:43- Who the hell are you? - Gene Hunt, your DCI. And it's 1973,

0:52:43 > 0:52:46almost dinner time. I'm having hoops.

0:52:46 > 0:52:49He is confronted by crime-busting methods that make his hair stand on end.

0:52:49 > 0:52:52Where I come from, you'd be looking at suspension.

0:52:54 > 0:52:58With flares and Ford Cortinas at the forefront of the action,

0:52:58 > 0:53:01Life On Mars is a brilliant pastiche of classic '70s cop shows

0:53:01 > 0:53:05like The Sweeney. But it's a tale with a fantasy twist

0:53:05 > 0:53:09that challenges our grasp on reality and offers a provocative take on recent social history.

0:53:12 > 0:53:14TYRES SQUEAL

0:53:17 > 0:53:20So what's behind the success of Life On Mars?

0:53:20 > 0:53:23Is it just a nostalgic romp for lovers of bad shirts and glam rock?

0:53:23 > 0:53:27Or does the show prove that British audiences are hungry for drama

0:53:27 > 0:53:29that pushes back the boundaries?

0:53:29 > 0:53:32Let's go back to the very beginning of Life On Mars.

0:53:32 > 0:53:35The first moment. Where are we? What happens?

0:53:35 > 0:53:39I remember we... I really remember the room, it was a chintz room,

0:53:39 > 0:53:42a tiny little attic room in this hotel.

0:53:42 > 0:53:46We sat there with our flip chart and said, "Right, where shall we start?

0:53:46 > 0:53:49"We've got an empty canvas, blank canvas."

0:53:49 > 0:53:53And a million ideas, I'm sure, went through these boys' heads

0:53:53 > 0:53:56but the first thing that Tony said was,

0:53:56 > 0:53:59"Look, come on, let's be realistic. Everyone wants cop shows."

0:53:59 > 0:54:03We'd all just written City Central, a cop show for the BBC and we thought,

0:54:03 > 0:54:06"No more cops." And we all agreed. "But...

0:54:06 > 0:54:09"just before we move on, if there was a cop show in the world

0:54:09 > 0:54:12"that we'd like to write, what would it be?" And, erm...

0:54:12 > 0:54:14The Sweeney was the answer from all three of us.

0:54:14 > 0:54:17"OK, let's do The Sweeney, let's just re-do it. Let's just re-do it."

0:54:17 > 0:54:21"No, we can't re-do The Sweeney. They'll just...

0:54:21 > 0:54:24"It'll...be pulled apart." Talk about standing on the shoulders of giants.

0:54:24 > 0:54:28So, we said - what if we took somebody from our world and threw them into The Sweeney

0:54:28 > 0:54:31and saw how they coped with the prejudices then?

0:54:31 > 0:54:34And crudely, it was just that, wasn't it?

0:54:34 > 0:54:35Then we had to work out how to do it.

0:54:35 > 0:54:39And the only way that you could do it, to do a period piece,

0:54:39 > 0:54:41was to obviously take someone back.

0:54:43 > 0:54:46MUSIC: "Life On Mars" by David Bowie

0:54:48 > 0:54:50HE SIGHS

0:54:50 > 0:54:52Phew...

0:54:54 > 0:54:55TYRES SCREECH

0:54:56 > 0:55:00We talked about the crash and how to show how it's done,

0:55:00 > 0:55:02and we worked out there would be the song on the radio

0:55:02 > 0:55:04that would be the same.

0:55:05 > 0:55:12MUSIC "Life On Mars" by David Bowie

0:55:12 > 0:55:17- We had that idea before iPods were invented, didn't we?- Yeah.

0:55:17 > 0:55:21- Because the actual shot is listening to his iPod in the car...- Yeah. - ..and they didn't exist then.

0:55:21 > 0:55:25We pitched it to every single broadcaster in the country.

0:55:25 > 0:55:26Some of them, more than once.

0:55:26 > 0:55:31And some of the longest minutes of my life have been spent pitching Life On Mars to commissioners

0:55:31 > 0:55:33- who just went... - There's that great moment

0:55:33 > 0:55:35where you'd sit down with them and they'd say,

0:55:35 > 0:55:38"What have you got, boys?" And we'd say, "Right, it's a cop show."

0:55:38 > 0:55:39"OK, good."

0:55:39 > 0:55:42"OK, so, he has a car crash and he falls back in time."

0:55:42 > 0:55:44- "Mm-hmm." - THEY LAUGH

0:55:44 > 0:55:47And they'd be looking at their watches, looking out of the window,

0:55:47 > 0:55:50looking at the ceiling, looking at their cufflinks.

0:55:50 > 0:55:53Erm, yeah, it was tough, it was a tough sell.

0:55:53 > 0:55:57There were seven years of enough very important people in suits telling you it was crap.

0:55:57 > 0:56:01- It only got rejected six times, probably.- Yeah.- Six or seven times. And actually,

0:56:01 > 0:56:03that was really healthy for it.

0:56:03 > 0:56:06It was kind of - what does not defeat it makes it stronger.

0:56:06 > 0:56:08It just kept getting better,

0:56:08 > 0:56:11until Julie picked it up at the BBC, Julie Gardner,

0:56:11 > 0:56:16and kind of, the final piece in the jigsaw slotted in, I think.

0:56:16 > 0:56:23The 36 drafts I did of that script between 1998 and when we shot it...

0:56:23 > 0:56:25- The first 35 were...- BLEEP!

0:56:25 > 0:56:29- I only came good in the last two days.- You just pulled it out of the bag in the last one!- Yeah.

0:56:29 > 0:56:32It was waiting until all the stars were in the right place.

0:56:32 > 0:56:35I think that's why the show took seven years before it was made.

0:56:35 > 0:56:38If it had been picked up straightaway and made at that time,

0:56:38 > 0:56:41- it wouldn't have been the hit that it was...- No, that's true.

0:56:41 > 0:56:44..and what we've done is, in a roundabout way, all the...

0:56:44 > 0:56:47stars have converged and we were in the right place, at the right time,

0:56:47 > 0:56:49and I think that's why it worked.

0:56:53 > 0:56:55You know, obviously, people responded well to it

0:56:55 > 0:56:59for all of the reasons that we've spoken about - the characters, the clash of cultures,

0:56:59 > 0:57:01the fact that it's about one style of policing and another -

0:57:01 > 0:57:06but I think it says an odd thing about a mainstream audience, doesn't it?

0:57:06 > 0:57:08About a mainstream British television audience,

0:57:08 > 0:57:12that they are more sophisticated, than not you think, but some people might think.

0:57:12 > 0:57:16- You have a high opinion, I think. - Yeah...- Not everybody does.

0:57:16 > 0:57:19For seven years, we said, "Let the audience be the judge of this idea."

0:57:19 > 0:57:25And I think that almost the broadcasters caught up with the audience, to be honest with you.

0:57:25 > 0:57:32And my personal response from friends, or people in the industry, has been astonishing really.

0:57:32 > 0:57:35Much more than anything else I've ever written, I think.

0:57:35 > 0:57:40And even though your programme was in development for many years,

0:57:40 > 0:57:45Doctor Who came out and I think helped, do you agree?

0:57:45 > 0:57:48It showed that there's a big audience for science fiction,

0:57:48 > 0:57:52which is what that is, science fiction. Yours isn't quite science fiction, but it just proved again

0:57:52 > 0:57:56- that there was an audience out there that was prepared to sit there and watch this.- More relevant

0:57:56 > 0:58:00was that Lost went out on Channel 4 and I think their first episode

0:58:00 > 0:58:03got six million. So, you think, "Wow!

0:58:03 > 0:58:06"There is that audience out there for an intelligent post-watershed."

0:58:06 > 0:58:12What was - revelation is a big word - but what was different was that it was on BBC One

0:58:12 > 0:58:18and I think for the first time, it was allowing...

0:58:18 > 0:58:24a show with an American sensibility onto a primetime thing.

0:58:24 > 0:58:28And I think it's shown that there is an appetite for that and you can do it.

0:58:28 > 0:58:33What's pleasing about it is that it's a high-concept American pitch,

0:58:33 > 0:58:37but it's an incredibly English-specific show, specific to our childhoods, you know?

0:58:48 > 0:58:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd