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