We come Highly Commended y'know..

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.

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!

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

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/

Our lovely new buses :-)

We're launching another HD channel!

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...

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

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...

...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...

...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...

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.

The new Sky Arts channel logos

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

Behind the scenes shooting Friday Night Hijack

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...

Dan in Paris...

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

What Dom's watching tonight...

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

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 workers 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)