Interest in access documentaries has soared but global lockdowns have made for a challenging production environment. Tim Dams explores how it’s done and what’s next for this rapidly growing genre. Demand for access docs has never been higher. ‘Occu-soaps’ have become ubiquitous across supermarkets, airports, train stations, retail and museums, while access docs focused on […]
Brook Lapping and Blakeway parent Zinc Media Group saw its revenues rise by a third in the second half of 2020 but admitted its operations had been “significantly disrupted” by the pandemic, causing an £800,000 adjusted loss over the past 18 months. Zinc’s annual report revealed today said that the group – which is also home to […]
UK-based factual production outfit Zinc Media Group has raised £4m ($5.2m) via a new share issue, with the investment used to explore growth opportunities and act as a “bulwark” to the impact of the pandemic. The company – which houses UK prodcos Blakeway, Blakeway North, Brook Lapping, Films of Record, Reef, and Tern Television – had […]
Factual production outfit Zinc Media Group has raised £3.5m ($4.6m) after a new share issue, with the investment set to be used to fuel expansion plans across the UK. The funding, from existing shareholders and new but unnamed institutional investors, will be used to further its reach across the UK and support plans to grow […]
Former Flame Television managing director Claire Featherstone and Films of Record executive producer Katie Buchanan are joining UK indie Sundog Pictures. Featherstone will take up a COO post in April and Buchanan becomes creative director on March 19. She counts docs such as The Romanians are Coming and Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue on ger […]
Zinc Media, the indie group formerly known as Ten Alps, has put Lucy van Beek in charge of its factual prodco Blakeaway. The company said van Beek will expand Blakeaway’s remit beyond current affairs and historical programming, and move it into the broader world of specialist factual. Van Beek has been an exec producer for […]
UK indie Avanti Media has poached Neil Grant from Zinc Media-owned Films of Record. London- and Cardiff-based Avanti has hired Grant as creative director, placing him within the prodco’s senior management team alongside Emyr and Mair Afan. He will be tasked with growing factual, features and current affairs when he joins in January 2017. Grant […]
Britain-based 360Production has hired Belinda Cherrington from Renegade Pictures to become its first creative director of UK factual. Cherrington is an experienced executive producer, who among other roles launched Mentorn Media’s US development office in 2011. Her new company is a factual-focused London- and Northern Ireland-based firm that was acquired by Rare TV in 2014. […]
Mark Wood is leaving his post as CEO of Zinc Media, which is the new trading name of UK production group Ten Alps. Wood (pictured) leaves his post with immediate effect, according to a company statement released to investors. The former chief executive of ITN Productions will also leave his director post, but will continue […]
Restructuring UK production group Ten Alps has acquired factual producer Reef Television, as company founder Bob Geldof exits. Reef is behind UK series such as BBC One’s Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is and Channel 4’s Selling Houses with Amanda Lamb. The prodco will now sit alongside Blakeway, Brook-Lapping and Films of Record in […]
