Broadcast Now: Top 10 tips for producing cheaper TV
This Broadcast Now article provides some guidance for producers wanting to cut back on expenditure during the credit crunch, but I feel that it's actually possible to save even more money. Bearing this in mind, here are my ten tips for money-saving television:
1. Who cares about technical standards when it's cheap TV for some obscure cabsat channel, so just buy the cheapest HD camcorder from Currys and go with that. It's not as if anyone will notice anyway.
2. Save on studio sets and do everything on location; it certainly works for property porn and Bear Gryllis.
3. Reuse the same recorded sequences again and again and again; this certainly works for cheap reality TV and documentary strands such as Horizon.
4. Also make use of cheap stock footage of things such as spacecraft from NASA, and repeat them as necessary.
5. Premium rate phone revenue can still help despite all the recent scandals; just make the question ridiculously easy and the prize list ludicrously long. It works for The Gadget Show.
6. When managing expectations, choose a programme title that promises much more than you can actually deliver; for example, something like The World's Greatest Car Chases may only impress morons but they can hardly complain when the content isn't up to scratch.
7. Investigative journalism can be very expensive so why not save time and trouble by dispensing with the journalism part.
8. Since the programme you are making will most likely only be watched by halfwits, there's no need to waste precious money on being factually accurate unless you feel that Ofcom may take exception to something. But you can always bluff your way out of any trouble afterwards.
9. Round up a group of youths from the nearest hostel and tell them that they can take part in a reality TV programme and are going to become famous overnight. Neglect to tell them that the end result will only be shown on Living TV.
10. Last but certainly not least, DO NOT employ someone like Jonathan Ross under any circumstances. That is just asking for trouble.
Good luck!
