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IN CONVERSATION
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THE CHANNEL
here are essentially
five components to
our work. We fund
the development of
new programmes ‐
any producer in
Australia can apply
to us for development funding. We
also support productions and the
financing of productions through
the ACTF being an executive
producer on productions. We can
help with financing by putting up
distribution advances and getting
involved in the distribution of
children’s content. Then there is a
special education focus in that we
promote the use of the programmes
that we work on to schools in
Australia and encourage them to
use Australian children’s
programmes in the classroom.
Finally the fifth component is the
advocacy component ‐ we do a lot of
policy work, we lobby for children’s
TV to be supported by government
intervention through regulation,
investment subsidy, that kind of
thing. We think all those elements
are critical to the survival of
children’s TV and for local children’s
TV to be made and thrive.
Tell us more about the funding
support.
We have four funding rounds a
year where independent producers
submit concepts to us for script
development funding – anyone can
apply. These outlines get analysed
and assessed and when we have
decided to provide script
development funding for a project
we also give a lot of feedback and
follow‐up later on. We want to
provide funding to projects that we
think are actually going to get
made. We put a lot of time and
effort in trying to connect the
producer with broadcasters and do
everything we can to assist those
projects into production.
What type of content are you
looking for?
We have a real focus on shows that
we think wouldn’t get made
without our support, so they tend
to be the more expensive ambitious
productions. Live action drama is a
real priority, as are shows that we
think Australian kids will identify
with, so there has to be a strong
Australian element to the
productions. We really like comedy
because we don’t see a lot of it and
kids like comedy. And then we
have looked at other genres which
we feel have been under‐
represented
–
in the last couple of
years for example we have had
quite an emphasis on factual
content for kids. We are really
looking at content that we think the
market on its own won’t produce
for kids.
How do you know what children
want?
I guess audience numbers will tell
you that and their dedication and
commitment. That’s easier to judge
now than it used to be with social
media and broadcaster chat sites
and Facebook. We road‐test
programmes with schools so we
know without a doubt that
certainly school‐age kids really love
shows with actors playing real
characters that they can identify
with. Kids like seeing children their
own age or just that little bit older
that they aspire to be like on screen.
And shows with compelling story
lines are really valued.
What are the success stories?
The stand‐out one is the comedy
series
Round the Twist
. The first
series was made in the early 1990’s
about three children and their
father who live in a lighthouse and
become involved in many bizarre
magical adventures. It’s
quintessentially Australian but it’s
comedy, it’s very warm. The BBC,
NHK, Fox, CBC, all the public
broadcasters have aired it. It’s on
somewhere in the world every day
of the year, it’s been a huge
favourite everywhere, except the
Middle East. A more recent success
is
Dance Academy
, a series we have
been involved with through script
development. We are into series
T
KIDS
AREWORTHIT
Funded partly by government and through selling programmes internationally, the
Australian Children’s Television Foundation is a remarkable organisation - very
much grounded in Australian culture but with an influence on children’s lives that
reaches far beyond the continent. CEO Jenny Buckland is always searching to use
the scope that ACTF offers to best effect – we asked her what the main areas of
activity are
A limited
number of
broad-
casters
may not
be the
only gate-
keepers in
the future
“
THE CHANNEL
|
ISSUE 1 2014
|
17
