Three independent Flemish TV production companies have come together in a joint venture that will launch their most creative formats on to the international market. It's Sue Green's job, as managing director of The New Flemish Primitives, to select and package the programmes with the greatest international appeal. Green can be contacted at the brand-new Flanders (i) [pronounced Flanders Eye] booth at Mipcom (20.14) that brings together Flanders’ most creative independent players.
At this year’s Mipcom, Green is pushing such formats and productions as the 30-minute quiz The Bounty Hunters in which two teams of two compete in an alphabet-based general knowledge game; That’s My Job, in which two kids spend a day learning the tricks of the trade in a particular job and then go head to head in a challenge to see who has best mastered the required skills; the one-minute Wesley the Gnome absurd comic shorts, that can be used in multiple platforms; Back to School, in which celebrities go back to school and are tested in the subjects they have not looked at since graduation; and the one-minute Day by Day, a light-hearted animated presentation of the most important events in history on a particular date.
'Flanders is a small but incredibly creative market,' Green says. One reason for this creativity is that locally produced programmes are constantly benchmarked against broadcasting from neighbouring France, Holland and the UK, all accessible to Flemish viewers. 'It's quite a crowded market, where the Flemish are having to compete against interesting programmes, made with bigger budgets,' she explains.
A number of Flemish production companies have been taken on by international groups looking for a foothold in the territory, and this helps their formats to reach international markets. But things are not so easy for the companies that remain independent. 'For all the international scouting that happens, by the big groups and broadcasters, you still need to stand up and say: "Here we are!"'
This is why independent producers Woestijnvis, De Filistijnen and deMensen decided to set up The New Flemish Primitives. 'They realised that it was better to pool their resources and see if there was something they could do in terms of international distribution of their formats,' says Green.
Woestijnvis has a broad range of activities, from big prime time studio-based shows and quizzes and magazine programmes to factual entertainment, documentaries and fiction. De Filistijnen is more focused on game-based entertainment, producing location-based adventure/reality shows and studio quizzes. And deMensen's output ranges from studio-based comedy, games, celebrity shows and quizzes to magazines, celebrity based reality and children's programmes.
While there are variations in their audience targets, Green sees the greatest differences in the creative juices flowing through each company. 'It's difficult to put your finger on it, but the way they think, the way they work and the way they develop are all very distinctive,' she says. The end results bear witness to this – you can’t mix them up.'
With 20 years' experience in the TV business, Green is in a good position to judge. She started out working for Reg Grundy Productions, which, through a number of take-overs and mergers, eventually became Fremantle. Here she rose to become FremantleMedia Productions' managing director for Nordic Central and Eastern Europe. She ran licensing and production operations, established new production companies in Scandinavia and Central Europe, created and acquired formats both in entertainment and drama, and launched and exec-produced shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, … Got Talent and Farmer Wants a Wife, as well as locally developed daily soaps and telenovelas (including Betty, la fea) across the region.
Along the way she also worked with productions in Belgium, moved to Flanders, and put down roots in the country. 'My job consisted of working in Sweden, in Finland or in Poland so where my desk was didn't actually matter,' she explains. 'I just needed to be able to get in the car and drive to the airport, so with the consent of my then boss at the time I slowly moved my operation to Belgium.'
A company restructuring at Fremantle and a growing family provided dual incentives to take a break in 2009. The opportunity to launch The New Flemish Primitives in 2011 provided Green with a fresh challenge. 'I also wanted, for the first time, to work with companies in the country where I lived. I wanted the television market to be relevant for me.'
As well as selling formats, a company is also a way that deeper collaborations can be forged, with the Flemish partners providing productions services on their shows. This recognises that, in certain cases, considerable expertise has been built up in developing a format. 'Not only do they come up with very good ideas, but they manage to make them look very good. The production values are very high,' says Green.
There is already a precedent, with De Filistijnen providing production services for the Finnish version of its show Eternal Glory, which brings together former sports champions in a competitive, reality TV situation shot entirely on location. 'Where there is a certain expertise that has been developed over series, then it is good and ultimately also far more cost effective to allow the new producer or broadcaster to benefit from that,' says Green.
Winning TV formats that were developed in Flanders include Benidorm Bastards, the Golden Rose-winning format that NBC presents as Off Their Rockers (Prod: Shelter); What If…, a new format created by the team of Benidorm Bastards/Off Their Rockers (Prod: Shelter); Eternal Glory, in which former athletes compete to demonstrate they have enduring sporting qualities (Prod: De Filistijnen); The Golden Rose-winning reality game The Mole (Prod: Woestijnvis); the popular gameshow fromat Blockx, (Prod: deMensen); Peking Express, the reality show in which couples hitch hike to a distant location, the last to complete each stage being eliminated (Prod: Kanakna); Fata Morgana, which shows that even perfect strangers can work together to make the impossible possible (Prod: Sultan Sushi).
Making its market debut at Mipcom this year, Flanders (i) is a new market platform that brings together all key independent players based in Flanders and Brussels, Belgium. Supported by VAF/Mediafonds and Brussels Invest & Export, the booth (Mipcom 20.14) offers meeting and screening facilities and will be a showcase for new and upcoming formats and shows.
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