C4 Online launches year-long events prog for TV & Digital companies

14 December 2011

As part of their drive to uncover and inspire fresh talent to bring new ideas and new approaches to multiplatform content creation - Channel 4 Online today announces the launch of a year-long programme of events for the creative community, as well as a series of paid, development producer placements within eight TV or digital companies.

The programme, Fuel 4, will run throughout 2012 with a series of 30 different events across the country. The target audience are people working in TV or digital production and development, and the aim of the programme is to increase knowledge and understanding of how changing audience behaviours and technologies present exciting opportunities for content creation across multiple platforms.

In addition, Channel 4 will also be offering a series of paid producer placements where TV development producers are embedded within digital companies and digital producers are placed within TV production teams. The full details of this programme, and the application process will be announced in 2012.

Jen Topping, Business Manager for Channel 4 Online said:

"The companies we work with have told us that they'd like to understand more about the scale and scope of creative opportunities there are around new technologies mixed with TV. We are really committed to sharing as much insight as we can with both TV and digital producers, all with a hope that they will be inspired to bring new ideas to Channel 4 so we can commission them and get them on air. This is especially for digital people who have never done TV before, or TV people with no experience of multiplatform."

The first eight events are a series of half day conferences, around key technologies or themes, and are designed to be interactive, informative and enjoyable.

They are:

• Evolution of entertainment and technology on January 19th in London
• Games in Glasgow on March 21st
• Factual in Sheffield in June to coincide with Doc Fest
• Connected TVs on June 28th in London
• Social media in Brighton on July 25th
• Multiplatform fiction in Salford on Sept 26th
• UX and content experiences for televisions in Bristol on Nov 7th
• News and Current Affairs in London on Dec 12th.

In addition, Channel 4 Online will run quarterly briefings each year: Summer and winter in London, autumn and spring in a city outside of London.

The remaining events will comprise of master classes in which experts will share their experiences in various aspects of multiplatform production, user experience and technologies.

Channel 4 Online has engaged the creative development agency Ignite to run the Fuel 4 programme.

Joint MDs Pamela Hamilton said: "Fuel 4 will give a creative boost to content creators and producers, big and small,  across the UK.  This is a real investment in the creative capital of our industry.  By tailoring each event to a Channel 4 commissioning brief we will provide unparalleled access to the knowledge, insight and stimulus that will give TV producers and digital agencies ambitious ideas for Channel 4.  I am particularly excited to make the events relevant to the creative communities of each regional area because we have such diverse concentrations of talent that Channel 4 can benefit from. "

Anyone interested is encouraged to visit http://channel4online.tumblr.com and follow @channel4online on Twitter to find out more...