Sky Arts Staff Blog

We come Highly Commended y'know..

2010-01-28T16:36:00.004Z

Last night Sky Arts 1 HD was up for the Broadcast Awards 2010 "Channel Of The Year" prize....but we were pipped at the post for the big shiny gong by ITV1. We were however, Highly Commended!
Our colleagues in Sky News won Best News Programme for their

Pakistan

: Terror’s Front Line report, so it was a night of celebration..

Staff Virgin Virtuosos: Tracy at Midem.

2010-01-27T10:29:00.003Z

I'm at Midem 2010 for the first time and I'm here to network and see if there are any gems of programmes out there. Well, day 1 was a bit daunting. My flight was delayed by half an hour but I managed to get myself from the airport to Cannes without a hitch. I even managed to find my hotel with no problem. But then registration for Midem happened and when I walked into the Palais des Festivals I thought: Jeez, what is all this about and how am I going to make sense of it all.

Well, I attended the First Timers Cocktail, which was less cocktail and more orientation but no matter, I got a tour out of it (and found out there are free massages! - defo worth attending for that alone).

Once the tour was over, it was a case of, off you go my pretties and good luck. Day 1 wasn't too bad. I got my bearings, found out where my meetings were taking place for the next day and just meandered. Then it was off for dinner and after that the South African opening night at the Martinez hotel which was suitably decorated in the South African colours and I presume the food that was served there was also South African (I didn't try any). The music was better than I expected. There was a traditional African band, a hip hop act, an indie rock act (think Billy Joe from Green Day x3) and another rock type act.

I met a few nice people who didn't have anything to do with TV but lots to do with music and music publishing. 1 man in particular is friends with the Head of Universal Music Australia and he, Sky Arts 2 viewers, is very good friends with a certain Mr Rieu. As I have my contacts at Universal UK already, I'm told that if I have any problems, Cyrus AKA head honcho, will be able to help me secure Andre. After that, I thought I'd end the day and head off back to my hotel.

Day 2 was better and less chaotic for me as I got used to my surroundings. It helped that I had meetings planned and I was especially looking forward to meeting Sandrine from Euroarts who I deal with on a regular basis. It was nice to hear a familiar voice and finally put a face to the name and we had an enjoyable chat about what's coming up for Sky Arts 2 and what I'm looking for.

I also attended some screenings where they show you showreels of all the programming that are available from the various channels/distributors. And then a few more meetings where as a newbie I made the school girl error of taking all hand outs and loading up my bag till it was so heavy my right shoulder is now located a lot lower than my left one.

However, I remembered the wonderful free massage offer and promptly went there where the masseuse got rid of those horrible knots in my shoulder.... Bliss! After that, more walking (and surprisingly, my feet were still OK) and then it was off to dinner with Sandrine and to the British music night at the Martinez where Chipmunk was present (yes, that is the artist's name. He had a number one single called Whoopsadaisy for those who don't know the Chip).

We did also pop into the Carlton for some alternative Jazz but Armenian Jazz isn't really my thing so we left again and caught the rest of Newton Faulkner's act. He of 'Dream Catch Me' fame. He was very good and especially his closing number which was an acoustic version of.... indeed, Bohemian Rhapsody..... This went down well with the crowd and was surprisingly good. That ended day 2 for me.

Day 3 roundup will follow later as I am now off to meet the Head of the LSO and I have 4 mins to weave my way back up to the main hall.

Au revoir, Tracy.

Snowed-in? We'll warm you up!

2010-01-05T14:53:00.002Z

So, it's 2010 already and we're still not floating about in flying cars. Pity that. Would solve a lot of the 'travel chaos' caused by snow all over the UK today.

If you're stuck at home and you've still got electricity...there's plenty to watch on Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2 while you toast your toes by the fire or indeed, burn your bum sitting on the radiator!

Today on Sky Arts 1:

15:35 Directed By John Ford
Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg contribute to this profile of Oscar-winning director John Ford, famous for his Western epics The Searchers and Stagecoach.

17:30 Tim Marlow On Pop Life: Art In A Material World [HD]
Tim Marlow leads a tour of the Tate Modern's new exhibition, discussing Pop Art by artists such as Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol and Tracey Emin.

18:00 CONCRETE CANVAS [HD]
Berlin
Julian Beever heads to the German capital to meet local artists who are turning the city's streets into a living art gallery, before adding his own very appetising contribution.

18:30 ART RACE [HD]
Art Race 6
Ben and Kenny continue their journey across America. Ben abandons art for motor mechanics and Kenny gets trapped in a Missouri strip mall. Is Kenny about to fall even further behind?

19:00 HAY SESSIONS [HD]
Hay Sessions 4: Chris Mullin
The maverick parliamentarian and author of A Very British Coup, Chris Mullin, talks to Guto Harri about his rivetingly funny political diaries.

20:00 SONGBOOK [HD]
Ian McCulloch: Songbook
Echo & the Bunnymen's singer-songwriter gives a fascinating insight into some of his best tracks, including The Killing Moon, before performing them.

21:00 Elvis And June: A Love Story *UK PREMIERE*
The true story of Elvis's first romance with fiancee June Juanico and how his rise to fame pulled them apart. Featuring footage of the young couple on holiday in the summer of 1956.

21:50 Working Space: Michael Vaughan-Cricketer & Artist [HD]

22:00 In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story (Relicence)
Rock 'n' roll greats pay tribute to the 'Big O', whose rise to fame was hampered by personal tragedies. His legacy was assured after the rediscovery of his work in David Lynch's Blue Velvet.

23:00 European Film Awards 2009 [HD]

...and over on Sky Arts 2 today:

16:40 Stage Light - Stage Fright
It may appear marvellous to be a musician, but it is the third most stressful profession in the world. Discover the pressures that face them and how they cope with life off- stage.

17:35 Anne-Sophie Mutter 3: Sonata In E Flat Major, K. 380 [HD]
Celebrated violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, accompanied by pianist Lambert Orkis, performs Mozart's mature violin sonatas in Munich 2006.

18:00 MASTERMIND
Mastermind (BBC) 2
London taxi driver Fred Housego famously took to the black chair and won this classic series of the quiz challenge presented by Magnus Magnusson.

18:30 IN SEARCH OF BEETHOVEN [HD]
In Search Of Beethoven (Series) 2
Beethoven has long been romanticised as a tortured artist. Phil Grabsky attempts to separate fiction from fact in this biopic featuring leading performers and experts. 2/5

19:00 BARENBOIM ON BEETHOVEN [HD]
Beethoven:Piano Concerto No. 2 In B-Flat Major, Op. 19
Soloist Daniel Barenboim performs Beethoven's second Concerto before conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin at the 2007 Klavier-Festival.

19:35 Anne-Sophie Mutter 5: Sonata In B Flat Major, K. 378 [HD]
Celebrated violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, accompanied by pianist Lambert Orkis, performs Mozart's mature violin sonatas in Munich 2006.

20:00 A Midsummer Night's Dream [HD] *CHANNEL PREMIERE*
The renowned Pacific Northwest Ballet perform George Balanchine's stunning ballet, based on Shakespeare's play and to music by Mendelssohn. From the Sadler's Wells Theatre, London.

21:35 Shakespeare's Globe
A revealing behind-the-scenes documentary on the modern-day Globe Theatre, the remarkable reconstruction of Shakespeare’s theatre on London’s South Bank.

22:25 Andre Rieu At Schonbrunn, Vienna [HD]
Accompanied by the Johann Strauss Orchestra, world renowned violinist Andre Rieu performs numbers including Roses from the South, and Emperor's Waltz at Schonbrunn in Vienna.

...and since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Staff recommendations for your sky+ box this xmas

2009-12-16T12:22:00.012Z

Adrian, our head of planning, does the first of our staff recommendations videoblogs.

I think we might use an actual camera for this next time and not my phone, ahem.
You may need to whack up your volume to hear what he's saying, ha ha!

Merry xmas dear viewers!! (and don't worry - the onair output is still in glorious HD...and not shot on a mobile phone...)

xxx
The Sky Arts Team

More highlights here: http://www.skyarts.co.uk/skyarts/festive-highlights/

Merry Christmas! Roll on 2010...

2009-12-08T10:21:00.009Z

Tis the xmas season as already the novelty trees are up in Sky Arts Corner. Our giant inflatable snowman is no-where to be seen though. Hopefully he make an appearence, if only for day. He's noisy...so he remains in stored in the tape room.
So, ho ho ho, highlights.....
We've got some fantastic xmas telly lined up across both channels this year.
Sky Arts 1 (also in HD folks!) has:

Sandi’s Christmas Cracker
Sky Arts is taking over Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank on 22 December to broadcast Sandi Toksvig’s Christmas Cracker, a cabaret show that features a glittering array of stars from the worlds of music, magic and comedy, starring the legendary Ronnie Corbett. Hosted by queen of the quips Sandi Toksvig and a house band, the show is a joyous mix of music and comedy. Find out more about Sandi's Christmas Cracker >>
From 8pm, 22 Dec, Sky Arts 1 / HD

Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1978
Celebrate Christmas with the Man In Black and some of the biggest stars of the ’70s. Guests include: Kris Kristofferson and singer Rita Coolidge, Steve Martin and of course June Carter Cash. This way for more on Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1978 >>
From 10.55pm, 24 Dec, Sky Arts 1

Soul Power
A verité documentary, entirely composed of footage shot in 1974 at the 3-night long legendary South African music festival (dubbed "Zaire '74"). It shows the experiences and performances of such musical luminaries as James Brown, BB King, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, Miriam Makeba, among a host of others. Funk this way for more on Soul Power >>
From 9pm, 25 Dec, Sky Arts 1 / HD

Sky Arts 2 (again, also in HD folks!) has:

Metropolitan Opera at Christmas
It’s the countdown to Christmas but forget advent calendars, we’ve developed our own way to tick off the dark days of December. You don’t need the pricey dress, the binoculars and the private box - Sky Arts 2 brings all the glamour and emotion of one of the world’s premier stages into your living room, with 25 stunning operas in December. Click this way to find out the seasonal Met Opera line-up >> From 8pm, 1 Dec, Sky Arts 2 / HD

Elaine Page - Live in Concert
Brand new - this recently took place in Sydney at The State Theatre – a beautiful old Edwardian venue – on 31st October 09 - the first time Elaine Page has been filmed in concert since 1991. All her Broadway hits helped along with a sprinkling of anecdotes and stories from her impressive career. See the full line-up for Elaine Page - Live in concert >>
From 7pm, Sun 20 Dec, Sky Arts 2 / HD

OTHER UNMISSABLE FESTIVE TREATS INCLUDE

Eating Art
From 7pm, 7 Dec, Sky Arts 2 / HD

Meat Loaf In Search of Paradise
From 9pm, 18 Dec, Sky Arts 1 / HD

Songman – The Untold Story of Jim Croce
From 9pm, 21 Dec, Sky Arts 1 / HD

Festival! The Newport Folk Festival
From 9pm, 23 Dec, Sky Arts 1 / HD

Jewel in the Crown
From 6pm, 21 Dec, Sky Arts 2 / HD (7pm start, apart from the first night)

Edinburgh Tattoo 2006 (pipes and drums)
From 3.55pm, 24 Dec, Sky Arts 2 / HD

Pinter’s Progress: Philip Saville on Harold
From 10pm, 24 Dec, Sky Arts 1 / HD

Playtime
From 10.55pm, 24 Dec, Sky Arts 2 / HD

Dear Mr Fantasy: A tribute to Jim Capaldi
From 9pm, 26 Dec, Sky Arts 1 / HD

The Fantastic World of Michael Crawford
From 8pm, 27 Dec, Sky Arts 2 / HD

Have a fantastic Christmas everyone - as you're sipping the mulled wine and nibbling the mince pies you can be thinking of our scheduling team here, who are already getting into the month of March 2010!

The three B's - Adrian's Belated Biennale Blog...

2009-08-23T18:18:00.029+01:00

Better than two years ago when the blog was posted 4 months late I believe but two years later I'm still tardy...

Back to Venice for the Biennale. Same apartment - albeit redecorated (who'd have thought that things like a table and shelves would be deemed optional in a kitchen...)

Jake's older, so no pushchair, but still more interested in chasing pigeons and eating ice cream than anything else in Venice.

So, the Biennale itself. After Tracey Emin's disappointing British Pavilion I had high hopes for Steve McQueen's film (I thought Hunger was one of the best British films of recent years and one of the best films last year). But it wasn't to be and I left the 30min film disappointed and argumentative - my mother in law (an art historian) disagreed with me and gave me a dozen reasons why it was wonderful. I still disagree...

The Danish and Nordic Pavilions though were something else - their first collaboration and the talk of the Biennale. The first was a house with a "For Sale" sign outside and the signs of foul play inside with a dining table cut in half, a staircase lying in pieces and a message scrawled on a mirror in the hall...

The 2nd part was the house of a gay author - possibly the body floating in the pool outside. What did it all mean? It was there with the "intention of dismantling the national representative model..." etc etc It was also something fun and provocative...

I was warned to be careful taking Jake (my son and pigeon chaser) across to the far side of the author's house by one of the curators - those "Tom of Finland" drawings on the wall (!) but Jake was more interested in sitting in a rather cool swivel chair.

Jake was fascinated by a lot of the work - the trashed kitchen and staircase kept him occupied for ages as he tried to work it out and the body in the pool didn't bother him either - and his toy Pinocchio even made an appearance in a couple of the Pavilions... oops. Then tragedy struck. He got left in the loo and, when Bekah went back, someone had nicked him - which is pretty poor. That left it up to dad to leg it across Venice - harder than it sounds - to find the stall that was selling them and then "find Pinocchio" by the time we get back to the apartment. Skin of the teeth but did the deed and "found" the lost toy.

The last images of Pinocchio before his tragic disappearance

The Polish Pavilion was a real surprise and really cool too - a video installation with the screens appearing to be windows behind which ghostly figures appeared in silhouette...

Slight mishap when Jake spotted a ball which was part of an installation and gave it a kick ("when is a toy not a toy? - when it's a piece of an installation" doesn't really register for a four year old) and then later another small ball that was part of an installation made up of toys, balls and wool - kind of a kitten's wet dream - got a little nudge before we could stop him. Got away with it and moved swiftly on.

The Arsenale part of the Biennale (held in the old dock buildings) opened with a stunning piece - you walked into a dark room and there were beams of light coming down from the ceiling in A Matter of Life and Death style which, when you get close, are actually pieces of wire stretching down... it's quite beautiful

A video work by two Barcelona-based artists - David Bestue and Marc Vives - which is part of their Actions at Home piece was brilliant. A slapstick film with gags paying homage to the likes of Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy it drew a huge crowd and was one of the highlights. I found a clip youtube but unfortunately it's not subtitled in English - but you can get the drift...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNXP1qu5RQA

Stumbled across a real treat when we turned the corner and found some Chihuly glass sculptures which were amazing especially when seen against such a dull backdrop as the concrete pavilion buildings

What else sticks in the mind? The nightmarish cafe - firstly a bureaucratic nightmare along the lines of Terry Gilliam's Brazil where you have to select from a dot matrix scrolling menu before you get to the counter and then pay and then collect the food (which you've only just seen although you've already had to order it). But best of all was the decor - garish highlighter-pen style fluorescent colours and angled mirrors giving it a mildly emetic quality.

What else? The Peggy Guggenheim museum is one of the best galleries in the world with a stunning permanent collection including works by Kandinsky, Pollock, Ernst, Magritte, Kapoor, Calder and Klee. It also had a brilliant exhibition called Gluts featuring Robert Rauschenberg's sculptures from his Oil Gluts series made from car parts, garage signs etc. One of the US interns told Jake that one of the pieces looked like Wall-E which is one way of getting kids into art and Jake spent the rest of our time in this wing telling other visitors about Wall-E.

Less impressive was the Franois Pinault Collection which is an amazing building but hardly inviting as, on seeing Jake, we were effectively followed from room to room by a black suit-clad guard with an earpiece. Some reading this will think "fair enough" given Jake's "interaction" with the balls in the Biennale but we certainly kept them on edge as we walked from room to room. There's some amazing pieces here - a great Jeff Koons and a really beautiful Murakami but it's like someone with a lot of money has worked through a checklist of modern artists and picked up a piece by all of them regardless of the quality.

I leave you with two things

First, a chair that looks like an arse (well, it amused me) and secondly a weird idea for a kids toy...

Our lovely new buses :-)

2009-03-17T16:31:00.002Z

We're launching another HD channel!

2009-02-27T15:22:00.006Z

It won't launch properly until 4th May but to hold onto the EPG numbers that we want (very important behind-the-scenes information this!), we're showing content from both Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2 across these HD channels at varying hours/days for the next couple of months, just like we've been doing with the old Sky Arts HD channel.

You'll have your Sky Arts channels all lined up next to each other:
256 - Sky Arts 1
257 - Sky Arts 2
258 - Sky Arts 1 HD (simulcast of 256, but in full HD on programmes that were shot in HD)
259 - Sky Arts 2 HD (simulcast of 257, but in full HD on programmes that were shot in HD)

We hope you're as thrilled as we are with the news and come May 4th we'll have 2 fantastic HD channels on your EPG.
And now that Sky has the amazing deal of Sky+HD for £45 you've no excuse to not see and hear (5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound in some cases!) our content in stunning high definition. Enjoy!

LIVE opera...and live behind the scenes too! See La bohème as you've NEVER seen it before! Only on Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2. Wow, we're good...

2009-01-15T14:06:00.006Z

We're bringing you a world exclusive...the Sky Arts channels are showing a live broadcast from London's Coliseum...but this is no ordinary live broadcast...
Sky Arts 1 gives you incredible access to what goes on backstage while an opera is being performed live and Sky Arts 2 gives you the actual opera performance...with HD viewers able to watch this simultaniously on Sky Arts HD in stunning clarity of sound and vision.

For more...go to the Sky Arts website feature page about it.

We're pretty excited about bringing something like this to TV viewers - hopefully we'll not only make the opera fans very happy but possibly interest some viewers who've never really experienced opera before.
This is the whole production, warts an' all, as they say. If the leading lady's dress rips backstage then you'll see the panic as the wardrobe team try to stich it up in time to make her cue! Or, perhaps, nothing will go wrong and it'll it be a well-oiled, slick night of flawless movement between the stage and wings. We'll see....!

La bohème live from 7:30pm 2 Feb '09, Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2 and Sky Arts HD

Crackin' Nuts

2008-12-18T19:40:00.006Z

The whole team headed off to see English National Ballet's The Nutcracker last night at London's Coliseum.

Sad to see that this is the last Christmas that this particular production will be be staged but after 7 successful years I guess it's time for a change.
The wildly eccentric production is designed by Gerald Scarfe and choreographed by Christopher Hampson and features what I can confidently say is the largest stage fridge in any theatre in the country this Christmas....unless there's a panto about giant white goods that I don't yet know about...either way, their fridge probably won't have what seemed like a hundred snowflake dancers leaping out of it!

We weren't sure about the ending. Or lack of. But we still enjoyed it....a really seasonal class outing that's put us all in the right mood for xmas.

And just to prove we're in the right mood...we posed for a team xmas pic...our own live interpretation of Botticelli's nativity painting. The key artistic reference here is 'interpretation'....

The Sky Arts team could never be accused of not taking their fun seriously...

A very merry Christmas from everyone at Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2 & Sky Arts HD. Enjoy your festive viewing!

Sky Arts' new media team pop 'round to Madame Zingara's place...

2008-12-15T18:25:00.014Z

...and boy what a place!

On arriving at Battersea Power Station we were told to walk down a darkish little alleyway made of bamboo that would have looked great in a more lush green environment but slightly odd in the carpark for the power station...and, as instructed, walked thought the loveheart and basked in the warm glow of the giant tent's entrance. It was bloody freezing last Thursday night so the very fast-moving Q at the door was a relief.

Inside, this was awesome. And not in a west coast USA I-say-that-all-the-time kinda way...I really mean it was awesome. And warm. Did I mention what a cold night it was?! Lavish, stylish, atmospheric and instantly welcoming, this whole evening was pretty special right from the start. Click on the TENT TOUR interactive 360 to see what I mean...and that was taken in the daylight - lit for the evening it was spectacular.

There's a fantastic HISTORY about the tent that's well worth a read - though the most incredible story from the night was the 40-strong kitchen staff, including 4 head chefs, that served the 400-strong restaurant the most incredible food in a rather unbeliveably efficient and stylish manner. The South African wine was also, naturally, excellent.

The old 'strangers are just friends you haven't met yet' definately came into play with our dinner companions...

Once seated, Raymond, our table's server looked after our every need. Though this was a media invite night and we didn't know who'd be sitting at our table...it turned out that they were as up for a good fun evening as we were so we all hit it off famously.

The acrobatics, fused with incredible choreography did not disappoint - we were all ooh-ing and aah-ing much as you'd have expected but the rounds of spontaneous applause when something particularly spectacular happened were far more frequent than certainly I was expecting. It felt like you weren't given a second to breathe (in a very good way!) as the entertainment and food were seamlessly served to you.

The food…ummm, the food. Serving the most tender, medium-rare fillets to a couple of hundred people at the same time might give you shivers of the hotel wedding kind – but fear not. This was exceptional. The ONLY food complaint is that there was far too much. It was all amazing.

Sky Arts' Sinead and Sari get into the swing of things at Madame Zingara in London...

The plate of little novelties that were presented to you upon arrival included a warm soup thing in a kind of a big shooter glass that was so incredibly delicious I could have drunk it, and it alone, all night and walked away content. The South African wine they chose for the tables was very good indeed and the menu choices were superb - extremely limited, but very well thought out.

Incredible handmade pasta stuffed with mushroom for starters, the Chocolate Chilli Fillet was my choice for main…or a choice of lamb shanks (they got a thums up from those at our tabel who enjoyed them) or freshly-caught fish or a four cheese polenta stack, with the desert being a plate of 3 mini deserts…a ‘to die for’ sticky toffee pudding, a light & fluffy tiramisu and umm…something else that I can’t remember but it was delicious whatever it was…chocolate mousse methinks? My taste buds were overawed with surprise and delight by this stage and I was a bit busy watching the final act to notice what I was actually eating...it was yummie anyway, whatever it was!

The dressing-up shop is a must-visit and with prices so low that you don’t even have to think twice about it – you can quickly pick up anything from theatrical hats and feather head-dresses to novelty glasses to…if you’re so inclined…fake burlesque boobs. A must for all the men…

Then, after all the acrobatic performances and the food, somehow, the whole tent…full of cynical media types, was up on its feet, dancing to the fabulous “Original Tons” belting vocals and having an all ‘round jolly time.

There was one problem with the whole night…we didn’t pre-order a cab to get us back to our respective train stations and hailing a cab late at night in Battersea is, as we found, like panning for gold in the Thames. Be warned.

So, if you’re going to be visiting London in the next 3 months MAKE SURE you book a table at Madame Zingara for a night of full-on entertainment that you won’t forget for a long, long time. We loved it :-)

Read our PREVIEW on skyarts.co.uk

Hello Arts Virgins...

2008-11-07T14:35:00.005Z

...or, those in Virgin cable homes who've never previously had the pleasure of enjoying Sky Arts...

We're coming to Virgin!

From Thursday, Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2 will be available to all those Virgin cable customers who subscribe to the XL package of channels.

Welcome Virgin households, to the wonderful world of arts broadcasting....

Returning to something resembling normality...

2008-10-28T14:29:00.008Z

After what has been an incredibly busy past few months Sky Arts Corner is finally managing to get itself back to a regular routine. We've successfully re-launched the brand onair as Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2 and Sky Arts HD, overhauled the website and planned more original commissions for the coming year than ever before. We're even starting to go home before 10 at night now!

We're currently recording a brand new second season of What The Dickens? with Sandi Toksvig and a third season of The Book Show with Mariella Frostrup (episode 2 onair this Thursday) as well as being in pre-production on our fantastic new Bridge programme that you may have read about in the media - Celebrity Bridge: Grand Slam.

Our launch drinks on Wednesday were a very pleasant affair with people like Tim Marlow, Peter Ackroyd and Antony Gormley...

...and of course the whole Sky Arts team...

Can you guess what the theme was in this corner of the room where we had our "Sky Arts Class of '08" photo taken? The clue is probably in the green 'grass' carpet and the stacked bales of, ahem, hay, ahem....

We hope you're enjoying the new channels and finding the kind of programmes that you want to watch.

I survived MIPCOM 08

2008-10-27T20:38:00.004Z

Ah MIP, the big international TV marketplace held twice a year in Cannes - MIPTV in April and the bigger MIPCOM in October. A week out of the office to swan around the Croissette, sipping cocktails and schmoozing. Er, no. A week out of the office with three solid days of meetings from 9 til 7pm. Then drinks. Then dinner. Then more drinks...

For a channel our size these are important markets as it's where a lot of our cool content comes from. The excellent doc "Who's Afraid of Michel Gondry?" for example. Found at MIPTV in April. "Queen Rock Montreal"? April again.

We buy content from all over the world so twice a year we actually get to meet, in the flesh, the distributors and producers. You get a good working relationship and everything's cool - distributors will come to you with new programming and that saves time - and shoe leather. Imagine a giant trade fair held across multiple floors with thousands of TV types from all over the globe running around trying to look more important than anyone else. Want to stand out from the crowd? Wear a ridiculous Rupert Bear-style checked suit. No one will forget you in a hurry. Even if that's for all the wrong reasons. It wasn't me either before you suggest such a thing. Probably American.

In the month or so before MIP you start making appointments with your regulars (oo er) as well as wading through the tons of e-mails from distributors who've accessed the buyer database. The latter is supposed to help them target their mail shots. It's getting better but I still don't remember ticking the "animated Russian pornography" box on the list of programming I was looking for.

On the flight try and avoid eye contact with strangers less you get pitched at... though I did manager to get pitched whilst waiting to collect my case at Nice airport. Got to admire that I guess...

Then it works like speed dating. You have a calendar that's a series of 30min meetings back to back - maybe with a lunch or a break for lunch - between 9ish and 7pm (there are team breakfasts most days too at 8.30am). This is all fine if, like my colleague Phil, you plan your diary so you don't have to run around - a day of meetings in the Riviera Hall, then a day down in the Bunker (it's much worse than it sounds). Of course you can do it like me, which means starting out with these good intentions then losing track or just forgetting and finding yourself running all over the place between meetings. And if you don;'t build in at least a free slot you can find, thanks to people overrunning, that you have about 10mins to actually talk about programming. If it's the first time you're meeting a distributor there's a few minutes small talk, a coffee or water (depending on whether you look like you're about to fall asleep or collapse), some talk about the channel (this time around about our relaunch plans) and then you get onto the catalogue. If you're not meeting them on stand but in the buyer's lounge then it's true speed dating territory as people furtively cruise the room looking at everyone's badges to find who they're supposed to meet. One guy last year attached a photo to the e-mail request - forward thinking if a little odd at first.

Comfy trainers are one thing. Dried fruit and/or snack bars and water help too. A large bag even more so. Delegates get a bag when they register. Strangely they've never quite mastered the idea that carrying a bright red or orange bag around that screams "tourist!!" isn't what everyone wants. My local charity shop gets two a year - though demand in Holloway is probably even more limited. Anyway, the reason for the large (preferably expandable) bag is for the flyers and DVDs. They add up. This year I was snowed under after my first meeting (old school producer who doesn't do websites but prefers programming info in hardcopy form). Got a break when a meeting got rearranged and had half an hour to leg it back to the apartment and in a Black Hawk Down style remove anything and everything surplus to requirements - a rainforest of catalogues, tons of DVDs etc etc

So, highlights...

Team dinner on Sunday was fun - most of the Sky people had arrived (granted not everyone's luggage had but...). Downside, my quitting smoking lasted about 3/4 hour when willpower went and I bummed one off Ian Lewis who runs movies. Shameful but God hates a quitter.

Brit Films - was introduced to Nick from Britfilms by Ian from Eureka! (UK's best DVD label who release the "Masters of Cinema" titles). Britfilms have a shortfilm competition which we might be able to collaborate on. And Nick asked if I'd be interested in being a judge next time.

Dinner with Sandrine from Euroarts - one of our regular suppliers of classical/opera programming. We alternate who buys dinner and this market it was Sandrine who took Phil and I out for dinner.

This was followed by the Beat Club launch party - Andrew and Will from Eagle Rock got Phil and I in (technically we were gatecrashing but my invite arrived on the Monday I got back into the office). Mungo Jerry (ask your parents) playing live in a tiny bar followed by some appropriate tracks from the likes of the Stones, Hendrix etc. Try to get a late/early drink at 2.15 but tonight, for some reason, the bar at the Grand is shut. Given the prices they may have run out of room to put all the cash from the bar...

Drink with John Wyver from Illuminations - he wanted to see the England game so we're in the Irish bar next door to the Irish bar where the previous night's Beat Club party was held. Then a change of shirt (no time for shower so it's a "spray aftershave in the air and walk through it" moment) then off to the Eagle Rock team dinner. A great crowd - welcoming, entertaining and fun. Tonight the Grand has deigned to stay open so a few late drinks (Wednesday is my last full day as I fly out tomorrow after one last meeting), say au revoir to the Eagle crew and back to the apartment where, a 2.45am, the key snaps in the lock. Wonderful. I've had this apartment on 5 occasions now and the key has got steadily more bent. Tonight's the night it breaks. The concierge speaks no English, my French is somewhat basic but dangling the remains of the key in the air with a plaintive "monsieur" is more than enough. There was a worrying "non" and a shrug as he tried to open the door but with a screwdriver he got me in. Thank you sir! Obviously I still need to be able to get back in tomorrow so a quick rummage through the kitchen drawers and I finally settle on the knife that will trip the lock (where most of the key remains).

Been a bit of rush today - and 4 hours later sitting in the cafe waiting for the team I wish I'd checked the crackberry the previous night. That way I might have seen the message "Team breakfast cancelled. So don't turn up!". Oh well 4 hours sleep is plenty. If I was half my age and not hungover.

Final meeting a breeze. One result of the solo team breakfast was that I was 2nd in queue to Fed-Ex the catalogues, DVDs etc back to the office. Slight moment of paranoia as I walked up to the MIP security and realised I had a small vegetable knife in my bag (the key to my apartment).

Time for a dash to the shops to buy Jake (my son) a car and some clothes. Quick trip to FNAC (French Borders) - blu rays and DVDs horribly overpriced. Though wish I'd brought "MR73" from the director of the excellent "36" as it's not out here for yonks if at all.

Jump on case, go to the lettings office to show them the key - "oh, it's finally broken" one of the women in the office says. Hmm.

Cab to the airport where I meet a woman outside struggling to find her lighter. I give her mine and tell her to keep it. She makes a joke about another person quitting after the market and hope it lasts this time. Of course it will I reassure her.

Waiting to drop my case I bump into Andrew from Eagle who's on the earlier flight. "Fancy a quick fag?" he asks. Ignore the sound of willpower crashing down and join him outside. Luckily my lighter recipient isn't there.

Am seated next to a former colleague from Sky, Kate, who now works for five. She settles down with an heroic dose of crap mags while I kick back and enjoy the majesty and splendour of "The Inglorious Bastards". Wish I'd known about the nude scene though. Kind of embarrassing sitting next to someone you know while the obligatory B-movie skinny dipping is taking place...

Get home around 7 Jake waiting for his present (I shouldn't' have tipped him off). He loves the car but loves the box more. It's a cliche but true - we still have the box from our TV which, armed with a Stanley Knife and Duct Tape, I turned into a racing car for him about a year ago.

Relaunch pending so have two continuity scripts to check as soon as the paper's been ripped off the box/car.

Some excellent programmes out there at MIPCOM - hopefully you'll get to see some of them in the next few months

Think you know a bit about Italy?

2008-10-15T19:03:00.007+01:00

Try our fun video quiz & then challenge your friends! skyarts.co.uk/suggs

Launching on Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts HD on Oct 21st (7pm), this brand new exclusive series follows Madness frontman Suggs as he journeys through Italy in a Mini for his very own Italian Job, stopping off at various points of cultural interest along the way...possibly not the kind of Italian holiday features that Judith Chalmers ever focused on but then that's why we love Suggs...

The new Sky Arts channel logos

2008-10-15T18:36:00.013+01:00

Behold, our new logos. They're replacing the current Sky Arts channel logos on Monday, Oct 20th '08. Our brand logo remains the same. For those of you who've asked on the Sky Arts website about channel DOGs or BUGs onscreen, rest assured that we have no plans here at Sky Arts Corner to add any 'promotional screen furniture' (ahem!) over our broadcast channels.

Sky Arts 1 logo

Sky Arts 1 logo
Sky Arts 2 logo
Sky Arts 2 logo
Sky Arts HD logo
Sky Arts HD logo

Classic FM Gramophone Awards - the day before

2008-09-24T20:48:00.005+01:00

Hello, long time no blog. Quite a bit has changed since the last time I was on here. Been a bit busy, you know, launching a brand new channel, training newbie Sarah on the ins and outs of Tracy's system (let's say it involves a lot of process manuals and filing - we do like everything to be in its place), trying out a new role (yep, they have given me a WHOLE channel to schedule! I am officially the new Sky Arts Scheduler - why thank you, I'm quite chuffed myself) and the ever increasing politics involved with desk moves (fitting ever more members into a small corner is quite a feat in itself).

But hey ho, I'm very glad Sarah J has joined the Sky Arts team as for a little while I was juggling my old role and my new one. Now I can fully concentrate on my channel which is a daunting task. Adrian et al are convinced I'm the right person so I will try not to disappoint. December has been started now and it's going to be a cracker of a Christmas. You are all going to be spoilt rotten with the choice available.

Anyway, just wanted to express the extreme fear I am experiencing at the moment. Apparently, with a new role, comes new responsibilities and opportunities to leave good ole Osterley for a gander in that busy town called London. To the Classic FM Gramophone Awards to be precise. I shall be walking nervously towards The Dorchester tomorrow in my fancy frock, notepad in hand, with the target to speak to at least 2 people at the Awards. You see, I'm not good at networking or going to fancy do's on my own. The lovely Sinead just makes too much darn sense and all my protestations (2 days worth of saying I really can't do this) came to nothing. And so, tomorrow I shall be trying my best to smile sweetly, big up Sky Arts and try not to look or sound like a fool. Please think of me. It all starts at 11.30 and I'll be so nervous.

Best be off now. I must decide what to wear for tomorrow and try not to think too much about what could possibly go wrong. I shall definitely be taking advantage of that champagne that is sure to flow (though not too much mind, I am 'working').

Behind the scenes shooting Friday Night Hijack

2008-09-23T17:38:00.006+01:00

We popped over to the studios to see Dan recording a Friday Night Hijack with the highly entertaining Nina Conti - a big favourite here at Sky Arts Corner since she appeared as one our Hay-on-Sky guests this summer.

In the above image, eagle-eyed viewers can spot the PM giving his conference speech on the left monitor coming from the Sky News Centre next door - while we're recording an exclusive Q&A with Nina for the website (we'll have it on the Sky Arts website the week she's 'hijacking' the channel!).

Dan can be seen here hard at work- all the glamour of telly (no-one ever belives us that it's just a desk job...with a very big desk...and, y'know, lots of twiddly things and big TV screens everywhere...) in the clip below...

collaborative canvas

2008-09-10T18:16:00.006+01:00

http://www.thebigdraw.org/make%2Dyour%2Dmark/collaborative%2Dcanvas/
This is quite a nice thing to do - join in their collaborative drawing during your next coffee break.
It's a giant expanding canvas that anyone can add to, and you can send your drawing on to a friend once you've finished as well...

Update on the new channel...

Adrian, Tracy & Sarah are working away on the new schedules for Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2 and we're looking forward to launching the new brands and new programmes on Oct 20th.

On the web side, we're editing more web video clips than ever before so there'll be lots to enjoy on the new video player and the whole site will have a much better design finish to it, with faster page loading times and better internal search.
Our Interactive Media Design Agency and our Small Projects Team have been working away on my wishlist for an improved viewer experience online and although we can't have everything ready in time for the channel launch, we'll have launched with quite a bit done by then...and we'll keep rolling out the improvements for you over the following months.

So much to do, so little time...

This week in Sky Arts Corner...

2008-09-04T12:54:00.005+01:00

We're getting closer to the launch of the new channels and the whole team are working pretty flat out here. Not only are you getting a new arts channel from us but you'll also get a much-needed facelift on the website so I'm looking forward to launching that - new video section included :-)

We're also back into pre-production on The Book Show as of this week and the production team are lining up the guest authors for the forthcoming new season - due to start back onair next month.

Don't forget to watch David Gilmore live at the Royal Albert Hall on Sky Arts this Saturday (6th) at 9pm - part of our Centre Stage concerts line-up....

A few fun things we like...
Mix some sounds & record them :-)
http://www.becks.co.uk/mixer.aspx
This beer company have actually done some pretty interesting this lately, like this:
http://www.becks.co.uk/canvas.aspx
Total silliness by the Iceland tourist people...but good fun all the same: http://www.icelandsocks.com/
****************************

This is amusing us in Sky Arts Corner this morning...

2008-08-26T11:48:00.002+01:00

Exploding bananas on your face...but is it art?!

:-)

Big news here in Sky Arts Corner...

2008-08-19T10:43:00.016+01:00

So...we've announced it - we're launching a new channel!

On Oct 20th 2008 we'll have Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2 and Sky Arts HD on your EPG. We're doing major background improvements on the website too and will launch the new upgraded version at the same time.

Adrian Zak, our head of planning...
We've interviewed our head of planning HERE about how it all came about & what viewers can expect from the channels and there's a load of articles in the media about it today:

**********************

The Guardian
BBC
Variety
Mad
CNN
Digital Spy
Brand Republic
Broadband TV News

*********************
and of course, wikipedia's already bang up-to-date :-)

...and a rather nice comment piece in the Guardian's Comment section mentioning us in relation to arts on TV in general...
"BBC4 used to be the best place for world cinema, but now Sky's Indie channel generally seems the best bet for seeing what the rest of the world looks like. And Sky Arts now often offers the best arts programming of the week, given the off-air channels' increasing timidity over any serious arts coverage. How long before Murdoch finds another niche to slip into and gives us a proper summer season of music? It would be the supreme irony if the old devil ended up with all the best tunes."
You can add your own comment below the full article HERE.

Dan in Paris...

2008-07-29T12:09:00.006+01:00

This week I had the great fortune to find myself in Paris for the final stage of the Tour De France. I took the opportunity to spend some time at the Pompidou Centre.

On show was an exhibition about the Czech photographer Miroslav Tichý. It’s the first of its kind in France. He’s 80 now and has taken a huge array of photographs that obsessively catalogue the world around him. A place it appears that is singularly made up of women either in their stockings or out and about in their bikinis.

Something of a marginal figure he steadfastly refused the social, political and personal values of the Communist period. Living alone, surrounded by his photographs, he’s practiced his art without, it seems, ever having much of a care that any of it be considered as art. His pictures were left to the ravages of time, either being damaged by dripping water or gnawed on by passing rats.

Tichý took up photography in the mid-1950s, reinventing it as it were from scratch and building his own cameras and enlargers from shoe-boxes, tin cans, recycled glass and other waste materials. His work has only recently been rescued from neglect by his neighbour, the film director Roman Buxbaum.

Often described as timeless, Tichý shoots instinctively or carelessly on his handmade cameras.. What comes out of it are these other worldly images that are often erotically charged. Here’s a link to his work
http://www.tichyocean.ch/Documentations/Works

Dan

Producer/Director, Sky Arts

Our producer/director Dan, at the Latitude Festival...

2008-07-23T10:36:00.004+01:00

I spent the Weekend at the Latitude Festival in Suffolk. It’s the 3rd year for this most idiosyncratic of festivals, merging as it does dance, music, theatre, poetry and cinema. If I mention that The National Theatre, Blondie, Irvine Welsh, Crystal Castles, Radio 4’s Just a Minute, hip hop dancing, Franz Ferdinand, Bill Bailey and silent black and white 1920’s films were all on show then you’ll get some idea of the eclectic nature.

Sigur Ros were probably my highlight. They headlined the main Stage on Saturday. I listened to a couple of their albums before going and frankly didn’t really get it, but having seen them live I can now confirm them to be glorious. I think they’ve just announced a UK tour and would recommend anyone go and see them.

Singer and actress Soko was a nervous wreck but all the more beguiling for it. She’s 22, French and sings songs like this: http://www.myspace.com/mysoko

Metronomy were joyous, they played in the Sunrise Arena which was an idyllic venue situated amongst the flora and fauna of the Latitude forest. They are re-mixers par excellence having twisted a few knobs for Kate Nash, Franz Ferdinand and the Klaxons. They seem to get bracketed into the math rock sub, sub, sub, sub genre whatever that is, either way they are great fun and got everyone leaping about. Fans of mathematics and rock can enjoy this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Math_rock

An honourable mention for Crystal Castles a truly wonderful band from Toronto. Alice Glass is their mascara laced singer. Here’s a picture: http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/0/2/3/2/18412320-18412322-slarge.jpg
She was nearly hauled off the Glastonbury stage in June for clambering on a speaker stack. At Latitude she repeated her antics, this time jumping into the photographers pit and launching herself towards the crowd. She was repeatedly hauled out by security probably fearing that she was going to get swallowed up. One particular sortee saw her bash someone over the head with her microphone (I think they’d tried to tamper/grab her). Infantile hands aside, this was another triumph from Alice and friends. I do worry about her a bit though. It can’t be good for you all that shouting and jumping about. Here’s some shonky old footage of Crystal Castles playing Latitude that you can’t really see or hear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6uKTxaqXbE

Saddlers Wells layed on a series of splendid world class dance performances in particular the Boy Blue Entertainment hip hop group and Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance Company who jolted their way through what looked like a bone crunching 25 minutes of contemporary dance. All the dance events were layed out next to the Latitude lake, a beautiful setting which managed to attract huge swathes of enthusiastic audiences.

Finally, Joanna Newsome set just the right tone on Sunday afternoon plucking her way through highlights from her two albums and then treating the audience to a couple of new tracks. Here’s some dreadfully wonky footage of some cloud + a bit of Joanna playing the piano: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE-WUiCfKZY

Simon Armitage, one time Friday Night Hijacker also read from his book ‘Gig: the Life and Times of a Rock Star Fantasist book.’

Dan. (...enjoying spending his weekends in fields...)

What Dom's watching tonight...

2008-07-21T16:57:00.001+01:00

Sky Arts' Backstory strand does it again! I can’t wait for the Jimmy Rosenberg: The Father, The Son & The Talent documentary tomorrow (Tuesday 22 July 21.00).

I saw a clip at our monthly highlights meeting and it looks like an amazing life story. Jimmy Rosenberg was a guitarist with the world at his feet, but his life, like those of so many musical geniuses, was haunted by drugs and psychiatric problems. Touted as the next Django Reinhardt, Jimmy's guitar skills were second to none and, at the age of just 15, he signed a million-dollar contract (Everyone’s dream… you must agree!). With the help of his ambitious father, Jimmy toured extensively, performing several concerts, culminating in a packed gig at the famous Carnegie Hall. But as life on the road and the intense pressure of stardom started to take their toll, Jimmy began to lose control of his life.

It’s an unbelievable true story… Tune in!!! Right back to my desk job, here’s hoping that I’ll find a million dollar contract in my inbox – I just wouldn’t want to end up like Jimmy!

Until next time, enjoy!
Dom (Programme Information and king of disguises)

Graffiti... it certainly gets your opinions going

2008-07-01T19:05:00.009+01:00

We've been showing a great documentary presented by Goldie, Graffiti: From Tags To Riches on the channel and there's been quite a bit of activity on its programme page on the site. Scroll down that page see all the comments...

It's great 'cause we've got this amazing new series Concrete Canvas that has a lot of anamorphic street art in it so it'd great to know there's a really active, interested audience out there for it. The series presenter, Julian Beever, creates "trompe-l'oeil" chalk drawings which, when complete, create stunning optical illusions filled with depth, life and colour. He creates a projection in his works (the anamorphosis) which produces a very realistic 3-D effect when viewed at a certain angle. We follow him on his artistic mission around the world as he tries to find the best pavements, sidewalks and walls for his visually stunning art.

We've stuck up some really good clips from the series - my favourite is the one where he's in conversation with the council wor kers who usually spend their time washing street art off the streets!

Cast your eyes over a couple of the images here:

...now THAT's clever...

Don't miss the show - Concrete Canvas on Sky Arts or if you're interested in the graffiti end of things watch Graffiti: From Tags To Riches on Sky Arts

(Click on the programme names above to go through to their individual pages with all the updated transmission times)

Venice Biennale 2007 - Better late than never

2008-03-25T18:28:00.026Z

OK, it was September last year but I've been kind of busy and had some IT problems - such as losing all my notes from the Biennale. I've also just lost the post I started on this. Go figure.

Anyhow, Biennale in Venice. Amazing art from all over the world in one place (well, two big areas with some scattered amongst buildings in the city).

The best exhibitions I thought were the ones by Mexico and South Korea. The Mexican work was video installations employing security technology such as motion and heat sensors to allow interaction with the work - so you enter a room of chairs and they start to rise and fall as you walk around them (see video below). Best bit was a room with projections of people asleep on the floor - as your shadow hits them they wake up and wave, smile etc. Er, you had to be there. Anyhow, his name's Rafael Lozano-Hemmer so Google him and see his work if you get the chance.

The Taiwanese work was a load of rubbish. Literally. Various bits of rubbish such as old TVs, plastic bags, fans etc wired up and (hard to describe, see video below!)

What else can I remember?

Kept bumping into Jeroen Krabbe - Dutch actor/director best known for his work in early Paul Verhoeven films or for playing the villain in "The Fugitive"- in main pavillion. Wasn't actually stalking him

British pavillion - Tracey Emin - and some bizarre merchandising such as a stick on tattoo of an Emin drawing of what can only be described as a bird perched on a penis. I have two (copies of the tattoo) so if anyone wants one send an SAE to the Sky Arts address..

Sam Taylor-Wood - why was her work in the Ukranian exhibition?

Christ on a bike. Or at least a jet (see right)

Sophie Calle. Something to do with a letter and being dumped. Lots of famous women reacting to reading said letter. Sponsored by Chanel.

Crass piece inspired by 9/11 - plane on a stick flies past some sky scrapers before crashing. One of the first pieces I see. Heart sinks. Close by is the Jesus jet. Not a great start. Maybe I just don't like art with planes.

This amazing piece was one of the highlights

To get a sense of it, here's the detail

Interactive art - in this case a giant dartboard

The Brazilian exhibition... closed

No comment

A new piece by a promising young talent

Who preferred puddles, cats, ice cream and chasing pigeons

Transcendental Realism - The Art of Adi Da Samraj

Quandra Contemplating the Fruits of Perfect Knowledge.

This guy's work was the first thing I saw. Having lost my notes I don't have anything except a rather glossy press pack. So, on the grounds that they gave me that I've included a mention. Which I just did.

Final pics

the British Pavillion

Crazy bird-headed people in the Canadian pavillion (a homage to Chicken Lady in "Kids in the Hall"?)

Taiwanese sculpture

Smug Sky Arts employee in hat (note gondolers for authenticity)

and, finally, a giant Zippo

Create your own Jackson Pollock

2008-01-31T19:05:00.000Z

We love this...

http://jacksonpollock.org/

Create your own Jackson Pollock by just moving your mouse around on the blank page and clicking to change the paint colour.

Great fun...this is one of mine :-)

She stoops...she scores!

2008-01-29T10:52:00.000Z

We've been working on promoting an adaptation of Oliver Goldsmith's classic comedy of errors She Stoops To Conquer and for anyone who missed it this weekend, don't worry - it's on again on Sat 22nd March so pencil that into the ol' diary.

Part of our promotional work on this was whipping up a rather lovely microsite (if we do say so ourselves) and if you can't wait 'till March for another opportunity to watch, we've got a preview of the first 15 mins on the microsite.

ALSO - we have some fantastic exclusive video diaries done by one of the film's stars, Miles Jupp, throughout the filming and they are really worth watching. Funny and insightful they'll really give you a flavour of what it was like for cast & crew on the set.

Just click here to watch http://www.skyarts.co.uk/shestoops and enjoy!

February is over already......

2007-11-28T21:59:00.000Z

OK, big slap on the back for me as I have managed (obviously with the help of Adrian) to release the February 2008 schedule 3 days earlier. Yes, indeed, I did write 3 days early!!!! Now, from being a week late to 3 days early, I think that's a feat. It's a stonking good schedule too (well, I have to say that :)) Hard work (and sneaky methods) were involved but it got done and released and with days to spare. I think that deserves something, don't you? Nah, I'm just chuffed that I managed to release on time (possibly only the second time that's happened since I joined and the first time was not intentional, it just happened). So, here's hello to March... but not until next week (I hope).
Now, if only I could get on top of the 'other' pile of work I've just plonked on my shelf then I'll be a happy bunny.
Well, I've just had a celebratory cuppa and am now watching Masters Of Russian Animation on Sky Arts (it's pretty darn good, you know). What to do with my time now... hmmm....

Sky Arts on the billboards

2007-11-26T18:11:00.000Z

Spotted at Feltham train station by one of our colleagues...an all-new Sky Arts billboard!

See the billboard here in all its glory:

Sky Arts reviewer becomes part of the gig!

2007-11-19T14:00:00.000Z

Quite an amusing thing really...there's a chap who works over in Sky News - if you're a sports fan you'll know him - Chris Skudder - he presents the sports news...anyway, he LOVES the American band Wilco and he went over to Dublin and reviewed the sold-out live shows there (the UK gigs got cancelled sadly) for Sky Arts' website (read it here: http://www.skyarts.co.uk/skyarts/Music/Article.aspx?artid=5112) and although he could have gotten away with being 'just a regular fan' at a UK gig - in Dublin he, like all Sky News presenters, are a lot higher-up the celebrity scale than you might think (almost every home in Ireland watches Sky News!) so when the band said "there's a guy in the audience who looks like Burt Bacharach" there was more interest than usual...AND a fan whipped out their mobile & recorded our reviewer enjoying the performance for YouTube. It's a small world after all...

Chris and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy (pic)

The new-look ARTSMAIL

2007-11-12T10:29:00.000Z

Well, after kicking it about for quite a while now, we think that this Friday is the day where we'll change over to the new & improved (as they say in fabric conditioner land) ARTSMAIL mailout.

We started sending out the new printer-friendly listings in a Word doc a couple of months back and that seems to have gone down well, so hopefully the stylish and no-so-printer-friendly mailshot will be appreciated for what it is - a nice colourful web-based email.

With the print-friendly listings still present of course!

Other than getting internal feedback on that, this morning we've been looking at ways of promoting the great new Centre Stage music strand online and our Content Seekers (a couple of guys who, a bit like Keanu Reeves in Point Break, are getting paid to surf..) are looking for clever, fun ideas for us to use.

It's just another Manic Monday...hmm, wonder if there's any Bangles concerts we can licence...loved them.

January is over (hurrah!).... Oh, but here's February already :(

2007-11-12T10:10:00.000Z

OK, so I failed the challenge but I did try my best to get the schedule out on time. That's why there hasn't been any updates of late. Even this post is late. I released Jan 08 last Tuesday evening (finally). To be fair, it wasn't THAT late. There was so much to do though that trying to get some scheduling in at work was tough. I am very disappointed but things like sponsorships came up (don't even get me started on that.... manually ticking all boxes of the November schedule is not my idea of fun.... AND I've got December and January to do as well).

But there's no rest for the wicked. Less than 24 hours later, I had my meeting with Adrian to discuss Feb 08. Yep, I normally have a break in between schedules but not this time. I must release on 1st December (though it will be 30th Nov as the 1st is a Saturday). So here I am, at home, plugging away at Feb. I thought I'd just write a quick update before I continue on the schedule. Am so glad Feb is a short month. Oh and it's a leap year next year too (not of any importance really, just thought I'd share some info).

Anyway, toodles, must work out where I'll be playing Lady Chatterley....

They say that girl's a right fake...

2007-10-31T20:59:00.000Z

The lovely Sam, our PR, went to meet master art forger John Myatt yesterday - he's just finished filming a series for us - http://www.skyarts.co.uk/SkyArts/Art/Article.aspx?artid=5004 and before she could fix her lipgloss he'd knocked out a van Gogh version of her. We're pretty impressed - see for yourself...

T - 4 Days

2007-10-25T20:47:00.000+01:00

Right, so it's been over 24 hours since my last post and I'm telling you, the news is not good *shaking of head in a I'm so disappointed in myself way*. What were my last words.... something along the lines of I best get on with the schedule. Time flies by so quickly.... Hmmm, I'm not wrong there. So, my intention was to start inputting all my hard work on Monday to our scheduling system called BSS. I got to put in a handful programmes before I had to lend my hand to other things. Did I mention that I've got a bad memory? No, well I do (but surprisingly I remember people's names freakishly well. Go figure!) and I'm now trying to wrack my brain to remember what I did yesterday. Hmmm, there was an impromptu meeting to discuss some massive data spreadsheet change, another meeting involving changes to the December 07 schedule (yes, I do feel like Christmas has come and gone. It's truly weird to be 2 months ahead all the time. I constantly think I'm in December already even though we're only in October), the ratings calculation for Tuesday, a synopses list, a phone call to IT (or was that the previous day?), lunch (always good to have a break), HD hours calculation (we hit our target, hurrah!), an amendment to October, a panicked search for my presentation notes (which I eventually found and did today and it went well, no technical hitches at all or me bumbling through it), and before I knew it, it was time to go home and January was only slightly better off than it was on Tuesday. Hmmm.....

Today, I was amending November (roll on Johnny Cash Night) and fighting with IT (this is my daily excercise, what would I do without my IT showdown?), spent some time doing some urgent research, did my presentation, er and I'm sure there was something else but I can't remember.

Will I do it? Will I be winner of the challenge? Only time will tell. I'll be back to let you know.

I'm finally in!

2007-10-24T08:53:00.000+01:00

Phew! Creating an account is not that easy if you can't remember what you've signed in previously as on Google. But I'm all signed up and completely new to this blogging malarkey so bear with me.

I've just started on January 08 schedule. Sat with Adrian last week to thrash out where we would put all these great shows in. It took us a while but finally managed it. Spent Monday working on the rest of the schedule only to come in on Tuesday and hear Adrian whisper quietly that we needed to make major changes already! Breathing deeply, it's fine. This happens a lot. At least it's not all finished so it's easy to make changes. The thing is..... I'm trying to decipher my own handwriting now with all the new notes on it..... But I'll plough through it.

I've been set a challenge (or deadline - however you like to put it. Challenge sounds less scary than deadline to me) by John, our Channel Manager, who'd like us to release the schedule on time (for only the second time since I started with Sky Arts which was end of January 07). "Let's start off the New Year afresh and aim to release the schedule on time" - I think those were his words. It's now 24th October and I've got..... hmmm, *slightly panicky* 5 days to go. But it'll be fine (says she now. Come next week, I won't be so calm.)

So, considering that last point, should really get back to putting that schedule together.... I'll keep you updated on how I get on with January.... Boy, time really does fly!

music music music

2007-10-22T21:33:00.000+01:00

Friday 14th September

Obviously this is being typed up a month later – not due to blogging tardiness but down to the fact that my crackberry didn’t deliver the original text to Sinead for posting. An hour making my thumbs numb and for nothing. Grrr.

Anyhow, why this Friday? Two reasons – both musical. In the morning my colleague Dan and I went to see one of the final recordings for the excellent new HD music series Sky Arts is doing with the splendid people at Eagle Rock. A back to basics, stripped down music series called From the Basement. No host, no audience, just great music – and with Nigel Godrich (producer of Radiohead) at the controls. In the can so far are The White Stripes, Thom Yorke, Beck, Jarvis Cocker, and Sonic Youth but today it’s the turn of the wonderful Super Furry Animals. Dan and I saw SFA frontman Gruff Rhys at the Hay Literary Festival doing a performance/radio interview around his superb solo album Candylion. This morning the SFA are in the basement studio (not all TV is a lie) of The Hospital in Covent (swanky media club and TV facility). It’s early and the crew and band are milling around setting up. There’s a certain irony about today given that Dan was due to film the Super Furries yesterday for our Friday Night Hijack but they unfortunately had to cancel due to rehearsals for a show they were recording on Friday morning… Doh!

Despite admitting that they’re not exactly a morning band, the SFA take their places, cameras roll and they rock. They perform half a dozen songs (a few takes here and there – Mr Godrich is a perfectionist) including one new, as yet unnamed, track, which they close with. Those of us not actually working stand at the back and try and keep out of the camera operators’ way but everyone gets into it with the crew bursting into applause between numbers.

Jose Gonzalez is up next but we have to get back to sunny Osterley so say goodbye to Andrew and Will from Eagle (who I’ll be seeing at MIP in a few weeks).
A different musical collaboration to end the day – as part of the South Bank’s Early Music Weekend there’s the first public screening of The Full Monteverdi, which Sky Arts is involved with. Inspired by Monteverdi’s fourth book of madrigals this HD films follows the simultaneous break-up of six couples taking the audience on an intense emotional journey. I’ve got to say a few words at the screening which, in a moment of last minute panic, I decide to re-write on the train to Waterloo.

I’m cutting it a bit fine when I meet the lovely Hazel Wright – who used to run the BBC’s Classical music sales for WorldWide and knows everyone and everyhing there is to know about classcial music and opera – and the film’s producer Greg Browning who is also celebrating his 30th birthday tofay. An interesting way to celebrate – showing your film which has taken years to get to the screen to the public for the first time. We find the film’s driector John La Bouchardière and then we’re inside the Purcell Room.

The Purcell Room is much bigger than I remember it – it seats 365 people (I checked on the website afterwards) and it’s full and I’ve now got to stand uyp and say something. Greg’s up first. He talks about the difficulties of getting the film produced and how it’s taken a few year’s to get to this point. I’m bervously looking at my notes seeing if I can sub them in my head before Greg finishes. No time. I’m up. Try not to look at the sea of faces and remember to talk clearly. A laugh – and in the right place. Confidence boosted, I mention that this was one of the first proijects I became involved with when I joined the channel – Artsworld as it was – and how it’s also one of the projects that I’m most proud of. Then introduce John the director and get off stage. John’s relxaed, funny and has the audience in the palm of his hand. We take our seats as the lights dim and I realsie that the last time I saw this it was in an edit suite so this is the first time I’ve seen the whole film in the right order…

A couple of walkouts early on – this worries us – but become engrossed once again by the film. It’s over before you know it. The screen fades to black. Silence. A beat. Then a huge roudn of applause. A huge sigh of relief from John and Greg and, when the lights go up, people coming over to them to congratualate them on their achievement. I meet Marshall Marcus who’s the South Bank’s Head of Music and we agree to meet to dicuss any other ways we can collaborate. The director of the event reassures us that the walkouts were nothgin to worry about and happen at a lot of similar events…
Outisde, Greg’s off to celebrate his 30th at the bar but I’ve got to leave to get ready for my holiday tomorrow (taking son on plane for the first time so will need all the rest I can get tonight). Congratyulate Greg and John on their achivement and agree to catch up with Greg at MIPCOM.

here’s a review of the screening that took place – the film will be shown on Sky Arts in 2008
This astonishing film, here screened in public for the first time, is based on John La Bouchardière’s collaboration with I Fagiolini, and charts the emotional progress of six failing couples through the deeply moving music of Monteverdi’s Fourth Book of Madrigals. This remarkable, intricately constructed film is aesthetically beautiful in every aspect: masterfully shot, sensitively arranged images, utterly glorious singing, impressive operatic acting, and a terrifyingly involving narrative flow. This encounter between yesterday’s music and today’s medium can’t help but deliver Monteverdi’s masterpieces to a new and deeply appreciative audience in a thoroughly spectacular fashion.”
Edward Lewis - Classical SourceThe full review can be found here… http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_features.php?id=4952

The Broth

2007-09-24T17:16:00.001+01:00

I've come across this really cool site that allows you to, among other things, do live art collaborations with anyone, anywhere, anytime.
http://www.thebroth.com/
If only I had the talent...but it's great fun watching the re-plays on some of the pieces and seeing how they were created.
Nice :-)

New stuff in development

2007-08-28T17:38:00.000+01:00

The developers are working on delivering our new video section for the site this week and I'm pretty excited about getting that up and running asap. We're looking out for any out-takes/bloopers as well as any interesting stuff that just doesn't manage to make the final edit for TV, so the section should be well worth a look once we've managed to get hold of all the clips we're looking for. We'll put our broadcast promos there and anything good that we can get the rights for.

We'll also be looking for User-Generated content so if you've got any local arts-related event to promote or you want to do a review of one of our programmes, a new film or a performance/exhibition that you've been to, then film it on your mobile or camera and stick it up on Sky Cast - we'll be pulling our UG content from there.
Just post up a comment here and let us know what the link is - we'll include it on the Sky Arts video section.

Getting all 2.0 an' all that...

2007-07-30T12:16:00.000+01:00

We're planning on bringing you a little bit behind the scenes of how Sky Arts works so from time to time someone will stick a post up here about what they did that day...giving you a taster of what's to come on the channel.
Dan might have been shooting someone famous introducing their selection of programmes for our 'Friday Night Hijack' strand or Adrian might have just found a great new HD programme for the channel. Whatever it is, if it's worth mentioning...we'll be mentioning it here :)

Please to enjoy...

http://www.skyarts.co.uk/